12. Mad Woman

The moon shone brightly in the night sky, illuminating the path in which Anna walked. What a night she'd had. She could not help but replay the events in her mind as she made her journey back to Reaver's Manor. Could she have done something different? She felt so unbelievably stupid and naïve. Yet again she had trusted Reaver and just like before, it had backfired on her. And to make matters worse for the ex-rebel, she now found herself wondering through Millfields alone at night.

Any smart person would have just agreed to make their way back with the mercenaries, Sam and Danny. But Anna's stubbornness compelled her not to.

"Why am I like this?" she groaned, kicking a small pebble along the dirt road. It had been several hours since she had left Bowerstone Industrial and began the gruelling journey back to Reaver's Manor. Part of her wanted to find alternative accommodation for the night, however, realistically, Reaver's house was the safest. Anna couldn't risk being seen by any guards after tonight's events. Despite her hatred and loathing for Reaver, at least his manor would be safe. Tomorrow was the time to deal with the situation of her living arrangements.

As Anna approached the top of the hill, she could see the full moon reflect perfectly in Bower Lake. Reaver's Manor sat just beside it, looking absolutely picturesque in the dim light. The young woman stared at the building, stopping for a brief moment to admire it. Even in the night light she could still make out the climbing ivy that weaved its way around the large windows, all of which were dark. It was safe to assume that everyone was likely sleeping by now.

As she continued to walk, Anna speculated whether Reaver was concerned about her where abouts. Surely he would have expected her back by now? Maybe he believed her to be dead? But as Anna approached the door of the grand manor, she came to the conclusion that the businessman really wouldn't care what had happened to her.

The door to the manor house was big and heavy, the ex-rebel pushed it open slowly, revealing an empty entrance hall. The house was silent, all the staff had obviously gone to bed. Shutting the door behind her, Anna sneaked quietly up the stairs. The last thing she wanted tonight was to be seen by a maid or a butler. The removal of her blood stained clothes and a good cry was what she needed and craved.

At the top of the stairs, faint giggles could be heard. Anna let out an involuntary sigh as she turned to make her way down the corridor where her room was. At the end of the long corridor was Reaver's own private bedroom and standing outside the door were two of his maids. Anna unintentionally paused for a brief moment, examining the two girls before quickly making her way to her own room.

"Good night, Miss Anna," one of the maids said, amusement laced in her voice. Anna sighed, her hope of being unnoticed had gone. She glanced towards the two maids who were staring at her with curiosity.

"Good night?" the other maid asked, twirling a piece of her strawberry blonde hair around her finger. Anna nodded once in response, flashing them a small smile before entering her room. She gently closed the door behind her, reattempting to be unheard.

The sudden sight of her bed caused Anna to realise how tired she really was. The walk from the city to Millfield's had definitely taken its toll on her. Stretching and yawning, she made her way to the bed, plopping herself down on the end. As she ran her fingers through her knotted waves of hair, the bedroom door opened.

"Everything go okay?" a voice said from the darkness. Anna's eyes darted in the direction of the doorway, watching as Reaver stepped forward into the room. The room was dimly lit but she could just about make out his appearance. He wore his signature smirk upon his face, his hair was unkempt and he wore a dark red dressing gown that was tied far too loosely at the waist. Anna's eyes narrowed in anger as he entered.

"You lied to me," she replied, her voice harsh and accusing. Reaver stared back at her, unphased and slightly amused.

"Did I now?" he asked innocently.

"You ordered those mercenaries to kill everyone in that room. Those people were my friends, they didn't have to die," Anna explained, tears forming in her emerald green eyes, forcing her to look away from the man who stood before her.

"You stupid little girl," Reaver said harshly, "What did you think would happen? You'd have a chat and all would be swell?" he chuckled darkly.

"Well… I didn't even get a chance to talk to them so who knows?" she replied, her voice sounding weak and frightened.

"I know. Those kind of people are out for blood. My blood and yours," he explained, looking down at the girl who sat on the bed, noticing the blood stains that covered her shirt, "They want to destroy people like us."

"I am those kind of people. I'm not like you," Anna said, finally plucking up the courage to look the deviant in his eyes. Reaver cocked an eyebrow at her as he gestured to their surroundings.

"Look around, my dear. Those kinds of people don't sleep in satin nightgowns and have maids make their beds," Reaver replied. Anna's eyes widened slightly at his remark. He wasn't wrong. Her life had completely changed in only a matter of weeks. She had gone from a sewer rat to an aristocrat. If Thomas and the other union members had known that, they would have avoided her completely. Why was Reaver always right?

Anna rose to her feet, her legs feeling wobbly from all the miles of walking. She wasn't sure why she initially stood up, but as she did so she felt a heavy weight in the pocket of her jacket. The gun. A dangerous idea immediately popped into her head.

"Y'know, you're wrong about me. I don't hesitate," Anna said confidently, pulling the pistol out of her jacket pocket in one swift motion. Pointing it at Reaver, she pressed hard on the trigger, this would be her revenge. Her justice for Tom. But there was no bang like she was expecting, instead the gun made a 'click' noise. Anna's eyes filled with rage and shock as she looked down at the useless device.

"You gave me a gun with no bullets!" she shouted in anger, looking up towards Reaver. The moon that shone through the large window in the room illuminated the man's face perfectly and his expression read murder. The ex-rebel had never seen Reaver be anything other than smug, and as he glared at her, she felt fearful for her life.

Without even thinking of the consequences, Anna launched the gun in Reaver's direction, hoping to knock him off guard long enough to get herself out of here. But in typical Reaver fashion, he simply ducked out of the way of the moving object. There was a clatter as the metal gun hit the floor.

"You're testing my patience," he told her, finally stepping into the room and slamming the door behind him.

"I don't care," she spat back, her eyes scanned the dark room for another weapon, cursing the darkness for making the task so difficult. It suddenly felt like a game of cat and mouse, and Anna was most definitely the mouse.

As Anna panicked in the dark, she was unaware of Reaver moving towards her. His footsteps were almost completely silent as he approached his prey. Without giving Anna any chance to react, he roughly grabbed her hair, tangling his fingers in it as he pulled her head back exposing her neck. Reaver's dark eyes stared at the girl's porcelain skin momentarily before pushing the cold barrel of his gun underneath her jaw. She inhaled sharply as she felt the chill of the metal against her skin and she realised that death was now only seconds away.

Her eyes automatically closed as she braced herself for the end. At least it would be quick. And before she knew it, she would be reunited with all those she had lost. All the people she had lost as a result of Reaver.

There was a loud bang and to Anna's surprise there was no pain. In fact, death felt very much like being alive. She was still breathing; she could still feel Reaver's grip on her hair and the barrel against her skin still sent shivers up and down her spine.

"What the bloody hell was that?" Reaver asked, shoving Anna roughly away from him. The ex-rebel's eyes flew open as she fell onto the bed. Her brain was racing at a million miles an hour but she quickly worked out she wasn't in fact dead.

Her eyes scanned the room rapidly in search of Reaver. He stood looking out of the window, his back to the young girl who lay on the bed.

Looking past Reaver, Anna could see what he was staring at. A faint, but powerful orange glow had emerged on the horizon. Suddenly there was another loud bang. The ex-rebel flinched, her eyes automatically squeezing shut in an attempt to avoid the danger.

When she reopened them, the glow on the horizon had grown and was continuing to grow. Timidly, she arose from the bed and carefully made her way to the window. Anna was very aware of Reaver's presence in the room, but her curiosity was definitely overpowering her fear. As she stared out onto the landscape, a gasp escaped her lips.

"That's Bowerstone," she pointed towards the glow, suddenly realising what it was. Fire. It looked as if the entire city was on fire.

"I believe your little rebellion is making its final push, my dear," Reaver replied, his voice calm. Anna glanced over towards him, surprised at his reaction. She would have assumed Reaver would feel anger or frustration, surely, he was on the side of Logan.

"Finally," Anna replied, staring back out towards the city. The loud bangs of bombs and shots echoing across Albion. Anna couldn't help but smile at the sight. This is what she had spent years of her life working towards, overthrowing the tyrant that was King Logan. But as she watched Bowerstone burn, she couldn't help but feel grateful for not being in the fight itself. She wasn't sure whether she would have been able to kill anyone, even if they were the enemy.

"Well I don't think we'll be getting any sleep tonight," Reaver announced casually, "Would you like some tea?"

"Tea? You were literally just about to kill me," Anna responded, sounding rather shocked.

"I can still kill you if you want me to," Reaver replied, a smirk gracing his lips. Anna shook her head, feeling stupid for saying anything about the situation.

"No. No thank you."

"Then tea?" Reaver asked again as they both looked out at the success that was the rebellion.

Sorry it took a while for me to update with a new chapter, but I hope you enjoyed it :)