Yay, another update. That's about it. Enjoy! (Just like I will enjoy the ice cream cake for my sister's b-day today! MMMM!)

9. That Night Under The Stars

Locke looked at his watch to realize that exactly a half hour went by since Rachel walked away from him, so he waited for her on the balcony as he promised. Although Xane told him not to get involved, he felt that by flirting with her, it would make the deal easier. Not to mention that she's the most beautiful girl I've ever met…He thought to himself as he leaned against the balcony. Why do these things always happen to me? I just don't understand it…

"This was a good suggestion." Locke turned his head to his left to see Rachel wearing a smile and standing a few feet away. "It is a beautiful night."

"That's what I figured," he said with a shrug as he looked up at the stars. "I'm a night kind of guy; I feel more alive at night time than I do in midday."

"I'll agree with you there. It's so much more relaxing. Everything is so rushed in the daytime and at night everything comes to a calm," she stated as she walked closer to him. "Shall we take a walk in the gardens?"

"Yeah, that way we won't be interrupted," he said, half expecting Xane to stomp outside and yell at him to get away from Rachel while she was standing right there. "Wait, you won't be missing anything, right?"

"Daddy is so busy entertaining all the guests with what affairs he's been dealing with that he won't even notice my disappearance." There was a slight hurt to her tone as she spoke, but the smile returned to her face once again as she faced Locke. "Oh well. I'll let daddy do whatever he pleases. Whatever makes him happy makes me happy because he won't complain about everything to me. Come on, let's go toward the gardens."

She linked her arm through Locke's as they silently walked toward the luxurious gardens that were located behind the mansion. There weren't any clouds in the sky that night, so the moon shone brightly, causing the beams of light to be slightly reflected off the smooth cobblestone path. There was a delicate breeze that lingered in the air that played with the shrubbery and swept through Rachel's hair.

"So, I've been trying to figure this out because I'm not exactly sure; is today your real birthday?" Locke asked as Rachel softly chuckled. He was just trying to make conversation and wasn't sure why his question was humorous.

"You wouldn't be able to guess if it was," she said as she sat down on one of the benches, motioning Locke to sit next to her.

"What do you mean?" He was confused at her downcast mood that he furrowed his forehead with worry. "Are you okay? Your mood is so different than the one you had a half hour previous."

"Although this is supposed to be my birthday celebration, it really doesn't seem like it," she admitted as she gripped the edge of the bench and looked outward toward the rest of the garden. She ignored his question, but Locke let it roll off his shoulders. "This is just an excuse so daddy can show his wealth to the rest of the world. To be completely frank with you, I hate the life I'm living. I hate having to be a perfect 'little lady' just because it's expected from me. I don't like to keep quiet around others, I don't like to 'just look pretty,' and most importantly I don't like the feeling that I'm a marionette under the control of my father."

Locke listened in wonder as she vented to him and slowly sat down next to her. She exhaled, shook her head, and looked at her feet for a second. He wasn't sure if he was supposed to chime in with a comment, so he remained silent and let her think out loud.

"I want…I want to go on an adventure someday, you know," she looked over at Locke and smiled with excitement of her thoughts. "I know it sounds insane coming from a girl of my stature and lineage, but I want to find some amazing treasure that no one thought could be discovered. The thrill of that must just be breathtaking."

"You have no idea," Locke found himself saying in agreement. He gasped when he realized what he said and looked off to the side, shaking his head. "D'ah! Sorry, I didn't mean to interrupt."

"No, it's not a problem," she said, placing her hands in her lap. "To finally answer your question, no, it's not my birthday. My 19th birthday was about two weeks ago. Like I said, daddy just wanted to show off that asinine Clemix Diamond to his high and mighty friends, and I personally don't care about it."

"Well that doesn't sound all that fair to you," he replied as she sighed again.

"Did you know that that is all I'm getting for my birthday? Some stupid diamond that I'm not even going to be able to wear? It's pretty much going to stay in the basement all locked up and surrounded by a million guards. I mean, who wants a present that they can't even cherish?" Locke nodded his head in agreement, not even thinking of how he hadn't received a birthday present since his grandmother was alive. "What I'm basically trying to say here is that I don't want presents. I just want my father to care about me again."

"What about your mother?" He felt as if he was prying deeply into her family history, but she hadn't mentioned her. He was rather curious about her ranting, so he decided that digging deeper was a way to get to know more about her.

"My mother? Oh, she died about five years ago," she said quietly as she brushed the grass with the toe of her shoe. "Ever since then, daddy has become very protective of me. I suppose I could even go as far as to say that he's domineering. He has such a strict itinerary of my daily schedule that I never have any say in what I do. If he wants me to practice piano for six hours, I have to do it. I don't argue because maybe he'll be happy if I do what he wants." She sighed heavily again and slowly tilted her head up to face Locke's. "It's funny; things never used to be this way when my mother was alive. We were a very happy family, you know? But then…"

"You don't have to continue about it if you don't want to," Locke said as he noticed tears forming in Rachel's eyes. She brought her hand up to face to wipe away the tears and softly chuckled.

"I'm sorry, I really didn't mean to burden you with all my troubles," she inhaled as a tear fell down her cheek, landing on her gown. "The topic just makes me so frustrated."

"If venting makes you feel better, then by all means, I'm here to listen." He pointed to himself for emphasis and she let out a breathy laugh. "Why cry when I love your smile?"

"You're sweet," she said as she moved closer to him so she could rest her head against his chest. "If I ask you a question will you promise not to be angry with me?"

"Uh, sure," he replied, slightly afraid of what she was going to ask.

"Who are you?" Locke let out a chuckle for he feared she was going to inquire a much more personal question.

"I told you," he said as she looked up at him. "I'm Lord Kain Atherton."

"Where are you from?" Uh oh, she's prying here…He thought as he felt his pulse rush.

"Some…place around here," he said slowly as he looked away from her. She narrowed her eyes at him and he had to chuckle as he thought of a believable excuse. "Come on, I'm trying to stay somewhat mysterious here. Where's the fun if you know everything there is to know about me?"

She giggled and trailed her hand up his shirt and started to play with his bowtie. He was starting to become even more nervous by the way she was touching him than her actually finding out his real identity. "I guess you have a point, but since you know so much about me, I think I have the right to ask a few questions. Like, how old are you, Lord Atherton?"

"I'm twenty-three," he said, not liking the way that name rolled off her tongue. No, don't say it…You can't blow your cover! "You know, you could just call me Locke." Dammit, you fool! He cursed at himself when he revealed his real name to her, but her mouth turned into a smile at the sound of it.

"Locke? It's very unique. I like it." She thought about it for a second, then slightly frowned. "Wait, why do you go by that name when your name is Kain Atherton?"

Now you've done it, genius! Locke thought in his head as he jumbled for an excuse that sounded plausible. "It's just a nickname that I've achieved over the years. Much like yourself, I'm not a fan of authority or titles, so 'Locke' sounds a lot more fun and less stuffy. Adds onto the 'man of mystery' thing that I discussed."

"See, this is what I mean!" She exclaimed as she pointed to him. "I want to lead an adventurous life that's full of mystery and excitement! But instead I'm stuck in this stupid mansion and go through the motions everyday. I wake up, have a professor teach me my lessons, go chocobo riding through the plains a little bit, think about my feeble life that I live, go to bed, and then the whole cycle starts over again. I want to shake things up some."

"Chocobo riding is an adventure in itself. Well, maybe I just think that because chocobos and I don't get along very well. Every time I hop on one, it just tries to kill me," Locke said with a smile. Rachel turned looked down at her toes again, so Locke moved in closer to her. "You should come with me one day."

"Where?" She asked as she innocently looked up at him. "Chocobo riding? Maybe I can give you some helpful hints since I happen to know how to control chocobos."

"Well, okay, that too because I could use some pointers. However, I meant that you should come exploring and find treasures with me," he replied with a nod. Her features brightened as she broke out into a beaming grin. "I love doing that kind of thing. Like you said, it shakes up the normal every day life that we live."

"Maybe I will learn more about you at the same time?" She asked. His smile widened as she innocently looked at him.

"That sounds like a good idea to me." They both slightly chuckled as they leaned in toward each other. Locke put his right hand behind her head and brought her closer until their lips touched. She giggled as he nipped at her lower lip and placed her hand on his arm. Just as he was about to part his lips, she jumped and broke the kiss. He looked at her in question and she whipped her head away from him. "Uh, something wrong?"

Her eyes darted from the different patches of shrubbery and she lowered her voice down to a harsh whisper. "Did you just hear something?"

"Um, no." Locke wasn't paying attention to anything but the kiss, so he didn't hear anything at all besides his heart beating so quickly that he thought it was going to pop out of his chest. He figured she was just uncomfortable by the kiss and made an excuse to break it. He figured he would humor her and listen to the surroundings anyway. To no avail, he couldn't hear anything but the water flowing and the breeze disturbing the shrubbery. "I don't hear anything at all."

To further his confusion, she stood up and started to walk toward some trees that acted as a wall several feet away. He narrowed his eyes and watched her queerly; she was walking as quietly as she could on the cobblestone path so her stilettos wouldn't make any extra noise. In case something was there, Locke didn't want it to attack, so he stood up and walked closer to her.

The trees slightly moved, causing Locke to put his hands on Rachel's shoulders for protection. She placed one of her hands on his as she looked up at him, a grim look on his face. In one swift movement, the trees parted, ejecting a man. Rachel let out a yelp and huddled close to Locke's chest in fear.

"Xane!" Locke cried out when he recognized the man. He scoffed in disbelief as the older man stood up and brushed the dirt off of his suit. Xane was holding Locke's coat and proceeded to shake that dirt and pine needles off of that as well. "You are unbelievable!"

"Good evening, Lord Atherton," he said through clenched teeth, frustrated that Locke revealed his real name. He sighed as he cautiously looked around. "I thought I would find you here."

"That's just great, you found me. Now get gone!" Xane eyed Rachel and noticed the confusion on her face. She kept looking back and forth between he and Locke, but held her gaze longer on Locke. Xane raised his eyebrows at Locke, who turned his head and looked away, then smiled at Rachel, completely ignoring Locke's request to leave.

"Happy birthday, Miss VanLente." He reached out for Rachel's hand and brought it to his lips. Locke's eyes burned at the gesture by Xane, and also at how he ruined the moment.

"Thank you," she responded as she took her hand back and looked up at Locke. "Maybe we should go back inside. My father will be wondering where I went."

"Actually, we were just leaving, isn't that right, Kain?" Xane gripped Locke's arm and he pried him away from Rachel. Just to prove his point, he thrusted the tan trench coat into Locke's hands.

"What? Are you kidding me? I don't think so!" He jerked his arm from Xane's grasp and waited for an explanation. "Why do we have to leave?"

"I came in contact with some people here who weren't too happy to see me, and I'm more than 100 percent positive that they wouldn't be happy to see you either." Xane lifted his eyebrows as Locke exhaled and looked up toward the sky.

"Why me? Why? Why now?" He muttered as he understood that Xane ran into some soldiers who recognized that he was a treasure hunter.

Rachel looked up at Locke and linked her arm through his. "Locke, what's going on?"

"Excuse me, my dear lady," Xane said as he shot a glare at Locke. "There's no time to explain, but fortunately, Lord Kain Atheron here has all the time in the world to explain to me. Let's go, Kain."

Locke knew he didn't have any other choice but to follow Xane, who was already starting to walk away. However, before he left Rachel, he gently kissed her on the cheek and whispered, "Can I see you again?"

"Tomorrow," she whispered back as she looked deeply into his eyes. "Meet me right here at midnight."

"I'll be here, I promise." He winked at her as he put on his coat. She smiled back at him and watched as he and Xane walked out of the gardens.

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"What the hell is wrong with you?" Xane demanded when he and Locke left the VanLente property. Locke pursed his lips and shoved his hands deep in his pockets for he knew if he opened his mouth, he would regret it. He knew that he was going to be reprimanded not only for Rachel knowing his real identity, but also for leaving the ballroom where the diamond was. Locke kept his comments to himself as he looked up at the star filled sky and sighed. "You should've just told her how we planned to nab the diamond while you were at it."

"Oh shit," Locke exclaimed as he looked at Xane. "What are we going to do about the diamond now?"

"Simple. I'm going to explain to Vaughn what you did and let him take it from there," Xane explained as Locke gulped. "I hope you know, I have never had to walk away from a hunt before tonight. Roughly translated; I officially hate you now."

"Well, that's just fantastic." The sarcasm dripped off Locke's voice as he and Xane made their way across the plains. "However, I figured that bringing her outside would've made a nice distraction for you to grab the damn thing."

"Flirting with the daughter of the man we're trying to rob wasn't going to help at all," Xane snapped back. "She was the least of my concerns. The guards were my main concern, not a 19 year old girl."

"Well, what did you want me to do?" Locke challenged back as Xane turned his head to the side and spit. "Go flirt with the guards to distract them?"

"It would've been better than throwing yourself at the young Miss VanLente." Locke scoffed at Xane's tone of voice, so Xane mocked him. "Don't give me that attitude. You know damn well that I'm right about this."

"I wasn't trying to make any moves on her. We were just having simple conversation," Locke protested, not sure the truth in his statement. We did kiss though...He thought about it for a second then realized that he shouldn't have to be protecting himself. "Wait a second here, why couldn't you go grab the diamond? You would've been able to go back to Vaughn and take all the credit."

Xane became oddly quiet as he looked straight toward the horizon. "That's not the point. I told you, I didn't want to get caught."

"Oh, so I guess this makes me the best treasure hunter in Quantz?" Locke teased as he tipped his hat and smiled at Xane. "I would've gotten the diamond and not taken the easy way out."

"That's beside the point!" Xane stated, more forcefully this time. "Just…drop it, Locke. You couldn't understand."

Locke blinked in surprise at the touchy subject, but his curiosity got the best of him. "Explain it to me. I'm really serious though. We had good disguises, aliases, and it's not like anyone was going to recognize us."

"I don't want to talk about this," he shot back, causing Locke's curiosity to rise even more. "Let's just put it this way; I had to get out of there and I wasn't about to leave you there where you would get so 'caught in the moment' with Rachel that you would've gotten caught by the guards. There were too many Imperial soldiers there and something was bound to happen sooner or later. I made a judgment call."

"Okay, well, if you made a 'judgment call,' you can't go back to Vaughn and blame the entire situation on me." Although Locke tried to be upbeat about the situation, the look on Xane's face made him realize that something was wrong. "Xane, are you hiding something from me?"

"I have nothing to hide," he replied confidently after a moment of silence. "I just wanted to get out of there. Now shut up."

With a chuckle, Locke patted Xane on the back and said, "I'll only shut up if you take an equal amount of blame on this."

"You drive a hard bargain," Xane retorted with a roll of his eyes. The corner of his lips turned up slightly as he shook his head. "All right, fine. The silence would be nice."

"Got it," Locke replied as he and Xane entered the forest that led to the hideout.