Not sure how much I like this chapter, but I just spent almost three hours editing it...and there isn't anything else I'd like to add in it. Meh, I've written worse...but I just wanted to get this chapter posted. I wrote the skeleton of this chapter out like a week and a half ago...and since then I've just been editing it. I didn't think that it was going to be this long...and to me, it kind of drags. It's repetitive in a way...so, sorry. The next chapter also isn't finished (most of it is written out...and I DO like that one so far. It finally starts to connect some stuff...mainly about the two diamonds that have been mentioned so far. AH, I'm spoiling things. This is why you don't post things at 2:30 in the morning! I babble more than ever!

16. Confessions

Locke looked at Rachel out of the corner of his eye to see tears streaming down her face. He couldn't help but roll his eyes at her as the music came to a close and the curtain went down. I didn't think it was that sad…He thought as Rachel let out a sniff. So some guy spent his whole life to find his ex girlfriend again, and when he found her, she died protecting him. So what? I don't understand why she jumped in front of the arrows anyway! He was the one who originally left her for another girl!

"That was amazing," Rachel said to Locke in awe over the sound of the thunderous applause, dabbing the sides of her eyes with her handkerchief. "The Impressario's operas just keep getting better and better."

"Yeah," Locke drawled as he unenthusiastically clapped his hands along with everyone else. Rachel shot out of her chair to give the singers a standing ovation, and when Locke looked around, he noticed that the rest of the audience was doing the same. Reluctantly, he stood up along with the crowd. I hate opera…He thought, feeling his hands go raw from the applause. Rachel was still wiping her tears away and Locke let out a chuckle. "How long do we have to clap for?"

"Hush!" She warned gently. Still clapping, she motioned toward the stage where the Impressario was bowing and thanking the audience repeatedly. "We have to applaud the creative genius who put his heart and soul into this production!"

After a few minutes, Locke's hands went numb, so he plopped back down in his seat. "Yep, I'm done clapping."

"What are you doing?" Rachel shrieked when she noticed what he did. She grabbed him by the arm and tried to pull him back up into a standing position. "Get up!"

"Rachel, this could go on for days," he said with an annoyed glance toward the stage. "I'm just waiting for it to die down a little bit…and for the feeling to return to my hands."

"You're embarrassing me!" She snapped, once again grabbing his arm. When he saw that there were several people looking his way and glaring, he obeyed Rachel's wishes and stood up. He didn't think that it was that big of a deal that he was sitting, but apparently he was wrong. "Thank you."

By the time he reached his feet, the lights went up again and everyone started to depart the theater. Locke considered verbally expressing his relief, but he didn't want Rachel to give him that look again. "So, uh, where are we going now?"

"To the after party, of course!" Her voice was chipper, but Locke knew it was partially an act. When she and the Baron still lived in Jidoor, they went to the opera once a week for the Baron had reserved a box for the two of them. However, when they had to go undercover, the Baron sold the reserved spot, leaving Rachel devastated. Locke could tell that that she was excited to get dressed up again and go to the opera, but it reminded her of how much had changed since someone tried to take the Clemix Diamond out of her family's possession.

Locke followed Rachel to the ballroom where the reception was going to take place, and broadly smiled at the guards that stood at every corner. Dammit, this place is so heavily guarded…He thought, smiling at another soldier. Just stay calm, Locke. The more suspicious you look, the quicker they're gonna find out why you're really here and the quicker Rachel will kill you… To solidify his thoughts, he looked at Rachel, who wasn't even paying attention to him. Her smile had faded and her face even turned pale.

"I haven't been to a party like this since my own," Rachel murmured under her breath as she looked around. She gripped his arm tighter with every decoration that she saw.

"Same here," Locke agreed with a nod of his head. Well, since Rachel isn't caring right now, I might as well find the singer. She has to be around here somewhere…He thought, scanning the crowd for Maria. Instead of finding the opera star, he saw Xane standing against the railing of the elegant staircase taking a sip of whatever was in his glass.

"It's funny, ya know?" She continued with a sigh, not realizing that Locke wasn't listening to her. "I grew up with this kind of stuff; parties every weekend and such. I hated it through the day of my party, but now that I look back, I really miss it. Everyone fussing over the preparations, spending hours getting ready…seeing that smile on my father's face. I haven't seen him smile in so long. It makes me wonder if he…has forgotten how."

"Uh huh," Locke replied, even though he didn't hear a word she said. He locked eyes with Xane and smiled at him. Turning to Rachel, he kissed her on the cheek. "I'll be back in like three minutes. Don't try to miss me too much."

She widened her eyes at him in shock. The look was because she was opening up her heart about her past and he simply let it go in one ear and out the other. "What? Where are you going? You're just going to leave me here?"

"I'm going to the men's room." He hated to lie to her, but with a sigh, she seemed to buy it. "I won't be gone long, I promise. In the mean time, why don't you get us some champagne or something?"

"Okay," she replied with a nod, turning on her heel toward a waiter who was carrying around a small tray of drinks.

Knowing he was in the clear, he made his way through the large crowd of people to the foyer of the Opera House and stood by one of the stone pillars. Locke wasn't sure if they had an actual purpose besides for decoration, but he shook off his thoughts and waited for Xane.

"So what'd you think of it?" Locke turned his head toward the sound of the voice and saw that it was Xane. He had a smile on his face and Locke shot him a disgusted look over his question. "That look just screams that you just had a grand old time. Hold in your excitement, Locke!"

"I was bored out of my fucking mind," he responded quietly, making sure that no one around him heard his insult toward the opera or his usage of profanity. He figured he had his share of glares from earlier when he sat down during the Impressario's standing ovation. "Now, let's get that thing so you can get out of here and I can pretend to have a good time with Rachel."

Xane chuckled and crossed his arms. "I don't get it. Why do you put up with it, man? Women aren't worth this much trouble."

"Well, Rachel is," Locke stated with a small smile. "Anyone else? No. But Rachel is worth everything I go through. That includes going to operas that will make her happy."

"How sentimental," Xane said with a playful roll of his eyes. "Okay, well, I don't think Maria is out in the ballroom yet. I guess that means she's probably still getting changed out of her opera costume and into real clothing so she can show off the pretty diamond to the public."

"Okay, so we'll wait for her in the ballroom?" Locke asked, trying to make a stable plan as quickly as possible so Rachel wouldn't wonder what happened to him.

"Yeah, sure," Xane said sarcastically, nodding his head. "Let's watch her every move like a pair of hawks and make a bet of who will get caught first. Great idea, Locke."

"Shut up," Locke threw back, sighing. "I don't know! I don't see you coming up with a better plan! Ya know, we really should've thought this whole thing out better before actually getting here."

"You want a plan?" Xane asked as Locke nodded. "Okay, how about this? Stealthily make your way into her dressing room and get her out of the diamonds. Then when she's not paying attention, be your sneaky self and take them."

Locke narrowed his eyes at his friend and tried not to laugh. "'Get her out of the diamonds?' What the hell does that mean? I'm not going to try to get her out of her clothing, thank you very much. I have a girlfriend."

"I didn't really mean it in that sense, but now that you mention it, it could work," Xane replied with another sly smile. "What Rachel doesn't know won't kill her."

"No!" Locke cried, receiving several startled looks from the other guests that were around him. He sighed and lowered his voice. "I think emphatically not! I refuse. If you want to go in there, knock yourself out, but don't even think that I will do it. There has to be another way."

"Okay, but we need to make sure that she's not surrounded by a million people or, worse, a million guards," Xane said, looking around at the people who were starting to walk into the foyer for fresh air. "We better hurry though or else we're gonna—"

"What's going on?"

Locke shut his eyes and grimaced for he recognized the voice instantly. Oh shit! He thought as he slowly turned around and gave Rachel a nervous smile. "H-Hi, honey. What are you doing here?"

"I'd like to ask you the same question," she replied, not taking her eyes off of Xane. She had her arms crossed and her toe made loud clicking noises every time it hit the ground. "Why, hello, Mr. Riley. I didn't know that you liked opera."

"Uh, I really don't." Locke elbowed him in the arm, causing him to let out a grunt in pain. "I mean, I do, but not a whole lot of people know about it. I don't like everyone to see my sensitive side, so I keep it to myself. A-And Locke. He knows about my passion for opera too."

"Yuh huh," Locke agreed, both of them nodding profusely and wearing fake grins on their faces.

"Oh really?" Rachel turned her nose higher in the air and huffed. "What a coincidence that you would be here on the same night as Locke as I."

Both men remained quiet as she shook her head at them. Locke took a step forward and gently touched her on the arm. "Rachel, this will only take a few minutes, I promise you."

Her jaw dropped as she let out a scoff. She opened her mouth to say something, but the words didn't come out. Putting her hand out in front of her, she began laughing in disbelief. "Don't tell me you came here to work, Locke Cole."

"I…Yeah," Locke said, bowing his head in shame. There wasn't a way to deny it, for there would be no other reason for Xane to be at the Opera House and Rachel knew it. "I'm sorry."

"Unbelievable," she whispered as she narrowed her eyes at him. Exhaling, she turned around and started to walk out of the opera house.

"Shit," Locke muttered, torn between chasing after Rachel and finishing the job of going after the diamond. Letting his gaze switch from Rachel to Xane, he said, "I don't know what the hell to do! What do I do?"

"I can't make your decision for you," Xane stated with a shrug. "Vaughn will kill you with his own two hands if you give up this hunt and chase after her, but I won't tell you what to do." Nodding to Xane, Locke made his decision and began walking toward the exit of the opera house. "It's been nice knowing ya, Locke!"

"I refuse to let her go!" He said over his shoulder, throwing the front doors open and picking up his pace.

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"Rachel!" Locke cried as he ran to catch up with his girlfriend. She was walking slowly, so it didn't take him long to reach her. "Rachel, come on."

"No!" She spat, not even bothering to look in his direction. "I wanted to go out and have a fun and intimate night, just the two of us. I had the whole night planned! First we would go to the opera, then we'd go back to Kohlingen and I'd make us some dinner. I didn't expect to run into Xane, or, goddesses forbid, find out that you had to work at the same time!"

She whipped her head at him at the last part of her sentence and Locke blinked in surprise. There was harshness in her eyes that he'd never seen before and prayed that he would never have to see again. After a second of silence, he looked down at his shoes. "It wasn't the original plan, I'll tell you that."

"Oh?" She challenged, raising an eyebrow at him. "Then what was?"

"I was all for having a perfect evening with you, but Vaughn—"

"So this is all Vaughn's fault now?" She asked with a scoff. "This is completely like you, Locke. Can't you just take the blame on yourself for once?"

"You know that I would if it was my fault, but it's not!" He threw his hands in the air and stopped walking. She turned on her heel and faced him again with her arms still crossed and her lips a fine line on her face. "I didn't have a choice in this. It was a once in a lifetime opportunity and if I didn't go up on it, Vaughn never would've let me forget it."

"And that's bad because?" She asked, still not getting his point. "Me being able to get tickets to the opera again was a once in a lifetime opportunity, don't you see that?"

Before speaking again, Locke walked up to her and took her hands in his. Surprisingly enough, she looked back into his eyes and he was relieved when he saw them soften significantly. "In case you haven't noticed, Vaughn hates that we're dating. End of story."

"Why?" She narrowed her eyes at her own question. "It's your choice, not his. As far as I'm concerned, he shouldn't have any say in it."

"I should've figured it out a long time ago, but I didn't," Locke started to say, sighing during a brief pause. Giving the area a once over to make sure that they were alone, he continued. "There's something about that diamond that's making Vaughn go crazy and he knows you have it."

Rachel scoffed and shook her head. "Again with the damn diamond. I would love to throw it in the bottom of the ocean so the world wouldn't have to fight over it. People are so greedy it makes me sick."

"I don't think it's a greed issue," Locke stated as he ran his fingers through his hair. "But, I don't exactly have any proof to back that up."

"I don't even understand this whole treasure hunting thing!" She exclaimed. "You promised me that you would take me out with you, and you never have. What is the big secret about it that you're hiding?"

Locke blinked his eyes in surprise again. "Wow, I wasn't expecting you to bring that one up."

"Well, surprise, I am," she replied, putting her hands on her hips. "Maybe if you would take me out, I would understand why this diamond is such a big deal."

"You're technically with me right now when I was on a hunt, does that count?" He asked with a pleading smile. She shook her head and he sighed. "I didn't think you would've gone for that, but hey, it was worth a shot."

"What were you trying to find here, anyway? Was it for the diamonds that Maria was borrowing from the Queen of Doma?" She continued to glare at him and he started to walk in the general direction of Jidoor again. "Don't try to walk away from me, Locke Cole! You came with me only because of this treasure hunt and now you're just going to avoid the topic? You brought this upon yourself, so you better damn well answer me."

"What do you want to know?" He shot back, not breaking his stride. He could hear her small feet walk closer to him, but he wasn't about to stop. "Why I love the thrill of it? Why I basically live my life to find out more about the history of this world? That's the main gist of it. I love history and I want to unravel the world's secrets."

Rachel gently grabbed him by the arm and looked up at him. "Okay, that's a good answer to why you are a treasure hunter, but I already knew that and it doesn't explain what you were after. You look kind of empty handed, so unless you passed it on to Xane, I'm assuming that you didn't get what you were after?"

"Like you said, it was the Alexander Diamond," he answered, avoiding the topic of him having an unsuccessful hunt. "That's it. Another diamond that Vaughn wanted for some reason. Something's up with him, and I'm not sure what it is, but I am rather curious."

"Why didn't you just tell me?" The cold look in her eye was replaced by a hurt one. "I probably would've been excited if you were going to go on a hunt with me, to be honest with you. When are we going to go on a hunt together, anyway?"

"Rachel," he said slowly with a sigh, looking up at the sky so he wouldn't have to look at her. "I know that I promised, but I can't take you on a hunt with me. It's too dangerous, too risky. I don't want to put you in danger."

She gently cupped his cheek with her hand so she could direct his eyes to look into her own. "Locke, are you breaking a promise with me?"

Guilt struck his heart, so he wrapped her in his arms, resting his chin on the top of her head. "Heh, when you put it that way, you make me look like such an asshole."

"But there isn't another way to put it!" She said, looking up at him. She was frowning again and broke her way out of his embrace. "Locke, come on. Do you think I'll get in the way or something? You're breaking the first promise that you've ever made with me!"

"You think I want anything to happen to you? Do you think I could stand it?" He asked her, putting his hands on her shoulders and narrowing his eyes at her. "Treasure hunting is a very dangerous thing to do, and Rachel, you're the most important thing in my life. I…"

"You what?" She asked him, slightly afraid of what he was going to say. He stood up straight again, taking his hands off her shoulders and putting a finger under her chin.

"I love you." She inhaled as her eyes became wider, and he wasn't sure what her expression meant. He brought her into a passionate kiss and held her closer to him. Although he had played around with her about love before, he had never come out and bluntly said the three words in that context.

Breaking the kiss, she pressed her lips together and gave him a quizzical look. "Are you sure?"

"I've never been more positive of anything in my life," he told her with a nervous laugh. "Actually, I've never been sure of anything in my life but my love for you."

"What about treasure hunting?" She asked as she scrunched her nose together. Locke chuckled and put his arm around her so they could walk back toward the opera house.

"I even have doubts about that some of the time." Yeah, that's because Vaughn hides so many secrets from me…He thought as Rachel stood on her tip toes to give him a peck on the cheek. "That's exactly the reason why I can't risk your life like that. I never know what's going to happen when it comes to treasure hunting, but I know that I will always love you."

"Oh, all right. I guess I'll stop bothering you about it for a while then," she mumbled with a pout.

"Thanks," Locke replied, letting out a relieved sigh.

"But don't think you're off the hook yet!" She informed him as she pointed to him for emphasis. "I'm persistent, so you will give in! I swear to the goddesses, you will!"

Locke chuckled and squeezed her shoulder. "Okay, you can think what you want, but I'm probably just as stubborn as you are."

"Locke?" She began, looking at her feet.

"Hmm?"

She tilted her head toward him and warmly smiled at him. "I love you too."