HEY GUYS! I just finished my first year of uni! I'm so excited! Be proud of me! Please forgive me for the lateness of this chapter, but now I should be abe to write more now! I've got some big ideas and what not so I'm keen!

Special thanks to: TopazFireCrystal, Cristina Uchiha, Saniah-San,

Guest: You're welcome!

Other Guest: Wow really? Two days? Damn! Well, I'm updating today, so here you go! They're make up eventually…hopefully.

Animelover: HEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEERE YOU GO!

"Excuse me Miss, wake up." Rose felt her shoulder pushed, and all her sense woke up at once. Her eyes snapped open, and she sat up in a panic. "Hey, it's ok. Calm down."

Her instant reaction was to reach for her waist, in hopes of finding a weapon. She reached for her dagger, but gasped in surprise when her hand didn't find the hilt. It wasn't there…where was it? Actually, where was she? There was no recollection in her mind about entering a house. Heck, she didn't even know how far she ran. The last thing she vaguely remembers was having the poppy dust thrown at her…how far had she gone?

"You have no weapons on you. This little blade is quite fancy though." A tall boy with raven black hair stood, twirling a small blade around in his hand. Rose glared, realising she had been searched while she was unconscious.

"That's mine." She growled, clenching her fist.

"And you could kill us with it. We should turn her over to the authorities." One with orange hair stepped forward, but the more Rose looked, the more he looked like the one behind him.

But that aside, she was angry. "I don't need a knife to kill you."

She lunged upward from the ground with little to no effort. Her hands were outstretched ready to either claw or strangle him. But she felt herself halt mid-air, feeling her fabric of her collar tighten around her neck. "No." A big voice boomed, and she turned behind her to see a really tall teenager. Easily older than her, and twice as strong.

Her first instinct was to kick back, in attempt to hit in in the side, but he was fast. It was almost as if he had read her mind, his hand took hold of her incoming leg, and she pushed her to the ground.

Rose was in shock, and so were the others in the room. The teen holding her lifted her to her knees, holding her in place with her arms twisted painfully behind her back. When she tried to struggle, she felt the grip on her arm get tighter and ultimately more painful.

"Now, princess," A blonde stepped forward, with beautiful violet eyes. "Would you please tell us know who you are?"

She just glared at him, keeping quiet. For all she knew, they could be spies for the king. And she fell right into their trap. She felt so stupid walking into here without taking note of anything. The poppy dust didn't help much either. Her glare did not falter, keeping locked with those violet eyes.

That was until she heard her name, "Rose…" The second one with orange hair stated.

Their identical faces twisted into a smirk, "Her name is Rose." The other one said.

She blinked, temporarily shocked with what they were saying. They knew her name straight away, "You're wrong." She lied, glare plastered on her face, staring at the second one. His amber eyes looked playful, but devilish, probably slightly more than the other identical boy.

"Your dagger says otherwise." The one was jet black hair says, looking at the blade in his hands. He eyed the hilt, where a small engraving of a rose was, alongside her name. This was always her back up knife. The one she would pull out if she needed it, but she never usually did. So she forgot about it most of the time. It's always hidden in her boot.

She never thought that her dagger would get the best of her. "I stole it." She looked back at the ground. Her gaze didn't even look up as she heard footstep approach her.

Tiny little feet entered her gaze, easily the size of a ten year old boy. "Why are you lying?" She felt herself shudder at the voice, as a chill went down her spine. She felt her stomach tighten, and wondered why she felt so scared of a little kid. He bend down, lifting her chin so she would look at him.

Her emerald green eyes met golden brown ones, who both terrify and calm her. What's with her? Why is she feeling so…different? Why does everything feel so hazy? With all these conflicting feelings, it's rather…odd.

She watched the she boy in front of her, his face stoic made her stomach sick, but it then twisted into a bright, innocent smile, "Why Rose-chan?"

Rose was taken back, and she relaxed slightly, though she was still alert. She was a trained spy after all. And you never let your guard down.

"Bliss-senpai, stand back she could be dangerous." One of the orange haired boy's stated, looking at her with cautious eyes. This was the same one who accused her earlier.

She growled, wanting to say that she's only dangerous when provoked, but the girl spoke up, "She's not dangerous." She states simply.

Her eyes raised in surprise, hearing those words. She's not dangerous? Fight me and you'll find out.

"Canid…what are you on about? She tried attacking Shady!" The second orange haired twin argue.

"Would you quit calling me that?" The girl rolled her eyes, "We aren't in town anymore."

Out of the seven people in the room, she now knew three. Bliss, the small, childlike one. Candid, the short girl with the pixie cut brown hair, and Shady. The one she has a strange need to kill…but for some reason, even if she had the chance, she didn't think she could. But why is the question.

She, and her rebel crew, classify her as a killer, due to the fact that she can kill if she needs to. Heck, she can kill if she wanted to. But, there was just something about it.

"Let her go." The blonde demands, taking charge.

Rose noted everyone's worried expressions, they all looked to him with surprise, whilst some looked on in fear.

The response was almost immediate. Her arms were dropped, and she was free. The tall boy beside her stood up, leaving her on the floor.

She began to chuckle, standing to her feet. "Did you really think that was a good idea?" She smirked, looking at the scared twin, "I could kill you all, just like that. And you're willing to let me go?"

Everyone stood around, watching carefully, all tense and stiff. "Because you're not going to do it." The girl says walking straight up to her, looking her dead in the eye, before smiling naturally. There was no fear in that smile, just pure trust and calmness.

Those emotions spread from that one smile, flooded Rose, giving her conflicted feelings inside.

"You're meant to be a thief, a spy, an assassin!" She thought to herself, "You're meant to kill those who get in your way." And she knew that, but there was something about this girl, but Rose couldn't put her finger on it.

"I'm right. No matter what you think of yourself." The girl smiled, "You don't kill. I saw it, in the market place. You guys didn't like anyone." Rose was just frozen, looking at the smiling girl in front of her. Her sweet smile and doe like eyes.

Looking back, she didn't kill anyone that fight, and Che' only injured the archers, as far as she was aware. Come to think of it, why didn't she kill anyone? When she really thought about it, did she ever kill anyone? Sure, she'd drawn blood on a tonne of people, but never directly killed them. Could she kill?

The blonde jumps in next to her, smiling idiotically, "Well, if my darling daughter trusts you, why don't we get our introductions out of the way!" He shouts, posing like a pretty boy. "Welcome Princess, you are currently in the presence of the Asteria Host Club, where gentlemen with too much time on their hands, entertain ladies, who also have too much time on their hands." He introduces, smiling with roses around him.

"With, the added bonus of making a small fortune out of it." The one with glasses says, pushing up his glasses.

"Our members include, Sturdy, our wild type." He motions to the tall guy who held her down before, "Bliss, our Lolita type." Then to the blond short boy standing next to him. "Our Devil Types, Shady and Shifty." Those were the twins, "Crafty, the cool type," That was the one with glasses, "And Candid, our Natural type." The girl rolled her eyes at that name.

It was honestly ridiculous. Who has names like that? Shady? Crafty? What? Rose didn't get it.

"And I, am Princely," He bowed, attempting to take her hand, but she moved it out of his way. So, instead he blew her a kiss. "The Prince type."

"Oh shut up senpai. You're not princely, you're Moody." The girl, Candid, snapped at him, causing him to run and cower in the corner.

He rocked back and forth, "Mummy! Candid told me I'm Moody again!" He cried and the one with glasses, Crafty sighed, scribing in a blank book.

"It's not my problem."

The twins came up to her, looking her up and down, "What are you wearing?" They judged.

A tight, white long sleeved shirt with a brown vest/corset on top. Dark green shorts and black boots. "Clothes?"

They raised their eyebrows at each other, "Uh huh…"

"You look kinda, pretty." Shady spoke first, eyeing the girl off with a cheeky grin, walking around her like she was prey.

"You make those clothes look good." Said the second twin Shifty, following in his brother's footsteps.

Candid pushed them out of the way, "Leave her alone guys." She extended her hand, "Please, call me Haruhi."

Rose took her hand, "Pleasure, but I should get going. You know," She says backing away, "Things to steal, people to kill." Her footsteps head towards the door, but find it locked. Her first instinct was to kick down the decorative door, but thought against it, "Can someone unlock this for me?"

Crafty steps forward, "Those doors are locked until morning, you must stay here for the night."

"Night?" She looked out the window, it was early hours of the night. How long was she out for? It was still daylight when she came in…

She hadn't noticed that everyone began to move up the stairs towards their rooms, leaving her and Crafty standing there. "You know, I don't trust you." He says simply.

Rose was unphased, "My thoughts exactly."

"Come this way," He says, leading her to the room where everyone had seemed to disappear to.

….

The moon shone brightly, rising high, bringing with it cold winds, and beautiful stars. That's what she saw looking out the window from her makeshift bed on the floor. Noting more than a blanket on the floor with a pillow to rest her head. Not to mention a shackle which tied her wrist to the end of a bed.

But she was not having it, she would escape.

Tonight.

The glimmer on the night stand, next to Sleeping Moody over there. She manoeuvred her body so her feet were close to the night stand. She was locked just far enough away not to be able to touch it, but, it was a good thing the pin hung slightly over the edge.

With one quick kick, she was able to fling the pin through the air, like a projectile missile rocketing towards its target. She outstretched her hand, waiting for it to fall into her hand.

And it did, perfectly.

She twirled the pretty little clip in her hand, before shoving it into the key hold on the chain around her wrist. It entered with a small 'click'.

From the corner of her eye, she froze, watching Shady turn in his sleep at the sound. He stilled again, and she let out the breath she did realise that she had been holding. She rolled her eyes and smiled, thinking to herself that this lock would be easier to pick than the door. In moments, the shackles unlocked and she slid the pillow under the falling object, silently catching it.

And with that, she was free.

She smirked to herself, as she creeped out of the room, and down the stairs, "Simple." Rose thought to herself, sneaking through the living room and towards the door.

In the dark room, she could see the outline of gold patterns on the back of the door. To be honest, she was confused. These people had so much money, and they spent it on door decorations? God damn rich bastards.

The cold metal of the door handle sent a small chill up her arm, as she slowly turned it, hearing the click of the door unlocking. So what if she left behind a dagger? They can keep it as a reminder. A reminder of as to why she didn't kill them.

Why didn't she though?

Well, they were innocent. Despite locking her in a house. If they wanted to, they could have killed her, but they didn't. Hell, they could have turned her over to the royal guards, but, all they did was lock her up, not that it was hard to escape.

The forest was silent, aside from her almost audible footsteps. She just had to get out of here, but she didn't know where here was. She needed a land mark, or well, something. Rose knew these woods like the back of her hand, or at least she thought she did. She had never seen that house, and she didn't recognise these trees. This part of the woods were completely new to her.

That's when she picked up the sound of crunching footstep in the leaf litter, that weren't her own.

She flipped behind a tree, making her breathing light as she pressed up against it.

The footsteps continued on for a few more steps, until she heard them stop.

Cautiously, she peaked out around the side of the tree. The dark figure she saw moved their head left and right, clearly looking for the hidden girl.

So, she attacked,

She jumped out from behind the tree, with a battle cry in order to scare them.

The figure let off a shriek, as she tackled them to the ground, holding her butterfly pin to their neck.

Her pin is probably the most useful thing she owns. With the wings up, it looks like a butterfly, but pull the wings down, and a blade appears out of the butterfly's threat. "Give me one good reason as to why I shouldn't kill you right now?"

"Stop, stop! It's me, Shady!" The voice cries out, struggling under her weight.

Her killer instincts stopped and she lightened her grip on the blade, "Shady?"

A breeze in the trees moved the canopy aside, allowing the moonlight to shine on his face, illuminating his beautiful amber eyes.

She sat back, allowing him to relax and sink into the ground with relief. "Thank god. That was terrifying!"

Rose just realised how she was sitting on him, she was straddling his waist. Shady looked at her, noticing the situation, before he smirked.

She stood up before he could say anything. "Go home." It was more of a demand than a request.

"Why are you leaving?" He asks slowly standing up.

She ignores him with a roll of her eyes before continuing on her way.

Rose had a mission, and nothing was going to stop her.

"Rose, wait!" Shady shouts running after her, grabbing her wrist to stop her moving forward.

She glared at him, "let go."

"I want to show you something." He says, as he begins to drag her somewhere.

"I told you to let go! I'm on a mission Hikaru!" She shouts, blinking, confused as to why she shouted that name, "Shady." She corrected herself.

Shady smirked, "call me what you want. I still want to show you something." He says, eyes full of mischief, wonder and beautiful hope. "Once I show you, I promise I won't stop you from leaving."

She sighed, rolling her eyes. He's not going to give up, is he?

"Fine."

She saw the glint in his eye shine with excitement, as she agreed. So, he dragged her by her wrist, through the forest. "You're going to like it here." He tried to re assure her, but she's not convinced.

She has to find Winter, Che', James, Liam and Yuki. They're all in trouble, who knows where they are. If they're safe, or if they got away.

A feeling of guilt and regret flooded her stomach, and she felt it twist at the thought of her companions' fates.

It was all her fault, and there was nothing she could do. Right now, her best option was to find Winter, and hope that she help track them down.

"We're here." She broke out of her thoughts at those words. Looking at a beautiful creek, reflecting the moonlight in a stunning fashion.

The rocks were all smooth, after years of erosion and weathering. But it made it look pretty.

"What do you think?" He asked, looking at the girl who was awestruck.

She blinked a few times, snapping out of it. "It's amazing." She whispered, and he smiled, taking off his shirt, revealing a very toned, pale body.

That surprised her too, and he noticed her staring, "see something you like?"

She rolled her eyes at his flirtatious nature, "not particularly," she walked towards the edge of the water, placing her hands in it to feel the temperature, "it's freezing!" She noted, looking back to Shady.

He was now in his underwear, and it took all her effort not to stare at something she shouldn't. She never felt like this when she saw Liam and James semi naked, so why did she feel like this now?

"You want to go swimming? In that temperature?" She asked as he walked towards the water, splashing through the shallow shore.

"It's nice! Come on." He beaconed her in with his arm.

"I thought we were just looking?" She folder her arms in front of her, and rolling her eyes.

Rose turns her back on him, leaving to go find her friends, when cold droplets of water touched her skin, making her gasp in surprise. "You didn't,"

She heard him laugh, before turning around. "Come on," she saw him getting out of the water, moonlight shining off the water on his skin. She walked up towards him, ready to push him back into the water.

"I don't have time for stupid things like swimming! I have people to find! Lives to save!" She began shoving him in the chest, "I'm on a mission to take down the King!" She shoved him once again, "I do not have time for stupid shi-"

Splash

Her words were cut short as she gasped when she hit the water. Her whole body was soaked with water as the cold creek seeped into her clothes. "What the hell!" She shouted pushing her dripping hair from her eyes. She noticed that he had fallen in beside her. She began to walk out of the water, infuriated with the childish behaviour.

How does he think that a girl would like to be thrilled to be thrown into the water? Does he not know how to act as a person on his own? "You're infuriating!" She growled, before she felt his hands snake their way around her waist, dragging her back into the water with a laugh.

As she was dragged back into the water, her hand scraped the bottom of the creek, catching the mud and sand, slapping it in his face. "Pleh," he spat out the parts that were on his lips, and trying to wipe the mud from his eyes, "Gross…" He muttered to himself.

Rose began to smile, probably for the first time since she left her friends. A genuine smile turned into a giggle, before finally, she just couldn't help but laugh. And soon, they both were laughing.

She was actually laughing. He made her laugh.

Shady flicked the mud back at her, before ducking under the water to clean himself up. She took off her boots, throwing them onto the shore, before doing the same to her shirt. She then dove deep under the water, letting her hair flow around like a mermaid. She bent her legs to push herself off the bottom of the river.

But she didn't get very far. One of the rocks she pushed against must have slipped, trapping her foot with a bad pain.

She felt a small bit of panic rise in her chest, as she realised how little air she had in her stomach. She mentally smacked herself for being so ignorant and so careless in a river bed she hadn't been in before.

The lack of oxygen in her brain started to take its toll as she began to feel lightheaded. She tired pushing the rocks off her foot, just felt the algae of the slippery rocks make it so much harder.

Rose kept trying though, trying to push or pull them away, but to no luck.

She felt something grab he arm, running its hand down it before reaching for the rock she was trying to grab. The weight of the rock lifted off her foot before she felt something grab her around her waist.

Air filled her lungs as she began to violently cough, latching onto Shady as he held her above the water.

"Hey, it's ok." He said, pulling her tight with one arm, and stroking her hair with the other. Slowly, he began to head back towards the shore.

She broke free of him, crawling up the bank on her hands and knees, gasping for breath over and over again, worried that she was going to lose it. Rose has had some close calls with deaths before, but never anything like this caused by her own stupidity. She should never have gone swimming, even though that wasn't her fault. She knew that it would have been a bad idea, and she should never have let her guard down.

Especially for a boy.

"Come on, let's get you back." He said placing a hand on her back, but she slapped it away.

"This is your fault!" She growled between coughs. "Because if you guys, I couldn't leave to save my friends. You're the reason that I'm stuck here, and you're the reason that I almost drowned." She was angry, but part of her felt bad for shouting at him. He just saved her life.

"I just saved your life! A little thank you would be nice!" He snaps back, watching as she tried to stand up.

But it was almost impossible when pain shot through her ankle. Blood was dripping from it, her ankle was grazed, and highly likely sprained. She hissed in pain and Shady was by her side instantly, picking her up like a bride and carrying her back to the hidden mansion in the forest.

Asteria Castle

The King stalked back and forth, stomping his foot into the ground with every step. He was angry, furious even. He lost control of the Huntress, and his two head guards couldn't even capture her.

How was one human so hard to catch? She's outrun, outsmarted and outshone anyone who has come after her, but how? No person could be that lucky!

He found himself punching the wall, right next to where is magic Mirror sat.

The female in the Mirror spoke up, "I can tell you're angry, that much is clear." She said catching the young King's attention, "But I may have just found something that you might want to hear."

The King perked up, interested in what his mirror had to say. "Continue." He demanded.

"In the Marillan River I felt the energy of Rose. Laughing and swimming as if no one knows." The girls face disappeared in a swirl, before showing Rose in the River, with a boy that the King had never seen before.

He couldn't help but grin widely, "Where on the river is that?" He demanded, but the mirror turned back and shook her head.

"I do not know the exact position, but how about you use a location potion?" She responds, her face disappearing and turning into picture of a golden vile.

The King nods, smirking as he opens a chest, pulling out the exact vile that the mirror showed. It was almost an egg shape, with the lid in the shape of a golden flame. He quickly walked over to the shelf full of old book, pulling out the one about the old warn out book, larger than the average size. This wasn't light reading material at all.

He quickly pulled it open, flicking through pages, looking for the exact potion he needed. "Locator Potion…" He read the title of the page he opened. "The locator potion will allow one to track their victim for one sunrise and one sunset. The potion must enter the victim either by consumption or injection. This ensures that the spell stays with them for the brief period of time." He read aloud, groaning.

He looked back down at his book, before continuing to read, "Fortunately, this potion has been modified so that it'll track down its victim, and find its way into their body. Likely through cuts or open wounds."

That was just his luck then. He held the vile tightly as he headed out of the throne room.

So many thoughts raced through his mind, thoughts of power, and thoughts of control. It was almost within his grasp. Just one location potion away from having everything he very wanted, everything he dreamed of. The ultimate power.

Now, there was a way to reach the river, at the base of the castle. The Marillan River runs all over Asteria, and passes right under the Castle. This route is usually used as an escape, especially for those who lived in the castle.

The river ran under the castle, as a way of moving water through the castle. Not to mention the aesthetic of it.

The further down he went in the castle, the less kept it became. The brick walls looked perfectly polished, whereas down here, they were cracked and broken. If he hit them, they would crumble to dust. That's when he reached the dungeon, where they keep some of the more treasured criminals.

He looked in the open door, looking at a young girl sleeping on the floor. Her skin was dirty and her hair was a tatted mess. Her black locks were short, frosted white at the end. Pure white, almost like snow.

In the next cell over, there was another man, dressed in royal fire armour. He sat lying against the wall, head hung low, with dark red hair falling in front of his face.

"Stupid old man…" The king glared as he continued further down.

She sound of a small river flowed through his ears, making its way out and through the village. He inspected the vile once more, before popping the top off. The steam, if you could call it that, glittered yellow, giving the appearance that there was gold there. "Find her…" His voice full of determination, greed, and almost lust.

It began to grow warm in his hand, as the magic began swirling around, knowing its task. "Find Roselle."

He poured the contents in the river, and they almost sprouted to life, like it was alive. It sped through the water, away from the castle, following the energy trace of the girl it was looking for.

It began swimming faster and faster, using the current to aid in its mission. It tracked her energy, feeling the trace grow stronger and stronger, until finally, it stopped.

It and found her.

There was a golden glow around her figure, as she swam through the water. It sat idle for a bit, before watching the girl completely submerge herself underwater.

It found its chance.

The potion sat on the river floor, spreading itself around the larger rocks on the bottom. Her foot hit the riverbed, just in front of her, and it struck her. Wrapping itself around her foot as she tried to push upwards, meanwhile, bringing a rock closer to trap her foot.

It dragged the larger rock over her foot, and watched as a small hint of red appeared in the river.

There was no time wasted as it sucked itself into her cut, letting go of the rock as another set of hands finally came down.

So what do you think? Am I doing ok with writing a chapter like this? Let me know what you think!

Until Next Time!

Silva Out!