Me: Hey, guys! What's up? I'm grounded at the moment, so good thing I'm home alone right now, and they forgot to take the Wi-Fi with them! As promised, here is the next chapter. I hope you guys enjoy!

*To RoastedPorkchop: Thanks a lot! I'm sure your questions would be answered sooner or later ^^

By the way, I'm going to be switching from the third person POV to the first person POV now and then. I'll be specifying it, of course, but sorry if it bothers you :P

Also, just to clarify things, the previous chapter was sort of an omake, but it's connected to this chapter.

(SHOUT OUT TO MY TWINZIE! HAPPY BIRTHDAY!)

K $h1

Chapter 9: Bonds

Chrome loved Bianca – treasured her even, but she never said it out loud. Even in her previous life as Lily, she had never spoken of her affection towards Gabrielle out loud, instead, choosing to show it to her in her own little ways. It was her firm belief that actions spoke louder than words.

But Chrome knew that she hadn't really shown anything to Bianca, despite what she felt. The most she had probably done was let her dress her up in that pink thing during her birthday, though she doubted Bianca knew the extent of her feelings towards the dress.

Chrome sighed as she jumped from tree to tree, dodging all the traps her sensei had planted there as she ran away from angry hornets. The hornets didn't bother her much – they were actually helping her focus on her training. What she was worried about was the ongoing war.

Antonio and Elaina never spoke of what was happening, besides the usual 'It's fine' or 'No casualties at all'. Chrome was getting annoyed by it. She knew that they knew she didn't need to be babied like this – to be shielded from the gore of war.

She was a daughter, and her mother was fighting in the war. They had no form of communication, except for that one instance that her mother was able to send a letter to her. There were no more letters that came after that, making Chrome quite anxious.

Why were there no more letters? Was it because the Cuore did not stay at a definite location, or was it because they were in trouble? Were they avoiding the letters being traced back to this mansion, or was it… was it that they were gone?

Chrome shook her head as she dodged an arrow shot at her. That was impossible, right? How could Bianca lose? She was up against Charles, a guy in a wheelchair. What could he do?

But then again, he has a Famiglia at his back to support him. So does the Cuore, though. Agh, this is too nerve-wracking for me.

She didn't notice the arrow that aimed for her behind.

"FUCK YOU, SENSEI!"

K $h1

Somewhere, far away, a man wearing a mask was laughing as he placed down his cards. "Royal Flush."

His competitor was flabbergasted. He thought he was going to beat this little brat. How wrong he was. "Y-You!"

The man smirked. "You should've known better than to challenge me."

"W-Wait! I know you! You're –"

The man was dead before he could say anything else, the smirk growing wider on the other man's face.

A student getting tortured at the moment and this…

This is a really great day for me~

K $h1

Back with Chrome…

Chrome stretched her arms as she had finished the obstacle course. According to the agenda given to her by an eagle, presumably belonging to her sensei and acting as a messenger, it was finally time to take a well-deserved break. She grinned as she jumped from branch to branch, and finally, onto Bel's room's balcony. She tapped the window thrice and he opened it, sporting a grin similar to hers.

"Shishishi, the prince supposes that it's time for fun~?" he asked her.

Chrome nodded.

She was still staying in Bel's room. Thankfully, his family was leaving at the end of the week, and she was leaving tomorrow, so it worked well for her.

"What do you want to do?" she asked the blonde prince, who was twirling a knife in his hand.

"Annoy Siel," he responded with a smirk.

Chrome hadn't met the boy's twin yet, and she was nervous. Would it screw up the plot even more? But, her other worry was the fact that Rasiel didn't know she was crashing at Bel's room. Would he tell on her to spite his brother? Where would she stay?

"You sure about that?" she bit her lip.

Bel shrugged. "Why not?"

Well, if all else fails, it would just be one night of camping in the woods, she decided.

"Alrighty, then."

K $h1

As the kids were having fun at the kingdom, Chrome's sensei was walking around and sending flirtatious winks to blushing females. He went into an alleyway and placed an illusion over himself. He walked forward, stepping carefully on the cement. Once his foot collided with something, he smirked and stomped on the area. A door opened to his right and he went in, shutting the door behind him discreetly.

Once inside, he glanced at the woman sitting on the chair, looking anxious and a little dirty. "You called for me?"

And though it was a question, he had made it sound more like a statement – an accusation, maybe.

"Yes, I did. Don't tell me I don't even have the right to do so," she replied, sighing. "How is she?"

"Doing well. She's undergoing some survival training right now, and she'll be back in two days' time," he replied, adding, "if I remember to come back for her, that is."

She sighed again, giving him a small, tired glare. "Why do you hate her? She's done nothing to you. You weren't even there when she was born, or even when it was her birthday. Why?"

He didn't reply, pressing his lips into a firm line.

"Answer me, Ry—" she started until he glared at her with such malice, effectively shutting her up.

"Don't call me that," he told her.

She was startled before she frowned. "That's your name. I'm allowed to call you that. Now, answer me."

Silence.

Her eyebrow twitched until she sighed again, massaging her forehead with her thumb and index finger. "Fine, don't. Just please, at least show some concern for her."

He scoffed, crossing his arms. She was treating him as if he was a little kid again – as if he wasn't someone with power, as if he was –

"If you called me just for that, then I'm leaving," he said, turning around.

Before he could make it to the exit, she called out to him once more, "If you won't do it for me, at least do it for your father."

"I won't do it for that son of a bitch."

"Then, at least keep your promise. Please…" she said desperately.

He walked out, slamming the door behind him.

K $h1

It was nighttime, and Bel and Chrome were covered up by the soft, thick blanket on the bed. They were sweating, but had grins on their faces.

"I must admit, that was awesome," Chrome said, laughing softly as she did.

"Shishishi, but of course. It was the prince's idea, after all." Bel had said, stretching his arms.

Chrome had stopped laughing and was looking out the window. The stars were twinkling, and the crickets were chirping. Everything seemed normal – at peace, even.

"I wish there weren't any wars…"

It was meant to be a private thought, but she had unknowingly let it out of her mouth. Bel looked at her curiously, as she froze.

"I… well… it wasn't…" she tried to say, but he had cut her off, "Why does the peasant think so?"

"…It's a stupid thing to do. Wars… disputes… all the fighting… shouldn't they be resolved through peaceful means? Negotiations, meetings… there are so many peaceful ways of going by it. Why do we have to fight? Why do we have to sacrifice our lives?" she responded quietly. "We give our blood and lives to protect what's precious to us, but surely, we don't need to go that far… right?"

Bel was silent, simply listening to what she was ranting about, but she appreciated it. It was nice to have someone listen to her like this, and more importantly, someone who understood.

"Violence… it should be a last resort, and not our main weapon. It's a waste of lives… I mean, innocents are caught up in the war. They don't deserve to die, but they do, just because two different groups of people couldn't find it in themselves to settle things peacefully," she continued.

When she hadn't added anything, Bel asked her, "…What brought this on, peasant?"

He wasn't concerned, oh, no, he wasn't. But the peasant was acting different, and far from her usual self. She was thinking about something beyond her physical age, and that interested him. She was someone he didn't want to share with anyone else. She was, dare he say it, his friend – maybe even his best friend, not that he'd admit it out loud.

"My mother's fighting in a war right now," she replied. "I haven't heard from her at all… it's worrying. I've never even given her a proper 'I love you'. I've never even shown her how much I cared. And what if, when I come back home, I find out that she's gone?"

He frowned. He was never good at comforting females – or anyone in general, but for her, he supposed he'd try. "…The prince is sure that the peasant's mother cares for her, as well, and the prince knows that she knows the peasant cares too."

"How would you know…?" she asked, burying her head in the pillow underneath her.

"Because the prince is a prince," he replied with confidence.

She nodded, and smiled, beginning to doze off, but not before he heard her whisper a 'thank you' to him.

He felt proud of himself.

K $h1

From up above where the two kids slept, Chrome's sensei scowled as he watched Chrome snuggle with Bel. It was an innocent, childish act, but it still annoyed him greatly.

Why her, anyways? He was the best at what he did. He was smart, cunning, and he was confident enough in his abilities to take down a whole Famiglia single-handedly. So, why?

He supposed this started the moment his father left – the moment everything had changed for him.

A gust of wind passed by, removing the hood he kept up. Dark – almost black – hair was ruffled by the wind as he scoffed, and disappeared in a flash.

K $h1

Sneak Peek

Chapter 10: A Change

"What are you talking about? This is bullshit."

"I'm not—"

"You're lying, sensei! This is the worst thing you've done about all the other stuff you've done or said to me!"

"Like I said –"

"You're wrong!"

She was so surprised by the tears that came out from the mask that she almost didn't hear the 'I'm sorry' that came out from his mouth.

K $h1

Me: Ooh, some drama for the next chapter! I feel excited since it'll almost be time for me to make a time-skip, not to mention the fact that there'll be quite a twist in the coming chapters. I hope you guys are as excited as I am for the coming chapters, because I can't wait to start writing them!

I'll be updating on the second week of January, possibly on January 7. I'll be updating every two weeks now, too ^^

See you next time!