Now let's continue that story D. And yeah I don't own Basta, and all the other Funke characters... Maria's mine and don't you dare! insult her... She's a sweet kid. D D

Basta turned around and saw Maria run away in complete distress. He left the body fall to the ground with a dead sound and felt disgusted with himself. For a second, he felt what she must have felt: sickness to the bones with the blood and his own cruelty. He ran after her with no other thought. He hardly knew what to say. Nothing could mend this. Nothing could make it better.

Maria was sitting and crying beneath an oak tree. Basta came slowly towards her, less swiftly than usual. He felt awkward and gross when she didn't look up when he said her name. He sat next to her but she moved away. In some time her sobbing stopped, but the tears continued to stream down her face.

"I am not stupid and I am not a child," she said with surprisingly strong voice. "I knew you did something horrid for a living. And killing is horrid.That, surprisingly,doesn't sicken me. What I can't understand…. what I will never be able to understand is why did you have to do it this way…that cruelty, that monstrous torture. If I didn't care for you I would gladly revenge his death. I know you shouldn't be able to read… what if Capricorn learns about all the books you have stored and read slowly over when no one's looking." She hadn't looked at him while she spoke but at "cruelty" she looked straight at him. For the first time ever Basta felt guilt climbing across his chest and nesting in his throat. He tried to say something but he couldn't produce even a hoarse whisper. When he heard the rest of it he thought that may be he did deserve a punishment. Any punishment.

"What I saw makes me realize that you can never love. You can't have any emotions if you can sleep normally after doing such...actions. I ... want to leave if that offer still stands."

"God, it hurts to say this .It hurts even after this", she thought.

"Don't do this," he said with such pain in his voice that her heart ached. "If you leave me, I wouldn't be human anymore. Everything that was even slightly normal and good will leave me with you."

"I'm sorry. I can't stay with you."

He slammed the tree next to her head and left without a word.

Maria broke down as she heard his footsteps… "He is walking away," was her only thought.

The two of them were so engulfed in their own private fight that neither of them noticed Flatnose, listening to their conversation. He was spying for information that would help Cockerel. He was smart enough to realize that "if Basta broke the rules and Cockerel betrayed him it'd be like killing two hens with one bullet… or wait was it two sparrows with one ax?" Anyway, he knew that Cockerel'd be happy with Basta punished and Maria, a possible reward from Capricorn, in his hands. He went quickly away, happy with his findings.

When you walk away
I count the steps that you take.
Do you see how much I need you right now?

When you're gone
The pieces of my heart are missing you.
When you're gone
The face I came to know is missing too.

This is it for this chappie, folks. Review, if you want it continued.