Wanted to try writing in Arno's side of the previous chapters. :)

Sorry for the wait! I literally had just gotten home about an hour ago. :P

Enjoy another late update!

- K

ARNO'S POV:

"Nicolette Renae Lutant," Benjamin says as he hands me a small piece of paper with the woman's name, her address, and her work place written on it. "Are you sure this is her?" I asked him. He nodded, "I had asked many of the townspeople, and they all gave me the same name. However, a few told me that she instead goes by the last name deCorvo, as it was her mother's before her passing." I moved my hands up to lift my hood over my head. As I was about to head out, Benjamin stops me once again. "I don't think I should remind you of the importance of this mission, Arno. The mission is above all. If needed be, grant the woman her demise." I pushed that thought away, not wanting to think about the possibility of making that thought a reality. I simply nodded at him before continuing my way. It was unfamiliar to me, having a woman as my target. I just hope this Nicolette woman gives me no reason to have to force the information out from her. I was not that kind of man, and nor do I intend to be.

I turned the corner to right before seeing Le Cafè de Mia where, according to Benjamin, the woman works her days. Opening the door, I was greeted by a group of cheering men, clanking their tankards no doubt filled with either rhum or beer as a flushed face woman handed out their platters. She looks up to meet my gaze and, after finishing up on her current table, heads over to me. She leads me to a vacant table. "Please wait a moment monsieur. One of us will tend to you soon," she says before heading to the kitchen through small shutters-like doors.

As she goes in, another woman walks out holding a platter perfectly balanced in her right hand as her left hand held a tankard, its contents slightly spilled as she made her way to the man sitting on the table to my right. Olive skin and dark brown hair fixed in a bun, she matched the physical description Benjamin had told me earlier.

"Here you are," she says as she carefully placed the man's platter and tankard in front of him. While she did so, I saw him slip his hand in the pocket of her apron. I could tell she noticed too as she stepped away from him, reaching inside the little pocket before pulling out twenty assignats. I looked back at the man, studying his face when he suddenly pulls Nicolette down into his lap. She struggled to get off him but his hands remained unmoved on her waist.

"Let go of me, you pig," she says to him to which he moves in closer to whisper something in her ear. I saw her face cringed and her eyes flicker with fear when I noticed something moving from underneath the ends of her dress. When it started to move upwards, no doubt towards the delicate spot between her legs, I realized what the man was doing.

That bastard! As I was about to stand up and make my way to them, the woman, who somehow managed to free her left arm from his grip, elbowed the man hard. I heard a sharp exhale of breath coming from him as he reluctantly let her go. "Stay away or I'll give you a black eye for your twenty." Her voice was laced with venom as she threatened him.

I snickered, amused at the scene playing out in front of me. Out of nowhere, she turns to look at me. I felt my breath get caught in my throat as her piercing dark green eyes looked into my hazel ones. I was certain she couldn't see me under my hood, but if she could, she would gaze upon the face of a stunned man; stunned by the beauty that stood a distant in front of me. It felt like time was slowing down as I took in her features. Shorter strands of brown hair framed her heart shaped face and long eyelashes surround her captivating eyes. She was simply breathtaking.

"I'll get to you in a minute, monsieur," she says to me before making her way back to the kitchen. Her voice was angelic, and I found myself wanting to hear her voice say the syllables of my name when I suddenly remembered why I was here in the first place. I shook my head, trying to bring myself back to reality. The mission is above all.

It felt like centuries were passing by, waiting for Nicolette to come back out of the kitchen. I killed time by simply scanning the room I was in. The woman I saw when I first came in was sitting down and conversing with a man sitting by himself. She was laughing a little too loudly and occasionally touching his forearm when kitchen doors opened once again to reveal a redheaded maiden, who gave the other woman a stern look, causing her to quickly get up from her seat and continue tending the costumers.

I chuckled quietly to myself, when suddenly the man on my right hurries to stand up, his gaze set on the window. Following it, I raised an eyebrow when I see Nicolette passing by with a shawl wrapped around her body. I turned my eyes back to the man to find him halfway out the door, a few coins at the table where he ate. I have a bad feeling about this, I thought to myself as I followed him out of the cafe.

Outside, I hid among the people that stopped for a chat in front of the cafe. My gaze was set on the man, curious as to what he was planning. I had a gut feeling, but I hoped to God it wasn't what I think it is. He was taking in his surroundings, obviously searching, before catching Nicolette's figure again. He waited until he was surely out of her sight before following her into the alleyway. It didn't take an idiot to realize what he was planning to do, and sure enough, I was a few feet behind him, tailing him from the rooftops.

It had been a few days since my encounter with the man and Nicolette in the alleyway. After she suddenly fainted, I was uncertain on what to do. I had come here to retrieve information from her, and this was the last thing I had expected to happen. Juggling my options, I decided that it'd be best to take her home. I didn't bother with the man. My blood boils just at the thought of what could've happened if I wasn't there to stop him. I simply left him lying against the blacksmith's shop's back door, not caring whether he was still alive or not.

I took care climbing up, jumping to, and scaling down buildings, not wanting to hurt the unconscious woman in my arms even more. As much as I would tell myself that I only cared about her well being for the sake of the mission, I knew deep down that it wasn't just that. I genuinely hoped that she was alright. I looked down at the limp body in my arms. Her face was beginning to pale and her forehead was starting to heat up. Her eyes were shut and her lips were slightly parted. If it wasn't for the rhythmic up and down movements of her chest, you would think she was dead at first glance. I would occasionally stop to check on her, which was why it took longer for me to get her home.

I easily got into one of the bedrooms on the second floor through an unlocked window. Placing her carefully on an empty bed, I felt her forehead again. Her fever seemed to have gone up. Not wasting any more time, I quickly located the washroom. Grabbing the nearest and cleanest washcloth within my reach, I wet it thoroughly before returning to Nicolette's side. I gently pushed away stray strands of hair before placing the cool and damp washcloth on her forehead. And then, I waited.

I remained seated on a wooden chair by her bedside for hours, occasionally checking on the washcloth and wetting it again whenever it heats up from her fever. Without any ill intentions, I also unbuttoned the top of her dress to lessen the constriction around her torso. After a while, her fever finally starts to die down and the rosy color that was once there appears on her cheeks again. I let out a sigh of relief, knowing that she'd be okay from here on.

As I was about to wash the cloth one last time, I heard the front door downstairs open. Leaving the damp yet warm washcloth where I originally found it, I quietly pushed the chair back to the wooden desk before jumping out the window. I grabbed onto the neighboring building's ledge, pulling myself up as I used the darkness of the sky to shadow myself from the view of the redheaded woman I had seen at the cafe earlier that day. She went over to tuck the thin blankets around Nicolette, before walking over to leave the window open ajar and blowing out the only candle in the room. Through the now moonlit room, I could see her slowly close the door.

Giving it a few moments, I leaped into the room again making sure not to cause any sudden noises. I sat down on the edge of the bed, looking over Nicolette's sleeping figure. She looked so peaceful, so angelic, the way her face was partly lit by the moon outside. Carefully leaning over, I gently gazed the back of my other hand against her cheek.

For some reason, I was enjoying the simple comfort of being in her presence, whether or not she was fully aware of it.