How many hours has it been that she was working at the lock? The shoved the bone into the lock and forced it around, begging to hear a clink and have the door open. By now she was covered in cold sweat and her arms were sore from the work. The bone was getting greasy in her hands and it slipped around her grasp. The more she twisted the broken bone, the less faith she had.

Less faith in her chance of getting out, less faith in the Phantomhives doing anything to help her get out.

Finally, the bone was wedged in so much that it would hardly be moved. She tried to pull it back out, but it held fast. What was worse than the bone not opening the lock was that it was stuck inside the keyhole. She groaned and stepped back, grabbing her scalp in frustration. She didn't want to die here. Not alone. The worse kind of death was the lonely ones. Frustrated at everything, she imagined Sebastian's idiotic smirking face and slammed her heel on the lock. It didn't budge at all, but when she recoiled, a click was heard and the bone fell out on the other side.

Heart beating fast, she pushed the cell door a little. It moved with the tiniest screech. Her heart leapt and she turned back to the skeleton, silently giving thanks to whoever's dead body that was. She also thanked her friends that died before her, just for the reason of being grateful.

Her next task was how she was going to escape. She wasn't sure if the policemen were still on the other side. She looked into the other cells; everyone was fast asleep. She could've escaped out the window...if she were as small as a worm maybe. She had to get creative.

She opened the only door to the office a tiny bit. It was dark and there weren't any sounds. Opening it enough for her to slip through, she crouched to avoid being seen, stopping every minute to listen. There were no sounds, so she stood up. There was still no sound. She suspected every police to have left to gone home. Her handcuffs clinked against each other as she found familiar-looking objects strewn over a table.

"Oh, for the love of...!" She muttered.

Her tarot cards were ripped out from the pack, some were on the floor and some in a messy pile on the desk. The green pouch was not a pouch anymore, just a ragtag piece of fabric. She gathered them up gently and cradled them in her arm, as if they were her baby. She looked around for something to hold them and grabbed a beret from the desk nearby. She counted the amount of cards she had, as she could not identify them in detail. There were 21 cards. Sighing a breath of relief, she put the beret on, squashing the cards safely on her head.

Of course, the front door was locked.

She was already frustrated and eager to get out. In a sense of 'you only live once', she grabbed the nearest chair and threw it at the window as hard as she could. It shattered easily, although the hole in the glass was quite small. She used a metal book holder to chip away the bottom of the hole to make it bigger and side-stepped out.

"I can't believe I just did that!" she muttered to herself, not sure if that was worth congratulations or not.

Hardly any of the servants could eat. The act of cooking breakfast seemed trivial now. Although they hinted many times that they should rescue Merianna, Ciel replied that he was not going to and ended the conversation. It had been a week since her initial arrest, and they heard no more from her. Their hearts leapt when they found that the police station had been broken into, but nothing else was stated except that security was very lax at stations now.

Life continued on for Ciel Phantomhive. He carried whatever orders the Queen had or dealt with other clients. He made sure that the Midford family was alright after the crash at the debutante ball (terrible earthquake indeed, they said) and that the ring was returned to its rightful owner. Although Lady and Lord Midford berated the servant that he had with him (no offence to you of course, Earl, they said), Elizabeth seemed to have forgiven Ciel with all her heart.

Sebastian knocked on his door and informed him that Officer Aberline was at the door. Ciel replied to send him to the parlour and to wait for him there.

When Ciel entered, Fred Aberline was already seated, and was in conversation with Meirin. His entrance interrupted them and Meirin stood up, excusing herself from the cold gaze he gave her. She closed the doors after her and left them. Aberline greeted Ciel with a handshake and let him sit down opposite to him.

"Ciel, when I was patrolling the jail cells a few days ago I...well...stumbled onto someone you might know..." He started.

"No one." He answered flatly.

"Well, Ciel. It's just that...she was..."

"This conversation is over, Officer Aberline."

Ciel Phantomhive stood up to leave.

"The next day, she wasn't there anymore."

He stopped.

"...That has nothing to do with me. If you're here to accuse me, I assure you that I was not in town those last few days and have various alibis to prove it."

Aberline stood up. "No, Ciel. It's not like that. I want to know who she is."

"There's nothing to know, Mr. Aberline. She lived as a street-rat and will die as a street-rat."

Everything seemed to have returned to normal, even on the streets. The thieves were prospering, more food was being served to them by the adults and no one seemed to even recognize the name of the once-girl of the group. The adults were urging the children to plan more elaborate attacks, perhaps even breaking into a jeweller's store or a blacksmith's.

Today, Oliva led his group of peers through the streets, along with Cuffs. It was the same routine as always. The smaller kids would badger a couple for some money, sometimes receiving some. Cuffs, as the young gentleman, would shoo them away from the couple, blabbering about society's morals and dusting them off. They would all run away before they noticed that Cuffs had nicked whatever he could get his hands on.

On their break, they would return to their hideout and drop off whatever spoils they had and grab a bit of bread and head out again. The kids bugged Cuffs for more food, knowing that one slice of bread couldn't possibly last them more than five seconds. He squatted down and pointed at the newspaper boy across the busy street. The giggled excitedly and he told them to stay put.

He stuffed his bread into his pocket and strode across the street. He asked the boy a bit smaller than him his name and what the world was up to today.

"Well, sir. If you wanna buy a copy of this newspaper-"

"Ah, newspaper." Cuffs started, grabbing a copy and opening it up. "What toils does the world bring us today?"

He circled around him, locating the boy's pockets.

"Yeh! Have you heard of the earthquake? It shook up this poor lady's ball yesterday and she was having a fit because of it! Just fifty pence for the whole story!"

"You know whut, little lad? I ain't sure it's so good to be makings stories about the hardships of people. Maybe we ain't helping 'em any by making a big story out of it." He continued.

Thinking that he was going to make a great sale, the newspaper boy continued, not even noticing that half of his money was gone now.

"Oh, I agree, sir! But you know, I gotta make some money somehow." He mused. "So how about it? Just fifty pence and I'll go home a rich boy!"

Cuffs ruffled the boy's head, also taking the small handkerchief from his front pocket with the other hand. He replaced the newspaper and continued down the road, suddenly making a break across the road and back to where he let the boys.

"Hey, let's get usselves some apples today, fellas!" He yelled.

But there were no response. In fact, the boys weren't even there. His eyes darted around, trying to locate a herd of young rowdy boys. The adults would kill him if he lost them to police or if they got lost and trodden on by horses on the road. He called out some of their names while running along the roads, causing attention to be drawn towards him.

"Hey! Croc-Ees! Trip-Links! Oliva?"

They were glancing at a bunch of crates in the familiar alleyway, and a familiar person sat there, quietly chewing on an apple.

"Blood-Eyes, Blood-Eyes, cries so much her eyes turn red!" Trip-Links began.

They other cheered on, and the ones that didn't know the chant, began to learn it. Cuffs stood still, hoping that she didn't see him at the end of the alley. He couldn't leave the boys, but he didn't want to have to talk to her either. He was surprised that she didn't react at all to the cruel rhyme and she sat there, eating away at the apple. She was not in the same clothes as last time either, being dressed in what looked like a ripped nightgown that sat just over her knees. (No, he's not a pervert)

"Hey, you got any money, Blood-Eyes?" Oliva poked.

She didn't reply.

"Hey, boys. Let's go. I gots the money already." Cuffs yelled.

"Yeah, yeah." Oliva replied. "But what if she's got more?"

Although she was almost twice his size, he held a hand to her shoulder and pushed her off the crate. She moved, but didn't fall over. She merely moved aside, but dropped her apple on the ground.

"Besides," he snickered. "It's always easier to steal from a gir-"

He suddenly stopped mid-sentence. Merianna didn't react either, but had her head limp and was slowly reaching to the apple on the ground. The group of boys suddenly started backing away.

"What's wrong?" Cuffs asked, still staying his distance away.

They started screaming and running to Cuffs. They grabbed his long coat and hid behind it, yelling and pointing at Merianna. Or rather, the crate she was sitting on. Now that there was no weight on it, a bit of it was uncovered to show what looked like mushy flesh and an eyeball peering out. There was definitely a corpse packing in there.

"C'mon, Cuffs, let's run! She's gone lunatic!" they wailed, tugging at his coat.

He turned back to Ghost-Walker. The first thing he noticed was the shiny metal clasped around her wrists. The second was that she still stood there, unmoving. It was like she did not even notice them as she took a bite out of the apple in her hand. He turned away and led the boys out of the alleyway.

"So what did the Officer say?" Finnian whispered.

The three of them met in the gardens, discussing Meirin's conversation with Fred Aberline. She was told that Merianna was put into the jail cell, but at night she must have broken out. The police never check on the prisoners held there, except for Officer Aberline. He had wanted to ask the white-haired girl about the Phantomhive house the next day, but she was no longer there. The other police though someone had broken into the station and monopolized everything on their desks. The money was missing, so were the other prisoners.

Officer Aberline deduced that she broke out somehow and threw the chair at the window to climb out. Thieves must have seen the open window and went for everything they could. Right as Meirin was about to ask Mr. Aberline to find her, the Young Master entered and she had to leave.

Bardroy lit up a cigarette, begging Meirin and Finny not to tell on him.

"What's the use?" Finny cried. "It's not like she's ever coming back!"

"There's only one thing we can do then, if she can't come back..." Bardroy concluded. "We'll just have to find her in the town then, on our own!"

"What are you guys doing?"

They were surprised to see Ciel and Sebastian behind them.

"N-N-Nothing at all, Young Master!" Meirin shrieked.

The group split. Ciel looked each one of them in the eye.

"Why did you tie ribbons on the Juliette roses, Finny?" He asked.

He stepped back. "Young Master, I haven't touched them at all, except for watering them. I thought it was you that did that." He admitted.

"If I recall correctly," Sebastian added. "Juliette roses will only bloom a certain amount of flowers by this time. The ones that Merianna cut off would not have regrown."

Ciel held a hand to his chin.

"Young Master..." Finny mumbled. "It is possible...that it was her..."

"What?" He said sharply.

"I...Uh...I know...Maybe she cut the stems off the ones she took...she maybe...tied it back onto the plant...that way they regrew back..."

He looked at him and made his way towards it, the servants following hurriedly.

"Sebastian...untie it..."

He obeyed and undid the ribbon. Although there was a light-coloured scar where the rose stem was cut, it held together now, almost as if nothing had ever happened.

"That idiot...if she fixed it as easily like this, she didn't have to take up work here!" He grunted.

Meirin held a hand up to her mouth and the other scrunched up against her chest, moved to tears.

"That means she really just wanted to stay with us..."

Step-Strings had invited Cuffs up to the roof of the abandoned butcher shop for a chat, their usual hang-out spot. The rust-haired boy offered a cigarette to his elder friend, but he refused. They sat at the edge of the building, their legs swinging over the edge as they looked down. From below, it might have just looked like two shadows sitting still on the rooftop of a butcher shop.

"So didya hear about that there whole bussing-ness them adults an' little toddlers were talkin' 'bout? Step-Strings asked, blowing a stream of smoke.

Cuffs shook his head. Even the phrase sounded wrong. Children didn't do business. Adults and adults did business. Business was for those who had money to spend and people to trust. They weren't anything like that.

"If ya ask meh, I say it's 'cuz of those adults bargin' into our world. Ever since they joined in on our world...Shure the food's been better, we got some 'un to take care of the littles 'uns."

He scrunched a fist up. "But we've been losin' the money we earned. Two gold'n watches brought back an' they says we still ain't got enough fer any pork meat this week. It ain't s'posed to be like this. Them and their goddamn bussing-ness talk."

"Cut to the short-talk already, Steps." Cuffs grumbled.

He'd been in a bad mood all day. The least he wanted right now was to listen to someone else blowing off their anger at him.

"They've been talkin' to some peoples. I 'unno what sorts, but I knows it ain't the type we usually be messin' with. They call themselves the 'greatest thieves of all time with the greatest purpose' 'nd they proposed to us to form an...an alliance...of sorts."

"An alliance?" He repeated.

"Seems like they could use sum kids for a special errand. They wanted to take us in, in return we help them with their jobs an' what not. We gets free boardin' and food, but wes gonn' have to move, he says."

"Yeah?" asked Cuffs. "And what's their names?"

"Some...Ruje Gorge or somethin'. Somethin' frenchy-sounding."

"Rouge-Gorge? That's French for um...a robin..."

"Yeah, I s'pose so..." Step-Strings continued. "They says they wanna gives the poor the greatest. Takes from the rich 'nd gives to the poor."

"That...sounds nice...I see why them adults are considerings it."

"No, Cuffs, No!" Step-Strings yelled, throwing the cigarette down on the roof.

He jumped up so suddenly that Cuffs thought he was going to fall over.

"It ain't s'posed to be like this. We're thieves, Cuffs. Thieves!We ain't s'pose to be havin' a good heart, we ain't s'pose to be doin' bussing-ness deals, we ain't s'pose to do any of this shit!"

He coughed heavily and sat back down, hands clasped on his lap.

"An' that's why I'm leavin' the group. It ain't the same a 'sit used to be."

Cuffs took a wide look at him.

"What?!" he uttered. "Shit, Steps, you ain't even older than me and your trying to best me in being all manly and noble. You ain't serious 'bout this, are you?"

"You know how Blood-Eyes left, don't ya? Got tired of all our shit that she just left and didn't say no word to any 'un. Maybe she did the smart thing. Maybe girls can just sense when things ain't gonn' do well. That wemen intuitin' or somethin'."

"No, Steps! This ain't right!" Cuffs screamed. "We gotta stick together right? You can't leave when the going getting good, not now!"

"Listen 'here, Hawkins! Shut yer god damn trap for a second an' just listen to me. Listen to yourself speakin' and for god's sake... Listen to yer own heart!" He hissed. "I don'ts have a good feelin' 'bout the deal. Somethin' shady 'bout it. Who needs a whole ragtag group 'a boys for just one errand, hmm? I knows we gotta stick together...I'm just thinkin'...I dunno...maybe Meria'd get us a job at that fancy mansion she'd been gettin' a job at?"

"No! Shut up! We ain't gonna be anything like Merianna!"

Things went serious when they used real names. Jake Hawkins, Merianna Carolce, Arthur Neilston, the only members left from the original team. They all remembered Spades and Shots and they were all there when they were hanged at the gallows.

"Suit yerselfs..." Step-Strings replied. "You make it seem like she's a horrible monster now, Hawkins. It ain't nice to treat the ladies like that."

He punched him lightly in the shoulders, but Cuffs stayed with his knees in his arms, apparently pouting.

"You cans senses it raight? The tension in the group. Oliva's been talkin' 'bout takin' over as head of the group...an' we're splittin'. Every 'un of us is gonn' have to choose a side soon. I'm just creatin' mah own." He said calmly. "I know your type, Cuffs. You always gonn' do what the majority do. In it fer the winnin' team. Just know that this once, if you do that this time, you ain't ever gonn' back out."

Step-Strings immediately took out another cigarette, unfortunately heavily addicted. He pointed at the full moon, always a symbol of a family that stuck together. That even if the moon was never full on any other day, it was today. Everyone knew that. The only thing as white as the moon was the man walking towards them.

Cuffs jumped to his feet. "Who's that!?"

The man had white hair and strode gallantly towards the butcher shop, a thin smile on his lips. He was dressed in an all-white suit, not flecked at all with any dirt despite walking in the dirtiest parts of the district. His dark-coloured eyes caught theirs.

"Hello, gentlemen. May I ask if the ringleaders of this troupe are nearby?"

"State yer mission, sir. Whaddya want?" Step-Strings snapped, not noticing the indirect insult.

"I come on behalf of the Rouge-Gorges to discuss the job we need. We will also show you the beds reserved for each and every one of those willing to join our cause."

Step-Strings took a drag on the cigarette. He could send him away right now and never have to deal with the business, never have to run away from the group, if he made this man go away. But no, the stone had been rolling long before the opportunity for mutiny had risen. Perhaps it was fate's decision set in stone.

"...I'll fetch 'em for ya, sir. Just wait there. Cuffs, keep yer eyes on 'im."

Merianna brought the cards from under her hat and squatted near the lamp post. All day she had been sleeping, but she still felt tired. It wasn't hunger or thirst anymore, just an exhaustion that seemed to have taken her. She hugged them tightly, remembering her mother's teaching to smile, even when things went wrong. She set up a tarot reading, knowing that they never worked anyways. If the cards spoke to her and every person she read for, they would be the same the second, third and fourth time she did them. She flipped over the card for her past.

The Sun.

She smirked, knowing that it bore the hard truth that life was better before, at the Phantomhive estate. She flipped the card for her present.

The Hermit.

It wasn't her own choice to be alone. She puffed her cheek in annoyance. There was one last card, dictating her future.

The Hierophant.

Sighing, she gathered the cards up. Setting up another reading. When her mother read for her, they always were the same cards for the same person the second, third and fourth time. Merianna flipped over all three, discouraged to find The Tower, The Empress and The Devil open to her. She rubbed her eyes, not being able to read them as her mother did.

She retreated away from the light and back to the shelter she made from a flattened box on the cold floor and a piece of stray plywood leaning against the wall. It was difficult placing it there with her handicap. She had tried to break the metal links apart with sticks, stones and her teeth. She even tried to slip out of the loops by wetting her hands and wrists, but it held fast.

There was only one person she knew that ever found a way to pick open handcuffs, who kept them as a memento, weapon and name.

The three servants told Ciel they had gone shopping for groceries. Indirectly, of course. By the time that Tanaka had made his way from the servants' quarters to Ciel's bedroom on the top floor, their carriage would be on the way already, not that Finny was that skilled a driver.

The Young Master said if she set foot here, meaning if she was in the estate, they had to kill her. But he didn't say anything about meeting here in town, they reasoned.

They circled the streets, calling her name. None of the shopkeepers recognized her, not even the newspaper seller who looked suspiciously at them and then proceeded to check his pockets. In fact, the city was more hushed now. Suspicious stares were being thrown at them just for passing by and the group felt very insecure.

Suddenly, Finny suddenly grabbed Bard's and Meirin's wrists and dragged them past the crowd, over the bridge and where the place started to smell mouldy and stank of rotten meat. There was a poorly-dressed girl with tangled white hair that was left flowing out. When she sneezed, they instantly recognized her. (Always at the right times)

"I thought I saw you!" He cried, running over and grabbing her in a massive bear-hug.

She yelped and swung her arms and legs around until he let her go. She jumped away and almost delivered a kick to Finny before she realized who it was. Apologizing furiously, she returned the hug this time. Meirin and Bardroy joined in, despite how dirty she became.

She cried and didn't want to let go, until they pulled away. Bardroy suddenly grabbed her shoulders and met his eyes with hers. She saw a mixture of fear, seriousness and worry in them.

"Merianna, what ever you do…whatever happens…don't go back to the Phamtomhive estate." He warned.

Her eyes widened. Was there something wrong there? A danger? It couldn't be Sebastian, could it…? She looked at them for an answer, although no words escaped her open mouth.

"Merianna…it's just that…" Finny began. "Young Master…ordered us to kill you…"

"He's furious…he thinks…! He believes you stole the ring!" Meirin explained. "B-But we believe that you didn't! So please Merianna, please…don't come back…as much as we love you and want you back…we can't…we can't"

Merianna's hands tightened on her dress and she bent her head down to try to stifle the tears. They all looked like they wanted to do the same as well. She couldn't help but grab at Bardroy's clothes, burying her face into her friend. Their eyes were lit with surprise when the handcuffs tinkled and clanked together.

"No! Please don't leave me! Please don't leave me!" she wailed, voice cracking with desperation. "I-I-I finally found…found everything I wanted…I don't want you to leave…! Don't abandon me, please!"

Finny was the next to burst into tears, twisting her away from Bardroy and hugging her closely. Meirin took off her glasses to wipe at her tears, holding her hands tightly until they turned white.

"We're…sorry, Merianna…we need to get back now…" Meirin whimpered. "Here's some money…buy yourself some food…and Mr. Landers has talked to us…he told us that he could take you in and hide you from Young Master…he'll give you a job under the Queen and then…and then he…only then would he not be able to harm you."

She took Merianna's hands and pressed a couple of coins in them as well as a small piece of paper, before they turned to leave. Merianna wanted to stop them, to grab onto their clothes and never let go, but holding onto people never meant they would stay. Instead, she could only cling to herself, the only thing that stayed forever. She wanted to fade away then, like a ghost, and only have to linger in people's memories.

Merianna stayed curled up in a ball all day, hidden under her safe place of a shelter. She cried as much as her heart could squeeze out. Under the plywood, no one would make fun of her crimson-red face and leave her alone. She knew she was hungry, and the hunger wore away at her energy, but she did not want to eat. Finally, when she was done, she miserably climbed out of her shelter.

A black cat sat there, an apple at its paws. It meowed at her in a dark voice. She bent down to the cat's level. Was it a stray too? She reached for it slowly and the cat came under her hand. Although it didn't purr, it rubbed itself affectionately against her palm. The softness of the creature put a small smile on her face. What was there that a companion couldn't fix?

Suddenly, a foot came and fiercely kicked the cat away. It howled as it crashed to the pavement, lying on its side. Merianna gave a cry and turned towards the band of little thieves, back to torture her some more. Without thinking, she stood up and cracked her hand against the first face she could. Trip-Links'.

"Why would you do such a thing?!" She screamed at him.

It was the first time she had ever slapped someone, and the rest of the group knew that as well. She ran towards the cat, picking it up and tried cradling it in her arms as she cried for its pain. She carried him the best she could with handcuffed wrists. The cat's eyes ere open and blinking, but it stayed on its side, somewhat limp in her hands.

"Y-Y-You just…you just slapped me!" He cried.

"I-If you c-c-come near me again…I'll do it…I'll do it again!" she threatened, half-heartedly.

"Just give us your money, and we'd be off!" Oliva reasoned. "Or we'll get Cuffs to come n' teach you a lesson! In fact, I think he's arriving any second!"

Another boy added "Yeah! We aren't scared of you anymore! What you did before was just a trick! Bet you it wasn't even a real body! Yeah, you ain't gonna trick us another time!"

She could hear the over-confidence in his voice, and anger slowly welling up inside her. She wasn't sure what body they were referring to, or this 'last time', but concluded that they must have come up with another story. Kids, bah. Still, she knew that she could never bear any hatred against them. She always forgave. Always. It was simply a rule she knew, followed and was taught by her mother.

"Always feel pity for these humans…They do not understand…They are incapable of…"

Sure enough, he came. The boys reported to him and pointed excitedly at her, claiming that she had money and that he would be a hero if he did. He took the time to listen to each of their ramblings, staring at the girl crying over a cat that wasn't even dead. He looked around the alley, and then back to his cousins.

"Give us the money!" the little urchins yelled.

One of them turned to Merianna's little shelter, knocking down the plywood and then proceeded to urinate it. Some of the others joined in too. While they finished, Merianna still did not move, contemplating either to throw away her mother's teaching and to get her revenge or simply walking away.

Merianna placed the cat on the ground and dug her hands into the small pocket on the side of her dress. She turned to face the thieves and threw the money at them.

"Take it! Take it, you disgusting littl' half-wits! Because if it ain't me who'z gonna take pity on you pou-ur excuzes, no 'ne else'll ever everwant to take yous in, gives youz a warrm meal and never ever have your back when eet counts! Za best vous serez dans la future sont les moutons à l'autel ! Je t'emmerde ! Va vous brûlez en enfer!"

She hardly recognized herself changing from polite English to street slang to French in one whole string of sentences. They looked at her as she stopped and gasped for breath, her face not only red from crying but heating from anger and fury as well. A few of them grumbled, picking up the coins and stepping out of the alleyway. When most of them had left, she dropped to her knees, holding her wrists to her face and sobbed pitifully.

She didn't like yelling at people, being angry and being hostile. It was better to have been known as a quiet, but accepting person than one to lash out at others. Perhaps that was what became of the children on the streets.

"J-Just…Give me your fuckin' cuffs."

She looked up and saw Cuffs still waiting there, throwing and catching the apple in one hand, glaring dangerously at her.

"Casse-toi!" she snapped.

Of course he knew what the meant. He took hold of the length of chain and pulled the forward, producing a bit of looped wire. He put his knee on the chain to stop her from yanking it back and pinned it to the stone ground. As a result, she fell face forward onto his chest. If she wanted to, she could have whipped her head and delivered some blows…minute on the danger level though.

"Keep still! If yous want, I could'a just knock yous out cold and just claim 'em then! Then for god sake's I'd be sparing myself the wonders of your Frenchy swears! Just 'cause them others don't understand your Frenchy don't mean I never heard how much you were cussin' like fire. You want the goddam' things off or what?!"

He bonked the back of her head with a punch to show how serious he was, shaping the loop to be able to fit into the lock of the handcuffs.

"Fak….you!" she snarled, although her threat was muffled by the heavy, oversized coat he wore.

She'd forgotten how much about language he had learned from her.

Merianna heard him spit on the handcuffs, something she found very revolting, as he inserted the wire in. He was twisting it very hard that she thought he meant to rip the handcuffs off for his personal collection…throwing out her dismembered hands afterwards. She stayed in that awkward position, muffling various curses and as many swear words as she learned until her anger and sadness faded away.

"Hey! Cuffs! Whaddya doing back there?!" a small yell called.

"N-Nothing!" He replied back. "Just takin' something extra!"

He proceeded to take Merianna's hands, holding them tightly and looked her in the eyes with the same threat he made earlier. Don't try anything, his eyes whispered. He brought them up and slammed them onto the stone ground. She screamed in pain when the metal clashed against her wrists. He shushed her and tried again, this time she bit her lips to silence herself.

After a couple hits, they sprang open like magic and Merianna jerked her hands back, never wanting to be trapped in them ever again. Cuffs snatched the handcuffs away and snapped the wire back from inside the keyhole. When Merianna turned back to check on the cat, it was gone without a trace.

Oliva came around the corner, demanding an explanation from Cuffs. Even though he was much more elder and superior, Cuffs stuttered on his words.

"I-I-I just…!" He reasoned, showing off the new weapons he had.

"You idiot! Why'd you hav'ta help her?" He screamed, stamping his foot on the ground.

He retorted angrily "Fuck off, 'Liva. I'm not helping her, you idiot! I just wanna take what I wants!"

Merianna watched as he took up the apple from the cat that he promised her in return for the handcuffs. He threw it on the ground where it split into pieces and stomped his shoe hard onto them, rendering everything a pile of inedible slush. She held her hand to her mouth, clamping down the words of thanks she was about to give to him, as well as anymore insults that she had not already used. She only let one thing drop out.

"You're a horrible person, Jake…I…I hate you!"