I finished it! Finally! It took forever for me to get the song and then forever to write it since school is stupid and gave me lots of homework. This is for Starfire67.

Song: One Jump Ahead

RoMex and GerIta if you really squint

"Stop thief!" A guard shouted. Romano ignored him and sprinted out of the market and into a nearby alley with two loaves of bread in his hands. He just had to get out of sight and he would be fine. He knew this city better than anyone, except maybe his sister.

His sister Feliciana…who was very sick.

Romano flinched as an arrow zipped by his head, ruffling his hair on the way. Jeez, didn't they understand he was broke? He wouldn't steal stuff if he had a way of buying them. He didn't like being a criminal, he didn't want to live on the streets. He wished he had a job, some way of earning a living. He wanted a home where he and his sister could live without getting exposed to the elements and not having to worry about soldiers arresting them. He zipped into another alley and ducked behind some crates. The sharp scent of tomatoes wafted from the crates and made Romano's mouth water. He loved tomatoes, his grandfather had grown them in his garden before he – Romano curled up into a tiny ball and waited breathlessly as the guards ran past. He heard two of them stop.

"Where did he go?"

"He can't have disappeared!"

The other cursed, "Street rat… let's try down here." Romano waited a minute after they faded out of hearing before standing up. How dare they?! He wasn't a street rat and neither was Feliciana! He choked back tears and ran in the opposite direction.

Time Skip

Romano stopped behind a seedy looking tavern and walked to a pile of ripped and worn blankets. He pulled them back a bit to reveal his twin sister Feliciana. Romano gnawed his lip and looked down at her. Feliciana's lips were chapped and dry, so dry that they were cracked in several places and beads of blood could be seen. Her cheeks were flushed and his breathing hoarse and uneven. Romano set the bread aside and checked her pulse, it was weak and erratic. Romano lifter his head and looked around for some water, but there was none to be found in the immediate area. Feliciana's eyes fluttered open.

"Romano…?" she croaked.

Romano hushed her and began tearing up a loaf, "It's okay sorella, I got some food." He looked back at the tavern, "Did anyone bother you?" Feliciana shook her head. Romano held a piece of bread to her mouth, but Feliciana turned her head away and whined in discomfort. Panic fluttered in Romano's chest. Feliciana was always hungry, always, if she didn't want to eat…

No, he couldn't accept that! She was going to get better! But she needed a physician and Romano didn't have anything that could possibly pay for medicine. Romano cradled Feliciana and thought about his options. There was no way he could steal money from ordinary folks, and as for nobles...he shuddered at the thought of high walls and fierce dogs that guarded their estates.

He was so lost in thought he didn't heard them until they were upon him.

A large hand caught the collar of his shirt and yanked him into the air. Feliciana fell back to the ground with a gasp and writhed in pain. Romano vaguely saw the faces of the guards from earlier and he barely had time to curse at them before an iron clad fist collided with his skull.

Time Skip

"Wake up, scum!"

Romano gasped in shock as cold water hit his face. Groaning softly he tried to clutch his head but he couldn't move his arms. He tried opening his eyes but only his right eye responded, the left one seemed to be swollen shut. Looking at his arms, Romano realized that he was on his knees and his arms were bound between two wooden poles. A crowd was gathered around him in a wide circle, held back by a ring of guards. A few of the townspeople looked at him pityingly, others sneered at him. Some glared at him, some glared at the guards.

What, where was Feliciana?! Romano looked up at the guard standing on his right. "Where's my sister?" he growled.

The guard smirked, "That other one? Tch, we left him where she was. It was obvious she was done for." Romano jerked forward against the ropes holding him. The guard brought his spear around and knocked the butt of it into his thin chest. "Save your energy thief, you'll need it."

There was a hush in the crowd and Romano saw them make a path for someone. A large hooded man dressed entirely in black stalked up to the path to where Romano was tied. He held a coiled whip in one hand and a sword in the other. Another guard, an older man with gray hair, stepped forward and gestured to the sword. "Hold, this is only a first offence." The giant shrugged and tossed his sword aside making several peasants stumble back as it clattered to the ground. He circled Romano for a bit, slowly uncoiling his whip. Romano gulped when he noticed that the whip was tipped with metal at the ends. This was really going to hurt. The giant finally stopped behind him and ripped off the back of his shirt. Goosebumps rippled over Romano's back and he gritted his teeth, he wasn't going to give them the satisfaction of crying out. The giant raised his arm his powerful shoulders flexing-

CRACK!

"Mmph!" Romano was thrown forward by the force of the blow and starts danced in front of his eyes. The pain was worse than he had imagined. It felt like searing flames were having a fiesta on his back.

CRACK!

Don't yell, don't give them the satisfaction.

CRACK!

You have to get back to sorella.

CRACK!

Just focus on breathing. In…Out…In…

CRACK!
CRACK!
CRACK!

Maria looked out the window at the city around her, swaying a bit as the carriage rocked and swayed over the bumpy road. She wished she wasn't stuck in a carriage wearing a stifling red velvet dress in the middle of the city. If she had her way, she'd be wearing a tunic and breeches and riding on her horse far away from here. But as the teenage daughter of a nobleman, and a general at that, she had long passed the age where such amusements were acceptable. She brushed back some dark brown hair and looked at her father across the coach.

Antonio Fernández Carriedo was a handsome man with curly brown hair and green eyes, which were currently closed because he was sleeping. His left leg was stretched out on a pillow and the knee was twisted and buckled slightly; a lasting reminder of one of the many wars he'd fought in. He smacked his lips and shifted his head slightly as a small smile crept onto his features. Maria smiled, the sight of her father so relaxed was a pleasant and rare one. People said he'd been a happy-go-lucky man in his youth…before the military had hardened him.

A crowd gathered in the market caught Maria's attention and she turned to look. She bit back a gasp at the sight of a young man, maybe even her age, being whipped. She looked at him closely, his head was bowed though so all she could see was his auburn hair. Maria winced as each sharp crack ripped through the air.

She opened the carriage door and jumped out, causing the driver to pull up abruptly in alarm. Her father's manservant stepped down, "Lady Maria! What on earth-" Maria waved him off and ran into the crowd. The common folk stared at her fine clothes but allowed her to pass. She stopped right in front of the boy and looked up at the giant black clad man. His hand was raised to whip him again and he froze at the sight of the noblewoman.

"This is not a sight for gentle eyes, my lady," an older guard rumbled, motioning for Maria to move back with his free hand. Gentle eyes indeed! As a general's daughter she had seen worst than a whipping. Maria looked down at the boy's torn up back then looked around at the guards.

"What is his crime?" she asked.

The older guard spoke up, "Thievery."

"And is this his first offence?"

"It is."

Maria's eyes grew cold, "Are you aware that the punishment for a first offence is ten lashes?" She gestured to the boy's back, "This is considerably more than ten!"

The giant sneered beneath his hood, "And how would a woman know this?" Maria shivered at the sound of his voice, it was sharp and cold, like a serpent. A poisonous one.

A voice rang over the square, "Because she is my daughter!" The sound of this particular voice sent a wave of relief through Maria. General Carriedo stood at the edge of the crowd, leaning on his "cane". After he'd injured his leg, Antonio has refused the offer of a regular walking stick and instead used his old war axe to help him move around. It was five feet long from the bottom of the staff to the tip of the blade. The blade was nicked and dented in places but it still retained a razor sharp edge. The crowd parted like minnows in the presence of a shark as he limped forward. The giant finally lowered his whip and Maria took the opportunity to kneel next to the boy.

She tilted his chin up to get a better look. One of his eyes was swollen shut and a nasty bruise covered his whole cheek. His other eye was hazel and glazed over in pain. He stared at her in daze, seemingly unable to comprehend what was going on. Maria tugged at the ropes that held his arms but they held firm.

"This may be the first time this rat's being punished, but he's been seen stealing before," the giant explained. Antonio looked at him stonily,

"Be that as it may, it looks to be like you've more than covered ten lashes. The boy's back looks like a slab of butchered meat. If fact, this cruelty could also be considered criminal." He stared at the giant and the guards. Most of the guards had the decency to look guilty, but the giant glared at Antonio angrily, his whip hand twitching. Maria held her breath and looked back and forth between her father and the giant. Surely this man wouldn't be foolish enough to try and fight a noble? She shuddered at the thought of what could happen, they would probably kill each other!

The clatter off hooves caught everyone's attention and the crowd parted again to allow a horse and rider pass. Maria stared at the newcomer's horse, it was a large grey stallion, on its saddle hung a shield; a warrior then. Looking up she say the man was wearing armor, was he a knight? He reined in his horse and removed his helmet. Now that she could see his face Maria easily recognized him. It was Sir Ludwig, a blonde haired, blue eyed knight and a good friend of her father. Many of her aunts had hinted that he would make a good husband for Maria but she felt nothing but friendship for him. He surveyed the scene in front of him. "I heard a disturbance. Is everyzhing alright?" he rumbled.

Antonio nodded, "Oh yes, we were just finished here. Right?" He smiled cheerfully at the giant. The giant seemed to lose his nerve in the presence of another warrior; he ran his hand along his whip – splattering nearby onlookers with blood – and turned to walk away.

"Wait, what is your name, good sir?" Antonio asked. Maria could see the lines around his mouth and eyes harden; a sure sign of contained rage. The giant paused for a second,

"That is my business."

With a shrug, Antonio waved him away, "It doesn't really matter. Someone like you is hard to miss." The giant sneered again and waded through the crowd until he rounded a corner of the street and was out of sight. The onlookers slowly departed in clumps, chattering and whispering. Antonio let out a sigh of relief and motioned for his manservant to come close. "Find out who that man is, discreetly," he ordered.

Maria paid no attention to his next words. She focused all of her attention on getting the boy free from the ropes. His head was swaying and he looked seconds from passing out. A large hand appeared on her shoulder and she looked up to see Sir Ludwig kneeling next to her. He pulled out a knife from his belt and cut the ropes. The boy fell forward and Maria caught him. Blood dribbled from his back but many of his smaller cuts were already starting to scab over.

"Ve need to get him to a physician," Ludwig said.

As soon as the word 'physician' left Ludwig's lips an electric jolt traveled through the boy's body and he jerked his head up. "Feliciana!"

Maria looked at him in shock. He seemed to be wide awake now, his eyes were wild and his chest heaved. "M-m-my sister!" he stuttered. "Mi sorella…she's sick!" One of his hands gripped at Maria's skirt. "Please! Please, she'll die!"

Ludwig leaned forward, "Vhere?"

"B-behind an inn…"

"Vhich inn?"

The boy shook his head helplessly, "I can't read…"

"What was on the sign?" Maria asked kindly.

"A horse…?"

Maria swung her head around to look at Ludwig, "The Inn of the Prancing Pony!" Ludwig sprang to his feet and ran to his horse.

"I'll get her!" he said as he mounted. All of the energy in the boy's body seemed to seep out of him and he slumped against Maria. She lifted his head as saw he was really going to pass out this time.

"Wait! What's your name?" she asked quickly.

His eyelids drooped and lost focus. "R…Romano…" he breathed before he fell unconscious.

Maria looked up at her father, "Papa, he needs a physician!"

Antonio nodded and pointed to a few nearby servants. "Carry him to the carriage, and mind his back!" Maria reluctantly allowed them to lift Romano and as soon as he was lying face down on one of the carriage benches she lifted his head so it was cradled in her lap. She ignored the bloodstains on her dress as she dabbed at is back with several handkerchiefs. Romano whined a bit a frowned in his sleep.

"Shh…it's okay Romano." Maria soothed. Antonio looked at the boy curiously and wondered why his daughter felt such a need to protect him. He shrugged and signaled to the driver to get going. As they headed to the physicians shop Maria smoothed back Romano's hair and whispered to him the whole time.

"Shh…it's okay. I'll protect you, Romano."

I think I'm evil. Seriously. ._. I'M SORRY ROMANOOOOOOOO! DX

I'm considering making a second part to this and focus on the GerIta part of the story, but I dunno if anyone would be interested.

I hope you like this Starfire67!

Please Review!