Chapter 4
Caught in the Act
The white-haired boy crept out of his room as silently as possible, following the golden golemn as it hovered in the air.
"Are you sure this is the right way, Tim?" Allen whispered. He was glad to have a friend in this place; even if he was a bit irritated that his friend had not gone to General Cross with the information pertaining to his whereabouts. With his luck, Master wouldn't even notice his disappearance for another three days.
Timcampy suddenly stopped at a particular door in the abandoned hallway. Allen followed his example, listening for any sounds outside the lone corridor. He could hear nothing except for the party downstairs.
He supposed that was a good thing about his stay at the Earl's mansion. He knew their habits. Parties every other week, even more frequent meetings that resulted in him being confined to his rooms more securely than usual.
Allen had a surprising amount of benefits for being a prisoner. Tyki's brother, Sheryl, had kindly sent for a doctor to tend to Allen after he had woken up (they told him that he had a hole in his heart and that he was lucky to have survived).
Once he no longer felt agony in standing up, they let him wander around the mansion, so long as he was accompanied by an Akuma and there was no business that Sheryl had to attend to. The family treated him well and did not harm him in any way. Even Road seemed to be on her best behavior and had not once injured him after she jumped on him that first morning.
But there was one thing that Allen longed for more than anything else; freedom. He longed to breathe in the fresh air once more, feel a cool wind on his face, and sunlight on his skin. The closest he could come to that was sitting in a large window, while the man who had killed him sat there reading a book.
Allen hated that the most. Hence the reason he was trying to escape for the first time.
"Tim," Allen whispered as his eye activated. "Are there any doors that are unlocked, so that we can hide?"
The gold golemn looked around quickly, flying over to one door in particular. The boy didn't waste any time and quickly followed. Allen opened it, went inside, and flung himself onto the door. He stiffened as he heard the footsteps outside walking by. That had been close.
A groan startled the boy and he looked inside the dark room with fearful eyes.
"Who is it?" a woman asked sleepily as she sat up. The boy was grateful to her for keeping the sheet over her chest. He was not, however, too impressed by her choice of partner.
Tyki joined her in sitting on the bed as he took in the scene before him. He blinked a couple of times as if he didn't believe what he saw.
"Shounen?" he asked quietly. "Why are you in here? And why do you have a golemn with you?"
Allen opened his mouth but no words came out. Behind his back, he fumbled with the knob of the door. Tyki noticed and sighed. He pulled a shirt off of the floor and handed it to the woman.
"Sorry madam, it would seem I have a bit of explaining to do."
Allen darted out of the room, shooting out into the halls, bare feet pounding into the floorboards.
"Oi, Shounen!" Tyki called after him. The boy refused to turn around. Instead he turned a corner and descended down the servants' staircase.
As his feet touched the last step, a hand grabbed the collar of his shirt and yanked him back. The boy yelped as he swung in empty air, then panicked when his spine came into contact with the floor with a loud thump.
He tried to get away, but the Noah had no patience. Tyki yanked Allen towards him and put a heavy palm on either side of the boy's head, with a knee between his legs.
"Stop trying to get away," Tyki ordered. Fear gripped the boy and obeyed instantly. Allen stared up at the man with terrified silver eyes.
Tyki frowned at his captive. "You are still not in any condition to escape here successfully, let alone fight. What are you thinking?"
"Why wouldn't I try?" Allen demanded, despite his fear. Tyki was impressed with his courage, but he did not let it show.
"Hmph. So, then. What should I do with you?" the Noah asked. The boy froze at the dangerous tone. "How should I punish you for trying to escape?"
Allen swallowed, trying his hardest to think of a way to reply to such a question. "Lock me back up."
Tyki laughed slowly. "Can't do that. You woke up my dark side. It needs a little...danger...or someone else's pain to feed it."
Allen chewed on his lip nervously. His silver eyes widened as he suddenly came up with the perfect idea.
"How about a game of poker?" he suggested. Tyki's golden eyes burned with interest.
"What are the terms?" he asked calmly. Allen took in a deep breath.
"If you win, I will let you punish me in any way you want."
"Too easy. I can do that regardless of whether I win or not," Tyki sneered."Besides, unwilling victims are the best."
The boy waited for him to finish. "But there is no risk in that. I won't play poker with you if you don't agree to my terms."
The Noah of Pleasure narrowed his eyes. He was surprised that the boy had read him so quickly.
"Alright," he agreed. "Then what do I give you if you win?"
"My freedom."