Disclaimer: I do not own Spice and Wolf or any of its characters.
"Ahem" Catherin gave a loud Lawrence that he was still in a discussion about the deal. and sarcastic cough to remind
Lawrence and Horo quickly noticed the other peers in the room were watching them with a smile on their face, and pulled away from embarrassment.
"Just to confirm with you, please sign here if you are going to participate in this plan." Catherin pointed to the black line at the bottom of the paper, and handed Lawrence a quill pen.
After he read the details on the paper, he signed his and Horo's name on it, and gave it back to Catherin.
"Thank you very much for helping us, Craft Lawrence. May we succeed in this endeavor, and create a bright future for the two of us." Catherin said with smile.
"By the way, due to the upmost secrecy of this plan, we wish for you to stay and lodge within the theatre to prevent any information leaks. We have sent a messenger to the keeper of your inn to inform him about your change in lodging; I hope it did not bother you." Catherin said as he rolled up the signed paper, and placed in one of the shelves in the room.
"Making us stay in the theatre. It would be more appropriate to say they wanted to keep an eye on us, and that we didn't accidently spill any information to the church. It seemed they were pretty sure we would not betray them, but they still did not trust us completely. Lawrence thought.
Since Lawrence didn't have any other choice because Catherin had assertively made the preparation for his stay in the theatre already, he nodded his head and smiled.
"Very well, then. Please show them their rooms Marvin."
Marvin walked towards the door and into the hallway, and signaled Lawrence to follow him. Marvin stopped at a room near the end of the hallway, and opened the door using a key.
"Here is your room; I hope you don't find it uncomfortable." Marvin handed the key of the room to Lawrence, and quickly made his way back down the hallway.
"I think he dislike you quite a bit, do you not agree?" Horo teased at him.
Lawrence gave a strained smile and stepped inside the room. The room exceeded his expectations. The room was finely cleaned, and the wooden furniture polished. It was a brand new room, instead of those old worn out rooms the inns have from frequent use. A table was placed on the opposite side of the door. Adjacent to it were two beds, which Horo jumped in immediately.
"At least take off your city clothes before you sleep, or else they'll get wrinkled." Lawrence scolded.
Horo groaned and raised both her hand into the air.
Lawrence sighed and made his way over to her, and helped her take off her clothes. He folded her clothes, and Horo went back to lying on the bed.
"Are you not going to sleep, Lawrence?" Horo inquired.
"Not yet, I'm feeling restless right now, I'm going to go walk around and the theatre, and see if I can dig some information up on the person running this theatre. As the old merchant saying goes, life is a constant battle between individuals, and information is your greatest weapon. Lawrence pridefully stated.
" Haha, it does not matter how much information or weapon you possess, you will still lose if you keep falling prey to the charms of helpless females." Horo teased.
"That might be true, but helpless females always want to be protected. And one of the obligation of being a man, I must go and protect her for I am the shield that will ward of her fears. Instead of seeing it as a weakness, I see it as an opportunity to make a relationship, and have her slowly fall in love with me like one those traveling folktales." Lawrence said with an over dramatic tone, and a glint in his eye.
Hearing this, Horo stared at him, and laughed. Lawrence soon followed.
"Thank you that had really amused me." Horo said, as she pulled the covers over her body.
"Have a good sleep." Lawrence said.
"Don't wander off too far; I do not want my sheep to be hunted by another wolf after all." Horo replied playfully.
Soon, Horo's light snores could be heard from under the covers. She had to be really drunk from drinking the potent wine, if she was able to fall asleep this fast. He shrugged his shoulders and walked towards Horo, and gently patted her head. Looking at her sleeping so deeply brought a sense of loss and anxiety, since he will not be able see this very soon.
"I guess all things in life do end eventually, whether it is good or bad. Lawrence sighed, realizing that was a fact no one can escape from. When this deal is over, he will once again be alone.
Since Lawrence felt that moping around and dwelling in his negative emotions will be unhealthy to his merchant mind, he took long a walk around the theatre. Walking around, and entering one hallway after another, he stumbled towards a glass door that leads to an outside balcony. Pushing the glass door open, the fresh cold winds blew against his body. From the balcony, he could see that the entire city was shrouded in darkness, except for the brightly lit church over the distance. The stars illuminated the dark sky with the moon, creating a masterpiece only Mother Nature was capable of creating. Quiet noises could be heard from people returning to their homes, and guards patrolling the lifeless city streets. His face was still hot from the alcohol he drank earlier this evening, and the cold night air gave him a refreshing sensation. He looked at the scenery in front of him, his mind empty of thoughts, and enjoyed the beautiful sight. He suddenly caught the aroma of baked cheese bread from behind, and an image of Horo eating bread sparked in his mind. He instantly turned around, and saw that it was Williams.
He waved his hands at Lawrence, and smiled at him. His body gesture seemed to tell Lawrence that he wanted join him on the balcony. Lawrence responded by ignoring him, and turned his face back to the city. Williams walked towards Lawrence, and leaned on the balcony railings on his back. His face was facing at the sky, admiring the brightly lit night sky.
"She's pretty good."
Lawrence didn't bother to reply him back.
"She knew Catherin was desperate, and that's why she made that bold condition of giving you 50 gold coins for accepting the deal." Williams continued.
"You knew from the start didn't you?" Lawrence asked.
"About?"
"That my companion and Myuri were connected."
"Not really, but I had a pretty good guess. Besides, who else would go through all the trouble to get in touch with me to learn about that song?" Williams smiled sinisterly
"By the way, why are you helping the theatre? I thought you were just an observer that records everything in this town. Usually, scribes don't interfere with the happenings of the town."
"Well, I'm not going to lie, but it is mostly for my sake as well. The Church is gaining more influence and power every day, and they are interfering with my job more often than before. I deduct that eventually the Church will get rid of me, and replace me with a church's scribe. Since Churches need to keep a good reputation, they must have a scribe to manipulate the town's history and events in their favor. This is the case for most Church controlled towns in the region. Even if the Church decided to keep me, I will be bound by restrictions. I would also likely be re-located to a place more near the Church, where they can keep an easier eye on me."
"But what about you? I heard that you originally didn't want to go along with Catherin's plan."
"To finish what I started, I guess."
"Really, because you sound like you don't want you started to finish yet."
"Even if that is true, I cannot control when things start and end in my life."
"That's not true actually. You are the main character in your own life. The story only end when the main character decides to end it. And I'm sure you know well in your heart your desire to continue or finish this story. Listen to your heart because that will lead you to true happiness."
Williams lifted his back off the railings and begun to walk back to the theatre.
"I think you two make a great pair, you seemed very happy to be with her. Do not let something so rare and precious to end so easily without trying, you'll regret it for the rest of your life. I know I have." Williams solemnly said.
"When this is all over, come by my garden again with your companion." Williams smiled
Lawrence wondered if Williams also lost someone precious in his life. He does seem too young to be a scribe and his face and characteristics don't really suit the proper behavior of a scribe. But he decided that he would not pry into his private life, since it was no concern of his.
"You shouldn't stay up here too late. Legend has it that a demon will come steal the souls of people that stay out of the streets late at night." Williams smiled and looked at Lawrence.
"That is only a legend made up by parents to scare their children, so they do not stay up late at night."
"Well, you should get some sleep, since your job in the deal will begin very shortly." Williams waved goodbye and retreated to the theatre hallways
Taking one last glance at the starry night sky, he went back to his room for a good night rest. Seeing that Horo was still sleeping softly and deeply, and smile surfaced on his face. He quietly made his way towards his bed, lied down, and pulled the covers over him.
"I can control the beginnings and endings of things in my life." Lawrence thought to him, and gave a quiet mocking laugh.
'It is easier said than done."
Lawrence woke up late in the morning. He turned his head sideways to Horo's bed, and was surprised that she wasn't there. Looking around the room, he still couldn't find her, but noticed her city clothes were gone.
"Where did she go this time?" Lawrence mumbled.
Getting up from his bed, he sloppily made his way to the door and exited the room Walking down the stairs to the theatre's lobby; he spotted Marvin who was busy drawing something unusual again. He walked towards him and tapped him on the shoulder to get his attention.
"Oh, it's you , how are you doing?" Marvin greeted him casually.
"Pretty well. I was wondering if you knew where my companion went."
"Oh her, I think she went out to the city with Meliane, or should I say Myuri, since that was the name you referred her as."
"I see, thanks for the help."
Lawrence was surprised that the two wolf goddesses decided to walk around town together. Well, since Horo was with Myuri, she shouldn't get into any trouble. Maybe he should go check out what they were doing, since he had nothing else planned for this morning. Also, it did seem interesting to know the reason to why Horo went out with Myuri without him. When he was about to leave the theatre Marvin's voice came from behind him.
"Oh Lawrence, I just remembered, Catherin wants to see you his office."
"What does he want?" Lawrence replied back.
"I don't know, but I think it's urgent."
"Alright, I'll go see him right now."
Lawrence quickly made his up to Catherin's office, and was greeted by Catherin's friendly smile.
"Ah, so there you are!"
"Is something the matter?" Lawrence inquired
"Oh, it's nothing; we just need to take your measurements."
"My measurements?"
"Of course, you can't go to a formal party with clothes like that."
"Right, go ahead then, but the cost for the new clothes won't come out of my reward right?"
"Of course" Catherin carelessly answered.
A few of the staffs members started to take Lawrence's measurements. After a few moments, the staff members had finished and went to a nearby table to record their measurements.
"Ok, you are free to go now, ."
Lawrence gave a farewell smile, and exited the room.
"Well that was painlessly short." Lawrence thought to himself.
He exited the company and went into the busy street. He walked to the market and stopped at the front gate of the Hienado Company. He inspected the company's surroundings and structure, and mentally planned an emergency escape route in his head for the worst-case scenario. While looking, a Hienado worker caught his attention. His right arm was bandaged, and looked like he has been recently injured. Somehow, Lawrence thought that man was awfully familiar.
He wandered further into the lively marketplace, and soon lost his track of time. By the time he realized how late it was, it was already evening.
He went back to the theatre, and entered his room. Horo was lying on her bed, deep in thought.
"Oh, your back already how was your day?" Lawrence questioned
"Tiring."
"I'm going to go to sleep; I'll see you in the morning."
"Well, goodnight Horo"
Lawrence noticed that Horo did not want to talk about her day with Myuri. However, he would not probe deeper into the matter because it does not concern him. He sat in a chair and looked out the window, enjoying the remaining time he had left with Horo by his side.
Several uneventful days passed by, until it was the day where the operation would begin.
"Wow I looked completely like a noble." Lawrence thought to himself as he looked in the mirror of himself wearing he clothes Catherin has generously provided.
He was wearing a white shirt with a brown waistcoat and red breeches. A navy blue overcoat covered his body from his chest to his knee. A finely crafted pair of black leather boots was made for him to wear. Needles to say, all of these garments were crafted from very high quality material that would at least cost a few dozen gold coins. Wearing these clothes, Lawrence would have no problem into making everyone believe that he was part of a noble family.
"Do I really need to wear this?" Lawrence heard Horo's voice from the other room.
Horo entered the room wearing a silken light blue dress over her body. A long silken light blue glove stretched from her hand to her elbow. Golden necklace hanged from her neck, and crystal flower-shaped head pin sat at the side of her head. She looked exactly like a goddess; even Lawrence was blushing just by looking at her.
"Of course, you look beautiful!" Myuri spoke from behind.
Horo gave a displeased look at Myuri, and sighed, since she could not do anything about it. However, she caught a glimpse of Lawrence expression when he saw her.
"Oh, does my outfit arouse you?" Horo teased.
"Nah, I'm just surprised how elegant and feminine you can look just by a simple change of clothing despite your personality." Lawrence countered.
"But, don't I look cute like this?" Horo put an extremely cute and weak pose and expression, and Lawrence instantly blushed and looked away.
"Damn, my ultimate weakness, how unfair." Lawrence thought to himself
"Haha, too easy. You are too easy." Horo laughed as she teased Lawrence.
Lawrence brushed off Horo's teasing remarks, and patted Horo's head with a white hat.
"Can't go to a party with your ears showing like that."
Horo gave him a light punch on the side of his stomach.
"Hmph, I do not need you to remind of something so obvious like this."
"The carriage is ready for you, and Ms. Horo. A staff member spoke from the doorway to the room.
"I guess it's time to get this over with." Lawrence said.
Lawrence grasped Horo's hands, and made their way to the carriage in front of the theatre.
Once inside, another fellow staff member greeted them.
"Okay, just a quick review of the plan. We are going to cause a distraction that is going to lure the attention of the guards in the party, and create chaos. You are to take advantage of this, and steal whatever essential information from within the company. After that, all you need to do is escape."
The member quickly gave Lawrence and Horo a brief rundown of the plan.
"Also, take this map of the interior of the company. It will show the way you need to take to get to your destination. And take this dagger as well. You'll never know when you might need it."
Lawrence took the map and dagger from the member. Although Lawrence took the dagger from him, he did not want to use it to kill somebody. However, he will kill when he is forced to.
"By the way, what is the distraction?"Lawrence Inquired.
"I don't really know myself, but you should recognize it once you see it." The member said.
Lawrence gave a nod and sat in silence during their way to the Hienado company. When they arrived, the man handed them two letter invitations needed to gain entry to the party. They showed the invitation to the doorman, and walked through the front gate.
The first step they take inside the company grounds will start everything.
They entered the lobby where the party is held. Rounds tables were placed on the sides of room, leaving the center of room open for people to dance. The walls were crafted with complicated patterns, and paintings hanged on its surface. Left and right were aristocrats talking about money and schemes with members of the Hienado Company. A band played music at the back of the room and greeted the arriving guests with their music. There were a lot of people with a wide variety of social standings. Successful business man grouped up together to discuss about the future of the market and the Hienado Company. The nobles were trying to invest in the Hienado Company in order to gain benefit from it. Some of the guest went directly upstairs, and they are probably representatives from the church. It seems no matter where you are people will always group amongst other people with similar interests. And since Lawrence and Horo had shared no interest with any of the people in the party, they were mindlessly wandering around the room, waiting for their signal.
After waiting for awhile, the last of the guests had arrived and the doors closed. A man stood upon an elevated platform at the front of his room. Judging by the clothing he is wearing, he seems to be the head of the Company. He made a short speech, welcoming all the guests that are attending this ball, and proudly announced the success of the Hienado Company. It was the same procedure Lawrence has seen many times during a company's party over his long business life.
"It is awfully crowded in here; I am not quite fond of crowded places." Horo spoke from beside him.
"It's one of the most important balls held by the Hienado Company, so of course it'll be crowdy."
The band started to play a jazz, and the atmosphere lighten up. People were walking to the center of the room with their partners, and started to dance with the music.
"Are we going to have to wait here until we receive the signal to begin?"
"Yes, I guess we'll have to kill time until that time comes."
"Shall we go dance then?" Horo extended her hand towards him, and looked at him with her mischievous smile.
Not falling for her trap, he looked back straight in her crimson eyes, and gently grasped her extended hand.
"Why, of course, princess." He teased, and guided her to the center of the room.
He placed his other hand at her waists, and begun to waltz with the rhythm of the music.
"This is nice." Horo said with a soft tone.
"Yes, it is."
"Hopefully, you will be able to do this again with a partner that will stay by your side until your last breath." Horo giggled.
Lawrence did not say anything in response, and just continue to dance to the music with Horo. Suddenly, he heard a loud booming sound that made him let go of Horo to cover his ears from the sound. At the corner of his eye, he saw a bright flash of light that blinded his eyes like he was starring straight at the sun. The windows shattered, and fragments pelted some unfortunate people that stood close to the windows. The flash died down, and the room silent, until one person panicked and screamed. And like a chain reaction, everyone in the room begun to scream and chaos ensued.
"An explosion?" One of the guests near Lawrence spoke.
Looking out the glassless window, he could see the colors of embers flickering against the side of the wall. Like a small sun that illuminated the dark city.
The front door opened with a person who was so out of breath that he seemed like he was about to collapse.
"The…..cart containing…gunpowder...just…suddenly….exploded." The gashed for breath as he told the other guards the situation.
"Hurry! To the cargo bay, move all our cargo out of there quickly! We can't let the wheat get caught on fire from the explosion. Put the fire out!" A guard alerted the other guards, who quickly ran outside.
Instantly, the guards the ballroom had been reduced to a few people, who were trying a futile attempt in trying to calm the guests.
"I guess that is our signal!" Lawrence quickly grabbed Horo' hand, and dashed to the staircase to the second floor.
They climbed up the stairs, and reached the second floor without encounter any of the Hienado's employees.
"Wow that was a flashy display, my ears was still ringing." Horo said.
Lawrence looked at Horo, who seems to be in mild pain. The sound from that explosion was loud enough to make enough him cover his ears in pain. Surely for Horo with her heighted sense of hearing that could hear the whispers of people from across the room, the sound must have greatly hurt and disorientated her. Just as Lawrence thought of allowing Horo a moment of rest to recover, an unwelcomed voice came from across the hallway in front of them.
"Hey! Who are you two? You aren't supposed to be here, only authorized personnel can enter this floor!" the man said.
With the ragged and filthy clothing he was wearing and the broom and mob he is holding, Lawrence could easily recognize him as the janitor of this company. He would need to deal with him as quickly as possible, or else he might call for backup, which would compromise our plan. In fact, the only reason the man hadn't called for the guards yet was probably because he was with Horo, which made them seem less threatening. He probably doesn't suspect that he and Horo are thieves yet. He smiled at the janitor.
"Oh I'm sorry, we kind of gotten lost due to confusion cause by the big explosion just now." Lawrence walked towards the janitor as he spoke, still wearing his friendly expression.
"Could you mind telling me the way back to the ballroom?" The janitor let his guard down a bit, as he point to the direction that leads back to the ballroom.
Without warning, Lawrence charged at the janitor with his dagger. The janitor reacted as fast he could to defend himself, but he was too late. Lawrence rammed the butt of his dagger into janitor's stomach. The janitor pouted in pain, as Lawrence punched him on the side on the side as a finishing blow. The janitor landed on the ground unconscious.
"well, that's over with." Lawrence said to himself as he wiped off some of the sweat from the side of his head.
"That was extremely sly of you." Horo remarked.
"Well, it is his fault for letting his guard down in front of me. Hurry, come and grab his legs, we can't let him sleep in the middle of the hallway like this. If someone found his body like this, we will be immediately exposed."
Horo walked towards the motionless body, and grab the feet. A jingle sound was heard. Lawrence looked to see what it was, and it was a key ring with several keys attached to it.
"How fortunate, it seems this guy was also carrying the keys to the rooms within the company." Horo said.
"Well, it is said that harvest deity brings great fortune, and with luck, we should have the keys to all the rooms in the company."
Lawrence grabbed the key ring and placed it in his coat pocket.
"A great beginning to our operation" Lawrence thought to himself.
"Where should we put his body?" Horo innocently asked with a smile.
Looking on the map, he spotted a considerably large storeroom that was relatively close to their location. He pointed towards the direction of the room, and helped Horo carried the man's body.
Lawrence and Horo carried the body to the storeroom. Lawrence unlocked the door, and threw the body inside. The room was big, and piles of boxes and barrels were stack on top of each other.
"Wow, they have a lot of items here." Horo said.
"It is storeroom for the company after all."
"But…is it not strange that the storeroom would be on the second floor, instead of the lobby near the loading bay?" Horo asked.
Horo asked a good question. Lawrence hadn't noticed that until Horo brought it up and cannot seem to think of answer himself. Why would a company put their storeroom on the second floor? Wouldn't that make transporting their product necessary troublesome?"
Horo walked towards the one of the crates and examined it.
"hmm…What is the name of this company again, Lawrence?"
"The Hienado company."
"Well, that is strange."
"What is?" Lawrence curiously asked.
"Come take a look, and see for yourself."
Lawrence walked towards the crate Horo were standing in front of and examined. He saw nothing out of the ordinary, just an ordinary box containing a shipment of wine to the Viscardo Wine Store. And then his eyes went wide.
"The Viscardo Wine Store?!" Lawrence didn't realize he shouted, and immediately covered his mouth to quiet himself down.
He quickly went and inspected the box next to the wine box, and this time is was a shipment of Cheese to Havarlo store.
"This doesn't make sense."
"You figured it out yet?" Horo asked him from the side.
He did not know what is going on, but Horo apparently figured it out in her head, which irritated him. But he decided to give up, and let Horo explain her theory. It was not like he could not figure it out by himself, but it would take some time to think, and time is the luxury they don't have,
'Alright, tell me."
"My guess is that the Hienado Company was the same gang of bandits that are secretly stealing cargo, and reselling the merchandise as their own."
Lawrence was bewildered by Horo's statement.
'That's impossible, there is no way a company can pull off a scheme this big."
"But think about it. Why would there be crates or cargo from other companies sitting here in the Hienado storeroom? There is no other rational explanation. And do you not find it weird that the Hienado Company started to grow at about the same the bandits started to attack trading caravans into this town. Or the fact, that only the Hienado supplies are getting through to this town, and the other companies did not."
"Even if that were true, than how did they manage to pull of this scheme for such a long time without being noticed by the other merchants?"
"That is pretty simple to answer; it is the church. Although, I am no familiar with the church in this era as I have been in the past, they seemed to have grown quite powerful. Anyone that stood against the church will no doubt face a considerable amount of trouble. The Hienado Company has the backing of the church behind them, and if people suspects that the Hienado is a bunch of stealing cowards, how will the church react?"
"They'll eliminate them, since it will ruin the reputation of the church." Lawrence answered.
"Exactly, it is not that the people did not notice that something is weird about the church and the Hienado Company, it is that they were too scared to stand up against the Hienado company because of the wrath of the church. Catherin probably knew this, which is why he put an unusually high bonus reward for any "additional valuable information" you might find."
Everything seems to be coming together in Lawrence head.
"I see now. And the reason the church is supporting the Hienado company is to control the city. The one who controls the economy in a city is the one who controls the city. So, this is plot by the church to end the rivalry between them and theatre. With the entire town's economy under their control, everyone will need the church's aid to survive. As a result, they will gain complete control and influence over the people. Hmm, this probably might be another reason why King Trenni cancelled the northern expedition this year. Since the town relies on the soldiers as their primary consumer base, without them, they would have no way of selling their products, and as a result no profits. And with the church, who supports the Kings, in control of the town, it will be like the King conquered this town without going to war or sacrificing a single soldier. And since this is the main trading towns that connect the south and the north, he can place tariffs on trades, and would essentially gain a huge source of income."
"Now you are seeing it."
"But we need proof to confirm, and I bet we will be able to find it the room that belongs to the head of the company."
They both made their way to their across the hallway following the map, and soon they arrived on the third floor. From there, they walked to door of the director's room, and opened using the janitor's key. A desk was neatly laid in front of them and bookcases were placed on every available wall in the room. He quickly went to desk, and opened to drawers to search for any important documents. However, he could not find any relevant information. He searched the book cases, but still found nothing. Sweat began to fall from his head, time was running out, and he hadn't been able to find anything.
"Hey Lawrence, come look at this, this part of the floor sounds different."
Lawrence came to Horo's side and took a look. He knocked on the floor Horo was pointing to, and then knock on another part of the floor, and indeed the floor Horo was pointed to create a different sound.
"A hidden trapdoor?"
"Probably"
Lawrence tried everything that came to his head to get the trapdoor open, but it was no use.
"Argh, it's locked, we need a special key or some kind of secret opening mechanism that unlocks this door."
"All we need to do is get the things under this part of the floor right?" Horo asked.
"Yes"
"then stand back."Horo advised him
Lawrence moved away from the spot. Horo unzipped the pouch hanging from her neck that contained her grains of wheat. She took a grain out, and put it in her mouth. She took off her silken glove on her right hand. Shortly, her right hand began to transform into a giant wolf paw.
"Hey! You're not planning on..."
"Bam!"
Horo smashed through the floor with her wolf paw, which scared the hell out of Lawrence. He quickly got his senses back together, and by that time, Horo's hand had already transformed back to a normal human hand. Looking at the floor that Horo had just destroyed, and brushing away the splinters, laid a brown dust-covered envelope. He took it out, and looked at the contents inside it.
"Perfect, this is the exact evidence we needed."
"Someone's coming." Horo whispered.
Moments later a man appeared on the entrance of the room.
"What was that noise?" The man looked at the crater on the floor that Horo left behind.
"The hell? What just happened here?" He looked to his side, and caught a glimpse of Lawrence.
"Who the hell are you...?" The man wasn't able to complete his sentence when Lawrence whack on the face with a big plank of wood that came from the broken floor."
"Come on, we mustn't stay here much longer, let's get out of here and go home." Lawrence grabbed Horo's hand and ran out of the room
They both ran down the down the hallway and to the stairs leading to the second floor. Lawrence ran down the stairs hurriedly, his adrenaline pumping through his veins, and his mind focused on the path in front of him. He was approaching a corner until he heard someone shout.
"Lawrence! Get back!" Horo shouted.
Lawrence felt something tugged and pulled him back on the back collar of the vest with so much force that it almost instantly choked him to death. He look back at it was Horo. She pulled him back behind her. A man wielding a knife suddenly jumped from behind a corner towards Horo. Horo quickly elbowed the man in the face, followed by a quick hard kick from Lawrence to his guts, and knocking him out. If it weren't for Horo pulling him back, he would have ran straight into that ambush and would probably be stabbed to death right now. He took a second to collect his breath.
"Hey, thanks for saving me..."
He saw Horo sitting down and leaning against the wall on her side. Obviously, something is wrong. He quickly walked to her side.
"Hey, are you alright…!"
Horo clutched the right the side of the stomach; her hand and the right side of her dress were stained red.
"I am alright… Do not...worry. A simple wound like this…would not kill me. "Horo panted and grasped her wound as she spoke.
"Crap, this is my entire fault, it is because you pulled me back that you weren't able to dodge his attack. I'm sorry…" Horo covered his mouth with her hand to silence him.
"It is alright…I am fine. It is nostalgic; it has been a long since I have seen the color of my blood. She gave a dry laugh."
"Now, hurry and let us, we cannot stay here forever." Horo stood up, and put on a forced smile. She grabbed Lawrence hand and tugged him down the stairs.
Lawrence followed, and walked in front of her.
"Hold on, we can't go out like this, your dress is covered with blood. We'll instantly attract attention."
Horo looked at her hand, as if she was losing touch of what was in front of her.
"Damn, we need to get out of here quickly, she won't last very long with a wound like that, even if she is a wise wolf." Lawrence thought to himself
Looking at this map, he spotted a staff room a little further down the hallway to their left. There should be some clothes there that Horo could change into.
"Come on." He grabbed Horo's hand and pulled her down the hallway. He unlocked the staff room door using the janitor's keys. He laid Horo against a wall so she can rest a bit. Scavenging around, he found some outfits that belong to the one the financial staff within the company. He grabbed the clothes, and ran back to Horo sides.
"How are you doing?" Lawrence asked in concern.
"I am fine, the bleeding has stopped." She replied with a weak smile.
"That's good, here change into this, so take off your...ahh…dress." Lawrence shyly said with a blush, after realizing what he just asked.
"Would you mind helping me? I cannot seem to find the strength to do it myself." Horo sad with a weak and soft voice combined with her smile.
"Even when she is injured, she still teases me." Lawrence thought to himself
He untied and unstrapped the bindings of her dress, and with great difficulty finally took it off. Although he has seen Horo's nude body several times in the past, he still cannot help but blush and look away from her beautiful and delicate body. He took a look at her wound, and it was worse than he thought. He was deep cut into the right side of belly, it was a miracle that none of her vitals were cut. The wound left dried blood around the wound, all over her belly, and travel down to her right thigh. Needless to say, she has already lost a substantial amount of blood, which is surprising considering that a normal person should have collapse by now. He used her dress as a towel to wipe away the blood. He closed his eyes, and with some interesting maneuvers, he managed to clothe her in the clothes he had scavenged.
"Can you walk?" Lawrence asked.
Horo gave a nod, and stood up unsteadily, but eventually balanced herself. She looked at the dress.
"It is a shame that the dress has to go to waste, I liked it very much."
Lawrence gave a strained smile, and guided Horo to the staircase to the lobby. While walking down the lobby, he noticed that the guards were already coming back in.
"Damn, we are too late; we won't able to sneak out way into the basement now that the guards are back." Lawrence thought to himself.
Lawrence tried his best to think of plan, and finally found simple plan. They'll just walk through the front entrance like normal guests.
"We are going to walk out through the front gate, just follow my lead." He instructed Horo.
They went to the door and exited the company to the company's courtyard, and walked towards the gate. A man was standing by the gate, probably there to guard the gate and not let any uninvited guests in. Lawrence walked up to the man, and greeted him with his usual business smile.
"Greetings sir, sorry for the commotion caused today, but are you leaving so soon sir?" The man questioned.
"Ah, yes, my mistress here appears to have fallen ill, and I want to take her back home early to rest.' Lawrence replied.
The man looked at Horo, and then to Lawrence.
"She does seem quite pale. Can I see your invitation cards then?"
"Why certainly". Lawrence pulled out the invitations from his coat pocket and handed them to the man. He examined the cards to make sure they weren't fake, and handed them back to Horo.
"Well, everything seems alright." He opened the gate to let Lawrence and Horo through.
Lawrence gently grasped Horo's hand and guided her through the door of freedom. The merchant had won this game. Suddenly, loud voice came from behind.
"We have been robbed. From the looks of it, it seems to be group of two. One is definitely a female, and she is heavily injured. Don't let anyone leave the company grounds." Lawrence looked back, and saw a man shouting through the window to all the staff members. The man at the gate looked at Lawrence and Horo, and he instinctively begun to run for his life.
"They're here; they just went through the gate through the gate! Get them!"
Lawrence and Horo ran in to the streets and into the dark alleyways dragging Horo behind. He can feel that her body was getting heavier as they ran through the alleys. He turned his head over his shoulder to see how she is doing. She was panting heavily, and her eyes were losing focus.
"She's at her limit she won't be able to go on much further." He thought to himself.
Looking around desperately, he saw an opening up ahead, and ran towards it. He stopped running, and Horo crashed against his body, and she begun to fall backwards. Lawrence swiftly catches her before she hit the ground. She looked at him weakly and was breathing heavily. Her eyes narrowed and closed, her body completely relaxed against his arms before succumbing to the darkness of unconsciousness. He laid her down against the wall. Her chest was rising and falling, and stains of blood began to become visible under her clothing, and blood was slowly dripping out. The frantic running had reopened her wounds, and hastened the bleeding. She began to cough out blood.
"This is bad...very bad. She could die." Lawrence panicked. He felt so useless, unable to do anything while Horo was suffering in front of him.
He heard footsteps, and took a peek around the corner. He saw a light coming from a lit lantern coming this way. He pulled out his dagger, preparing to defend Horo and himself with his life. As the light got closer towards him, he jumped out, but was immediately flipped upside down, and crashed on the ground on his back. He coughed out in pain. He opened his eyes, and was relieved by what he saw.
"Ivan?" Lawrence shouted
He turned his head and saw Myuri by the corner contending to Horo's wounds. For once in his life, he had never been so happy to see Myuri in front of him.
'Sorry there, Mr. Lawrence. "Ivan helped him get up.
"it's okay," He quickly went to Myuri's and Horo's side.
Lawrence saw Myuri with her head on top of Horo's wound. She was licking it, which slightly startled Lawrence, but he probably figured it was how wolfs treated each other's wounds anyway. Feeling an unknown embarrassment and awkwardness, he looked away and sat leaning on a wall.
A few moments later, Myuri walked towards him, wiping the blood from her lips.
"How did you guys find us?"Lawrence asked.
"It was pretty easy. The scent of her blood filled the air when she was stabbed. So I quickly sent someone back to theatre to call the doctor, and ask Ivan to help me get you guys. We also sent some of our guys to deal with your pursers, and following the scent of blood led me right to guys.
"I see. So how is she?"
"Not so good. I have stopped the bleeding and cleaned her wounds, but she has lost a great amount of blood and has developed a fever. We need to hurry and get her back to theatre for medical treatment. We know the way, follow us."
"okay." Lawrence said.
Lawrence went to Horo and carried her unconscious body in his arms bridal style. She was heavier than usual, and he could hear and feel her deep breathing. He followed Myuri and Ivan down the dark alleyway.
They arrived at an abandon store and went inside. The inside of the store was empty and full of dirt and cobwebs. Myuri went to the left corner and kneed down. She opened a trapdoor, which contained and a hidden staircase beneath the ground.
"Here, hurry," Myuri rushed.
Lawrence went down the staircase, and begun traveling through the narrow tunnel. As he walked further he had begun to recognize the tunnel as one of the secret passages similar to the one he used to enter the theatre during his first time.
Horo groaned in pain in his arms. Her face was covered with sweat, and red with fever.
"Don't worry, were almost there Horo." Lawrence comforted Horo, even though he wasn't sure if his words reached Horo at all."
A door appeared at the end of the tunnel, and Myuri quickly opened it. On the side of the door, it was the theatre's lobby. A staff member quickly came to them.
"Ms. Meliane, the room has already been prepared and the doctor is read."
"Good. Lawrence! Come this way." Myuri guided him towards the room. Inside the room, there were a bed and a doctor preparing his instruments for treatment. He quickly laid the motionless Horo on the bed, and took a deep relieving breath.
"it's finally over."
A/N: I am back again with the new chapter. Like always I hope you liked and enjoyed this chapter.