Dante sat in the infirmary surrounded by empty white beds. The only bed with an individual in it, happened to be the one with Seri in it.

After she had smacked her head into a branch with full force, she was rendered unconscious immediately. Although the scene was hilarious to watch, when she didn't open her eyes, Dante felt his body start to behave erratically.

He couldn't control his breathing, his heart beat insanely, and his anger for the branch was overwhelming. He punched the thick branch with all his might, causing it to snap off and be sent flying down the hill.

The nuns brought Seri to their infirmary to ensure there was nothing severely damaged with her. Dante followed them. William and Millie tried to as well, but was forbidden to.

The only reason why Dante was allowed to come with was because the Nuns feared they would end up like the branch if they didn't allow it.

The doctor confirmed that she just hit her head a little too hard and that she should be fine once she wakes up. He had to guess that it wasn't her body that prevented her from waking, but her mind instead.

Dante was relieved to know she would be fine. But an entire day went by without her waking.

The Nuns and teachers tried to get him to leave her, but one sharp glare from him and they quickly stopped asking.

While Dante sat by her bedside, he realized this was the third time he had seen her sleeping. Well, except for the "occasional" nap at school.

He wished he could say she was adorable when she slept, but he would be lying.

There was nothing adorable about a girl who thrashed around like a wild animal while acting like she was fighting off demons.

He realized she was prone to this behavior the day of the sleepover. He was a light sleeper all throughout childhood. Even the lightest bump would wake him immediately. Unlike William who seemed to be able to sleep through everything with a smile on his boyish face.

Dante awakened to Seri's thrashing that night immediately. He was surprised to see the confident girl look like she was in so much pain.

Bertram calmly grabbed her arms and put them around Millie who had been somewhat woken up. It looked as though he was completely used to it.

When Seri, who was still fast asleep, felt her arms around a human, she immediately relaxed.

Then, when Dante saw her on the bench with the same expression, he decided to stroke her hair. Sure enough, she calmed whenever she felt the presence of a person.

So, while he watched her thrash around on the infirmary's bed, there was only one thing he could do.

Hold her hand.

He didn't know it could be such a wonderful sensation.

Unfortunately, his happiness didn't last long. Since it was the next day, he had to take care of some.... Personal business.

He stood up and exited the room quickly. When he returned a few minutes later, he discovered the bed was empty.

He scowled, angry at how his hand holding time was cut short.

His cold voice sliced through the air, "I will just have to find her."

He turned out of the room and decided to search for Seri.

_____

I woke up with a start and looked around rapidly. I was in an empty white room that looked like a hospital from the 1800's.

I felt my forehead that was throbbing with pain. I was surprised to feel a bandage wrapped around my head and a small bump protruding form it.

I immediately knew that I was no longer in my memory. But that didn't give me much comfort.

I'm still in the belly of the beast!!!

I threw the blankets off of me and ran through the halls. I needed to find a place to hide quickly. I stopped and noticed a small hole under a staircase, covered by a potted plant.

Perfect!

I crawled in and hunched over, hugging my knees. It was cramped and dark, but it was better than dying.

I heard footsteps down the stairway. A small girl's voice called out, "Man. That prayer time was so boring."

The other girl whined, "I won't complain about the trip to the North anymore. At least that was fun. This is so boring."

Another set of footsteps walked down the hall. This one seemed to be more careful and calculating.

"Hello ladies."

"Hello Dante." The girls gushed over his sudden appearance.

Although I could only see their feet, I wanted to gag at the looks on their faces.

Also, why does Dante sound so different right now?!

One girl asked him, "What are you doing here? I thought you were keeping watch over Seri?"

The other girl spoke completely unconcerned, "How is she?"

I chewed on my lip out of frustration. They don't even sound that concerned!! Couldn't they at least pretend a bit better?!

Dante chuckled and spoke sweetly, "She is fine. She just woke up. But unfortunately, she decided to run away. So I'm just looking for her now."

Why is he talking so sweetly right now?! What the hell?!? He never talks this way to me!!! All I get are cold one word answers.

Actually, now that I recall... He used to talk to me like this when I first met him. He would even use that fake smile on me. When did that change?

Wait does that mean.... He hates me?!

He must! He's only cold towards me after all. Why would this bastard hate me? I didn't do a thing to him!

Okay. I may have tricked him into training me to be a knight... And I did look at him with a disgusted face whenever he used that sickly sweet voice... Oh... Can't forget I also gave him that scar on his wrist...

Sh*t! Of course he hates me! At this rate he really will kill me during the library scene!

One of the girls chuckled dryly at his answer, "That's the mad pup for you. She's always causing trouble."

An eerie silence went through the hall.

Wait. What was that?

Dante chuckled, "Weren't you ladies on the way somewhere?"

"Uh.. Yes! Sorry!" Their voices shook and they quickly scurried off.

I knew that meant Dante gave them the classic smile glare.

I shivered. He must still be pissed off if the hallway's this cold. Does he really hate me so much that the mention of me makes him angry?

I glanced at his feet and slowly stuck out my hand.

Dante glanced down at the sudden constriction around his ankle. He would have screamed in surprise at the pale hand that appeared out of nowhere, but he was shocked into silence.

The hand slowly drew back and he allowed it to drag him with it. After all, he recognized this small hand. He figured she would show herself eventually.

Dante realized that as long as Seri wasn't hiding from you, eventually she would show herself. Especially if she knew you were looking for her.

This was a good thing because no one was ever able to find her. Lona could only find her if she wasn't hiding seriously. Even Dante couldn't find her no matter how hard he tried. He's always wondered how she got this skill.

Dante ducked down and squeezed next to me in the small hole. I stared at him with burning curiosity.

He glanced at me with cold eyes, "What?"

"Do you hate me?"

He raised an eyebrow, "What?

"Just now, you talked to those girls with complete sentences and had an actual conversation with them. Yet, with me you only talk with one word at a time. And when you say more than one word, it looks like it pains you to do so."

"..."

He stared at me wordlessly. My face twitched. This was exactly what I meant!!

I sighed, "In the beginning you used to talk to me like that as well. I'm just wondering what I did to make you hate me so much."

Dante turned away from my eyes. He looked as if he was struggling to say something.

He wanted to say how wrong she was, how much he didn't actually hate her. Yet, for some reason, his words failed him. Just like they always seemed to when it concerned Seri.

He managed to mutter out, "Do you... Dislike it?"

I blinked in confusion. What the hell does he mean?

"Do I dislike being hated?"

"No."

I frowned. He still refused to look me in the eye. In irritation I grabbed his face and forced it to look at me. His golden eyes slunk back in surprise.

I spoke firmly, "If you don't tell me what's going on in that twisted mind of yours, I'm only going to misunderstand more."

He twisted his face. Eventually he answered, "Do you dislike how I act around you?"

I paused. Oddly enough, his eyes looked very honest. It was a breathtaking sight. I released his face from my grasp.

"Well that depends. Do you do that because you hate me?"

"No." He looked out of the hole, "I've always been told to smile and talk politely. But I find it annoying. I can never relax around others. But around you, it's different."

My eyes widened in disbelief, "Are you trying to say that around me you show your true personality?"

In the darkness the tips of his ears turned red. He answered calmly, "Yes."

I burst into laughter. He glanced at me with a scowl. "HAHAHA! I can't believe it. Author! How could you get the descriptions so wrong?!"

He raised an eyebrow, "Author?"

I wiped my eyes still chuckling to myself, "The Prince isn't cold and aloof. The Knight isn't emotionless either. I wonder if Mary will actually be meek or if she will turn out to be the opposite."

Dante looked even more lost, "Mary?"

I shook my head, "Huh? Oh no, ignore that just now. I'm just rambling." I changed the subject quickly, "By the way... Why'd they say 'mad pup'?"

He glared not even trying to hide his anger, "It's a nickname they gave for you."

"A nickname?"

"Did you not know?"

Now it was my turn to be lost, "I didn't. What's it mean?"

"Everyone calls your father the mad dog. And since you act just like him, they call you the mad pup."

My face twitched, "How the hell do I act like him?!? I'm not like that annoying man at all!!!"

Dante didn't dare pointing out just how similar the two were. He changed the subject, "Why are you afraid of nuns?"

My face froze. I forced out a chuckle, "I know, I know. It's ridiculous, even I'm aware of that. But I can't help it. Everytime I see one I think they're going to drag me back to that room."

"What room?"

I gave a haunted smile, "The room from a nightmare I have."

He looked down attentively at my hand. I raised an eyebrow in curiosity at his strange face. He grabbed my hand gently and wrapped his fingers through mine.

My body lurched at this and I instantly wanted to pull my hand away. I always felt a wave of discomfort whenever someone touched me. Usually, I just ignored it and pretended I didn't care. But in truth, I found it repulsive. I didn't like it one bit.

My face scrunched up, "What are you doing?"

He responded emotionlessly, "Are you calm now?"

"... No."

"Oh." Even though he said this he still didn't release my hand. "Don't worry. If you're scared you can hide behind me."

My face twitched. Did he assume I meant I wasn't calm because I was afraid of the nuns? Because I was definitely referring to the hand wrapped around mine.

I sighed in exasperation, "Hide behind you?"

"Yes. I won't let them take you anywhere without me."

I looked at him carefully. He looked oddly serious about this. I shrugged, "I suppose I can't stay in this hole forever. Alright."

He nodded and we crawled out. As we walked through the hallway, I took shelter behind his back. My eyes darted around suspiciously. We came to where everyone was.

"Seri!"

Ah~ I recognize that voice anywhere. It's my sweet angel!

I wrapped my arms around her, "Millie! Truly, only you can purify my soul!"

She giggled, "Are you alright? We were worried."

Millie glanced over at William who stood looking incredibly pale.

He walked over to Dante and whispered, "Please don't leave me alone with her ever again."

I glanced at him, "Wait? Why?"

Millie peered over my back with a chilling smile, "Yes. Why?"

He flinched, "No reason."

I just shrugged. Perhaps he was just embarrassed and nervous to be around her.

Wait... Does this mean that he's starting to notice her? Fufu. Way to go Millie.

I gave Millie a thumbs up who just looked at me in confusion.

The rest of the day, I hid behind Dante's back. Sure enough, it did feel strangely comforting.

I nodded in appreciation, "Now I know why you hide behind Dante all the time, William."

He glared at me defensively, "I don't do that!!!"

I snuggled closer into Dante's back, "It just makes you feel so secure and safe. Oh, if only I could just crawl up into his shirt and stay there. Then I'm sure I wouldn't have a single worry."

The tips of Dante's ears flushed red. William looked horrified, "Oi! Oi! Oi! Don't talk about crawling into Dante's shirt!!! How vulgar! How unseemly!"

"Hmm? I didn't mean it literally." I sighed and whispered, "If only I had you in my other life. If you were to save me then I'm sure I wouldn't have turned out so bad."

I heard Dante's cold voice, "What was that?"

I smiled up at him, "Oh, nothing."

That night I lay in my bed. I couldn't help but feel uncomfortable in such a similar room. I kept watching the door expecting someone to barge in.

F*ck this.

I snuck out and wandered down to Millie's room. I opened the door and slipped in. She lay in bed sleeping soundly.

Ah~ So cute.

I crawled into her bed and snuggled in close to her. I felt my body relax from her healing presence.

She stirred awake from the intruder and rubbed her eyes, "Seri?"

I smiled awkwardly, "Yes."

"What are you doing here?"

"I couldn't sleep."

She laid back down and looked at me, "Are you scared?"

I tried to put on a brave face, "Scared? Me? Never."

She smiled at me calmly, "If you're that scared of the nuns here, I can just kill them all for you."

My face twitched, "Please don't say such a thing with such an innocent and cheerful face."

She giggled, "Alright. Just let me know if you change your mind."

"I won't."