I smiled at Lona and presented her with my present. "A white rose!! Isn't it pretty?"

She frowned, "Who gave you that?"

"Dante did."

She glanced at Dante and he quickly avoided her eyes. She looked back at me with a serious face, "Don't you know what a white rose means?"

I tilted my head in confusion, "What? Like it means something in flower language?"

Lona held her forehead in exasperation. Dante just chuckled, "I knew she didn't know what it meant. That's why I gave it to her."

Lona threw him a glance, "Really?"

I butted in, "Wait! What does it mean?!"

Lona explained, "Whenever a man gives a woman a white rose, it means he's proposing to her."

My mouth went dry, "Wut."

She continued, "If the woman wants to think about it, she will receive it. Then if she accepts the marriage, she will give him a handmade handkerchief. Of course, if a woman gives the man a handkerchief first, it means she's proposed to him."

My face paled, "Didn't I… Already give him a handkerchief?"

Lona nodded solemnly, "Yes. So therefore, you've accepted his proposal. Congratulations."

I felt as though I was hit by a bunch of bricks. I wanted to faint.

Dante broke out into boisterous laughter that he had been trying to hold back. We both glared at him and he got control of himself, "I'm sorry... It's just… Too funny." He shook his head, "I only meant it as a joke. Please don't look into it."

"So… I'm not engaged?"

Lona raised an eyebrow, "Depends on who you ask. Just make sure to hide that from your father. He would go crazy if he found out someone gave that to you."

I nodded earnestly and went to put the rose into my dress. Lona grabbed my hand, "Not there. Here, give it to me."

I frowned at her, "Okay, but you're not allowed to damage it or throw it away. It still was a gift given to me." When Dante heard this, he gave a slight smile.

She chuckled lightly and mussed up my hair, "I won't. I will protect your precious gift."

I smiled happily at her and handed it over. As we walked away, I paused, "Wait! I need to get some sweets for the road!" Before she could stop me, I ran off to the dessert table.

As people started leaving or retiring elsewhere, the dessert table was completely empty. I snatched up as many sweets as I could and turned to walk around. As I rounded a corner, a pair of arms grabbed me from behind and pulled me backwards. The sweets dropped from my hands as a wet cloth covered my face.

I struggled but felt my vision starting to go dark. My strength slowly began to leave me.

Is this what chloroform smells like?

Ope. Yup. Definitely chloroform.

My vision faded and my body slumped to the ground.

______

My eyes fluttered open and I looked around in a haze. I could hear voices, but I couldn't make out what they were saying. I was bound tightly with a rope, inside what looked like a wooden carriage meant for animals.

Whatever I'm in is most likely a carriage. Each bump made me want to puke up the poisoned cookies. I forced myself to sit up and leaned against the side. I looked around but there were no openings.

Hmm… It appears I have been kidnapped….

How exciting! The way I was kidnapped totally seemed like something from a novel!!!

Oh… But wait… I'm kidnapped…

That means I can't have those sweets!! And those damn bastards made me drop them on the ground!!! Oh, they are going to pay for that.

The carriage slowed down and finally came to a stop. I let out a sigh in relief. Another second and I was going to puke my guts up.

There were some noises outside that sounded as if something was being unlocked. Then with a final click, the door in the back opened up. I squinted against the sunlight and frowned at the two unrecognizable men.

"Hey. I thought you said she was supposed to be passed out."

The other one looked at me equally as confused, "She is supposed to be. D*mn. How much does she weigh?"

I grimaced at him, "Oi. What did you just say? Are you trying to call me fat? Because if anyone's overweight, it's definitely mister beer belly over there. What? Are you trying to store up fat for the winter or something?"

"Hey." The man said with a threatening scowl, "Shut up or I will kill you."

I chuckled, "Oh wow. I'm so scared. You're nothing but a f*cking pansy. I could easily take you. Hell! I could probably kick your a** even though I'm tied up!"

His face twitched as he tried not to appear surprised. This was the first time anyone dared talk back to him. Especially a child. Wouldn't most children be crying and screaming for help?

"What? Cat got your tongue? I'm so ashamed to have been kidnapped by some braindead losers whose mothers didn't love them enough."

"You better shut up kid. You're starting to piss me off. Do you really want to die?"

I clicked my tongue, "I'm not afraid of you. You clearly kidnapped me for a reason, so I highly doubt you'll go as far as killing me."

"Why you-"

The other man cut in, "Calm down. We are already at the rendezvous point. He should be here soon. Just grab her already."

It was clear that this man possessed a more level-head than his fatter colleague. The fatter looking man nodded and stepped into the carriage. When he went to reach for me, I slammed both of my feet into his downstairs region.

He hollered in pain and fell backwards holding onto it, "YOU F*CKING B*TCH!"

I laughed hysterically, "HAHA! Suck it a**hole! Now I can hold my head high knowing I got my kick in!"

He grabbed my feet and tossed me effortlessly out of the carriage. My face hit the ground first and I spit out sand from my mouth.

I screamed, "YOU F*CKING A**HOLE B*TCH A** MOTHERF*CKER!"

The man grabbed my feet after he recovered and started dragging me. My face kept hitting rocks and branches. I continued to hurl curse words at him.

The calmer man looked at me, "How does such a young girl know such words?"

The fatter man clicked his tongue, "Who cares. She's an annoying little sh*t."

I continued to shout and throw insults at them. They rubbed their foreheads trying to get rid of the headache I was causing. They stepped further away from me in order to ignore me. I smiled in triumph.

Perfect. Just what I wanted them to do.

I whispered, "PoonPoon."

The monkey popped out of my hair. Miraculously he had managed not to get hurt and stay hidden. I guess I was lucky that it was my face and not the back of my head to hit the ground. He looked at me and gave a worry soft coo. Even he knew something was wrong.

"I need you to go back and bring-"

I paused. Who should I have him bring back for help? Bertram would be good, but he didn't attend the party today since it was his day off. Simon would also be a good choice, but that a**hole just has to live in the Imperial City.

No. There was only one person who I could rely on for this type of thing.

I looked to the monkey, "Bring back Dante. You remember who he is right? He's the one that looks warm and friendly to everyone else, but he actually has a black heart."

The monkey cooed in understanding. Of course he knew who Dante was!! He was terrified of the child who always looked at him like he was some kind of food.

"Okay good. Now hurry. We can't be too far away."

PoonPoon didn't wait another second before running off with frightening speed. How can a small monkey be that fast? D*mn.

"Did you hear something?" The fatter one asked.

I shouted at him, "I heard your mom calling for you! I didn't know you were such a Mama's boy. Should have figured since you act like a-"

"SHUT UP!" He stormed over to me clenching his fists.

I chuckled, "Oh, so scary. I'm really shaking over here."

He raised his hand to hit me, but the calmer one held his fists. "Stop. You know Bayne wants her in one piece."

I tilted my head, "Ah. So that's the coward who decided to kidnap me? I've almost forgot about that idiot."

The fatter man chuckled, "You just wait. He's got a whole bunch of things planned for you."

I rolled my eyes, "Oh I'm sure. At least he's probably planning something intelligent unlike anything you two idiots can come up with."

The fatter man scowled, "You act so tough, but in a short time you'll be crying for mercy." He chuckled, "But no one will be able to hear your screams for help."

"Who's going to be screaming for help? I'm not at all worried about your so-called torture. But as soon as I get out of these ropes, I'm going to castrate you and turn you into a eunuch."

The fatter man frowned, "I can't handle her annoying mouth anymore."

He grabbed some more rope and tied it to my legs. Then, he hoisted me up and tied the other end to a tree limb. I dangled upside down and swayed in a circular motion. I could feel the blood rushing to my head.

"OI! YOU PRICK! LET ME DOWN THIS INSTANT! Don't you know you can kill a person like this?! It's a terrible way to die f*cker! Even if I don't die, I could go braindead!"

He chuckled darkly, "Good. Maybe then you'll finally shut up."

I thrashed widely causing me to sway more, "OI! MOTHERF*CKER! LET ME DOWN RIGHT NOW! UNTIE ME AND FIGHT ME LIKE A REAL MAN!"

He frowned, "Maybe we should put a gag in her mouth."

The calmer man nodded, "It might be a good idea."

As I dangled and shouted profanities, they attempted to put a gag into my mouth. I bit at their finger.

"Ow! She bit me! Are you sure she's not a rabid dog?!"

"Well.. Bayne did say she was a bit crazy."

"Oi! Who's the crazy one?! I will fight you!!!"

The calmer man nudged the other, "Let's just let her shout. She's bound to get tired eventually."

However, they underestimated the ability of my mouth. I continued to scream and shout for several minutes, only taking slight breaks to attempt some midair crunches to prevent my brain vessels from bursting.

Another carriage pulled up and more men stepped off. I watched as Bayne came out of the carriage. No longer did he look like a smug aristocrat. Now he looked like a dangerous thug teeming with anger. When his eyes caught mine, a sinister smile crossed his face.

He strolled over to me with a smug smile, "Finally, you are here before me. Now I can make you regret the day you messed with me."

I gave him a smile back, "I'm also pleased to see you again."

He gave an irritating laugh, "Oh? Well you shouldn't be."

"Well I am. After all, I'd be very disappointed if I missed your death scene."

He scoffed, "What nonsense is this now?"

Just then a blood curdling scream echoed off the trees. The men all froze and turned to see a young boy holding a bloodied sword in his hands. His golden eyes were indifferent as he mercilessly cut down the men in front of him.

They all jumped towards him swinging their swords, but he parried each blow effortlessly. He smoothly stepped to the side and slashed at them ruthlessly. He didn't even blink in eye as their blood splashed onto his cheek.

"Woohoo! Atta boy Dante! Get em!" I cheered him on while I still swung upside down.

Wow! He's really killing them…. Like… Really killing them…

Holy sh*t. This is a bit unnerving. Isn't there a censor button somewhere?

PoonPoon hopped over to me and cooed victoriously. I smiled at him, "Good boy PoonPoon! You singlehandedly saved the day!"

Dante chopped off the last mans head and walked over calmly, "What about me?"

I gave a dry chuckle, "Yes, you did play a big part in saving the day as well. But it's a shame you killed Bayne so quick-"

I stopped in my tracks. I looked to the bodies and noticed he wasn't among them.

The bastard must have snuck away during the commotion!

Dante raised an eyebrow as he looked at me, "Bayne?"

A shadow appeared behind Dante with vicious eyes. My eyes widened in a panic as I saw that sword in the air.

I screamed at the top of my lungs, "POONPOON! USE FECAL ATTACK!"

Everything moved in slow motion. Bayne swung the sword down as Dante slowly looked behind him. He tried to block it, but he wasn't going to make it. Just then, PoonPoon made a strained face and flung a certain object in the air.

All three of us watched as the [censored] soar through the air towards Bayne. It looked as if it was a magnificent smelly butterfly flying through the air gracefully.

Before Bayne could react, the [censored] smacked into his face. He dropped the sword and screamed in disgust, "WHAT THE F*CK?!"

Dante didn't wait another second. He took the sword in his hand and it connected with Bayne's throat. Bayne collapsed on the ground, unmoving.

Dante stared at his headless corpse with a slew of emotions. He couldn't believe he was just saved by a piece of [censored].

I noticed him staring and cleared my throat, "If you wouldn't mind… I'm still hanging upside down."

He swung his sword and cut the rope. I fell to the ground with a hard thud.

"Ow."

"Sorry."

"Whatever just untie me."

"…"

"Dante."