Crimson

Night Out.

Vita awoke because someone was staring at him .

He felt for his sword and could not feel it at the spot he had been positive he left it .

He had even felt it sometime during his sleep.

Sighing softly to mask the sound of his shirt crinkling , he felt for his wrist bindings and found what he was searching for .

Wispy , thin needles that he had crafted himself , they were almost invisible and had always come in handy at the right moment.

He swung at the same time he sat up .

Adah was staring at him ,eyes wide and accusing , she also had a fresh cut on her cheek .

She didn't look as friendly or motherly as she had looked the night before .

The events of the previous night came back like some distant dream eliciting an embarrassed flinch from Vita .

Adah's face changed , revealing a calm smile.

" I guess I'm not as good as I used to be",She commented rubbing her palms good-naturedly .

She traced the cut on her cheek and laughed out like the cut intrigued her.

Vita wasn't sure how to respond to this .

Hurrying off the makeshift bed , he rushed to where she stood flustered and unsure of what to do to atone.

" I thought I was being ambushed ,I'm really sorry".

Even to him ,it sounded like an half-baked apology.

Adah tsked .

" What kind of life makes a young one like you think of words like ambushed ?"

Vita put his hand behind his ear , scratching offhandedly .

Adah put her hand out as though she wanted to pat him , he took a step back and she stilled for a second before dropping her hand.

" I put your sword out while you slept" , she announced .

Vita looked on unsure of how to respond , he had been getting to asking her if she knew anything about it .

" Why do you look so surprised ? " , she inquired.

" I have never lost it or had it taken away . Since the King gave it to me , it has always been with me " , he was at a loss.

He had been slowly losing his touch since he came to Agrippa .

He moved back putting himself in a sitting position on the makeshift bed.

He had a lot to consider ,he covered his face with his palms and groaned .

" How were you able to take it away ?", he asked .

He felt the bed dip by his side and removed his palm , he watched as Adah made herself comfortable .

" Who do you think taught that brat to be stealthy ? "

She talked as she laughed or laughed as she talked , Vita could not really tell how she made her voice sound like it was desperately trying to hold back it's laughter .

He gave her a sideways glance , watching her , trying to factor her statement into the physique he was seeing .

" I know what you are thinking , how possible is it for me to have done that ? I would have loved to give a fancy answer but I have no idea how I did it , I just did it and when I taught the brat , he already had prior knowledge ,so ,it was just like an old dancer rehearsing with a youngster ".

Vita must have looked as confused as he felt because Adah exhaled and continued .

" When he first approached Gray and I with the idea for this he looked just like you . A rough goal but no distinct path , I was an old woman that went around the market stealing while my equally old husband got into brawls with men half his age on the streets.

" I was beyond embarrassed ,I had always said Agrippa was to blame for how I lived but that Child was talking of changing Agrippa for people like me , he represented a hope I was too scared to grasp onto . But , what did I have to lose ? So , I grasped that hope ."

Vita stared at her .

" Why are you telling me this ? I appreciate your hospitality , but ,I won't abandon my responsibility..."

He was interrupted by Adah .

" You remind me of him , how he made me feel when he first spoke. Vita Cicero , you also represent hope .Hope for the countless oppressed by the Conclaves choices . He might be Agrippas flickering light but , you have the ability to make that light as blinding as the sun ".

Turning his body , he faced her squarely.

" Are you asking a government official , a brigadier to help criminals ? "

He regretted his choice of words immediately but Adah only smiled and extended her hands , successfully patting his shoulder.

She stood , ready to leave .

" I'm not asking you to help a bunch of criminals . I'm asking you to open your ears. Open them and listen to the weeping within our so called Utopia ".

She opened the door and turned back for a moment.

" Your friend and sword await you".

The door closed after her .

Vita stared at the door , a thought formed in his head .

He must have mellowed while he was busy the past few weeks .

He had often been described with statements like " eyes burning with passion for the Utopia".

Now , he was even being adviced by criminals ,Nero would have a field day.

He had to leave this place . He picked his coat from where he had disposed it the previous day , made the bed , picked his needles and removed every other evidence that he had been there.

As he opened the door , a man came to stand before him , it was the man that had led them to the kitchen yesterday .

He had the same extremely bored expression.

" Follow me " .

He turned around and walked down the long hallway .

Vita came out , closed the door behind him and went after the extremely grim man .

They arrived at the kitchen they had used yesterday .

From the state of things , It was obvious that the people there had been cleared out in a hurry which supported his theory that a lot of the people who worked here had normal lives outside this .

They had been hidden to protect their identity.

The man ahead moved faster and opened the door that led outside the kitchen .

They walked close to the walls like they had done yesterday .

As they walked Vita heard voices of men , women and children just up ahead.

For , some weird reason he was really curious to know how they lived .

But , judging from his guides look , he would not be too happy to introduce the shelter and it's inhabitants to Vita .

They finally reached the gate , one discrete knock and a moment later , the gate began to open .

When they were through the gate , his guide stopped and Vita looked around noticing how there was no one around .

He had definitely heard three different set of breathing patterns while they were at the gate .

The guide pointed forward and Vita noticed a carriage , the same one they had stopped yesterday .

The guide began to jog towards it and Vita followed suit , jogging too.

When they reached the carriage , the curtain swung open revealing Nero looking excited.

The guide cleared his throat .

" I will take you to the foot of the Forest hills , you can find your way from there " .

Vita nodded and was about to express his gratitude when the other man jumped into the driver's seat ignoring them again .

Nero beckoned him in .

Not wanting to stress himself , he gave Nero his hand to pull him into the carriage.

The moment Nero accepted his hand ,the guide rode off upsetting both Nero's and Vita's balance .

Vita lifted himself to a sitting position and saw that his sword had been arranged off to the side .

He grabbed it , unsheathing it immediately .

Satisfied that nothing was amiss, he sheated it back and realized that Nero was dressed in completely different clothes from yesterday.

There was even paper everywhere , the type used to wrap sweets .

He looked at Nero.

" Where did you get all this ?" , he asked .

Nero shrugged ," From the market , they were pretty cheap".

Vita was shocked .

" They let you look around ?"

Nero looked worried for a moment.

" Didn't they allow you ? "

Vita shook his head .

" They even took my sword while I slept ".

He could never tell Nero who exactly had taken his sword.

Nero whistled softly.

" They must really be wary of you ".

He saw Vita's face and put his hands up , waving hurriedly .

"...that is actually a complement if you think about it , they let me play with their children even".

But , Vita knew .

He knew that they had seen Nero's empathy and used it.

He couldn't tell Nero that , he would be heartbroken.

Shifting slightly , he closed his eyes , he had a lot to think about.

He also wanted to see someone but he had zero idea on where he could be , he should have asked for a address.

He thought of where he could meet Juno , he really didn't want him to be at the Haze with the albino , but , it seemed that was the only place he knew to inquire of Juno .

The carriage pulled up and Nero stuck his head out.

" We have arrived ".

He jumped down and Vita followed . As they both moved forward to thank the driver , he rode off , leaving a cloud of dust behind him .

Nero turned to him .

" I need a shower , a drink and a horse , in no particular order though ".

He began to walk .

Vita smiled at the guide's gruffness , he had let them off a long ways from the city .

They would be walking for a while before they encountered any patrols.

It was good , he needed enough time to sort his mind .

He hated being unsure and ever since he had arrived at Agrippa , he had been unsure .

The night out had helped him straighten his mind though.

He would find out why the thought of Juno made him restless .

He would find out if this restlessness overrode his sense of responsibility to the brigade .