KRATOS & SABRINA : A PARTY

[Wolfy]

Almost crying from terror, Sabrina watched in horror as the wood of the log start to crack under the force of Nightmare's sharp hooves. She still hadn't caught her breath from when she hit that tree, and had quite a bit of pain in her back and on her side from the impact. In her condition, she obviously wouldn't be able to outrun the monsterous horse to the fence.

Just as she thought the log would give in, Nightmare ran off to jog in a circle around her like a waiting shark or circling vulture. With a soft whimper, she honestly wondered if she would make it out of there alive. Certainly once the horse realized that her hiding place was close to its breaking point, he wouldn't let her stay there for long. So she just stared longingly out at the barn.

It wasn't long, though, before she saw another horse coming toward her. "Oh no, not another monster horse," she whimpered, culing up further. But then, in the darkness, she made out a rider on the horse's back. When she saw it was Memini, a huge smile spreading across her face. "Thank goodness!"

She moved as fast as she could, but she still hadn't caught her breath. She thought getting onto the horse would be easy, but with no saddle, and Memini not being much help, it was nearly impossible. "Memini!" she cried, seeing Nightmare notice them. "Help!" She saw the monster start to charge for them and she let go of him. "Just go, just GO!" she yelled as loud as she could with no breath. There was no use in both of them getting trampled. Quickly looking around for a better place to hide, Sabrina found nothing besides the hollow log in sight.

[Rad]

“Run Sabrina, I’ll distract Nightmare. Where is that useless butler when you need him?” Memini declared, trembling in terror despite his brave words. Perhaps it wouldn’t take long for Sabrina to reach the barricade surrounding Nightmare’s territory. Once she was safe surely Memini would have an opportunity to flee as well. Certainly riding horseback would prove effectual in making a swift retreat once his task was done.

Turning to face the oncoming monster, Memini somehow convinced his steed to charge. The two equines met a fair distance from the log, each rearing up on their hindquarters and boxing at each other with their front hooves. Unable to maintain his balance during the scuffle, Memini fell, landing with a painful thud on the grass. The mare, perceiving that her rider was gone, made use of this newfound liberty and promptly fled the scene, abandoning Memini to face his inevitable fate under Nightmare’s hooves.

Scurrying to his purse that had fallen beside him, Memini fumbled it open, plunging his hand inside in a desperate attempt to locate some sort of item to defend himself with. Shortly, his hands came into contact with something warm and furry and with an expression of unparalleled revulsion on his face he chucked the white creature at the stallion. Disgusting! How had Ramses, Adrasteia’s pet albino rat, gotten into his purse?

Luckily, the unwelcome stowaway was now proving to be rather useful. Already, Nightmare had lost interest in Memini, choosing instead to pursue the lively rodent in vigorous endeavors to trample the repulsive thing beneath his hooves. Using this distraction to his advantage, Memini discarded the ‘contaminated’ purse and scampered for the fence, flinging himself over the barrier just as a squeal and a victorious whinny sounded from behind him.

Panting, he stared at Sabrina, his initial fright morphing into relief then anger as he shouted at her, “You really are daft! Getting into an enclosure with a crazy beast like that! Were you even thinking? Do you want to get killed?”

[Wolfy]

While the beast was distracted, Sabrina took her chance and quietly made her way to the enclosure’s wall. It was slow going, however, because she found walking difficult because the bruise from the tree still throbbed on her back. Once she crawled under the wooden planks of the fence, she looked back to see Memini running toward her. Somehow he had escaped the beast intact, and was sure to make it out alive.

Panting, Sabrina placed her head against the exterior wall of the stable building. She was holding her side and looking rather disheveled. Just as her friend made it over to the safe part of the stable yard, she heard a sickening squeal as Adrasteia’s rat was attacked by the monstrous beast inside the pen. In a panic, she realized that could have been her had Memini not come to her rescue. But who would save Adrasteia? Was he even still alive?

Looking up at Memini with tear-filled eyes, Sabrina decided to catch her breath before she answered him. Once she had calmed down a little, she began to answer for herself. “Wasn’t me,” she panted. “It was K-K-Kratos!” She rubbed the tears out of her eyes and tried to compose herself more. “And he got Adrasteia, too!”

Wondering what horrible things were happening to her friend, Sabrina began crying again. “He said he was going to drive Adrasteia mad! I don’t know what he’s going to do, Memini!” she said seriously. She stared in fear as Nightmare trotted along the fence as he tried to find a way over the barricade keeping him from his victims. “We have to save him, Memini! Kratos wasn’t kidding!”

With that said, Sabrina strenuously got back to her feet. “Come on, he’s probably inside the mansion!” said Sabrina urgently. Walking through the hallway of the stable to get to the main building, she left a bloody trail of footprints behind. Her back had an almost consistent layer of blood on her dress because of all the thorns. “There’s no time to lose!” In fact, Sabrina was already fairly certain that they were too late.

[Rad]

“Kratos…did what?” Memini muttered, blinking blankly at Sabrina. “Are you sure? Did Nightmare bonk you on the head?” He lifted a hand to her forehead, “Hm…you don’t seem to have a fever…hey!” He watched as Sabrina trotted away, uncertain what to do as he processed the implications of what she had disclosed. Still, upon perceiving the trail of blood she was leaving behind his mind was instantly overcome with more pressing matters. The trouble with his guardian could wait. For the interim he had ascertain Sabrina’s safety. Grabbing her hand, he said, “Sabrina…wait, we have to tend to those wounds. I’m sure Kratos was merely drugged to the extent that his illogical actions looked menacing.”

Well, he had to say something comforting right? Especially since the only medical assistance easily available to them on this estate would be Kratos’ own. Leading Sabrina gently through the hallway of the stables, he was careful to maintain a fair distance from the horses, despite the fact that these actually appeared amiable. He didn’t want Sabrina to suffer any additional trauma; Dally would be devastated if her master never showed her face at the stables again. A black stallion whinnied at them as they passed, tossing his head in greeting, yet to Memini this abrupt movement only reminded him of Nightmare. Still, he knew this fear of black stallions was only temporary, whether it was so for Sabrina…well he could only hope she knew Nightmare was…exceptional in his aggression.

Shortly, the two arrived at a set of mahogany doors. Opening these, they entered a narrow passage dimly lit by the torches perched on the sconces in the wall. Evidently, this was reserved for servants as he doubted Kratos would permit his terrain to look so exceedingly austere. Still, from what he had heard, the servants’ tunnels were connected to virtually every room the mansion, which was why the walls were so thick. Perhaps by utilizing this network he could get help for Sabrina faster than if he just went about it the regular way. He cares if people looked down on him for treading where servants walked!

Supporting Sabrina as he navigated this maze, Memini eventually tired of searching for a door. Okay, so this place probably had more secret exits than obvious ones. Wait…hadn’t he already passed that gargoyle statue before? As if he thought a closer inspection could affirm his suspicions, Memini walked over to statue and accidentally tripped, grabbing the head of the gargoyle with his free hand. The force seemed to be too much for the stone creature and with a soft grating sound the head slid down a few inches. At the same time, the wall shifted, revealing the room beyond. From the appearance of things, it appeared to be Kratos’ study on the upper floor.

Entering the room with Sabrina before the panel fell back into place; Memini surveyed his surroundings which were illuminated only with the light from the full moon which fell through the glorious French windows. Taking a moment to glance out at the front gardens, Memini was surprised to see that most of the vehicles had already vanished. Had they really been meandering through those pathways for so long? He didn’t think so… Turning his attention to the desk, Memini pulled out a few drawers, opened a few cabinets, and threw out a few papers, all the while rummaging for the first aid kit he felt certain Kratos must keep close at hand. So far, his efforts were in vain although he had unearthed a loaded revolver from beneath a stake of official looking papers that he now scattered on the ground.

After satisfying his curiosity by looking the weapon over, he tossed it at Sabrina, saying “You mentioned that you thought you were in danger? Why don’t you use this? I’m sure Kratos won’t mind.” He grinned, “Just don’t brand yourself a murderer in the process, okay?” He really wasn’t too worried about Adrasteia, but of course he didn’t know Kratos had used Adrasteia’s worst fear against him.

[Wolfy]

Confident that Nightmare was outside, Sabrina didn’t seem scared of any of the horses until the black stallion tossed its head at her. Gripping a hold of his arm, Sabrina actually looked quite scared. But that soon passed when she realized that she wasn’t in any danger. Well, until she found out where they were headed. Why would he go back to Kratos’ house after she just told him what he’d done?

Sabrina tried to stop Memini, but in her current state, every time she tried to fight just made her numerous little wounds hurt even more. So instead of trying to stop him, she gave up and followed him. “Really Memini,” she said softly as they entered the catacombs of Kratos’ servant tunnels. “Kratos is evil! We need to find Adrasteia before something terrible happens to him!” But Memini seemed determined to find his guardian.

She walked through the corridors with him, feeling more and more tired every single step. Her limp became more pronounced the further they walked because everything started to hurt more. Finally, when they reached Kratos’ office, she was almost relieved. Almost. Taking a quick look around, she confirmed that the man wasn’t lurking in a dark corner, waiting to catch them off guard. After she carefully examined every dark corner, she let herself relax a little.

“What are you doing?” she asked her friend. “Don’t rifle through his desk! He’ll know we were here!” Not like the drips of blood on the floor wouldn’t give them away already. She flinched away from the gun at first, but soon reached down and gingerly picked it up. “You don’t find it odd that he has a gun buried in his desk?” she challenged, looking to find the safety so she was sure it was on.

Once she found something that looked like a safety, she switched it on and looked to Memini. “Enough of this fooling around!” she insisted. “Adrasteia is probably dying right now! I’m serious!” She was so frustrated that he wasn’t listening to her. Did he not learn his lesson last time he thought Adrasteia had died? Did he not remember how upset he had been? “We need to find him and get him out of whatever Kratos is doing to him before you regret it like last time!” Hopefully that would refresh his memory of the horrific incident between them and Smile.

[Rad]

“Why should I worry about leaving a mess?” Memini retorted defiantly, toppling a stack of files just to make it crystal clear he couldn’t care less for the cleanliness of his guardian’s office. “This can be his punishment for forgetting to invite me to his parties. I wouldn’t mind eating those cherry tarts on a regular basis. They were simply exquisite in both taste and texture!” Licking his lips at the memory of those delightful desserts, Memini added, “Besides, how would he know we were the culprits? It could easily be another drunken guest or a resentful servant.”

“Furthermore, on the subject of guns…Adrasteia used to carry a pistol around with him ALL the time! When I used to question him about it his response was that it was an adult matter I wasn’t yet mature enough to comprehend. I’m sure the same applies for Kratos.” Having answered what he thought was the last of Sabrina’s multifarious inquiries Memini returned his limited attention to the desk and adjacent cabinets. It was only after the elapse of some time that he became cognizant of the fact that his companion was still talking. He decided to make an effort to reply despite not having heard exactly what she had said.

“Oh, last time…?” Memini echoed, not quite listening to Sabrina’s warning. He had never been capable of multitasking and since he was too preoccupied with locating that first aid kit he really wasn’t concentrating on Sabrina’s words. “Aha!” The exclamation was abrupt, containing quite a triumphant tone, giving the impression that the lad had finally recalled that previous incident with the Mafioso. However, as was typical of Memini, this proclamation was merely the consequence of him having finally discovered the metal box imprinted with that characteristic Red Cross.

Unlocking the container and proudly displaying the contents to Sabrina, Memini asked, “Well, is the injury somewhere I can help you with?” Now that there wasn’t anything distracting him, Memini might actually heed Sabrina’s advice.

[Wolfy]

Staring at Memini, Sabrina wondered if he was even listening. Did he really remember the incident with Smile and the trick they’d pulled on him? He didn’t seem to… She crossed her arms stubbornly and gave him a determined look. “Memini, listen!” she said seriously. “I don’t need first aid; I need your help to save Adrasteia! And if you want me to get medical help, I suggest you actually help me, because I’m not going to accept any until I know Adrasteia isn’t dying!”

She turned away from him and walked to the door that she was sure led to the main house. “So you can either follow me or stay out of danger. It’s up to you,” she said over her shoulder before she opened the door and walked out. She wouldn’t hold it against him if he didn’t want to come, she wouldn’t want to get into any danger either, which is why she decided to hold onto the revolver Memini had given her.

She was trying to be sneaky when maneuvering through the hallways of the mansion. Before every corner, she would back up against the wall and peek around the side to make sure Kratos or one of his servants wasn’t going to find her. But every time she did that, though, she left a few specks of blood on the wall that she didn’t see. So she wasn’t exactly being stealthy, since one could just follow her every move.

“Now, where would Kratos bring him?” she asked softly. She hadn’t seen any sign of the men who’d carried Adrasteia away, nor anything that looked evil in nature. So she didn’t have much to go on that would help her find him. But she didn’t want to just throw open doors. How was she ever going to find him in such a big place?

[Rad]

“Sabrina, you’re being rash!” Memini called out to her, watching as she disappeared from view. Plopping himself onto the revolving leather chair, Memini spun around in childish amusement, ruminating on whether to accompany her or not. Well, Sabrina had a loaded revolver in her possession so Kratos was more likely to be intimidated by her than vice versa. He laughed, oh how he wanted to see the expression on his legal guardian’s face when Sabrina challenged him with a gun!

Deciding to keep an eye on Sabrina just for the sake of witnessing what he estimated to be a hilarious scenario; Memini strode off in the general direction Sabrina had gone. However, being the illogical person he was, Memini was entirely oblivious to the tell-tale stains which indicated the route his companion had gone. It was thus that in his meandering he completely missed the trail and went off down corridors Sabrina had not even set foot in.

Despite his obvious errors in tracing Sabrina, Memini obstinately continued, getting lost further amongst the unfamiliar rooms and passageways of the mansion. He saw no one; most of the servants were attending to the guests on the ground floor, so when he finally perceived a figure walking in front of him he practically recoiled in surprise. Leaning against the wall of the passage connected at a ninety degree angle to the other, Memini peeked demurely around the corner at the servant.

Fortunately, the man’s back was turned so Memini could get a good view of the person without the stranger noticing him. It was then that he noticed the rabbit ears. Forgetting that Adrasteia had placed the ostentatious headpiece on Memini own head before he had left for the rendezvous, Memini heaved a sigh of relief. Promptly sprinting around the corner to confront the man he believed to be his butler, Memini shouted out amiably, “Hey, Adrasteia, I’m so glad I found you! You know, Sabrina says that fool Kratos abducted you or something…hey!”

Indignant at being ignored, Memini sprinted around to face him. “Are you ignoring me because I mocked the rabbit ears? That’s immature behavior for an adult, you do realize, don’t you?” Oh, so Adrasteia had added a mask to his costume, how amusing. Was he really so humiliated by that headpiece that he wished to conceal his identity? Maybe Adrasteia thought that by ignoring him he could convince Memini that he wasn’t really who his young master thought he was. Well Memini would soon remedy that misconception!

Spreading his arms out wide, Memini declared, “You know Adrasteia, as the Veritas heir I can tell AT A GLANCE who’s who, even if you wear a mask. You do realize that, don’t you?” His tone was quite pompous, confident that he had caught Adrasteia red-handed. He was further delighted when his words procured a reaction as the man stopped in his tracks and stared at him. Oh how entertaining it was that his butler thought he could deceive him!

“Funny that, I always thought the Veritas heir was a boy. Oh well, I suppose I’ve been misinformed.” Something was wrong, that voice was too gruff. It didn’t sound like Adrasteia at all. Could the mask be distorting his voice? Uncertainty was creeping into Memini’s mind and he turned to go. However, it was at this instant that a hand grabbed him and shoved a foul smelling cloth over his nose and mouth. ‘What is this? Chloroform?’ These were the last thoughts to enter Memini’s head as he descended into unconsciousness.

Meanwhile, having instructed his subordinates to organize his ransacked office; Kratos had strolled off on the trail of blood splatters Sabrina had left. Wrinkling his nose in disgust, the Exousia heir made a mental note to instruct the servants to do a thorough cleansing of those contaminated walls. However, for the interim these abhorrent stains were useful as he soon spotted Sabrina, her back turned to him as she peeked around the corner of the adjacent passageway.

Stealthily sneaking up behind her, Kratos placed a hand on her shoulder as he said, “Well, seems like I’ve found the culprit who destroyed my study. I must say, I’m glad you managed to escape Nightmare’s clutches alive. I have a feeling we’ll be having a lot of fun together tonight.” Despite his attempt at guising his hatred, every word practically dripped venom as he gazed coldly at his potential victim. He was certain that she had no way of defending herself. How she had even succeeded in fleeing Nightmare in the first place eluded him completely! Oh well, that stallion must be getting soft.

[Wolfy]

After meandering through many different corridors, Sabrina was starting to get tired. How was she ever supposed to find Adrasteia like this? She decided that if she didn't see anything down the next hallway, she was going to try something different. Momentarily, she wished that Memini had accompanied her. It would be so helpful to have someone with her to help. The task just felt so hopeless at the moment.

But she couldn't give up, so she wasn't stopping until she found who she was looking for. As she peeked down the hall, though, she felt a hand clasp her shoulder. Tensing up, she turned to see that Kratos had somehow found her. Glaring at him, she rolled her shoulder back to get his hand off of her.

"Don't touch me," she growled. "And where is Adrasteia?" She did her best to disguise her fear with anger, since she definately didn't want him thinking she was afraid of him. "It's too bad that your plan to kill me and make it look like an accident failed. You won't get away with this sick plan of yours now."

She suddenly remembered the revolver and held it up. "Now you'd better let him go!" she said seriously. She didn't realize that her hands were shaking as she continued to say, "I'm not afraid to use this!" But, the way her voice squeaked at the end betrayed the fact that she was afraid to fire off the gun.

Terrified, in fact. Her fingers weren't even near the trigger. She didn't actually want to kill anyone, even if it was Kratos, who was a maniac. It wouldn't have even mattered, though, because the safety was on. She thought that maybe Kratos wouldn't notice either of those things, but she was holding it in a way that he could see both.

[Rad]

“Kill? That’s preposterous! Although heinous murder may have been on Nightmare’s mind I assure you that it was never in my interest to see you reduced to a mutilated corpse.” Kratos denied, emphasizing on the last two words. He could see her shaking badly and if there was one thing the villain was skilled at, it was enhancing another’s fear. “As for Adrasteia, you need not worry. I also have no intention of…permanently disposing of him. I merely desire to have him out of the way in order to prevent him from ruining this glorious celebration!”

He laughed, grinning maliciously at Sabrina, “If you recall, you asked what occasion this was…well, allow me to answer that query. Today is the anniversary of the tragedy which claimed the lives of Memini’s family. However, it also happens to be Memini’s birthday! Isn’t it magnificent that he is fortunate enough to have that incident fall on such a grand event? I’m almost envious.” He smiled, leaned in closer, confident that the trembling girl in front of him wouldn’t pull the trigger.

If Sabrina had given a credible performance Kratos may have complied with her demands, especially since he was an utter coward when confronted with real danger. However, the girl was making it too obvious that she meant him no harm. Everything about this scene, the quivering hands, the squeak in her voice, the safety catch, and the fact that Sabrina gripped the revolver in such a peculiar way suggested to Kratos that she was bother mentally and physically unprepared to shoot him.

{OoC: Happy Birthday, Memini~ Congratulations on turning 15. As your present I’ll make you 3cm taller. :3}

[Wolfy]

Sabrina visually flinched at each word, “Mutilated, corpse”. But she kept her glare up as she stared at Kratos. “You’re sick,” she said seriously. “You are a sick, sick man!” She stepped back when he leaned in. She didn’t want any kind of contact with this diseased man. “Now, I told you,” she said again. “Back off!” She poked the barrel of the gun into his chest.

“I want to know where Adrasteia is!” she repeated. “Just tell me, and he, Memini, and I will get out of your hair!” Now that she thought about it, she didn’t know what Kratos even wanted. He didn’t want them dead, he didn’t want them to go, but he wanted to keep them out of the way? It didn’t make sense to her at all.

“What do you even want, Kratos?” she asked finally. “If you don’t want us dead, then what’s the point of all this?” She slowly lowered the revolver, but kept it close at hand. Though she knew she wouldn’t use it, maybe it would still help keep Kratos at bay. She still wasn’t aware of the fact that he didn’t buy her ruse at all.

[Rad]

“Sick?” Kratos laughed, “Since when were you authorized to make such a medical assessment? Tell me, what ailment do I suffer from?” He was actually grateful she had taken the initiative to swat his hand away; he was quite repulsed by the girl as well. As the barrel was shoved into his chest, he flinched visibly, his composure faltering for a moment until he realized she still wasn’t holding the trigger, despite the fact her trembling had ceased.

Of course, he wouldn’t feel obligated to meet her demands until it was apparent his life was threatened. Judging by how things had progressed so far he considered it likely that such a thing would never happen. After all, she was just a girl; she might as well be pressuring him with a stick. He smirked at her now, his confidence having returned. “Quit the act already, foolish girl! I know you have no intention of firing that gun so why not return it to its rightful master?” I’m sure I can find better use for it.

“What do you even want, Kratos? If you don’t want us dead, then what’s the point of all this?”

Now here was a question that flummoxed even Kratos himself. He was convinced that all this preparation was a part of some sort of glorious plan yet… Well, he was certain that the night had commenced with his intentions crystal clear in his head however, after a few glasses of Rouge…well his thoughts were determined to elude him now. He sighed, looked genuinely remorseful for a second, and even thought of offering an apology before he decided against it. Whatever it was, if he canceled everything now, all his efforts would go to waste. Better to stall for time until he remembered.

Constructing a picture frame by forming an ‘L’ with the thumb and index finger of both hands, Kratos gazed at Sabrina through this structure. There was a contemplative expression on his face as he said to himself, “No, I certainly didn’t do this to have her to myself. Her immature figure doesn’t entice me at all. There will simply be no pleasure gained from seducing something like this…so what was it…that I had planned?”

[Wolfy]

So he wasn’t buying her act at all? With a disappointed look on her face, Sabrina looked down at the revolver in her hand. Was it really doing her much good to be holding it? She figured that she would either give it up now or get it taken from her by force. So she waited as he seemed to be looking at her through a picture frame made out of his hands. Oh, how humiliating! When he finally stopped, she held the gun out to him.

“Since I’m giving this to you voluntarily,” she said quietly. “Can you please promise not to use this on any of us?” That was stupid, she thought instantly. He’s a liar! Even if he did agree, she couldn’t stop him from threatening her with it. Well, it was too late now to get the gun back, she’d already handed it over.

She took a couple steps back, just in case, and looked at him seriously. “Now what?” she asked. “Do you let me go; do you bring me to where you’re holding Adrasteia?” Not that either of those options were very good. She couldn’t leave her friend in the clutches of that fiend, but she also definitely didn’t want to be captured as well. What good would either of those options be?

Then again, both of those situations were better than her being shot right there. And although he had said he had no intention of killing her, she still didn’t want to voice that and put it in his head. She suddenly remembered that he had asked her if she’d messed up his office, so Memini was no longer there. Where was he? She hoped he wasn’t making a nuisance of himself.

Perhaps, since he must have escaped Kratos, he would be able to help? He was able to save her from Kratos’ last scheme. Unaware that her friend had already been caught by another of Kratos’ servants, she was filled with a sense of hope. At least for the time being.

[Rad]

“Very well,” Kratos sighed as Sabrina relinquished the gun, “I suppose that it wouldn’t hurt to confine you with the other two. It may have been my original plan anyway.” Shrugging, Kratos strolled purposefully past Sabrina, gesturing with a wave of his hand to suggest that he wanted her to follow.

An abrupt impact brought Memini to his senses and clutching at his head in an effort to restrain the tears he sat up. A door slammed behind him and with a start he looked up whereby he almost immediately banged his head on the table again. “Ow…” Memini whimpered morosely, unable to stifle his tears this time. This room was unfamiliar and thus he deduced that rather than having woken from a slumber he had been tossed here in an unconscious state, crashed his head against the table, and awakened because of the pain.

Oh, the pain was excruciating! Peering past his tears, Memini surveyed his surroundings, noting the scent of cherry which dominated the room. An ornately carved table propped against a distant wall also contained a banquet of evidently cherry-flavored pastries, confectionaries, baked goods and even a gigantic cake. The wallpaper even had an adorable pattern on it (cherry again) and everything in the room was either mahogany or colored in crimson, pink or violet with petite designs of the delightful fruit.

Fetching a tray of tarts before pouncing onto a lavish red velvet couch, Memini thought he was in heaven until he saw the trembling creature huddled in a far corner of the place. With a shudder he realized it was Adrasteia. Shoot, how long had he been cooped up in here? Was it possible for an individual to be driven insane by such an omnipotent presence of his worst nightmare?

Hurriedly wolfing down the tarts (partially for selfish reasons and partially in the hope it would lessen his friend’s fear), Memini scooted over to Adrasteia, uncertain what to do. Sure he often used the man’s worst fear against him to gain an upper hand but never to such an extreme extent. This really was excessive! Who could be so cruel?

However, just as he was pondering what to do, he heard the turning of a key in the lock as Kratos entered with Sabrina behind him. “How do you like my torture chamber?” His guardian grinned, talking to no one in particular. Jumping up, Memini spread out his arms defensively in front of his servant; rage burning in his eyes as he growled, “I won’t let anyone other than me to torture Adrasteia! Not even you, Kratos! Sabrina, quickly, shoot him!” Of course, he didn’t know Sabrina wasn’t in possession of the revolver anymore.

[Wolfy]

Sabrina wanted to ask what he meant by other two, but decided that she would see soon enough. So once he waved his hand for her to follow, she sighed and did what he wanted. When they stopped in front of a door, she guessed that was the room Adrasteia was being kept in. She thought she had passed this hallway earlier, but wasn’t sure. Well, it didn’t really matter now if she’d been close to finding him or not. Right as she began to walk inside, she heard a familiar voice yell, “Sabrina, quick, shoot him!”

She shrugged a little and stepped into the room. “He has the gun, Memini,” she sighed. She looked past her friend to see someone trembling, all curled up on the floor. “Oh my gosh… Is that Adrasteia?” She could hardly recognize him. “What did you do, Kratos?” She glared up at the man standing by her. “How could you do this to someone? You are sick!”

She hurried toward them, then kneeled down by the shivering man. “How long has he been like this, Memini?” she asked. “And how did you get here?” She looked around for the first time and noted all of the cherry decorations in the room. “Is that what’s making him so scared? Cherries?” She didn’t know he was so scared of something so harmless. There had to be a reason behind that. But of course she would never ask.

She looked back at Kratos with a glare. “It’s obvious he’s had enough, Kratos,” she said seriously. “Let him go!” She really was furious with him. First off, he was terrible and cruel to Memini. What guardian throws an extravagant party on the day of his charge’s parents’ deaths? And on top of that, he doesn’t invite Memini, but his friend in a scheme to get him to show up in a ridiculous disguise.

And what he did to Adrasteia was just over the line. How could someone be so horrible? She was so mad. If only she had something she could hit him with. But her anger could wait, Adrasteia needed help, even if all they could do is try to get rid of all the cherries in the room.