Dinner consisted of beef stew and a glass of ice cold water. The meal was simple, but enjoyable. However, the entire time you were eating, you felt extremely uncomfortable. Lucian wore his usual unreadable expression, but something was different. You could tell that he was in a bad mood and you knew that you were the cause of it. Not once did he try to toy with you. In fact he never even glanced your way; he just stared at his food with an emotionless face, occasionally eating a bite of it. Did your trust mean that much to him? Even if it did, you couldn't just rely on him blindly if he was hiding information from you.

A part of you wanted to trust him due to the demonstration of concern he showed for you every now and then, but again a voice in the back of your head just kept telling you that he was playing you. He was making you feel somewhat guilty in not trusting him. The guilt annoyed because you had every right to not rely on him fully, yet right now his behavior bothered you. Was he purposely acting this way, so that you would feel bad for your previous statement, or was he genuinely hurt? Not being able to tell drove you mad. Why was he so hard to understand? Your thoughts were interrupted when you saw him getting out of his and chair, heading for the doors.

"I'll be retiring for the evening. I'll see you in the morning," he stated, with his back facing you.

Not being able to contain your frustration you exclaimed and questioned, "Why can't you understand this situation from my perspective?" 

Still not looking at you, he replied, "I could ask you the same question."

His answer only irritated you further, but you had no time to reply, as he left the dining room, closing the door behind him. Hearing the sound of his footsteps fading, you set your fork down angrily. Wanting to shout, you got out of your chair. Looking for something to vent your anger out on, you seized your chair and went over to the window. You had enough of Lucian's confusing personality. Raising the chair, you went to smash the window, but realization struck you. Where would you go? The bracelet prevented you from exiting the mansion, but if you could escape, where would you run to? You had no place left. The fact of the matter was that you had only this mansion left. There were the Luciels, but they were definitely not an option.

Dropping the chair, you crashed to your knees. Leaning your head against the window, you looked out at the stormy night. Maybe you just needed to rest a little; maybe you would wake up and see your friends' smiling faces. Though, you realized such a thing would never happen. Laughing lightly at your foolishness, you closed your eyes, feeling tears falling down your face. The tears continued in your sleep, as you remained in the dining hall, lacking the energy to sleep in your room.

Morning arrived, but the sky was still grey. Its pale light shined on your still sleeping form, which was resting against one of the paned windows. Lucian on the other hand awoke in his bed. He combed his fingers through his hair before glancing around his room. Summoning Nafera, he informed her to retrieve you from your room, since it would be best to search the sanatorium during the day. Nafera nodded and went to fulfill her task. However, after several minutes passed, she returned to Lucian, stating that you weren't in your room. At the time of her return, Lucian was putting on his black coat with purple embroidery, which covered his simple white peasant shirt. This news surprised him and he merely walked past Nafera, exiting his room. Utilizing magic, he tapped into your bracelet and discovered that you were still in the dining room. Had you decided to get up early and eat without him again?

Thinking this was case, his eyes flashed with anger. Obviously, you still didn't understand your place. Last night you had questioned him too far and refused to place your trust in him. How could you not trust him after he took you into his home and kept you from the council's horrid hands? Your stubbornness was getting to him and he walked down the halls with a furious air surrounding him.

Though, when he opened the dining room doors, he saw something he didn't expect. You weren't eating, but instead you asleep. Your form was against the window on the far end of the room. The food from last night was still on the table, since he forgot to send the dishes back into the kitchen to be cleaned. Seeing your unconsciousness figure, his anger subsided. Walking over to you, he saw the chair on its side next to you and tear stains on your face. Sighing once more, he knelt down in front of you and examined you.

"You truly are beautiful, my pet. Why can't you just trust me?" he muttered.

Couldn't you just understand that he needed time to recover from his past, couldn't you wait until after all mask pieces had been recovered. However, maybe there was something else that was causing you to mistrust him. Placing his right hand on your left cheek, he rested his forehead against your own. His action woke you up. Slowly you opened your eyes before becoming startled at seeing Lucian right in front of you. Falling backwards a little, you realized that you were still in the dining room. Confusion laced your eyes, as Lucian stood up and stared down at you.

"You shouldn't fall asleep in the dining room, my pet. It really isn't the best place to sleep."

"Whatever," you mumbled, getting up yourself.

Not making eye contact with Lucian, you went to walk past him, but he grabbed your right arm and stopped you.

"My pet, why were you crying?"

"Like I would tell you, I have my own secrets as well Lucian. Now let me go, I'm going to get ready, or are we not heading out today?"

"Yes, we are," was all he said before releasing your arm.

Casting your gaze away from him, you left him in the dining room and headed up to your room. Why would he care that you were crying? He should know that he was the cause of your frustration. Again his actions confused you. Deciding to forget it for now, you grabbed some new clothes and undergarments and went into the shower. Right now you just needed a calming shower to clear your head. When you finished, you came out of the bathroom in a beige v-neck dress that fell just above your knees. Traveling knee high boots covered your feet while black over-the-knee socks covered most of your legs. However, when you walked out of the bathroom, you found a coat being placed on you. Looking up, you saw Lucian standing in front of you.

"You'll need this for where we are going. The area around the town of Farisenal is in constant winter. Now we're heading out. We'll eat on the way. I want to leave early, so we can avoid the night as much as possible."

Merely nodding, you buttoned up the simple military style long beige coat. Keeping your hair down, you went to leave your room, but Lucian stopped you.

"There's no need to leave the room. The town of Farisenal is located in Northern Europe, so we'll be traveling there by other means."

Raising your left eyebrow at him, you watched as he tapped his foot against the ground. Within a moment's notice, you saw a colorless hole appear in the floor. You couldn't see anything in it, just a continuation of the colorless space. Holding his arm out for you to take, you hesitantly held onto him.

Not giving you anytime to process what was happening, he jumped into the hole, taking you with him. A rush of air blew past you, but only lasted for a second. After it past, you felt like a weightless object hovering in midair. Glancing around you, you saw the same colorless scenery. You couldn't stare at the simplicity for long due to you feeling your feet land on something soft. The colorless space vanished, revealing a snow covered forest. Seeing the woods, you figured you could let go of Lucian's arm and so you did.

Walking on ahead of you, you followed after Lucian, as your feet crunched in the icy snow, yet at the same time they sank into the soft substance. Taking the time to examine your surroundings, you noticed that you were in what looked like a pine forest, but you couldn't be sure. The top part of the trees looked to be pines just covered in snow. However, the bottoms of the trees were barren and pine trees don't usually shed their needles. Maybe it was just because the sun hadn't reached the bottom-most branches. Besides the trees there really wasn't much else to look at. Thus you cast your gaze back towards Lucian, who was a little ways ahead of you. Catching up to him, you walked on in continued silence. Sighing, you decided to break the quiet. However, when you went to do so, you didn't notice the tree branch and ended up tripping.

Catching you in his arms, Lucian set you back upright, but didn't let you go. He only shook his head at your carelessness. Staring up at him, you mumbled thanks.

"Listen Lucian, I won't apologize for what I said last night, but ..." you started saying, but you couldn't finish, for you didn't know what else to say.

"My pet, why can't you trust me?"

"I already told you the reason."

"There's more to it," he stated simply.

"And, how do you figure that?" you questioned.

"You were crying last night. I saw the tear stains on your face. You're frustrated with something else besides the lack of information. Now tell me what it is. I want to understand."

"That's what I'm frustrated about. I can't tell if your concern is genuine, if any of the emotions you show toward me are genuine. Tell me, Lucian, are you just playing me!" you shouted, not being able to contain your emotions any longer.

No answer left his lips, as he stood there just holding onto you. A gentle breeze blew throughout the forest, making Lucian's hair blow in front of his face. You couldn't see his expression. Did you finally find the truth? Was he really just playing you? Figuring the answer was yes, you managed to get out of his grip. As you went to walk away, you felt him tug your left arm back. When you went to protest, you were cut off by him pressing his lips against yours. Widening your eyes in surprise, you couldn't describe the kiss for it only lasted a moment.

Pulling away from you and resting his right fingers under your chin, which held you in place, Lucian stated, "My pet, every emotion I've shown you has been sincere. I genuinely care for you."