I run away scared from the man, I turn around again and again while I run. I have hardly any strength left and I am very slow, the man comes closer and closer to me and suddenly I run against something big. Startled, I back away, I open my eyes again which I closed in shock at the impact, I'm startled when I realize what I ran against. I am standing directly in front of a huge attractive young man.

He looks at me in irritation. I first notice his fiery red hair, his brown eyes and his strongly built body, he is muscular and has a broad chest, yet he doesn't look as overly pumped up as most, probably because he is so huge and has quite distinctive body features.

"P-please...hah...forgive me" I finally bring out completely out of breath and gasping.

"Hey! You!" oh no, the man has caught up with me and is getting closer, I turn to the man who is aggressively getting closer. When he is only a few meters away from me I hear a deep but still somehow pleasant voice behind me.

"Do you have some kind of problem?" i flinch and turn around a bit, the young man has stood up behind me and is looking at the man sourly. "That dirty bitch tried to rob me." umn that's not quite true... "so she didn't steal. Then why are you chasing her? That's kinky, what would you have done if you caught her huh?!" "um..." the man hesitates "you are despicable and now get out!" he builds up a bit more, looking really threatening. The other hesitates but then he turns away sourly and leaves. "...Thank you..." i stand in front of the stranger and bow my thanks. "Hey, are you okay?" I cringe a bit again at the sound of his voice, I straighten up and lower my gaze "...I'm fine...you don't...need...to worry..." I give him as an answer but actually I'm terribly tired and my whole body hurts.

I lift my head and notice that the stranger is still looking at me, why doesn't he just leave? "Tell me, do you live on the street?" "?!" w-what? Is it that obvious? He's pretty direct nevertheless I nod hesitantly "that's how it is, so that's why you wanted to steal." "...I-I wasn't...going to steal...I was just standing there and then...the man...yelled at me...and...ran towards me...and he...ran after me..." "so that's how it was..." he examines me, but his gaze lingers on my side where I have a gaping open wound.

"Your wounds should be treated." "..." "I would take you to a healer" "...n-no...please don't inconvenience yourselves" I would like to accept it but I don't know the young man and besides...I don't want to inconvenience him even more....

..."... ah..."...

"Hey!?""Umn..." what happened? I open my eyes and realize that I am standing leaning against the young man, "F-forgive me..." I want to separate from him but as I stand alone again I feel dizzy and fall against the boy again. Then he suddenly picks me up, frightened I hold on to him shortly before the darkness overtakes me again.

When I slowly regain consciousness and open my eyes again, the stranger is still carrying me. It is unpleasant for me but somehow...I am also relieved. When he notices that I am awake he looks at me with his deep dark brown eyes and looks me directly in the eyes, I can't recognize any exact emotion in his look. After he has examined me a bit and let his gaze glide over my body, which gives me goose bumps, he looks up again.

He walks with me through the streets of the old city. ... "Tell me, what is your name?" he asks me after a while "...Haruka..." "Nero" he smiles a little. ...Nero so... the rest of the way it's quiet and I'm getting more and more tired. It sways a bit when he walks but it's not disturbing or uncomfortable it's more a feeling that triggers calm in me. I have in a long time or maybe even for the first time a kind of feeling of protection and security. I do my best not to fall asleep while we walk, I focus on the now somewhat empty streets of the city. The old houses that are built inside the city walls also get my attention, they are all quite identical and desolate, they are painted with white paint, have tiled roofs and old angular windows under some windows even hang flowers. I realize that I haven't really been in this part of town that much, it's also pretty close to the city wall and the castle that is built a bit above the city inside the walls. The huge wall comes closer and closer to us and gets bigger and bigger. But we keep walking towards it until we finally reach it. Nero stops in front of a door that leads directly into the wall, he unlocks it with a key and goes inside. We go through a corridor in the wall that leads straight to the castle courtyard. When we step out of the wall I am overwhelmed

He-he lives here?! He walks on to a somewhat secluded but magnificent part of the huge castle.

Two guards standing a little away from the door and keeping watch, bow submissively to him.

I'm quite uncomfortable with him carrying me....

He goes in with me and takes me to a large room with a bed. He lowers me down and sets me down on the large and soft bed.

He kneels in front of me and the bed and looks at my wound which is bleeding a bit "may I?" he says while looking at my side. "...Uh..." awkwardly I roll up my black shirt a bit exposing the wound. He looks at it for a moment and then reaches over to the nightstand next to the bed and pulls out a box with some remedies in it. With his big hands he carefully cares for my wound. His touch is tender and gentle. I lower my head and watch as he wraps a bandage around my side. When he is done, he stands up and I drop my shirt again.

"You must be tired, you can rest and if you want there is a bathroom" he points to a second door on the other side of the room. "...Thank you very much..." I lower my head submissively. Then he turns around and leaves the room.

I-I am inside the castle wall that cuts the castle off from the city. I-I bumped into someone who seems to be quite important. How stupid! Ah...I really must apologize, this is unforgivable...And then he is so beautiful...I still have palpitations...I should...really...thank him and ask again for...forgiveness...I am terribly tired and my eyes keep falling shut so I decide to get some sleep first. So I lie down and I cover myself with the thick and soft blanket that lies next to me.

When I wake up again I notice something lying next to the bed on the nightstand, that wasn't there earlier... I uncover myself and slowly I sit down on the edge of the bed. I take the bundle, it's clothes...s-should I put this on? I take the bundle and go into the bathroom "wow" it's huge and decorated with gold just like the rest of the house. After admiring the room some more, I undress and get in the shower.

I turn on the water, it is warm...normally I have always bathed in the cold lake that is just outside the wall. I let the warm water run over me, I am careful that my bandage does not get wet but nevertheless I suddenly get quite a pain in my whole body, a burning pain that fills almost every spot of my body. It is the many open cuts and umbrella wounds. The warm water burns my open skin but at the same time it does me good, the water flowing down my body and washing the street dirt off me makes me feel clean. When I am finished I dry myself and my hair. Fortunately the pain slowly subsides and the burning goes away. I put on the clothes that I hope are for me. It is a comfortable sweater and loose pants. The sweater is just a little too big for me and the pants are comfortable. Both are dipped in a deep gray.

I still comb my hair and then go out of the bathroom and I sit down on the bed again and I just look at the white and gold room for a bit.

After a while I hear footsteps in the hallway that get louder and louder until they stop in front of my door, there is a knock. Before I can say anything, the door opens slowly and Nero stands in the room.

He has food in his hand.

Nero comes to me and gives me the bowl of soup "eat" hesitantly I begin to drink the warm soup. The soup is delicious and pleasantly warm. Nero watches me while I eat...when I'm done he takes the bowl from me again and says goodbye "it's getting late, you should also get some more rest." "...thanks Nero..." I say before he leaves the room.