Heart of a rogue

* Chapter 6 - explosive personality

Twinkle led me toward the dining hall, which wasn't fancy or anything. Long-ass tables and chairs surrounded the space. One thing was for sure: it looked hella clean and kept neatly. Are rogues living here?

You couldn't tell at all.

There was a woman behind the glass scooping up food onto a silicone plate and then putting it through a shaft so the person ordering it could grab it. This system protected the cutlery behind the woman and probably the woman herself from these crazy rogues.

Most of the food was gone already, so I had to choose between scraps. She had some tomato soup left, mashed potatoes, and mixed greens. I didn't care though.

She scooped my order up and deposited it into the shaft so I could grab it safely. Twinkle guided me to a table.

"You're seriously just going to stand there?" I asked. "How come I get a personal guard?"

He shrugged. "Because you're Ms. Crazy Pants."

It made me roll my eyes. I could tell him off, but I called him Twinkle too, so I wasn't in a position to be angry about my nickname. The food wasn't special, but I hadn't eaten in days, so it tasted like heaven right now.

"So what am I allowed to do after dinner?" I asked him with a mouth full of food.

He groaned. "God, learn some manners." He paused before addressing my question. "After dinner, I'll escort you to your tent. You are not allowed to leave. I'll pick you up tomorrow at seven for your breakfast, and then I'll escort you to your first lesson. You'll be expected to be dressed before seven."

"That early?"

"Yes, that early."

After dinner, he escorted me to my tent. Don't get fancy ideas in your head; it wasn't a small cozy tent. No, we passed the cozy tents and went straight to a big one. Twinkle explained that the better we behaved, the more privileges we get. For now, I'd share a big tent with the other rogues.

There is a bed, though it's anything but comfy, and we get one slim pillow and a thin blanket. In my cave, I could at least shift so my coat kept me warm, but with these shackles, I couldn't.

"And why do some not have shackles?" I asked.

"Also a privilege. The ones you wear now are the strongest. Two thick shackles around your wrists block all your senses. Then, you get promoted to a shackle around your ankle, which allows your senses to return but still blocks the shift. After that, the shackles will be taken off—only when progress is shown, obviously."

Twinkle said this and then stopped before we entered the tent, suddenly looking so serious.

"Behave tonight. If you somehow trigger the other rogues, you're back on the pole—or worse, punished severely. These people get a chance to go home, so let them develop themselves. Do not stir them up, Lucy."

"Oh, will you punish me then?" I asked, fluttering my eyelashes. I liked toying with him, especially because he flustered easily. He was a hunk of a guy, but he had a small, vulnerable heart.

He slapped my hand away as I tried to circle my arms around his waist. Ouch, rejected.

"Do not toy with me," he said, "I will not give in to your temptations. Get to your bed, and I'll see you at seven sharp, Lucille." He pushed me into the tent.

It made me growl lowly under my breath. Don't push me like that! I was about to storm out when a voice behind me called my name, "Lucy!" It was Mia, no doubt. Her sweet voice was one of a kind.

She was about to hug me, but instead, I growled at her. She was my friend, but she'd done a number on me. "You gave them my name!" I roared at her.

The other rogues either perked their ears or had the balls to sit up from their beds to look at me. I even heard one whisper that Mia was a dead woman.