The Raven and the Rose (Part 1)

Chapter Eleven ~ The Raven

When I was sure that she was completely unconscious, I carried her to my room where I placed her gently on the bed. I caressed her head absentmindedly, totally mesmerized by her sleeping figure. Damn it, Valentina. Why did you have to be so beautiful? I kissed the top of her forehead and leaned back, pulling out from my pocket another syringe full of the same red pink liquid. I knew that she would hate me for giving her another dose of the Rose Toxin while she was unconscious, but in order for my plan to work, I needed to get this over with as soon as possible. So I bent over her sleeping form, stuck the needle in the soft skin of her forearm and pressed on the plunger. I squeezed my eyes shut because I knew that I would have to see her face contorting in pain. She was probably in pain right now after I gave her the second dose. I knew that the pain wouldn't come only a few minutes later, and if I gave her the third dose now, she would definitely feel the pain earlier and get nightmares. I opened my eyes and pulled the needle out of her skin and tucked the empty syringe back in my pocket. I leaned back and watched her for a few moments before turning away and heading to the door. When I placed my hand on the doorknob, I looked over my shoulder to see her stomach slowly rising and falling, which made a smile etch itself onto my lips. "Sweet dreams, Valentina." I said, and opened the door and left the room, closing the door behind me.

I walked down the hallway with my hands in my pockets, relishing in the silence of the hall. As I was making my way to the exit at the end of the hall, something in the air shifted and I stopped in my tracks. I cocked my head to the side, my left eye's peripheral vision managing to see nothing but a shadow walking behind me. Readying myself for a surprise attack, I turned around to see nothing in the hallway. Frowning, I turned back around but immediately stumbled backward when a strong fist connected with my nose. "Ow!" I cried out, and placed my hand over my nose, then pulled it back to reveal blood on my fingers. Looking up from my hand, I came face to face with a girl in a black ninja outfit, her fists raised while her body was in a fighting stance. I cocked my head to the side, scrutinizing her appearance. "You know, if you would've worn something more comfortable, I think you would have been able to land at least another few punches." I told her. The girl's green eyes flashed with anger before she started screaming and lunged at me, tackling me to the ground. "I'm going to kill you, Ravino!" she cried, and punched me in the face a couple of times before I grabbed her by the waist and hauled her off of me. She yelped in surprise and jumped to her feet, but not before I got to my own feet and pulled out my knife from one of my back pockets. Her fists clenched as she eyed the weapon in my hand. "You're really going to kill me with that, Ravino?" she asked. I shrugged, and then shot her a grin. "Maybe if you stand still I just might." I replied, and lunged at her.

She dodged out of the way and then landed a punch on my lower back. I cried out in pain, and swiped my knife at her face, which she narrowly dodged. Then she bent over and ran straight at me, face butting my stomach and pushing me into the wall behind me. "Ah!" she said, and punched me in the stomach, earning a groan of pain from me. Gritting my teeth, I grabbed her by the shoulders and pulled her towards me, then kneed her in the lower stomach area. She cried out in pain as she loosened her fists. I pushed her away from me, my hands still on her shoulders, so that we were now standing in the middle of the hallway, and then, with all my strength, I threw her across the hall. She screamed when she landed on the floor and I heard a bone cracking sound resonate in the hallway. And just at that moment, two guards rounded the corner at the end of the hallway, but I held my hand up to stop them, which they did. I crouched down so that I was eye level with the girl, and cocked my head to the side, a grin stretching across my face. "Thought you could kill me, Starr?" I asked, grinning widely. Gawking at me with both surprise and astonishment, she pulled off the mask she had over her face and her green eyes met my dark ones. "I'm going to kill you right now if you don't tell me where you put Valentina, Ravino!" she cried, her face red with anger.