The Low-Class Prince Charming

Chapter 9

He wasn't sure why, but her words sent shivers down his spine. When she pulled back, she didn't spare him a glance as she slowly led them back down the way they'd run before and slowly back in the direction of her house. Mason gasped quietly as he saw the blood all over her back from the knife slash before, but Sky didn't respond at all - neither to his gasp, nor the pain she was likely feeling.

When they reached the main alley, she held out her arm behind her and pressed him against the wall so he wouldn't do anything reckless while she scoped out the situation. After deeming it safe, she grabbed whatever part of him she could find, which just so happened to be his hand, and started pulling him along quietly behind her.

Despite the unexpected contact, all Mason could think about was the overwhelming urge to run from whatever danger might still be out on these streets, but knew he should rely on Sky's apparently unmatchable street wisdom.

Reaching the other side of the alley they now crept along in what small shadow the wall offered them. After they were a few hundred metres away from the site of destruction, Sky slowly started to speed up and before long they were running, albeit slower than before so there was no chance of Mason tripping over to keep up with her larger paces.

As they rounded the corner to reach the alley which ran behind the mansion, neither of the pair had ever been happier in their life to see a garbage dumpster. Needing no instruction, Mason crawled back onto the mansion grounds through the hole when Sky let go of his hand and pushed him in front of her so she could check the situation behind them to make sure they really were safe.

They were.

A few seconds after Mason had crawled through and was free of the bush on the mansion side, Sky followed through behind.

They only stared at each other as they each brushed the leaves and dirt off their bodies. It was Mason who broke the silence.

"Your back needs attention," he said at last, referencing her knife wound. "You won't be able to reach that spot yourself."

"How do you know what I can and can't do?" she snapped at him in response, fury rising up within her, though it was uncalled for and even she knew she couldn't control herself. "If it wasn't for you, I wouldn't have had that wound in the first place."

For a few moments it was almost a standoff between a fierce, panting lioness and a nervous cheetah. Although they both knew it could have ended up much worse for her back and also for her if Mason hadn't been there, they both knew she just didn't want to admit to it. The fact that Sky had almost suffered such an embarrassing defeat was too much for her - and 'defeat' was putting it very lightly indeed.

A few seconds passed in this stare down before she turned on her heel and headed back towards the mansion, leaving Mason momentarily confused. That was until he once again saw Sky's bloodstained shirt.

"Sky!" he whisper shouted as he ran to catch up with her. "Sky, I don't care how much you hate me, but you need help fixing that up," he almost pleaded with her. "That's not just a simple cut."

Mason was talking non-stop beside Sky as he tried to make her see reason, but Sky walked in silence towards their windows. Mason was afraid he'd lost the battle when she grabbed the rope and was about to hoist herself when she hissed and fell back onto her two feet.

"You'll open up your wound again like that," he said sadly, already starting to see a fresh flower starting to spread slowly on her back. "I'm asking you to please let me help. Even if it's for my peace of mind rather than for your health."

Sky looked at him then. "Only because I have no other choice," she mumbled eventually, clearly still angry. "But I can't exactly walk in like this."