Three

"Sire, we shouldn't be this close to the palace this night, we should have left a while ago. Nobody should link you to what is going on in the palace." One of the men following Lord Vallas said but he just shook his head. 

"And nobody knows that I am here by this time." The man leaned on his cane, his fingers brushing the design, the golden Raven. His mind flashed back to the street boy of earlier, the boy was right and at the same time he was wrong. The people who wore the golden Raven on anything other than their amour are the real heroes, the ones who would do anything to protect the Empire even from the emperor. And they certainly don't follow the path of justice, not when Justice is now blinded and led by the partial, not when justice is on the side of those who want the down fall of the empire. 

"But sire…" The guard who voiced his complains earlier started again but Lord Vallas replied, his tone razor sharp with his will.

"You can leave if you want to but I will wait to see if they have achieved their mission or if they failed." 

The guard bowed his head in defeat as Lord Vallas turned his gaze to the palace and when he saw the spark and the signal before the warning bells started, he knew that the plan had succeeded.  "They did it, and now we can leave."

Vallas turned to enter his coach to leave when he heard heavy breathing that was coming closer and shouts too. He turned curiously to see the boy of earlier badly injured as he ran towards him, his face was filled with acute fear that it sent a chill down Lord Vallas throat. 

"Help me." The boy begged as he run to hide behind the man.

"You there! Hand him over." One of the boy pursuers ordered as Vallas raised a refined eyebrow. 

"It's like you do not know the proper etiquette when presented with one of the nobles. You greet first, with your eyes to the floor."  He gritted out as the guards corrected their selves then impatiently asked for the boy again. "And what do you want him for?" 

"That is none of your business." The prime minister said from behind the men as the men bowed to him without any prompting from anybody. Their actions showed that this man was the one who hired them and as a principle of his since he hated the man in front of him, Vallas raised his eyebrows in pretend shock. 

"You will come to find out that a lot of things concerning him is my business." 

"Vallas, don't play like you know him before now, this is not business of yours, just hand over the boy and continue on your merry way and act like we never saw each other by this unholy hour." General Cain gritted out but Vallas just smiled. 

"I wished I could do that but you see, I don't know what you want with him and whatever you want with him, I am happy that you shocked him enough to come and meet up with me after he turned me down. Penn is just a very stubborn boy." Vallas replied with a grin as he watched panic pass Cain eyes before he shut down his facial expressions. 

"Penn?"  

"Yes Penn. That is the boy's name." Vallas replied Cain question.

"And what is your relationship with Penn?" Cain asked curious because that was something which none of his spies told him, after he leaves here, he planned on giving them a stern talking to which none of them by might survive but they deserve it for making him look foolish where this man was and as if to prove his thoughts,  Vallas laughs and after laughing for a while,  he straightened as he looked Cain in the eyes.  

"Certainly not your business." Vallas replied as Cain eyes went angry.

"It is because I am about to take him into custody for stealing." 

"I didn't sire." Penelope voiced urgently from behind the man she was hiding, she didn't want to die and she knew that her death was sure the minute they drag her away from here. 

"I know Penn, you are not the type who steals. I can vouch for him." Vallas fibbed.

"Careful Vallas, you shouldn't vouch for strangers." 

"He isn't one." Vallas drawled, making a split decision that he hope wouldn't back fire at him, after all he did offer the boy a chance at something better earlier on but he said no, maybe he would change his mind given the circumstances. "He is my ward."

"Pardon me." Cain asked in a ludicrous tone.

"I know, the boy didn't take the death of his parents well, he ran away and I found him. Hopefully he will chose to come home this time." Vallas fixed Penelope with a look that made her lower her eyes. 

"How come nobody knows of this?" Cain asked.

"Why? Are you keeping tabs on me?" Vallas asked with an amused look on his face. 

"I keep tabs on everybody." Cain replies as Vallas shook his head. 

"The brat ran off, I can't really declare someone is my ward when he is missing, can I?" 

"You are doing this not because he is, I don't know what you are playing at but you won't win." Cain gritted out, getting into Vallas face to show his anger while Penelope went behind Vallas to hide again.

"You know that I don't bother to play any game if I am not going to win." Vallas returns to Cain stepping closer to him.

"Sire." Penelope whispered softly but the whisper had the effect she wanted. The two men broke off their stare off games and retreated. Vallas gave a mocking bow to Cain as he held her wrist and dragged her off.  When they left the Prime minister, Vallas let go of Penelope like she burnt him. 

"Tell me one reason why I should not hand you over to him." Vallas gritted out, shocked by the discovery he just made when he held on to her wrist.

"Because you just lied to him to save me. Thank you for that." Penelope replied as she kept on with the large pace which Vallas was walking with although she was practically running to keep up with him but slowing down wasn't an option. None of Vallas men bothered to spare her with any look and if she wanted to survived, she would not leave this man presence for the next few hours at least. 

"Thank you is not going to change my mind about keeping you alive. What happened between you and him?" Vallas questioned as Penelope face turns into a grimace. 

"He just doesn't like my face."  Penelope lied as Vallas stopped, turned to her and let her see the wrath on his face. 

"Never lie to be when I ask you a question child. What. Happened. Between. You. Two?"

"I saw him kill a street child." Penelope whispered as Vallas laughs. 

"Just that, he could always say you are lying and denying it, it is not like it will tarnish his reputation or do any harm to his new position." 

"He promised earlier today that he was going to create a safe haven for the homeless, especially the children, before he killed the boy, he made mention of the fact that he will Kill us all instead, ridding the empire of us because we are underserving and not worthy of being among the empire… something along those lines." Penelope remembers the scenes as she wrapped her arms around herself. 

"His campaign scheme… out of the window." Vallas laughs again. "Get me a room for the night in one of the inns, we are not leaving tonight. We will leave first thing tomorrow morning and our new member need to have food in him and a place to rest."

"What do you mean?" Penelope asked in suspicion. 

"He will try to kill you no matter what so it is best if you are to remain under my protection indefinitely and also, you are wounded, you need to rest well tonight. Tomorrow will be the start of your new life." 

"I don't want a new life."

"You don't have an option, either a new life or no life at all."  Vallas said as Penelope nodded her approval one and the man started to give orders. Thirty minutes later when they have settled in a room, after eating or rather, Penelope scarfing down the meal while the man watched, the man chose to speak to Penelope again. 

"I think it is time you tell me everything, don't you?" he said as Penelope nodded.

"Of course I will." 

"And by everything I mean the fact that you are a girl pretending to be a boy too." The man gritted out, his eyes burning with anger while Penelope looked at him in speechless shock.