The sun peeked into Nera's little jail cell, shining the slightest amount of light into the dark room. Nera was sound-asleep, although the night before was horrendous. Nera had stolen many times before in her short fourteen years of life, but never had she been caught and she had never before spent time away from her home(the orphanage). But she dealt with it, and ended up falling asleep at about 11pm, and was, now, awake.

Yawning, Nera got up and rubbed her eyes to open them up again. She got onto her feet and was about to see if there were any guards there who would let her out to use the washroom, when something, or rather someone, caught her eye.

"Hey," Aditya whispered, giving her a wide, dimpled smile as his eyes shone brightly.

Nera's eyes narrowed and she snarled back at him, "What d'you want?"

Aditya tilted his head to one side, trying to look as nice as possible, and ignored her rude tone of voice as he said, "Just wanted to see if you slept well...Did you?"

"Oh, yeah! I slept just great! Marvellous, actually! You know this cold, stone floor is just some top-notch bedding! It's great to fall asleep on!" Nera responded, sarcastically.

"You're being sarcastic, aren't you?" Aditya asked, still smiling his dimpled smile.

"Yeah. I am," Nera said bluntly, her eyes narrowing once again at the boy.

"Okay...You're really funny, you know that right?" Aditya said, politely.

For a long moment, Nera didn't say anything and merely took in the rich, teenage boy and all he had said and done. Finally, she asked, "Why are you here, trying to make small talk with me?"

Aditya went quiet for a moment and stared at the ground. He started to twist strands of his curly hair, and swallowed his saliva, as he nervously said, "I-I need your help."

Nera raised her eyebrows and sat up straighter to see Aditya. Finally she asked, "You need my help?"

Aditya nodded as he stared at the dusty, grey floor.

"Yeah, right," Nera said sarcastically, rolling her eyes.

"No, I seriously do!" Aditya said, his eyes pleading with Nera.

Nera rolled her eyes and dramatically asked, "And why exactly would the royal majesty need help from a mere peasant like me?"

Aditya bit his lip nervously, and said, "Because you're the only person who is able to help me."

Nera narrowed her eyes in suspicion as she asked, "With what?"

Aditya bent his head low and quietly whispered, "You need to be my bodyguard while I travel to Neskarta."

Nera raised her eyebrows in surprise and asked, "Can't you just take one of the Malotas soldiers?"

Aditya swallowed, nervously, and said, "That's the problem. No one can know that I'm going there."

Nera furrowed her eyebrows in confusion and, stuttering slightly, asked, "W-Why?"

"Well...Because..." Aditya stuttered as his feet played around with his shoes. He didn't say anything for a moment and stayed quiet, which annoyed Nera to no extent.

"Spit it out, you idiot!" Nera snapped at him.

Aditya shut his eyes for a moment, and, then, opened them and looked at Nera. Finally, he said, "I overheard my dad talking with this man. I don't know who it was and I don't know where he came from, but I know that he was threatening my dad about delivering a "shemesh", whatever that is, to Neskarta. That's why I want you to come with me to Neskarta."

For a long moment, Nera didn't say anything to Aditya and merely stared at him, blankly. Finally, after a little while, she burst out laughing.

"First of all, that's the most ridiculous story I've ever heard! Viraj Malotas, your dad, being threatened by someone, a man. Just one man. Your dad is the most powerful man in all of Wasa. Who the hell could threaten him? Who could scare Viraj Malotas? Tell me!"

Aditya, who was clearly feeling embarrassed about being laughed at, whispered quietly, "That man-", but Nera interrupted him.

"-How the hell did you make that up? I mean like, you have a strong imagination, don't you, Malotas?" Nera scoffed at him.

For a moment, Aditya went silent, obviously embarrassed and sad that she didn't believe him and was, instead, making fun of him. But, finally, through the cell's bars, he looked Nera right in the eye and said, "I don't know nor do I care whether you believe me or not. I know that this is important and I know that it has something to do with you, Nera. I know it does! That's why I need you to come with me to Neskarta. I would understand why you wouldn't want to, but-"

"-What do you mean it has something to do with me, Malotas? And, how the hell do you know my name? !" Nera asked, furrowing her eyebrows as she looked at him intently.

Before Aditya could say another word, he was interrupted by the sound of footsteps coming down the staircase in the dungeon. Hurriedly, so he didn't get caught, Aditya rushed out of the back door(which led to the garden outside of the mansion), leaving Nera alone again in the dungeon. But, before he left, Aditya quickly whispered to her, "I'll be back at 12 O'clock tonight. Be ready, Nera."

And so she waited. And waited. And waited. Until about 11:30 pm.

Nera laid on the floor staring at the ceiling of her cell. She was listening intently to the guards' conversation, as she had nothing better to do.

"It's not fair! How come Jeqen and Lucas are part of the actual Malotas army, while we're here guarding this child!?"

"She's not a child! Haven't you heard?! She's the one who's been stealing from all of those people! The one Mr. Malotas has been looking for such a long time!"

The first guard was silent and then he said, "You're lying!"

"Am not!" The second guard argued. The first guard went silent again and then walked to Nera's cell door.

"Hey girl," He called as he rattled her cell's door.

Nera straightened her back and glared at him. "What?!"She snapped.

"You're the one who stole all those things aren't you? You know the one Sir Malotas has been looking for, the Golden-Eyed Devil. "

Nera narrowed her eyes even more and said, "I don't know, am I?"

The guard glared back at Nera and said, "You've got an attitude don't you?!"

"Do I?" Nera challenged.

The guard's glare intensified, but, finally, a small smirk appeared on his face. "I could torture you, you know. Hurt you!"

Nera rolled her eyes and, as she waved her hands, sarcastically, said, "Oh! I'm so scared!"

The guard opened his mouth to speak, but was interrupted by a young man's voice.

"Kiol and Laro, right?" Aditya asked, staring at a notebook and then at the guards. He was wearing a black sweatshirt, grey pants and dark boots.

The guard, who was talking to Nera, turned around and hesitantly said, "Ye-yes."

The second guard nodded, quickly.

"Well my father wants you to go to the general's office. He said something about a new addition to the Malotas army."

The guards' eyes widened and they quickly rushed off in excitement.

Nera's eyes followed the men and then turned to Aditya. "Did your dad really want the two of them to become actual Malotas soldiers?"

It was Aditya's turn to roll his caramel-brown eyes. "Of course not! They're both idiots. They've always been complaining to me about not being in the Malotas army, so I decided to take a bit of revenge. I can't wait to see their faces when they realise my dad and Darold don't actually want them on the Malotas."

"You're not going to be able to see the look on their faces because we're leaving right now." Nera responded, as she got up and made her way to the bars of the cell.

A wide smile appeared on Aditya's face and he quietly asked, "So you're willing to come with me to Neskarta?"

For a moment, Nera didn't say anything. But, finally, she responded, "Yeah I am. Haven't been out of town before, so it sounds good."

Aditya chuckled slightly and nodded, happily. "Okay, good. Now how do I get you out of here, Nera?" He looked around the dungeon.

"Grab those keys from over there and open this cell!" Nera ordered as she pointed at a table where a hook of keys sat.

Quickly, Aditya grabbed the keys and unlocked Nera's door, letting her out of the jail cell she had been stuck in for the past day. The moment she was let out, the fourteen-year old thief started bossing Aditya around.

"Stand by the staircase to make sure nobody comes in. I'm going to get some things we're going to need," Nera ordered as she started to rummage through the things in the dungeon. Finally, after about five minutes of looking, she found what she needed. Two daggers, one small one, one big one.

"C'mon, Malotas! Let's get out of here," Nera yelled as she made her way out of the door which led to the backyard of the mansion. Hurriedly, Aditya followed her out of the dungeon and onto the grass in the backyard.

"Where are we going, Nera?" Aditya said as he caught up with her.

"To get a horse, so we can get out of here faster, idiot," Nera responded, rudely as she continued to walk straight into nowhere.

"The stable's over there!" Aditya exclaimed as he pointed in the opposite direction of where the duo was walking.

Nera's face turned a dark maroon colour(which was hard to see because of her tan skin) as she quickly turned around and rushed over to the other end of the yard. Aditya followed her to the stable, smiling brightly at finally being right. Finally, when they arrived and when Aditya was able to catch up with Nera, he pointed a finger in Nera's face and said, "Ha! Idiot!"

First, Nera glared at Aditya's finger pointing at her and slowly her glare moved up to Aditya. It was the kind of glare that could kill, and her bright golden eyes didn't make it any less painful.

"So-sorry," Aditya stammered as he broke under her hard glare and moved his hand back to the side of him.

Finally, Nera dropped her glare and moved her gaze back to the horses in the stable. She took in the three horses and finally, chose her pick. A grey horse with little black spots all around its body. But, as she went to pet the horse, Nera realised she was holding daggers in her hand. With a glance behind her back at Aditya(who was staring at the wooden walls of the stable), Nera threw the daggers behind herself and said, "Catch, Malotas!"

Aditya tried, he truly tried, but he missed. Well, not really. Aditya was able to get his hands on the daggers, but on the pointed, sharp end of the weapons. So, through his palm, the daggers pierced. They didn't go fully in, but it made a deep enough gash to make a great amount of blood come out.

Aditya shuddered in pain as he let the daggers clatter to the ground. He held his hand against his chest as Nera turned around.

"What's the matter with you?" Nera asked as she watched water appear on the corners of Aditya's light brown eyes.

"No-Nothing, everything's fine," Aditya whispered, shakily as he used his other hand to pick up the daggers, keeping his bloody hand against his chest, so Nera wouldn't see. He didn't want her to see him as weak or useless.

"Okay then, I guess. This is the horse we're taking so hop on after me, alright?"

Aditya nodded as he watched Nera open the horses gate and lead the animal out of the stable. He watched as Nera got on the horse carefully and followed en suite, still keeping his injured hand against his chest.

The moment both of them were safely and securely on the horse, Nera used the reins of the horse and off they were, straight into the deep, emerald forest. Neither of the two of them said anything to each other, Nera being too focused to get out of there, and Aditya trying his best to hold the pain of his injured hand in. Every once in a while, Nera used the reins to make the horse go faster, making it harder and harder for Aditya to keep balance on the back end of the horse.

Finally, after Aditya almost fell off the horse because of how fast it was going, Nera turned around to face him and said, "Put your arms around my waist, so you don't fall, Malotas."

Immediately, Aditya's face turned a bright red colour as he stared at Nera and stammered, "Wh-What?"

"I said, "put your arms around my waist". Are you stupid or something?"" Nera snapped back at the nervous boy as she continued to keep her eyes on the route in front of them.

"So-sorry, I just...Nevermind." Quickly, Aditya put his arms around Nera's waist and held on tightly to her.

Once again, silence filled the air, and nothing could be heard except for the scurry of little animals and the dripping of water off the leaves of plants around them. Neither of them said anything for quite a while, until Nera noticed something on her royal blue dress.

The fourteen year old girl looked at her dress and asked, "Is that blood?"

Aditya's eyes widened in surprise and immediately he moved his injured hand off of Nera's waist and whispered, "So-Sorry. I-"

"-Are you hurt, Aditya?" Nera asked, interrupting him.

"-No, no, I'm fin-"

Nera turned around and let go of the reins of the horse. She grabbed the hand Aditya had taken off of her. As she was about to look at it, the two of them were thrown off the horse who was scared to run straight into the rock they were about to run into. Aditya fell straight into the forest floor as Nera did the same, falling right on top of Aditya, stomach flat onto his. It took his breath away(literally) and he lay there not moving for a moment. Nera got up quickly and stared at Aditya, nervously because she was scared that she had killed him.

"Aditya, wake up. Wake up. Please, wake up!" Nera said quickly as she shook his chest to wake him up.

After a moment of lying still on the floor of the forest, Aditya's light brown eyes opened and looked up at Nera and weakly whispered, "Hey, my chest hurts a lot. Could you get off, please?"

Quickly, Nera scurried off of him and said, "Right, yes, sorry. My bad."

Aditya carefully tried to get up, but everytime he felt a sharp pain in his chest. Finally, he turned to Nera, who was watching him carefully, and asked, "Could you help me sit up and lean against that tree?"

"Yes, of course," Nera responded, eagerly as she tried to help him get up. She put one arm around his waist and another on his chest. Carefully, she helped him sit up and helped him lean against a tree. Finally, once he was comfortably leaning against a tree, Nera moved her arm off his chest, but she kept an arm around his waist. Nera's gaze turned to Aditya's face and she watched him carefully, as Aditya did the same for her, his eyes going around her face, taking every part of it in. Neither of them said anything for quite a while, until Nera remembered his hand.

"Show me your hand, Aditya." Nera ordered as she took her gaze off of him.

"I'm fine, I swea-"
"-Show me," Nera said, interrupting him.

Reluctantly, Aditya listened and he placed his now completely blood-covered hand on his lap, so Nera could see it as well. Quietly, Nera shuddered and she picked his hand up with her other hand(the one that wasn't around Aditya). She pulled his hand up so she could see it properly and examined the deep gash in his palm, which was still bleeding out slightly.

"How did this happen?" Nera questioned as she continued to look at it.

"I-I. It happened in the stable. When you tried to hand me the daggers."
"Oh, I'm so sorry. I'm so, so sorry. I shouldn't have thrown them at you. I am so, so sorry," Nera whispered, quietly, finally taking in the consequences of her mistakes.

"It's not your fault, you didn't do anything wrong, Nera. Don't blame yourself," Aditya whispered back, as he continued to stare at Nera's face, softly.

Nera blinked rapidly and said, "It is my fault. It is totally my fault-"

"-But," Aditya began to say, when Nera stopped him.

"-No, buts. You know, I'm telling the truth. Now I just need to figure out how to stop it from bleeding and where we should go next," Nera said to herself as she continued to look at his bloody hand.

Aditya watched her, his face soft, and didn't say a word, until finally, Nera came to a realisation.

"Okay. I know what we should do now," Nera said as she placed his hand carefully back on his lap and pulled her arm away from Aditya's waist.

"And that is?" Aditya asked as he looked at her arm longingly hoping for it to go back around his waist.

Nera took a deep breath in and said, "I'm going to use my shawl to wrap around your hand so it'll stop bleeding out for now.."

"Your shawl? But, it's so beautiful and it would get ruined if you wrapped it around my hand, Nera," Aditya argued back, worried about her dress more than himself.

"I don't care, Aditya," Nera responded back as she took her shawl off and held it in her hand. Then, in her other hand, she held Aditya's bleeding hand. Carefully, and intricately, Nera wrapped the shawl around his hand to stop it from bleeding. Once she was done, she looked at it with a wide smile, something Aditya had never seen before which made him smile too.

"Okay, now that I'm done, it's time for us to leave," Nera said as she got up and dusted her dress off.

Aditya got up as well(his ribs were feeling much better) and asked, "Where are we going, Nera?"

Nera's smile widened even more and she said, "Back to my home."