Although the journals were a bit outdated for Robin, he enjoyed seeing the old man's excitement as they discussed their contents. Doctor Don's joy over medicine was contagious, rekindling a spark in Robin's heart for the profession.

Unfortunately, the two doctor's time was cut short when a young man ran into the tavern yelling for Doctor Don. A farmer had gotten his foot caught under a plow in the next town over, and desperately needed medical attention. Doctor Don stood up quickly, ready to rush out, but not without offering Robin a chance to join him.

"No, I best not, in this case," Robin said, sensing the situation's urgency. "But I would like to discuss working as an assistant to you while I'm in town, should you ever need it."

"Oh! Yes, my boy, I would love that!" the doctor said, his smile growing in excitement. "Some of the older men in town and I meet on Thursdays here at the Deadwood. You are free to join us, so we can discuss it then!"

Doctor Don hurried out of the bar, following the panicked young farmer, tipping his hat to Miss Jackie as he left.

"Anything else I can get you today, Doctor Robin?" Miss Jackie asked, coming by to grab the half-empty glass of beer the doctor had left behind. "Will Holly be joining you later?"

"I don't believe so. I'm actually headed back to the jewelry shop after this."

"Well, drag her back here with you, if you can. It's been ages since that girl came to see me. She use to come here every day after closing up her shop, you know. Get herself a little cocktail and peanuts. Just sit in that corner over there alone and listen to the music," Miss Jackie said, as she pointed to an abandoned table on the opposite side of the room. The table sat tucked away in the darkened corner, with just a single chair facing the piano.

"Then Jo came around, and she started coming in less. And now that you're here, I barely see her at all," Miss Jackie lamented, nudging Robin's arm. "I'm happy for her, but I gotta admit I miss that sweet girl."

Robin hadn't realized that Holly was going out of her way to spend time with him. Looking back, she did always have an excuse to come by the house, even when she should be at the store, but Robin had grown rather fond of her company, so he hadn't paid it much mind. 

Robin took a deep breath, and looked up at Miss Jackie.

"Is it true? What Doctor Don said...that Holly is a criminal?"

"Well... if you want the full story, you must ask Holly yourself..." Miss Jackie said, smirking at him with a knowing look. "Because if you are looking for reasons to dismiss your feelings for Holly—"

"I don't-" Robin blurted, heat rising to his ears.

"Then," Miss Jackie interrupted, her sunny smile beaming at him, "you should get them from her and not from what others have to say about her."

Robin looked down at the cooling coffee in his hands. Miss Jackie walked off with a small chuckle, leaving him alone at the table.

Robin sighed deeply before quickly drinking the rest of his coffee. He hurriedly left some coins on the table and hurried out the saloon's swing doors.

Robin stopped on the Deadwood's wooden steps, blinking against the sun as he looked up at the loose cotton clouds that dotted the country sky.

Robin wasn't ready to head to the jewelry shop just yet; he needed time to process everything that had been revealed at the old saloon.

Miss Jackie was right. Robin did have feelings for Holly. He was just looking for reasons why he shouldn't. If he found some, would things change?

Robin ran his hands through his hair,  starting down the alley to the jewelry shop.

Was it just Robin's imagination, or did it seem like Doctor Don and Miss Jackie implied that Holly had feelings for him, too? But he—

BANG!

Robin suddenly was thrown against the alley wall by a sudden force, dragged behind the Deadwood, and into an even tighter alley out of view from any passerby.

Robin's heart pounded in his chest, and adrenaline rushed though his veins like fire. His back began aching from the impact against the wooden wall behind him, and he quickly fell to his knees as the pain consumed him. His arms desperately reaching for something to help him stand despite the world becoming dizzy from his head's collision with the wall.

Two dark figures stood against the bright sun in front of him. Robin once again tried to stand, squinting against the sun to get a better look at them.

His stomach dropped.

The two men before him were strikingly tall, and dressed in freshly pressed black suits. Their hair was seemingly shaved off, causing their snow-white skin to have a reflective glow in the sunlight. 

Horrifyingly, these men had mouths which were curved across the entirety of their faces, resembling the mouths of frogs. The men's eyes were a bright red, with slitted pupils that bore into Robin's stumbling frame. Their faces held no emotion, except a hint of muted curiosity.

A shiver ran down Robin's spine, and he could feel his heart beat increasing in pace.

One of the strange men opened his mouth, and his entire jaw came undone. A forked tongue shot out, causing Robin to reel back against the wall in fear.

Robin had never seen creatures like these, not even in his worst nightmares.

"Who are you working for?" the creature hissed, its voice feminine despite the creature's masculine appearance.

"I-I'm a Doctor from King-"

The snake-like creature punched Robin in the face.

His head snapped back, slamming against the wooden wall again. His nose immediately started bleeding from the hit, and spots began to dance on the outskirts of his vision.

Even if he wasn't a doctor, he would have known that this was not good.

"Sorry. I shouldn't have asked that question. I know who you're working for. So tell me, how far have you gotten with your little mission?" It hissed again, almost mockingly.

"I—I really don't know what you're talking about," Robin sputtered. His head reeled from the impact, making it hard to form words, and blood had made its way into his mouth.

Robin tried getting up, using one hand to reach for the necklace Holly gave him, and the other to push him off the ground.

The serpent creature punched him again, this time in the stomach.

Robin fell to his knees, wheezing in pain. He tried grasping for the necklace again, though he barely had any breath left to blow should he manage to grab the whistle.

"I see...Hah! You've already got—"

Robin finally got hold of his necklace, and mustered all the air left in his lungs and blow the whistle. The noise, like hitting a crystal, sounded louder than before. A large wave of relief washed over Robin as soon as he heard it.

The snake-men's head tiled in confusion.

"Now, what's all this?" a familiar voice shouted.

Robin let out a painful cough, trying to catch his breath. His head was still pounding from it's impact with the wall, but what was more concerning, was that he was having trouble breathing from the monster's punch. Between painful breaths, he slowly looked up to see Holly standing behind the two creatures.

Holly's face fell when she saw his condition, fury lighting up in her eyes as she clenched her teeth. Holly's attention quickly shifted to the beasts, who continued to stare blankly at Robin, as if unfazed by Holly's presence.

"Excuse me," Holly spat. "I was talking to you two...things."

In an instant, the serpent men swung around, pouncing at Holly.

Holly lifted her hands as if drawing guns, smacking them together in one quick movement as if she were playing a cymbal.

A slice went through the beasts before they could reach her, but to Robin's surprise, it did nothing. The beasts quickly fused back together, posing to attack Holly once more.

"Huh," Holly said, the anger on her face replaced with mild amusement. Soon, the creatures were leaning over her, aggressively beating at the sorceress, but their attacks fell short, as if Holly was using some type of magic to sheild herself from their assault.

After briefly watching the monsters' attempts to attack her, Holly snapped her fingers, and the beasts froze.

Slowly, the two creatures began shriveling into two white snakes, quickly slithering into the alley behind her.

"What on earth is she doing now?" Holly mumbled under her breath, watching the snakes retreat.

Robin slowly sat up against the wall behind him. Carefully checking himself for all the damage done to his face and torso, pulling up his shirt to heal the bruises already starting to show on his abdomen.

After a moment of making sure the snakes didn't reappear, Holly swung around and ran up to Robin. She quickly bent down to put Robin's face in her hands, her face etched with worry as she carefully looked at the damage the creatures had done to him. She sucked in a long breath as ran her finger over a cut in his cheek.

"They sure did a number on you, Robin... I'm sorry I wasn't here sooner." Holly murmured. There was a deep guilt and frustration in her eyes as she touched the cut on his cheek, trying her best to use the fixing magic she had learned to heal it.

"It's going to be okay," Robin said, reaching up to feel the new scar from where her magic didn't quite work. "I can fix all of it, remember?"

Holly leaned back on her heels and shook her head. 

"Just because you can fix it, doesn't change the fact you got hurt." she said as she let out a frustrated sigh. "Come on," she announced, standing and dusting off her trousers, gently reaching out her hand to help Robin to his feet.

"She better have a good reason for doing this to you."

"She?"

Holly shook her head and tightened her hold of Robin's hand, touching her right hand to her left foot, haphazardly drawing a half-circle in the air.

"The Witch of the White Snakes... my best friend."