Scarlett, yet again, was the first to wake — this time she stayed a little bit longer in Mark's arms.

Her eyes washed over his face, surprised that he looked so peaceful. His hair was ruffled but at the same time brushed perfectly against his eyes — Scarlett shook her head as soon as the thought seeped into her mind.

Once again she silently slipped out of bed and dressed herself quickly, only to exit through the front door — it was eight at night meaning she got a good five hours of sleep. Scar adjusted the hoodie she wore over her black singlet only managing two steps before the door behind her flung open with a large bang.

She cursed herself for not being faster. 

Mark stood before her — Scar's gaze immediately connected with his toned chest "Sneaking out again, I see."

"How did you wake up?"

An angry glare made it's way in her direction "You forgot to put a pillow in my arms."

"Right..." she trailed off — Mark continued to stare at her, waiting for her to say something else "...wake up earlier  next time?" His gaze narrowed for a moment before pulling her into the room "HEY! What do you think you're doing!"

He threw over his shoulder and placed her down onto the mattress in an almost careful manner. Almost. "You're not going anywhere. The Arena doesn't open for another hour giving us an extra thirty minutes to waste"

"What do you want?" she asked lazily — it would be easier for her to get her skeleton mask on in the Hotel room, so his idea didn't sound so bad.

Mark grabbed a chair and sat opposite her "Questions and answers. Now"

"What?"

He rolled his eyes "I ask you a question, you answer it and vice versa."

"Fine - You first" Scarlett reluctantly agreed when she saw he wasn't going to change his mind

Mark seemed content that he didn't need to argue his need to satisfy the questions that swirled within his mind "Why did you leave the Valley?"

"Everyone was lying to me," Her determined gaze faltered for a moment "How did you get the scar on your chest?"

He paused for a second — she had noticed the scar the first time she saw him. It painted itself all the way from one side to the other like a giant line "The man who killed my sister did this to me" her eyes had completely lost its indignation at the revelation "What was everyone in the Valley lying about?"

"My parents death." She stated calmly — Scar hated talking about what happened and hoped somewhere along the lines Mark would forget what he was trying to ask "What happened to the man that killed your sister?"

He sighed as if trying to rid himself of dark thoughts "I killed him." Scar's eyes widened in shock at what he said — she couldn't imagine him killing anyone or anything "What part of your parents death did everyone lie to you about?"

"Who killed them...?" She voiced — Mark wasn't giving up on his question but by the looks of it he knew she didn't want to talk about it, the old Mark she knew would've stopped but he wasn't him anymore "Why did you start fighting?"

His gaze reached hers "I only fight Savages, they've killed people - hundreds of them. So at first, I didn't feel bad - every night until I met you I'd have these nightmares of my sister fighting for her life and me pathetically trying to fight back..."

"Mark..." she whispered — Scar pulled her arms around his waist and did something that surprised both herself and him.

She voluntarily hugged him. 

Mark held her firmly against his chest — for the first time in months he let tears fall from his eyes. Since the day Chrissy died he never cried, he refused to let one tear fall, but as Scarlett held him in her soft embrace — He grieved, properly grieved.

Neither one of them knew how long they embraced each other for but by the time they let go it was already time to head to the Arena.

She applied her mask and walked hand in hand with Mark to the ring. It was like an invisible barrier between them shattered and right now all she wanted to do was be close to him, Scar didn't know why but Mark didn't seem to mind so the both of them continued to walk in a comfortable silence with linked hands.

When the both of them entered the Arena crowds of people gasped with shocked eyes, it surely was a sight to see.

Mark was the first out of the two of them to fight but unlike before he didn't fight with malice he fought with a certain wave of respite. His moves still moved fluently and his technique could rule any match but his eyes no longer held the darkness that consumed him.

Her gaze looked to the leader board to see if anyone was threatening her chances of becoming a Victor but she was still the number one fighter in running for the title — below her was another fighter who had 82 wins, she mentally noted to keep an eye on that person.

If she wasn't careful her chances of winning the title might be beyond her reach. Soon enough Mark had won around three matches against two Savages and one Gallant, he walked down the ring and stood next to her as the crowd around them erupted in cheers.

"OUR NEXT FIGHTER IS OUR VERY OWN NUMBER ONE ON THE LEADERBOARDS!" the announcer yelled "CRIMSON ROSE!"

Scar stepped up onto the stage, this time she focused on her competitor — he had to be at least 6 feet tall and held himself up right, immediately she labelled him as a 'Gallant' the only competitors who would fight with nobility and respect for the game.

The match ended fast. She had seen many of his moves before he had executed them — soon enough she had won at least another five matches, each one of them being categorised as a 'Gallant'

"AND YOUR WINNER BY KNOCK OUT IS, THE ONE AND ONLY!" he raised her arm in the air as the onlookers cheered harder — Scar could confidently say she had grown a name for herself in the fighting industry just like her parents "CRIMSON ROSE!"

She walked out of the Arena with Mark next to her, occasionally nodding in the direction of complimenting fans who held her with such respect it made her feel a tinge of joy — a tinge. Not full blown happiness but a little bit of it.

"Why do you always leave?" Mark asked her, the both of them already back inside the hotel room "You could've stayed and fought for more matches."

Scar walked out of the bathroom wiping her face with a towel — she wore a loose shirt and some shorts since it was always too hot in Enigmatica Falls "If I try to win all at once in one night, I'll lose a match - I need to stay focused."

"Smart plan," he slipped into bed at the same time as her "Why do you keep fighting?"

Scarlett laid her head onto his chest as his left arm held her firmly to him "Because I want to win the title" her body worked on auto pilot and by this stage she didn't mind sleeping next to him.

"What are you going to do after you win?" he asked — she stared across the room for a moment making him wonder if she heard him.

Scar sighed lightly before whispering a soft "I still have seventeen more matches to win...let's not get ahead of ourselves"

"...Fine," he whispered against her hair — Mark didn't know what the both of them were, all he knew was that he loved her.

An unsettling feeling struck his heart as he stared at her — she was sound asleep against his chest. He wasn't an idiot, he knew she was keeping something from him, her pause made him think...what was she going to do when she won the title...?

Mark didn't want her to get hurt again but at the same time he didn't want to assume there was something to hide in the first place but what if she was hiding something? what if she was planning something big? something that would surely hurt the people she left behind...

Something that would unknowingly hurt him the most.