Carrot was walking out of the apothecary, feeling no better than he had when he’d gone in. Everything had been going so well witht hose two girls, and then their father had come in and threatened to kill him. What kind of salesmanship was that!
His friends were nowhere in sight. He sighed, trying to decide which way to go in search of them. He looked behind him and saw the burly, purple-mustached man giving him a dirty look from the shadows of the apothecary doorway, and quickly chose to go right. As soon as the boy headed off, the old man closed up shop, locking his three remaining daughters in the house for the night.
He walked, turned left, then right, walked a long while, then went right again. Another left and a fourth right found him in a dark, shadowy alley. He looked around, and didn’t see any other way out except the way he came... Which was, conveniantly enough, blocked by a looming black figure.
“Hey, pops, you wanna get out of the way,” Carrot said.
A strong, white hand shot out and grabbed Carrot around the neck. The thing, whatever it was, ran with him and smashed carrot up against a wall. Carrot let out a heavy breath and struggled to pry the thing’s fingers away from his neck. A cloud lifted from the moon, and some light was shed on the creature.
Carrot recognized the monster from the other night, its nose, its tongue, its horrid teeth. Yet it was attatched to a form that was also familiar, but not its own - he couldn’t place it. Carrot let out a strangled cry, and the thing stopped grinding him against the wall for an instant. The monster gasped, and released Carrot, and turned and fled.
Breathing heavily and rubbing his neck, Carrot wondered just what the hell was going on.
* * *
“You don’t... get the feeling that you’re being followed, do you, Gateau?” Tira asked.
“You, too, then?” Gateau looked uneasily at the shadows around them.
“I feel it, too,” Chocolate offered.
Just then, a dark figure shot out of an alleyway not far away and ran barreling towards them. It skidded to a stop as it ran into Tira, knocking her over. Tira sprawled onto the ground, pain shooting up her arms.
Gateau picked up the perpitrator, and was about to throw him onto the cobblestones when Chocolate screamed.
“Don’t hurt him!” she exclaimed. “It’s Darling!”
As Gateau put down the man, they all realized that Chocolate wasn’t kidding.
“Hey,” Carrot said sheepishly. “Sorry I knocked you down, Tira.”
Tira shrugged and got up.
“So?” Carrot said.
“So, we were just going to go into the church when you came along,” Gateau said, rather unhappily. He didn’t see finding Carrot as much of an improvement.
Before they went in, Tira stood still and listened. “Gateau... I’m still getting that feeling.”
“What feeling?” Carrot asked, having missed a rather large portion of their conversation.
Gateau looked around. “The feeling ... of being followed.”
* * *
Gathering all of her courage, Aila stepped out into the street. The group of people stared at her. “I’m sorry!” Aila said.
“I know you!” Carrot exclaimed.
“Yes you were flirting with my sisters in the apothecary earlier.” The girl in the skirt growled. “I’m sorry my father threatened to kill you, Carrot,” she said. “You see, my sister, Aiana, was seduced by young man and kidnapped a year ago, and since he has forbidden us from seeing boys.”
Carot groaned. The big blonde one chuckled. The girl in the skirt smirked.
“I was following Carrot because I wanted to explain to him, to appoligize, and then... I saw him frighten away that monster...”
“Carrot frightened away a monster?” Carrot’s three friends chorused.
“Yeah!” Carrot said. Never mind that it had actually run away on its own. The crew gave him skeptical glances.
“Anyhow,” said the girl in the red cloak, “continue.”
“Well, I saw him frighten off the monster, and I thought, He must be strong! and I decided to follow him, and ask him to help me.”
“Help you?” said the blonde one.
“Yes. You see, my sister dissapeared some time ago, as I said. My father is convinced that she eloped with that man. But my sisters and I... we always suspected some foul play... Something seemed missing. Something seemed wrong with the theory.”
“And what was that?” asked Tira.
“My sister - she was always a very pious girl. She would never get married without the church's blessing.”
“The priests,” Gateau said, “would they know anything? About the dissapearance?”
Aila nodded.
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