The world revolved around coin. So did his life. All he ever did, was related to gold. Gaining as much as possible, paying off debts, plundering some more, offering it to his God.. The list was endless. For now though, the task he was trusted with, didn’t involve any of his personal business. It was more of a favour. Normally Romeo didn’t do favours, but this was.. Different. So he had agreed, eventually. The Captain was making his way to Seere, to collect a debt for his friend. The description he had gotten, was pretty vague. A white-haired woman, slender build, scarcely clothed. If he didn’t know any better, that description would fit Allison Lenier. Though his friend had assured him his target was not the new Grand Duchess of Brightwater Keep.

Finding this woman wouldn’t be that hard, right? How many people would fit that description? Apparently, at least two. Bright amber eyes were focussed on his target, though he didn’t realise he had turned his attention to the wrong one. He was now following the blonde he assumed was his target through the filthy streets of Seere. She seemed to be pretty familiar with these back alleys, so unfortunately she had the advantage here. Romeo decided to take his chance, before she disappeared. The man caught up with her and blocked her passage. ”I need a word with you”, He said, with a somewhat angry buzz in his tone that gave away he wouldn’t accept any protest from her side.

&Sareth Levíson

Following her would have been a lot easier if they had been in an environment he was familiar with. This was not the first time he had been sent out to collect a debt. Mostly, the target were men though. It was, however, none of his business how they had gotten themselves in this mess. He was merely a messenger, one that was allowed to use force if needed to achieve his goal. At least he wasn’t instructed to get rid of her once the debt had been paid. If a discussion would follow, he wasn’t quite sure if he would be able to stop that from happening though. He wasn’t the most patient person on this planet, after all.

Which proved to be true when he was quite frankly done with following her around like a lost puppy. There were a lot of factors that weren’t within the boundaries of his control and it annoyed him. It was time to change that, shift the control back to him. Before she managed to get away somehow. At least she had been leading him through less crowded streets for a while now. Though he wondered how many people would actually care and intervene if they had done this on the main streets. With a slightly impatient and angry tone, which was pretty standard for him nowadays, he called her to a halt.

A warm smile graced her lips, as some type of greeting. She was either completely unaware of the reason he had been following her, or she was pretending she didn’t know. Whatever it was, she wouldn’t talk herself out of this. He was smarter than to fall for any trickery. Years of experience on the streets had made him observant, perhaps on the border of paranoid as well. When her hand had touched his arm, his muscles had tensed, not all too happy with the sudden and unprovoked touch.

It didn’t distract him enough to miss the fact that her other hand was reaching between the folds of her clothing though. A mistake he had witnessed a thousand times now. So careless. What was the point of hiding a blade if she would give away the presence and hiding place right away? There was only one reason he would ever reach for his, and it was at the moment he would decide to use it. ”First of all you can let go of that knife”, He commanded her with a warning in his voice. He fixed her with his amber gaze, a slight frown appearing around his brows.

”Second, you can stop pretending you’re unaware of the reason a stranger would follow you through these damned streets”, He continued, pulling away his arm now, to break the contact she had established. ”It’s time to pay your debts”, He continued, a smirk tugging at the corner of his mouth. There was nowhere for her to run at this point. If she decided to try and fight her way past him, he would gladly react appropriately to her actions. The smartest thing for her to do, was pay up. Or she might not walk away from this unharmed.

This chick was already annoying him. Testing his patience and pushing his boundaries. She had no idea what kind of limits he had though, he would give her that, but who in their right mind just touched a stranger like that? After that same stranger had been stalking for a while? Especially in a situation like this he would expect her to keep some distance from him. It was pretty obvious he wasn’t here with the best of intentions. Or she was just really naive. The man decided it was time to break the news to her and explain the reason why he had stopped her.

It only confused her. Or she wanted him to think it confused her. Romeo didn’t buy it. After years and years of manipulating and lying he knew not to trust anyone, as it was too easy to play mind games like that. With a bit of practise the possibilities were endless. When she verbally reacted, he kept a close eye on her non-verbal communication as well. Trying to find a flaw in her deceptions. Catching her red-handed with a lie.

”That’s because you haven’t. The debt you owe is not mine to keep. I’m merely here to collect it”, He said, slightly impatient. If she wanted to keep him occupied so she could find a way out, he wouldn’t allow her. ”I will ask you nicely once more. Pay up”, He grumbled, the tone in his voice contradicting the words he spoke. If she refused again, she would face the consequences soon enough.