203 On This Particular Matter

"To the ones who we call our parents," he then answered.

He no longer has the heart to still call them the people who abandoned them.

"Our parents?" Xander scoffed.

"I have no desire to call them that any longer. If they really are our parents then we wouldn't be in this situation right now," he added.

"Then to them, what do you want to tell them now?" Timothy changed the word and still asked.

Xander looked up to the ceiling.

The place they are in was an enclosed space, without any light coming from the outside. It was just like a cell.

"I don't know," was all he could say.

"If you ask me, I would want to ask them," Timothy said after hearing his answer.

"Ask them what? Why they abandoned us?" Xander said sarcastically.

"No," Timothy said with a shake of his head.

"I want to ask them if they were able to protect Nathalie properly," he choked upon saying this.

Cause he already knows the answer, Nathalie is alive because of the sacrifice of their parents.

Xander blinked back the tears that wanted to escape his eyes.

"If they couldn't then I would hate them even more," was what he said afterwards.

Timothy gritted his teeth as he stops himself from telling him everything.

He's stopping himself from saying, "They did, they protected her properly. They protected all three of us properly. We were left behind because surely all these people will come after us despite leaving."

"We were protected after they found out that assassins are after them, they protected us by not seeing how we grew up at all. And they protected her most of all."

"They protected her from her sickness and protected her from those assassins. They only couldn't protect us from one thing… From all these pain after knowing that they are no longer in this world."

He wanted to say all of this to him.

"How about to Nathalie then?" he asked afterwards, after calming himself a little bit.

"What more could I say to that one? She was the one who always look after us. She was the one who was adamant on not leaving us. What more could I say?" Xander once again questioned him.

But before Timothy could speak, he once again opened his mouth.

"There is one thing, thinking back, she must already be nearing her 24th birthday. I want to tell her to choose wisely, choose the right person she wanted to be with. That, that someone should only love her and her alone."

Xander started speaking like a father who was thinking about the marriage of his daughter.

"Aaahhhh I want to know just who it is that would take her hand for marriage. I can't die here now, I have to find out," he then said.

His words at first amused Timothy before realization hit him his eyes grew wide.

"We did the most stupid swore of our lives," he said.

"We just sold our little sister to the most devil of all. I'll really pummel him once we get out of this."

"What the hell are you suddenly murmuring now?" Xander couldn't understand what Timothy was saying.

More like he couldn't hear it properly.

"Nothing, I just said we must surely survive this ordeal no matter what," was what Timothy replied.

*****

"Achoo."

"What's wrong?" Amber asked looking at her laptop.

She was having a video chat with Ashton when he suddenly sneezed.

"Nothing," he replied while rubbing his nose.

"Anyway just as what I was saying, I will be waiting for the things I asked in the location I sent you."

"Can't you just go with some guards?" he asked.

Amber has told him of her plan.

"No, I'll do it on my own this time. But I would update you until the day I will proceed with my plan."

She still needs to scout the area and check the schedules of all those in the vicinity.

Since it was her brothers that she will be saving, she needs to plan this even more thoroughly than all of the plans she created in the past.

"Thalie."

"It is fine Ash, I really won't put my life in danger for I still have so many things I have to do, one of those is to marry you," she said upon hearing the worry in his voice.

Ashton sighed, this was about her family after all. But to leave her on her own?

Of course that wouldn't sit right on him.

Not now, not ever.

Just the thought that he let her go and do something so dangerous on her own was already more than enough to torture him.

"I know…"

As he was in thought, he heard her speak.

Upon looking up at the screen, she was already sitting right in front of him.

And with her disguise he could say that she really is the sister of those two.

"I know I am hurting you right now with this decision of mine."

Upon hearing this, he looked to the side.

"But please do understand, it is not because I didn't want you to get involve in this matter but because I know the current predicament your own family is having now. If you leave now then surely your family would be the one being affected the most."

Ashton looked back at her, "Then at least-"

"But I can't have any of those guards that you wanted me to have. You know how the Pianist works, except for the Shield who understands everything that is going on in her mind. She can't really work well with anyone else."

"Especially on this matter, on this particular matter."

Ashton of course understood, as much as possible not even the guards. She wanted to keep her identity a secret.

If someone would know of how she saved the Price brothers despite only being friends, it would already cause too much to think about.

She didn't want that, she was that careful.

"Trust me Ash," she said after not hearing or seeing any response from him.

Ashton looked at her seriously.

"Trust me," she repeated.

"Do I have a choice?" he asked in return.

Amber smiled, "Just wait, once this is over, I would help you with that woman."

"I am not a man if I keep needing your help, you don't have to worry, I can manage this just fine."

"Oh I am not doing this for you. I will be helping for my own gain," she said with a playful look on her eyes.

Ashton raised an eyebrow, he knew too well just what that smile means.

"Of course, it would be unfair for the others if I leave your empire alone. I can't do that now, can I?"

Ashton smiled at her dotingly. He wouldn't mind her plan of course.

"Then I shall wait for your arrival. I won't finish it so easily," he then told her.

Amber smiled even wider.

"I'm off then. I'll wait for the things I asked for."

"Go and wreck havoc now, just be careful, be very careful."

"I will, I promise."

The call ended and Ashton leaned back on his chair, he once again sighed.

He has no desire of going against her wish of doing it alone, so all he can do right now is to worry and trust her.

"I really found a very troublesome one to love," he said while shaking his head.

"But I can see that you will remain by her side no matter what," was what Cedric answered placing a cup of coffee in front of him.

Ashton just smiled.

Cedric watched his young master.

Both he and Carl grew up watching over this young master, that is why they also witnessed every change that happened in him.

From being warm to being cold.

From being cheerful to being silent.

And now, he is witnessing the changes he was having.

From being cold to being warm only to that person.

From being silent to being talkative towards her.

It might only be to one person but that is more than enough to say that he finally cracked open the shell he created around his heart.

The protective wall that no one could enter, not even his family

And could only be touched by Ashley.

Cedric looked down at the ring in his right middle finger.

It was a ring that his brother always wears.

'I am witnessing it now in your stead brother. Our young master has finally become the man he was supposed to be before everything that happened. You don't have to worry now, for just as you have said.'

'He really found the person who can be there with him no matter what.'

He looked up and found that Ashton was once again staring at his ring that Amber gave during his birthday.

This became his habit every time the two of them are apart.

"The young miss is indeed a very very wonderful person," he commented.

Ashton looked at him and gave a half smile, "She is indeed."