Basil woke the next morning in an empty bed. He looked at the clock on the table next to his and Pip's bed. It blinked at him, It was nine thirty. Basil was shocked. Pip never left wake past ten, ever. At least, as long as BAsil's known him he hasn't. Basil looked around and noted that the room was empty except for him. He surmised that Pip must've gone down to the dining hall to get some breakfast.

Right on cue, Basil's stomach growled. He got up and made way to go get food. He didn't bother to change out of his pajama's. Pulling open the door and stepping out into the hall, immediately he had a guard flanked to his side. Since he and Pip still couldn't find their way around the castle-like structure, Nyla took it to herself to assign a soldier to both Basil and Pip.

Basil hated it. For one, he didn't like being so dependent on someone who was virtually a stranger, and two he didn't like where the help came from, or better yet, who.

But still, he followed as the guard lead him through the maze of hallways until they could part ways when they made it to the cafeteria.

The guard went to sit in a corner table at the back in the semi-crowded room, and Basil sought out Pip. He found him, right smack dab in the middle of the hall.

He walked up right behind Pip and grabbed his shoulders.

"Wow!"

Pip startled, "Oh, hey. I made you a plate," Pip gestured to the plate on his right.

Basil took a seat, "Usually it's me making you a plate."

Pip laughed, "I know, but I haven't been sleeping very well lately."

"Same. I think we should talk about leaving this place."

Pip turned to him, a forkful of eggs stopped halfway to his mouth, "Really? Are you sure? I mean, we just found out a lot about you, and about a crazy man who wants to kill/maim you for his own personal gain."

"Well, when you say it like that-"

"How else am I supposed to say it?"

"I don't know," Basil muttered, finally digging into his breakfast Pip had gotten for him, " I just don't want to be here, in this place, with her."

Pip rubbed his shoulder in understanding, "I understand how your feeling. But have you ever thought about what we'd be going back to?"

"We'll go back to Ms. Ruth's."

"And what will you do when you turn eighteen next month."

Basil sputtered, choking on his orange juice, "My birthdays next month?"

"...Yeeeah," Pip said, "You don't remember."

"Well, when we got here, I remember my birthday being months away." Basil frowned, "Have we really been here that long?"

Pip paused, "Yeah...I guess so."

"Yeah, we definitely need to leave," BAsil glared at the guard who had guided him to the cafeteria, "This place is like a wormhole. Do you realize we've been doing the same thing for weeks."

"Well, let's change that." Came a voice from behind them. Basil turned around and came face to face with the last person on earth-or earth adjacent-Nyla.

"What do you want?" Basil said coldly.

"Now before you go and bite my head off let me just say something first. Is that alright with you?"

Before Basil could open his mouth to tell her what she could do with her kind words, Pip put his hand on Basil's knee and said, "Of course." Basil stared at him hard, and Pip gave him a look that said 'Shut up and listen, or else.' So Basil conceded.

"Okay, fine."

"Great." Nyla shooed away her entourage and sat across from them, clearing her throat, she said, "Now, I know that we didn't leave things as well as I would have liked, but I'm here to make amends."

Pip perked up at that and turned to Basil looking very hopeful, that was the thing about Pip. He always looked on the brighter side of things, most times Basil admired it, but in this instance, he despised it.

It wasn't until Basil was sitting there staring at Nyla did he realize he still had so much to say to her, all of them not nice.

"Alright, out with it."

"Basil," Pip lightly slapped Basil's shoulder. That was another thing about Pip. Always managed to keep Basil from saying something he'd regret. Although Basil doubted whether he'd regret what he had to say to Nyla.

"No, it's fine. I deserved that, and a lot more, after everything I've put him through. And like I said before, I'd come to apologize."

"And you think that's going to magically change everything?"

"No, of course not." Nyla sighed, "But before you decide to burn me at the stake I just want to lay everything out, so you can have all the facts." She smiled, tears coming into her eyes, "And if then you still want to hate me, by all means, go right ahead."

"Basil sat there motionless, not saying anything. Nyla took that as her cue.

"I understand that growing up must not have been easy, I understand that. Nut if I could take back, I wouldn't."

Basil scoffed.

"The second you showed up here, so did Cyrus. That wasn't a coincidence."

"If you knew he was going to after me-" Basil had stood up in anger. He took a deep breath and sat back down, "If you knew, why did you send the note? You know, with the finger?"

"Oh right, about that, the letter wasn't sent by me."

Basil gritted his teeth, "Then, Who. Was. It. Sent. By?"

"A very trusted member of my staff."

Basil stopped, "What about everything else?"

"What do you mean?"

"All the other presents" All the other Christmases? What about those times?" Basil was getting more furious by the second.

"Yes, that was me, I swear. I felt so guilty about what I'd done to you I tried everything in my power to make your life just a little bit happier, I did it."

"Yeah well, sending a coat every Christmas just didn't cut it," Basil stood up and gestured to the boy next to him, "But Pip liked them." Nyla looked at Pip as Basil got up and left, leaving his cold, unfinished breakfast and his cold, unfeeling bitch of a mother.

"Wait," Nyla stood up and followed after Basil, Pip hot on her tail, "We need you."

Basil stopped and turned around, "You need me?" he heaved, "And what, I'm supposed to be at your beck and call? Where were you when I needed you? Huh? Because that I recall, I was all alone, for years. And now, you can be alone.

"If you don't help then I'm sure you'll die."