In Elias' arms was Charlotte.

Not in a romantic way.

He had a gun to her head.

“Help me!” Charlotte's blood-curdling scream rips through the halls.

From a hidden and abandoned alcove, Aaliyah watched the commotion they were making. And it was only going to get worse.

“Move away from that door or I will kill her,” Elias said in a deadly voice through his black mask. His voice was directed to the guards stationed at the archive doors Aaliyah wanted to get into.

The poor guards.

She hoped they were getting paid enough. 

“Drop the weapon, sir,” one of the guards commanded in a cold voice.

“Not until you all move from the door and leave my sight." He pressed the gun harder against Charlotte's head, "Move. Now.”

“P-please. I-I’m begging you. Please I-I don’t want to d-die,” tears streamed down her face. Her chest was heaving, and her eyes were wide with panic. 

Aaliyah's face was hurting from smiling so much.

Charlotte was too good. Almost gave Elias a run for his money in acting.

Actually, she had to give it to her. Right then, she was the star of the show.

The guards began to discuss among themselves while others kept their guns trained on Elias.

“On the count of three, if any of you are still in front of that door..." he paused for effect, "she's dead."

Still, the guards didn't move.

"Do you want this little—a flash of anger went across her face—innocent woman's death to be on your hands?

Silence hung in the air.

"So what will it be?" He surveyed them all, "Your choice."

They both played their roles well.

“One,” he began his count.

The guard's conversation became more heated as they shot Elias and Charlotte glances from time to time. As time passed, their arguments got so loud that they even reached Aaliyah’s ears.

“We can’t just let her die!”

“I mean…”

“You really can’t be considering doing nothing.”

“We have strict orders not to move.” 

“But still, we can help her a little—”

“I can easily take him—”

“Watch me, I'll handle—”

“We are not going to do anything so—”

Elias spoke. “Two”

She let out a piercing wail. “Mama,” she sobbed, “Papa…”

“Just look at her! She’s even calling for her parents—”

“We…can’t—”

“To h*** with orders!”

“I’m not going to chance it.”

“I don't think we will be punished for this"

“Yeah, we are doing a good deed—”

“The Black Rose will probably reward us!”

“But—”

“Stop with the protest.”

“I agree. I don’t want blood on my hands.” 

“And the girl is rather cute, isn't she?”

“I’m not a pervert so I wouldn't—

“I’m only twenty years old! I’m not being a—

Elias' trigger finger flexed. “Thr—”

“Stop!” shouted the guards at him. 

They began to move away from the Archive's door. 

One guard stood his ground.

“What are you doing Jack!” cried one of the guards.

Bang! 

The gunshot cut through the air.

Elias was out of his damn mind.

She feared to look at what he shot—

It was the door. Perfect to throw the guards into chaos.

Well, he sometimes does have a method to his madness.

The guards all rushed to surround Elias with their weapons aimed at him, but he easily maneuvered out of their grasp. He dropped a thrashing Charlotte and took off down the hall; the guards were hot on his trail.

“Get him!” she cried in frustration. Aaliyah couldn’t tell if she was acting or not.

She probably wasn’t.

As Elias ran down the hall opposite her, he shot a quick look over his shoulder. His playful eyes locked with hers, and he gave her a wink before he turned around the corner, and disappeared from her sight.

With fifteen guards chasing after him.

That idiot.

The whole building will be after him at this point, she sighed at the thought. Though, she didn't have to worry too much as he was an excellent spy.

With the chaos he had created, the guards were few. For the remaining six, Charlotte kept distracted with her neverending tears and speech, both of which she seemed an expert at. With her at work, Aaliyah saw an opening.

Perfect.

Silent and quick as death, she made her way to the guards. With their back towards her, she attacked two of them with fast and precise jabs, her fingers pressing all their vulnerable pressure points.

They passed out, falling to the ground. But before she could move on to the other four guards, they had spun around to face her.

“You b****!”

Charlotte swung her fist at the guard. The man’s head jerked back at the impact. “What the f—”

She gave another quick punch, "No one,” then another “Calls my friend that!” The guard fell to the floor, being completely knocked out. Her chest rapidly rose and fell.

“Friend you say?” A guard—with blond hair—gaped at Charlotte. “B-But we saved you!”

“If I remember correctly, you guys were keen on letting me die.”

“That was him!” Blondie pointed to a guard with black hair.

“You rat—” 

Aaliyah's hands shot out, and with pinpoint accuracy, they met her target. The black-haired guard collapsed to the ground as well.

Her eyes clashed with the two remaining guards, Blondie and…Brown she decided to call the other. Blondie and Brown were more cautious. They faced her, watching her every move. They raised their weapons but she had already moved. 

She grabbed Brown’s wrist first, twisting it and yanking his arm down. His steel baton fell to the floor and her elbow connected with the side of her neck. He fell to the floor unconscious.

“Watch out—!”

She didn’t need Charlotte's warning.

Out of the corner of her eye, she spotted another steel baton coming her way. She quickly twisted to narrowly avoid it. Taking hold of Blondie’s extended arm she rapidly disarmed him. Her arms went around his neck and she squeezed until he passed out. Letting go of him, he fell to the ground with a thud.

Aaliyah wiped her hands together and grinned at the quick work she made of them. She turned to look at Charlotte whose mouth was on the floor; her eyes wide as saucers. She waved her hands in front of her and it broke her out of her trance.

“That was awesome!” she exploded, “You are so cool. I want to fight like you. Oh, will you teach me? And Elias was crazy back there. Oh how did you like my acting, it was awesome, right? Though it was not as awesome as you—”

“Thank you!” she cut in before she could really get going. “But I have to find the key and get into the room before any of the guards come back.”

“No problem, sorry for delaying you,” a flash of guilt went across her face.

“It’s all right—”

“You're running out of time," she said, beginning to rummage through the guard's pockets, "we have to hurry! ”

Aaliyah smiled warmly at her before she knelt and searched the pockets of the fallen guards.

One of them has to have it...

Oh no! What was she going to if—

"I got it!" Charlotte jumped to her feet, a wide smile on her face.

Thank God—no thank goodness.

"Oh my gosh, you are the best!" Aaliyah threw her arms around her, sighing in relief. Charlotte squeezed her back, and Aaliyah breathed in her vanilla scent. "Fingers crossed this works."

"I have a feeling it will."

Pulling away from her, she turns to the door. Her chest was tight as she inserted the key into the lock.

Okay, so far so good.

She turned the key in the lock, and it gave way. Holding her breath, she tried the handle on the door; it turned in her hands, causing Aaliyah's knees to suddenly feel weak.

She shot Charlotte a triumphant smile. “Thank you so much. You have been so helpful," her face practically shined at Aaliyah's words. "Please, let me know if anyone is coming,” she said, before slipping into the room.

Once inside, she quickly scanned the archive. She made her way to the rows after rows of floor-to-ceiling shelves lining the room. In the alphabetically organized box files, she looked for her last name, Tesfaye.

…O, P, Q, R, S—T. Her eyes stopped on the section of the shelves all starting with T. She searched for her family name among them, going through the chronological organization of them.

She swore.

Where is my family's last name?

Aaliyah scanned the shelves again, she even checked the shelves surrounding the T section in case it was misplaced but...nothing.

Where is their case? Did someone take it?

She had to find it. She examined the rows of files, going from one section to another. Again she checked. Again she searched. Her breathing quickened as her eyes frantically swept from one area to another. Her hands began to shake.

This was not happening.

Aaliyah and Elias had set their eyes on this place for a long time, and she had been counting down the days until the banquet but…

Where was it? Where was it? Where was it!

She raced through the shelves. She scoured every corner of the room. Her eyes passed over the wooden floors looking for anything that was out of place. Her eyes swept over the beige-painted walls, across a series of paintings and—

She paused.

As she examined the paintings, a particular one caught her eye.

Something about this painting seems...

Her heart stilled.

The painting with the black crow and woman.

That was what the notes had said. And before her eyes was a painting with that exact description.

It can’t be. 

Aaliyah fished the note out of the pocket and sure enough, her memory was not failing her.

There's no way.

She walked up to the painting; her heart pounded in her chest. Hardly being able to breathe, her gloved hands took hold of the sides of it. Not really believing anything would happen, she tugged— 

The painting moved; it swung open on its hinges.

How was this happening—

Her eyes fell on the safe before her.

A safe that was locked. 

The hope that had bloomed in her withered and died. Of course there was a safe, and of course, she didn’t know the number to—

The number.

Her hands trembled slightly as she took out the note from her dress pocket and read the number. 

33 45 96 41. 

Four numbers, for a four digit safe. 

She couldn't be this lucky. Aaliyah didn’t know what luck was, with how her life had been flushed down the toilet four years ago. Still...

You miss a hundred percent of the shots you don’t take. 

And she had resolved to take her shot. She only prayed she wouldn't miss.