(9) Two Weeks Later

                                    

                                          
I walked down the stairs from the attic after cleaning up Latina's stuff for her. She was excited to go over to Chloe's after school so I offered to clean up for her so she could hurry over. 
                          
Dale was standing in the doorway, looking disappointed. That was probably because Latina wasn't here to greet him.
                          
"Hey, Dale," I say.
                          
He looked up and the disappointment left his eyes. He smiled and walked over to me, picking me up in his arms.
                          
"At least someone's here to greet me after a hard day at work!"
                          
"Really?" Rita asked. "What about us?"
                          
He ignored her and put me down, walking towards the back. "But it's still not the same as Latina!"
                          
I rolled my eyes and sat down, looking at Rita as she cleaned down the counters. "What happened to you two while you were gone?" She asked me.
                          
I blushed, remembering the night we had spent together. "Nothing happened. We weren't even together. I was busy with Princess stuff while he was out adventuring"
                          
"Are you sure? Since then you've all been acting like a family, more so than usual," Kenneth said.
                          
"Not really. We've always acted like that..."
                          
"Whatever you say," he said with a chuckle as he headed towards the kitchen.
                          
"Alice, you can be honest with me, do you like Dale?" Rita asked in a whisper.
                          
I stood up and headed for the door with a pout on my face. "I'm not going to be interrogated like this. I'm going out for a bit"
                          
"Since you're going, can you bring back some carrots?!" Kenneth yelled just before I shut the door.
                          
***
                          
Latina was super excited to be able to see snow for the first time the next day. Dale had left for an adventure after they enjoyed the snow for a bit and Latina was with us, helping out around the bar. 
                          
The last customer left, but he forgot his coin purse. Kenneth suggested we leave it because he was most likely going to come again tomorrow, but Latina picked it up.
                          
"I think I can catch him," Latina said before rushing out.
                          
"Latina, your jacket!" I shouted, but she was long gone.
                          
I grabbed her jacket and hurried after her, but I had lost her as soon as I stepped outside. I sighed and started wandering around, seeing if I could find her. I finally did find her, talking with two strange looking men.
                          
When she saw me walking towards her, Latina ran towards me, away from the two men chasing her, but she slipped and fell before making it to me. The men surrounded her.
                          
"Be careful, don't scratch the merchandise," one of them said.
                          
I hurried over to Latina and knelt beside her, pulling her up to her knees and hugging her to me. She hid her face in my chest, clutching my shirt. 
                          
"A devil girl and a princess? What do you think?"
                          
"The princess will go for a lot of money"
                          
I glared at them. I didn't want to use my magic because I was scared Latina might accidentally get hurt if I didn't do it right. And if I stood up and tried to fight I'd slip on the ice.
                          
I took Latina's jacket and put it over her shoulders then stood up. I didn't care if I'd slip, as long as I could keep them from taking her it'd be alright.
                          
"Is she gonna try to fight us?" One asked the other. 
                          
"The two of us at once? Ha!" The other laughed mockingly.
                          
They both closed in at once. It was hard to focus on the two of them, and keeping Latina safe. A regular at the bar hurried over to us, coming to help, but as he did one of the guys pushed me and I slipped, falling backwards and hitting my head.
                          
I woke up and saw Dale staring at me with a gentle smile. My head was laid on his lap, and he was brushing one hand gently down my head. We were on the couch that we had recently brought upstairs, Latina asleep on the bed.
                          
"How's Latina?" I whisper.
                          
"She's safe, thanks to you and that man that helped you two. Some officers showed up after you hit your head and stopped the two men"
                          
"That's good. What time is it?"
                          
"I think it's past midnight, it's dark outside"
                          
"You should be asleep, why are you awake?"
                          
"I wanted to make sure you woke up. Do you want me to stay with you?"
                          
"Yes, please," I said, my eyes slowly closing.