" No. I'm still sleepy." Then she suddenly stood up.

" I locked the door, where did you..."

" I told you by all means you'll go with me. If I need to break walls I have to, and so I did. It's more of a responsibility."

" All saints in heaven! let me understand all these...hah! but everything is already stressful, oh Lord, okay, I'll go change." She sighed and deeply breathe.

" Are you done? It's almost dawn, please, the j.a.panese soldiers can detect us if we come out late."

" Coming now, yes, it's still cold despite the hot water you poured in here, whew! Where are you?"

" I'm already here outside, I'm carrying your bag. Here, I'll wear you my sweater, take it easy, aha, do you like it?"

" Sort of." She smiled.

" Let's go. Come, hold my hand, let's start our walk."

" And why, Albrecht commented last time when you were holding my hand, that means we shouldn't."

"But you were clasping my hand when you were scared of the snake and wild dogs. Does it mean, I should be afraid of the j.a.panese soldiers so that I can hold your hands? Only when someone is scared, holding is an exemption? But let's go straight, the reason why I'll be holding you is this: you might ESCAPE, get it?"

" Ah, haha! yes, sir!" She stood up and pay a hand salute.

So he looked at her and smilingly held her hand as they started walking.

"How about the sacks of chopped snakes and wild dogs?"

"Albrecht and Baldur will get them this afternoon."

" Ah, I see. Oh, we're getting out of the wall now." Magee was a bit scared.

" I know and I sensed that you're uneasy, but sorry to say that I need to be sure that you'll not run away."

" Run away? Grrr....how come I'd do that."

It's still foggy outside and the path seems slippery so he carried her but she slapped her heavily.

" Ouch! Why? why? that small right hand seems metallic, why you're enslaving me, my goodness." He whispered.

" Don't carry, hold me whenever you want, ask it from me, if I say so, and for what reason 'coz I just wonder if why you do that to me." She whispered her reply.

" Okay, I got it!" While he took some extra hat from his bag and put it on her head and meaningfully smiled.

" Oh, oh! don't slap me again, it's just a hat, it drizzles already so you'll need it."

" Okay, I won't." Then she smirked funnily.

Stopover happened as he fixed some laces, but he quickly grabbed her hand again and they breathlessly continued to walk really fast.

" I'm tired."

" You know already if what would happen if you're tired,could not walk and could not slap anymore. We badly needed to be in a hurry this time, it's past 1700 hrs, the sun is about to rise now, we might meet the j.a.panese soldiers on our way.

They reached a cliffy, craggy and stony plateau where both sides a hundred meters going down. Though, there were also trees as shades for the locals to pa.s.s by safe. But it's a kind of place that gives anyone some gooseb.u.mps especially when you walk and look down the far-out flowing river below. But Magee's running and enjoying the fogs and George tried to run following her when a man's voice echoed in every corner of the neighboring mountains.

" Yameru!" (Stop!)

George was sweating and for the first time, he felt he had lost his energy to fight. Despite the fogs he saw she raised her hands so he slowly put down the bags and hide behind the tree. He was just approximately two meters from her when he heard a gun readied to shoot when Magee spoke.

" Setsumei sa sete kudasai, watas.h.i.+ wa Hakanori no fiansedesu." ( Please, let me explain, I'm Hakanori's fiancee.)

Suddenly, he just saw her pointing a finger on the other side of the mountain where the j.a.panese soldier has to turn his head and when he did, Magee pushed him and he rolled shouting, crashed it's head to some rocks before its dead body landed on the raging waters.

George rushed to her and grabbed her hand as they ran heading to station one's Mabolo tree and right away removed the surface and let Magee slithered herself down. He was left clueless and hurriedly covered the surface again following her inside, but he pa.s.sed through the waterfalls.

" George, here's your towel." Albrecht instantly covered his back.

" Where's Magee?"

"She proceeded to her place, clasping her hands and chilling. Wait, I'll boil some 'salabat' for a while."

George right away changed and proceeded to Magee's place.

" Hey, are you alright?"

She gawkily smiled but was teary eyed as she breathe on her palms, warming her sweaty face.

" George...George...." She sobbed and covered her face with a pillow and heavily cried.

He entered in her place but just sat silently a meter away from her.

" It's fine, we're at war with them, he wants to kill you and better you got him first, that way."

Almost all soldiers around gathered together in the kitchen and quietly asked Albrecht about Magee's early tantrum.

" I don't know if what happened." Albrecht reasoned out to them.

It's almost an hour when Magee stopped from crying but when she opened her eyes, she saw his brother's face beside him and George sitting a little bit away.

" Magee, I'm just curious if what did you say to the j.a.panese that caused his death."

" I was looking and shouting faraway, " Hakanori Koko ni kite kudasai." ( Hakanori, come here please). Then the soldier turned his head to the place I pointed and so I pushed him with all of my might.

" Oh dear. It was so intense. But it's a great job." George smiled with relief.

" Wow! good job! I'm proud of you. Take it easy, we'll not surrender, we have so many means, and yours is the most powerful using tricks. Albrecht wiped her tears and hugged her, "we will not give up, we will fight." He shed tears too.

Then Albrecht stood up to prepare breakfast.

" You abandoned me." She spoke slowly.

" Abandoned? it's you who left me and ran so fast, you abandoned me. If he had seen me there, he should have killed you right away and won't listen to you anymore."

She smiled seeing him a little upset. She waggled her toes to reach him but he stood up and went to the kitchen and he never see him smiling."

" Hey! George! I was just kidding!"

" Ow! what happened. Have you heard of the rumors around?" Albrecht smiled.

" What rumor." George helped him in cutting the sayote leaves.

" Rumors about your relations.h.i.+p with my sister." He smiled while putting sugar on his 'salabat."

" What?" What did you say? If she would hear that joke she'll kill me. She's that sensitive you know." He whispered.

" Hmm...that's why I told them you're a gay, so, is that okay now?"

" What? why everything turned out blue, goodness!" He smiled and threw him some of the sayote branches.

" I'm not a gay, just tiptoeing. You know how tough she is when she's mad. She can even push an armed man in the air and stabbed a hungry beast with her hands. She needs a not so easy way, she needs respect, time and a great balance in life. She is someone I always been looking and you know that, someone that can always make me the man that I am. Hmm, supposed I will court her, what do you think?"

" My goodness. Did you not court her yet? For those three days we gave you, with full consent and with open arms from Dad and Baldur?" Albrecht whispered him angrily.

" Hmm, don't look at me that way, I felt like a candle." George blushed.

Albrecht then chopped the spices heavily and spoke.

" I don't know with you George, you're too slow. I'm not sure if you're telling me the truth or not, but..." He whispered.

" Just wait, just a little more. Madeleine loved you very much that's why you're both my headache. But your sister does not even know what love is, what liking is, whatever. She treated me like a great bodyguard, sometimes a best friend, older brod, a grandpa and a saint, haha."

" Why saint, that's funny?" Albrecht laughed.

" Listen, when the anaconda snake and two wild dogs were fighting outside the room, she moved too close to me and hide almost in my armpit and pressed my hands, chilling in fear and told me, " don't move and so I did, yes, I didn't move." He laughed.

" Aha, she's got the aura of Dad and why grandpa."

" Because I was a little upset that I cannot explain her some things, I bury her under the bed with sacks of clothes and books just to hide her. I thought she would resist but she didn't. Afterwards, she got out bearing the cobwebs and dirts on her body, she's typically obedient to me."

" And why bestfriend?"

George stood up and moved closer to Albrecht and demonstrated her by grabbing his collar, forcing him to sit down by just using one tiny hand.

" Really? did she....treat that scary 1Lt of my batallion, that way? Is she not scared of your fierce in fighting? Haha, wow, that lit'le rascal."

" And why a bodyguard?"

" She slapped me on my face because I carry her when the place was slippery, telling me to really ask her in times like that. Her hand was just like a metal, its my first time being slapped by a girl for not asking a consent, consent at that. Ha!"

" That's terrible! what a bitter life you have been in Kabang with the snake, wild dogs and with my sister. Ouch! And why grandpa?"

" That I shouldn't hold her hand because it seems you won't like it, " it seems Albrecht won't like it when he saw you holding my hand." He quoted.

" Ha? hahaha...I was smiling when I said it, I was teasing but I wasn't angry."

" Yeah I know, I know. It's just a defense mechanism, that's why, she isn't easy, she have so many reasons." He bowed down his head.

" Whew! with your revelation, I will just help pray to all the ghosts around to potion that girl, haha. We cannot help you anymore, we have given you both days of s.p.a.ce, considering that this is war time. Huh, but I'm proud of my sister, she's just very young but strong-willed, hmm, thanks George for waiting. You take good care of her, love her as much as you want. Oh, she's coming, careful." Albrecht whispered.