[END] Arabella comes in, and I'm not surprised.

You’re not surprised to see Arabella come in after Scarlet leaves. You are, however, surprised to see Arabella so worked up. She’s been crying, or at least close to this entire time you’ve been down under. She’s relieved but heartbroken to see you at the start of a long, reluctant recovery. Her amber eyes gloss over before she walks over and greets you with a weak smile. “How are you feeling?”

“Like a million bucks…” You lean your head back and sigh, the soreness of your wounds making your body ache in harsh reminders of that night before. You try to laugh to lighten the mood, but the effort makes you wish you hadn’t bothered because your whole body protests.

Arabella shakes her head. “Be serious.”

She sits where Scarlet is and takes your hand into hers. You feel the thumb of her hand caress you as she takes you into her gaze. The amber almost seems pinkish from her being distraught. You put aside humor and squeeze her hand. “I’m fine. Though, this is one of my worst work-related injuries I’ve had in a long, long time.”

Her eyes go over your body again, examining you. “This is the worst I’ve seen you, that’s for sure.”

“I guess I’m not doing too bad then, huh? If this is the first time you’ve seen me like this.” The overall aching of your limbs subsides as you hold Arabella’s gaze. Her lopsided mouth expresses as much as her words do. “I’m fine,” you promise. “I’ll be OK.”

“When Scarlet brought you back… I saw Half-Gob hauling in No Slack, and I thought that was you at first,” she gave a quivering breath. “I was so scared I lost you, master.”

“I’m here,” you squeeze her hand. “And I’m talking to you, so there’s no need to be scared anymore, alright?”

Arabella lets out a throaty sob. “I know. And I’m happy. So, so happy…” carefully, she leans in and kisses you. A surge of emotion dulls your pain receptors, and you lean forward, taking her kiss as passionately as you can, which alarms Arabella.

The kiss breaks with a giggle as she sets a hand back on your chest to ease you back into place. “Master…” she sighs tightly through a crooked grin. “You shouldn’t strain yourself.”

“Right,” you reluctantly relax. “So, what happened? Who were those guys?”

“Me,” Arabella relents. “Hired people by my previous owner… ARS. Searching for me…”

There is a moment of intense silence that comes to you. Then you begin nodding. “Oh.”

“Scarlet worked with some of the bodies you left behind. Checked as soon as there was daylight.”

“Might've been after her,” you say, hopefully.

“No… Scarlet said they were the same people she worked with when they discovered I wasn’t on a leash. The only person missing was Kenji.”

More names that meant nothing to you. “So, what’s the deal then? What do you think, Arabella? Are the twins in as much danger as you are?”

Arabella leans back while down casting her gaze. “Scarlet said, for whatever reason, the Toymaker… My previous owner was interested in me, probably because she views me as a property. Personal property. It’s complicated, but I’m more than ARS… I was hers… a tool or a toy, depending on what she wanted or what she needed. I don’t know how long this is going to go on or how much danger I’m putting everyone in around.”

“I guess we ought to leave then. I’ll get the twins packed and ready to go as soon as I'm out here. I’ll terminate my contract with the circus, and we’ll leave. I’ll talk to Scarlet and explain the situation to Jennifer.”

“Master,” Arabella grabs your hand. “It’s me they’re after.”

“That’s why I’m taking everyone and leaving.”

She bites her lower lip. “I can’t live without you, but Gwendolion… Mikko… I think they fit in nicely here. You shouldn’t take that from them.”

“You’re saying it should just be you and me, then? The two of us as a traveling duet?” You scoff, not even considering the idea, but after a moment, you realize it isn’t so weird.

Arabella speaks up. “Exactly what I’m saying… you’ve seen how much they like it here, and even though you haven’t seen the other staff members much, they like having them around too. They fit in, and they’re not so fixated on practices and routines from their lives before. Unlike me… stuck with having an owner… a master to make me behave and act.”

The concept makes you blush. “I’m… stuck as your master?”

“Don’t say it like it’s a bad thing!” She complains. “Maybe I’ll change! Maybe we can… just live together until something changes…”

“So that’s it?” You say after a moment. “We’re done? Is it just us?”

Arabella sniffs all emotion, all. “Don’t say it like that either. No one died…”

“No Slack,” you murmur.

“He hardly counts. I never even spoke to him, so the fuck should I care if he died?”

No Slack had put his life on the line for you, and despite being only a momentary distraction for your attackers, he had saved you. You think about saying that but decide it’s pointless to strain Arabella with something like that. “Relax, Arabella. Just relax.”

Her lip quivers, and she shuts her eyes. “That was a terrible thing to say. I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay…”

…

…

.

The next couple of days are filled with goodbyes and many conversations. It was the least sexual your life had been since beginning this journey with Arabella.

The patrols continued, and she got involved in a firefight every night. There were no more night patrols as it was eventually deemed not worth the risk. Even though it was only your patrol that lead to a death and a serious injury.

Scarlet was disappointed to lose you but was settled in with the Afterlife Circus and began to open up to the other contractors, showing a more positive attitude towards them as they took on more slack and improved their abilities.

Scarlet spent ample time with you. Despite her time, however. It felt like she was keeping her distance from you. It was probably for the best, but you felt a little disappointed she could easily cut you off from her life. You found her plucking a guitar in Big Top on your last night together. Unlike Softspot’s use of the instrument, it seems more personalized. She was alone and now entirely blonde. When you made eye contact, she smiled and tilted her head, inviting you to the empty spot beside her.

“Last night together,” she remarks, strumming and humming, her eyes on the guitar.

You nod, handing you one of the two cold bottles you came in with. She takes the bottle and places it down, friendly to her booted foot. “Hope you survive.”

“I’ll manage just fine,” you chuckle, sitting next to her as she strums another tone, unfamiliar again. “I had some questions.”

Scarlet peered at you, her brows furrows. “Go on?”

You knew by the glance alone she was already guarding her secrets and personal life, so you sighed. “What happened that night you found me from the night patrol?”

Scarlet shrugged. “Half-Gob and I got into a firefight with another patrol connected to your ambush. They weren’t expecting us, so we got the advantage quickly,” she started to strum again. This time, the lyrics were missing as she leaned and swayed her head to what she was playing, touched by the words you couldn’t see or hear. It was vaguely haunting and overly emotional.

“Don’t give in now~,” she sings-songs, coming out with a pretty voice. “We still need you. I still need you around~!”

Scarlet looks at you, almost expecting you to pick up on the tune, but when you don’t, she just exhales. “It was good to have you around, Warren. I’m sorry to leave you go. I hope to see our paths cross again. This time without the distrust, worry, and need to save each other some stupid fucking disaster.”

Scarlet stands up and shakes your hand. You smile at her and grasp her hand. “Will I ever learn more about you?”

“Not ever,” she laughs, her appearance nor voice matching her deadly professionalism.

Jennifer also seemed disappointed. Despite your odd relationship with her, she understood that in the long term, your leaving wouldn't just be good for the circus and your health, especially regarding the complications with Arabella.

Your last time seeing her was outside the gates of the town. She was standing outside, sundress and with loose sleeves in the breeze. She beamed when she saw you and met you halfway y“Warren,” she greeted you while handing you a piece of paper. She greeted Arabella, too, but gave her a tender hug. “All ready to leave, I see.”

“Yes, mistress,” Arabella bows slightly, blushing after the hug. Behind you in the Big Top, you heard Softspot starting to sing again. Today was a big show, and they were unwinding and getting loose before all the stress ruined the otherwise easy gig of bodyguarding. Your departure was supposed to be at this time of day, so it was apparent you and Arabella were leaving.

Jennifer places her hand on her hips and closes her mouth as she clears her throat. She looks at you again and grins, gesturing at the paper. “Your report. I mentioned everything—no sugarcoating. I don’t think you’ll experience much of a dip on a record of your size, but… Who knows? People can be touchy about recent contracts and such. Where are you going?”

“East,” you say. “NeoYorkshire…”

Jennifer crosses her arms. “That’s where I completed my first contract gig. If you meet anyone called The Lack of Luster, mention my name, and you’ll get a good place to stay.”

You looked at the folder and handed it to Arabella. She took it and placed it somewhere in the folds of your gear. You look at Jennifer and shake her hand. “Where’s Mikko and Gwendolion? I thought they would have liked to see us off?”

Jennifer shook her head. “I asked if they wanted to, but they said they’d start crying. It’d make things complicated and harder than they already were. I’m sure they’re watching from someplace, though. So turn around and wave when you pass the gates. Besides, it’s not like we won’t see you again. We’re a traveling circus, after all. I’ll see if I can get the Ringmaster to get us a lot in NeoYorkshire. By then, hopefully, this whole mess of yours is solved.”

Arabella makes a noise, but offers no words.

As Jennifer requested, you turned with Arabella and waved at the Big Top. Outside, you saw two figures of similar heights wave back frantically. Beside them, a slightly taller one waved, too. Scarlet, Mikko, Gwendolion.

Arabella grabs your hand and shakes her head. “Let’s get out here before I start crying.”

“I get you,” you laugh and begin the hike towards the next town, a more civilized area. The wars in the local region have been a distant thought in the back of your head. Still, as you engulfed the Mojave desert, you realized how vast it was and how much of a task this little morning journey would cost you. Jennifer had loaded you up with more than enough gear, but it was now daunting. You exhaled and stepped forward.

Arabella stayed close behind, comfortable with her Master…

[Thank you for read until the end of this path in Tiny’s Tavern! My time for this path has ended, and now it’s up to you, the readers of this story, to pick up the slack where you think it should continue. Thank you so much for reading nearly 200 chapters. It means a lot to me. If you want more, I can only suggest you follow me on the other platforms or talk to me personally on the discord server. If neither of those sound appealing, then you can always restart and pick up a new path!]

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