Dark [Sea] Horse

Leaning against the wall is an unknown young boy with hair of the same color as the dark blue night sky. But what caught her attention the most is the fact that the boy is unconscious and injured. There are red trails of dried blood flowing down on his head. There are also a few minor injuries on his arms and legs as well, staining his clothes in dark spots.

Juris swallowed.

Judging from the state of the boy, he must've escaped from someone and was chased around. Incidentally, he found the secret passage. And to escape from his pursuers, he didn't hesitate to come in eventhough he was trespassing. It was understandable. Because he was injured and tired, he grasped the last hope of losing his pursuers.

But this could mean that he wasn't someone normal either.

Maybe if this is the normal Juris, she wouldn't hesitate to help the poor injured kid. But for some reason she cannot comprehend, she was hesitating. Her danger alarms are flaring red at the sight of the young boy.

His clothes looked so expensive, so maybe he's a noble. But what could be the reason he was being chased around like this? Just who could he be? And how did he knew that there was a secret passage on the wall?

"Jaye..."

She called out to her brother who just stood beside her. Looking at his similar red eyes, the girl silently asked what should they do. The boy might look suspicious but she can't also find it in herself to abandon him all alone. Besides, he was inside the premises of their home.

"Let's bring him in."

Jayse said with his normal indifferent expression.

"Eh? But where?"

"In my room. We'll hide him there."

"How are we going to enter without being spotted then?"

"You distract everyone. And then I'll sneak in with this guy."

"That's all?"

"That's all."

Juris want to literally facepalm but she did it anyway so it didn't matter.

The plan is clear and it sounds very easy. But it's more than that. How should she distract everyone then? There are a lot of people inside the estate.

Looking at her brother, she saw that he was acting so unbothered like usual as he crouched down and slung the stranger's arms around his shoulders and carried him to his back. Jayse's red irises then went to back to her as if telling her to go through their plan.

Pronto.

'What the hell?! What the hell?! What the hell?!'

Turning away, Juris quickly dashed inside the estate while her mind did a quick work of finding out what would be the best course of action to take. She can't really go against her brother when he's the one assuming command between the two of them eventhough she's the older one.

She reached an unoccupied room and stood in front of it. The room is located on the far corner of the estate, so it would take some time for people to get into it. Which means, if they're gathered there, no one would also notice Jayse sneaking in.

Taking in multiple short breaths, Juris held the doorknob and pushed it open. The room is dim, with only the beams of light coming through the window illuminating the interior. There are dust particles floating in the silent room. It gave out a different vibe than the rest of the other rooms. Like it was something out of place.

Thinking about her plan with Jayse, Juris moved inside and faced a small side table that have a white porcelain vase on top of it. 

"Ah. I'm sorry."

She mumbled, taking the vase in her small hands and raising it up in the air. The girl let out a scripted and loud startled scream before throwing it on the floor. The vase shattered in an instant. Her loud voice and the sound of the vase should be enough to catch the attention of the people inside.

Juris deliberately used this room to get everyone's attention. That should be enough to buy some time for Jayse to sneak in while everyone is distracted by her. And just like how she predicted, the maids, the butler and some other people inside who heard her scream rushed to her location.

"What happened, young miss?!"

Slamming the door open, butler Lloyd entered hurriedly, followed by Martha and more people. The kind butler kneeled in front of her and took her delicate small shoulders in his hands. His face donned a very worried expression as he looked at her face.

This should be enough of a distraction for most of the people inside.

"Are you hurt, lady? What happened?" He asked in a more gentle voice, afraid to startle the girl further.

Juris just stared at the man with a dumbfounded look. Whoa, they're so fast in reacting to her shout that she was a little bit surprised. Although it went according to plan, she really didn't expect that they would be so quick. Seeing Juris not responding to Lloyd's words, Martha became more worried.

"Young miss, why aren't you answering?"

The little girl switched her gaze to her personal maid and then went to the door when her mother and the rest of her siblings arrived.

"Oh my god! Juris! My baby! Are you okay?!"

"Juri!"

"Big sister!!!"

Lloyd released her shoulders and stepped aside, giving way to the baroness to check the condition of her daughter.

Lani took hold of her arms and checked it. Then she cradled Juris's face, with the intent of checking it as well. The butler was swift and ordered the maids to clean up the broken vase that was dangerously close to the little lady. Thankfully, none of the shards had injured Juris.

Juris felt a little guilty seeing that she had deceived their kind hearts but then soon mentally sighed in relief when she saw Jayse casually joining in the crowd of people inside the room.

He's quick.

The two made eye contact and nodded slightly, signing each other for a job well done.

Once the commotion was over, Juris was on her way back to her room after telling her mother that she was just startled because of a rat that ran underneath her. Lani believed her words much to her relief and let the little girl out of her room to let her rest. Thankfully, they didn't even question why she was inside an unoccupied room in the first place.

"Young miss, would you like to have some tea and snacks?"

From behind her, the teenage maid spoke up. Eventhough it's just a rat, she was pretty sure that the little girl was startled so she wanted to help her relax.

"Yes. Please bring me some."

With a nod of her head, Juris stopped in front of her room and gestured for Martha to go. When her maid was finally out of sight, she couldn't help but release a tired sigh.

"Oh. Sis, there you are."

Jayse's voice broke her trail of thoughts and approached her casually.

"You see, there is something I have to say. Although I succeeded in taking him inside, I have pu--"

"Young master, there you are."

An excited maid interrupted his words. She approached the two children and continued speaking with a smile.

"Your instructor had arrived."

Ugh.

Jayse mentally cringed.

Although his instructor is indeed capable, the old woman is so strict when it comes to being on time. The young boy actually had no other choice but to comply immediately at the maid's news. Sighing, he turned around and started walking away but stopped midway. He tilted his upper body, looking at his older sister in the eye.

"Just be careful."

He said and then walked away.

Juris was left wondering to herself. What could he mean with those words? Shrinking back to her own thoughts, the girl shook her head and entered her room. It was the moment when she's closing the door that she felt something was amiss.

Facing the closed door, Juris saw a shadow looming over her from behind. The instant she turned around to face the one inside her room, she found herself being forcefully pushed back until her back hit the wooden door. A hand enclosed tightly on her neck, preventing the free flow of oxygen in her lungs. She can't also scream.

'It hurts!'

'What the fuck is happening?'

She clearly had no idea. Is this an attack from an unknown enemy?! The weak girl struggled to get out of the vice like grip, looking at the person through her teary eyes.

The girl was facing the direction of the source of light, which are her windows, so the face of the figure before her is actually a little bit dark. The person was not that tall, seeing that she might be able to reach their face with her height.

'I can't breathe...'

Juris's hands tightly enclosed on the wrist of the hand that is strangling her. How could she not fight back when her life is already hanging by the thread at the moment? Juris's body is weak so she really had no options other than 'that'. With her last surge of remaining strength, she tightened her hold on the wrist and swung her leg forward, successfully kicking the person on their 'jewels'. Well, she just hoped that it is a boy.

The hand separated from her neck instantly and she fell on the floor.

The poor girl had hungrily inhaled a mouthful of oxygen while coughing violently at the same time. She laid her crimson eyes at her attacker and frowned when she saw that it was the young boy that she and her brother had struggled to help. 

The boy with the dark hair is crouching his upper body forward, clearly in pain for what she just did. The golden colored eyes resembling a cat's, gleamed dangerously, sending a bone chilling glare at her direction. But Juris stood her ground despite getting startled.

Why would she, the person who underwent such troubles to help this guy, be hurt in this manner when she haven't done anything wrong? Where's the justice?!

With one catching her breath and another one relieving his pain, a long staredown was held quietly inside the large room. Both children never want to look away from the other, as if the mere moment of breaking the gaze will result in an utter lost.

Juris thought that the feeling she had when she spotted the boy earlier was right.

He was dangerous.

Just look, the moment he woke up, he strangled the first person he sees, not even realizing that he was helped by that person. She couldn't care less if he had a good reason for his actions. The fact that he suddenly attacked someone, -not to mention, an unarmed young girl at that-, is enough to give her a bad impression.

The soul within Juris just died. She didn't want to die again after being transferred to this world.

Definitely not.

After a while, the boy had finally managed to stand back on his feet. The continuous knock on the door behind Juris unexpectedly startled the both of them.

"Young miss? It's Martha. I'm entering."

The door knob moved and twisted. The door only opened for a fraction before it was completely slammed shut once again, with Juris yelling a loud 'Wait!'.

Startled by her young lady's actions, Martha flinched and was confused, clueless as to what was happening inside the room. She could even hear the soft click of the closed door, realizing that it was just locked.

"Young miss? What is happening?"

The muffled voice coming from the outside sounded confused.

"Wait a minute, Martha! I'm in the bathroom!"

Juris yelled, hastily grabbing the boy's arm afterwards and pulling him towards one of her drawers.

The boy was about to protest but she rendered him silent by giving him a sharp glare and covering his mouth with her hand.

"Don't go out until I come back for you." She whispered softly, a warning tone in her voice. "Unless, you want me to tell my father about your existence in this house and have you sent back to where you came from."

Her threat seemed to work as the young boy wasn't able to retaliate and could only begrudgingly nod his head in agreement. When he was settled inside the drawer that contains her dresses, Juris closed the door.

As for Martha, her confusion rose when the young lady had told her that she was in the bathroom. It clearly wasn't the case. Because the door was just locked and the child's voice sounded awfully near. What could the young lady be doing to even lie about something like this?

Even after what had happened between the two of them, Juris still thought that it was better to hide the boy like she and her brother had agreed. As much as she wanted to get back at him for strangling her, it wouldn't be good as well if she was found with an injured boy inside her room.

Juris fixed her clothes and took a deep breath before going to the door to open it for Martha.

Upon seeing the young girl, Martha blinked and went inside. The maid fluidly went straight for the table and set the beverage and snacks for her young miss.

"What happened, young miss? Why did you lock the door?"

Unable to contain her curiosity, Martha spew out her question as she pulled a chair for Juris to sit on. The child remained calm on the outside despite being a wreck inwardly. The young boy that she and her brother had helped looked smart so he wouldn't just go out and reveal himself after he was warned. Yes, that would be the best scenario for the both of them.

"Young miss?"

Seeing that the girl is spacing out, Martha called out to her, crouching down to her level. Juris finally broke out of her trance and faced the maid.

"Oh, yeah. It was nothing. I just went to the bathroom to do some business and I don't want anyone to disturb me."

She calmly reached out for the teacup and took a sip of the hot chocolate that Martha had prepared for her. As usual, the teenager didn't want to serve her tea yet because she's still too young and the taste didn't suit her palate even with honey.

However, Martha was unconvinced at her reason but didn't pry any further. After eating her snacks, Juris instructed Martha not to disturb her because she wants to sleep. The maid helped her in changing into her sleepwear. It was when Martha was finally out of the room that the child was able to breathe a sigh of relief.

Juris grabbed a towel, soaked it in water before pulling out the young boy from inside the drawer. She made him sit on the chair and threw the wet towel at his face. The boy frowned but proceeded to clean his face with it anyway.

"So? What are you doing inside the premises of our estate? In that condition nonetheless."

Standing in front of the boy, Juris crossed her arms and raised a brow. Since it looked like Jayse isn't going to be able to be with her during this interrogation, Juris had already started questioning him. The boy only snorted, much to her annoyance and continued ignoring her words, making it look like she was talking to herself.

Juris believed that she had a pretty long patience. That proved true when she kept waiting for the boy's answer. But even she has her limits. And whatever patience she had left for the boy was gone into air after that strangling incident from earlier. So she finally snapped.

"Hey, you! I'm talking to you!"

The golden eyed boy stopped on his tracks to give her a judging glare.

"You kick me where it hurts the most. And I might be unable to bear a child because of you. What makes you think that I would want to talk to you?"

At his answer, the girl was left dumbfounded.

"I couldn't care less." She shrugged casually afterwards. "My life is more important to me. And you, have you ever considered that you might be committing a fucking murder if I hadn't been able to kick you on the balls?"

"My balls are my life."

"That's a total bullshit." Juris spat, completely forgetting to act like a child. What's wrong with this child's way of thinking? Surely, his balls are important. But is it more important than her life? "Life should be preserved no matter what. Especially if it's your own life, dude."

"And it's the balls that create life."

"Huh? Have you ever studied about the Reproductive system at all? If your balls are all it takes to create life, then every men should be a sea horse and get pregnant once and for all." The girl raised a brow and tilted her head to the side. "Unless, the balls you're talking about are the [Dragon Balls]."

Juris was pretty satisfied when she saw him getting a little bit confused at her words. It seems that he couldn't quite grasp what she had said. Especially the part about the [Dragon Balls]. He didn't know the connection of it to their topic at all. And what is even a [Dragon Ball]?

'Hah! That's what you get for provoking me who grew up with the guidance of the precious [Shounen Jump]!'

Ah.

Now that she felt a little satisfaction, it finally dawned on her that she had let her emotion get the best of her and actually retaliated with some 'risky' words not fitted for an eleven-year-old child like her. Thankfully, no one else was around her aside from this boy. Or else, they would be really shocked to the core to find out that their precious Juris had turned into something like this.

Seriously, what is she saying to a child like him? She had never swore in front of a child in her previous life. But it's his fault that she's acting like this. If he hadn't strangled her and didn't show that impudent attitude of his, none of this should have happened.

"If I became impotent, I'll make sure that you'll pay for it."

"You nearly killed someone, yet you're worrying about getting impotent at this point? What a self-centered bastard."

Screw being a proper adult in front of him. She haven't reached legal age yet even in her previous life. She didn't care anymore.

"Have you forgotten that you're still a child to be worrying about mature issues like that?"

"A heir who couldn't produce his own heir is nothing but garbage. Besides, you're a child as well. Why are you talking like you're the older one here?"

'Well, I'm technically the older one between the two of us!'

She wanted to shout but decided against it. She shouldn't be getting worked up over a child like this.

Seriously though, she wanted to give him a straight punch on the face for acting like an ass. She and Jayse are his benefactor for God's sake! This child have some serious personality problems. Children with this kind of noble upbringing are a pain to deal with. If they're in the world she came from, they would've already been isolated by their peers.

Juris occupied the vacant seat across him and sat nonchalantly. She propped an arm on the table and rests her chin against her palm. Her actions were too ungraceful and lacking in manners that the boy just had to point it out.

"That's not how a noble lady should act."

"Well, if it wasn't for a certain someone suddenly grabbing my neck and being rude, I might've have been able to show some proper manners."

The boy went silent, observing her from across him.

At her 'colorful' choice of words and their not so 'child-friendly' topic, the young boy was amused. He had never seen a little girl with such a vulgar mouth like her. All of them were prim and proper, like a very refined noble.

Judging by her appearance, he had deduced that they might be in the same age group. He already knew from which family she came from since only a few people in the world have pure crimson colored eyes like her.

'Only the Wynter Family.'

But what's interesting to him is her expression.

After showing some extreme emotions, the girl's face will go back to it's usual blank expression a few seconds after. Like it was her default expression to begin with. 

"We just met but I already don't like you. I was really wondering if it was the right decision to help you at all."

Of course, the boy wasn't heartless at all.

He was in a panic after waking up in an unfamiliar room. He might've thought that 'those people' might've caught him. So when someone had entered the room, his body moved out of instinct and strangled the innocent girl. When he had finally calmed down inside the drawers, he felt bad for trying to hurt the person who saved him.

But after the small interaction with the girl, he noticed that she didn't pester him for an apology and instead asked about his circumstances. It was really smart of her to quickly figure out his situation and threatened him with it.

"About that..." He trailed off, catching the girl's attention.

Juris simply turned her gaze at him, now looking completely uninterested.

'Whatever...' She thought.

After recovering, he had to leave anyways so his business is none of her concern at all. Instead, she was thinking that it was better for her not to get too involved with him.

"Thank you for helping me. And I'm very sorry for trying to strangle you. It was my mistake."

The unknown boy crouched down in front of her like a knight would. Said actions made the girl flabbergasted that she wasn't even able to react properly even after the young boy took her hand and planted a featherlike kiss on the back of it.

Being a modern girl, Juris wasn't used to such actions. And eventhough she knew that it was one of the polite gestures, she still hadn't imagined even in her wildest dreams that she would experience one.

Seeing her expression that tells him that she couldn't believe what he just did, a charming amused smile dawned on the boy's face as he looked up to her, still not letting go of her hand.

"Of course. I'm a young boy with 'proper manners'."

As if blinded by his smile and pearly white teeth, Juris looked away and yanked her hand from his grasp as if she had touched something hot. Despite being a jerk, she had to admit that the boy is indeed very good looking.

'Ah. FBI.'

If her fellow weebs knew that her heart skipped a beat at a young boy's action, they would call her a [shoutacon] and joke about contacting FBI agents. Lmao, those memes on [Facebook] are surely entertaining. But it is not the time to be relishing on those memes.

The plan was to bring this boy to Jayse's room. So why is this jerk in her room instead?

She frowned at the thought. There was no way that her brother could've made a mistake. Their simple plan was very clear. Then something clicked. Is this what Jayse was trying to talk about before he left for his classes? Juris palmed her face because of her frustration.

"Oi. What are you facepalming like an old woman for?" The boy asked, tilting his head on the side.

Juris stopped on her tracks, eyebrow twitching in annoyance.

'This guy... I wanna clobber him...'

"Whoa. You look like you wanna punch me."

"Shut up, you sea horse."

===

Little Tidbits:

- After his classes, Jayse went to his sister's room only to find her and the 'sea horse' having an intense staredown.

- When asked what happened, Juris told Jayse that she kicked the 'sea horse' on the balls, getting a disgusted stare from her brother.

- The 'sea horse' was wondering to himself as to why Juris haven't told her brother that she was almost strangled to death.