We Start At the End

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There were many new choices the longer they went on. Doors on the left, the right, he wouldn't have been surprised to find one above their heads. They'd come down after all, sooner or later they'd have to climb back up in some way. He opened a few and was disappointed to find some exits blocked off entirely by rubble. It was worse than when they were locked shut, knowing that he simply couldn't continue because of an accident. The last one though, left him stunned.

It was completely by accident, just a slit in the wall he'd nearly missed, but when he saw it he was instantly piqued. Something so plain couldn't have been so important, but oh it was. After all that time he'd found something important. Some semblance of order and passage was revealed to them both as he guided Rose inside the new room.

"This looks promising."

The walls were painted in hues of deep red and luxurious golden tones. This was unexpected. He followed it excitedly until the room opened up into a large cavern, and there in the center was a pedestal with the smallest token atop the thin structure. Claude nearly shrieked at the realization, had they found the center? He hadn't even looked to see if Rose was following close behind, he just wanted to keep going!

"Rose, this is- is this?" He questioned himself, but marveled at the open space around him. The painted walls seemed to indicate that they were indeed somewhere important, but, why?​
 
Rose couldn't believe her eyes when Claude found the room. They seemed to finally have found what they were searching after. At least she hoped it was the right place. But something felt odd. Something wasn't right.

Once again she heard a whispering sound. Not sure what it was, she started to follow it, barely even conscious of where she stepped. Almost mesmerized she walked towards the familiar relic. Where had she seen it before? Claude, the labyrinth, the dark, everything was suddenly forgotten. The torch had been dropped on the stone ground as she walked forward. What was it about that figure?

Red eyes. Where had she seen them before? Her hand was reaching out for it. When did she get so close? For a moment she hesitated. What if it was a trap? But something whispered to her. Something told her that it wasn't. You know you want it. Was it her unconsciousness that drove her to it? Or was it something else? It was finally in her hands. Two red eyes stared at her. The small statue seemed almost... Alive.

Suddenly a thought hit her. Where was Claude? But before she could even turn around, she fell to the floor, only to awaken a few minutes later.​
 
Claude whirled around. The totem was practically glowing inside his companions hands, and he dived to her side in order to stop whatever reaction was happening. A sudden gust, a force he couldn't place, pushed him away from her and he threw his arms up in defense to keep from falling over. Whatever was going on, he didn't like it.

She fell to the ground, the totem falling next to her. So that was it then was it? They'd come all this way to find the blasted thing it was only right they take it with, but the eerie glow of it's eyes send ominous signals. Claude wasn't so fond of the thing, he only wanted to get out.

"Hey, hey!" He shouted. "Rose?"

The thief knelt on the ground at her side, pulling her up onto his lap, face in his hands. Her eyes remained closed, fluttering lightly with her unconscious state before opening. He breathed a sigh of relief seeing her breathing. It could've been worse, there could've been a terrible curse after all.

"I didn't say you could fall asleep on me." He teased. "What happened, are you alright?"
​
 
Rose weren't too sure how long she had been gone, but considering Claude was holding her it had probably just been a little while. "Wh.. What happened?" She asked him while trying to push her body up. A little bit dizzy still, but she didn't feel as if she were about to faint again.

"Did we find it?" Rose then continued to ask. When had she fainted? She had a vague memory of looking at a totem, but it was so vague it could as well have been a dream. Maybe she had fainted on their way through the tunnels. But hadn't they entered a room recently? Well, they had entered many rooms. Which room was the last one?

Her memories were incredibly disarrayed at the moment, but slowly they started to fall into order.​
 
"Yeah we found it." Claude nodded warily. "Stay down, don't sit up too fast at least."

He forced her to stay in his lap, whether or not she found it the most comfortable position to be in. His hands worked on their own, brushing away the hair from her face and checking her eyes over for any problems. Rose looked fine, but the sudden fall worried him. All she'd done was touch the small totem and suddenly collapsed.

Claude made hesitant eye contact with the ruby eyes of the totem and instantly wanted to look away. It felt wrong, being there, an ominous sensation filled his being and demanded him to leave. Fast.

"Are you alright?" He asked Rose.​
 
Rose sighed, not sure if she was annoyed or happy with his doting at the moment. "I'm fine, just a bit dizzy, that's all." She reassured him, but didn't bother trying to get up immediately. Claude would probably feel better if she stayed put for at least a minute.

"It's probably because we haven't eaten anything yet. Let's just rest for a bit and get something in our stomachs before we get going." Rose suggested. Usually she didn't have any problem with skipping breakfast, or even going without food for a whole day. Sure she could feel slightly dizzy and hungry, but she never fainted. Maybe it was the air down there that did it.

"Let's hope I didn't crush the bread into crumbles when I fell." She joked while releasing herself from the bag that laid right underneath her. The torch had not been very comfortable poking into her back, but at the very least it did not seem like it had hurt her spine.​
 
"It's intact." Claude affirmed seriously, then broke out into a grin. "I think we would've both settled for crumbles, bread is bread."

He tore off a small chunk of the loaf before handing it to Rose. She'd sat up some, and he let her go from his lap. He hadn't meant to dote, he was just worried that his partner had been injured by a trap. It was the most logical explanation he had for himself, what with so many previous attempts on their life from daggers and spikes throughout the ruins. Especially since they'd found the totem, at least they hoped, Claude was scared she'd been killed by one last mechanism.

"Eat." He urged her.

He munched on the bread happily, enjoying the taste on his tongue after not having eaten in quite some time. They had a bit of jerky left, and he pulled it from his pack to share so they might have something more filling for their return. Now that they were deep inside the ruins, the return would be long and hopefully less arduous than before. They'd activated many traps, so half of them were likely to be stuck in the active position. That was good, he thought. There was less to worry about that way. Still, he was going to keep a watchful eye on Rose from then on. Her sudden collapse had been startling.

"We can stop for a bit down here, but we should look for a way out."​
 
The dizziness lingered as she sat up, and something inside her seemed to be wrong. Was she getting sick? It didn't matter. They would be out within the day, maybe a few days time if they got too lost, and then she could get to the doctor if it seemed to be something serious. It was just to take the visit when she forced Claude over to the hospital, there was no way she would let him get away from an examination with that head wound of his. Even if it was closed now.

"At least now we can be certain there is a way out." Rose said in between chews. "If they hid the treasure down here, then they must have had a way out for themselves." She noted while looking around the room. "Hopefully we'll be able to find it before something more happens."

She picked up the small totem that had dropped when she fell and took a good look at it. Now it seemed so normal so.... Dead. But she had been so sure she had heard whispering sounds coming from it. Claude would probably believe that she was mad if she told him, so she kept her weird experience to herself.

"I can't see why people would want this thing. The jewels in the eyes seem to be worth a lot, but otherwise it seems just like a normal statue. What happens if it's not what we're searching for?" She asked. They had never seen the real treasure that everyone were so crazy about, neither had anyone else. It was a mystery what it was and still it was worth a fortune. If it wasn't the right thing, would they go back and search again? Personally she would rather just take the gold and leave if they came back for something.​
 
"If no one knows what it looks like, what're the odds our guy knows what he's looking for?" Claude shrugged easily. "We bring back this thing, say it's what we found, take the reward and go. There'll always be time to come back and take all the gold we need, I mean look around us Rose! The reward money and all this gold! Just think about what we could do, where we could go."

Maybe it was his head getting to him again, but Claude was elated with the prospect of finally escaping. When they were out, he'd go everywhere he'd never been able. That is of course after he bought his father's home, right out from under his nose if he could. That's what would make him most happy, of all the things, a petty revenge. Claude may not have been an honest man, a good man, but he certainly wasn't above revenge.

"When we get out, where would you go?" He asked her quietly. "What would you do?"

He flicked a small stone across the room, avoiding her eyes as he asked. Rose and Claude had worked together for a long time, but they didn't always share personal details. This was different, it felt different to him at least. They were on the last mission of their life if they were lucky, so it felt natural to ask what she wanted to do with the money. Claude had already given a small hint as to what he wanted to do, but nothing else. So he offered up a bit more, in case she didn't want to share.

"I already told you, I'm going to buy my father's home." Claude murmured. "But I'd really like to go to Italy for once."

​
 
Rose weren't sure how to answer his question. She hadn't thought much beyond being able to eat for the rest of her days. But considering how much they should get and how much they could go back to get, there should be more than enough for traveling the world ten times around.

"I haven't really thought about it much." She told him with a small shrug. "But I guess a house would be nice. Just to have somewhere to return to when I'm tired of whatever I'm doing at the time." Speaking of which, what would she do once she was done with this last mission with Claude? She couldn't really see herself relaxing on an island somewhere for the rest of her days. She had to do something.

"I've thought about visiting Paris.... Well, visit it for other reasons than to find a hidden treasure in their catacombs. Believe it or not, their catacombs have more skeletons than this place. On the other hand they pretty much used them as graveyards." It had been a long time since she had been on that mission. It had happened before she met Claude, and at that time skeletons did freak her out tremendously. Rats too. Claude probably wouldn't believe the stories of her being such a scaredy cat if he ever heard them. But everyone had to start somewhere.

"I've also though about visiting Scandinavia. I have some friends over there I haven't met for years." Her former companion for example. But if he still were in business, she might not be able to meet up with him even if she wanted to. "Never try to go there during winter though. The northern parts are so cold, your hair might freeze and fall off." She joked. That was something the natives had told her. Usually it was as a warning not to go outside during winter with wet hair, but some had also told her that during the coldest days your hair might freeze no matter what. She weren't sure if she should take it seriously or not though.​
 
"I miss the snow." Claude sighed longingly. It snowed in France, sure, but somehow he missed the white tufts. Being deep in ruins or dodging traps in old buildings left little time to stop to admire the scenery. "But Paris is possible, I am French after all."

He smirked at her. The thought of seeing Rose doing something other than plundering, now that was a sight. Seeing her above the ground, period, was always odd. Their faces covered, concealed to hide their true identities from the wrong sorts of people. Cops, being one of them, police or detectives of any sort which wanted them for some of the more risky heists. People want what they want, and when it got too difficult, it was them they called. They weren't exactly evil, just not the kind of people to get along with the lawful side of humanity.

"From my home-" or at least my father's "I can see the Eiffel Tower, it is still in progress, but it is wonderful. When we're done, why don't you come see Paris?"

It was an honest offer, whether or not she'd accept was entirely up to her of course. Claude would have loved to show her the civilian side of life, instead of the underground they were so used to.​
 
"I hope I won't see any snow again. That stuff is cold." Rose commented. Maybe she had a bit of a bias against it. All those cold winters living on the street, not being able to get warm even with the small fire they finally had been able to lit up after hours of tries. Sometimes she was sure those damn snowflakes had been laughing at her as they fell down. 'Haha, we're making sure your wood is wet and cold, no need to thank us hun'.

After Claude's next comment, Rose ended up staring at him for a few moments. For the longest of times she had believed that ones they were done with their job, they would part ways and probably never see each other again. Just like she and Björn had done. "We'll see." She replied eventually. "If we're stuck here until winter, then I have to refuse. That white fluff isn't going to touch me when I'm rich."

If they would be stuck down there for that long, then they would probably die. But as long as they could find snakes, bugs and other things crawling around, then they should be able to survive as long as starving was their only problem. She had heard snakes a couple of time already, so there was probably animals both here and there that shied away from the light.

"Plus, you might have to clean that house of yours before letting guests into it. If I'm on a visit to Paris I will take the opportunity to see how much of a slob you are. You might get a year to prepare, so make sure to disappoint my expectations." Rose wasn't sure what she could expect from the man. On one hand he was a single guy living alone, with the exceptions of a few girls coming over to entertain his needs at times. Yeah, she was sure that was going on. On the other hand, he might like nice and neat. Maybe he was a cleaning freak without her knowing about it. Well, if she ever got the opportunity to visit his home, then she would surely know. "

"And don't you dare cheat by paying someone else to clean." She warned him.​
 
Claude leaned on his fist as he sat, his meal gone and his mind occupied. Sure, from time to time he had a few women visit him, but he was a man. There were certain needs he couldn't ask of his partner without sharing the awkward emotions for trips and heists to come. Love, passion, it all ruined a working relationship. That wasn't something he could have with Rose, they were friends, would always be, no matter if either craved something more from the other. She'd always be welcome though, he'd never turn her away.

"I'm not so disorganized, but do expect some dust. It's a large manor." He commented idly. "Do I have to cut all the shrubs? Rake the leaves, cut the grass, water the plants, the trees. You can't honestly expect me to do it all on my own once I'm living the life of a high Lord in France, can you?"

He let her play with the totem all she wanted, he wasn't about to touch it. Something about the eyes was offsetting, they seemed so simple, but they were the largest gems he'd seen for a while. That never boded well for a mission. Large, cut gems were always of high value and always came with a certain price to them. Be it family fighting or traps and negative encounters, gods, Claude couldn't count the times he'd had to fight over jewelry and gems. This totem though, it had two, one in each eye. Twice the value, twice the trouble, but definitely worth the price.

"You think that's it?" Claude nodded towards the totem. "This thing is going to get me an island?"​
 
"Hey, If I give you a year, at the very least you can take the inside on your own. Once I'm done with my visit you can employ every maid and butler in Paris if you want." Rose grinned. Of course it was just a bit of friendly teasing, but it would be rather funny if he actually tried to make it alone. "I'll check every corner thoroughly. If I find any dust, you'll better dress up as a maid and take care of it." That would have been a historical moment. Claude in a dress.

She looked down on the totem again. It was so weird. Had they truly found what everyone were searching after? It didn't seem real somehow. But what else was there to find down there? And if that wasn't the thing they were searching for, why exactly had it been standing on a pedestal to be shown of like a kings most valuable belonging? It must be what they were searching for. But even if it wasn't, the gold and the jewels in the totem should give them enough money.

Rose finally let the totem go as she finished her piece of bread. It would lay safely in her bag until they got out of there. "I don't know about an island, but hopefully a house and a lifetime supplies of food." She replied. "Should we get going? Better not waste too much time. You never know what can delay and keep us down here." She stood up slowly to test how she was feeling. She wasn't dizzy anymore, good. It probably had been a lack of food after all. She coughed a few times rather suddenly shortly upon having risen from the ground, but it disappeared as fast as it had appeared. Nothing strange with that, they were in ancient catacombs after all. It wasn't like someone thought of dusting the place every century.​
 
"I'm not wearing..." Claude didn't finish, shaking his head instead.

The question was, where to start? They'd come in through the maze, and that wasn't likely to get them out again with all the twists and turns. He'd had to fall down in order to get there, it was the only reason he doubted there'd be another way out unless they wanted to try a running start on the chute. He turned his head in search of another exit. There was a door on every side. The maze to the bottom, one blocked by rocks on their right, the last two doors being at the head of the room and on their left. Two doors, only two ways out, no way of knowing if either held the exit.

"Alright, let's go, I'm picking a door." He ushered her up and towards the door at the front of the room. With the pedestal at their backs they could move forward. Something felt wrong though, worse than when they entered. The air was heavy and he felt as if something was watching him as he walked. It wasn't explainable and he chocked it up to anxiety. Yes, he thought, he was anxious to get out and get his reward. To do that though, he'd have to live.

Claude took a few more steps and stopped, checking for traps. Nothing. Alright, so it was mostly safe. That had to be good, right?

Wrong.

As he started walking again, the floor opened up behind them and crumbled into a deep pit. That's where the trap was. He reached back to push Rose forward, unsure if she was close behind or not. Falling would mean death, and they'd already planned their short trip to Paris. It was a sarcastic afterthought, of course he wanted to get her out as she had the totem in her bag.

"Go!" He screamed.​
 
Rose couldn't help but laugh at Claude's reaction. Surely he wouldn't let her push him into wearing something like a maids uniform, but if he reacted like that, one could wonder if she actually could succeed if she tried to make it into reality.

"Don't worry, if you're able to do everything flawlessly, I'll dress up as a butler and serve you for a week. It should be fair after all." She snickered. Cross-dressing for a girl was much easier than for a guy. While it might not be completely acceptable for women to wear pants, it wouldn't be as ridiculous as if a man put on a dress. Rose might get some weird looks now and then when walking on the street without a skirt, but that was nothing compared to what people would think about Claude if he wore one outside. Most would think him mad. Insane even.

Chuckling simply by the thought, she suddenly got stopped as a weird but slightly familiar noise came from behind them. She took a look back and saw the floor falling. Go, someone shouted. Obviously Claude as he was the only other human being down there as far as they knew. She didn't waste a second. Dashing forward she tried to avoid being sucked into the abyss of darkness. If they fell, they might die.

As she hurried away, something felt wrong. Her heart was beating ridiculously fast, as if it was about to burst under the pressure. She barely got enough air into her lungs. Was she really becoming sick now? She just had to ignore it, even though her chest began to hurt. Then the sound behind them finally stopped, and the floor seemed safe.

Coughing, Rose collapsed on the ground. "I'm fine." She waved away Claude, in case he would be worried. "Just a little out of breath, that's all." Some more coughing before it finally calmed down. But her heart still beat a bit faster than usual, and her chest didn't stop hurting. There wasn't anything they could do about it down there. They just had to continue moving and once they were out she could go check it with a doctor.​
 
"Rose, what's wrong, you aren't that winded are ya?" Claude was panting slightly himself from the sudden exertion. "Come on."

He turned around and jogged to her side. The hole behind them was massive, spanning down into the earth more than he cared to know. Pitch black nothing met his eyes, and had they another torch handy he might have thrown it down to see how deep it went. However, they were lacking in certain resources, and taking the time to throw one of their only light sources away seemed like a waste. Claude opted to kick a small pebble down instead, it never seemed to reach the bottom and he shrugged at the realization.

"Really, what's wrong with you?" Claude bent over with his hands on his knees.

The man reached out and touched her shoulder lightly, trying to encourage her to get up on her feet again. They hadn't done anything extensively grueling, aside from running away from the floor, and he was a bit concerned but not overly worried yet.​
 
"It's nothing." Rose said, but still stayed down for a few moments longer before standing up straight and continuing to walk. "I might have caught a cold or something. I'll be fine as fast as I get some fresh air." She assured him, just hoping her words were true. At least her heart seemed to be slowing down finally. But there were still a sharp pain in her chest. Maybe she hurt herself in the fall when she fainted.

"Let's just.. Try to keep away from traps from now on, shall we?" She said teasingly. Now when the floor was gone it would be impossible to go back even if they had taken the wrong way. Hopefully they were on the right track, or at the very least in a labyrinth that could take them back to the right track if they were walking the wrong way.

"So, do you have any family to meet up with when you get back to Paris?" Rose asked her companion, hoping to get away from the topic of her health. Maybe family wasn't the best topic since she didn't know his situation, but she figured talking about what they would do after this ordeal was over was better than walking silently in dark tunnels, or worse, talking about traps, death, and sicknesses. Sometimes those things just had to take a rest, even when they weren't out of danger. So far it didn't seem to be any traps in their way, but both of them knew that such circumstances could change in an instance.​
 
"You won't find any fresh air down here." Claude said grimly. "How far down are we? It's farther than I'd like to think about honestly, it's going to take a while to get back to the surface again."

He waited until she caught her breath before they started up again. Then she brought up a topic he'd rather avoid. Family. Claude never brought it up, because the circumstances were as dull as any other thief. He was born a bastard of a rich Lord. Never had the child been acknowledged though, both parties knew, the anger rose over the years until no one was sure why they were upset. Claude was a grown man, his father a wealthy one. They had no reason to fight seeing as there would never be acceptance, Claude had simply learned to deal with it.

"My mother is a whore." Claude said bluntly. "Father is a rich lord, married at the time mind you, wouldn't you know it, illegitimate me comes around."

The man waited for a shocked sort of response, it wasn't an uncommon one. After all to find out your friend was a bastard so suddenly, in the ruins of some old site, it wasn't the best place to talk about ancestry or family lines. He shrugged nonchalantly. He'd come to terms with it years ago, and the only thing he wanted now was the home his father lived in. Some might say the revenge was petty, buying out his father's home to get the last laugh, but he felt it'd be worth it. The years hadn't been kind to him and a nice home to retire in was more than he could ask for. His mother wouldn't come with him though, she was long gone from the world.

"I don't have family. Not really." Claude answered. "I'm not so interesting."​
 
How far down where they? At least four or five floors if they were speaking in house sized measures. They had gone down quite a few stairs and fallen down another. It was just to keep going up until they reached the surface from now on.

Rose didn't react much to Claude's words. Most people in their profession had some kind of bad back story, why else would they do something so dangerous? Even those on the legal side of it could get killed by traps or even other humans. Some does anything for money. Of course one can take only non-dangerous jobs, but that wouldn't give them enough money to live if they didn't have money from the beginning. Most people went into their profession because of poverty, and poverty usually meant a bad past.

"Rather a whore than non at all I suppose." She replied, not really feeling like a 'I'm sorry' would make him feel any better. Maybe worse if anything. She had never understood why people used those words to tell someone they pitied their friends. She wouldn't give pity nor would she accept someone else's pity. No matter how many times people said they were sorry, things would still not change.

"My mom was dead from the beginning, and I barely remember my dad. He died in a sickness, and I was left on the streets. Winters were the worst. No roof, and it was impossible to run in the snow with those short legs. Stealing food was insanely difficult sometimes." She didn't speak as if she were sad about it, because she wasn't. While she could remember her father slightly, it felt more like watching a dream than actually seeing memories. It didn't feel real. The same went for her whole life before she met Björn.

"It was good that he died though. That man would have let us both starve or freeze to death instead of just stealing some food or money. If he couldn't obtain it by legal means, then he would just accept his fate and die. If I had listened to him I would probably be buried beside him." She spoke very matter of factly. She didn't have any ill feelings towards her father, not did she particularly like him any longer. It was just a simple truth. If she had followed his example, she wouldn't have been there today. Maybe that would have been the right path, but Rose would rather take the path of the living, no matter which dark roads it lead her down on.​
 
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