After they got done with lunch, Risa picked up Loyal from the room and walked to the deck of the ship. She needed some space. Time to herself just to reflect on things. She knew she had plenty of time, it would take days to get to Russia and she needed that time to herself. Yes, she would be spending most of the time with Vincent, which she dreaded, and Rolando, who she saw as a father figure.

Many things rushed through Risa's mind: like if she would find her family if she would make friends and perhaps have a normal life in Paris if she doesn't find them. She had no idea even where to start and she didn't want to burden Rolando and Vincent with helping. However, Rolando had offered to help and he did have many connections that would help her in the end. Apart from her wanted to figure it out on her own but another part knew she needed help.

She sat down on a bench and took a deep breath, the smell of salt water filled the air that held a heavy cold nature to it. She shivered and pulled her coat around her body even more as she looked over the sea, never before had she ever seen so much open space before. She felt free, for the first time free.

She looked down at Loyal who was relaxing at her feet, wagging her tail as her eyes were closed. "This is pretty cool huh Loyal? I never even thought I would be here let alone have anyone help me. I just wish I could repay the favor in some way and not burden them." She spoke more to herself than anything.

She couldn't just mooch off them the whole way, take, take, take and never give anything back. It just made her feel guilty and a small part made her feel like she was taking advantage of them. Even if it may not have been true, a little voice in the back of her mind told her just that. She couldn't shake that feeling off no matter what she did.

Rolando had been passing by when he had heard what she had said. He walked closer to her and sat down beside her.    "How are you holding up?" He asked, knowing he wasn't going to comment towards her words since she had spoken to herself and that was not his place.

Risa looked up at him a bit startled and watched him sit down beside her. "If I am being brutally honest I would say not great since it's a bit complicated to explain and I would just sound ridiculous." She replied honestly as she started to mess with her pocket watch. She looped the chain around her fingers moving it back and forth.

Rolando turned his body towards her as he listened to what she said. "Would you mind telling me what is bothering you? You don't have to if you don't want to, I understand. However, I would love nothing more than to be a listening ear for you." He gently told her, not wanting to push her any more than she wanted.

Risa let out a sigh, bringing her feet up on the bench and hugging her legs. "Well, Vincent is one of them for starters. He just gets on my nerves and no matter what I do or say he never lets go. It's worse than some of the boys at my orphanage. I just don't understand why it bothers me so much." She grumbled with a frown on her lips.

Rolando nodded softly as he listened to her. "Vincent, I see. He's what you would call a strong alpha male who is very independent. He doesn't like anyone, not even a girl telling him what he's doing wrong. Since you're a strong alpha female, he doesn't like that and you two are bound to collide." He explained with a small smile.

Risa had to admit he had a point about how they always collided. "I hate how he just rubs me the wrong way. I've never felt like that before and it annoys me that I can't wrap my head around it. It's like an itch you can't scratch or a pest you can't kill, all of which are very annoying and the equivalent of Vincent." She blew her hair from her eyes and pushed her hair to her back.

Rolando felt honored she was pouring out her emotions to him. "Sometimes it takes time for you two to be able to not be at each other's throats. We have all the time on our hands as we travel to Paris. So who knows what may happen during that time? Just try and let it go to the best you can. Don't dwell too much on it, alright?" He was being encouraged and wanted to be a father figure to her.

Risa looked out on the water as the waves splashed around, she looked over at Rolando. "Thanks, Rolando. I appreciate that you're going to help me find my family. I hope I never become a burden, I am forever in your debt and can repay you for this gesture." She said, pulling out her pocket watch and running her hand up and down the chain.

Rolando smiled at her, patting her shoulder fondly. "You're most welcome." He then noticed Risa messing with her watch and was curious since it seemed familiar not that he knew why it did. "So what is it with this pocket watch you have?" He asked curiously.

Risa glanced up at him then back down at her watch. "Well, all I know is I've always had it, even when I was found wandering around. It's the reason for me going to Paris since it says "With Love From Paris"." Which means somehow I have family in Paris." She explained holding it up to her chest.

Rolando couldn't help but find that touching and hoped it wouldn't lead to a dead-end, which he had a feeling she would find who she was looking for. "That is beautiful. It looks one of a kind, so that should be fairly easy to figure out who all owned it. As someone who has a lot of pocket watches I can say one of those details is specially designed for someone." He explained.

Risa looked down at her feet that were on the floor. "I want to find them so badly. I want someone to hold me, love me, laugh at my stupid jokes, and have family time with me. Of course, I'm afraid if it doesn't work out I'll be all alone again and I don't want that." She put the watch back in her pocket.

Rolando truly felt bad for this girl; she had such high hopes and was quite fragile when it came to achieving them. "I'm positive you'll find what you're looking for. Even if it may not be what you are expecting, I do know you will find your family and they will love you."

Risa looked up at him and had a heavy huff of air. "What if my family is dead? Then where do I go from there? I know I will at least know who I am, though I won't have anyone to call family and spend time with. All this time I missed out with them -" She was cut off by Rolando.

Rolando was having none of this, he didn't like seeing her upset. "Risa, I am sure they are alive and are waiting for you to return. Keep optimistic about them and I am sure you will not be let down." He must have this gut feeling that everything is connected and they were brought together for a reason.

He stood up and stretched his back. "On that note, I must retire for a nap. I was up all last night and now it is finally catching up to me." He turned to walk away but paused for a moment. "Keep your head up, everything happens for a reason." With that, he walked back to his cabin.

Risa picked Loyal up and walked over the side of the boat. As much as she hated to admit it he was right. She needed to keep her head up, keep positive and focus on the tasks at hand. He seemed so positive she would find her family, which she hoped he was right but Paris was a biff place, so was France, plus even if she found out where the watch was made she would be led down many leads. It was just a massive headache.

She looked at her reflection in the water, just staring at the gray choppy water. She saw a faint image of her when she was little sitting on her parent's lap (which again was Persia and Nathan, unbeknownst to her) and of course their faces were blurry so she couldn't make it out.

She closed her eyes shut and told herself it was her mind playing tricks on her. She knew your brain could do crazy things in the face of trauma and this must be one of them. When she opened her eyes it was gone and sighed in relief, thinking it may have been a mere daydream. She must have been tired or the boat was making her sick, either of which she wasn't feeling at the moment.

She took a deep breath and sighed. "It was just a figment of my imagination. You will find your family soon, so there is no need to make up some images of fake people." She told herself more so telling her brain this because she was not gonna think she was going crazy.

She turned around and walked back to the cabin. She needed to get her mind off of this whole thing and she knew one thing would. She opened the door quietly and sighed in relief when Rolando was just laying down. "Where's Vincent?" She asked curiously.

Rolando was a bit surprised she asked where he was but he replied. "I have no clue. He was here when I left and when I came back he was gone. I'm sure he's just looking around." He replied sitting on the bed and running a hand through his hair.

Risa nodded and set down Loyal on the floor. She hoped he did not get himself into trouble, he just seemed like that type of person. "I'll go find him." She walked out of the room followed by her pup who she looked down at. "Let's find Vincent and make sure he's not in any trouble." She is in no way going to get that boy out of trouble because he was just trouble waiting to happen.

Risa went to the end of the boat, she looked to her left and it was just a wall, so she looked to her right and there was a wooden door. She had no clue what was behind the door so she cautiously looked through the whole. To her surprise, she saw someone moving off to the side in there.

She opened the door slowly, and slipped in quietly, Loyal following her heels. She closed it behind her making sure not to make a sound. She watched every step so she took as poked her head around the corner. "Vincent?" She asked in a surprised manner with wide eyes. "What are you doing here? Isn't this off-limits to others who aren't personnel? Didn't you read the sign?"

Vincent's head snapped up towards the girl and his eyes went wide. "Shh, why are you here?" He asked in a whisper as he grabbed Risa's arm and pulled her toward him. He wanted to know why she was down here and how did she find this place? The ship was huge, had she looked all over?

Risa frowned and jerked her arm away from him. "Why are you pulling me toward you? I don't want to be this close to you." She snapped at him crossing her arms as she knelt. "I came to find you and I am hoping you are not in trouble and hiding."

Vincent shook his head, he was not in trouble. "I overheard some men talking about some very sketchy things a while ago. So, I followed them through that door and am keeping her so they don't see me through those swinging doors. so if we're quiet will get to hear every little word." He was bored and what better thing to do than a spy.

Risa just looked at him and blinked with a mono expression on her face. "I'm sure you did, yet pray tell how this interests you? They're probably talking about what they're going to do or see in Russia. No matter what it is, it's none of our concern." She told him, rolling her eyes.

Vincent frowned at her words, oh boy was she clueless. "They were talking about hijacking it and heading back to the United States of America instead of Russia which is the way we're going." He said in all his dead seriousness he could muster up.

Risa bit her lip to keep her from laughing at his words. "So what? Who is going to tell this so they can do something about it?" She questioned leaning against the wall and putting her legs out in front of her. This was a little unbelievable if she must admit.

Vincent looked down and scratched the nape of his neck. "No, I don't have any proof to be able to go to someone. They will probably think I am crazy. I was trying to hear when they would do it so I could stop it. If you would like to help them put your ear up to the wall and listen." He sneered condescendingly.

Risa rolled her eyes and got close to the wall he was at. "I know what to do. Just stay quiet and put your ear against the wood. Some of the other orphans and I did that to hear what Mrs. Hemmingworth was saying and let me tell you we got a lot of juicy details." She mused motioning for him to come closer, which he did what she had said.

They both tried to listen closely to hear what they were saying. Loyal put her head up against the wall too to hear what was going on. It was muffled a bit at first until you covered your other ear and you could hear their words clear as day. Some devious chuckles were going on and it was not anything good.

On the other side of the door, three men were unaware of the three eavesdroppers that were listening to their conversation. They thought they had full privacy on what they were planning of course they were dead wrong in thinking they would succeed.

A man with a bald head and a scruffy short beard was leaning against some crates, his hazel eyes focused on the two men in front of him. "Soon my plan will be put into action, boys. Just think we'll have a boat on its way to The States. The Russian authorities will never find us once we make it. I did hear they are not the friendliest to the States which is perfect for us." Jimmy boasted, grinning from ear to ear.

Another name with red curly hair and a matching beard narrowed his icy blue eyes at the bald man. "That is great Jimmy. When you give the command Manny and I will tie up the crew so you can take over the boat." Hank said with utter pride at his words.

Jimmy frowned as he looked at the man and shook his head. "Hank, listen to me and listen to me well: we have to have at least one man not tired up to steer the boat since none of us has that experience." He pitched the bridge of his nose and shook his head at this henchmen.

The last man, Manny, with thick black slicked back under a newsboy cap darted his icy blue eyes back and forth at the two men. "Jimmy, I have a dumb question: What on the planet are we going to do with all the passengers? What if they get in our way? I don't want innocent blood in my hands." He put his hands up in front of him.

Jimmy took a deep breath counting a few times. "We will do it quietly and make sure one interferes with your plan which is why we gotta make sure no one knows. If anyone does I will make sure they don't say a word to anyone." He loaded up a gun and put it in his belt, putting his jacket over it. "So then you won't have any innocent blood on your hands."

Hank frowned a bit, that wasn't what he wanted to do. "I don't see the reason why we have to hurt someone. Can't we just blackmail them into doing what we want? Wouldn't that be better?" He asked in such a simple manner he scarily thought he would get a good answer from his leader.

Jimmy did all in his power to not get angry and remain calm. Once he heard what Hank said he was still trying to figure out why he still worked with these two. "I don't think that we'd be hurting anyone if it wasn't necessary. Got it." He growled at the two men. It wasn't like he found fun in hurting people, he would rather not but it came with the territory.

Hank nodded, it wasn't like he had a choice or anything but to agree. "Got it, Jimmy." His voice held a monotone as if he didn't care about what Jimmy had just said. Truthfully he truly didn't care about his stupid rules which were not only his but their boss' rules too.

Manny raised his hand like a common schoolboy wishing to ask the teacher a question. "I have another question: What about the inventory? Who's gonna keep it safe?" He didn't know who was going to watch their things while they did what they needed to do.

Hank turned to Manny in a rather quick manner with narrow eyes. "Shh, keep it down, Manny. It will be safe if you don't keep talking about it. Common sense tells you that." He scolded the man shaking his head and crossing his arms. Even he knew that which did say a lot.

Manny nodded feeling a little timid because he was being yelled at or what he thought was yelling which was just a few octaves above his normal voice. "Alright, it's the one thing that we need to keep safe to be able to take it with us." He didn't want anyone to leave it behind after getting caught up in the moment or else this would all be for nothing.

Jimmy groaned rubbing his temples, once he was done with this he was going to take a nice long vacation. "How would they be finding it among all those boxes not to mention they don't even have a key either." He exclaimed loudly waving his hands around the air.

He took a few breaths and ran a hand through his hair. "Now when we exit this door, go about your business and set up no flags. I would keep my mouth shut if I was you and try to act normal. Don't get all nervous if you think someone is talking about the same thing we were. Just mind your own business." He huffed knowing it was common sense and it was pitiful he had to remind them.

Hank nodded crossing his arms over his chest. "Sealed, locked and the key is gone." He said, pretending to zip off his lips, lock it and throw away the key. "I will go find some food, my stomach is getting ready to make growling noises and I must fill it with food."

Manny turned towards the door and placed his hand on it. "You for it Jimmy. I think I will join you, Hank, I am a little hungry myself. Haven't eaten in a few hours and all this talking is making me hungry." He mused not knowing why he found it funny.

Risa softly gasped as they looked at each other, not believing that they had just head. Okay, maybe Vincent was right and they were troubled because this was way beyond silly trouble. She blinked as she watched the door swing open and sink behind the crates holding Loyal close to her chest.

Vincent didn't gasp but just had wide eyes as he sunk beside Risa as he heard the footsteps of the men get farther and farther away. Once they couldn't be heard anymore he slowly got up and slowly walked to the door making sure they didn't make the floor creak.

Risa followed behind him and once that door was open, she and Vincent ran to their room as fast as their legs could carry them and slammed the door shut. Both painted, leaning against the door, looking like they had just witnessed a horrible crime.

Rolando blinked, setting down the book he just happened to start reading after not being able to nap. "What happened? You guys look like you just witnessed murder or something. Vincent, you're not in trouble, are you? Please tell me you didn't flirt with a married woman again and her husband is coming after you" He commented crossing his arms over his chest.

Vincent took deep breaths trying to catch his breath. "No, I am not in any trouble. That was one time and I didn't know she was married." He paused and waved his hand. "Anyways, we overheard three men talking about how they are going to hijack this ship and take it back to the United States because they don't want to go to Russia because they get arrested!" He exclaimed crashing into the makeshift doggy bed for Loyal.

Rolando raised an eyebrow, he was not too sure Vincent was making up a story since that seemed a little far fetch. "Risa, is what he is saying true?" He knew she wouldn't lie because she did indeed dislike the boy. She showed and said it was so fat this whole trip.

Risa nodded confirming Vincent was right because it was obvious Vincent lied a lot or else Rolando would have believed him. "Yes, it is true. They are also going to tie up the crew and blackmail one into steering the boat. I know they are way too sketchy and I am sure someone else has already picked up on it." She said that with full confidence.

Rolando shook his head at what Risa had said. "If they were hiding where the cargo was to speak about their plans, I doubt anyone would know. You need to tell someone in authority so it can be taken care of." He explained picking up Loyal who jumped down from Risa's arms.

Vincent sighed sitting up. "We can't go to anyone. Who would believe us? We have no proof. It is their word against ours. They could come after us and make sure we don't interfere. Which is why we stop them on our own!" He declared heroically, placing his fisted hands on his hips and puffing out his chest.

Risa was so done with his need to always look like a Hero. "Oh sweet Vincent, I hate to burst your save-the-day bubble: how are we going to take them down when we don't have a plan or know when they will strike with their plan." She was simply stating the obvious and she did have a point, they weren't skilled enough to play vigilantly.

Vincent frowned, narrowing his eyes as he looked at the orphan girl. "I have done a similar thing on the dime, don't ask. So we will have to make up as we go. We don't know what they're going to do so we have to be prepared for anything. We need to plan for every outcome possible." He started to plan out in his head as he got to his feet and started pacing back and forth.

Risa rolled her eyes laying out on her bed. "I'm sure they will do it at night when everyone is asleep. Which is what I plan on doing. For once, I would love to get a good night's sleep and not be woken up in the middle of the night and end up being grumpy because I never got to sleep." She gave a deep breath realizing she didn't stop the whole speech. She already planned that this night would be her first good night's rest.

Rolando understood they just couldn't sit back and let this go on. "I don't know how much help I can be, since night is when I am heavy with sleep and not the most coherent. Just wake me up if you need help and I will help." He said, hoping that would encourage them.

Risa smiled as she looked at Rolando. "That is quite kind of you Rolando, but if Vincent wants to play hero, he can do it by himself, I want to sleep throughout the whole night without being awakened for once." She mused taking off her coat and pulling out a nightdress and a robe before going into the little bathroom-like room to change.

Vincent frowned as he looked at Rolando and Risa as she disappeared behind the door. "I am not playing hero, I will be a hero and that is what ladies like. Guys who can help save the day. Besides, I have the most skill here for that. I have many stories where I had to do this same thing, under different circumstances though." He proudly declared, opening up his back and looking through it.

Risa snorted at his comment, he was a hoot. "As a girl, I can confirm that I don't care if a guy can save the day or not. All he has got to be down to earth, sweet, and treats everyone equally." She said, pulling on her robe and tying it into a bow. She walked out and sat down on her bed.

Vincent rolled his eyes at her comment and he went into the bathroom, closing the door. "Whatever you say, Risa. Whatever you say." He waved her off as he got himself dressed for bed. She got on his nerves and he had no idea how long he could last with this girl. He failed to take into consideration it was the same way with Risa since they constantly butted heads.

Risa got underneath the covers on her bed and laid her head on her pillow, rolling on her side. "How do you live with him, Rolando? It hasn't been a whole day yet and I already can't spend any more time with him or I am gonna lose my mind." She explained.

Rolando chuckled at her words, oh she did have a lot to learn. "I try to see the good in him, the part that he doesn't show. He truly is a good boy, if he would try and be a little more human at times." He explained fluffing his pillow a little bit.

Risa frowned at his words. She found it hard to see the good in Vincent when he portrayed no good in him. "I understand that with some people but Vincent just isn't one of those people I see that with. He gets on my nerves no matter how much I try and not let it bother me." She pointed out.

Rolando understood where she was coming from no one but him had ever taken a chance on the boy. "In due time Risa, you will understand that no matter who they are. There is some ounce of good in them." He laid down and yawned. "Sleep well, Risa. Sleep well, Vincent." He called the boy in the bathroom.

Risa laid down herself, after fixing her blanket and pillow. "Goodnight Rolando. Goodnight Vincent." She told him as he walked back into the room. "And Goodnight Loyal." She told her puppy as she closed her eyes after yawning and covering her mouth up with her hand.

Vincent got into his bed and hummed laying down. "Goodnight Rolando and Risa." He said her name with such boredom like he could care less about telling her goodnight. All he wanted was to arrive in Russia soon. The less time he had to spend with the orphan girl the better.

❅~❅~❅~❅~❅~❅~❅~❅~❅~❅~❅

A/N:
Ah, sorry for the delay, I haven't been in the beat mood to right. I haven't been motivational at all, I just wanting to sleep all day and do nothing. But I will try and get back into the swing of writing, again.

The next chapter I am planning on redoing and changing how I have it. I am not really liking what it is, so the next chapter will be sorta a lucid dream so be prepared for that. It will be awesome.

Chapter Talk:
Vincent wants to play hero, which is very typical of him. He also has been known to make a situation so he can swoop in and help which isn't good. It always ends good which is shocking because he actually puts careful time into planning. Either way, he likes being the hero.

Risa is just so fed up with him. Anything could happen and she wouldn't care. We have all felt that way about someone. I know I have. So I can understand Risa being so tired of Vincent she just doesn't care anymore. He is an exasperating person.

And lastly, anything else I forgot ask away my pals. I am happy to answer anything!

In closing, all rude, impolite and mean comments will be replied to in a diplomatic way, reported or deleted if I feel like it is attacking me personally.

Thanks for reading!