#(And Sonia is not dealing with her trauma and guilt for murdering someone in self-defense)

[more-than-a-princess]

As Sonia trudged through the snow behind him, she rather doubted it was something they could have seen coming, any of them. She couldn't bring herself to complain about the weight of the heavy-framed hiking backpack on her shoulders, or the fact that she could barely feel her fingers beneath her leather gloves. They'd been walking for hours, ever since the getaway car in a pinch had died by the side of the road hours outside of Tokyo. Sonia hadn't kept track, she'd been in no place to keep track: instead, she could only rely on Lupin to know the way, by map and compass and whatever device Victor and Impey had rigged up to show them the path towards a hideout cabin in the mountains, one of the Comte's more modest, remote properties.

No, instead of trying to correct their steps as the snow began to fall, she followed in his wake like a zombie, like a ghost. Rather like the man, the terrorist (but a man all the same), who had smuggled her off the dance floor and into a side hallway in the hotel with every intention to take her life right then and there. Big and brutish, he'd blended in only due to his attire and presumed relation to another European kingdom, but once his hand had clamped down over her wrist she knew he was not a gentleman at all. It was crystal clear, once he'd chosen to show off and draw out her murder by wrapping both hands around her neck and proceeding to choke her last breath out of her.

An explosion had gone off in the ballroom, something the man hadn't expected: it had diverted his attention just long enough for Sonia to rip the velcro that held her ballgown skirt to the rest of her dress, retrieved the knife strapped to her right thigh, and plunged it into the man's neck without hesitation. It was frightening, how in a split second she watched the life leave his eyes instead of vice-versa: she stammered in shocked gibberish as he gasped and she pulled her weapon out of him, blood splattering down the front of her gown.

That was how Saint Germain had found her, shaking beneath her burly assailant's weight as the metal tip of her knife tapped against the floor. Van Helsing hadn't been far behind, and the two of them had hauled the body off her, the former mercenary taking the blade while the Comte helped Sonia to her feet.

Everything else had been a blur: Lupin, Victor, and Impey had rejoined them and the men debated, or rather argued, between them about what was to be done with her. A burden, bigger than she already was on them: even if they'd been hired to look after her welfare, the Princess of Novoselic committing murder in self-defense was likely not in their plans. She only remembered Van Helsing's remarks of annoyance that Sonia had allowed herself to be led away, and the state of shock she was in. And Victor, who had handed her a pile of clean, warm, practical clothes and guarded the bathroom door as Sonia stripped off her underskirt, her bodice, her heels, even the replica jewels that she'd selected, and into the outfit she'd been given. Complete with a heavy coat and hiking boots, a far cry from the finery she'd just ruined. She'd barely had enough time to scrub at the blood beneath her fingernails when they'd come to a consensus: Lupin would take her, deep into the mountains where even the most determined pursuers would be discouraged to follow. Not this time of year, not with the heavy snow.

It took her a moment to realize that Lupin hadn't meant foreseeing her murder, but the fact that they were hopelessly lost and falling snow had turned into a blizzard. "We are...lost, then," She called out, having to raise her voice to be heard over the wind. In more ways than one: Sonia suspected it was easier to find her way out of the woods during a blizzard than the maze in her mind, in her heart.

She'd washed them three times in that bathroom, and her hands still weren't clean enough. She'd stabbed someone, she'd killed someone. The wind howled and the snow  blew around them and if she caught frostbite there, she deserved it. Didn't she? And not a cabin that clearly wasn't Saint Germain's, whose lock Lupin had made quick work of? Maybe if things had turned out differently, the prospect of breaking into a cabin in the woods would have held some excitement for her.

"I am not sure what of the past twenty-four hours would prompt a romantic getaway," She murmured. Sonia couldn't help but sigh in relief at the break in the wind: even if the cabin itself was still quite frigid, it was a significant improvement than snow in her eyes and a nose that rivaled Rudolph's. "Thank you, though: I feel like I should be more concerned that we are off course and in someone else's cabin entirely, but you should not have to journey through that storm."

She hadn't included herself in that, but if she sat down on the cabin's snow-covered porch and waited for hypothermia to claim her she doubted Lupin would let that slide. And to think, twenty-four hours ago she'd been thrilled to attend a real party, the first in months, while her biggest conundrum was trying to figure out why he called her his treasure, or his claim that he wouldn't let anyone lay a finger on her. Sonia unbuckled the backpack strap that secured it to her waist before slipping her arms through the straps, lowering it to the cabin floor. Her immediate reaction, freed of the pack and her gloves, was to bring her hand to her throat and winced at the pain: she was, most certainly, bruised with clear finger indentations.

She shook her head, freeing some of the snowflakes that had stuck to her hat. "We will need a fire," She said dully. It was easier, she knew, to go through the motions of what they needed to do to keep him alive: heat and food and ample time with both, as opposed to untangle the myriad of emotions she kept trying to numb. "And see if the electricity works. And let the others know we are alive."

message within the leaves: BAD SITUATIONS: STARTERS | Send ❄️ for our muses to get trapped outside in a blizzard / snowstorm together (on the upside, terrorists can’t reach Sonia and Lupin in the snow. On the downside, they should probably find somewhere to to take shelter) | sender: @more-than-a-princess | 𝙽𝙾 𝙻𝙾𝙽𝙶𝙴𝚁 𝙰𝙲𝙲𝙴𝙿𝚃𝙸𝙽𝙶

━━   ❝  𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐢𝐬 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐰𝐞 𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐬𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐠.  ❞   They’ve retreated within the woods during this merciless blizzard, the city was no longer safe after that ball, they’ve already publicized towards their enemies that they were around, they were watching and they were planning on fighting back. Since then, the organization had tried their damnest to recapture the princess but it was not something Lupin was going to allow. He’d often say things on the line of she’s his treasure to steal or claiming that he would die before he lets any of them lay a finger on her. It was beyond being cocky as it is being territorial and selfish.

“Hmm, isn’t that ominous.” A cabin located in the woods, it really reminded him of the many movies he’s seen with her when they would encounter nothing but supernatural entities, or wendigos of the like. “This would have to do 𝙼𝚘𝚗 𝚌𝚘𝚎𝚞𝚛, not the romantic get away..-” Sentence paused as he leans downwards to pick the cold hard lock and allowed the door to slowly creek open.