MY LITTLE PRINCESS

Loralei von Oldenburg

She took a step backward every time Mary moves forward and after seeing her inside the bus, that little kid immediately ran away as fast as she could before entering an alley.

Upon turning to left and right and running through the place, Lory stopped for a bit to catch her breath but then someone grabbed the child from behind as it covered her mouth to prevent her from shouting.

"Mmmrrghh!--" she was once again captured.

"Shhhh! Quiet down. You don't want that woman to hear 'ya, right?"

With her eyes wide open and that familiar stature, Lory nodded in agreement to what he said. The man walked quietly while carrying the small kid on one arm like a sack of rice. And with every big careful step, Lory covered her own mouth and held her breath until the man let him down.

"Thank you-"

"Baron. My name's Baron." He cut the child's words.

"We need to get as far as possible from here. That woman is a crazy one. We can't be caught by her." Baron kneeled to talk with the girl in her own eye level.

"Let's go." He stood up and looked around as he held out his hand. Lory just stared at him then at his hand and  then back at his face again.

"Why are you helping Lory?" The little kid asked in plain innocence but the man was taken by surprise because he himself didn't understand why he had the change of heart.

"Ugh... can we talk about it later? This is not the right time." With her not taking his hand, Baron just lifted her up and carry her as he walked away. Taking advantage of the flow of human traffic and with his huge steps, he hugged the kid as some kind of cover.

"Don't worry. I will get you back home safely." Lory didn't said any word. She just nodded and tightly grip a small part of his shirt. Anyone can do as long as she can come back home and be as far away from her mother as possible.
.

.
"Far off deep inside the alley, there were no more CCTVs installed. But resuming the videos from the surrounding of the slum area, those available and were the nearest to the place, just few hours before the start of our search, a woman carrying a travel bag and a child was seen." Vince played several videos on the big screen and as he talk, he pointed out the movements of the said woman from one CCTV connecting to another one.

Albert's stare at the screen can make even the professional sweat terribly and that man was named Vince. He freezed a video in which the woman's face can be seen and after zooming the video Vince's fingers worked fast by clicking here and there and doing things he's good at. It took less than a minute for him to make an outdated video quality into a clear one and even showing the datas he gathered related to the woman.

"Her name is Mary. The woman who took care of Miss Loralei before us." Sebastian added when he saw the face of the woman on the big screen. He was informed back then that she visited the mansion and made a ruckus outside wanting to see the little miss. Albert was also informed of that news.

Vince nodded as he faced his laptop once again to play other videos and connecting them leading to where the two are now last found.

"It took you 8 hours to get just this piece of information?" His deep voice echoed through the dimly lighted conference room. Clearing his throat, Vince cannot utter any excuse. It's been years since he saw his boss' controlled wrath.

"I .... I am sorry, sir! Most of the owner of the cameras didn't immediately agreed to give out a copy of their recordings for security purposes. We took much time negotiating with them because we cannot provide veritable reason for asking for a copy. I deeply apologize for my lack of skill." He deeply bowed in front of Albert who didn't even changed his emotion.

"Keep your head clear, sir. These pieces of information lead us to where we can start the search." Sebastian intermediate and tapped the sweating man's back to assure his safety.

"Continue monitoring their movements and report any of your findings. If they won't cooperate, just hack into their system swiftly. We should also be going now, Master." The butler's composure didn't even falter in the sight of their draconic boss' mood. Taking the small chance given to him, Vince walked out of the room to do as Sebastian instructed.

"I'm sorry Sebastian." Albert breathed out his pent up frustration and murmured those weak words.

"Let's waste no time. We need to move now if you want to save your daughter. I am sure the little miss is waiting for you to get her." Albert stared once more at the woman's face before  heading out together with some body guards and Sebastian at tow.

"Just wait for me a little more, Loralei." The clenching of his teeth was visible for everyone to see. This is the very first time some of them saw Albert that angry.
.

.

"Uhm, Mr. Baron?" Loralei tugged the loose shirt of the man sitting beside her.

"Hm?" He looked at the little girl.

"Why are you helping me? You are the one who hurt Ms. Peter and then give me to mama. You even made Simba cry." Her round blue eyes stared intensely at him which made him swallow his saliva in nervousness.

"This is why kids are too bothersome to talk to. It's hard to lie to kids." Baron's smile turned into an awkward cringe instead but the kid didn't get his words.

"Well, you see..... how can I say this...." he scratch his cheek as he tries hard to find the right words for the kid to understand the situation they are in.

"I guess I should say sorry first for hurting you and your pet and also the woman you call Ms. Peter. I was paid to do that so.... I know it's hard to understand ... I am a bad guy so, I guess it's to make things right?" Expecting more questions to come, Baron stared at the little girl who turned her eyes in front and sat properly. Unexpectedly, the girl turned quiet all of a sudden.

"Are you alright? Are you hurting somewhere?" He worriedly asked as he can do nothing because he don't know how to handle kids.

"I am fine. But ... you should say sorry to Ms. Peter personally. You hurt her badly. And your work is bad so I hate it." The little girl pouted as she's still not looking at the man beside her.

"..... I know. I'm sorry." Silence followed their conversation.

"But you know, Lucy taught me that not all people who do bad things are bad people. She said something that they do it because they need to do it. What does that mean?" Even with great curiosity, the girl just took glances his way. Baron was once again taken aback with a little kid's words. She may not look like it but she's smart and quite composed for her age and for the situation she's currently at.

"Well... you know, food needs money. I need money to eat food and I need work to have money. And your mama said she will give me money if I work for her and for me to buy food to eat. So that's it." Her brows are curved as she didn't quite followed what he said. That face made him chuckle a bit and thought that teasing a smart kid is not that bad of an idea.

"Don't worry about it. I promise to bring you back to your family and that's all that you need to know."

"Pinky promise!" She showed her tiny finger to him for a pinky promise. He did the same but in a very careful manner as the child's finger look so thin, small, and fragile. And in doing so, Baron saw a genuine smile from the kid beside him.

"So this is the reason she loves her so much to search through the dangerous place in the middle of the night." Baron remembered how Ms. Peter is searching for the young Oldenburg that night while crying. A treasure, truly. He added to his wandering thought.