“It looks slippery,” she squeezed and swallowed her cowardice before throwing her leg over the windowsill. It wasn't an easy thing to do – a dozen petticoats were making it much more difficult. Frankly, she remembered she can adjust the length. With a quick spell the skirt became a bit lower than her knees. Her fingers twisted over the rope and then she jumped through the window.
Her legs were in the air just for a split second before she pressed them into the wall, beginning to slowly slide down.
“Can you move quicker?” Dante's voice came from below.
“I'm trying to!” she quietly hissed.
“Jump in.”
“I am fine,” she panted, struggling as suddenly her leg slipped from the wall and the rope swayed. Violette tightened over the rope praying to not fall onto the ground, and continued her way down.
“You're wasting our time. We should be quicker,” Dante complained.
“Ohh, excuse me for not practicing fleeing from the window everyday. Next time I'll be more thoughtful.” She groused, glancing back to measure her progress. She really wasn't fast, but the thought of breaking her leg clearly wasn't attractive. Dante was undeniably immortal, but she's certainly not.
“Just jump. I'll catch you,” he pressed.
Violette hissed, “I don't trust your lying ass!”
“It's nice to know you're thinking about my ass up there, but I was planning to catch you with my hands. If you please.”
She sighed with disbelief at what she was about to do in a second and took a deep breath – he was right – if she would be that slow the guards would make a circle and would catch them like this and she had no idea how to explain herself.
Her grasp on the rope tightened. She pushed away from the wall with both feet, and with her eyes shut, she began to fall.
Violette landed right in the strong male hands, looking almost surprised or even scared when she met his dark eyes – she couldn't sort out her feelings yet. The adrenaline rushed to herblood as she kept staring with her eyes wide open, holding onto him.
And then his serious face lightened up with a delightful smug smile.
“So what did you say about my ass up there?”
“I don't trust your hands either,” she murmured and jumped out of his hands, “but for other reasons.” Her eyes struck him with a disgruntled look.
A chuckle fell from his lips and then he looked to the side again. “Let's go.”
“So how do we get out?” Violette asked, catching her breath.
He stopped by the window on the first floor and opened it. “We'll just get back.”
Violette's brows raised. “How will it help us to escape the mansion?”
“Leaving earlier will be a suspicious sign. And we can't leave the carriage here without leaving any footprints. Quicker!”
Violette lingered.
“Fine,” she muttered through her teeth. “Today is the day of window climbing, I see.”
Picking up her skirts, she hopped up and as Dante lifted her, she ended up inside, falling off the windowsill into the dark room.
Finding herself on her feet again, she crossed the room to the only source of light – the door crack with the pouring warm glow of candlelight. She pressed on both door handles – locked. Dante's boots hit the floor.
Violette turned back and delved into her pocket for the wand. One swing and the lock clicked. The door easily opened and Dante peeked out of the room, checking the situation outside. Fortunately, the hallway happened to be empty.
“The way is clear,” he let out, stepping out.
Violette was about to follow him when she recalled that her dress was too short for such a formal evening. With another spell her skirt hit the floor again and she hastened to pursue Dante who was already a few feet ahead.
“And no one will suspect why we're wandering around?” Her fingers picked up the layers of the skirt.
