A Devil's Grace 1930

| Chapter Five |

The Atmosphere which surrounded them just didn't feel right. It was as if the world was watching them, no, like a higher being was looking down on them.

Valen and Tanya subtly slipped into the two seats of the Jeep, not appearing panicked to the naked eye. With his right hand, he took it upon himself to turn the key in the ignition and started the engine. 

As the engine sputtered to life, the Jeep itself lurched forward. "Heh..." A small laugh escaped Valen's lips as his eyes quickly flickered to the car for a split moment. Seeing no change as he put the vehicle into drive, he turned the wheel. 

After a few seconds, they were pulling out onto the open road just as a man exited the vehicle that had pulled into the Gas Station lot.

The man from the car was watching them, it was clear who they were looking at as he was driving away. Valen though didn't return the gaze, but Tanya, she looked directly at him.

When she reached into her bag to draw the pistol, Valen from the corner of his eye noted her action. Though he said nothing and didn't try to actively stop her. Even he knew that Tanya didn't want to bring any of the public's eyes onto them either.

Tanya did not draw the weapon. Instead, the vehicle turned and went down another road, removing a clear line of sight between her and the station thanks to Valen's transgression.

The last thing he needed was for the police to come after them. 

She was still used to the battlefield. Her stay here in the Unified States probably felt like some glorified shore leave, he could only assume though, If she were to jump back into battle on civilian terrain, he had no idea how much damage would occur.

However, that would definitely make the rest of the US military's leadership aware of her presence here. That would make their stay here in the Unified States a rather peeved one.

She was too powerful to just do away with, and if she wasn't part of an existing faction or company, it was likely they'd try to recruit her. If she didn't join them, there was no way in hell they would allow her to leave the country, not freely.

Tanya was an asset to anyone who was wishing to police and control the world, and it was clear the Unified States liked to call themselves the Big White Stick. Though that was despite the fact that they had kept themselves Isolated until they entered the First World War.

Valen let out a sigh, and it seemed so did she as they were both cooling off. 

Tanya would not want to serve any other country, she had grown up in the Empire. Though the chain of command had blatantly ignored or denied her advice, it was her home in this reality.

The world's power balance would go off once more, and he could only see bloodshed in her wake. Another light sigh escaped from Valen's lips as he looked over the former blonde who sat beside him.

Tanya's eyes were to her feet, her boots, which were resting beneath the dash. She wanted to be wearing a uniform again, rather than a dress. She wanted to have order in her life and she had been thinking about it over and over again. So far she could only follow the standard life of a soldier, despite having no homeland to go back to in this case, not a cushy one.  

This... This was just Chaos. She was on the run with a boy she hardly remembered. If she could look back on her life, she began to wonder, was his eyes always glowing green like that?

Her eyes drifted to the pocket watch operation orb, then over towards Valen who was seemingly focused on driving. He had long since stopped looking at her for a few minutes now.

Tanya didn't understand what he had seen in her. Was it because she had this cute exterior? She laughed mentally at that, seeing as what she was beforehand. In a way though, having him would benefit herself if she wanted a cushy life. He seemed to be the type that would work in order to keep her happy, at least until he died of overwork or was injured.