I stood with my back to the wall in Harry's room, twirling a knife while he rooted around in his closet to find me something more pirate-like to wear.

"So why'd you go to all this work to get me here?" I asked, trying to sound disinterested. He turned to look back at me,

"We need you." He walked towards me and put his hands on either side of my head. "And face it, Cece. You'd do anything to get back at Carlos." His cologne wafted down, somehow loosening my tongue.

"I hate him. I hate how perfect he is. I hate how he gets everything he wants. Why did he get picked as Cruella's representative? Why couldn't it have been me?" Then I shut my mouth, embarrassed I had said all that. Harry chuckled, pushing off the wall and walking back to the closet. I bit my lip, annoyed. The next minute, a brown leather jacket and skirt hit my head.

"These are literally what I'm wearing already," I said. He motioned to my outfit,

"But it's all the wrong colors."

Nobody ever gets to tell me that black, white, and red are wrong.

I angrily grabbed the clothes and changed. When I came out of his closet, he was standing with a tube of eyeliner and dark red lipstick.

"No," I said. "No, no, no! I don't do makeup."

"You have to look the part, Cece." I grumbled under my breath, trying as hard as I could to not swat his hands away. After what was probably five minutes but felt like an eternity, he pulled back, admiring his masterpiece. (Because that's what I am. A masterpiece. Duh.)

At least I got to wear my own boots. I looked down at the jacket and skirt that somehow fit perfectly. Was it some other girl's jacket that he had murdered? I decided to ask. Because why not?

"So where did this jacket come from?" His grin died a little,

"I brought it with me when I tried to convince you to join Uma the first time. She was excited about you the first time. Of course, when you refused, you became a threat." I chuckled a little at that.

"A threat? Dear little Cecilia De Vil?" He rolled his eyes,

"You realize that your last name literally comes from the word 'devil', right?" I flipped my hair and walked to the door.

"Hey- where are you going?" Harry asked.

"Ummmm, outside?" I said, raising an eyebrow. I swung the door open and walked right into Gil. I staggered back as he leered,

"Where's Harry? Already broken your little loyalty vow?" A strong hand fell on my shoulder.

"I'm right here, Gil. Calm down." Gil grudgingly walked away. Harry spun me around so I was facing him.

"What were you thinking? Are you trying to get killed? Uma said you can't leave my sight!"

"I don't answer to anyone but myself, Harry," I said, crossing my arms. He stabbed me in the chest with his finger.

"You're wrong, Cece. You answer to Uma now." I snarled and looked away. He sighed and grabbed my arm.

"Come on. Let's go see what Uma thinks of your pirate look."

.....

I pranced into Uma's hall five seconds ahead of Harry, showing off my legs and curling my hands into fists, the new, shiny gloves not spiked, but still awesome. My knives were still at my waist, but a sword had been added to my weapon collection, something Harry would have to teach me to use.

Uma regarded me with a cold stare.

"This isn't a game, Cece."

"Oh, I know, Darling," I said with a little grin. She growled, a sound that would be scary if I didn't know that she was no match for me. She waved me off.

"Your first mission: go steal three of the most expensive items at the market. You have an hour." I smirked. She might not know, but I already knew what the most expensive things in the market were. I had never had the motive before, but if it was going to keep me alive, then fine.

"Okay, Uma. I'll be back." I sprinted out of the room. Standing on the railing of the boat's deck, I flipped onto the dock below. Harry was right behind me.

"Where are you going first, Cece?" I ignored him. The first thing I was stealing was some rope.

Two minutes later I had it, sneaking up to where Harry was looking for me on the wharf. One swing and it was around him, tying him to the post closest to me. I chuckled as he shouted in surprise.

"Cece! What the heck?" he bellowed.

"Have fun, Harry," I whispered as I slid away. Now it was time to steal a tiara.

.....

I knelt behind the jewelry stand, surveying my surroundings. The jeweler walked out of range of the case and I seized my chance. Sliding up towards it, I slashed a knife against the alarm cable and then capped it with a piece of cork before it could go off. Quickly sliding the glass away, I slipped the priceless tiara into a pocket and was out of there. It took a total of five minutes. If there was one thing I was better at than fighting, it was stealing.

Next stop was the knife shop, where a blade made of coral and diamond resided. I told the man that I was about to be killed and needed a knife to keep me safe as he was cleaning the prized knife. He handed it to me on impulse and I bolted. Three minutes and fifty seconds.

After that was the worst yet: I had to steal Mom's stuffed dog. That's right: it was an expensive little dog. But I was in luck; there was a fault window. I slid in and sawed the dog off her coat. A quick frying of the circuits with the blade of a knife, and I was out of there. Seven minutes and eighteen seconds.

I ran back to Harry, weighed down by my steals. He growled at me and I laughed, poking his hard chest.

"Don't pop your buttons off, Harry," I smirked while I untied him. I threw the rope to the side and started back to the boat. He stomped behind me, muttering angrily under his breath.

We got back onto the boat and I threw the items down in front of Uma. A total of twenty-two minutes and thirty-one seconds.

"Thirty-seven minutes to spare. Impressive," Uma grudgingly said. She turned to Harry, "how'd she do it?" He shrugged, his face still red.

"I wouldn't know. I was tied to a post on the dock." Uma turned sharply to me.

"What did you do to my first mate?" I pretended to examine my nails.

"He wouldn't have been able to keep up." Uma furrowed her brow and stood up.

"Cece, if you're on this team, you have to stop hurting my crew."

"I didn't hurt him," I blinked innocently. Harry cuffed me on the side of the head. In a flash, I twisted his arm around and had him down on his knees. Uma grabbed me away and he stood up.

"You really want to die, don't you?" he said, annoyed. I just stared at him unblinkingly. They hadn't promised me anything yet. Uma shook me, trying to get me to answer. I pulled away and walked out. Looking behind me, I saw Uma motion for Harry to follow me.

Back in Harry's room, I was sharpening one of my knives while he glared at me from across the room. Finally, I looked up with a smile.

"You need something?" He stonily looked away.

"You're making me look like an idiot, Cece! Do you think I like that?" I chuckled,

"You haven't promised me anything in return for my services. Do you think I like that?" He scowled and looked away.

"Cece, I'm trying to give you a life worth living, away from your daily rat fights."

"I liked the life I had, Harry."

"But you would have ended up getting killed eventually." My senses heightened and I walked towards him until our chests were almost touching.

"Why do you care about my wellbeing?" I asked suspiciously. He shook his head, sidestepping me,

"Sort out your priorities, Cece."

"No," I said, cutting in front of him, "tell me what you mean." He pushed me aside and opened his door.

"You need to be taught how to use your sword. Come on." I rolled my eyes and followed him out.

.....

The training room was a wide space with padded floors and walls. Mannequins stood in the corners in leather armor.

Harry unsheathed his sword with a flourish. Something about the training room got rid of all his annoyance from before and replaced it with his boyish, baddie vibes. I unsheathed mine, too… and almost dropped it. It was nothing like holding a knife. Harry laughed and came over to me, standing behind me and slipping his hand over mine. He positioned my fingers in the right shape.

"The fighting isn't just in your arms. It's in your legs and your core, too." I tested it out like he said, and pretty soon I got the hang of it. (I do pick things up pretty quick.) Soon, he was teaching me ways to use my sword to get out of tricky situations.

I was pressed up against the wall, Harry pressed against my back, trapping me there. He had my hands pinned at my sides.

"So how would you get out of this, Cece?" he asked snarkily. It was slightly hard to concentrate with his rock-hard abs pressed against me. Not that boys ever got to control my feelings.

"I could swing my sword back and slice off your leg." I felt a laugh rumble deep in his chest.

"Too risky. You could slice off your own leg, too." I rolled my eyes,

"Well, what would you do?"

"I wouldn't get stuck in this position in the first place."

"Not helpful!" I said. "Why can't I just use my knife?"

"You can," he shrugged, still pressing me into the wall. "But you have to be able to use a sword, too." He stepped back, "Now why don't we move on and come back to that later?" I turned around,

"I thought you said that was our last-" His lips crashed onto mine, just as pushy and confident as himself. I quickly pulled away and hooked my leg around his, making him fall to the ground. He smirked, as if I should have swooned and sworn my undying love to him already.

"You can't convince a girl to fall in love with you with one kiss!" He grabbed my knee and pulled me down onto him.

"What about two?" I tried to roll away, but he caught my lips with his. I yanked my face away and stood up.

"This isn't funny, Harry." He sat up,

"Oh, really? I think it's very funny, making you mad." I turned back to him, making air quotes,

"'I'm number one?' You're not number one, Harry, and you never will be. So stop acting like the king of the hill."

"You were there?" he said, surprised.

"I keep tabs on the competition." I started to walk out, but he called,

"So who is?" I spun around,

"What?"

"Who's number one?" I looked him in the eyes as he opened the door to follow me out. I simply said,

"Me."