Double-Cross

Diplomacy first, Hearts reminded herself. She gave the guard a smirk.

"We have orders to hang these two out for the crows. They were trying to start a riot," she said, and she was convincing. "They need to be taught a lesson."

There was a conviction in her voice, and she felt a little guilt as she saw Crow and Scare look up at her, their eyes wide and terrified. They believed her. That was what she needed.

The guard saw their looks, and his shoulders relaxed. "Be my guest. You know the way?"

"We were given directions," she affirmed, even though she had no idea where she was going. Asking, though, would have been far too suspicious. The guard stepped out of the way, and Hearts went on, dragging the scarecrows behind her.

Following, not Leading

Rag Doll nodded, and finished changing.
He straitened up and opened the door for Hearts, Scare and Crow.
He wished he hadn't messed up so badly.
He could do more than look domineering.
But he was going to show Hearts that he could follow orders too!
They walked down the hall passing several Valentine's in uniform who just nodded to Rag Doll and Hearts.
They walked all the way to the end of what seemed to be the building before someone stopped them.
"Where are you taking these  Creepers?" A very official looking valentine asked.

Beginning the Escape

She jumped up and shut the door, locking it from the outside with her magic, then turned back and dug the uniforms out of the straw, throwing one at Rag Doll.

"Hurry and change," she said, her voice full of anticipation, the thrill of the crime. She pulled the uniform over herself quickly, turning away from him to change into it. The scarecrows crouched by the door, peeking under for any sign of anyone coming by.

"Scare, Crow," Hearts said to them, and they looked up. Rag Doll saw now that their mouths had been sewn shut with glittery red thread. Work of the Valentines. Hearts waved them over, then took the heart-shaped cuffs from the guard's pockets. "You're going to pretend to be our prisoners until we get out, got it?" she asked them. They nodded quickly, holding their arms out. She clamped the cuffs shut, putting the key in a charm bag around her neck that she hid under her uniform.

She dragged the guard to the corner and covered him with straw, hiding him. She talked to Rag Doll as she did. "We're going to pretend to be guards take Scare and Crow somewhere. Follow my lead, look miserable and domineering, but let me do all the talking, and follow my lead, okay?" Her voice was firm, but it wasn't angry or cruel.

Messed Up, again...

Rag Doll glanced over at Hearts, looking for appreciation.

The horrific annoyance on her face was not what he expected.

He turned back to the guard and stuck a needle in a strategically planned spot and he passed out on the ground.

"What did I do?" He asked suddenly.

But he knew almost as soon as he asked.

She had had a plan.. he probably just ruined it.

Adjusting the Plan

No! What was he doing? He was ruining everything! Hearts had had a plan, a perfect plan, a clever plan! And Rag Doll was ruining it!

The Valentine was supposed to leave so that no one would be suspicious, and then they could make their escape. Rag Doll was making everything so complicated! The Scarecrow twins took this opportunity to go to her, help her up. A new idea struck her. Two uniforms, two prisoners....the Scarecrows were their new way out, and she was helping more Halloweentown citizens to escape, as well.

She hoped that Rag Doll wouldn't ruin this plan, too.

Double Dog Dare

Rag doll felt his temper swing out of control.
Who did this Valentine think he was?! Obviously he knew nothing about any sort of love, even a love of strangers!
rag doll picked up 3 needles and threw them one after another.
*swit* *swit**swit*
They flew through the air and embedded themselves in the Valentien's face.
He grabbed his face " AH! What... What!"
 He turned on Rag Doll but he held up more needles.
"Try it, buddy. I dare you."

Clever Girl

The guard raising his beefy hand and struck her across the face, knocking her down. The scarecrows reached for her in alarm simultaneously, showing the link they shared as twins.

Hearts acted as if he really had hit her, but she had brought her hand up at the last second, slapping her hand on her cheek that made the crack of sound that echoed in the room. She kept her face turned down as she fell onto the floor, one hand still clutching her cheek to keep suspicions at bay. She couldn't let the guard see her face, see her smirk that told him that she had bested him after all.

She was a clever girl. She only hoped her cleverness lasted.

Lose Lose

Ragdoll glanced at her, wanting to help her but realizing this was a fight he couldn't help win. She was going to do it by herself. And if he got in the way, he would lose too.

Bitter Hearts

She knew those scarecrows. Her aunts used to mix up anti-crow spells for them. They saw the pity in her eyes when she looked at them. Her resolve to get out got stronger. She wouldn't just break out of here. She had to save the captives that the Valentines had taken. She glared at the guard, lip curled in disgust, and he noticed.

"What're you lookin' at, freak?" he threatened.

"Your ugly face," she spat back, standing up. She'd hidden the uniforms under the straw before sitting on it; they wouldn't be seen.

Heart of Gold?

Rag doll had made piles of hearts, more than Hearts had thought he would be able to make, much more. He could sit on them if he wanted, perhaps even a bed...
The door opened and two scarecrows came in, dressed in valentine slave uniforms and began to gather the hearts glumly while a valentine soldier  set the two bowls of mush on the table.
"eat up, freaks."
Rag doll smiled at the name. It was nice to hear something familiar.
But he didn't want Hearts being called that.
"You're right, I am a freak." he said smoothly, taking all of the critisim.
"Thanks for noticing."

An Only Halfway Awkward Silence

She shrugged it off, no hint of the irritation she had shown after he'd ruined her first meal. There was a silence. Hearts was focused, and her focusing made her bite her lip (not very conducive to a talkative situation). Rag Doll kept thinking of things to say, but they all sounded stupid in his head, and he imagined it wouldn't help if he said those things out loud. In fact, he thought it would make them sound even worse.

The sun set much more quickly than Hearts anticipated. She was sewing the last stitch on when she heard the heavy footsteps coming down the hall. She stabbed the needle into the cloth, rolled up the uniforms, and stuffed them in the hay, laying back against the haystack and pretending to pick apart bad stitches in the hearts she had sewn earlier (of course there weren't any, but Hearts was very good at pretending).

Heart in Hand

"Sorry." He murmured softly then went to the table and sat down, sewing furiously.
he finished 4 hearts in the time it took Hearts to respond.
"Sorry for what?"
He sewed faster in his embarrassment. The result being that he sewed the heart to his hand.
"ah... Dang. I--- I'm sorry you didn't get to eat." He said, starting to explode at himself but just managing to hold it.

Disguising the Disguise

She was surprised by his offer. "I suppose. If you want to."

"I do. Want to, I mean. What do you want me to do?"

She thought. The outfit was easy. With her magic, she could have it done in no time. What did she need him to do? She could have him clean up the scraps. Or, even better...

"I need you to start sewing more hearts. Scatter them around, so it looks like we've done more than we actually have. I'm going to hide our uniforms in the straw, and that way we'll be ready when it's time to break out."

"When will that be?"

"After they come. Judging by the sun outside, it should almost be time for them to feed us."

Rag Doll felt a tug of guilt, remembering what he had done last time the Valentines had brought them a meal.