Schemes

In a familiar throne room, Emperor Trania sits on his cracked throne, holding his head between his hands. He speaks up to the servant in front of him.

"So, Veronica said Master Orion is teaching the boy and another girl? I'm surprised, that old bastard wouldn't teach the first prince no matter how much we offered. Send word to Veronica, I'll be sending Raxiid in."

The servant shudders as he hears that name. The emperor looks at him and chuckles,

"Don't worry, boy. I'll not ask you to speak with Raxiid. I'll speak with her myself."

The emperor stands up off of his throne, and walks off into the night. He appears once again, outside of the walls of his palace, wearing a hooded monk's robe commonly found in Trania. He walks through his city, admiring all of the beautiful architecture. Then, he arrives at the slums, trudging through mud and filth. He heaves a heavy sigh as he continues on his way.

He arrives at an abandoned house, and knocks on the door. After a few seconds of silence he speaks up,

"I've come to cleanse the house of evil."

After a few more seconds, the door opens. The hooded emperor walks inside and takes a seat at the lone table in the center of an empty room. Before long, the shadows by the table seem to move as a demon masked woman appears on the other side of the table.

"It's not everyday an emperor hires me. How can I serve you, your majesty?"

She speaks slyly.

"I'll get right to the point, I wish for you to kill Baron Luce's family, as well as master Orion if possible."

She chuckles,

"Heh, so you want me to complete what your own assassins failed. Very well, but my price is quite high."

The emperor thinks to himself for a second.

"What's your price?"

"I think 20,000 Shiil will suffice."

The emperor chokes a little at the price,

"*cough cough* 20,000?!?"

'That's enough to start a small country!'

Raxiid stands up and walks around the room,

"Yes, that's what I think their lives are worth. I'll not only be dealing with a master knight, but also two mages. Three if you count their little brat. To be honest, I only put my chance of succeeding at 40%. If you refuse to give me that much, then I'm afraid we'll have no business. I know my worth."

After her words, he takes his time to think it over,

'It's true. It may be too much to ask of one person.'

"Well, how about if you can get just one of them?"

She cocks her head,

"Which one?"

"It doesn't matter, so long as it affects them."

This time, Raxiid is the one who thinks for a while.

"For one of the brats, 5000. For the Baron or his wife, 10000. For Orion, 15000."

'Heltanis damn it! It's better than asking 20000, but not much!'

"Very well, I'll accept those prices."

The emperor stands up and walks towards the door.

"You have yourself a deal, emperor of the glass throne."

After the emperor left the house, the assassin removes the mask from her face, revealing a young woman with jet black hair.

"I fear this will be my last mission. I'll make certain the money is sent your way, sister."

A tear falls from her eye as she starts walking to the door at the back of the house.

"Well, I'll have to let the broker know about this mission. Can't let the emperor get away without paying."

A few hours pass as Raxiid vanishes into the shadows of the building, and leaves the city altogether. Eventually, she reaches a small log-walled encampment with a single large log cabin in the center. Outside of the cabin are several young children training with a piece of wooden equipment. Any native would recognize this as an assassin training camp. Without leaving the shadows, she goes into the building and heads up the stairs to a small office. At the desk is a blonde man dressed in purple robes. His robes are made of a slightly fluffy material, known to be the fur of an Arachne queen, a Grand-class monster with a fluffy purple thorax and an elven form growing from it's head.

Raxiid materializes in front of the man, sitting in the seat in front of him. He drops the glass he was holding and it shatters on the ground.

"Vertaxia! The hell is wrong with you, Raxiid!"

She ignores him and takes a cigar from his desk and lights it.

"Broker,"

She speaks up,

"I have a very important client."

Noticing her demeanor, the man takes a serious pose and grabs a sheet of paper from his drawer.

"Details."

After a few seconds of silence, Raxiid speaks up.

"The emperor of Trania has given me a contract."

The broker shudders slightly and sighs,

"I suppose Trania couldn't take their failure on the cheek. Who in the Luce's family does he want dead?"

"He wanted me to kill every member and Orion. I told him I wanted 20000 Shiil."

The broker shudders again and drops the pen. He leans back in his red velvet chair and sighs,

"Haaaah, so I suppose this mission is a no-go then."

"No, I told him my prices for the head of a single on of them. For one of the brats, 5000. For the Baron or his wife, 10000. For Orion, 15000. I plan on going for Orion and the Baron."

The broker stands up suddenly, flinging his chair to the ground.

"RAXIID, YOU KNOW YOU'RE NO MATCH FOR ORION! EVEN VERONICA, A SPY HAS BEEN FOUND OUT BY HIM! HOW DO-"

"I know she has. That's why I agreed to it."

The broker looks at the calm young woman in front of him. She takes a puff from his cigar and shows a slight smile. He picks up his chair and sits back in it,

"Haaah, very well. Tell me your plan."

"I know I'll most likely die. In the case of that, make sure the money gets to my sister. All of it. My plan, is to pose as Veronica by having her leave the castle while I'm there, then stay there for a few months to where Orion gets used to my energy. He'll assume I'm just another spy and try to hide information like he has with Veronica. Then, when he lets his guard down, I'll kill him."

The broker thinks for a while, playing with the hair above his right ear. He then speaks up,

"Since Orion is capable of seeing through stealth, he'll likely notice that you're equipped with weapons."

Raxiid then sighs and says,

"No he won't."

She then reaches to the side as a tear in space opens up. The broker stares at this, dumbfounded. Her arm comes back through the tear, and a beautiful green bladed dagger is now in her hand.

"I am a separate space holder. Also known as an item box holder. In other words, I won't be armed until the very last second. Hopefully while he's either sleeping or meditating. As for the Baron, I'll wing it."

The broker sighs again,

"Haaaah, you need to come up with a plan for him as well. You're the most valuable member of Vertaxia's palm. The mistress herself. Without you, our group will go bankrupt, and lose all high-priority contracts."

She nods her head,

"I know, but I suppose everyone has to atone for their sins. I've done too many horrible things. I've killed children, pregnant women, young men excited for their new jobs, grandparents, parents, sons, daughters. I've even killed newborns. Byron, I have to do this. If I don't die, fine. If I do, so be it. At least my sister will live affluently."

The broker shudders as he hears his name,

"Daradia, if this is your way of atoning, there are many other ways to do so. Join the church of Heltanis, become a charity worker, feed the poor. Dying will do nothing except remove you from the world-"

"Precisely. After this, I'll no longer be able to kill. You can't convince me not to do this Byron. My sister will get this money no matter what happens to me."

Byron leans back in his chair with his hands on his face.

*sniff*

He then leans forward and stands up. He leans forward towards her and pulls the cigar from her mouth,

"Don't make my last memory be of you smoking."

She chuckles and wipes a tear from the corner of her face,

"Very well."

She grabs the neck of his robe and pulls him into a deep kiss, holding him there for a solid minute. He lets himself melt into her embrace as tears well up in his eyes. Eventually, she lets him go and gives him a wink, causing a tear to fly and hit him in the face. She disappears into the shadows once again.

Byron stays in his leaned position for a few seconds, letting tears drip onto his desk. Then, suddenly, he collapses. He loses all strength in his legs and cries to himself. He forces himself up into his chair, opens a drawer of his desk and pulls out a full bottle of Briarwood whisky. He takes a swig and wipes away his tears,

"Well, then… Back to business."