Plans

"Grey, what are you doing?" Aurora spoke, her face flushed. She had been diligently practicing her skills when she felt a gaze on her, another useful skill developed due to the Courts. She had looked to the right, spotting Grey staring at her... very intensely.

'Uhh, how do I explain this?' Grey racked his brain to come up with a suitable explanation. While he didn't mind sharing most things, there was a limit to what he could tell outsiders. Outsiders are those he doesn't consider family in any sense of the word.

- Just tell her the truth. After all, you don't know what will happen in the future. - Fallen Star said. Again, It seemed to be shipping the two of them.

'Fine.' Grey agreed, simply because Fallen Star spoke the truth. He didn't know what would happen, and he may end up with Aurora. After all, not only were they technically in a relationship, he was attracted to her, and she was maybe attracted to him. They would have plenty of time to get to know each other.

"When I send Mana into certain parts of my eyes, I can achieve different effects. My lens stops me from seeing Mana, my retina lets me see Mana as if it were heat, and my optic nerve allows me to see Mana Signatures. I was studying your Mana Signature." He responded.

Aurora listened intently, keen on understanding. Upon hearing his explanation, she scoffed. 'Impossible. It's been tested.'

However, there was doubt. Grey was truly exceptional, so what if he was telling the truth? Besides, he had yet to tell her something that wasn't the truth, and if it wasn't yet the truth, he had made it the truth.

'Can he do that?' She decided to ask him. "So, what's my Signature?"

"An empty heart, the lowercase alpha symbol, and a full heart," Grey told her.

"What do they mean?"

'Good question. What do they mean, Fallen Star?'

- The outer symbols are her parents, Tyana's and Matteo's respectively, and the alpha symbol is hers. They have different meanings, but that would take too much time to explain, time you don't have. -

'I see.' Grey frowned. Aurora asked him something, but for once, he'd failed to deliver. "The first symbol is your mother's, the second is yours, and the third is your father's. They have meanings, but I am unaware of them."

"Okay... that makes some sense." Aurora nodded along, listening to Grey's incomplete answer. "What about you?"

"Capital delta from my Mom, lowercase eta, and capital Pi from my Dad."

"So they're based on symbols. Do all species have three symbols?"

"Don't know," Grey informed her. "It's best we get back to training now."

"Sure." Aurora nodded.

---

[Somewhere far north of the Elven Domain, near the Border]

Where the Elven woods met the Vampire Lands, a hatch lay on the floor, covered in moss. Inside that hatch was a room, only 10 meters by 10 meters, that housed 3 individuals. They stood around a table that held a holographic display of Novis Sanguis. 

"So, are we doing this?" A cloaked figure asked. His voice was raspy, grating on the ears.

"Of course we are. We have no choice. The boss will kill us otherwise." Another responded, their voice was deep and gravelly.

"But that's not fair. I don't want to risk my pets. Also, what about us? We're putting our lives on the line here!" A feminine voice said, her voice high-pitched and squeaky. "Besides, that bitch is there too."

"I know right? It's absurd that we-" The first man tried to speak up, but was cut off by the voice of a newcomer.

"Quiet fools!" It was an authoritative voice, one that the three in the room followed immediately. "As Raptor said, we have no choice. Lucius wants this done. Now is our best shot."

"We'll be going over the plan once more." The man moved to the table, pointing to the castle. "Our target is here. Aurora Novis, 17, inheritor of the Elven Bloodline. Our goal is to eliminate her. Anyone who gets in our way dies. I want no screw-ups, we're several times stronger. We have one opportunity; her leaving The Island is beneficial for us."

"We received info from a spy that Aurora plans to leave the castle tomorrow, to hang out with a friend. Luce will use her pets to lure them, but she'll stay back. She's too talented to be on the field.

We'll need to draw Anette away from them. Raptor, that's your job. Since your job is the most important, we'll go over it in private. We can't have your info getting out.

Now, pay attention. Her friend and fiancé is called Grey Heart, he's 17 and is suspected to be at least D Rank. We know he's incredibly strong, he killed a C Rank boss after all. He is the only variable. As long as he plays nice, it'll be fine.

Samor, he's yours. Just like Raptor with Anette, I want you to keep him away from Aurora.

I will be taking the backside, making sure that the King and Queen don't get in the way. They will most definitely find out, so I'll watch them.

Finally, we have Crow. He's not here, but he's on assassination. Understood?"

'''Yes sir!''' The group replied.

"Good. If the plan needs modifications, you ask me. You may only act otherwise if I approve of it. And just a reminder, don't you dare fail. If you live after failing, I'll kill you myself. Lucius wants no mistakes. Disperse."

At the man's words, they all left the room one after another, heading to their positions. He stayed in the room, leaning on the table with his fists. His knuckles turned white, but he didn't seem to care.

'I hate doing that. I'm sorry team.' The man's thoughts went to each of his crew, and then to the plan, before finally moving to their contractor. If you could call him that.

'Lucius, this is the last time. Our crew is free after this. I hope for your sake that you remember our deal.' He gritted his teeth, recalling memories that he wished he had forgotten.

---

An elven man sprinted through the halls of the castle, wishing that he could move faster. The intel he brought was extremely important.

He passed several maids, all of whom called for him to stop, but he didn't dare to. The intel needed to be brought.

Unfortunately for the man, intel of such magnitude couldn't simply be transmitted through a computer —no matter how secure, there was always a way in. He had been traveling from the Border for several days without sleep, and he was close to collapsing. However, he wouldn't let himself fall, not yet.

He reached a turn, swiftly running round the corner. As he turned, he spotted a maid, so he dodged to the side, only to collide with them. The maid had seen him too, and reacted in the same way.

He rubbed his forehead, standing immediately. He pulled the maid up by the hand before setting off again. No time for distractions.

As he ran away, the maid, Anise, squinted at him. "Adam? Does that mean?"

Not long after, Adam crossed the final corner, spotting the doors to the throne room in his path.

Anette stood guard, evidence that Aurora was inside, but Adam was too tired to even see her.

She raised a hand to stop him but stopped once he got closer. She recognized him. A Border combatant who happened to be her brother.

She pushed open the doors, not caring about the reactions of the King or Queen, allowing him entry.

Adam crossed the final stretch, skidding to a halt and falling to his knees in front of the King and Queen.

"Your... Majesties... I bring... important news." He managed to get out between pants, before finally falling unconscious.

The Royal family looked at the unconscious elf, watching Anette, and soon after Anise entered the room.

"Get him to a bed, and bring someone who can heal him." The King ordered.

"Of course, Your Majesty." Anise nodded, employing the help of Anette to take Adam to a room.

"What was that about?" Aurora asked once they had left the room.

"Intel from the border that is of grave importance. Though why he was made to come in such a state I'll never understand. The Border commanders love to ignore my orders about the state of their men." The King replied.

"Most likely, it concerns us or you. The only other intel that could be delivered by mouth is classified, even for you." The Queen added.

"I see." Aurora nodded in understanding. "Can I bring Grey here?"

Matteo and Tyana looked at each other, one sighing and the other ecstatic.

---

Adam opened his eyes with force, sitting up as fast as he could.

"The vampires!" He yelled, trying to make sense of his surroundings.

A hand placed itself on his shoulder, pushing him back onto the bed. "Calm down Adam."

'Huh?' It was a voice he knew, but he didn't understand why he was hearing it. 'Anise.'

He took a deep breath, looking around. Several people stood around him, all staring at him with intrigue.

"Adam. What intel do you bring?" Anette asked.

"The vampires. We received intel from a spy that they had a plan to kill Aurora. They couldn't find the details, but you needed to be alerted. That's why I came."

Aurora was a little shocked hearing this, but it made sense to her. From 0-10, she had been protected by her family, and from 11-16, she spent all her time either training or in the Courts. Then, she went to The Island. The vampires hadn't a chance to get to her. Now was their first opportunity.

Matteo, Tyana, Anette, and Anise weren't surprised at all, though.

Grey just sat there, listening. 'That's not good.'