His Masked Knight

Mireille went running in the hallway with her wavy caramel hair fluttering behind her, holding her beige gown up so as to not floor the maroon cushioned carpet. The beige clothing is a good combination to her emerald-green eyes, bringing out a beautiful contrast. She had on a simple, yet beautiful locket. It only had a small, polished emerald attached. She always had it on, Countess Martin has always advised her to not let go of the pendant. Sincerely, she held on to it till now. She ignored the pleading voices from her nanny to stop running. But she couldn't. She has reached the pinnacle of excitement, for now she was preparing to go and meet Countess Luciana Henituse. The Countess who trains the girls of noble families into becoming a fully fledged elegant noble ladies. From tea party etiquette to ballroom etiquette, she has it all covered. Mireille stops near her sister's room and waits for her nanny to catch-up. "I heard Countess Luciana even trained the Royal princesses" she says to her nanny. "Yes, Young Miss" her nanny replied "And that is the reason it is an honor for Miss Mireille to train under her" her nanny continued. Anna was Mireille's nanny. She took care of Mireille for 4 years now. Today when Mireille goes to her Chaperon, Luciana; Anna will go on a leave for 3-4 days.

"Dorothy, are you ready yet?" whined Mireille, knocking on Dorothy's door.

Dorothy's maid opened the room's door. "I'm afraid it will take me some more time" replied Dorothy, as she was busy getting ready for the patronage. "What are you doing standing there?, come inside" Dorothy said.

"No, it's alright" Mireille continued "I'll wait in the yellow saloon"

"As you wish" Dorothy replied with the sweetest of smiles.

Mireille and Anna made way to the Yellow saloon. "Say nanny, don't you have to leave before noon?" Mireille asked.

"Oh my, it's already so late" Anna said glancing at the watch. "Pardon me Miss, but I'll have to go now" Anna asked for permission.

Mireille nodded and approved of it. Anna left after bowing politely. Now, Mireille was walking alone in the hallway "I wonder how long it will be till I meet Countess Luciana" She spoke, walking languidly. Having Luciana as a chaperon wasn't a simple thing rather it was a huge feat. Though a Countess, She was able to teach the Royal princesses and that helped them in marrying prospective princes. And now, she is almost full. Everyone wants to be her student but there can only be one teacher. So she usually goes to Dukedoms and likes. Since Countess Martin, Dorothy's mother is her friend; she made an exception to teach Countess Katherine's daughters.

'Oh! Maybe I can go to meet mother' Mireille thought to herself, and started going to Katherine's room. She came near her mother's chambers when she felt a sudden chill. Unable to get rid of it, she quickly knocked at Katherine's door. There was no response. She waited for roughly an instant before knocking again yet there was no response. She clutched her emerald pendant; for whatever reason, everytime she felt disturbed, the emerald bought her ease. She had been waiting for approximately an eternity hoping for a response. She tried opening the door, and to her surprise the door was open and wasn't locked. She went into the room with an ominous feeling. She looked for her mother, but she wasn't there. Not even servants were in sight. When she glanced at the floor, she grew dim. A bright red trail followed to the bathroom. Now her hands started sweating and she was utterly nervous. She slowly opened the bathroom door, praying for nothing bad to happen. And Alas! Her prayer was not answered. For when she opened the door, she was utterly appalled by the horrifying sight beholding her.

She witnessed Katherine crouching near the vast bathtub, trying her best to stand up, the red trail followed Katherine and into a pool of blood. Though Katherine was opposite to Mireille, she could see the dagger mired in the abdominal left of Katherine's body; the white peignoir she was wearing now turned to red. Seeing her mother wounded, she ran without any second thought and held Katherine. Unable to properly look at the dagger and the wound, she continued to weep clutching at Katherine's dress. Katherine was petrified at seeing the little hands covered in blood. Unable to control her body anymore, she fell. Instead of the hard floor, she felt soft, dainty cushion and then she realized she fell on Mireille's lap. She witnessed 2 delicate hands cupping her face; drops of water fell on her face, she looked up to see the emerald-green eyes, that were now brimming with tears, the beautifully trimmed caramel hair were now sloppily peeking from the sides, the once engaging flower was so withered now.

"W-whash cho ju? Ma"(what to do?) Mireille asked, crying nonstop.

The Countess that would always be calm and collected, with never aging beauty, was now completely ruined. Her hazel-gray eyes were lifeless, the plum and rosy cheeks were now sucked out of their life. The beauty that would make the living jealous was now among the dead.

"I-" Katherine opened her mouth to reply but was unable to gather the strength to speak. Just then, a silhouette could be seen at the window. Katherine saw this and pushed Mireille out of her way. Puzzled at this, Mireille was ready to move towards Katherine when she saw a piercing object colliding Katherine's upper stomach.

"MOTHERRR" she screamed; she wrenched back in the direction of the window, from where the object flew in. There he was, a man completely clad in black. Only his black hair having some streaks of brown and his brown eyes were visible. He was holding hand-sized daggers and one of that hit Katherine. The man somehow looked pre-occupied with his daggers.

Was it fear? Or was it pure rage? Mireille never had such an expression on her face, she seemed so unworldly. She felt a burning sensation in her body, electrifying even. Though, she didn't care about it. She knew at once, the man was the 'assassin' she read in books. And not just normal one, but those that travel in daylight; those who are completely confident on their skills and do not let their victims witness another ray of light.

Katherine coughed up another pool of blood. Mireille turned back to her and another fresh batch of tears rolled down her face.

When Mireille was about to retaliate, Katherine pulled Mireille near. Even though Mireille couldn't feel any force, the soft touch of Katherine's hands felt more than anything to her. Katherine mustered up her strength, yet could only utter "R...u..." Mireille came closer to her to listen what she was saying. "G...o" Katherine whispered "A..s..r...." Mireille could only hear 'go' and she refused to go. "F..or m..e" Katherine whispered "l...ive". At these lines; Mireille couldn't hold herself anymore, fat tears came out of her eyes. Looking at the lifeless gray eyes, she knew she had to live.

"Aye' looks like I'm intruding something" called out the man. The man was now looking at Mireille, "Quite a beauty you are, Miss" the man spoke up "Today will be a great honor for my 'toys'". Mireille understood what he meant by his 'toys', he was holding another one of his dagger. "Live" Mireille remembered Katherine's words. Live, she had to get out of here and live. Mireille quickly removed her heels and threw them at the man. Though it won't be a big damage, at least it will buy some time. Mireille ran from there as soon as she could, giving a last glance at Katherine. She shut her eyes and ran as fast as she could.

"Hah, Looks like that girl can also play" He smirked "Let's play a bit" He remarked, seeing the blood trail left by her blood soaked beige gown.

Mireille ran inside Count Martin's study, "Daddy, please come fast" she whispered to herself. Count Martin, Katherine's husband, went on his usual business trip. Normally, he would come after 3or 5 days but now, it was getting longer. Mireille moved a book from the loads in the shelf and a small opening peeked from behind. She quickly went into it and it got closed.

Searching for Mireille, the man saw a blood soaked gown thrown to the sideways. Mireille threw away her outer gown, to disturb the trail of blood that gown showed.

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"That girl surely hid herself well" the man said to himself "let's do the other part of the deal" he continued while spilling bottles of gasoline in the hallway.

"How long are you going to make me wait?" a voice called out.

The man turned to see a petite figure, standing delicately. With silky black hair till her back and the gray eyes filled with anger, the girl looked just like young and angered version of the dead Countess.

"Miss Dorothy" he bowed curtly "I'm sure you have the things ready" he asked raising his eyebrow.

"It's all ready" Dorothy said "Follow me to the carriage" she said as she turned away and started walking briskly.

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Completely unaware of the happenings inside the mansion, Mireille followed the markings on the walls. Her father showed her the secret passage and told her about the way to get out. It was just an emergency measure, but Mireille was interested in it and thus, she remembered. She came out through a small opening covered with green bushes and realized that she was at the backside of the Manor. She ran from there to the stables nearby. Though she never rode a horse, she came into the stables. She turned to have a last look at the manor, only to witness the flames consuming the manor little by little. She was aghast by the sight before her. All the memories of the past hours flashed through her. Unable to hold it anymore, she fell Unconscious.