Life Before Hell

Aries was on his one hundred and twentieth kill. Though he had annihilated more than that, he could only count the head of his main target.

At the age of nineteen, he had been killing people without feeling a bit of sympathy towards any of them. The death of others was survival for him.

He wanted to continue his existence and he wanted to live it in luxury.

He had been an assassin for ten years. He climbed from the lowliest spot to the second seat of the elite twelve. And he was gripping on to that position for three years.

He would not allow anyone to take the second seat from him.

He was only twenty-nine and he was hoping to kill more and earn more until he could retire and roam the world with all the money he had earned.

For each of his targets, he would prepare for at least a month to make sure that his first attempt would be a success.

Dusk was his ally. He can move through the shadows as if he were one with it. Once he entered the perimeter of his target's haven, everyone inside that entire area will certainly die within an hour.

Before his enemies could notice his presence, they were already dropping dead.

"Oh. I guess I was late again."

Aries heard that voice after killing his main target. He quickly glanced at the door and saw a beautiful woman standing there. Countless thoughts and confusing emotions had raged within him but he did not allow that to show. He had to calm down and eradicate the unexpected nuisance.

The room was dark. He had easily merged with the shadows and concealed his presence from the strange woman.

It was unusual for him to see that someone with a sweet voice and sparkling sapphire blue eyes could stay calm after witnessing a ruthless slaughter.

Even after hiding himself in the shadows, the woman remained calm.

"If you didn't kill that man, I would have," she raised her right hand that was gripping a knife.

It was no ordinary blade because the silver hilt had an intricate design. A rose with three leaves.

"I guess I should thank you," the woman tucked the knife back at the sheath dangling at the belt underneath her navy-blue overcoat. "What do you want?"

Aries reappeared in front of the strange woman and pointed a knife at her throat. The blade was so close to her skin that it had been lightly pierced. The woman should be scared but she never looked even a bit alarmed. She did not even take a step away from the blade. She appeared calmer than the assassin pointing a blade at her.

"Who are you?" Aries asked as the blue-eyed woman intrigued him.

"Pieffer Celestine," she reached out a hand for a handshake. "And you are?"

Aries slashed the knife at the throat of the woman but failed to land a killing blow. He hesitated and the woman quickly took advantage of that. She swiftly and quietly concealed herself within the shadows.

"That's unfair of you," the woman said as she reappeared at the right side of Aries and grabbed his wrist. "Tell me your name."

It was more of a command than a request. Aries felt compelled to obey.

"Aries… Del Luna…" he answered while wondering how that woman managed to sneak beside him unnoticed and easily asked him to spit out his name. He could not even pull his hand away from her grip. It was like he had completely fallen under her peculiar charm.

"Nice to meet you, Aries," Pieffer smiled and gripped his hand for a handshake. "Maybe we should talk somewhere… less bloody?"

^##############^

For an assassin like Aries, emotion was a hindrance. He abandoned all his emotions when he decided to become a hired killer.

But with only a single night and with that bizarre encounter, his life had changed.

He tried to avoid it but inevitably failed.

"Stop coming here," Aries came home from another mission and found Pieffer sitting comfortably on the couch while watching a television series.

"If you don't want me to enter your house, you should have changed your passcode," Pieffer turned down the volume of the television and walked closer to him. "If you don't want me in your life, you will never take me here in the first place and allow me to see your passcode."

"Stop," Aries raised a knife and pointed it at the throat of the blue-eyed woman.

"Enough with the threats," Pieffer lightly touched his weapon hand and pushed it away from her throat. "If you wanted to kill me, you would have done it that night."

"Who sent you to spy on me?" Aries sheathed his knife and walked towards the kitchen.

"You know the answer to that," Pieffer took a seat around the dining table. Her eyes were always on Aries, but it was not that uncomfortable. Even the smile on her face was not bothering him at all.

He wanted to put his guard up whenever that peculiar woman was around, but he kept on forgetting about it after a while. It must be because he had already conducted a background check on her and found nothing to be worried about.

She had been raised in an orphanage and had to work hard all her life just to earn a college degree. She acquired a job on a cruise ship and traveled around the world because of it. She had a few acquaintances but no close friends or even long-distance relatives. She was all alone. Just like Aries.

"I'm here for two reasons," she picked up an orange from the fruit bowl in the middle of the dining table. "First, I think I like you."

Pieffer ignored his deadly glare and went on saying, "Second, I want you to help me in finding my older brother."

Aries slammed his sheathed knife at the dining table and reminded the strange woman, "I am an assassin."

"I know," Pieffer agreed with a smile. "And I think my brother is also an assassin like you."

"I don't care," Aries grabbed his knife and took an apple from the fruit basket. "I will not help. Leave and make sure you are not followed."

"I will follow you until you help me out," Pieffer seriously declared before leaving his house.

^################^

Pieffer Celestine did follow him in his every mission and Aries was only learning about it after he had killed his main target. He was always being reminded of the first night they met.

He had to admit that the strange woman was as good as he was in hiding behind the shadows. Before meeting her, Aries thought that he was the only one who could befriend the darkness. Now that he was aware of it, he started paying close attention to the shades around him, particularly when he was using the comfort room at his house.

Unfortunately, he could not sleep well while a single light was on. He eventually had to turn it off.

And in one of those lightless nights, he had been awakened by a slight movement at the edge of his bed.

Aries bolted upright with a knife in his hand.

"Did I frighten you?" Pieffer laughed softly.

He quickly recognized her as his eyes adjusted against the darkness around him.

The peculiar woman was sitting at the edge of his bed.

"I told you to stop coming here while I'm sleeping. I need to rest!" Aries snapped at her and then sighed, "Leave."

"I will only leave after you tell me that you will help in finding my brother."

They exchanged serious glances for a few minutes.

"Answer all my questions and stop following me. Only then will I help you find your brother."

"I have to see your willingness in helping me before I answer all your questions," Pieffer beamed at him. "I will also tone down my stalking, but I will not stop until we find my brother."

"Why are you thinking that your brother is an assassin?" Aries lowered his knife and opened the lamp at the bedside table.

Pieffer pulled the sheathed knife from her belt and tossed it at Aries.

"My brother gave me that knife before he left the orphanage," there was a sad reminiscent smile on her face as she said those words. "He told me not to look for him because he will live a life that is totally different from mine."

"Then don't look for him," Aries tossed the knife back at Pieffer who only rolled her eyes and lay down on the bed beside him.

"What are you doing?" he glared at the peculiar woman even though he knew that it had no effect on her.

Pieffer remained on the bed right next to him with a sweet smile on her beautiful face.

"Are you going to stare at me until the sun rises?" she asked after a few minutes and glanced at Aries with a wider smile. "Or will you start asking questions?"

Aries cleared his throat and said, "If your brother already told you not to look for him, then you should listen. Stop searching for him."

Pieffer rested her head on the pillow and stared at him with a wider smile, "If I am the obedient type, do you think I will still be here at your side?"

"I don't think I will be asking questions for now," Aries pointed at the closed door using the sheathed knife in his hand. "Leave. Let's talk after I get some sleep."

"You will help me, right?" Pieffer eagerly asked.

He glared then tossed a question back at her, "Don't you want to?"

Pieffer hopped excitedly off the bed and marched towards the door. "I'll see you tomorrow. Good Night, Aries. Sweet Dreams," she winked at him before leaving the room.

She truly was an odd woman.

But Aries liked her so much.

If he knew that things would end tragically for both of them, he would never lend a hand in searching for her brother.

Everything had been ruined when they did find him.

Their life ended.

Yet even in her death, Pieffer was smiling so kindly at Aries.

How can she smile like that at the person who had killed her?

Yes. That is correct. Sunrei is not the only one who had killed her.

I, Aries Del Luna, had stabbed her.

I killed Pieffer Celestine.

^########^