An Offer You Can't Refuse

They reached a cellar door which was a gateway to the streets outside in the common areas of Elysia. "G-Go, Princess Amaranth." The knight said, his features were still hidden as he did not want to remove his helm.

"Come with me!" Amaranth tried to get him to move, but the knight was on the ground already, trying to cover up the hole in his abdomen but even he knew it was too late. "Please, do not let your parents, the Emperor and Empress' deaths be in vain. Escape from this place, escape and live, Princess." The knight said as he finally succumbed to his wounds.

Amaranth knew that it over and that the knight had died. She ran towards the door and opened it up to find herself right in the midst of an invasion.

Knights from Wilhelm were clobbering and executing the citizens left and right, she could not believe the gruesomeness and utter bloodshed that she was witnessing right from the get go.

She was very noticeable in her regal gown and apparel, Amaranth saw peasant clothes being hung outside, she grabbed it and immediately changed into them in a dark alleyway where nobody could see her.

The peasants were all being rounded up by the invaders, about five of them were now poking at them with their weapons and halberds. "W-What is going to happen to us?" Amaranth shakily asked the one beside her. "What always happens to the lower-class citizens whenever an invasion happens – they are going to make an example out of us." The one beside her said.

Amaranth gulped. The knights from Wilhelm had now started to push them all into a barn. They were being placed in one area to burn them all at once. "S-Stop it, please! I have a child with me!" A mother cried out to the knights of the opposing kingdom, but they were not having it at all.

Animosity and rage consumed their very souls as they were now killing innocent non combatants mercilessly. When it was Amaranth's turn to be shoved into the barn, her fight or flight instincts kicked in.

They were screaming at her to get away from that place, that should she be weak enough to be forced inside, nothing was awaiting her there, nothing but death's cold hard embrace.

Amaranth desperately ran away, she did not know where, amidst the chaos of the crowd and the blood being shed on the ground, she knew nothing about where she was going, but she knew that she had to get out of there.

"G-Get her!" A knight from Wilhelm screamed. The knight did not let up, he chased her for five minutes with the two of them sprinting. But Amaranth was not used to this type of life, she was always pampered ever since she was a kid. She was already out of breath and fell to the ground.

A phantom figure jolted from the shadows and came to her rescue, Amaranth looked to see who it was. But she could not recognize the woman as she had some kind of mask covering her entire face. She wore some kind of light armor with a dark gray hue and boots.

"You, come with me." The woman commanded her to do so. Amaranth was always perceptive of other people, especially strangers. But this time, she had no choice but to follow the woman. She proceeded to cover Amaranth's eyes with a blindfold forcefully. "H-Hey! You are one of those invaders from Wilhelm, aren't you?!" She squirmed and kicked every step of the way. "Be quiet, kid!" She replied to Amaranth.

After being dragged to wherever this woman wanted to go to, Amaranth's blindfolds were finally removed. "Sorry about that, kid. I could not risk you leaking our location."

"Y-You are the ones responsible for this mayhem, aren't you?!" Amaranth said with tears starting to pour out of her eyes. The lady did not respond at all, she staid silent as she stared at Princess Amaranth with her cold eyes.

"What a horrible job trying to blend in. Your clothes are at least three inches larger than that of the original owner. Your feet are starting to get blisters from the mismatched shoes as well. Well, I am going to have to give you some props for trying, at least." This lady saw right through Amaranth's disguise with no issue whatsoever. "This is interesting. You can call me Sora, what would you like me to call you, Princess Amaranth?" She asked.

Amaranth's eyes widened at her revelation. She knew. She knew who she was. Amaranth could not say anything at all, she was stiff as a rock, panicking as to what this lady was going to do with her.

"Relax, I do not bite. I will also not inform the others of your true identity, but I will only do it in one condition and one condition only, first things first – what do you seek to accomplish now, Amaranth?" She knelt down near to her as she asked that question.

Without even thinking about it, Amaranth clenched both her jaws and fists and stood up slowly. "I wish to avenge my parents. I will kill Uncle Garamond with my own two hands, that is all." She said with pure anger raging behind her eyes.

Sora nodded her head as she heard this. "Very well. That is a perfectly appropriate response. Here's an offer for you, I will invite you to Anathema and personally train you, but there is a catch." Sora said to her.

"A-Anathema?" This was the first time that Amaranth had ever heard of it. "W-What are you people?"

Sora's face was hidden but it was obvious that she was smirking from the sound she made. "We are the unholiest organization in all of mankind, my dear. You hate someone? We take them out – for the right price, of course. You wish to have someone maimed or to have their limbs cut off one by one? We would gladly oblige, again, for the right price." Sora replied.

"A-A group of assassins…" Amaranth thought to herself as healthy amount of fear slowly overtook her.