As the earl’s life ebbed away before her eyes, Elyza couldn’t help but feel the full brunt of the of emotions within her. The memories of her mother’s radiant smiles would’ve broken her mind with the grim reality unfolding before her. She had dedicated herself to seeking revenge against the earl, meticulously planning, infiltrating, and positioning herself for this very moment – the moment when justice would finally be served. Years spent on focusing on tracking him down, and the moment where he took his last breath was exhilarating, before the anger and rage took hold.

  However, now that it was done, the ordeal finally accomplished, Elyza couldn’t shake the emptiness that had settled within her. It was exhausting, feeling like nothing, but a voice stopped these thoughts from turning further inwards.

  “Are you okay?” Alex’s voice carried a mixture of caution and concern as he approached Elyza, his feet not making any noise.

  Elyza looked over her shoulder at the man who had said nothing as she, frankly speaking, brutally murdered a man right in front of him. And just as she had expected, Alex approached her with a look of anxiety, staring at her bloody visage. She remained silent, it was too tiring to try and trudge through her own thoughts, but he took the silence as a sign of affirmation, his face quickly switching to one of relief.

  “Good, because I’m not about to lift this body on my own,” Alex said, pointing towards the Earl’s body, holding his other hand out to help her up.

  Elyza took his hand, forcing herself to prioritise her own safety, “We should leave.”

  “Not yet,” Alex’s voice remained steady as he bent down and grabbed the Earl’s lifeless feet, motioning Elyza to grab the other side.

  She hesitated, vocalising her confusion, “Why? He is dead. Was that not why you were hired?”

  He let out a resigned sigh, releasing his hold on the Earl’s feet. He turned towards Elyza, weariness etched on his face. “Look, my plan’s a bit convoluted,” he admitted, striding towards a nearby desk and exerting effort to push it back into place, “And I don’t want to waste time explaining it all right now.”

  “Just follow my lead,” he added with a final pull, “And we’ll be out without anyone even knowing we were here.”

  Right on cue, the room’s door burst open. Within milliseconds, Elyza was ready to lodge a knife in between the interrupter’s eyes. Yet, a firm grip on her wrist arrested her movement. Even more surprising was that the hand belonged to the Earl. The anger she had felt for the man has dissipated, replaced by a perplexing mix of astonishment and confusion at his unexpected survival.

  The butler that had just entered seemed oblivious to the dead body on the floor behind them, as he panted out his words, “Sire, the fire… in the garden… has stopped burning,”

  Elyza scanned the room, trying to figure out what was going on. The portrait of the Earl appeared unmarked, the tear vanished, and the bookshelf had returned to its original position. The room revealed no sign of anything that had happened mere moments ago.

  Yet something seemed off. The edges seemed to be slightly blurry around everything in her sight. Everything except the person standing in front of her. Elyza looked down at the ground behind her, where the Earl’s lifeless body lay, the blood on his lips slowly drying.

  “I would think it should have, since I told you to do so,” the fake Earl commanded in the same voice that had screamed bloody murder a few moments ago.

  “Well, sire… the fire actually stopped on its own, before we even reached the garden,” the butler replied.

  “You should be glad that it did,” the earl responded, looking aimlessly at the documents on the desk, his mannerism perfectly encapsulating how the man laying below behaved.

  “Of course we are, sire,” the butler responded with a bit of relief in his voice, his eyes moving towards Elyza, his mouth opening to ask a question.

  “Do you have any children?”

  The man was taken back from the earl’s question, “Yes, sire.”

  “Then I suggest you forsake my company, and leave if you wish to see them again,” With that the butler closed the door with a courteous bow.

  As soon as the door closed, the room returned to what it was. But Elyza did not notice it, at that moment her focus was on the initiator of the events that lead to her mother’s death. Before she could once again embed a knife in the earl, the man’s form began to dissolve, melting into pure white mist and revealing Alex at its core.

  Elyza must have looked baffled at his sudden reveal, the man giving her a grin, but Alex did concede at the issue on hand. “You know what? I think you’re right,” he remarked, moving towards the door and locking it, giving it a tug to ensure it would remain closed, “Let’s get out of here.”

  Sheathing her knife, Elyza found herself grappling with the surreal nature of her day. As she opened the window, poised for escape, Alex posed an unexpected question, “Just a quick question, have you eaten anything in the past 6 hours?”

  Elyza thought about the eccentric question, knowing not what to do with it, except answer honestly. She shook her head, “No.”

  “Perfect, then this shouldn’t be too much of an issue,” Alex’s unsettling grin accompanied his response, and the hesitation her words took to escape her throat sealed her fate.

  With a snap of his fingers, shadows erupted from the floor, and everything started to move in slow motion, the black appendages surrounding Elyza. Her attempt to draw her knife was thwarted by the tendrils that restricted her movements, compelling her downward. Panicked, trying to resist, nothing seemed to work, but darkness still encompassed her, and then the floor gave away, plunging her into the abyss. Yet, a moment later, when she was floating in burning yet frigid darkness, the shadows started to push her back up, the tendrils relaxing their hold, retreating back to where they came. The gloom surrounding Elyza gave way to moonlight, as she faced a brick wall, her hands still in the process of reaching towards her knives.

  A fleeting moment of tranquillity came, the sound of the wind accompanying the moonlight streaming from above, and it was immediately shattered by the delayed impact of the events her body had undergone. She felt her stomach curl up, and whatever little was in it attempting an escape from her mouth. Thankfully, nothing came out, but it did take her a minute or two to catch her breath after it all finished.

  “You alright?” Alex asked gingerly as he leant on the wall, even though she could tell by his voice that he had expected this.

  Elyza tried to stand straight, letting her body weight be held up by the bricks beside her. Her lungs were still trying to recover from her stomach’s betrayal, but she was barely able to get her words out, “What was that?”

  “Basically I teleported…” Before pausing as if in thought, “Yeah, teleported us outside the castle, through a dimension of shadows that I, in some man–, scratch that, have total control over. Though, in doing so, I had to pull you through it, so I temporarily transformed you into a shadow for the process” Alex responded swiftly, as if he had rehearsed this explanation.

  “OK,” Elyza replied, still struggling to cope with the rapid change of position, giving up on understanding his explanation, “But why did you not warn me before you did it?”

  “Would you have believed me?” he replied, tossing a small bead at her, “Besides, I wasn’t going to risk a knife in my back. Again.”

  Elyza caught the bead, examining the green sphere wrapped in paper, “What is this?”

  “Medicine, made it to help with the motion sickness, happens to first-timers a lot,” Alex remarked, moving towards the end of the alley he had dragged her to, motioning her to follow as he added, “Pop it in your mouth and suck on it till it’s gone.”

  While caution might have dictated a more careful approach, her desire to escape the relentless nausea overrode her instincts, her hands unwrapping the green bead. It felt fragile, as if it would be crushed under her nails, the smell of cinnamon and ginger wafting from it. Placing it on her tongue without further hesitation, a small voice in the back of her mind whispering a warning about poison, but there had been ample chances to strike before.

  As the bead touched her tongue, it released a burst of herbal flavours that distracted her mind and eased her queasiness. It tasted remarkably similar to the balm her mother used to make, but without the hint of honey. The taste faded as fast as it came, but the taste seemed to awaken her senses, allowing as she followed Alex out of the alleyway as the queasiness settled.

  Even after sundown, the town was bustling, the moonlight with the help of the light poles illuminating the street, adventurers walking up and down the road like a line of ants. Elyza looked to the left to see Alex waiting by a door where two people entered whenever one left, the sign above him reading ‘The Flourished Pint’. She recognised the name as a famous tavern for travelling adventurers, and he held the door of the building open, motioning her to enter first. A sigh of relief escaped her lips as she stepped past him, because at the very least, they would be in a public place for once.

  The aroma of freshly baked bread wafted through the air, invading her nostrils, mingling harmoniously with the scent of freshly poured beer. Even at this early hour of the night, the tavern seemed abuzz, the chatter of their patrons melding into a singular song. Alex squeezed past her, lightly tapping her shoulder to follow, walking towards a conspicuously empty table at the corner of the room. As Elyza settled into her seat, the sound of the drunken crowd seemed to drown out almost instantly, Alex joined her on the opposite side, pushing back his hood to reveal his face, an act no doubt to make her collaborator seem a bit more trustworthy.

  Elyza’s gaze fixated on memorising every single detail about him, should the need arise to hunt him down. He looked tanned, his skin somewhat olive in appearance, and his jawline was at the same time soft and sharp. His shaggy black hair was slicked back just enough, so they didn’t fall on his black eyes, while his ears peeked from his hair, tapering slightly toward the top, like hers but less exaggerated. What looked like leather armour covered most of his white shirt, so he looked like all the stuck up adventures Elyza had encountered during her tear through the country, except for his cloak. It was absolutely pitch black, attaching discreetly to his armour, its form almost elusive to her sight, rendering it nearly impossible to know what lay beneath.

  The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

  “If you’re done, may we move on?” Alex remarked, arching an eyebrow, and she knew her observation had not gone unnoticed. He placed both his hands on the table, a gesture that prompted Elyza to mirror his stance in order to show her hands would not reach for any further knives.

  “Let’s start from the beginning,” he said, grinning, “I’m Alex, an assassin for hire, among other things. I’m half-human, and I may or may not entertain the notion that I'm the most remarkable being to grace this world.”

  She sighed at his words, but she had made a promise to hear him out, so she replied, “Elyza. Forest-elf. Why did you help me?”

  “Well, Elyza, if you could believe it, I helped you because you were a good person to help at the moment,” he let the words hang, and still they made no sense to her, before continuing, “But, let’s get to the more important question – Why do you want to kill yourself?”

  Before she could start telling him he was wrong, just to do so, trying to appear fine, he had already cut her off, “After you achieved your revenge, after that brief moment of ecstasy at finally doing it, killing the person who caused you so much harm, you felt… empty inside. It’s as if all the actions you took, all the sacrifices you made, all the people you cut off, in the end they were all meaningless. Some forms of revenge help you grow into someone new, be it better or worse. But revenge like ours, they just make us feel like the world would rejoice if we simply ceased to exist.”

  His words resonated deeply within Elyza, capturing the essence of her emotions. Alex’s expression remained unchanged, yet something in his eyes told her that she wasn’t the first to feel like this.

  “And?” Her mind was already made, nothing he could say would be able to change that.

  “And I don’t want anyone to give into that hopelessness, that emotion is exclusively for me,” Alex replied with a touch of sarcasm, his grin showing her he was serious. “So, out of the goodness of my own heart, I want to provide you three options; One, I leave, leaving you to sail your own course, knowing not what path you should be taking; Two, you hang around with me for another day, having the best time a mere mortal could ever provide you without the use of mind-altering substances, before said mortal helps you off yourself;” He paused to stretch his arms, adding, “Or three, you could work with me, granted after some considerable training, and I mean things that may make you wish you hadn’t chosen this one, but you get to explore the rest of this lowly existence in its entirety.”

  Elyza wanted to laugh off the last option, but somehow, be it his words or his idiosyncrasies, he had wormed enough curiosity in her mind to at least hear him out, but she still had her disdain for people like him.

  “Why would I want to be an assassin? Killing anyone if given enough money to do so. Having absolutely no morals, the literal scum of the earth,” She vocalised her thoughts without any restraints.

  “Bit harsh,” Alex looked surprised at her change of demeanour, but nevertheless his grin did not waver as he added, “But warranted. Technically, being an ‘assassin’ is a generalisation of the work I do. It's better defined as, well, helping people by removing those that plot to harm them. A benevolent yet eccentric rogue, if I may so say myself”

  “Call it whatever you want, you know what you are,” Elyza rebutted, trying to look for any chinks in his armour.

  “I’ll take that as a form of trust,” Alex replied, a chuckle tugging at his lips. “But the world isn’t that black and white, and…” closing his eyes to think, before letting out a huge sigh.

  “And, it’s easier to show than explain what exactly my special line of work entails,” Alex added, his grin wavering a bit. He gestured discreetly to someone behind Elyza. “How about you remain by my side for another day? Take the time to decide which of the two choices you want to choose…” His voice trailed off as a barmaid approached their table.

  Elyza knew that he was just trying to distract her, but considering the day she had gone through, her stomach yearned to drown itself in food and ale.

  She turned towards the barmaid, not even attempting a fake smile across her face, simply demanding, “I want 5 pints of beer and whatever is causing this place to smell so good,” pointing towards her new companion, “He’ll be paying.”

  The barmaid quickly jotted down her order before turning towards him, “And for you?”

  “Nothing for me, thanks,” Alex answered, reaching into his pocket, “Just a quick question? Is Kush still renting rooms?”

  The barmaid nodded her assent as Alex to pull out a gold coin, “Great, here’s payment for my companion's food and lodgings,” placing it in the barmaids hand. “And here,” Alex added, revealing the other that he was palming behind his hand, flipping it in the air before giving it to her, “Is the payment for saving me a table.”

  The barmaid happily accepted her payment, trying to stifle the smile that had appeared on her face as she walked away to get her drinks.

  “Well,” Her piggy bank remarked, his tone lighter than before, slouching back into his chair,“Any further questions?”

  Elyza didn’t want to talk any more. But she understood that this would be the best opportunity to get the maximum amount of information out of him. There was something about him that was troubling her.

  “Why did–” She began, just as the barmaid arrived at the table with her drinks and pie, forcing her to cut her voice off, as the drinks were placed in front of her, pausing further to acknowledge the service, before turning her attention back to Alex, “Why did the Earl call you Nemo back then?”

  Alex had anticipated the question, not hesitating to respond, “Because that’s how he knows me. It is the name I work under. My actual name was and is problematic for various reasons, so I chose ‘Nemo’. Someone told me that it means ‘no one’, and I thought it would be fitting for the greatest assassin alive.”

  “But I have stalked many of the cockroaches that work in the underworld, and I have never heard the name before,” She retorted.

  “An assassin that not many can know about, someone so skilled that he’s not even infamous, let alone famous. Now that’s the stuff of legends,” he remarked, flicking one of the beer glasses with his finger for some reason, “Because if you’re known in this line of work, you’re doing something quite wrong. The only people that should know your chosen name are the people that you kill and the people that pay you.”

  The realisation dawned on her, forcing grabbed a pint, downing it in one go, letting its bitter taste temper her mind from anger, You worked for him.”

  She must’ve made a terrifying face, as Alex quickly contended, “Not in killing anyone, I just stole something for the family seven or so years ago.”

  Her eyes narrowed as she probed further, gulping down another pint of beer.“Is that why you saved me? Because you felt bad that you let him become a monster?”

  “Really?” Alex riposted, clearly annoyed at the accusation and the jump in logic, “He was hardly a middle-man. I was hired by his wife to steal back a painting. Met them for barely a minute, though, technically I was hired to look after their daughter for a while after during a solo trip.”

  “As for why I helped you, as well as you being a good person,” He remarked, reaching towards her pie, but instead of stealing a bite he picked up the knife next to it and started to spin it between his fingers, “If they allow it, I prefer to not kill every single person I meet. Thankfully for you, it appeared that aligning myself with you would be the optimal way towards my goal. So, I decided to not knock you out, and toss you into a pile of leaves. That, and the fact it would frankly be too much work for the money.”

  Elyza was torn between her desire to learn more about Alex's past and her growing curiosity about the proposal he had mentioned earlier. She reached for another glass, making Alex comment, “If you’re planning to drink yourself to death, I would appreciate it if you informed me beforehand. I’d like to save some coin on your accommodations” to which she responded by guzzling down the glass.

  “Right,” Elyza began as she stifled a burp, “If I choose to work for you, what exactly would that entail?”

  “We would technically be working under the Guild, but primarily, you’ll be working with me on various assignments. Our clients may range from nobles, churches, kingdoms, and even the organisation itself. It’s not dissimilar to how adventurers choose tasks from request boards. You’ll be assigned a rank, and certain assignments will become available to you based on that rank. However, if you’re tagging along with me, you won’t have to worry about that. I have certain special privileges.”

  Elyza probed further, “Such as?”

  Alex shot her down instantly, grinning as he retorted, “Can’t tell you until you accept.”

  “Fine,” she relented, downing her fourth pint, adding “If I am to be working for a guild, does that mean I have to worship the guild’s deity?”

  “I beg your pardon?”

  Elyza began to clarify, “You know, like how the Merchant’s Guild worships Hermes, or Njor…” before Alex’s finger was on her lips, silencing her. He had almost leaped over the table to do so, his eyes darting around in panic before calmly returning to a seated position.

  “What the fuck was that,” she exclaimed, her voice bewildered but not angry.

  Alex flashed a sheepish grin, “Ah, well, you see, for some strange reason, whenever any divine beings’ names are mentioned around me, they tend to take notice. And at the moment, I am not on speaking terms with many of them. So, I would appreciate it if you don’t mention any names.”

  “You talk as if you’ve met them,” Elyza remarked with a stifled grin as she worked on finishing her last pint. She was able to ask a question between sips. “You have been mentioned this ‘training’ of yours, but you have not told me what kind of training I have to undergo.”

  “I would love to answer that question,” He began, before pulling out his pocket watch. “But it seems like my presence is required elsewhere. I suggest you finish your pie, go upstairs, and get some rest. Tomorrow is set to be another eventful day.” He gave her a thumbs up before dissipating into his own shadow.

  Elyza eagerly dug into the savoury meat and potato pie, savouring every bite., ordering another five pints for dessert. As she downed her tenth glass, her senses became hazy, and the next thing she knew, she found herself standing before a luxurious, inviting bed. The mere sight of which, caused her exhausted body to collapse into the fluffy mattress. She didn’t dream of anything, instead getting a preview of the death she so yearned for.