Chapter 14
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Small time skip here, a few people were complaining about a huge quality drop, I reread the whole story and I couldn't see it. To be honest I felt this chapter was my best yet. Nonetheless I will try to spend more time on each chapter to keep it more polished so updates are going to take longer....
I had hard time trying to breaking this up into two chapters so its super long sorry
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The Angel of Death
It took me one year but I finally got Jennifer's endorsement to sign up with the assassin's guild. My training with her is not quite complete, but she thinks I am to the point where I can take out some easier contracts. She has been working me to the bone, I thought that my grandpa as Taiko was ruthless, but Jennifer is on a whole other level. She maybe very strict but its not like she isn't willing to be flexible with me.
Let me describe my typical day to you.
Everyday I get up before sunrise and get in some cardio running around the gardens. After quickly washing up I then head to breakfast making sure I am dressed appropriately because after breakfast we head straight for her shop. This was also Jennifer's preferred time to drink from me. She used to drink from Alex before my arrival, but now she really fancies my blood. I thought Alex might be jealous but she thought only of her mistresses pleasure and if my blood was tastier for her she was fine with that.
Her shop gets a lot of business because her quality is well known. Orders come in from across the continent from all types of nobles and merchants. She has me doing everything at the shop from working the counter, to working in back with cutting and stitching, to helping her do paperwork. Although working isn't the most fun thing, it is part of my agreement with her plus I am developing a tailoring skill that will be useful down the road.
After working into the afternoon, she lets me go for a few hours. This is time I get to hang out with Siena and Zyra, or go to the library, whatever I need to do. Siena was surprised that I was working and not adventuring. I told her that I was still training, but right now adventuring had gotten very boring for me. I let her know I was taking a break from it, and she was sad but understood. We still get to hang out and Jennifer would let me alter my schedule if we wanted to get a dinner or do something in the evening.
After my break I head back to the shop to meet back up with Jennifer. We generally get a lunch after this at one of the restaurants. Sometimes we would do some shopping, sometimes we would meet up with someone, other times we would head back to the mansion right away.
Once we got back to the mansion Jennifer would set me up on her simulator for the next few hours, she always changed the regiment. She would then depart, either to check up on the assassins guild, or deal with issues in the mansion.
The simulations could range from infiltrating a building and taking out a marked target to having to deal with several high level guards protecting a target. Sometimes it would have me unequip my weapons and simulate a situation where I had to deal with armed people unarmed. Basically she was helping me to train for any type of scenario, its the same training she does for herself.
After doing the simulator regiment that was planned, if I had time I would either run the obstacle course that was incredibly difficult, otherwise I would train on the golems or practice my archery skills on the targets.
One of the maids would come and get me to wash up before dinner and help me bathe and dress for dinner. I noticed that none of Jennifer's servants were vampires which is kind of strange but I was happy to know that she didn't forcibly turn people. Patricia wasn't lying about her caring about her servants. She also wasn't lying about the punishment!
My first time being punished was really scary I had accidentally slept in and I wasn't ready for breakfast. Her punishment is very effective, she spanks you accordingly to the offense. You don't know how shameful it is to see yourself being spanked in the mirror as a little girl. The spanks hurt but after a few its not so bad, its just afterwords that you have to deal with residual pain.
I was wondering why Jennifer appears in mirror's and she explained it was some kind of illusion enchant she has. She also had no problem going outside in the sunlight because she had the blood of the daywalker, apparently sunlight only weakens her abilities but she takes no damage from it. She basically has no problem hiding the fact that she is a vampire, the only thing that could do it would be information magic and she always had enchants to ward against that.
After dinner it was finally time for one on one training. This training was extremely varied, and almost everyday we would be going over something different. I was learning illusion magic which was Jennifer's specialty. Illusion magic is extremely handy for any job, it can fool, trick and lull a target in a false sense of security. It also is useful for distractions, leading people into traps, as well as confusion when you escape. She was pleased at how quick I was picking it up.
Other training included, teaching me various ways to kill someone. I obviously was quite skilled at attacking people with daggers, but sometimes this would not be an option. I learned various techniques such as strangling someone with a wire, snapping there neck, choking someone unconscious so I could interrogate them later. She taught me different ways to use poisons, other then coating weapons with them or slipping something tasteless to them to be ingested.
Dark magic was also trained, although at my current level and affinity wasn't high enough for sexy options like a death curse, there were several spells I could still do at this level. Inflict wound, blind, and curse of exhaustion all were useful. Necromancy is also apart of dark magic but Jennifer did not know any spells in particular so I would have to seek a book or teacher which as you can guess are not easy to find. Necromancy is a forbidden art in all human countries punishable by death.
Some nights we would go over casing a target. How to learn there habits, how to spot weaknesses. All my murders had primarily been ambushes where I would just go in when from behind and stab a vital place and move on. Always in a place isolated from other people like an alley or out in the wilderness. Jennifer told me that she got the most satisfaction of going right up to someone and killing them in front of other people in a public place and getting away. She explained that crowds were often the most convenient places to escape in.
We also went over different races and there potential weak spots for example a cat person's tail has an artery that can be attacked or if you hit the tailbone you can stun them temporarily. Every race had different weak spots but many were shared among the races.
Some nights we would just spar with each other. Often times sparring with a superior opponent was one of the best ways to improve your skills. I found myself leveling up faster then I ever had and my skills were leveling fast as well. If only I had found Jennifer when I first arrived here in Zyrus I would surely be a lot stronger then I am now........
After personal training she would have me do more exercises to drain me of what little stamina and mana I had left. If for some reason had way a lot left I would let Jennifer get some bonus blood to help whittle it down. The goal was to go to sleep every night having spent just about everything.
My relationship with Jennifer has really blossomed. At first, I was very submissive to her simply out of respect and fear. No one in there right mind is going ask to be an apprentice to a pure-blood vampire assassin that is almost 4 times more powerful then you and not be submissive and respectful. Vampires have a very strict hierarchy so it makes sense to act this way. Honorifics such as Lady and Mistress were easy to get use to as they are common in Japanese anyways. Eventually Jennifer told me it was ok to talk to her more informally, she reminded me I was not her slave or pet but her adorable apprentice.
I cant help but smile when I see her now. She has the Mandy effect on me, I want to do everything in my power to help her or make her smile. I would often sing for her at dinner as well as cook for her when I had the opportunity. She may be the Crimson Widow to the world, but to those close to her she has a very sweet side to her. This choker is my most prized possession not only because it has a super powerful enchant but because it signifies our relationship. I will wear it proudly. I dont know how I am going to be able to leave her.
She has grown attached to me as well. Apparently there is the belief in vampires that the more a vampire drinks some ones blood the stronger there bond with that person becomes. I don't know if this is a fact but for Jennifer it has been true. She often sneaks into my bed to cuddle, comes to help me bathe, and she loves dressing me up in her newest designs. She becomes so pleased every time I learn something new from her. It is almost like I am the daughter that she never had. So leaving her will be tough for the both of us. I guess we will cross that bridge when we cross it. I have no doubt she will keep her agreement with me its just going to be difficult.
So back to what has my so excited about today. Toady I get to join the assassin's guild! From what Jennifer has told me the group is super secretive and all the contracts people place are done through a handler. The handler has no idea of anyone's identity from the guild in case they are caught. Being a handler was a dangerous job because if you are ever caught it was a guaranteed death sentence. Anyways once contracts are established they are available in the guild. Only one assassin is allowed per each one to stop fighting within the guild. Also if you already had a contract you would have to wait for 1 day to take on any new contracts that came available this eliminated people from hoarding contracts.
The contract was to be carried out within seven days. If you were unable to eliminate the mark within this time you had to pay a severe penalty, as well as face possible demotion. The rank system is similar to the adventurer's guild but apparently ranking up was done a lot quicker. Jennifer's current rank was S, apparently there was other rank S's in other cities but here she was top dog.
Jennifer had given me the day off today to rest up for tonight. I was going to join tonight and apparently it isn't as simple as touching an orb and paying a fee. When I asked her about it she simply said she wasn't able to tell me. For my 8th birthday she had given me a beautiful enchanted black outfit that was much better then my leather gear. It consisted of a skirt,belt, blouse, knee socks, boots, gloves and a hooded cloak all of it colored black and stylishly designed. It covered my skin almost completely giving me adequate protection. With this I would be hard to see in the dark and if I wanted to I could blend in with a crowd. I have the best master ever!
I basically lounged around today making sure I had everything ready in my spacial ring in case there was any trial or if something went wrong. Now I was enjoying the garden and fresh air waiting for her to get home. Finally Jennifer got home at the usual time late in the afternoon.
“I love how that outfit looks on you, I made it so I can adjust it for you as you grow.” she said as she saw me enjoying the roses.
Jennifer casually walked up towards me, and plucked a rose stylishly placing it in my hair with golden beret. She then leaned over and looked at me square in the eyes.
“I am going to ask you once more for the hundredth time are you sure you want to join the guild? Once you become a member there is no going back.” She asked me in a serious tone.
“I am sure as long as I get to choose my own contracts. I have no issues” I hadn't come this far to chicken out. Getting paid to take out filth is a dream job.
She handed me a paper with a black seal on it and told me to hold onto it. The guild itself was about a 25 minute walk from the mansion it was in the wealthy district that Jennifer had her shop in. Jennifer put her veil on and told me to put up my hood as we were almost there. We came up to a building that looked like it was some sort of private lounge.
“When we get up to door give the doorman that paper” Jennifer whispered to me and began walking up to the front.
When she got up to the door the doorman she showed the doorman her hand and he touched one of her rings she had on. I think he sent some magic into it, this must be how they determine if you are a member or not. There is no way this guy is your average doorman, I used analyze and I found out he was indeed a level 60. There were a couple more guys in the area too that looked like they were backup as they were all around level 50.
I pulled out the paper Jennifer had given to me earlier, and gave the doorman a big smile as I handed it to him. It seems my appearance had caught him off guard as he took a few second to register that I wanted in. After giving me an expression like 'yeah right' he turned his attention to the paper in his hand. He poured some mana into it and the paper burned black and I could see a weird symbol form from the smoke. The guy somewhat surprised just shrugged and let me in.
The inside of the lobby was very much like that of bar. It seemed very relaxed and informal compared to what you would expect of a private lodge. A few patrons were loosely spread throughout the lobby. Several people were conscious of their identity and had there faces partially obscured by various means, other didn't seem to care. Everyone's attention immediately turned to Jennifer and then me and I could hear some light murmurs amongst the patrons. Anyways Jennifer lead me to the side of the bar towards the wall, there she touched the wall and did something I could not see, and the wall opened up. It was a secret door, this is definitely a smart design, have the appearance of a private lodge and if the guards come and check it out they would most likely not find or be able to activate the hidden door.
After traveling down the hallway we entered another room this one was a lot different then the bar part. It looked like a normal guild reception lobby. There was a counter with a very dangerous looking level 57 cat-girl as an attendant next to the counter was a huge board with various people's name on it along with some basic intel on them.
Going through this lobby we came to a door to an apparent office. Jennifer knocked and a male voice told her to come in. Inside the office there was a 3 people sitting in chairs. I only paid attention to the imposing looking man with white hair and an eye patch and scar across the eye with the patch. He had his one eye fixated on me. He then spoke
“Do you swear to keep everything we say here between us under penalty of death?”
“Yes” I state.
“So you are the one that the Crimson widow has been teaching, I must admit you look awfully young but I am not so naive to be deceived by looks. I am the guild-master here in Zyrus you may call me Odyne” I found it very ironic that he resembled the image of the norse god Odin in a way.
“Its nice to meet you, I would like to refrain from using my real name so you may call me by what ever alias you wish.” Jennifer let me know that I didn't have to reveal my true identity here and I could use an alias like she did.
“Very well for now I will refer to you recruit until you earn your nickname. Well it appears you want to join the assassin's guild. The assassin's guild is an actually an ancient organization we are established in most major cities and even on the elven and demon continent. Once you are a member you can take contracts out of any branches. That being said there is still one more trial for you to do, you must complete your first mark that I have picked for you tonight. This is not going to be an easy target either. For blood to come in blood has to go out.” Odyne
“Very well whom am I assigned to snuff out?” I said very professionally.
“The target is the duke of Bosen Phillip the second.” Odyne said it causally but everyone in the room was astounded and started talking all at once. Loudest was Jennifer who I could tell was beyond distraught to the point of crying. She very tightly grabbed my hand.
“Sir a Duke is at least an A rank mission maybe even S depending on the duke. Giving this difficult of mission as an initiation is fucking bullshit and vindictive. This is to get back at me for what happened with your brother isn't it? How can you drag someone unrelated into our affairs” She held my hand if to let know she would protect me even if it meant crossing the guild and causing a blood bath here. I couldn't let her do this.
“Oh course not. It is the guild-master's responsibility to pick every recruit's initiation mission. Being the Crimson Widow's apprentice this mission should be within her ability. Your initiation is not supposed to be easy.” Odyne was clearly pleased he was upsetting Jennifer. I am sure there is some history there.
I could tell that Jennifer was now just pissed. I need to calm her down before she does something stupid. I grabbed her hands looked into her eyes through her veil.
“Don't worry I will be fine. I promised I would never shame your name. You think I would fail such an easy job like a duke?” I put up a big smile and I was able to crack her defenses and got a slight giggle out of her. Truthfully I was very worried about this mission. Also this bastard is using me to upset my beloved Jennifer. I won't forgive this Odyne!
“This Duke what has he done to have some one put a contract on him? I know it shouldn't matter but it may effect the manner in which I end his life.” I ask curious about the target.
“He has been secretly plotting against the royal family. He steals taxes that his duchy collects. He also beat his wife to death who was a daughter of one the emperors concubines he claimed it was in a carriage accident but he had a history of abuse on her.” Odyne said, and I had no reason to doubt him.
“Whats the pay? I assume its fair” I ask.
“500 gold” Odyne said it like it wasn't anything special.
“Well I don't have any choice and this guy is definitely dirt. Where can I find him?” I know well enough that that there is no backing out of this its kill or be killed. At least this guy is dirt and I am getting paid a shit ton.
“He is here in the capital, his purposes are to meet with the emperor for political issues. That is all I can say...... from here on out tonight you are on your own good luck young recruit!”
Odyne said this with a huge smile. The room was however filled with killing intent from Jennifer. I see why the other 2 people are here now they are here as backup. The fact that she cared so much for me meant a lot to me. However this is fine I don't want to be protected or dealt with kid gloves, I wanted to be challenged. If they are setting me up to fail then I will just have to surprise them.
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I quickly departed from the guild as I have to complete the mission by sunrise. I needed information and fast. I knew one place that I could get it but it wouldn't be cheap but at this point I had no choice.
I quickly traveled to the thieves guild which more our less was in a huge saloon in the slums. I get quite a few people asking me if I was lost or whatever I just ignore them. I see my contact in his usual place enjoying a drink and watching a stripper. His name was Randall his is an information broker and he is good at what he does.
“Long time no see Randall.” I causally sit down next to him. It might be slightly awkward to be sitting with a 8 year old girl in front of a stripper but in the slums its anything goes. The current lady is pretty hot and doing a good job so I throw a few silver up for her.
“If it isn't the little girl who wanted me to her get a class.” I had used him a few times before so I already knew what his prices.
“I need to know where somebody is and I need to know within a few hours.” I slip him a note with the dukes name on it. He reads it and quickly burns it with a small amount of fire magic.
“40 because its a rush job.” He said while admiring the lady in front of him. 40 gold for some simple information it pretty ridiculous. My other option would be search the whole city for hours and maybe not find him or any leads. That bastard Odyne probably could have given me this for free I know for a fact there was more intel for me. I didn't have any choice it would be completely dark soon. I slipped him 40 gold very begrudgingly.
“Meet me in the alley behind Holly's Dolls in about two hours I am going to enjoy myself tonight.” I bet you are 40 gold for 2 hours of work maybe I should become an information broker. I paid a silver to rent a room close to the meeting place I just laid down and read a book I had in spacial storage. Finally time has to come to meet up.
“I got some good news and I got some better news.” Randall seemed pleased with the job he did.
“The good news is the person you are looking for is attending a masquerade ball tonight. The better news I have a ticket for the low price of 10....” he looked at my not amused expression “ I mean 5 gold.”
I slapped the gold into his hand and grabbed the ticket. “Don't spend it in all in one place.”
While I was still upset of coughing up 45 gold for this information I was still extremely pleased of this opportunity. The party would definitely lower the security directly around the Duke but the exterior was sure to be strong for an event like this. I would have to look and see what kind of measures they were taking and plan how I am going to carry out the deed accordingly. The party starts in over an hour and it is not too far from the mansion I will go and get dressed there. Ugh this is going to be such a pain to squeeze in before the party. I quickly head over the mansion
When I arrive I am surprised because Patricia is waiting in the lobby for me.
“Mistress sent a message with her familiar that you would need an outfit for a masquerade coordinated for tonight. She mentioned one in particular from her collection ” I cant help but smile she really is awesome this is going to save me a bunch of time. I can even take a quick bath.
“Ok can you get it ready for me I am going wash up real quick.” I rush to the bath to wash up real quick. I headed to the bath and quickly undressed and hopped in. It felt so good, then a familiar face come in.
“Alex how are you? I am in kind of in a hurry so I don't think I have time chat.” I smiled shyly at her very athletic and lean body as she was getting ready for a bath herself.
“If that is so I will wash your back to save you some time miss Lara.” I had no reason to decline her it would help get me out of here quicker. Her soft hand started to lather me up. I was very tense from the fear and anticipation of what I had to do tonight. I tried hard to hide it I didn't need another person to worry about it but Alex could easily see through it.
“Whats wrong Miss Lara you are awfully tense and shaking a little.” I cant tell her anything about what I have to do but I honestly want to tell her my feelings we have become decently close, having lived under the same roof for a year.
“I am really scared right now...... but I need to be strong right now for both me and for mistress Jennifer.” I looked at her teary eyed these emotions I don't know where they came from. I needed to cry at the time and I couldn't keep it in. She quickly hugged me from behind with her head draped over my shoulder and then reassured me
“You are special just like the mistress, if you believe in yourself you will succeed no matter what the trial.”
With that vote of confidence, I finished up bathing and was determined to succeed with renewed vigor. I had the help of 3 maids getting dressed. The outfit was consisted of a pure white dress almost like a wedding gown but the skirt part stopped at the knees. Included were matching gloves that I noticed had a hidden compartment along the forearm. The costume also had small fake wings sticking out the back of it. This outfit made me look like an angel it had a mask that came with it but I preferred my mask of Grena. The demonside of the mask was sort of distracting and the maids didn't like it at all so after arguing with them I compromised them to let them do my hair that covered that half of my face with golden blond locks. I must say it was they did a great job, they even put in the rose I had in from earlier, it was my idea. I headed out the party.
When I saw the security outside I became very concerned not only that there was there a lot of guards everywhere, I could clearly sense there was a very strong magic barrier around the mansion. I was very familiar with this type of barrier because Jennifer had the same thing over her mansion. The only place we could practice magic was in the deep basement that was just out of its reach. This meant I wouldn't be able to use my spacial ring so I would have to sneak in my weapons beforehand through the front door. I decided to set up my switching doll in a back alley across the street from the party I would be able to potentially use it if I got far enough away from the mansion.
As for weapons my shoes were designed to be able to conceal small objects in the heels and long thin items in the soles. I am able hide two 4 inch throwing knives in each sole. In one heel I hid a vial of a extremely potent and fast acting high poison and my activation rune for the switching doll in the other. Hiding things in my gloves was stupid and I absolutely refused to use any of my own 'personal' hiding places so this would be all I would get for this mission. I closed my eyes took a deep breath and slowly exhaled. I opened them back up completely focused and ready to go.
Thankfully I was almost 5 feet now so while I was short relatively with heels and good posture my size wasn't a major red flag for a party like this. As I walked up to the door I held a small charge of mana in my hand, when this was extinguished I would know when the magic barrier started. It was just little bit outside the house itself where it started, so I would be able to use magic and items once I escaped to the courtyard. I gave the attendant my ticket got searched very throughly and entered.
The masque ball was absolutely packed there had to be hundreds of people here and all them were hidden behind masks. Normally it would be extremely difficult to find one person who's face you couldn't see and had never seen before but normally you don't have a gift like that of God's information. There were several areas different areas in this ball. The biggest area consisted of dance floor in front of the dance floor was a stage and with a decent sized band who played various types of dance pieces. The second biggest area was by the balconies over looking the gardens of the estate, there were many tables set up and here is where the food and drink could be found this was a sort of informal meeting area for the party. The last area in this hall was an upstairs area that with several private booths for people who wanted to have a quiet area to talk that wasn't a balcony.
Many people were asking me to dance, and I did my best to shrug them off. Apparently my outfit was very popular. I had to a job to do sorry people. I didn't take the duke to be a dancer so I ruled out the dance floor. My gut told me he was upstairs in a booth. As usual my gut was right on the duke was sitting in a booth with a woman having a conversation. I guess he was over his wife he killed. He was wearing a fox mask, which was fit his personality of being a political schemer. Now that I know where he is its time to prep my weapons.
I headed to the women's lavatory which had way to many people just hanging out chit chatting. I did my best to ignore them and finally I had the privacy of my own stall. I took off my heels and as discreet as possible popped them open to retrieve my supplies. I would stash the throwing knives in my gloves and the vial of poison was small enough where I could conceal it easily with in my padded bra. The rune page I tucked into the waist band of my panties, its ok this paper is resist to water so sweat wont ruin it. Snapping the heels back together securely I returned to the ball room.
I very quickly started to head towards the stairs to the upper part when a very nostalgic voice froze me in my tracks.
“Will you dance with me?” The voice seemed so familiar that I had no choice but to turn around.
A tall boy wearing a simple domino mask looked at me with his hand extended. I check him with analyze because I am sure I know him and I am extremely surprised to see that the boy is none other then my own 12 year old brother Aaron Rosewood. I just stand there completely taken aback by my discovery. What the hell are you doing here Aaron this is not a safe place, there are dangerous people like me around!
“Dance? Would you like to dance?” His words brought me back into focus. Against my better judgment I take his hand.
He leads me to the dance floor and the song starts and it is a quick waltz. I am surprised at how good Aaron is at ball room dancing or maybe its just my effect as a bard? Anyways the dance is very fun as he is following my lead with no problems. Soon we have quite a few onlookers appreciating our skillful display. After keeping it up for the whole song the dance finally ends. Amazing, that was probably the most fun I have had in along time.
It seems the band is breaking for an intermission so he leads me to a balcony.
“That was crazy you are super good at dancing. I had so much fun!” It seems he had as much fun as I.
“I like that particular waltz. The dance picks up with the tempo so its hard for some people keep up with it” I think I will toy with him a little bit, its my sisterly duty and he probably isn't even suppose to be here I really doubt father would willingly allow that. It seems he's gone rebellious after my disappearance.
“You know you remind me of someone very dear to me. That shade of blond was the same she had when I saw it I couldn't help but approach you.”
“Oh so a former lover or a crush?” I ask him knowing full well who he is actually talking about. His blushing when I said crush kind of creeped me out a though.
“Nothing like that just someone extremely special and dear to me” He said this gazing into the starry night reminiscing about me clearly I had caused a major pain in his heart.
I feel so unbelievable guilty right now. What in the hell have I done? I'm a monster. Literally my heart is in my throat. I need to get out of here now before I start crying. I go to leave.
“Wait I didn't get your name or learn much about you.” Aaron asked me as I turned my back. I turned around to him to say one last thing.
“Isn't that the whole point? Everyone wears a mask here so they can be someone different and mingle with people that they would not normally meet. Telling people who you were defeats that purpose and could be extremely dangerous. For example I could be a cold blooded assassin and you could be a …............prince.” His expression turned straight soar when I said prince and brought me a slight giggle. I left him with that, I will make it up to all of them one day I promise.
Aaron went to follow me but I slipped him I have wasted enough time I need to get this over with and get the hell out of here. I look up to the upper deck area to see if I can spot Philip. Shit he left, I look around for him he is sort of tall and his fox mask is unique. Since the band is on intermission the dance floor is full of people carrying on there own conversations spread out mostly in small circles. I spend several minutes panicking to find him. Finally after a few minutes I spot him but its super bad news he is headed to the exit with one the girl from earlier. Why did I have to waste so much time with Aaron! Its impossible to make it to him from where I am there is literally shoulder to shoulder people in between me and the duke and I am on the other side of a huge ballroom right by the stage......
I quickly jump on the stage and sit down by the piano and immediately start playing a very melancholic sonata popular in this country. At first I find it difficult to sing with a mask on but after a few seconds the bard in me kicks in and it has little effect on me or my voice. People suddenly are pulling up close to the stage as this particular sonata is sad but extremely beautiful. I myself am tearing up as I can feel the power of the song inside me as well as thinking about all the grief I have caused my family.
Its working! The duke is getting drawn to me. Like when the crimson widow killed Lazlo I pour my focus on the duke, he is snared in my web now I need to reel him in. Yes come to me my sweet prey! By the end of the song the duke has pushed his way right up close to the stage guess I got him to ditch that slut. Typical greedy man, why am I not surprised he is a pedophile too on top of being a wife beater. Filth like this needs to be purged. As a matter fact he just gave me inspiration!
As Taiko I listened to all kinds of music and one of them that I remember were known as murder ballads. I am inspired to sing 'The Murder Ballad of Duke Phillip the Second' that I just created in my head. Yay go bard powers! I stand up from the piano and bow down to the crowd as they are going crazy as if I was a real angel, as I bend down I pull the vial out of my very small bust skillfully and conceal it in my palm. Then I stand up with both my hands behind my back as I am getting my two throwing knives ready with poison Time for an encore!
♪“There once was a duke from a far away land.”♪
♪“He had a lot of power but he wanted more in his hand.”♪
♪“He stole from his people and also from his king.”♪
♪“About his death I do now sing!”♪
♪“The duke treated women like they were property”♪
♪“He beat them up when they didn't act properly”♪
♪“Then one day he went too far with his blows”♪
♪“His wife died accident was how his story goes”♪
♪“He upset lots of people from all the lies they were fed”♪
♪“And one of them had decided to put a price on his head.”♪
♪“The assassin got real close to him, right under his nose.”♪
♪“And threw him two poisoned knives and a red rose.”♪
Right before I said the last verse I grabbed the flower from my hair and uncovered the other side of my mask. As I said the verse I made it a true murder ballad and acted out the line. It is a shame he has that stupid fox mask on I cant see his face right now! I bet he is so shocked to see two knives buried in his chest. Anyways its time to leave and I don't think back through the crowd with the many approaching guards is smart....
I turn back to the stage and I draw back on my experiences as Taiko. There was a game show that would have contestants run an obstacle course and it was timed. My first year in college I gave it a shot and was surprised I cleared the course but the next one they had me do I messed up on some stupid part where you had to jump on a trampoline and catch yourself in between two walls. I cant help I wasn't super tall!
I run up the curtain and climb up it quickly I weigh like under 50 kilos and it easily supports my weight. At the top of the curtain I swing my foot up and kick the pulley system keeping the curtain spread and it quickly slides to the middle to meet the other curtain. Now I put my hands on the bar that the curtain hangs on and swing back and forth finally doing some full circles building momentum like a gymnast doing uneven bars.
Right as I swing up I let go and launch myself to chandelier hanging from the ceiling. The chandelier is now swinging back and forth and I use my hips to get it spin slightly clockwise once it lined up with where I want to I swing back and forth and launch my self towards the balcony area grabbing on the huge curtain. The curtain that cant stand the force completely and comes falling down. It did its job slowing down my momentum though as I am easily able to land on the ground and run out on the balcony.
I jump off the balcony doing a small somersault to disperse the force when I land. I sprint away from the barrier and reach into my panties and pull out the ward. As soon as I feel I left the barrier I activated the rune and feel a very strange sensation as I am pulled through space into the alley where I had the doll. Like my life depends on it I quickly slip out the dress storing it and all other things except undergarments I was wearing in the ring and slip on a skirt and top I have for quick changing. I return to the mansion without anyone seeing me. Job well done!
I pretty much go straight to bed as my heart cant take any more activity or excitement for a while and immediately pass out. When I wake up I find a certain someone cuddled up next to me who has cold and pale skin as well as red hair. She looks at me when I open my eyes and smiles.
“Well congratulations you are in. I honestly was very scared. I know you are skilled but that level of mission was definitely premature. You should have seen Odyne face when the story about how the 'Angel of Death' had killed the duke in front of hundreds of people and escaped. I was so worried about you, that bastard is going to pay for what he did! You can get your ring and bounty tomorrow. That is your new alias in the guild the Angel of Death pretty cool right?” I check my status and I do in fact have that title now. I look at her and cant help but boast a little.
“There was no doubt I was going to do it. I am your adorable apprentice after all.”