As the music was cut through by the boom of the pistol, there was not a single scream.

Assassins don't panic, they are far too well trained for that.

Idris pulled Saya down and towards the edge of the ballroom. They are apprentices, there is no point in trying to help, they should leave the dangerous stuff to the more experienced. They’ve been taught from the very beginning that no one should try to be a hero, and that needless risk is, ultimately, needless.

With his power, he moved the shadows to hide his comrades in the safety of darkness, while casting a blinding shadow over Schultz' eyes at the same time.

But Schulz didn't seem to care. He dropped the empty pistol, withdrew another from his belt, and fired again into the crowd as the smell of burning gunpowder filled the air.

There was a cry of pain, presumably from someone getting hit by a bullet. In the commotion they did not know who, but they knew it was one of their’s.

Bit by bit, their light mages began illuminating the room with their magic, rays of bright light converging upon Schulz, still holding the smoking gun.

Yelena darted towards him from behind, extracting the rose from her hair as she rapidly closed the distance.

Even without sound, and barely visible in the dark, the blinded Schulz still noticed her approaching him. He turned, pulled out another pistol, and raised it at her.

She tried to duck to the side to evade, but it seemed like a mysterious force was holding her still. Her eyes bulged in shock as Schulz pulled the trigger, trying one last time to desperately duck to the side.

Idris watched as the gun recoiled, sending out a cloud of grey and a burst of flame. Then Yelena grimaced in pain as the bullet tore through her shoulder.

“No!” Saya yelled, lunging forward against Idris’ grasp. “Let me go! We have to help.”

Idris fought against Saya, but she’s simply too strong, and easily broke free from his grip. Before she could get there, however, a shadow zipped across Idris’ vision.

In a flash of metal, Schulz’s arm holding the pistol was cleanly severed, blood spraying from the wound as the limb bounced on the floor.

Then in another flash, Schulz was on the ground, impaled to the hilt by a slim stiletto dagger. Izzy stood over him, pinning him down as Yelena walked up, clutching her wounded shoulder, and plunged the needle of her rose into his neck.

Within moments the man’s thrashing ceased, the poison working its magic in a matter of seconds.

Izzy stepped back, pulling out his dagger and flicking off the man’s blood.

“How did this happen…” he muttered under this breath. “Yelena, how bad is it?”

“I’ll live,” she replied. “I would like some healing though.”

Blood was dripping from around her hands, leaving blots of red on the carpeted floor. The bullet seemed to have missed her vitals, but it’s a grizzly wound nonetheless.

Idris chased after Saya as she ran towards where Izzy stood, but a pained cry halted their steps.

“Sandra!”

A group of people were crowding around something in the middle of the ballroom.

“Sandra!” Someone shouted again.

It was Thomas’ voice.

“Sandra!”

The crowd cleared a path as Sandra ran towards the commotion, revealing a person lying motionless on the floor.

Saya stopped amongst the crowd, and Idris could hear her gasp as she put a hand up to her mouth.

It’s Lilian, lying in a pool of her own blood, a gaping hole through the center of her chest.

Sandra was kneeling next to her, a powerful blue glow emanating from her hands as she desperately applied as much healing power as she could muster. Sandra is by far the best healer at Rose, maybe even the best in the entire kingdom.

But alas there was little she could do. Healing magic doesn’t work on dead bodies. The bullet had ripped through her heart, and she had already stopped breathing long before Sandra got to her.

Thomas stood there, staring at Lilian’s body, his face devoid of emotion. Assassins don’t cry, they are far too well trained for that.

Izzy walked over, Yelena following behind, being aided to by Raina, holding a blue glow over the wound on her shoulder. Leo was there as well, pushing through the crowd before stopping at the sight.

Izzy took a look at the body, then Sandra kneeling next to it, her hands on her knees. He cursed under his breath, before looking up at the crowd.

“Sandra. It’s okay. It’s not your fault,” he whispered.

“I know…”

There was a crash at the door as the guards came smashing through. They stopped in shock for a moment at the sight before them, before drawing their shiny swords. More and more of them swarmed in, surrounding the entrance, cutting off their only path of escape.

Idris quietly drew his dagger from his back, Saya and the others doing the same. Though it’s their last resort, they’d have to fight through the guards to get out, even if that would be of little challenge to the assassins of Rose.

“I wish I had my spear…” Saya whispered.

They all looked towards the seniors, ready to make a move at a single hand signal. Izzy looked at the guards, then around at the dancers, then back at the injured Yelena. He slowly brought one hand behind his back, waiting for an opportunity to signal an attack.

“Contact Julius, we need to go,” Izzy whispered to Sandra

“He’s already here.”

A clang and a chop as the first guard’s head detached from his body. The guards besides him looking over in terror as blood sprayed like a fountain, splattering their armor in red.

Another flash of a sword, a single wide swing which slit the throats of the two guards, sent them to the ground too, gurgling in pain as blood poured out from their wounds.

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The three bodies fell in sync, revealing Julius standing at the entrance, his longsword dripping with blood.

Izzy crossed his his fingers before giving them a crisp snap—their signal to attack.

Together they charged forwards, two or three of them towards each guard. With barely any time to think, the guards were quickly overwhelmed by their coordinated attack.

If they parried a swing, another would immediately come from behind. If they dodged a thrust, they’d back into another.

Weapons clashed and blood spilled, and in moments the ballroom was filled with the scent of death.

“We’re going through the forest, I’ve contacted logistics already,” Julius announced after the last guard went still. “We’ll talk once we make it back.”

With that he left through the front entrance, the rest of the people following in a sparse crowd. They ran around the mansion, across the compound, vaulted over the fence, and disappeared into the forest.

Thomas gently picked up Lilian’s limp body, cradling her in his arms, the blood wetting his clothes.

“Do you...” Idris began.

“It’s fine,” Thomas replied.

Andrei and Nina had stayed back as well, and together they made their way out of the compound, Saya helping the others over the fence with her telekinesis. Then they darted through the dark forest, Andrei lighting up the way with his light magic, Idris parting the shadows with his.

Soon they found their wagons, already loaded and ready to go. They covered Lilian’s body with a white sheet, before carefully lifting it up onto a wagon.

At a crack of the whip they set off into the night, rumbling over the dirt paths, away from Bluewater.

Lookouts stood atop the thin fabric roofs of the wagons, light mages lighting up the way. Navigating the trade routes at night is dangerous, bandits and spirits reside in these woods. Without lookouts and bright lights, one has a good chance to be attacked. As such, they usually travel at day, but tonight they have no other option.

Thomas sat besides Lilian’s body the whole way, his head in his hands. Idris and his friends sat across from him in the wagon, silent, at a complete loss for words.

They did not stop for rest or sleep, and just after midnight of the following day, they were nearing their home. But they couldn’t return just yet, because they weren’t quite alone.

Idris was woken roughly from his uneasy sleep by a pat on the shoulder. He looked around and noticed that they were riding through the dark forest, away from any roads or paths, separated from the rest of their convoy. He knew they were near their manor, but he wasn’t quite sure where they were.

“What’s happening?” He asked.

“We had a tail,” Thomas answered, standing at the front of the wagon, looking out at the forest around them, illuminated only by a beam of white light. “We’ve split up to lose them. We’ll be back home in a while.”

“Tails?”

“They’ve been following us ever since we left Bluewater. Cover us in shadows, get your friends up, we need to be on high alert.”

"Understood," Idris replied as he moved the dark shadows of the forest, covering their wagon in a blanket of solid black.

At this time of night, even with the aid of light, they would be invisible amongst the dense trees.

Thomas gently shook Andrei, rousing him from his sleep as Idris slapped the top of Saya’s head, which was leaned against his shoulder.

“Gah!” She awoke with a gasp. “What was that!”

“Shh…” Thomas whispered, putting a finger to his lips. “We’re being tailed. Get your weapons. Andrei, only use your light when I tell you to. I’m going to go up top to keep watch.”

“Got it.”

Saya had pulled out her dagger as well, and was standing at the rear of the wagon, looking at the darkness behind them.

“How long do we need to run for?” Saya asked.

“Not much longer,” answered Thomas. “I think we lost the tail a while ago, we’re just doing this to be sure.”

Despite the magic protecting their manor, having its rough location discovered could still be quite a threat to their existence. Tonight has only further proven the fact that there are people in the world who don’t want assassins to exist.

A little while later, they finally decided to begin heading for home. Away from any paths and in the dead of night, they had to rely on compass and Andrei’s clairvoyance to help guide them in the right direction.

Just before the sky began to brighten, they emerged into the meadow, feeling the powerful magic around their home.

As they rode towards their manor, barely visible in the darkness, they could see the other wagons making their way through the tall grass. Soon, in the earliest hours of morning, they came to a stop in the front yard of the Rose manor, battered and scarred.

Julius was there already, standing in front of the main entrance with his arms crossed. He was looking down at the ground, apparently deep in thought. Mintaka was peaking out from behind the doors, tears running down her face. Before Idris’ group returned, Julius had already delivered her the horrible news.

Thomas carried Lilian’s body down from the wagon, gently laying her down on the ground before the steps to the front door. Then he knelt down next to her and stayed there, looking at the white sheets for a long while.

Soon everyone had found their way back, and the manor once again became filled with activity. But a grim atmosphere hung over them the entire time, something which didn’t happen very often.

Losing an assassin isn’t uncommon. After all, it is one of the most dangerous professions one can have. But this time they know something much worse went wrong. Someone, something, was coming for them, and if that really is the case, they’re going to lose a lot more people before the year’s end.

The students packed their things and brought them inside in boxes and sacks. Julius stood before the door the whole time, watching the little crowd move around him. There was barely any talking, only short little exchanges, uttered with a heaviness difficult to describe.

Soon all the students headed inside, some looking for food to fill their empty stomachs, others going out back to put their dirty clothing into the laundry baskets. Idris and his friends went to Thomas after taking their horses to the stables and just stood behind him quietly.

They’ve known Thomas and Lilian for a long time, and though the loss is painful, they knew that Thomas would have it the worst. Thomas and Lilian have long been very close, but now death has come and torn them apart.

Sandra walked up to Thomas, who was still kneeling on the ground, and wrapped her arms around him. “Come on Thomas,” she whispered. “Let's go. Julius has called a meeting, we can return her to the ground later.”

Thomas knelt for a moment longer, before slowly getting to his feet. He followed the seniors into the manor, taking one last look at the sheets covering Lilian before he disappeared inside.

“You three, come on too,” Sandra said to Idris and his friends, beckoning them to come inside. “It’s a mandatory meeting.”

*****

Something out there was coming for them.

The six peculiar contracts are strange for a good reason.

Julius knew, from the moment they pinned those contracts up, that something was amiss, but the many years of smooth sailing had given him a false sense of security, and he thought nothing of it.

Now they’ll need to play catch-up. Their foes are already a step ahead, and they’d only get left further and further behind if they did nothing.

The next contract is in a little more than a month, and before then, they’d have to be prepared.

That something has already struck once, and it’s already taken one of them. Idris couldn’t help but feel that, soon, death would be upon many more of them.

Their roses are blooming red, and soon they’ll be even redder with the blood of their assassins.

Edward Schultz had nothing to do with it, he was merely a puppet.

Someone was controlling him, someone who wanted to throw their way of life into disarray.

For whatever reason, for whatever purpose, they wanted the assassins of Rose dead.

Maybe.

Perhaps Edwardo just had a grudge, a grudge they had missed during their intelligence gathering.

Perhaps there isn’t anything coming for them after all, and it was just an accident of negligence and complacency.

But whatever the reason, whatever the purpose, whatever the cause, life must go on.

Those contracts must go on.