Birthdays and Assassins

Alex was on his knees...he couldn't move. He couldn't move no matter how hard he tried...he was paralyzed. He stared up at the sneering man standing in the darkness as he was pointed a sickly smelling blade inches from Alex's face. Is this it? Is this how it ends? How'd I get to this point...?

* * *

"We seem to be dropping in Barfoss quite a lot these days, aren't we?" asked Felicia. The sun was shining brightly in the city today; skinny men pulled wheel barrows filled with fruits across the road, women laughed, children played and Barfoss, as usual, shone with life. The five were sitting in their favorite open-door cafe and eating chiffon cakes.

"Well, technically, we do live in Barfoss." said Liana with a wink.

"Except ol' Al over here had to go and get us a house that's about as far from Barfoss as the fucking moon." said Robin, jibing at Alex.

"Hey," said Alex, laughing, "at least I got us a house."

Felicia grinned and put her hand through his. "Yes. Yes, you did."

"Are you gonna go see Katherine today?" asked Eve, taking a healthy bite of the cake. I'll work hard and sweat the fat off later...

"I dunno. I'm thinking maybe I should give her her space. Plus, the novelty of our relationship is waning for her mother...she's starting to get annoyed with Kat when she's out all the time and not helping at the tavern." said Robin, taking the question a bit too seriously.

Alex slapped him on the back. "You worry too much, little bro. She likes you...Katherine's mother, I mean. She'll get upset if you push Katherine away too much. Just find the perfect balance where Kat can work and you can see her too."

"Yeah, maybe go help with the tavern yourself. Katherine will absolutely adore you for it." said Felicia, patting her little brother on the head.

"Hey...that's...actually a pretty good idea. How come I never thought of it?" asked Robin, his eyes wide, impressed by his sister.

"That's because you're a tactless foo-" Eve stopped and stared onto the road at the incoming procession. The common crowd was melting to the side as a convoy of guards came through. In the middle of it, sitting on a beautiful white horse, was a man dressed in bright red, velvet clothes. It had a fine silver embroidery on it, and it was positively shining in the sun. The man was looking at the crowd as if sternly observing his students; he was completely bald, a bit fat, and his eyes shone with an odd sense of...irritation.

"Jazfern." murmured Alex. The others spun around, shocked. "That's Lord Druss?" asked Felicia, incredulously. Alex nodded.

"Actually, that does make sense. He's even fuck-uglier than that asswipe Barrassen." said Robin. "No wonder the father son duo are always angry. If I looked like a slightly overripe tomato, I'd be angry too." The other four suppressed their laughter with difficulty as the ruler of Barfoss went by the cafe without a single glance at the five.

"He doesn't inspire confidence as a lord, does he?" asked Eve, staring at the disappearing procession.

"Nope." said Alex. "I guess Lord Valentine is entirely responsible for Barfoss being such a smoothly run city."

"I wonder what kind of man he is..." said Liana, her eyes far away.

"Probably some strong jawed, tanned, mean eyed bastard." said Robin dismissively, attacking his cake with a fork again. "Anyway, how ab-"

"Trouble." said Alex in a low voice as Robin heard the clopping of a horse come up to the cafe. He looked up to see, sitting atop a thoroughbred, was the one face he didn't wanna see in his life ever again; Barrassen.

"Ah, if it isn't the sisterfucker." said Barrassen from his horse, as if greeting an old friend. With his father nearby, he was feeling brave.

"Sire." said Alex not looking at him and taking a bite of the cake. "How're things?" Barrassen's face twitched visibly; there was public about here and this commoner was greeting him like they were some pals on bad terms.

"Speak to me with respect, commoner." demanded Barrassen.

"I have not insulted you at all, Sire." said Alex, feigning surprise. "Or were you saying that I should've given a noble like you a hand to help you get off the horse?"

Barrassen twitched again, his hands curling into a fist. He suddenly noticed he had no guards about. He had been rushing to catch up with his father, and had forgotten all about his two lackeys. This fucking...commoner...thinks he's sharp? I'm gonna wring him to death! Suddenly, an idea clicked to him. "No, no, blacksmith. I graced you with my presence for a reason; an invitation."

"Invitation?" asked Alex, disbelievingly.

"Indeed, my sorry friend." said Barrassen, smiling widely. "An invitation to my birthday celebration tonight. All the common folk are invited. After all, their future lord is becoming of age today."

"I doubt you're ever gonna be of age." murmured Robin and Liana pinched him underneath the table.

"Er...you are too kind, Sire." said Alex, his brain whirring. "We will surely endeavor to come to such an...auspicious...event." Barrassen's smiled vanished as he realized what Alex was planning. He has no plans to come at all, does he?

"Oh, no, cowpoke." said Barrassen, smiling again. "You will not 'endeavor' to come, you will come. You see, I wasn't asking. I was commanding you that you show up to celebrate my birthday."

Alex clenched his fists underneath the table. What's this asshole's problem? Barrassen's grinned widened and he lowered his voice a little. "What? Did you really think I'd leave you alone because Father said I wasn't to hurt our itsy-bitsy, pansy swordsmith? You are gonna show up with all of your brood. If you don't, I'll take it as a personal insult...and one thing Father detests above all else is a commoner who dares insult a highborn. You two will be flogged," he said, pointing at Alex and Robin. "While your women will get thrown to the soldiers to be used however they see fit."

Robin's chair slid and he almost stood up, but Alex shook his head ever so slightly, and he stopped. Alex turned to Barrassen and smiled. "Very well, Sire. It is a blessed deed to give a child what he wants on his special day, so we will come to your party." he said loud enough for the surrounding people to hear clearly.

Barrassen's hands reached the hilt of his sword, but he stopped himself when he spotted Robin's hand also nonchalantly resting on his sword. I'll get you, you fuckers. Just wait. Without another word, Barrassen turned his horse around and galloped away.

Felicia, Eve, and Liana simultaneously groaned. "What the hell is his problem?" moaned Felicia. "I'm getting so...fed up...with him."

"He's threatened by Alex for some reason." said Robin, his tone one of low irritation.

"I think it's more the fact that Alex has continued to piss him off because he keeps springing back up no matter what he does." said Eve.

"It all started with me not being able to control my temper." said Alex, shaking his head. "If that night I hadn't lost it and beaten up Arrdem Moof, Barrassen would probably have never heard of us."

"Why'd he admire someone like Moof so much anyway?" said Eve, toying with her empty plate.

"I guess like poles attract each other in Decimandria." said Robin, taking a swig of the goat's milk.

"What'll we do?" asked Felicia, turning to Alex. He was staring up at the tarp roof, but looked down, his eyes shining. "Why, drop by his birthday, of course."

"What if he pulls some shit...which, let's be honest, we know he will." said Robin.

"Oh, I said drop by his birthday, not stay there." said Alex, smiling. "I'll call in a favor with Zorran; we'll go to the birthday party, have Barrassen see us, then I'll have Zorran drag him away on whatever excuse he can, and all of us will instantly dip."

Robin's eyes were shining now too. "That way, he'll have no time to pull any stupid shit, and he has no basis that we 'insulted' him either, so, no reason his father will let him come after us."

"Exactly." said Alex, finishing off his milk. Gotta stay healthy and strong in this country! "Let's hope it'll go according to plan though."

Just then, the waitress came up and started collecting the empty dishes. Alex put down some crowns to settle the bill while she looked at him with admiring eyes. "You seem really close with Lord Barrassen." she said. Alex looked up at her with incredulous eyes, shocked, and stared at her for a second. "Oh...yeah. Me and him go a long way back." he said with a wink. Robin burst into laughter and the rest of the four followed suit while the poor girl stared, confused.

* * *

Before going home that day, Alex stopped by the garrison and told Zorran about the situation. The Captain was very happy to be of help to a friend and enthusiastically agreed to the plan. The five reached home that day, in high spirits. Alex and Robin went to work and the girls set about doing the cleaning of the house which was long overdue. All of them even forgot to remember about the birthday party...oblivious to how this night would mark the beginning of the collapse of their world.

As evening approached, Alex and Robin cleaned up the workshop and started to get ready to go out. Alex noticed all three of the girls were dressing extra carefully, and he wondered if, even though they'd not stay for more than five minutes, the girls still didn't wanna look shabby in front of their friends. He grinned and started to put on the most basic apparel he could, till Felicia came along and 'suggested' he change into something more...formal. He let her have her fun...after all, it'd been ages since they'd attended something even remotely close to a party.

With the two moons well on their way to hang high in the sky, the five trooped out of the house and got into the cart. "I thought you hated Barrassen." whispered Alex to Robin who was sitting beside him on the buckboard.

"I do." said Robin.

"Why the get up then? We're not even gonna be staying for more than five minutes...hopefully."

"Well...er...well, if you look good, you should...flaunt it or whatever." said Robin, pointedly looking away. Alex narrowed his eyes knowingly and sneered.

"Yeah? Why're you so dressed up then, huh?" retorted Robin.

"Felicia made me." said Alex, simply.

"That's just a get-out-of-jail-free card you use." said Robin.

"While you just wanted to play dress up and flirt with a few girls there if you got a chance." winked Alex.

"No, that's not it." said Robin, grinning. "I'm totally not using this chance of being away from Katherine to try out a few pick-up lines." Alex laughed out loud and patted Robin on the back in his usual big-brotherly way. "Well, if you do try anything funny with any girl, I'll be sure to let Kat know." he said, smiling agreeably, his veiled threat sounding more lethal. Robin gulped a little thinking how much Katherine would misunderstand and what she'd do to him after.

They reached Barfoss in good time and Alex pulled up, about halfway to their destination, into a shabby shed. "We're leaving the cart here." he announced. "Just in case Barrassen has given word to his lackeys to do some shit to it if we show up in it. And, without it, it'll be helluva lot easier to slip out."

"Fine by me as long as I have my sword." said Robin, jumping down and giving a helping hand to Liana.

"It'll be a long walk." said Eve, unwillingly remembering what happened last time she'd been walking down deserted alleys in the evening.

"This time, I'm with you. I'll protect you." said Alex, putting a hand around her shoulders. Eve smiled up at him. He was always such a big brother, always taking on responsibilities.

They set off at their leisurely pace toward the Druss mansion. It was easy to catch a few glimpses of the Lord's residence between buildings and even Robin had to admit that Jazfern had gone all out for his son's eighteenth birthday; the mansion was lit up beautifully. A few fireworks were already being set off in anticipation of the big event and the joyful shouting of the people could be heard all the way back here.

As Alex led Liana, Eve, Robin, and Felicia down the roads, he noticed that they were uncharacteristically deserted. Maybe this birthday party was a bigger thing than he'd guessed....or maybe this part of Barfoss didn't pulsate with life like the others. He shrugged; it was not like it mattered. He'd be back home by his fire soon enough.

* * *

Two dark figures lurked in the rather wide alleyway. They were talking in quite voices and their tones were of someone who thinks everyone is inferior to them. Both of them had their hoods up, but it was clear one was a male while the other a female. The man, leaning against the wall, was smirking at the female's words. A firework went off in the sky, illuminating, just for a second, the knives that each of them were carrying on their hips. Just then, the man spotted a group of people passing the alley.

"Hey, let's cut through here." said one of the redhead girls in the group. The alley was dark and none of the people in the group could spot the two figures lurking about three-quarters of the way through. But then again, their night-vision wasn't as strong as either of the two.

The man who looked the oldest in the group hesitated for a second, but then shrugged. "Fine." he said, giving in. The man, leaning against the wall, smiled to himself. This'll be too easy.

* * *

"I don't like alleys." said Robin, as the five entered the wide corridor. "Makes us easy targets."

Liana laughed. "It's not like anyone is targeting us...least of all, you."

Alex was suddenly feeling apprehensive with each step. He'd fallen in with Felicia's suggestion of a shortcut, but somehow this alley seemed to be bad news. He stayed in front while Robin was tactful enough to bring up the rear. Alex could see even he was feeling doubtful.

Suddenly, Alex stopped dead in his tracks and the three girls bumped into him. "Hey, what's wrong with yo-" began Liana, but spotted why Alex had stopped. Just ahead of them stood two figures with their hoods on. The man was leaning against the wall, one foot resting on it, while the woman stood with one hand on her hips and her face twisted to the side, as if a child observing something interesting.

These two were not normal...there was something off. Alex noticed they were wearing some kind of black, lightweight armor. The woman had a long, sharp knife on her hip which glinted in the moonlight, while the man had this short, two feet sword which was almost glowing green for some reason.

Robin had come up from behind and spotted the two as well; they were just standing there, their faces hidden under the hoods, staring at the group. "Robin." said Alex, knowing something was wrong here. "Get the girls out of here."

For a second Robin wanted to protest, but he remembered what he'd promised Alex. He nodded and grabbed Eve and Liana by their elbows to lead them back. Alex unsheathed his sword with the satisfying sound of metal rubbing against wood. Even the girls sensed the air and realized this was no time to be petty and protest. They were about to go with Robin, when the woman straightened up.

"Not so fast." she said. Suddenly, her hand caught on fire and, without seeming to care, she did a flamboyant wave and a fireball shot out of her hand. It flew through the air and hit the ground just a few meters from where the girls were standing. With a roar, a wall of flame engulfed the entire width of the alley, blocking the path back to the main road.

This was the first time anyone of the five had seen battle magic being used. The fire blazed powerfully behind them, the heat from it uncomfortable on their backs. It was scary how the entire firewall had been such an effortless task for the woman. The man, unfazed, grinned at the shock of the five people.

"You shouldn't bully commoners like these." said the man, stepping away from the wall. His voice was oddly refined, and his tone somehow sounded like that of a noble.

"Heh, you like toying with your food too." said the woman, leaning against the man's shoulder.

Robin cracked. These people were dangerous; no way he'd let them get to the girls. If he and Alex had to act as cannon fodder, so be it. I'm not going down without a fight! He unsheathed his sword and ran up beside Alex, facing the couple.

"Ooh." said the woman, removing her hood to reveal her face. She had dark orange hair which seemed to glint even more in the light of the fire. Her eyes were gleeful, savoring how the girls stood there frightened while the two boys were trying to be defiant. The man sighed, and removed his hood too. Beautiful golden bangs fell over his face, his hair slightly overgrown. His eyes seemed, simultaneously, both bored and excited. Clean shaven, his face looked like it could've easily passed for a noble.

"What do you want?" said Alex, finally speaking. "Who sent you?" The blond man blinked at him for a second, then burst into laughter as if he'd heard the funniest joke ever. Even the woman couldn't help but smile.

Suddenly, he lunged at Alex. Alex saw him move, but the man was too fast; before Alex could react at all, he felt a searing cut across his arm. Tanking through the pain, Alex swung his sword at the man, but he jumped back, grinning widely.

Alex looked down at his cut; small and insignificant. I'll live. He looked back up and saw the man sheathing a small blade in his belt, and out of nowhere, the cut exploded into excruciating pain. It was pain like he'd never felt before...it was as if it was spreading through his veins. It spread though his entire body, burning everything. His sword dropped with a loud clang and Alex screamed, dropping to his knees. The pain lasted for a second longer and then faded. Breathing heavily, Alex tried to get up...but suddenly, he realized he couldn't. He couldn't move. He was paralyzed.

Completely immobilized from his neck downward, Alex looked up at the blond man standing above. He was pointing his short sword at Alex's face now, inches from his eyes. It smelled horrible as if it'd been broiled in some unearthly herbs. Alex was feeling absolutely furious. Was he gonna die here...unable to protect the girls...protect Robin? Just on his knees like some pathetic little loser?

Everyone of the four were terrified; they had no idea what just happened but they knew Alex was paralyzed. Somehow, the blond man had paralyzed him. "What did you do to him!?" demanded Robin, pointing his sword at the smirking man.

The blond man grinned. "It was a blade poisoned with a paralysis oil. Don't worry though, the effects will wear off soon."

"Sadly, by then, it'll be too late." said the woman, positively reveling. "You'll all be fucking dead by then!" she screamed, her eyes betraying how crazy she was.

"Calm it." said the man goodnaturedly to her. "She's kinda the hammer of our relationship; you need something to blow up with a show, she's the one for it." he explained, matter-of-factly. "Me, on the other hand, I prefer precision...precision and poison. Case in point." he twirled his two feet sword.

The woman rolled her eyes. "Oh, here we go." she murmured.

"This blade is special. I enchanted it to preserve any and all substances that strengthen it. Then I proceeded to apply all the poisons that I could find on my journeys to the blade...but," the man smirked. "I made sure the poisons were the kind that kills a man sloowly. However, due the sheer number that I added, it isn't always the case." The man grinned. "It's always random. There are so many poisons here, it's up to the body how it reacts. This one time, the fat fuck I cut it with actually explode-"

The woman cleared her throat. The blond man threw her a grin then turned back to the group and graciously bowed. "Forgive my babble. I'm afraid, if I do it after I cut someone with it, they don't last long enough to hear the details. That's the wors-"

Suddenly, seeing the opportunity of the blond man leaving himself unguarded, Robin lunged at him. For a split second his heart leaped thinking the the blade was about to thrust straight into the man's chest, but in another second, he wasn't there.

The blond man easily side-stepped Robin's attack, and punched him right in the spine. The blow was hard and harsh; Robin couldn't even groan as the entire air from his lungs was knocked out and he fell on the floor, heaving.

"As I was saying." continued the blond man as if nothing had happened. "The worst part about having a blade like this? There's no antidote. So, if I were to...ah...accidentally..." he made a flourishing move toward Felicia. "cut someone with it, there'd be no way for you to cure her. You'd...just have to watch her die."

Simultaneously, both the man and woman burst into hearty laughs. Both of them were enjoying this. There were no guards or people about...they could take their time with these people. As the man laughed manically, staring up at the sky, he suddenly spotted something that froze him. Standing on the roof of a building and looking down into the alley, there stood a dark figure.

There was something off about it; the figure was standing, still as an owl, on a beam sticking out of the roof of a three storey building. It clearly had a hood on, and a long, flowing coat which flapped in the wind. The flames of the firewall were still burning menacingly in the blond man's vision, and with a full moon behind the figure, he involuntarily gulped; this was not normal...what kind of human was this?

He's just looking...what's...what's going on? The man turned around and saw that his partner had also spotted the figure just staring at the scene unfolding below. How long had he been there? How long has he been looking at us? For some reason, uncomfortable chills ran down the spines of the murderous couple. And, just as they stared at him, the figure dropped down from the beam.

He fell through the air with an unusual grace, and landed, without a sound, on the ground behind the firewall. The girls looked at him, terrified. The light from the flames lit the figure up, illuminating his dark, flowing coat and his hood. As Eve looked under the hood to see his face, she gasped; he didn't have one...he didn't have a face. Just a blackened skull stared from underneath the hood.

This was horrifying. In the front stood two assassins, and at the back, through the firewall, stood some otherworldy figure. Somehow, every single one of the five were willing to brave the assassin couple than to go anywhere near the black entity.

"Who...who are you?" asked the man, his voice shaking a little. At those words, the figure started to move and quickly closed the distance between him and the firewall. The two assassins felt infinitely grateful for the wall of fire that separated them and the figure, but, as they watched, the figure stepped into the fire as if it was nothing. The tongues of flame licked him furiously, the entire fire seeming to engulf him in a second, but the figure didn't seem to care in the slightest. His black skull shining in the light, he moved through the flames as if moving through air.

He came out on the other end, with not even his clothes damaged in the slightest. The girls shrunk to the side, terrified of the figure. This was no normal human...if it was human at all. Even Alex felt dread; being on his knees face-to-face with that poisonous knife...face-to-face with death itself hadn't struck this kind of terror in him like the figure did. This? This was no normal fear...it was the fear of the unknown...the fear of a monster. But the monster itself didn't even seem to notice the girls or the boys at all. He only silently stared at the couple.

The orange haired woman was panicking; the silent stare of those empty eyes of the black skull unnerved her. Without doing anything at all, he was making her sway with anxiety. "Whoever you are, leave." she said, her voice low. "Leave now. Leave!" her tone increased. The figure continued to stare at her, his eyes seeming to suck in all the surrounding light. "Why won't you leave!?" she shouted. Her nerves finally gave out and she cracked. "You're dead!!" she screamed. It was her way of dealing with a situation she didn't understand; take it on directly. She put one foot on the side of the wall and took a boost, flying through the air right at the dark figure. Her sword pointed forwards, she was gonna thrust it right through the figure's head. But just as she got within reach, the figure shot out his hand and caught her by her throat.

It was an unnatural, vice-like grip. An unrelenting and terrifying grip. The figure casually held her up in the air, crushing her throat. She panicked; the grip felt like it would never let her go. Am I stuck? What...what is going on!? Let me go!! Let me GO!! She kicked him wildly, but she might as well have been kicking a wall. For the figure, she was nothing more than a flailing insect. Suddenly, he moved his hand and slammed her head right against the wall. There was a sickening thud, and as the figure dropped her, the woman crumbled to the floor revealing a bright red spot on the wall where the figure had hit her.

"Harie!" screamed the blond man. "You piece of shit!!" he roared, turning toward the figure. He lunged at him, his temper uncontainable, but his sword precise. But the figure easily dodged. The man didn't back down seeing the figure's unnatural speed; I'm fast too! He kept slashing at the figure, trying to hit him.

Everyone of the five watched in horrified amazement. The figure was barely moving from his spot, but he was dodging every single one of the blond man's attacks. The man himself was inhumanly fast, but the figure clearly outclassed him. Stop moving! The man didn't lose focus though, his attacks stayed precise even though they were ineffective. Suddenly, just as the man slashed at him, in the millisecond he was open before his next attack, the figure reached out and grabbed the man's wrist in his vice-like grip.

"Aaaah!" the man screamed, as the figure, with merely his fingers, started crushing his wrist. He felt cracks and pain travel up through his hand, and before he could throw the sword into his other hand, the figure twisted the man's hand, and suddenly, the man knew what was gonna happen right before it did.

The figure brought down his other hand right at the blond man's elbow and the man howled in pain as his bone came out from the other side. His eyes were watering and his mind was fazed through the pain. In a sudden, continuous motion, the figure twisted away the poisonous sword from his hand, and without losing the momentum from the move, thrust it right into the blond man's abdomen.

The blond man's mind focused; the sheer amount of poison and pain now starting to shoot up through his stomach somehow cleared his mind. He looked up into the figure's face, his black skull and vacant eyes, still impaled on his own sword. Finally, the figure spoke; his voice was raspy...inhuman. "The worst part about having a blade like this? There's no antidote." it said, his voice gravelly. The assassin just looked at him, disbelievingly. The figure, suddenly, pulled out the sword and the man collapsed on the floor...twitching...but alive.

Blood dripping from the green sword, the figure turned toward the woman. She was just getting up, dizzily; the man stretched out his hand, trying in vain to stop the figure from doing what he knew it was gonna do. The woman, grabbing the wall to steady herself, managed to sit up a little. Out of nowhere, the figure grabbed her by the throat and slammed her against the wall again. The same unnatural grip...the same death sentence. This time the orange haired woman didn't even try to resist. It's useless...this is death. Death has come for me. She stared with absolute terror in the vacant black holes in the figure's skull. Without flinching, the figure stabbed the woman, straight through her abdomen too. She winced, feeling the metal going through her body...it was odd. Even through the terror she realized that that the metal didn't belong there. The figure removed the sword with the same flourishing move, and let her slide to the floor too. She crumpled, heaving blood. "There's no way for you to cure her. You'll just have to watch her die." announced the figure, his voice deep and diabolical.

Suddenly, everyone of the five realized, the two assassins were no longer a threat. No longer holding the figure's interest. What does that mean for us? But instead of looking at any of them, the figure shot a glare at the firewall. And, as if the flames themselves had been struck with terror, instantly, the entire spell ended and the flames vanished. The figure then immediately, glared at Alex, still on his knees. The two held eye contact; the darkness from the figure's eyes seeming to engulf Alex. "Run!" said the figure, fiercely.

It was like a slap for Alex. He realized, he could move again! The effects of the paralysis venom had waned off. The figure still had him fixed with his gaze, and Alex didn't wanna disobey this monster's orders. He jumped up, and grabbed Felicia's and Liana's arm. "Come on!" he shouted at his companions. Robin, who'd been transfixed by the figure, snapped out too. He grabbed Eve's arm and the five fled.

Taking off as fast as they could, they ran from the figure and the gruesome site of the two would-be killers. As Alex sprinted, he shot a glance back at the figure, and whether it was darkness that swallowed him up or Alex's eyes playing tricks on him, but right at that moment, he saw the figure disappear into nothingness. A single, imaginary poof, and it was like the figure had never been there. The blond man was trying desperately to crawl to the orange haired woman as she heaved blood and vomit. Alex didn't have time to think or care about that right now. Holding onto the two girls' hands, he dashed through the main roads, not daring to stop.

Finally, their exhaustion catching up with them, the five stopped in a well-lit square, panting heavily. "I've-" puffed Robin, leaning the streetlamp for support. "I've had just about enough of Barfoss and its demons. What the fuck was that!?"

Alex collapsed on the road, breathing heavily. The three girls followed suit and sat down beside him. There was so much to process. Who were those two cutthroats? What did they want? And...WHO was that dark figure? A skull for a face? What kind of demons were watching over them.

"This..." said Eve, her breath slowing down. "This is the second time I've been saved by some mysterious entity. What...what kind of people are watching over us? Is anyone watching over us?"

"Well...we were brought here for a reason." said Felicia, collapsing on Alex's shoulder. "Does...does this have anything to do with that? Someone out there who doesn't want us dead...yet?"

"This all so...overwhelming. What is going on!?" shouted Liana, a little hysterically. "Even those two murderers. Who were they?"

"Barrassen." said Alex, suddenly.

"Huh?" asked Robin.

"Barrassen's people. It must've been." said Alex, looking at the five. "Think about it. He wanted us to attend this damn party. Why? His father had told him not to touch the swordsmith, so he had his hands tied. He was furious a commoner like me had gotten better of him. So what does he do? Hire these thugs...assassins...whatever, and have them kill us. A robbery gone wrong in the streets as we go along to attend a party? How could the Lord's son have had anything to do with it?"

Robin slid down the road too, his eyes upward, staring at the flickering flames in the streetlamp. "It...it actually makes sense." he said. "Everyone was away; no witnesses. We would've been gutted and lying dead in an alley the whole night before anyone would've found us."

"But...but he wouldn't go that far, would he?" asked Liana, uncertainly. "To hire assassins to kill Alex and us? Does he hate us that much?"

"He's a rich daddy's boy." said Robin. "Hiring other people to do his dirty work makes the perfect sense. Remember his face at the cafe this morning? He was livid with Al. He wanted us out of the house so it wouldn't look like a planned murder. This would've just been some thugs who killed us for our purses."

The three girls collapsed. If the Lord's own son is after us, we...we're in trouble. "Al." said Liana, desperately searching for some sort of support. "What do we do? If Barrassen himself is after us...we...what do we do?"

Alex took a deep breath and slowly got up. "Attend his birthday part, of course." he said, offering his hand to Liana.

"What!?" the four shouted in unison.

"We don't know for sure if it was him who ordered the hit. We don't even know if it was a hit. It could've just been a couple of bandits we had the bad luck of crossing." said Alex. "So, we attend his birthday party...show our faces to him. His reaction on seeing us all alive and well will tell me whether or not it was him who hired those two."

"You're right." said Robin, getting up too. "But is it wise taking the gir-"

"We're not some sort of luggage!" shouted Felicia, indignantly. "We can take care of ourselves."

"Yeah? Cleeearly. When you ca-"began Robin, but Alex held up a hand. "I don't want them or you out of my sight right now as is." he said. "We'll all go together." Robin sighed, but nodded. The three girls got up, too engrossed in their thoughts to be mad, and followed Alex as he led the way to the well-lit, Druss Residence.

* * *

Walking in the moonlit road down to the mansion worked wonders; it was soothing, slowly walking along the shiny, paved path, the fireworks going off at a few intervals, the revelry from the crowd getting louder. Before long, the girls' nerves were calm enough to think clearly. Eve was the one who adapted the first, and she hated it. Is it because I've been through this sort of stuff before...or is it just that I don't understand the seriousness of the situation?

Soon, though, they came up to the mansion gates. For a change, the gates were thrown wide open. A lot of guards eyed the incoming guests, relieving the rare commoner or two of his weapons. When they saw Alex and Robin, they were strictly 'requested' to leave their weapons behind; the two boys reluctantly agreed. Even more guards roamed the grounds inside, just in case something were to go off. There were a few carriages in the driveway, but otherwise, most of the public was arriving on foot. Alex, Liana, Robin, Eve, and Felicia admired all this in wonder. The entire mansion had been lit up magnificently. Alex wondered how many magical lamps Jazfern had bought just for this one night. It was the Lord's sole son's coming of age birthday party...he wasn't gonna skimp on any costs.

Lord Druss had set up a huge tent by the side of the mansion to accommodate the guests. It wasn't because his residence couldn't fit the number, it was just that even his son's eighteenth birthday wasn't enough for him to let commoners step foot in his house. He had also ordered over half the garrison to be present at the party; he knew only too well how easily things could get out of hand. If that happened, he needed enough soldiers to kill the pitchfork wielding peasants. The sheer number of guards calmed Robin though. Them being there meant no hooded cutthroats or shadowy demons were gonna come calling on the five. Cheerfully, he walked down the driveway toward the big, white tent.

The tent had had all of its walls removed to allow the guests to come and go easily; most of them were already in the lawns, holding drinks in hand. Supported with a bunch of pillars, the pavilion mostly acted like the buffet where people came in to eat. This was the only place with tables, and it was already bursting. A lot of the commoners had taken the food served to them by the strict staff and were eating outside on the grass much to the displeasure of Lord Druss. But on this occasion, his son's special day, he let it slide.

When the five reached the tent, the saw just how merry everyone was. There were long tables lined with savory dishes and deserts, barrels of wine standing at intervals. Drinks were being generously handed out, and half of the guests were already drunk. Children ran in and out of the tent, shouting loudly, a band was playing music that was barely audible over the crowd's yelling, and women laughed uncomfortably with their friends as their drunk husbands shouted personal, familial stuff among their drinking buddies. "Well..." said Robin, eyeing the few drunk women. "where the fuck's Barrassen?"

"How're we even gonna find him in this?" asked Liana, helplessly.

"Maybe this was a bad idea. Let's just go hom-" began Felicia.

"No! We have to know if the Lord's son himself is after us. If he is, we're in deep trouble. We might have to flee Barfoss toni-" said Alex, but someone interrupted him.

"Champion! Champ!" greeted Walfred the innkeeper, slapping Alex's back. He was pink in face and clearly drunk. "Hey, people! Loo at this! The young lord has The Worl Champ as his gues'! Come on, ol' boy! Have a swing." he said, offering his glass. Alex politely shook his head, smiling. "Ah, you wanna eat firs', eh? Thass my boah! Well, go along then! Ged somethin 'fore it's all finished!" Walfred slapped Alex's back again and went back to the bar to get some more wine. It was rare for him to actually take part in feasts, as he was usually the one providing for them. But for once, he didn't have his wife breathing down his neck and he was gonna make the most of it.

"This is hopeless." said Alex, looking around. There was no sign of even Zorran here. In fact, there were no soldiers in the tent at all. They had been given strict orders to stay away from the drinks.

"You wanna grab something to eat, maybe?" suggested Robin, slyly. There were really fine dishes being brought out from the kitchens, and the five, who'd had to brutally get used to plain, simple food in Decimandria, eyed the dishes wistfully.

"We...we can't. If Barrassen was behind all that, it's a death sentence staying here." said Felicia, looking at the passing strawberry cake.

"Well, we have to know if it really was him, don't we? And it's not like he's gonna do anything right in the middle of the par-" began Robin, but suddenly, huge arms grabbed him from behind, pinning his hands together. "What in the fuck!?" said Robin, turning around.

Alex was about to rush to Robin's aid, when two pairs of hands grabbed him too, holding him in place. Alex spun around and saw that a few soldiers had sneaked up behind them, and grabbed the two boys. "What the fuck is the meaning of this?" demanded Alex. The soldiers just sneered. They were more shabbily dressed than any other soldier in the party tonight; unshaven, their swords unmaintained, the gambesons lazily put on. However, they were still dangerous and held the two in boys in a painfully firm grip.

"Well, well, well." said a voice, coming up from behind. "If it isn't my old pal, the sisterfucking swordsmith." Barrassen came into view, slowly clapping his hands. He was dressed in immaculate, white clothes, a huge, gold neckband hung from his shoulders, and his hair had been perfectly styled today. An expensive, ornate knife hung from his hips. Alex noticed another thing...he was drunk.

Most of the people hadn't even spotted the situation developing; they were still singing and shouting wishes to the Lord. "You really did come." said Barrassen, facing Alex. "Not that you had much choice." He smiled with satisfaction. "But I have been waiting for you to show up. Instructed these fine soldiers here to grab you the moment you showed up, but...ah...I guess they got a bit busy drinking." Barrassen laughed with the soldiers. "But that doesn't matter now, we got you in end."

"Barrassen, let me go." said Alex, coolly. It was painfully apparent that Barrassen knew nothing of what had happened in the alley back there. And now, the fear of what a drunk Barrassen with five drunk soldiers at his command might do ruled Alex's mind. The girls! Goddammit it was stupid to bring them!

"But it wasn't you who I really wanted." said Barrasen, his eyes shifting over the three girls. Alex's stomach collapsed. "I just wanted you to bring them." He walked over to Felicia; she took a step back, but then stood her ground, facing him. He grinned. "It's my eighteenth birthday. I'm of age now...old enough to take a wife." The soldiers laughed. "Who'll you choose, Sire?" asked the one holding Robin.

"Hmm...I...don't know. I guess...yes, I guess I'll have to test all three of them." said Barrasen, now cupping Eve's chin in one hand. She smelled his disgusting, drunk breath, but she didn't shrink back either.

"I'm gonna rip you in two when I get out of this!" roared Robin in frustration, struggling with the soldier in vain.

"Barrassen, I swear to God, if you touch any of those girls, I'm gonna fucking kill you!" shouted Alex, pulling with all his strength against the two men hanging on to each of his arms.

"Noo." said Barrassen, in a low voice. "I'm gonna kill you." He went up to Liana. "And if you don't want that, you'll let me fuck you. Because if you struggle, shout, or scratch," Barrassen nodded toward the soldiers. "They'll do the same to your brother tenfold."

In that moment, Liana realized how serious the situation was. Every time before, they'd gotten out of stuff like this...somehow they'd done it, but they'd gotten out. But now? Now it seemed hopeless. Barrassen held absolute power here. She didn't doubt for a second his word about harming Alex if she didn't...

"You're seeing sense now." said Barrassen, smiling malevolently. "I'll be damned if I don't fuck a whore on my coming of age party...and you're gonna be that whore." Liana's heart was racing, filled with disgust and utter dread...but her mind was clear. She knew what the right choice was...Alex had always protected her, and if she could do the same, even once, for him, she'd be glad to. Her clear mindedness scared her even more than Barrassen did.

Barrassen grinned widely; those defiant eyes displayed their message clearly. Time to drag this commoner whore into my fucking bedroom...but before that... Suddenly, Barrassen pounced on her, and started kissing her forcefully. Liana tried to push him away, but he was too strong...and she didn't really want to either. Her mind was clear...she hoped the other two girls wouldn't interfere...at least they could be safe then....

Liana smacked her eyes shut to avoid looking at Barrassen. She heard Alex and Robin screaming insults at him, she felt his rough lips smear themselves all over hers, his drunken breath almost making her gag. She felt his tongue come out and try to find it's way inside her mouth, but then...

Suddenly, as if grabbed by some powerful, irresistible force, Barrassen was seized from the back and literally flung away like some doll. Liana shot open her eyes, frantically searching for what had just happened. Barrassen lay on the floor a few feet away, his expression one of complete shock. And, standing tall above him, stood Liana's younger brother...Valek Arkwright.