Chapter 12: The Reading of Memories

Gwen was trying to recall where she could be on one cold night when she saw her young teenage self and her adopted parents walking passed her astral self. She followed them where they were heading and she was not surprised to meet Alwin Jae Larouve along with her partner Falix Sonoda. They started talking animatedly and she could not hear them clearly until she decided to come closer to their table.

'I need to hire an assassin to kill the head of the family. A very skilled one.'

'Why need to kill the head of the family?'

'His making the family fall.'

'Why not wait for his retirement?'

'We're vampires. We couldn't just kill anyone, especially the head of the family unless we turn ourselves into a fallen rogue which only a few only managed to survive.'

'I heard of it from the DIP.'

'Can the SSS agency help us?'

'I knew someone but she's still new to our agency.'

'Name.'

'Arachne.'

Gwen might not be able to understand completely what they were talking but everything she heard, she tells them to Slavica. Gwen was trying to keep up with the things that were happening around her until the scene was once again changed. She was suddenly taken into another part of the mansion where she was alone in the garden. As she was feeling the nature of the garden around her, Alwina came into the view with two split images of her as sat beside her.

'Guinevere, meet my siblings. Alwen and Alyin.'

'Your parents really thought about Al's.'

'Tell me about it.'

'Sissy, why a human is in your mansion?'

'I have some business with them.'

'Blood donor?'

'Nope. Acquaintance.'

'Honestly Sissy, you're planning something be careful. I know but it's for everyone in the clan.'

'Alright, I've got to go, Bree is waiting for me in the music room.'

'I'm coming with you.'

'Nice meeting you.'

Gwen saw herself waving her hand to them while smiling genuinely even though she was wondering why Alwina called her Guinevere when she was just Gwen. Anyway, her thoughts were being cut off when she suddenly felt Alwina's hand hold hers secretly. She looked at the worried Alwina and cried. She wanted to ask the Countess what was bothering her but she couldn't utter any words for it until Alwina looked back and smiled at her.

'Guinevere…I mean, Gwen, once I died, find the one who did it and pull that person back into her emotions. She needed it.'

'Why do I have to search for the person who's going to kill you?'

'You will know the reason why. You just have to pull her emotions back. The Trigger of Change named Celestial Ceres Aspire is in already on the bridge of her awakening. Once she does, it will lead everything in the kingdom and in every realm to start moving again.'

'I don't understand what are you telling me about.'

'One day you will and let the masked lady help you to remember this meeting.'

'Are you telling me that I will forget this message?'

'Not forget but hidden. You see, I could see the future though it's very subjective yet could affect anyone that around that person.'

'Here my voice, Slavica, and take care of her. She'll bring the bright star of the organization.'

Gwen was not sure what just happened in the past since she was confused about the last message from Alwina that was addressed directly to Slavica. But upon hearing those words, Gwen's heart started to palpitate and her breathing started shortening. She totally couldn't breathe freely.

"Have to get back…" Gwen muttered to herself and closed her eyes to calm her heart rate and in a short period of time of recollection of her composure, she was being taken back to the surface and in the present time with Slavica and Yui.

As soon as she came back, she released a very deep breath as she shoot her eyes widen open from looking deeply into her old and locked memories. Slavica immediately helped Gwen by squeezing her hands reminding her that she was alright and back in the present time with her. She looked at Slavica who handed her a glass of water which she drank and emptied the glass before meeting Slavica with a worried face.

"Don't worry, Gwen. I know that she was already dead but in that memory lane, it felt like she was still alive…" Slavica reassured Gwen that it was natural to feel that way since she also could perform such a thing. But since it was her past and not Slavica, she couldn't help her with it.

"Gwen, let me remind you that some supernatural creatures have different unique abilities like seeing the future or reading minds or suppressing some hidden messages which Alwina did to you. She suppresses that message because she saw something that will connect the present case to the past which has something to do with her death." Slavica briefly but directly explained with calmness around Gwen who looked curious about something.

"She knew that she was going to die back there, doesn't she?" Gwen released a heavy sigh as she state what was bothering her mind and Slavica nodded.

"My parents work at SSS agency…" she informed Slavica and she doesn't have any clue or recalled what it was. Slavica sensed that Gwen had no slightest recollection about it which made her take the liberty to explain a little further for her own good.

"SSS agency or the Secret Security Service was the subsidiary of the DIP. The Death Inspector Protocol was the one who's handling the difficult task of finding new awakened creatures or dealing with unsolved crime scenes from the police." Slavica started by explaining briefly what she could only share with Gwen regarding the identity and workload of their organization.

"As for the Secret Security Service, they were handling the on-field job and risky situations which some of them were for hired - like skilled bodyguard-assassins. They were also the ones who were sending our newfound awakened creatures or being like you to do on-the-spot training." She went on explaining to Gwen whose mind finally clearing up from confusion.

Gwen might not have heard any explanation about it from her adoptive parents about their line of work since all she knew that they were traveling and meeting their clients.

"Did you know that my parents work there?" Gwen curiously asked Slavica if she ever crossed with her adoptive parents before and she shook her head.

"No, until now. I and my team were assigned different cases until you happened." Slavica was trying to analyze everything from the start; how they were suddenly being assigned to fetch Gwen from the orphanage and kept her on surveillance 24-7 then train her to be one of them.

"What do you mean? I thought DIP was already assigned to look and help the police to handle the supernatural case." Gwen curiously asked.

"We still do it but our cases were always difficult and most of them were dead until we received a direct command to fetch, surveillance, and train you." Slavica honestly answered until something clicked in her mind.

"Also, if they were taking you with them and you knew their transactions with the eldest Countess of the Larouve which was one of the powerful vampire races, it meant that they were teaching you how to work with the SSS agency." Slavica only answered her and concluded that Gwen has been already being taught slightly how the SSS agency works without her realizing it.

"No wonder, all of the five chiefs of the DIP sent us to get you." Yui interjected which made the two look at her as if she had grown two heads. Slavica glared at her while Gwen looked confused and intrigued at the same time.

"Did you know me before you meet me?" Gwen asked the two of them.

"No, we don't have any knowledge once they assigned us to fetch or checked someone. We don't know what they look like but we can tell who's who which none of us, members knew the reason or explain what's behind it." Yui answered before Slavica could.

"Vica?" Gwen turned to the masked lady beside her who just shook her head no.

"Yui is right. We have knowledge of what you look like. We just arrive at the scene and we just could feel it from there." Slavica explained that curiosity and some confusion were still floating around Gwen's mind.

"Does the agency know who I am or my whereabouts?" Gwen wondered as she kept repeating those moments when she traveled along with her adoptive parents on their trips.

"I think they do but we're not sure how really the mind of the five chiefs really works. But they were waiting on your performance will be now that you're being found by us." Slavica honestly replied to the curious tone of Gwen.

"Performance?" Gwen sounded like a confused kid.

"Remember what I told you, you're changing and it's very quick." Slavica reminded Gwen that she wasn't the ordinary human being that she knew once. Gwen was still her but there are some unexplainable things that already happening inside of her that no human could fully understand it. If they do, they will see that person as a monster.

There was some moment of silence around the room and only the typing of the keyboard from Yui's laptop that kept echoing around. Gwen was in deep thought about what she suddenly needed to digest well. It was really hard to deal with because it was about her adoptive parents' line of job that she has no knowledge about until something happened to her supernaturally.

"Vica, do have any idea of what kind of job my parents were doing at the SSS agency?" Gwen was serious to know what the line of work her adoptive parents doing for the said agency was.

"Hm, if I am going to base on your old memories, I could say that they were like a manager who was taking care of and looking for a job for their team which mostly was skilled bodyguard-assassins." Slavica answered only what she knew based on what she described they were doing from her old memories.

"I see then, if they were working in the said agency, they might have some information regarding the assassin who killed Alwina." Gwen guessed which made Yui look shocked at what she just suggested since she never thought about checking it.

Upon realizing that, Yui immediately didn't hesitate and went on checking the list of the skilled bodyguard-assassin that would be appropriate to that assignment from the countess. As she was busy getting the match from what they'd gathered so far, Slavica was watching Gwen really carefully since it was lost in her own thoughts. She was trying to read what she was thinking already until she heard them clearly.

'I wonder if my parents' death was really an accident now that I've learned they were working in that kind of job.'

When Slavica heard those words from Gwen's deep thoughts, there was something began to creep out around her chest that send such an urge to help Gwen from finding the answers that she was searching for. But more importantly, it might also lead to something that could have a connection to the case that they were dealing with at the moment; the sudden death of countess Alwin and her beloved mate in the woods of Larouve estate.

"Hey, boss." Yui cut Slavica's thoughts when she heard her call.

"What you've got?" Slavica asked as she went to Yui's side and Gwen looked curiously at them.

"Take a look over the list that the SSS agency handed to us in that particular year." Yui answered and it caught their attention. Gwen get up from the bed and went to their side just to check it as well.

"Those are the only teams that were active in that particular year and looked whose teams were present there as well." Yui added as soon as Gwen and Slavica came to her side and checked what she'd got.

Gwen took a seat on the vacant chair beside Slavica and from a clearer view, she gasped at what she was just noticed.

"My parents…" Gwen noticed and exactly Slavica suddenly felt the hope begin to radiate around her body. She could not help but smile beneath her mask.

"Also, the SSS agency wanted to find out what really happened to the countess; the case that we're handling now, boss." Yui informed seriously at Slavica who totally understand since it will be really bad for the said agency's reputation. They really cared about their status as well the well-being of their men.

"Don't worry about it, Yui. We won't be the first elite of the DIP if we can't catch the real story behind it." Slavica reminded Yui about what they were capable of doing in their assigned task which they never failed to comply with and show that they were deserving of their position as the first elite rank in their organization.

Yui took the liberty to scroll down the cursor of the file that they were reading since there are a lot of lists of applicants that the SSS agency did have not until Gwen stopped Yui all of the sudden. Yui wondered why Gwen tapped her hand and prevented her from scrolling more.

Gwen was caught up in staring at each team who was active in that particular year and she also noticed that ranking of each team and one of them were her parents. She smiled proudly that they were an elite team of the agency but at the same time wondered.

"What happened to you?" Gwen asked out of the blue and it might be in her low voice but it was very clear to Yui and Slavica. They both sensed that Gwen was also concerned about how her adoptive parents died that gravely connected to the case on their hands.