A Black Canvas Filled with White Spots.

"Miss Aglaya."

Venedikt and Boris said in unison. They had been summoned before the young mistress.

"Hmm. What do you think?"

They both looked at each other. She was talking about the boy.

"He is good. Definitely a top talent."

Boris said. He was the one that had sent a kick towards his face, and the fact that the kid could block it effortlessly was enough to tell them how good he was.

"Right. And what about you?"

She looked at Venedikt.

"He speaks for the both of us."

He answered.

She looked at the file in front of her.

"This is not enough."

Aglaya Smirnov. The information handler of the Smirnov Family. 230 IQ, A chess grandmaster, Double Doctorate in Psychology and Data Analytics. Her achievements as a brainchild are unmatched in the collective, but no one outside of a few higher rank members know of her existence. Why?

Because she wants to be hidden from everyone. She suffers from sickle cell anemia, which means that she could never be an assassin worthy to represent the Smirnov family. She has bound herself to live her life in the shadows, aiding the family in whatever way she can.

'If I don't have accurate parameters, I cannot figure out whether he can match brother or not.'

She placed the file back on the table, and looked at the two assassins once again.

"You will be rewarded for your input. I will ask your superior to arrange for it."

She clapped her hands once.

"Dismissed."

Both of them bowed once and left. She stood up and walked towards the mirror in her office.

"A reflection."

She placed her hand on the mirror, and closed her eyes.

The image of a young, feeble boy appeared in her mind. He had been to Russia with his mother once, but he was mostly ignored by the family because he was nothing special.

Inside the mansion, a small party had been arranged. The delegates of the two families were mingling with each other, discussing their business. Overall, there were only seven kids around, three from the Curran family and four from the Smirnov family.

The kid himself was never going to be special. He was in a corner, avoiding eye contact with others. He wanted to be closer to other people, but his status and place had been made clear by his elder brothers.

The huge hall filled with lights and well dressed people felt dead to him. He looked around for his mother, but she was busy talking to the head of the family.

He looked back at the plate in his hands. The cake on his plate looked weird. He was debating internally on whether he should take a bite or not.

"You don't like Charlotte?"

The sweet, light voice startled him. He almost dropped his plate.

He looked to his side, visibly angry.

She tilted her head, failing to understand why he was glaring at her.

He looked into her eyes. Before he could say anything, he noticed a slight glance from 3 people. The family head, the kid that had been introduced as Dima Smirnov, and his mother.

A slight chill ran down his spine. He swallowed his anger, and turned around to leave.

"Where are you going?"

After walking for a few minutes, he was greeted by a question. Same voice, same person.

He chose to ignore her. It was better to stay away from her. He couldn't afford to offend anyone at this party.

"Did I do something wrong?"

The girl slowly whispered. He heard her voice, but kept walking. He hastened his steps for a bit, and the sound of her footsteps started to fade away.

He took a sigh of relief. He was outside the mansion now. It was slightly colder than he preferred, but he could bear with it. He sat down on the a stair, and looked up at the sky.

A black canvas filled with white spots that illuminated the world through their clarity. Some were small, some were big. They were twinkling together, creating a sight that mesmerized him.

The girl walked out of the mansion. She wasn't able to keep up with his speed, but she wasn't going to give up. For the first time in her life, she felt that someone was angry at her. It was an alien feeling, and she wanted to know more about it.

"Huff...Puff..."

She was out of breath. When she came closer to the boy, he was sitting on one of the steps, staring at the night sky.

She slowly walked up to his side, and sat down beside him. He didn't notice her.

As the girl was about to speak, she closed her mouth shut. In this moment, she couldn't dare to disturb him.

An expression of awe. An expression of wonder. His mouth was open, and his eyes were sparkling.

She kept staring at him. Once again, an alien feeling.

'I hope to be like you one day. Shining in the darkness, even if I am small and insignificant.'

A smile formed on his face. He was hopeful.

His smile caught her off guard. Now, she was in awe. It was as if he was vowing to challenge the stars, to burn brighter than they ever could.

'The moon...'

2 more minutes passed in silence. After that, he took a deep breath in, and closed his eyes. He was feeling better about himself.

He opened his eyes once again, only to hear the sound of light breathing. It was coming from his left side.

He moved his head. A genuine shock.

His mouth was open once again. His eyes were wide as well. She looked at his change of expressions, and couldn't hold back her laughter.

Before she could stop, he stood up and left.

"Wait..."

She got a hold of herself, and softly whispered. He was already far away from her, making his way towards the side door which led to the guest room.

He had tears in his eyes. She was laughing at him, just like the everyone else. To him, she was no different than the others.

She had tears in her eyes. To her, this was the most beautiful sight she had ever witnessed. It was filled with light, which made him different than everyone else.

He turned around to look back. He was far away, so she couldn't see what his expression was.

And that was all. The boy went back to his home, quickly wanting to forget the girl and the world she lived in.

The girl however, had a mission now. She wanted to be around the warmth of that smile. Her eyes were on him now, waiting for the day that she could see that sight again.

And she would see it. No matter what the cost.