Aaron squinted. Was he imagining things? He had not been able to sleep that night and had come out to the balcony for a fresh air. However, he had seen a mysterious figure lurking outside a familiar building. He rubbed his sleepy eyes with a hand. No, he was not imagining things. The figure was still there. Wait...the figure...The figure was outside Calvin's place! Aaron's eyes widened in alarm and suddenly, he was wide awake. He quickly grabbed his own Katana and rushed towards Calvin's quarters. A mysterious figure lurking outside Calvin's quarters? That was definitely not a good sign. 

---------------------

'Why do you want to do this?' Calvin asked, staring at the masked lady before him.

'I have no choice,' she said, her voice muffled through the mask she wore. She whipped out her sword, its tip glinting brightly in the dark. Calvin pursed his lips together, as if facing a difficult decision. He did not believe in violence and did not want to fight. He looked deep into the masked lady's eyes. Unwillingness clearly showed in them.

'Is there no other way?' he whispered, still staring at her.

'No' came her answer. 'I'm sorry,' she whispered...and attacked.

Her sword sliced the air, coming down in a quick upper cut but it was skillfully blocked by Calvin's Katana. She continued attacking, slicing her sword from side to side in a relentless series of attacks. Each time she took an offensive stand, she was blocked by Calvin's quick reflexes. However, Calvin did not return the onslaught. He simply blocked every attack that came his way. He knew that it was not by her own will that the lady had come. He could see it in her eyes. But suddenly, he saw something else, something that flashed in the lady's eyes, disappearing a second later. That second was enough. Because he recognised it as fear, fear probably for what would happen if she did not succeed in killing him. He was shocked and for a moment he forgot to block her oncoming blows.

'Schrgh.' Her sword had connected with flesh. He looked down and saw her sword buried deep into the piece of flesh above his heart. Blood gushed out of the wound and simultaneously, rushed into his mouth. Suddenly, he could taste his own blood. Blood trickled down his chin and he reached up to wipe it off. He raised his head and looked at the lady. Her hand was still gripping her sword, her knuckles white from holding it too tightly. Her face was frozen into a expression of horror. Her eyes were trained on where her sword had pierced Calvin's flesh. It was as if she could not believe what she had done. Sensing the shock and horror that had seized the lady, Calvin forced a smile through the tremendous pain. He took a step back, disconnecting her sword from his flesh. Once again he smiled through his blood-coated lips.

' It's okay,' he said, 'It's not your fault.' He smiled one last time, his intentions always to reassure the masked lady before his grip loosened, the Katana dropped from his hand and he toppled to the ground.

---------------

Gui Gui stared at the lifeless body of the king in shock and horror. She...She had killed again. 'What have I done?' she thought to herself. She had just killed a man, a good man. The lives she had taken, the people she had killed...She remembered all of them. She remembered every detail of each horrible process of doing them off. She remembered the grotesque expression they had on their faces when they died. She 'saw' them everytime she closed her eyes and dreamt of them every night. They haunted her every day and night without fail. She walked numbly over to the king. He had said that it was okay, that it was not her fault. She felt a tear escape the shelter of her eyelids. How could it not be her fault? She had killed him! She was guilty! She closed her eyes as she tried to get a hold on herself. But she could not. No matter what, she had taken yet another life. 

--------------------------------------

Aaron hurried through the palace, running as fast as he could through the many walkways of the palace. With its complicated network and planning, it took Aaron some time to navigate his way to Calvin's quarters in the dark, just as it had taken Jade and Gui Gui some time to find Calvin's quarters. He was getting worried. The more he thought of the mysterious figure outside Calvin's quarters, the more troubled he was. Was Calvin in danger? What did the figure want? Calvin was his king and pratically his brother. He definitely could not let anything happen to him. Finally, he reached Calvin's quarters but all was quiet and the mysterious figure was not present. Aaron heaved a sigh of relief. Everything was probably a result of his own imagination. The night was so peaceful and the moon was shining so brightly. How could anything have happened?

---------------------------

'Ahhhhhhhh!' A terrified scream broke the peaceful quiet of the morning. Aaron rushed towards the direction of the disturbance. A lady was screaming her lungs out, her eyes wide open in terror. Aaron recognised her as the maidservant who served the king everyday and finally realised that he was in the king's quarters.

'What is it?' he asked, worried for his friend's safety.The maidservant did not answer, could not answer. She seemed to be staring intensely at something behind him, her gaze never once wandering. Aaron turned around slowly and was greeted by a sight that left him momentarily speechless. 

'Calvin! Calvin!' he shouted, once he had recovered. He shook his best friend roughly by the shoulders before spotting the wound Calvin had sustained. The wound ran deep and was surrounded by dried blood...a lot of it. One look and Aaron knew that such a wound was fatal. But he could not believe what he saw nor did he want to believe it. His king and best friend could not be dead. Aaron raised a shaky hand below Calvin's nose. He did not feel anything. No breath. Calvin was not breathing. He...He had really...

Aaron clenched his fist hard and his breathing became ruggard. Whoever had done this...Whoever had dared to do this would pay...with their life. He would take revenge for his friend. He had to.

----------------------