Arriving at the base, Emi Winters was pale and haggard, her eyes slightly puffy from her crying. Fortunately, by the time she arrived back, the ruffians were either on their own missions, sleeping or outside in the city having fun drinking and playing around with women.

          Despite being in this bandit group for almost nine years, Emi Winters didn’t felt close to any of them. Mostly because she enjoyed being a lone wolf and she detested people, if she could choose to abandon them to save herself, she would do it in a heartbeat, especially if it’s Sergi.

          Sergi.

          Emi clenched her fists, walking up to his bedroom to report the failed mission to him. At the thought of remembering the young girl, a wave of melancholy hit her again and she inhaled in a deep breath, clenching harder.

          Don’t cry, Emi.

          Crying…is for the weak.

          Didn’t you say so yourself, and promised yourself never to cry again?

          Pathetic.

          How pathetic, Emi Winters.

          Emi held an impassive look on her face, briskly walking to Sergi’s door and knocking on it. Hearing his command, she entered and bowed slightly before opening .

          “Sergi, the man was a pitiful liar, there was no sign of any heirloom in his house.” Emi lied without any hesitation.

          Sergi raised his eyebrow, putting down the book in his hands on the bed beside him, sitting up slowly.

          “Is that so? How odd, while I remembered him carrying his family heirloom in his hands and boasting it proudly to everyone in the streets, along with a few of the men.” He mused, scratching his chin a little.

          “Apparently it isn’t, there was no trace of the mentioned heirloom in his house.”

          Sergi frowned, gazing intently at Emi. Even though Emi was good at not showing her emotion, she couldn’t deny that she was feeling distressed under his scrutinizing gaze.

          After a few seconds, Sergi’s face softened and he sighed, running a callous hand through his hair.

          “Alright then, you can go.”

          Emi nodded at Sergi, walking out of his room and closing the door, taking slow steps to her room. Once she reached her room, she collapsed to the floor, letting out a sigh of relief.

          He couldn’t possibly know, could he?

          He never failed to read me, no matter how good my lie is.

          “I think he believes me, for now.” Emi whispered to herself, getting up from the floor and preparing her usual routine for bed.

          She laid on her bed, staring up at the ceiling, the necklace dangling from her hands as it glinted in the dark, due to the candle at the bedside table.

          “It’s only a matter of time, before they find this out and my lie about the heirloom.”

          Emi stopped swinging the beautiful necklace in her hands, clutching it tightly and letting out a miserable sigh.

          What do I do?

          Knowing Sergi, he would send men to investigate the house for the heirloom in a few days.

          A contemplative expression was visible on Emi’s face.

          Escape.

          I need to hatch an escape plan.

          I'd rather be captured by the police rather than staying here and waiting for Sergi's punishment.

         

         

          ************************************************

         

         

          Early in the morning, a cloaked man went to the mysterious board in the park, the park appeared desolated, since it was early in the morning and everyone was probably sleeping or preparing themselves for the day.

          The cloaked man scanned the board for any requests, revealing that they were at least two or three of them. He teared them away from the wooden pins, shoving the papers into his pockets and walking out of the park, into the deserted streets.

          The cloaked man continued walking down the streets, until he stopped in front of a house. He took out a key from his pocket and pushing it inside the keyhole, unlocking the door and entering the house.

          Once he entered the house, he hastened his footsteps to his bedroom, hurriedly lighting up the candle at his table and taking his pigeon out from the birdcage, tying the pieces of paper onto its leg and he quickly blew the candle out.

          He stood at his window, urging the pigeon to fly as he gently threw it out the window. The pigeon, which feathers were dark in colour, making it easier for the pigeon to blend in the dark, flew majestically into the air, heading to its destination.

         

         

          **********************************************

         

         

          Kris was training in the backyard with the other mercenaries, he was going around supervising their movements and reprimanded whoever was faltering in their steps or speed.

          “Kris, let’s spar.” Yun, Kris’ right hand man said, interrupting everyone’s training session.

          Kris raised an eyebrow, staring Yun in the eyes. “A spar?”

          “You said it yourself, remember? That we should spar once per month.” Yun smirked, standing in front of Kris and the other mercenaries slowly formed a wide circle around them, creating space for their battle.

          “Yun, you always don’t remember things that don’t matter to you, especially for things like these.” Kris let out a short chuckle, shaking his head and preparing himself, his hand lingering on his sword, which was at his waist.

          “Sparring with you? Oh, no. That is something I can never forget.” Yun grinned, preparing himself like Kris did.

          Eventually, the circle was complete and the mercenaries were watching their fight with rapt attention, not making a sound. After all, their sparring session were always the best entertainment in this secluded area.

          “First one to touch the opponent’s head, wins.” Kris declared.

          They circled one another, alert for any sudden movement from each other. Kris decided to take the first move, unsheathing his sword as he charged forward to Yun, aiming for his abdomen with the blunt side of his sword.

          They couldn’t hurt each other seriously after all.

          Yun acted quickly, unsheathing his sword halfway and blocking Kris’ attack with half of his sword by twisting to the side, a loud sound to be heard throughout the area. Swiftly, Yun raised his leg to kick Kris’ knee and Kris noticed it, leaping backwards and Yun took this opportunity to unsheathe his sword, dashing towards Kris.

          Kris easily blocked his sword, another sharp sound being pierced through the air. Both of them face to face now as they tried to push one another back with sheer strength, gritting their teeth.

          Realising that this was going nowhere, both of them hopped back, circling each other again as the other mercenaries were cheering on who they were betting to win.

          Kris bolted towards Yun again, his sword slashing towards the right and Yun avoided it, making Yun smirk to himself as he was facing Kris’ back.

          Yun made a move to attack Kris’ back, until he felt something hitting hard on his abdomen, forcing the air out of his stomach and he stumbled back, groaning.

          Damn.

          Yun quickly recovered himself, only to be taken aback by Kris sprinting towards him, a steely look on his face. Kris slashed towards the left and Yun hastily defended himself, launching a counterattack at Kris.

          Kris exhaled a deep breath, ducking down and twisting himself around, using his leg to hit Yun’s legs, causing Yun to lose his balance and fall to the ground, his sword flying out of his hands. Immediately taking advantage of the situation, Kris tackled Yun to the ground, discarding his sword, before Yun could even get up.

          Yun reacted quickly, throwing a punch at Kris and Kris dodged it with ease. Amidst the intense struggle, Kris flicked Yun at on the forehead, causing Yun to yelp in pain and Kris grinned victoriously at Yun.

          “Thirteen wins, twelve losses.” Kris announced proudly as the rest of mercenaries cheered at their battle and Kris stood up, offering his hand to Yun.

          Yun grunted, taking his hand and Kris helped him up.

          “I’ll win the next.” Yun muttered out and Kris chuckled.

          “Boss!” Someone called out, running out from the house and Kris turned his head around, looking back.

          “The requests are here!”

          “Yeah, on my way.”

          Kris walked off and Yun patted the dirt away from his clothes, instructing the others to go back to their training. He watched Kris walk into the house before he went around, guiding the mercenaries in their training, since Kris was busy handling the requests.

          “Hey, Yun.”

          One of the mercenaries said as Yun walked past him and Yun raised a questioning eyebrow.

          “Your scores are always on par with Boss, I guess this means the both of you are at the same level, huh?”

          Yun gazed at the man, who held a look of admiration in his eyes and Yun guffawed loudly, attracting the attention of many.

          “Same level? Hardly, in fact, I’m nowhere near his level.” Yun replied to the mercenary, who gave him a puzzled look.

          “But your scores are always tied...”

          “Nik, let me tell you one thing.” Yun grinned, resting his arm on his shoulder, since Nik was slightly shorter than Yun.

          “In my whole five years with our Boss, I’ve never seen him go all-out in a mission before.” Yun told Nik, patting him on the shoulder and walking off, to guide the others.

         

         

          *******************************************************

         

         

          Kris sat on the chair, reading the requests and deciding on which requests to choose and who to assign the request to. He had two requests, which involved the usual requests like asking for protection for a certain event or asking for help in transporting an item.

          Kris didn’t bother about the amount of money he received anymore, he only accepted requests that he felt satisfied in doing. The other requests would normally be given to the others, depending on whether they were interested to do it or not.

          Hence, when Kris’ eyes landed on one of the request, his eyes widened in surprise and his lips curved into a smirk.

          Request.

          Find the Shadow Rogue and bring her to me, alive.

          M.

          He stood up from his seat, taking the paper away from the table, strolling to the wooden board that was built inside of the house. He placed the paper on the wooden board, using the small daggers to hold them on the board.

          His eyes landed on the request that stood out him.

          Two.

          Two people, including me, that’s all I need.

          The mercenaries watched their boss stroll out of the house and he beckoned them in, and they immediately knew what it was.

          It was the usual routine, Kris would receive the requests and read them, choosing the one that appeals to him. After which, he would place the papers on the board, allowing the others to choose, if they wanted to come along, so be it.

          However, he rarely allowed more than five people to go with him on his missions. Hence, that meant that everyone would be fighting for a place but that only applied to the recently recruited mercenaries, since they admired their leader a lot.

          The more experienced mercenaries were already used to their leader’s presence, hence, they would normally take the other requests.

          “One, I only need one more person to accompany me.”

          A few of them instantly raised their hands eagerly, while the experienced mercenaries rolled their eyes at them, thinking how silly it was that they were once in their position.

          “Yun, come along with me.” Kris ordered and Yun, who was leaning on the wall, raised his eyebrow at Kris.

          “I can’t bring the recruits along with me on this mission, it’ll be too risky.” Kris explained and the people who didn’t get chosen held a disappointed expression on their faces.

          Nevertheless, they knew better than to argue with their leader, instantly accepting his decision.

          “I’ll leave the other requests up to all of you and as usual, assign a reliable leader and leave the mission halfway if it becomes life-threatening.” Kris reminded, his tone firm.

          “I don’t want any one of you idiots dying out there, even if you have to crawl back here. I rather see your stupid faces than a bag of shillings here.” He warned, his expression solemn before he walked away with Yun, discussing about Kris’ chosen mission.

          The other mercenaries immediately obeyed their leader’s orders, a big wide grin on all of their faces.

          Kris and Yun walked to the outside of the house, talking to him at the same time.

          “So, what’s the plan, Kris?”

          “Bandits.”

          “What?”

          “We need to find the bandits that raided the mansion that night.”

         

          **************************************************

         

         

          In the afternoon, Emi spent the whole time in her room, pacing back and forth, thinking of an escape plan.

          What do I do?

          What can I do to escape?

          It’s either dying while trying to escape or awaiting Sergi’s punishment.

          Emi shivered in fear, not wanting to face the punishment for lying to Sergi and if he finds out about the Timeless necklace that she’s been hiding, he’ll slowly take his time in killing her.

          Emi squeezed her eyes close.

          No.

          I can’t die yet.

          There’s still some things I want to do, before I die.

          I can’t die, no matter what.

          Suddenly, a sudden chill ran down Emi’s spine as she thought of what she could do, to disappear forever.

          Fake…

          I have to fake my own death.

          Emi’s eyes widened at her idea and she inhaled in a deep breath, her mind speedily raced with thoughts on how to do it.

          Money.

          I just need money.

          A knock on her door broke her out of her reverie and she swiftly turned her head to face the door.

          “Who is it?”

          “Sergi wants to meet you in an hour, he’s got another mission for you.”

          “Alright.”

          She felt his presence disappearing and she bit on her lip, pacing back and forth in her room again.

          Two days.

          I just need two days.

          He wouldn’t find out until three days later, at night, since the person would only come back at night to report the fake news I gave him.

         

         

          ************************************************************

         

         

          At night, Emi exited the base, mounting on her horse and she took off, Luna galloping across the dirty streets. She was tasked to do a simple job this time, which is going out into the forest where she had a rendezvous with someone, to trade with him.

          She rode on her beloved horse, her mind concentrating on where to go and at the same time, thinking of how she could meticulously carry out her plan as she carried a box, that was the trading item.

         

         

          *********************************************************

         

         

          Meanwhile, Kris and Yun sat on the table, both of them having a glum look on their faces. They were both staring intently at the drawing that Kris drew perfectly, it was a picture of a man, resembling Sergi. After a few minutes, Yun brightened up significantly, clapping his hands loudly, dispelling the peaceful silence.

          “I remember now! This bandit!”

          “What? What do you remember, Yun?”

          “There was a wanted poster of him in town. He’s a notorious man, especially since he is the leader of a bandit group.”

          Kris shot up from his seat, getting ready to set off. “Lead me to the area, the area where they put up the poster of him.”

          Just you wait, Shadow Rogue.

          I’ll take back what’s rightfully mine.

         

         

          ***************************************************

         

         

          “Let’s take it slow, Luna.”

          Emi patted her horse’s mane and Luna slowed down, they were in the forest now and Emi was heading to the agreed meeting place. It was a slow pace, but Emi didn’t care, since she had plenty of time. The serene atmosphere of the forest made her calm, especially how the insects chirp and the wind that blew past her from time to time. The moonlight shone on her face, but it only revealed her mesmerising eyes, the rest of her face hidden behind her black mask.

          “You’ve got this, Emi. You need to succeed, no matter the cost.” Emi whispered to herself, closing her eyes and inhaling a deep relaxing breath.

          Meanwhile, Kris and Yun were riding to the place where Sergi’s wanted poster was displayed.

          Three days left.

          Two days left.

 

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Hope you guys liked it <3. I'm sorry, I can't update for about a week or more, I have to study for my exams!