"What's my next task, sir?"

She is standing as straight as possible, her eyes flitting around nervously as she tries her hardest not to flinch. The large man in front of her starts to move: slow, deliberate, dangerous. He is standing now.

"Look at me," he says, his voice gravelly and low.

She is terrified. She doesn't show it. She merely blinks, letting out a deep breath, preparing for what is to come. Missions from a man such as him are never a walk in the park, and she knows. The scars on her arms from her last mission prove otherwise.

But he knows. He always knows.

A horrendous smile creeps onto his lips like a sluggish caterpillar, distorting his features into an even more terrifying blend of lips and teeth.

Her eyes slowly travel from the tips of her boots to the lifeless black eyes in front of her. Something flickers in them, a disturbance in the dark sea, but it disappears as quickly as it had come. He pulls out a heavy package from his coat and throws it at her feet.

"Take this to the Red Foxes. Be back by the Moon Festival and I'll throw in a little prize."

She is about to say something until she hears a shout from outside. The door to the chamber bursts open, revealing a horror-stricken boy with disheveled brown hair. His eyes are wild and he is clenching his fists. Tears well up in his eyes as he stares at the girl.

"Master, you can't! They'll kill her as soon as she sets foot on their land!"

A warm feeling bubbles up inside of her - she is glad that the boy cares, but it is her duty. She must not falter. Besides, if he continues to argue, he will be the one getting punished, not her.

And she is right. The man is up to something as he takes a step towards the boy, smirking evilly.

"Well then, Baekhyun, why not be her Guardian? You seem quite concerned for her."

The boy's determined face falters for a second before his lips set into a thin line. He walks over to the girl and holds out his wrist.

"Baekhyun, no!" she screams, but it is too late.

He takes out a knife and slits the pale skin. A trail of led leaks down his arm and the girl uses all her willpower not to fall down on her knees and cry. This is not right. She is supposed to complete her jobs alone. But now she is bound to someone she cares for, and there is nothing she can do to stop it. The blood drips to the floor in front of her eyes, a grim reminder of what he has done.

"Go on," Baekhyun says, his voice trembling. But his hands are firm as he slices the knife over her own skin. She winces at the stinging pain, but the pain in her heart is even worse as he pushes their bleeding wrists together. He mutters a spell, and all she can do is watch on helplessly, her arm limp in his strong hands.

"Go on," he repeats, looking into her eyes, "take me."

 author's note 

Um not sure how Baekhyun got mixed into this mess, but okay. Yay.

This is supposed to be a oneshot but let's see. I always lie when it comes to what I write... Well what do you know this is more than one chapter. What is this. Blargh. And please ignore the poster I made. I'm just experimenting with GIMP at the moment. sob

1.30.2013 My previous poster made my eyes shrivel into my head, so I tried to make a new one. Hopefully it looks better?

2.01.2013 Entering this into a contest! give me a year held by wishful. The prompt I used is "Evening Sky" by Ailee (lyrics). Also edited the foreword a bit. :)

4.02.2016 I edited the format for the foreword :)