Adeluna was not the same bustling city that it always seemed to be during the night time hours. Holy lanterns that were once a blaze were smashed in the streets. The roaring holy light blew up around them like pillars of rage. It lasted for a few minutes as the light died down and figures could be seen. A woman in what appeared to be dressed in all gold, from her hair, to her dress, to her aura. It was more like an angel without wings to be honest. The lanterns had been used to distract people from the aura the woman put off. You see, she was really defenseless since taking her oath. Holy magic flickered through the air and she was trying to keep herself calm.

There were bodies around her of the people who had been brought to protect her. The men were closing in on her and she slowly took a step back. “Now, now no need to get rash.”  Lily held up her hands and gently waved her hands. Why was she in Adeluna anyways? Honestly, this seemed like a giant problem. 

“Oh, being rash is the last thing we want to be with someone like you.” They were approaching her just as slow and she realized that they did not know a thing about the oath that she had taken. That Lily couldn’t hurt them at all.

“Of course, a mean nasty little Rosenite like myself could very well kill you all.” The woman’s lips formed a smile as she picked up the skirts of her golden dress and took off. “Well, it has been rather nice to chat.”

The men went in pursuit of her as she ran through the night. She bumped into people who got shoved to the side by the men behind her. “A little help would be appreciated.” Lily would say to passerbys but they didn’t want to help a person like her. A person causing just a tad bit of trouble in their night life.

With a quick shot of whiskey, the man dropped his coins on the bar. “Thanks.” He said with a nod to the barkeep behind the bar, who instantly grabbed his coins. “Save a room for me, I’ll be back in a bit.” He said tossing a few more coins before the man. “Alright. It’s late out…but I don’t think I need to warn you, Jax.” The man said with a small laugh as his eyes looked at the bow and arrows on Jax’s back and his black leather vest. With a smirk, Jax nodded at the man and headed out the swinging doors. It was time to meet his boss to find out his new target.

Jax’s feet silent as he walked along the darkened street while the ends of his black leather trench coat blew behind him with the soft wind. “It feels cold tonight…” He thought to himself as the cold pierced his skin. It wasn’t long before the half elf reached the alley that was going to be his meeting place. The darkness hid him as he walked deeper into the darkness. Hearing soft breathing behind him, he turned to see a dark figure holding out a light colored scroll. The only thing that could be seen through the darkness. With a nod, Jax grabbed the parchment and left the alley without a word.

Opening the scroll, he read the name and location. ‘Duke John Sanders. At midnight he heads to the inn at the far end of the city.’ His description was listed and that was the last thing he read before he leaned up to a burning lantern that was hanging off a shop. While the end started to blaze with fire, he dropped the scroll onto the ground and walked away. He didn’t have much time to reach his target.

As the assassin hurried to kill his target, he climbed into the building he used the lantern from and hid in the shadows of the rooftops. Moving swift, he jumped from rooftop to rooftop. The sudden blaze of light just on the other side of the building he was on. He knew the moment he saw the light. It wasn’t natural. “Holy Light.” He thought as he moved slowly across the roof to the other side. He was curious at the commotion going on. He could spare a minute.

Hearing the voices below the woman came into view. A her blonde hair seemed to glow against the light. “Whoa.” He whispered wide eyed. Before he could comment again she rushed off. That was when he noticed the bodies and the men chasing her. “Damnit.” He cursed under his breath. He couldn’t let a pretty young thing die at the hands of those men. He was going to be late but he didn’t care. He wouldn’t feel good about himself if he let her die.

The half elf ran across the rooftop to catch up with them. Ripping his bow from his back, he took three arrows from their carrier and laid them upon the bow. As he ran, he caught up just enough to kneel, point, and shoot. The men didn’t have a chance to scream as the arrow pierced their back. They fell to their knees and expelled their last breath. Two men stood stunned for a moment, looking from side to side trying to find their attackers.

A smirk came across Jax’s lips as he took that moment of shock to his advantage. Quickly grabbing two more arrows, he took aim and shot both dead center in their chest. Their bodies feel beside their companions.

“A beautiful girl like you shouldn’t be out this late at night.” He called out to her from the shadows. Looking up at the moon and he cursed. It was just passed midnight. He missed his chance for a clean death. Looking back at the woman before, he had to say hello. Jumping down from the rooftop, he grabbed the lantern post, glided gracefully down it and landed on his feet. “Its pretty dangerous.” He said with a smirk as he walked out the shadows to greet her. “Names Jax. And who is this damsel I just saved?” He bowed slightly before her even though he was a bit irritated at himself for missing his target.

Lily was pretty sure she knew what her attackers were up to. She was royalty and not just any but Angela’s sister. She would fetch not only a good price but also a way to torment the goddess. Well, if you could call finding them and killing them after they caught her a torment. She mentally shrugged the thought of stupidity off of her as she worried about her escape. Now where was that clergy house? If she could get to the clergy house that Angela had in Adeluna she knew she would be safe.

However, it was the sound of an arrow that caught her slightly shaped ear off guard. It hadn’t hit her but it had most definitely hit flesh. She turned around to see the other men go down. Her green and red eyes scanned the area for any more of them as she crept closer to the voice that called out. “A girl no. A woman who had an entourage that got crudely executed yes.” She gave a smile as if she knew what had happened. The question was… who was foolish enough to go after a goddess’s sister like that?

Her eyes followed him in the light and she nodded along with his words. “It is pretty dangerous but everywhere is pretty dangerous when I’m outside the comfort of my manor.” She let a slight chuckle out as she brought up a finger to her lips and looked him over carefully. “My name is Lily, one of the queens of Sularia.” She bowed back at him.

“I’m afraid I was the target of a very clever attack. I think those men that were hired to guard me were in on it. You know, your soul will be hailed a hero. All that nonsense that men typically believe in.” Lily was hardly thinking on it. “I was about to run to my sister for help, but you showed up and saved my day. Well, night. Also, I didn’t have to ask Angela for any favors. She is very crude you know, asking for things in such situations.”

Lily held up her hands and there were runes inscribed on them. “Can’t protect myself you see. I took a vow not to hurt anything. Otherwise, they wouldn’t have made it too far.” She tried to stifle her aura and she found it glowing even more. Lily let out a huff. “I do wish I could stop this glow. It is rather annoying trying to hide when I am a giant lantern.”

She pulled out a sack of silver and looked down at it. “Would you be willing to take me back to an inn or something?  I don’t wish to grovel at the doorstep of my sister and I really don’t think the inn I was at is really safe anymore.”

While hanging his bow on his shoulders, he looked over her. The lady was even more beautiful up close. “Queen, Huh….” He thought as his eyes looked over her head to toe. He could tell by her clothes she was some type of royalty, but a queen, he wouldn’t have guessed that. Looking behind him, he saw the bodies lining the street a ways away. “Your a queen. You shouldn’t trust anyone. Someone always wants your head.” He said with a smirk as remembering the king he assassinated over a hundred years ago.

With her comment about his soul, the man laughed a bit. “I am no hero, love.” He would always be the one who killed heroes, even those who weren't. Since he was a young man, he had killed many men, heroes, dukes, random men who were nothing, even Kings. He crossed his arms over his chest as he listened to her speak. “Well. I love to stay and chat—” He was caught off by the bag of money she held. “That would set me up for months..” He thought as his eyes moved slowly to her face. “For that whole bag, I will take you home to your castle, but after I finish some business at the in a few streets away.” He said nodding towards the bag.

Assuming she said yes, he motioned for her to follow him. “Let’s go. I don’t have much time.” He said as he turned around and walked off down the road. No need for stealth when he had to escort a fair maiden.

It wasn’t long before they reached the inn and it was filled with many drunks and woman giving themselves up to them. Ignoring the ruckus of the crowd, he walked to the bar. “Can I get a room?” He asked the barkeep while tossing some coins at him. The barkeep nodded handing Jax a key and said, “Fourth door towards the end of the hall, to the right.” The half elf leaned in at that moment, handing the man more coins. “The Duke. What room?” Jax asked and was pleased with his answer. “At the end of the hall to the left.” The barkeep said in a hush voice.

Pulling away, Jax turned to face the Queen. “You don’t want to hand out here all night. Never know who wants to kill you. Go to the room, I’ll meet you there.” He said while handing her the key and quickly went out the doors of the Inn. With the Duke in a corner room helped him a lot.

As soon as Jax left the inn, he made his way to the alley on the right. His eyes went straight to the window towards the end of the Inn then moved towards the other building beside it. Taking his bow off his shoulder and grabbed the thick arrow with rope tied on the end of it. Laying it on the bow, he pointed it towards the tallest point of the building and shot it. After he tugged the rope few times he climbed up towards the top. It wasn’t until he passed the Inn’s window, he peaked inside. He saw the movements on the bed. The Dukes fun time was going to end soon.

Swinging her leg over the roofs edge, he pulled himself up and then grabbed another arrow. He waited for a moment as the Duke finally got out of the bed and started to get dress. His mistress sat on the end of the bed with a smile on her face, her lips moved as she poke. “I had a great time…. You need to leave your wife..” She had said to him. The Duke didn’t finish his sentence before an arrow broke through the glass and shot him in the chest. The woman on the bed didn’t get to scream before she had a matching wound. “Bet it was the wife.” He thought as he slid down the rope. “She is going to be rich.” He said with a smirk as he landed on his feet then yanked the rope. His arrow came loose and fell. Catching the arrow he put it back into his arrow holder.

With his job done, it was on to his next one. With that he headed back into the inn and up the stairs to the room.

She put a finger to her lip as if she knew. “I’m old enough to know better and wise enough to pick my own guards. Those were offered to me as thanks and I’m apparently too kind for my own good.” She thought about the hero bit for a few seconds before chuckling. “Being a hero is subjective at best. There are times when we are all the villains of another’s story.  You did save me though so that makes you my hero for tonight. Tomorrow you could be the one killing me.” She let a shrug roll off her shoulders as if it wasn’t the first time something like that had happened to her.

She was glad the bag of silver was taken and more so that he offered to take her back to Sularia. “It is a long trip. I thank you for taking me back to Sularia.” She moved with him as they walked. Taking a look at the inn, she had a slight flash back of meeting Yaeger. There was a pained look on her face. Her vow, her daughter, the sword, everything was coming back to her.

She turned her attention back to Jax and nodded to him. “Of course,” she took the key and went up to the room. She felt on the bed and she felt like tears were welling up in her eyes. It had been a tavern like this, no she had to hate that man… but she couldn’t. Looking at her hands she felt dirty and she decided to begin to clean herself. The golden dress fell to the floor and she pulled the curtains shut in the room.

Taking a cloth she poured some water in a bowl and began to wash herself as if she were covered in something. This continued for minutes before she slowed down and just looked at her red skin. It was worse at her hands. Her eyes began to settle as she calmed herself. There had been no other way in the situation. The cloth was now on her shoulders as she wiped some dirt off. Demons were unpredictable but it was something about Yaeger that made her regret driving a blade through his neck. A disgusted sound left her lips as she tossed the cloth back into the bowl to soak it.

“Ridiculous, it’s been sixteen years and now I think about it?” Was it the night? Was it the tavern she was in? “It’s not like he’s gone, gone.” There was frustration in her force as she slammed her hands on the edges of the wash table. Sixteen years since she sealed herself away through the oath. Because she had killed someone she loved. Killed and sealed him within something so he couldn’t hurt the person she loved more.

From a distance, Lily was beautiful. Even her sun-kissed skin had an eerie glow to it though it wasn't glaring. It was more pleasant to the eyes. Her hair was like spun gold and her hips though not as wide as her sister's were, were still nice. She was smaller than Angela. Standing about five feet made her one of the shorter sisters in the group. She had floral tattoos along her hips. Bleeding heart flowers they were called, they were entangled in roses. A symbol of her house.

As the half elf walked up the stairs, his mind started to wonder. It had been a long time since he had a long break from all the killings. At least he had three days to rest, but instead of resting he would be taking a queen home to her people. “Extra is always good for the soul.” He thought as he laughed under his breath. “And I get to look at that beauty for a few days.” He smirked thinking of her golden strands of hair falling into her chest when they spoke and with her being shorter than him gave him a great view.

Pushing those thoughts away, the half elf reached the door but before he could open it, he heard the bang of something inside. Jax didn’t hesitate to grab the handle and open the door softly. He couldn’t have the queen die and him not get paid. Whoever that was in there was going to die. His free hand laid on the hilt of his dagger, readying himself. Instead of seeing an intruder, he saw the Queen standing naked. Her shoulders looked heavy with anger or was it sadness. He didn’t care what is was, all her saw was a soft clothing free body that wanted to be touched.

Slowly and quietly, the archer entered the room and locked the door behind him. He removed his weapons and laid them on a nearby chair and made his way to her. He didn’t make a sound as he came up behind her. His rough hands touched her smooth skin as her wrapped his arms around her from behind. She didn’t move to slap him or move away, so Jax decided to continue. Leaning down he kissed the side of her next and up to her ear. His hands moved over her body before forcing her to turn around.

It was then he picked her up off the ground and sat her onto the wash table. His free hand pushed off the bowl and it fell to the ground. He didn’t notice the water ran around his feet only the woman in his arms had his attention. Kissing his way down her chest and up her neck, the half elf made it to her lips. He kissed her hard and with force like he wanted to swallow her whole. She was beautiful and he wanted every inch of her. Picking her up again, he laid her softly on the bed and took her to bliss until they fell to sleep.

Lily was a person who was comforted most by another. She was strong and stoic. Her posture showed this the most as she moved closer to his touch rather than away. She was the type to deal with her internal pain and now that he had seen her at her most vulnerable, she slammed the door to her emotions shut. He gave her everything she needed to forget the sense of dread that was following her about. She pressed herself to his arm as he passed out and did the same for herself.

She thought she could hear the ticking of Sularia clock in her dream. While normally it was a peaceful noise, it seemed to bring her more dread. Why was home so dreadful right now? His face flashed again and again. The way the neck had pierced when she stabbed him. She shot up after hours of the same thing. “Yaeger!” She let out a single scream, hardly muffled. Her body had a sweat to it as she forced herself up. What water was left in the pitcher was put directly into the bowl as she picked it up.

She splashed herself and her hands numerous times. The room seemed to creak eerily as she stopped what she was doing and looked around. There was blood everywhere but on the blood from where they were laying. She took a breath of the iron filled the air and shook her head. Taking a step she picked up her dress, it had blood on it. Sad it was one of her favorites. She put her finger on it and gently rubbed. “The culprit for my attempted murder is close. Can’t even get a good night’s sleep. What the hell does this have to do with Yaeger?” 

Thinking back on the demon she realized that he had many connections before he cut them all off. It could have been said that she destroyed a great and powerful man. In fact, she agreed but not because of their reasons. “I think our best bet is Sularia.” Her green eyes looked up at him. “I need to have a word with a demon.”

Jax didn’t bother to kiss her goodnight, it wasn’t like him. The fewer attachments the better. With the business he was in, he couldn’t fall in love with no one. He couldn’t be with anyone. “The last time I did…I lost a child.” He thought to himself. He had dived into his job after that. All he had was fun, he didn’t let himself feel for anyone. He didn’t want the chance of loosing them. Pushing his thoughts away, he closed his eyes and let sleep take him.

It wasn’t long before Lily woke him with a scream. He sat up holding his dagger in his hand. His eyes moving throughout the room, then landed on her. Jax let out a sigh before setting his dagger on the end table beside him. It was only a bad dream. He watched her move out of bed and splash her face. Seeing she was okay, he stood up and walked to get his clothes. Slipping back in his clothes, he turned and look at her hearing her speak to him. “Alright. As long as I get paid.Sun should be up soon, so I'll go get some horses.” With a nod to her, he finished throwing on his trench coat and weapons, and walked out of the room. It was a fun night, but that was all it was and he didn’t want her thinking otherwise.

Heading down the stairs, his footsteps echoed through the empty space. Not even the barkeep was there yet. His eyes looked around the room for a moment, making sure no one was there and headed out. There was a barn at the gate near by and he remembered seeing horses.

By the time he reached the barn, the sun was rising, the sky was filled with warm colors and slowly a bright blue sky. Pushing open the barn doors, he saw the horses awake horses awake but the keeper of the barn was still asleep. With a sigh, he rolled his eyes and walked over to the man hunched over in his chair. As Jax got closer he smelled of alcohol. A smirk lined his lips as he saw the pail of water near by filled with water. “Well now.” He whispered as he picked up the water and poured it over the man’s head. The horse man stood up with a start, his shoulders and head soaked with water. “WHAT THE HELLL!?” He cursed as he looked over himself then at Jax. Jax dropped the pale on the ground and held out a small purse of coins. “Two horses for long travel. For a few days.” The man face grew with a smile and nodded. “Yes sir.”

As he tossed the bag at the horse man, Jax headed outside to grab some supplies. He bought a bag full of food ; apples, bread, and cheese, the works. As soon as he was finished the horses were saddled and ready to go. “Thanks,” Jax said as he jumped onto one horse and gabbed the reins of the other horse. While he headed back he hoped she was outside and ready to go. He didn’t want to wait any longer to get out of town and get his money.

When he reached the in, she was there shining like gold. He walked the free horse up to her and dropped the reins for her to grab. “Let’s get going. We’re burning light.” The half elf said while he waited for her to climb on her horse.

It wasn’t long before they were moving and out of the city and off to Lily’s home.