In the seediest part if Viplamolan there was a particular tavern known as The Duskwood. This was the sort of place a person went when they had a job that needed to be done. “Your boy botched the job! SHE IS STILL ALIVE,” a young lord smashed his hands on the table. He looked conflicted as he yelled about it. “I am not paying until she is gone. I don’t care how it’s done she just needs to go.”

He had tears on the side of his face as he smashed his fist once more and wiped his eyes. “Why you want your wife dead so badly? It looks like you care~”

“Because something isn’t right with her!” He screamed and he pulled out a chair. “The house help found her out by the lake in Virens. They didn’t mention the why or the hows but they brought her back. Touching her was like getting struck by lightning and she was scared. We married after a year of courting but it has been six now. She’s bared me no child and any doctor who sees her… Can’t find her womb. It’s like she doesn’t work. She’s gotten distant lately, maybe she knows I’m trying to have her killed. It would be easier than trying to divorce her through the church.”

He pulled at his hair, “And when I think about divorcing her I can’t do it because when I touch her that lightning comes back. I need to do it for my family. I have to make her disappear. SHE’S A CURSE. I just need her dead. Fifty thousand silver to the man who kills her. I don’t care how I just need her gone. Bring me her wedding ring when it's done so I know.” The man began to offer to anyone who would listen.

Who would willingly kill a wife they clearly loved?

Nobles were such weird creatures.

It was not his favorite place, but the Duskwood always seemed to provide a wide variety of…interesting marks, as it were. Still, the commotion that he walked into on that day would prove to be one of the most confusing marks he would come across in his lifetime.

At first, it seemed just as the noble lord had said. A botched job. Lewis paid little mind to it at first, as he had little interest in idiots who failed at their living. Still, the lord was loud and pressuring, insisting that things were not right, not normal about the mark. His wife…

Marks on those who would not bear heirs were quite common. Nobles had their loved ones killed for multiple, stupid reasons after all. The fact that she could bear no heir, male or female, was a common thing to hear. Yet it was what followed that caught Lewis’ attention.

The divorce. The love. The need and desire. There was a clear conflict of interest. Normal humans held a strange sense of attachment to each other, but this seemed to go beyond it from what the assassin could tell. No, this was borderline delirious. And fifty-thousand silver?

Lewis cleared his throat as he walked forward, removing his cowl to show his cold, blue eyes.

“I’ll do it for half,” he said, sitting down across from the noble. “I need a name, location, and point of contact for once the job is done.” Lewis stared the man down. “I can see you’re clearly shaken. My typical rate is half up front….” The game of negotiation was on. “Twenty-five percent up front. Cost for supplies and travel.”

Lewis was, of course, lying. He had little to no need for the coin. No, he was wondering how desperate the man was. Something about this mark was different. And that, for Lewis, was exciting.

The man jumped once Lewis had called out. He scrambled from his position to face the assassin and looked him over. “I’ll pay whatever I have to. This has to be done.” The noble was shaken but also trying to take back what he said.

“If you are serious about my proposal then meet me near the west gate. I’ll have your silver.” He looked at a guard who was near him. The guard had a displeased look on his face. “Please, you have to understand my position.”

“The missus never did anything to anyone. I’ll not voice anything else about this but I am displeased you chose this route AGAIN.”

“It was his fault for botching it. He touched her! HE SHOULDN’T HAVE DONE THAT I WARNED HIM.” The noble was almost freaking out but the guard took hold of him.

“Like my lord says. Meet us at the west gate we’ll have your silver. I’m not pleased about it but she isn’t my wife,” the guard escorted the noble out with a huff. Clearly there had been some unrest on those who knew about this but it was normal.

After Lewis had met up with the noble they traveled in his carriage. “It’s not that far. We have a plot of land on the edge of Virens quite near the Adelunian land. Like I said back in the tavern be wary of touching her. I’ve noticed it now and I swear she’s bewitched.”

The ride was quiet with the nobleman fidgeting about the entire time. He was riding back and forth whether or not this was the correct thing to do. His father had approved of the marriage but what if it was the bewitching she could do? “Take the carriage around the back. I’ll take her for a walk in the gardens, she likes it there. There’s plenty of spots to ditch her.”

He could easily mask his fears as he stepped out. The guard showed Lewis to the area where the noble would be bringing his wife. Wasting no time not to be apart of it anymore Lewis was left alone for whatever he wanted. The noble had urged his wife to postpone dinner just a while longer wanting to look at the flowers. It wasn’t an odd request to her so she followed him out.

“Was your trip to Adeluna good?” Her grey eyes looked up at him and for a moment he hesitated before answering her.

“It went well. We should have a partnership for trade soon enough. You won’t ever have to worry about a thing once I secure our future.”

“I wasn’t worried about it,” his wife said with a smile. “As long as you’re here with me I’m sure we’ll manage somehow.”

“Yeah… Listen, Simone,” the noble stopped her near the middle of the great garden and she tilted her head.

“Hmm?” She was a lot shorter than he was with a good glance. She had long raven hair and by just the looks of her, she didn’t need to bewitch anyone. She didn’t appear menacing nor did she have an aura to her that read she could do evil.

“I forgot something back in the house. Why don’t you go ahead without me and I’ll be there soon,” he kissed his wife, and when he went to leave she grabbed his hand.

“I forgive you,” she spoke rather loudly and it wasn’t in a tone that he was used to. It surprised him as it took him a few minutes.

“What? For what?”

“…” She was quiet for a moment before she smiled, “For coming home late.”

“Oh…” He kissed her forehead before going back into the house.

There was a tiny frown on her face as she turned around and went back towards the further gardens so she could look at the colorful flowers.

The setup was too easy, It was almost so easy, that Lewis thought it may be a trap set by an enemy of Lord Raith, but due to his recent training, he was keenly aware that it was really as simple as it seemed. There were a hundred different ways he could execute her. The knives he had on him would be more than enough, but in the end, he chose a different method. It was something he had wanted to test, and this seemed to be the perfect opportunity for it.

He pulled out one his sharpest daggers. Tied to the hilt was a thin rope, something that could be yanked back at a moment’s notice. A makeshift rope dart. If this worked, he would ask Lord Raith to have an official one commissioned. In the short term, this would be more than affective. He slowly starting to swing it in circles before doing a perfect, underhanded throw.

The blade aimed true, sinking itself into the flesh of the young girl who he had been tasked to kill. But this was only the first half. The edge itself wasn’t enough to kill.

Lewis smirked as lightning danced through his hands into the rope, delicately spiraling down the length and into the dagger. The shock would cause the victim to seize. At lower voltages, it could stun, but at higher, it would stop their heart. Of course, Lewis went for the higher.

“One. Two. Three…” Three seconds. He had tested it before in a more close range setting. That was how long it took to stop a heart. He yanked the blade back, catching it.

“May you find peace in the next life…” It was quick, clean, and effective. It left little trace. He smiled. It was a good method. He started to clean the weapon….

Six years ago she had been found at the bottom of a small lake. The house help had hushed themselves exactly where she had come from. All she could remember was shivering and being told she was getting taken to safety. It felt like such a long time ago and these past six years had been such a good time… Or she had thought. Recently she had the feeling that her husband had been hiding something from her. He wasn’t a good liar but he wasn’t bad either. However, he always looked at her with a sad stare.

Then a few nights ago a man had come at her. He had taken her wrist and froze still against her. He was staring directly into her stormy eyes before he ran away. That was the first time she had flashes of something odd. Pains across her body.

The closer the day came and the more serene she felt. There wasn’t anxiety as she stood in the garden. When Lewis had thrown the weapon she had a moment’s notice to turned her eyes towards him. “Thank you.” That clarity that came with these things that she couldn’t understand… They were worth the pain and more.

Simone fell to the ground like a lifeless doll. There were several seconds of uneasiness that hung in the air before violet magic filled the immediate area. The sound of a clock was far in the distance. The once lifeless body twitched but it wasn’t how Lewis had last seen it. She was younger and it was evident from how the dress no longer fit her just right. Her skin was full of scars from the top of her head to the bottom. Burns, tears, and many other things. It took only a few moments for the violet magic to suck in and the scars were no more on her. She was breathing heavily against the ground as her fingers gripped at the grass beneath her.

Lewis had just wiped the first bit of blood off of the dagger when the air suddenly started to vibrate with magic. He had felt strong magics before, but the sheer scale of this was something more than he had ever felt before. It was powerful, and although Lewis couldn’t truly understand what he was feeling, he knew it was something that went against the very laws of the world they lived in.

At first, he thought it was a trap triggering. He was expecting to have to fight his way out, and that he would have to add another mark to his list tonight at whoever would dare target him. As the violet light filled the air, he shielded his eyes, and prepared for the worst. After a moment that seemed to drag on, the light finally faded, there was his mark.

But it wasn’t his mark. She was a younger woman, smaller in stature and definitely had room to grow. The features that she had were less defined than that of his original mark, yet upon closer inspection, he noted that given time, she could very well turn into the person he was tasked to kill.

Is this her? he wondered as he approached her cautiously. Regardless…it’s better to not leave any signs. The girl was still gasping for air, as if she had been deprived of it all her life. He pulled out a second dagger, one that he had acquired recently. Supposedly it’s edge was sharper than any blade. He knelt down over her body, noting the loose fitting clothes.

“Die.” He plunged the blade into her heart. The air around them stilled, as if the night were holding its breath. Once again, a powerful magic filled the air. Lewis stared in disbelief, unable to understand what was happening. He had been cautious.

“What the fuck?” The violet light consumed the two of them, the pressure of whatever was happening knocking Lewis back on his ass, the light temporarily blinding him. If anyone wanted to kill him, now would be the perfect opportunity. He had made a mistake.

“Thank you,” it was as if she was compelled to say it. Like the curse knew the moment he would try again. Her life snuffed out once more. Once more the violet let happened and once more she was gasping.

Weak arms pushed herself up. The wound that he had given her was gone. She was choking on air and felt heart fill with anxiety. “Where am I?” It was a weak and meek voice that left her lips. Dazed and confused gray eyes looked around finally landing on Lewis. “Who are you?”

The voice did belong to her but a tad younger which fit the way she was now. There was blood on her dress from the murders but it didn’t seem to bother her as she looked around at her surroundings. “I can’t remember why I’m here…” There were things missing in her mind as she put her hands to her face and held her head. “I wanna go home… but I can’t remember where that is.”

Lewis was surprised to find himself in one piece. As he sat up, he saw that the girl was still alive, a confused look across her face as she tried to grasp what was happening. The assassin himself seemed confused as he pushed himself off the ground and onto his feet. Everything seemed to be in place; nothing was broken or bruised, and there were no signs of broken skin.

“What…” His cold eyes focused on the girl, his mind running through the possibilities. I don’t get it. I clearly killed her. And the first time with the light…could that have been her as well? She’s younger, but…[i/] He slowly circled her. The magic in the air was starting to fade. Something is amiss…

He was wary as he approached her again, squatting down, the dagger in his hand in a reverse grip. His eyes locked with hers as he demanded her focus.

“Speak. What is your name,” Lewis said harshly. “Lies will be met with pain.” He cleared his throat. “What is that Noble to you. And what was that magic that you used.”

Him speaking directly to her was enough to snap her attention to his direction. There was a blank look on her face for a few moments as she thought. There was a confusing moment as she tried to think about who he was talking about. “Simone Auclair.” It left easily enough even as he threatened her.

Her eyes spoke she was scared but the way her body held itself spoke something different. “What noble?” She tilted her head. “And what magic?” She winced a bit as she put a hand to her head. “I don’t know what you are talking about.”

She looked around a bit more. “The last thing I remember… is snow.” Winter had been gone for many months now as they were in the thick of summer.

Lewis stared into her eyes for a moment, reading her for any signs of deceit. There was nothing. Even an amatuer would have noticed the fear and confusion. There were details in her words. Snow. But it was Summer now, and at that, they were far away from anywhere that held a cold climate. The way the Lord had presented himself is that they had lived here for quite some time…

There was definitely something here. Amnesia of sorts. But it was more than that. Lewis knew first hand what a powerful alchemist could brew up…potions that altered one’s very physiology and aged or de-aged. One such potion had affected himself, as well as old partner Xeik. The two had reversed effects…with Xeik getting younger, while Lewis grew older. Perhaps this was one of many reasons why their ideals drifted. Lewis had the chance to see the world for what it was, explore the darkness and cruelty of it all.

But that wasn’t relevant here. No, this wasn’t a potion. This was a powerful magic spell. And Lewis wasn’t smart enough to tell what kind, or how it even worked.

The assassin stood up. There wasn’t much time to act, and he would have to move quickly. He knew quite a few people who could deal with this, but in the short term…he had a contract that was technically fulfilled. He pulled out his makeshift rope dart, and went to work tying up Simone without a word. She was smaller than he was, and she seemed in shock enough not to fight back much.

With a final touch, he gagged her, dragging her into a nearby bush. He coaxed the shadows across the area, making sure she was well hidden.

“Stay quiet. I have no qualms with killing you,” Lewis said sharply. The fear would keep her quiet, and it seemed she did not know her own…immortality. He started to turn, and paused. He would need proof of her death. But what. A lock of her hair? Oh. Of course. The ring too. Those will do nicely. He turned around, and with his dagger, cut a lock of hair. The ring was quite easy, as her younger form left it loose fitting. He picked it off her, and smirked.

“Easy.” Once more, he turned and this time made his way back into the garden, following the path up to where he knew the contractor would be waiting.

“It’s done,” he said, holding out the ring and hair. “I would recommend…not going to the garden anytime soon. And you will possibly need to have it…erm…cleaned. It was…messier than anticipated.”