I sat back in my chair with my face covered in my ghostly looking mask. I held my hands together much like a villain would in this scenario. I was completely hidden under my cloak. Beside me, was Millie and Dante dressed in a similar fashion. Bertram guarded the door wearing a cloak and mask as well.

In front of us, was a scrawny trembling man. He bowed his head, "P-Please my lord... I come here because I need information..."

I nodded silently. Millie spoke for me, "The rules are simple. If you desire information then you must be willing to pay. Both with gold as well as equally as d*mning information on yourself or someone else."

He nodded quickly, "Yes. Yes. It's all here." He pushed forward an envelope as well as a large bag of gold coins. I reached in and inspected it. Once I ensured the information also provided evidence and wasn't just a baseless claim, I nodded to Millie.

She continued, "What do you wish to know?"

The man sat forward with hate in his eyes, "There's someone I want to take down."

"Oh?" Millie said as she tilted her head. Under her mask, she was smiling maliciously.

He nodded quickly, "I hate him. I want to destroy him. You may know of this brute. He's the son of a Duke."

Great. Another son of a Duke.

"He has red hair."

Red hair?

"And he's a complete a**hole!"

One person comes to mind.

The man had fire in his eyes, "His name is Lucius. Perhaps you have heard of him?"

My face twitched. I forced out a strained voice, "Yes..."

"Well I want him to pay dearly! I want enough information to completely destroy him and force him to rot in jail!"

Millie giggled, "Oh, now you've done it."

Bertram sighed, "There goes another one..."

I took a deep breath and spoke, "And just why do you hate this person so much?"

He answered, "He stole my fiancé!"

Why doesn't that surprise me? No wonder he and Artie's relationship isn't improving. Lucius is still out causing trouble with females.

I took off my mask and sighed, "Well throwing him in jail seems a bit excessive. It's not his fault your fiancé isn't loyal. If anyone deserves to rot in jail it's you for wasting my time."

His face went pale as he realized what was about to happen. There was a new rumor going around. If the Black Death's apprentice takes off her mask around you, it means you are doomed to die.

I crossed my arms, "Millie?"

Millie giggled maliciously and produce her small needles. He shouted in a panic, "No! You can't do this!!" She threw her needles which hit him with precision. He fell to his knees and forced out his voice, "But... Why?.."

I leaned down in his face and snarled, "Because if anyone's going to destroy Lucius- it's me. Not some jealous coward."

The man fainted from the sedatives. Millie skipped over and moved the rug from the floor to reveal a hidden trap door. She opened it and pushed the man down. You could hear his body smack the sides on his way down. I winced from the sound.

"D*mn Millie! Did you really just have to throw him down like that? What if he dies?!"

Millie shrugged and used the ladder inside to climb down. She smiled at me, "If he dies, he dies. Also he will die anyway, so what is so wrong about dying sooner?" And with that, Millie climbed down closing the latch behind her without giving me the chance to argue.

Dante spoke in a low voice, "She's becoming more unbridled..."

I sighed, "At least it's not directed towards me this time."

A knock on the door sounded and Bertram opened it up. Mathias stood in a mask and handed over an envelope, "The Royal Palace gave this to Esma to hand to you." Ever since Mathias started wearing a mask, he had an easier time communicating. He could even speak a few sentences to Millie's sister Sophie without becoming embarrassed.

I took it from him and opened it up. I raised an eyebrow, "It looks like Dante and I are being summoned to the Imperial Palace to discuss a job." I chuckled, "I wonder how much it will pay."

"..."

_____

Dante and I arrived to the Imperial Palace later that day. We had already snuck home and changed into a more suitable outfit. We couldn't just knock on the Palace doors wearing our masks and cloaks. Although the King and Queen were lenient with me, that would be a bit too much for them.

Dante and I walked in to the audience room where the King and Queen were sitting. We both bowed to them respectfully. Queen Luna smiled, "I am so glad you could make it. We would like to hire you for your first mission as Imperial Mercenaries."

My eyes sparkled as I thought about the gold, "What would you like for us to do, Your Majesty?"

"I would like for you to accompany the Prince to the Western Kingdom to protect him. I can only trust you two to do this." The Queen sniffed back tears, "I can't believe my little Prince is getting his first assignment... A-And he's going to another kingdom!!"

The King reached over to hold her hand. "There, there my Queen. Prince William will be fine. When I was his age I had already been to several Kingdom's as the Royal Ambassador."

The Queen sobbed, "But this is William! Not you!"

The King sighed, "Honey, every Prince has always been the Royal Ambassador before becoming King. It is the tradition of the Kingdom. It will prepare him for when he must rule and cooperate with the other Kingdoms."

"I know... But I worry..."

Dante and I watched quietly as the Queen and King went back and forth discussing it. The Queen wanted to spoil and baby William while the King wanted to throw him in the deep end to watch him sink or swim. I feel a little bad for William being stuck in the middle.

The King turned to us, "So do you accept?"

"I do!" I spat out quickly startled by their sudden attention. Dante gave a nod in approval.

The Queen smiled, "Oh that's a relief. You leave tomorrow."

I blinked, "Huh?! Tomorrow?!"

She nodded, "Yup. So hurry up. The carriage will meet you in the morning."

"AAAH! I have to pack!" I paused, "Wait, what should I pack? Where are we even going?"

"You will be going to the Western Kingdom. The capital is right on the beach and the weather is warm."

All I heard was one word.

Beach.

My eyes lit up, "There's going to be a beach scene?!"

Bikinis? Abs? Tropical alcoholic beverages? Sign me up.

I squealed, "I need to go buy a bathing suit!!!"

I ran out of the door not even waiting for them to dismiss us. The King chuckled, "She seems to think this is more of a vacation than a job."

Queen Luna's face twitched and she turned to Dante with a look of exasperation, "Can you remind her that this is not a vacation? Make sure she does not get distracted."

Dante nodded complacently, "I will your Majesty."

The next day I stood outside my mansion tapping my foot in irritation as the servants added the trunks to the carriage. William stepped out of the carriage and glanced at my irritated expression. "Why are you so upset? My mother told me you were excited."

"I WAS excited until I found out there are no bikinis here."

William raised an eyebrow, "A bikini?"

I ignored his question, "Instead, the only kind of bathing suit I could find here was one that looked exactly like a dress. If I was going to go swimming in a dress, why wouldn't I just do so in the one I was currently wearing? Stupid. Just stupid."

"You know this isn't a vacation, right? It's work." William emphasized loudly, "Work."

I paused, then nodded quickly, "Yes, yes. I know. But all work and no play makes me a very agitated girl."

William rolled his eyes and looked at a servant carrying a trunk precariously, "One second." He left and went to speak to the servant and directed him to where he should place the trunks.

Dante bent down and whispered in my ear, "What is a bikini?"

"It's a bathing suit that looks like this." I drew the image in the dirt at our feet.

Dante gave a lewd smile, "I wouldn't mind seeing you in this."

"..."

"Perhaps you could wear one for me?"

I'm starting to think that a bikini isn't all that great.

I tapped him on the head, "Stop having lewd thoughts."

After Dante was admonished for having dirty thoughts, he nudged me. "I have something I want to give to you."

I raised an eyebrow suspiciously. I was a bit afraid of what he was thinking about now. "What is it?"

He walked over to a long package and picked it up. He handed it to me, "I have been wanting to give this to you for a while."

I took it eagerly and opened it up. Inside was a sword that was made specifically for me. It was shorter than the average sword and incredibly light and durable. It had a vine like design on it's hilt. With this at my side, I would really look like a warrior of Gaia. I pulled the blade out slowly from the scabbard. Etched into the blade was a message that read:

To my Beloved. I will be by your side. Forever and always.

I glanced up at Dante feeling incredibly moved, "You had this personally made? For me?"

He nodded, "I have always thought that you should keep a sword on you, but you were so stubborn about it. So I had Charles make something that would perfectly suit you. This way you can't refuse it."

I planted a large kiss on his cheek and blushed slightly, "Thank you. I will keep it on me at all times." I quickly attached it to my side and patted it lovingly.

After the carriages were properly loaded, we all climbed inside and began our long and arduous journey. The Western Kingdom's capital was a few days away by carriage so it seemed it would take us a while before we arrived.

William looked at me, "Why wasn't Millie there to see us off?"

I sighed, "She is mad that I wouldn't let her come with me. She probably went off to go torture poor Penelope."

"Well, it's for the best she doesn't come. I worry that she may do something and get us all locked up in the Western Kingdom's jail."

"I agree, but she was still angry. I just hope she calms down before I get back."

"Mary was also upset she could not come with."

I looked at William in interest, "Oh? Mary? It seems that you two are becoming very close lately."

I nudged him playfully. He only rolled his eyes, "We are only friends."

"Right. Right. Just like Lucius and Artie are only friends?"

William glared at me, "I'm not going to answer that."

"It's because you know I am right."

Once it grew dark, the carriage rolled to a stop. The Knight driving the carriage opened the door, "Your highness. We will set up camp here tonight. It seems to be well hidden."

William nodded, "Very well."

I rushed out of the carriage and breathed in the cold night air deeply. As the Knights accompanying us started setting up the camp, William and Dante walked out of the carriage and looked up at the stars. While we waited, I heard a quiet thumping noise coming from one of the trunks attached to the carriage.

I frowned and whispered, "Do you hear that?"

Dante and William looked at me. William frowned, "Hear what?"

I held a finger to my lips and slowly snuck over to the trunk on the carriage. I took out my short sword and used it to cut off the trunk. The trunk fell off and smacked onto the ground, causing it to open up and spill it's contents.

Mary and Millie fell out.