Cecily's eyes drew open, revealing the little medic girl kneeling over her.

The autumn haired girl was laid out on her stomach, the feeling of the bed underneath her familiar.

When Alma noticed the girls eyes on her, the little girl backed away. Just like a frightened rabbit, Cecily thought.

"Sorry," Alma muttered. "I was just-"

"Mm," she hummed. "You're fine."

"You feeling okay?" Magnus voice asked from the other side of the room.

Her black eyes followed the sound until they found the assassin leaning against the wall besides the closed door that led to the main room. Of course they wouldn't leave her alone with the Saint. They were still scared of her. After the shock she got, from the eastern guard if she had to guess, they probably thought she was pissed which they probably thought made her dangerous. More so than usual, at least.

She sighed, pushing herself up until she could sit.

"Take it easy," the Saint said, holding her hands like she wanted to help but was too scared to touch. "The burst of energy you got gave your system quite the shock."

Shock. She could still feel something uncomfortable buzzing under her skin. It almost felt like a swarm of bees was trapped right below the surface. Not stinging, but she could feel them moving.

She flexed her right arm, closing each of the mechanical fingers to the hard palm. Each did as they were told.

"You feel okay?" Alma asked. "Nothing feel...broken? Unnatural?"

She shook her head. "A little bit of a headache and I can still feel some electricity under my skin."

"Yeah, about that. Um, you didn't get hit with electricity. What you were hit with was a decently high voltage of red energy."

"What they use to bring comatose patients back?"

"Yeah. It-it shouldn't have any lasting effects. Your skin might buzz for a while, but I can get you some medicine for the headache, if you want?"

She nodded, rubbing her eyes with her palms.

Alma scurried off, out the door, closing it behind her and leaving her with her sparring partner.

They watched each other for a second, both content with the silence, before Orion spoke.

"That move you used, the one that got you electrocuted, who taught you that?"

"I had to improvise."

"You just thought that up?"

She shrugged. "I didn't want to get electrocuted."

He smirked for the first time since the two of them met. "Well, you didn't do that great of a job."

She let out a breath of air.

The door opened and Alma came in again, carrying a steaming drink that smelled like her beloved tea and a small pill.

"I-I didn't exactly know exactly how you like it, but..."

Cecily shook her head, taking the extended cup and the downing the pill. "It's perfect. Thank you. How long was I out for?"

"Well, you were awake for about ten minutes after the initial shock, but then you went under. I don't know if you remember that. It's been about, uh, three hours. Give or take about twenty minutes or so."

She nodded, taking another sip of the tea.

"Do you mind?" Alma asked nervously, her thumbs swirling around each other. "Can I take your vitals one more time before you decide to get up and moving again?"

---

Orion watched just long enough to make sure Cecily was okay before strolling out of the room to where Reiko and the prince were kneeling over the blueprints of their next targets mansion. Well, he wasn't sure if it was a mansion, but pretty confident. The rich seemed to favor the things.

"Cecily's awake," Orion said, leaning against the back of the couch, peering down at, he guessed it, blueprints. "Says she's fine, but I don't know if our little saint will let us take her out for action just yet."

"Hmm," Zephyr hummed in acknowledgment. "Think she'll be good to go by tonight?"

"I think Alma can be persuaded."

"That's not what I asked."

He let out a sigh. "She took quite a shock, not that anything she does would ever give it away, and I think she hurts more than she'll let on. However, with her level of skill and how simple our last mission was, I think she'll be fine if she takes it easy."

"Good. We'll be leaving at midnight. Make sure the others know." Orion turned to leave but, apparently, the prince was still talking. "Make sure Cecily gets this."

Zephyr passed Orion a tablet. The front screen showed the picture of a beautiful woman. The words Blaire Southwood were written under the image.

---

Zephyr waited, crouched outside the mansion's high security walls.

"Everything look okay?" He asked, into the com device that was in his ear.

"For the last time, your highness," Zephyr's voice bit back, ever the sarcastic, "we're fine. Now stop making me reply. I don't want to blow our cover. "

"They're fine," Orion said from besides Alma, his eyes, like theirs, glued to the mansion walls, like they would somehow see through them. "Both of them can handle themselves perfectly fine."

Still, that wasn't what Zephyr was worried about. This mission was different than Pugh's. Southwood was known for staying up for nights on end, locking herself in her library where no one really knew what she was doing. Or course, Blaire Southwood, just like most of the nobles on the king's list was well learned in fighting. And his best fighter had just taken a terrifying shock from one of the most powerful electricity's known to man.

As for the matter of the red energy, he gave Rei a stern warning about using the collar again. When Cecily went down, Zephyr actually felt...afraid, almost. He didn't know how to react, seeing her body convulse like that, only to be left in the dirt. He certainly didn't want to use the collar again. Ever, if possible.

So there he was, stuck listening to her still steady breathing through the com, waiting for any signs that his friend or his killer might be attacked.

I mean, Zephyr thought, the plan is pretty simple, right? They just had to go in dressed up like Southwood's guards, costumes stolen from two that stepped a bit too far into the woods, and make their way to the library, where they'd most likely find a sleep deprived woman drooling over some inappropriate fantasy novel...right?

"We're coming up on the study," Rei's voice said in his ear.

---

Reiko slowly opened the door, peering inside to find the woman they were hunting sitting behind a desk, peering over a paper.

"I thought I told all of you guards never to disturb me in my study."

"Sorry, ma'am," Reiko answered, "but there's been trouble."

"Ugh, fine. Come in but make it fast."

Reiko nodded, leaving the door long enough for Cecily to slide in, and then closing it.

"Ma'am, there's been a disturbance along the left wall. We believe it to be a band of thieves."

"And this is important to me because..."

"We believe they're-"

Cecily's hand flew over Reiko's face.

"We're already in," she said.

"There's no fun with you, is there?"

"Not when someone is waiting for us to finish this, hoping not to be attacked where we can't reach."

Finally, Blaire looked up. "You two aren't my guards."

From the corner of his eye, Rei could see Cecily rolling her eyes.

"Took you long enough," he replied.

Blair stood, a sword grasped in her hand.

"Don't think I wasn't prepared. The second I heard Pugh kicked the bucket, I knew you'd come for me. It was only a matter of waiting." She looked to Rei. "I recognize you. You're the prince's friend and his guard." Then she looked at Cecily. "You, however, I don't believe I've had the pleasure of meeting"

"Cecily Earnheart," she replied. "Nothing but a criminal."

Blaire smiled. "A cute one, at that."

"Sorry," Rei cut in, "but we're not here to talk. Kinda got a job to finish. Oh, but I guess I'm supposed to give you options. So, you can either leave the country, change your name, and all that or pretty girl here can kill you."

"Heh. You really think I'd give up everything I've worked so hard to gain. Nice try, though."

"Alright, Ces. Looks like you'll be fight-"

"Don't even think about it," Zeph said in his ear. "You get to fight this one."

"What! Why me?"

"Because just a few hours ago, she woke up from a shock that you gave her."

He sighed. "Alright, alright, I get it." Reiko drew the sword that was strapped around his waist. "Come on Southwood, let's make this fast."

The woman smirked. "I was hoping to fight your pretty friend there first, but I guess you'll have to do."

Southwood struck first, landing a quick blow on Reiko's blade, which had been raised to block his face.

---

Cecily was beyond bored.

After about the third strike, she'd take a seat on the floor to watch the fight.

Reiko clearly had the upper hand, strength wise, but Blair Southwood was fast. For every strike Reiko landed, Southwood landed two.

"Cecily," Zephyr said in her ear, "are you keeping watch? If Reiko cant handle it I need you to jump in."

"Hmm, he's fi- Ah, she's dead now. Reiko got her good."

"Good job. As for the escape, try not to alert anyone. Walk out like you came in; nice and calm."