The Saffron guard ran through the castle, his armor clanking behind him as he turned to head down the mysterious south corridors. All the Saffron staff were required to know the layout of the castle, but not many people ventured down the south corridors. He could feel the atmosphere change as the air around him got a little chillier and the light appeared dimmer.

I have never heard the queen sound so angry, the Saffron guard thought, clenching his teeth in worry.

The guard reached a wooden door. He hesitantly opened it, peering down the next hall to see the last door from where he stood.

That's the assassin's room... the Saffron guard couldn't help but gulp. He mentally cursed himself that he was the unlucky guard to be on the throne room shift when Queen Fern had returned from the Azalea kingdom. He had never seen the assassin, Raven, before, but he knew that he was the queen's trump card.

Taking a deep breath, the guard mustered up his courage and walked down the hall. His heart beat rising as the door started to appear closer.

When he finally reached the door, he raised his right fist to knock, but the door swung open on its own accord. The guard slowly stepped in.

"Hello?" He called, trying to take a look into the assassin's room.

It was very dim, bordering dark. There was a small lit lamp at a desk, and the guard turned to see a bed.

He frowned. Is the assassin not here? Where else could he be?

The next moment, the Saffron guard suddenly grunted as he felt himself being shoved to the floor. He rolled himself onto his back, but he widened his eyes when he saw a flash of claws from above rush downward, stopping so that they were hovering over his exposed throat. He didn't dare move, afraid any sudden movements would cost him his life.

"Well, who do we have here?" the guard heard an amused voice say. The guard was too shocked to say anything at first, but he then noticed the claws twitch slightly in warning. "Well? State your business."

"I apologize for intruding," the guard replied slowly. "I was sent here on behalf of the queen, sir."

Silence, and then, "The queen sent you?"

"Y-Yes," the guard wanted to nod, but didn't want to get stabbed by the assassin's claws. "She wishes to speak with you in the throne room, sir."

After a moment, the assassin withdrew his claws. The guard hastily got up, brushing himself off from the little dust.

"Apologies for attacking you. There are only a few people who usually come here, and your heartbeat and footsteps didn't match with them; just a precaution," the assassin replied casually, making small stretching noises.

The guard only nodded. I would have appreciated it if someone had warned me beforehand...

He then turned to face the assassin. The assassin appeared slender and was dressed in ebony black. The guard made out brown hair in the dimness of the room, and he shivered slightly when his eyes set on the black raven mask that was on the assassin's face. The guard could tell, even with the mask, that a youthful face, probably around nineteen or twenty, was hiding behind the mask. What genuinely unsettled him, though, was that the assassin appeared to be... smiling. Although no teeth were showing, the smile didn't appear friendly. It looked more predatory, if the guard had to describe it.

"Thank you for delivering the message to me. I will meet with the queen soon. You may go," the assassin said, gesturing his head toward the door.

"But-" the guard wanted to express that Queen Fern had seemed very eager to speak with him, and that he shouldn't keep the queen waiting, but when he spoke he saw the assassin frown. He vaguely made it out in the dimness, but he felt he had seen the assassin's gray eyes harden with annoyance. The assassin opened his mouth to say something, perhaps to snap at the guard to leave before he got more annoyed, but the guard was already out of his room.

The assassin smirked, feeling amused that he had scared the Saffron guard away.

Stretching, he turned off the small desk lamp and strolled to the south corridor hallways, closing his bedroom door. After adjusting his mask, he flexed his fingers before putting his hands in his pockets.

The queen requires my services, huh? the assassin thought. If Queen Fern casually wanted to talk to him, she would have made the effort to come to his room. She hasn't required my services for a while.

Glancing at the magnificent hallway decorations, he flash backed to how he came to live in the Saffron castle.

--

He stood outside his ruined house, unfazed by the pattering rainstorm soaking him. He felt so unlucky. His father, dead before he was born, and his mother, dead from a recent heart attack. He was only ten as he watched his home finally become unlivable from the common floods from the rain. The roof and walls had finally collapsed from being worn out by the water. The other Saffrons usually liked to renovate their homes, but his family had insisted on preserving their old family home for as long as they could before rebuilding it. They had probably thought they would have rebuilt it as a family, but he had no family left, and found himself just wanting to move on. Wiping away tears, or rain, he couldn't tell, he turned his back and walked away forever.

He dwelled in the forests, usually. It didn't rain every second of the day, but when it did rain it was always heavy. Yet, he found that he wasn't bothered by the rain. The feeling of getting soaked didn't compare to the feeling of losing everything he had. During the day, he would travel around the Saffron villages, asking for food. It usually worked out in his favor, since he was only a young child.

One day, about to come out from the forests to a village, he stopped himself when he saw an exquisite purple and green carriage.

"Your Majesties, it is my honor to welcome you to our village." He only saw the person's back, but he could tell the person was a mayor or some village official.

It had temporarily stopped raining, and sunlight seeped through the clouds to shine on the royals who stepped out of the carriage.

He drew in his breath when he saw the crowns. The first person was a woman, adorned in a green dress and white gloves. The second was a man, clad in royal dark purple and a small cape. His dirty blond hair nearly reached his shoulders as he gestured the mayor to rise from his bow.

The King and Queen of Saffron, he widened his eyes in recognition. I wonder what they're doing here.

He bit his lip when his stomach grumbled. His eyes grew sad when he looked at himself. Dirty and unworthy of being in the royals' presences.

He was about to leave, but he snapped his eyes wider in attention when his ears picked up a sound nearby. He turned to the source to see a person attempting to pull a wooden carriage up the muddy hill. However, the person lost his grip, and the carriage came barreling down the hill, straight towards the royals.

Some of the villagers seemed to have noticed and gave out warning cries, but the carriage was fast. It was definitely going to at least severely hurt the royals even if they tried to get out of the way.

He found himself darting out from the forest, jumping in front of the oncoming carriage and slashing the carriage wheels so that the carriage would fling away from the royals and villagers.

He didn't know what to expect, but he certainly didn't hear people cheering. When he looked up, he saw fear in the villagers' faces, and then he looked down to see that he had revealed his sharp, menacing claws.

"He's an assassin," he heard the suspicious whispers all around him. Looking away in shame, he darted off. He didn't even dare look back to see how the royals had reacted.

"Bring the boy to me," he heard the king say to his guards. It wasn't a gentle order, but it didn't sound unfriendly either.

He tried to run away, but he found himself being dragged in front of the royals in the end. Although he kept his head down, he felt tiny and intimidated. Everyone around him was so much taller and older than him. Despite his nervousness, he wasn't going to try running away for the second time.

He must have been silent for too long, because one of the guards spoke. "Bow before the king and queen, boy."

The young assassin was about to get on his knees and bow, but he gasped lightly when he heard the king say, "No need. He saved our lives. I wish to speak with him." King Heath then said gently, "Raise your head, child."

He complied, peering up to see the friendly faces of the king and queen.

Queen Fern spoke this time. "My husband and I thank you for saving our lives. If you hadn't stopped the carriage we would have severely hurt." The child merely nodded in return, unsure as to how he was to respond. "What is your name, child?" the queen asked.

The child cleared his throat. "My name is Rio Sanasin, your Majesty."

Rio noticed the villagers cringe when they heard his last name. His family had been the only family of assassins in the Saffron kingdom. Although assassins in general unsettled everyone, the people mutually understood that as long as the assassins weren't angered than they would be safe from them. That's why people usually kept their distance from all assassins. Assassins liked to live separate from society, so it worked out in everyone's favor.

"Ah, so you are from this kingdom," King Heath answered, also recognizing his family name. "Where are your parents?"

"They're both dead, your Majesty," Rio replied in a cracked voice.

The queen gasped, realizing that he was an orphan. Even the royals didn't know what was currently happening with his family.

The queen turned to King Heath. "Heath, the poor child has nowhere to go. We have to take him."

Rio tried not to look so surprised at the queen's words. Heath replied to his wife quietly. "Fern..."

"He may be an assassin, but he is also one of our people. We can't leave him." Fern pleaded. "Please, Heath."

Heath sighed. "Fine, but he is yours to raise." He scrutinized Rio for a moment before gesturing his head to the carriage. "Hop into the carriage, boy, we will return to the palace soon."

"T-Thank you, your Majesties. I am forever in your debt," Rio bowed low to the ground before hopping into the carriage.

When they reached the palace, Rio felt as though a force had hit him. He instantly knew that this would be his new home. No more living in the rainy cold forests, and no more begging for food.

--

When Rio opened the throne room doors, he saw Queen Fern sitting on her throne. Her hair appeared slightly mangled and damp from the rain. She hadn't even bothered to change out of her wet dress. Rio narrowed his eyes when he noticed Fern's eyes. There was no warmth in them, and her jaw was hanging slightly open as though she couldn't care enough to close it.

Rio closed the door behind him, removing his mask as he approached the queen and dropped to a kneel. Before he bowed his head, he noticed that King Heath was not present.

"You called for me, my Queen?" Rio asked.

Fern's limp fingers twitched from the armrests. She tilted her head up slightly in acknowledgment.

Exhaling, she finally spoke. "Yes... thank you... for coming, Rio."

Rio noted at how Fern seemed to struggle forming words, as though she couldn't bear to speak. He glanced his eyes upward, and he took a better look at Fern's face. She looked defeated, as though someone had ripped her soul out of her chest.

Before he could comment on her condition, Fern rose from her throne. Standing up seemed to have allowed her to recover slightly, because her eyes hardened with resolve. When she spoke again, her words were more clear.

"I have a mission for you," Fern announced, her voice suddenly laced with bitterness.

Rio nodded his head. "What is the mission, your Majesty?"

Fern began to pace left and right. She scrutinized Rio as she said, "An assassin from the Nissisa family, by the alias, 'Crow', has killed my daughter."

Rio forced himself to hold back his gasp. Iris... Rio thought back to the times Iris had visited him in his room. She had been so sweet, and she had never judged him for being an assassin. To think that she was permanently gone, she had only been thirteen if Rio remembered correctly. To die so young...

Rio clenched his fists as Fern continued. "When the Lady Marguerite visited me, she told me that Crow was affiliated with the Red Phoenixes, the organization that sought the Azaleas' downfall." She gazed out the window longingly. "Because of Crow, my sister, Flora, and now my beloved Iris are both dead." Fern then fixed her gaze at him, her green eyes intense with eagerness. Rio kept his head down, but fixed his eyes on Fern. "When Flora died, I wanted Crow to be brought to justice for his crimes, not even Heath could have changed my mind. However, Iris's presence was enough to stop me. I decided to move on and continue my life with my family. After Crow killed Iris, though, my happiness was gone. Destroyed. Crow destroyed not only me but also my husband and the king of this kingdom. When I returned, I realized that neither of us could be happy ever again. Iris was our life, and Crow took that from us."

Still in his kneeling position, Rio thought. The queen is no longer the same kind and caring queen she was before. All thanks to Crow.

Fern sat back down on her throne, feeling the golden armrests as though they were foreign. "This is where you come in, Raven."

He tensed when he heard his assassin alias. He glanced at his raven mask. The one from his family had been destroyed all those many years ago from the flood, but Fern had ordered another one to be made so that he could always remember his previous family.

"What would you have me do, your Majesty?" Rio asked again. He had a general feeling of what Fern would request from him, but he needed to hear it for himself.

Fern tapped her right fingers on the armrest for a moment, but she then said, "Find the person Crow cares about most, and make them suffer before you kill them both. Two lives for Flora and Iris." She stared intensely at Rio. "Will you do this, Rio?"

Suffering before dying? I've killed people quickly before, but to toy with their lives before killing them? Goodness, Crow, why did you have to kill Iris of all people? Rio thought, slightly intrigued of Fern's request and spiteful of Crow for killing such a sweet girl.

Rio finally replied, "I would like to remind you of something before I agree, your Majesty." Fern started tapping her fingers on the armrest again, gesturing her head for him to continue. "Once I agree to your order, you cannot take it back. It is part of the Sanasin regulations. If, by some chance, the person Crow cares about most ends up being someone you or King Heath know, then I will still be obligated to carry out the order." Rio raised his head slightly, meeting Fern's gaze. "Are you sure this is what you want me to do?"

"I know what cancelling my request would mean," Fern nodded. Her eyes hardened, stomping upon the little warmth that was left. "Even if the person ends up being my own best friend or family, I will have justice for Flora and Iris."

Hearing the seriousness in Fern's tone, Rio then asked finally. "Does King Heath know about this?"

"He is currently grieving in his chambers. I may not be able to bring my husband happiness anymore, but he would want justice for Iris," Fern nodded. After Rio fell silent, Fern spoke once more. "I will ask you again. Will you do this, Rio?"

Rio exhaled through his nose. "Should anyone try to stand in my way-"

"You do not have to ask again like you did for my previous requests. I grant you permission to kill anyone else who stands in your way. I do not care what you do, as long as the job gets done," Fern finalized her point.

Rio then slowly rose from his kneeling position, putting his mask back on and securing it in place. He gave a bow to his queen.

"Then it will be done, my Queen." Rio smiled a small smile, though his teeth weren't showing.

"Good," Fern finally smiled, but it didn't reach her eyes. "You best be on your way, Raven."

Rio gave another bow before turning to leave. He shoved his hands in his pockets and strolled out of the throne room. When he finally saw the locked gates that led to the Saffron citadel, he stopped himself and withdrew his left hand from his pocket.

Rio flashed his left claws out, the moonlight giving them a lurid gleam.

"Rest in peace, Iris. Thank you for being my friend," Rio said to himself, peering up at the stars.

He allowed his claws to return to his normal fingernails before dashing towards the closed gates. There was no way to go between the bars, since the gates were crossed like a grid, and the gates were fairly tall for safety. In addition, the common night guards protected the castle from intruders.

Rio smirked as he expertly and quickly scaled the gates, hoisting himself in the air when he reached the top and twirling to avoid the spikes that were on top of the gates. He landed swiftly on his feet, wasting no time to dart off into the night.

He chuckled to himself when he heard the night guards behind him mutter to each other in wary.

"They released the assassin..."

"They just released Raven."

"Oh my, it's been a while since they released Raven."

As their voices began to grow softer and farther away, Rio gave another dark chuckle. "You have no idea what's coming your way, Crow," Rio said with a grin as he ran through the night.