A hand stroked Ash's hair. Though it looked like a gentle action, to Ash it felt as if with a simple flick, the woman would turn to attack her instead.

"Your mother said she sees you have decided to win the Dragon Bane," the woman continued. "To atone for your sins." The hand moved to trace down the side of her face, leaving an icy path. "Should you succeed and offer the Bane to her, the mistress will no doubt forgive you." Delicate, yet deadly, fingers clutched Ash's chin, squeezing tightly. Eyes pierced her very soul. "You understand, right, Zaria?" The grip tightened and Ash's eyes teared up. "The mistress doesn't often give second chances. You've already disappointed her once. Don't fail this time."

The hand released her, leaving a painful throb.

Her cheek was patted twice. "Don't forget who you belong to."

The woman motioned to the other cloaked figure who headed for the door.

Ash automatically stepped to the side, making way.

The masked woman opened the door while the second pulled her hood own up.

"What about Dara?" Ash squeezed out the words without turning.

The woman, who already had one foot out the door, paused. "Who?"

Ash didn't say another word.

"Focus on winning," the woman spoke. "We look forward to your performance." She gathered the cloak, pulled it tighter to her, and left. "Don't let her down again or you'll force her hand," the words drifted to Ash's ears.

Click.

The door closed.

Ash let out a gasp and air rushed into her lungs. She placed a hand on the wall, steadying herself. Rubbing her aching jaw, she turned an eye to the door where the two women had disappeared.

"So, I have a mother who doesn't seem thrilled to find me alive," Ash commented.

Callous was suspiciously quiet.

"One thing is certain," Ash breathed as she straightened. "It seems there is a fear rooted so deep that my body remembers even if I do not." She tilted her head. "What would make someone so terrified?"

Again, there was no reply.

Ash wasn't bothered by the silence. She rubbed her temple. "Whoever they were, they don't seem to have noticed I don't know them." She paused. "Or maybe it wouldn't change anything for them if I did." She pursed her lips. "Looks like my past is not so simple."

Do you want to know?

"Would you be able to tell me everything?"

Not all, Callous admitted.

Ash hummed. "Forget it. I'll do some digging for my own satisfaction."

Our contract...

"I know." Ash nodded. Her lips pulled into a smile. "Looks like you have a competitor who wants Dragon Bane."

We are bound. You belong to me, Callous growled. Don't even think about giving it to anyone else.

"I know, I know," Ash waved him off. "I belong to you; therefore, Dragon Bane is yours."

That seemed to satisfy the dragon spirit.

As she left the room, another thought crossed Ash's mind. Though she mentioned Dara, her half-sister, there was no reaction from the women who had come to see her. If one was indeed her sister, and there was a mother, was it possible they did not know each other? Or maybe there was simply no care on either side?

Ash went to find Keegan.

"No," the man spoke the simple word the moment she tracked him down. He was leaning against the railing of a wooden suspended bridge, his arms folded. It graced the sky of a public workout area. Below, several competitors were conditioning themselves in the bare dirt, careful to not show their full potential as some casually sparred. It was more of an area used to calm nerves.

Ash raised her hands, leaning her back against the railing. The action caused the bridge to sway.

"I'm not here about training."

Keegan shot her a glance before turning his eyes back to the competitors below.

Ash tipped her head back, staring at the ceiling above. It was crystal clear, revealing the stars outside. "I had a visitor."

Keegan raised his eyebrows. "I'm working."

"They had something to do with my past." Ash turned, resting her chin on a hand she propped on the railing.

"What did I tell you about trust?" Keegan warned.

"How much do remember of your time before the contract?" Ash continued.

Helplessness flashed through Keegan's eyes. A sigh escaped him as he indulged her in conversation. "Not much." He paused. "Contractors tend to forget most details except one."

"Oh?"

"The reason they formed the contract. Whether it be revenge, greed..." Keegan paused. "A few things tend to stick around."

Ash hummed; her eyes trained on a boy who was using a machine to practice his punches and blocks. For every punch it absorbed, it would hit back with equal strength.

"You said you're looking for something, that you think I can help you find it." Ash turned her head to gaze at the handsome side profile lit up by the lights above.

Keegan nodded.

"Is it revenge?" Ash asked.

The man beside her showed not an ounce of emotion that would give away a thing. A soft chuckle escaped him. "That's quite a private question."

Ash blew a strand of hair from her face before turning her eyes back to those below. "I thought my past didn't matter...but lately I've grown curious," she admitted.

Keegan eyed her. "This visitor, they've baited you into changing your mind, have they?"

"To be honest, they're not the first visitor I've had."

Keegan scowled. "If I was to report this..."

"You won't." Ash gave him a confident smile.

The man shook his head. "You should be careful."

"I wasn't the one who invited them. They looked for me." Ash held her hand out before her. "Both times, they didn't seem excited to see me alive." She turned the hand, looking at her palm. "It made me wonder...what kind of person was I that those I knew sought me out not to say they missed me," she curled her fingers, "nor to say with that they were happy to see I was alive." Having formed a fist, she turned her head again to find Keegan watching her. "It made me curious."

"Is it important?"

Ash hesitated.

"To find out?" Keegan clarified. He leaned in closer. "Will it change anything in this borrowed time you're living?"

Ash furrowed her brow as she contemplated this. She gazed at the face that was quite close, studying its details. "I think by not knowing I won't be able to leave the past behind as it seems determined to stay with me."

Keegan backed off.

"If I drew something, would you be able to get some information?"

Keegan tilted his head back and laughed. "What makes you think I'll start giving out free information?"

Ash ignored him as she used a finger. A purple flame alighted on the tip, and she began to move, scorching something into the wood. As a pattern slowly emerged, the same shapes she'd seen on the mask of one of the women who had visited her.

At first, Keegan showed little interest, however, as the pattern formed, he couldn't help but draw closer to look.

His brows furrowed. "This..."

"You recognize it?" Ash watched his expression closely.

"I do..." Keegan paused. "This is not something you should get involved with."

"I'm afraid it's too late. They came to find me."

Keegan watched her. "Just who are you?"

"That's what I'm trying to find out."

"So, you can go back to being her?"

"I don't like being chained down by the past." Ash smiled. "I'm doing it so that I can leave her behind...even if only for the borrowed time I have left."

Keegan reached a palm to the pattern. "This is the crest of an organization." He removed his palm, leaving a mass of black that erased all traces of what had been below.

"An organization?" Ash probed.

"An extremely secret and dangerous one."

"Oh?"

The arbitrator let out a sigh as he gave in under Ash's constant push.

"It is said they're an organization of assassins, rumored to be made up of only women." He tapped his fingers on the railing. "Sometimes, they work for the highest bidder, sometimes it feels random. They have helped bring kingdoms to their ruin and destroyed even the lowliest of families. Their intentions have never been clear." He paused. "Their target receives a single white rose. Once it's delivered; death occurs the night after when the moon is at its highest. They never fail." He eyed Ash. "Women, children, old, sick, they show mercy to none." He paused. "That's what the rumors say."

"Rumors?"

"Those who received the rose are dead...no living has witnessed their death."

"It's unconfirmed?"

"Rumors spring for somewhere. Even if it's not all true, the killers are from the same organization, they have the same signature."

"Which is?"

Keegan paused. "The white rose. It's no longer white when the body is found but dyed red."

He didn't need to explain what it has been dipped in for the color change.

"And it can't be the same person working alone?"

"Several deaths have occurred at similar times, the same rose, lands apart. No one can accomplish that."

"A contractor?"

Keegan shook his head. "Not even Jergon or Havana would kill that effective and quietly." He turned back to watch the contestants training below. "If you're connected with them, you'll find things troublesome."

"That's what I thought." Ash traced a finger over the burned railing. "Does this rumored organization have a name?" She ventured.

"If they call themselves something, that remains unknown. To those watching from the outside, they call them Maidens of the Blood Moon."

The impact wasn't what Ash had expected. Somehow, the name was somewhat...disappointing.

Having found out what she needed, she stood straight. "The next matches start tomorrow. When will we resume training?"

Keegan raised two fingers without looking at her.

Ash nodded.

"Try not to use excess power if you're called up to compete before then," Keegan warned.

"Noted." Ash patted the burned spot then turned, heading back the way she'd come.

"I heard another rumor once," Keegan called after her.

Ash paused.

"No one who has entered their ranks has been allowed to leave." He paused. "Dragon Bane might be the safest place for you at the moment, but be careful, if they want you gone and the rumors are even half true, their influence is everywhere."

Ash gave him a thumbs up before resuming her path. She stuffed a hand in a pocket, deep in thought.

Your mother sends her regards, the voice echoed in her mind. "The woman who birthed me or someone everyone calls mother?" she murmured. However, if it was the latter, why would her visitor first refer to her as "mistress"?

No one who has entered their ranks has been allowed to leave, Keegan's words floated to the front.

"So...I was part of this organization, somehow fell out of favor, decided to leave, and ended up dead as a result?" Ash guessed.

Callous remained absent from her conversation with herself.

Ash shook her head. It couldn't be so easy; it didn't add up. If that was the reason, where did Christopher fall in? Dara? And what about that feeling of betrayal? If things were as she thought, there should be no feeling of betrayal from her end. Were she part of the organization and decided to leave, she should have known the consequences. She doubted there was any love or trust between anyone in such a world, so betrayal shouldn't be a feeling that would come up.

One thing remained the same. None of the people who knew her, and she'd talked to seemed genuinely thrilled that she was alive.

"I wasn't a nice person, was I?" she murmured.

Callous shifted. "There are two sides to every story," he finally joined the conversation.

"Oh, so you are awake?" Ash teased. "I thought you'd drifted off.

Callous huffed.

Ash grinned but didn't push him. With more questions than answers, she put her complicated thoughts aside. The next competitions were about to begin anyway, and after this, visitors from the outside would be allowed. If it was anything like the last years, VIP banquets would follow to allow the public to mingle with their idols.

Not letting the unknown burden her down, she went to get some rest before the new round of competitions began.