Reese was muttering all the way back to the Red Phoenix hideout. The other members had left before him, accepting that their leader was dead.

Reese had his fists clenched as he remembered Flora's face. She had looked like a mad woman, as if killing his father had quenched her thirst. He was fuming, his eyes blazing with fury that could rival with Flora's eyes as she killed his father. He was even angry at the Azalea princesses. Sure, they hadn't been the ones to kill his father, but they had the nerve to just stand there and watch.

The Azaleas weren't just royalty, all of them had some sort of magic. Reese thought back to when the flowers bloomed around his father, and then the pyre was magically set ablaze. He bit his lip. Everyone saw the Azaleas as the lovely royals who protected the kingdom, but they were wrong.

His father had told him that Azalea magic would one day wreak havoc. Even with Basil dead, there were still nine of them. The citizens would be no match for Azalea magic if even one of the Azaleas lost control of their magic. People were just too blind to realize that, but his father did. Ever since that day, it has been known to all of the Red Phoenix members that the Azaleas must die for what's best for the kingdom. True, killing off the whole monarchy would also create chaos and disorder, but it would still be better than to wait for the day when their elemental magic would go out of control and destroy everything.

Reese finally returned to the hideout, a small cave in the forests that led to the large underground home. When he closed the door, everyone immediately stopped talking. Reese took no notice of this until a man around his father's age stood up and said, "We are sorry for your loss, Reese."

Reese froze in his steps and turned to see Bryan, a good friend of his father. Reese replied, his voice cracking slightly, "Thank you, Bryan."

"Your father was a good man," Bryan's wife, Tania, added. "He got rid of King Basil, and he died an honorable death." Everyone nodded in agreement.

"You mean being burned at the stake is an honorable death?" Reese unintentionally asked in a cold tone.

"What I'm trying to say is that Raymond was a good leader, but now that he is no longer with us, we follow you now," Tania explained herself.

Reese gasped and looked at everyone. They all nodded and muttered agreements among each other. Reese then asked, "Me? Surely there is someone else here that would do a better job."

"No, Reese. This is what your father would have wanted, and we have no objections," Tania smiled lightly.

At that moment, the cold feeling on his heart temporarily disappeared. He was touched that the other members now respected him. They chose to put their faith in him, and no one else.

However, that warm feeling soon vanished and was replaced by bitterness. He found himself saying, "We must take out Queen Flora." Everyone cheered at their new leader's decision. Reese then continued, "But the Azalea security is strong. We will not be able to even touch the queen as we are now."

Everyone then sighed, realizing that Reese was right. They may be a rebel group, but they were currently no match for the Azalea knights. It took years for Raymond and his friends to even gather members to join his cause. It was only a matter of luck and bravery that Raymond managed to kill King Basil, who had wielded lightning.

Reese clenched his fists. He glanced at the other members. Most of the people here were not capable of taking a life. Only a few members could fight on the same level as his father did, but even then killing an Azalea wouldn't be easy. Reese believed he could kill an Azalea if it came down to it, but he had never killed one before. He couldn't take the chance of storming the castle and losing more lives. He could never forgive himself if that happened.

They needed someone who was trained in killing. They needed someone whose very nature was killing on their side.

"We need an assassin," Reese found himself saying. "Salt water neutralizes the royals, but we won't be able to do it fast enough. My father was lucky before with Basil." Reese raised his voice, "We need an assassin to help us while we train to get stronger."

"What about the Nissisa family? I think they're the only family of assassins left that reside in the Azalea kingdom," another boy asked.

"Devin!" Tania, his mother, barked sharply. "The Nissisa family is dead. They all died in a fire this year. I can't believe you don't know this."

"Sorry," Devin muttered, darting his eyes to the floor.

Reese put his head in his hands. It was true that the Nissisa family was the first that came to mind, but he lost hope once he was reminded that they were all dead. The timing of their deaths couldn't have been worse. There might be an assassin in the Saffron kingdom, but journeying there to search would take a lot of time, time he would rather spend allowing the Red Phoenixes to train and improve in case the search proved futile.

"Mhm... well, I know that there was a drastic fire, but I've recently heard a small rumor that one family member survived," Another of his father's friends, Derek, started.

"Who?" Reese immediately asked, snapping his head back up.

Derek crossed his arms, "I don't know. Not many have seen their faces. Most only know that they were once a family of four who lived on the outskirts of the forest. That's it."

Reese stood up from where he was sitting, heading towards the door, "I'll go look for them."

Immediately a rush of Red Phoenix members stood up to block the door, "You can't go! It's too dangerous!"

Reese said, "Get out of my way. This is our best chance of getting rid of the Azaleas."

"What if the rumors are true, though?" The last of his father's friends, Lorraine, barked in concern. "What if the assassin kills you?"

"I've got to try!" Reese said. "Having an assassin on our side will greatly benefit our cause. I believe this will spare us many lives." When no one moved aside, Reese finally said, "If I don't find any leads today, then I'll stop."

The Red Phoenix members who were blocking the door hesitantly stepped out of the way. Lorraine sighed, but didn't argue any further.

"Good luck, Reese," Bryan called.

Reese nodded and closed the door behind him. He looked out into the woods and said to himself, "If you're out there, Nissisa assassin, I will find you."

--

"So this is the Nissisa household... or at least what it looks like now," Reese said, finally stumbling upon a burned down home in the middle of the forest. Blocks of wood from leftover furniture were scattered, charred from the ashes. Even some of the leaves surrounding what was left of the home had been burned to blackness.

I can still smell the smoke, Reese said. Who would do such a... no, did the Azaleas do this too? How much damage are they going to cause? It could have been someone else, though. Many people fear assassins. Reese sniffed the air again. No, no ordinary fire would cause this and leave excess smell. This was magic.

Reese spent another ten minutes there, just walking around what was left of the household. Finally Reese smacked himself in the head, I guess the rumors were false. The Nissisa family is dead. Even if one of them survived, why would they mingle around here?

All of a sudden Reese felt a piercing pain behind his legs. He fell to the floor with a grunt. The pain only lasted for a brief moment before succumbing to a numb feeling. Reese tried to get up but opened his mouth in shock when he realized that he couldn't, as though his legs were paralyzed.

What the -

"Who are you and what are you doing here?" He heard a masculine voice from behind him.

If the voice didn't sound so calm yet threatening, Reese probably wouldn't have answered him. Reese calmed himself before replying, "My name is Reese. I'm looking for the Nissisa family."

"The Nissisa family died about a month ago," he heard the voice again.

Who is this guy anyway? You can't just randomly attack someone in the woods. Reese frowned. He needed to be careful what he said. He briefly remembered what happened before he fell down. He was kicked in such a way that he would be paralyzed. No one normal could do that. Maybe he's the assassin?

"I heard rumors that one family member survived," Reese called. "Are you him?"

The boy behind him was silent for a moment. He then replied, "Why would you be looking for him?"

Reese smiled, "My father was killed. I wish to avenge him."

More silence, then, "That's too bad."

Reese widened his eyes when he started to hear retreating footsteps, "Queen Flora killed him!" Reese called.

The footsteps stopped in their tracks. Reese had struck a nerve.

"Queen Flora?"

"Yes!" Reese replied. "I want the Azaleas to pay for what they have done."

"You have the tattoo. You're part of the Red Phoenixes," the boy cut in. "Can't you handle this yourselves?"

Reese shook his head, "No, we can't. The Azaleas are stronger than us. We need your help."

"My help?" the boy asked, sounding unconvinced.

"Yes, if we have any hope of defeating all of the Azaleas, we need your help, please," Reese pleaded.

There was another tense silence, and Reese waited anxiously for his answer. Then, Reese heard footsteps come closer. He was kicked again, but after the pain succumbed, he realized that he was no longer paralyzed.

Reese stood up and turned to see a boy around his age with dark brown hair and gray eyes. The boy wore dark pants and a long sleeved black shirt with what looked like a few short loose ribbons hanging from the sleeves. Reese smiled to himself. It's him, he thought.

"We have a common enemy, so I will help you kill Flora," the assassin said. "My name is Chase, but to others I am known as Crow."

"Reese," Reese offered his name in return. He glanced at the burned down house again, "You survived."

Chase looked longingly at the house as well. He said, "I did, but the rest of my family did not. I know who did this, and I regret not killing her sooner."

Reese blinked, hearing the bitter undertone of Chase's voice. He then asked, "How much?"

"What?" Chase looked confused for a moment.

"How much do I have to pay you?" Reese clarified.

Chase opened his mouth in an 'O' shape. "Oh, don't pay me yet. I may be an assassin, but I still get to make the final call of which targets I spare and which targets I kill." Reese was about to protest, but Chase held up his hand. "Flora is free of charge because she killed my family, but for the rest of the Azaleas... we'll see what happens."

Reese smiled and held out his hand, "Thank you, Chase."

Chase smiled as well and shook Reese's hand, "The enemy of my enemy is my friend, right?"

Reese said, "If you're going to face against the Azaleas, you should know that salt water weakens them."

"Thanks for letting me know," Chase finally let go of Reese's hand. "We'll be in touch."

Chase turned to leave, but stopped again when Reese asked, "When will you kill Flora?"

The mention of Flora's name made Chase fall silent. Chase briefly turned back, and Reese saw dangerous eyes that made him clench his jaw to hold himself back from running away.

Chase brought his right hand up. His eyes glanced at his fingertips as he flashed his fingernails into sharp claws. Reese widened his eyes in shock.

Reese held back a gulp. He knew that assassins were their own type of species, but seeing one in action with his own eyes still startled him a little. They were really similar to humans, but they just had extra non-magical abilities such as claws, enhanced hearing, and other abilities Reese couldn't remember.

Reese snapped out of his thoughts when Chase finally said, "Tomorrow."

Chase then darted off, leaving Reese alone in the forest.