A/N: To make up for the lack of recent updates this month, I will update Part One and Two of this mini-story on the same day.

[Hunter, Servant or Prince? (Part One)]

Lissiana stepped off the caravan only to be greeted by the sight of a bustling market. The sight was both a welcome and a strange one for her, because Lissiana had come from the countryside, where the closest form of a town was a three hour walk. The closest town to her place was almost too small to be a town; they barely managed to have a physician, a general merchant, a tailor and a small area for small-scale trading. Lissiana had grown up learning not to ask for too much, learning to do many chores on her own.

To see the capital town of Visternia splayed out right in front of her was another thing entirely, as civilians shouted over each other, offering goods on display and chattering away noisily. The hustle and bustle of the scene around her was a refreshing start of Lissiana's new life as she took her first step towards the market. She would first do her best to find a place to stay over for the night, find a place to eat, then start looking for a way to enter the castle the next day.

The castle stood at the top of a hill overlooking Visternia and the rest of the country of Vistern. While it was not particularly tall, its strategic location overlooking the horizons also meant that the King could easily see any imminent signs of attack from all around. When the country wasn't in conflict with anyone else, the castle served as a signal of power; a building that overlooked everyone else, a building that people seeking help from the King would go to.

Lissiana supposed that she wasn't much different from those people as she strolled through the busy market, doing her best to stay out of the way of busy merchants and innkeepers loading and unloading their goods from the many caravans, the deals being made along the street with easy talk. The atmosphere was light and enjoyable, and though her father had warned her to be careful of pickpockets or thieves in a big town like Visternia, Lissiana felt as if nothing could happen to her in such a beautiful and lively place.

Her mood was good despite the fact that she had ridden overnight in the caravan from her house to Visternia, and her back and neck were aching from sleeping in an uncomfortable position.

"Miss, you look like you are looking for a place to stay for the night." A hand on her shoulder spun Lissiana around, and she was met with the smiling face of someone who appeared to be dressed in practical innkeeper clothes. Were the people in Visternia all so friendly and eager to help out poor strangers like her? Lissiana had heard from her father that Visternia was a place full of thieves and bandits hiding in corners, but this was a market that Lissiana was currently in. It wasn't possible that this guy wouldn't dare to try anything on her in broad daylight, in the plain sight of so many people, was it?

For now, Lissiana would place a little trust in this friendly man as she smiled back brightly.

"Yes, do you have a place to offer me, good sir?" Lissiana replied politely.

"My, what manners! You must have come from a distinguished family, did you not, Lady?" The smiling man –if possible –only smiled wider.

Really? Lissiana was surprised to be compared to a refined lady. While poor countrywomen like her were generally not supposed to be educated well, Lissiana had things slightly different because her father had actually been a scholar born and bred in Visternia before he eloped with Lissiana's mother to the countryside to enjoy a simple lifestyle with her family. As a result, in the days when the rain stopped them from working on the fields, Lissiana had learnt as much as she could from her father, and then read all the books that he had managed to bring with him at least a hundred times over. Then, because her hunger for knowledge did not stop there, Lissiana had learnt many things herself –particularly on the usage of different herbs and their medicinal properties.

Lissiana would have been left in her blissful little bubble for the whole of her life if her father had never been struck by the crop disease that unexplainably struck the countryside. Her father had been bed-ridden for long months, and no matter how many times she begged for help from the town physician, the old man from town simply had no idea how to help. Her father was not the only farmer who had caught this disease; the entire countryside had been caught in this epidemic disaster.

Lissiana had been desperate for any sort of help when he came.

The Head Court Physician had come to them late at night, asking if it was the house of the Eraes. Lissiana had initially been very guarded, but the elderly man had explained that he was a Court Physician sent down by the King to tend to the sick farmers who were no longer able to bring in harvest for the capital and the castle. For one night, Lissiana had been the Head Physician's helper while he tended to her father. The man had even praised Lissiana's amateur attempts to ease her father's symptoms. Lissiana had positively brimmed with pride when that had happened, and the biggest surprise came the next morning as the Head Physician headed out for the house of the next farmer on the list.

Lissiana had received a hand-written letter by the Head Physician himself, recommending her for formal training as a Court Physician in the Castle of Vistern.

Lissiana had kept the happening from her father shortly after he recovered, helping him tend to the state of their farm. For months Lissiana secretly wrote down what she could remember of the Head Physician's overnight teachings, keeping them all carefully aside for future references.

Then, as the harvest season began to calm down, her father found out about the letter. What had shocked Lissiana was the fact that instead of being furious at Lissiana's keeping a secret, her father had saved on the energy and instead forced her to pack up. His intentions completely missed Lissiana until he hugged her tight at the door and told her, "Go follow your dreams and make my proud. Be happy so that Daddy will be assured of your well-being. Come back as often as you can with stories of your endeavour."

And with those words, the door to her house had closed, leaving her now in the middle of a bustling market, facing a friendly man.

"How much are you charging for an overnight stay, my good sir?" Lissiana asked.

"For your Ladyship's beauty, I wouldn't dare to ask for more than 5 drabs."

5 drabs was an awful good price for Lissiana in Visternia. Her father had always told her that the grass were greener, food tastier and price cheaper in the country in comparison to in Visternia. This didn't really seem to be so as Lissiana smiled decisively.

"I will take you up to your kind offer, then."

"Very good! This way, my Lady." The man led and Lissiana followed, counting her lucky stars that she had been able to meet a man of such kind nature.

Her instincts, however, did not agree with her when she found herself led towards a dark alley.

"I'm sorry, but is there any alternative route I can take to your inn?" Lissiana stopped outside the entrance of the alley. Her father might scold her for being a little too trusting of people, but Lissiana at least knew caution when it came to shady places like these.

"A detour will delay us for long, Miss. I am sure you wish to retire early today after having travelled for long?"

"I am fine taking a longer route, sir." Lissiana insisted, refusing to take a step further into the dark shadowed place. "I really do not prefer the darkness."

Lissiana, being a girl who had grown up in a farm, was able to walk through dark sections of her farm, her house and even the forest nearby with only the light from a small gas lamp. She wasn't afraid of the dark, but she had learnt from her father that shadowed places in Visternia could never, under any circumstances, be trusted enough to walk through.

"If you are afraid of the dark, Miss, you can hold my hand and close your eyes. Trust me." The man who had appeared kindly polite was pushing a little too much as Lissiana decided that maybe she was better off looking for elsewhere that was a bit less... dangerous. She knew better than to be greedy and let the idea of cheap rent entice her. While her father hadn't told her what would happen of young ladies who got captured by evil men, she had heard enough stories from around her small town to know that she didn't want to end up in a situation like that.

"I'm sorry, but I have to turn down your offer then." Lissiana did her best to paste an apologetic smile on her face, as she turned with the quick intention to make quickly back for the crowd. They were in a relatively empty place with only a few scatter of people making past them in journey towards the market bustle, and Lissiana felt out of place being here. Her instincts were telling her to hide back in the crowd once more, and leave the man behind.

"Where are you going, Miss?" The hand that landed on her shoulders were unforgiving as Lissiana felt herself held in place, pulling her back when she tried to move forwards back towards the crowd. Looking back over her shoulder, she found the man standing behind her once again, but his smile was no longer polite and respectful. "I have a very good room for you, my Lady."

"Let go! I don't need your room!" Lissiana knew in her bones that she had gotten into some form of trouble now as she struggled to free herself, but the hands on her shoulders were like vices. The strong force pulled her stumbling backwards, and she could only do her best to twist away, using her weight that didn't seem to be doing any effect.

"Someone! Help me!" Lissiana began to shout when she realised she was being dragged back closer and closer to the shadows. She knew that once she got out of sight, the man would do something to her, and she might be missing from these streets forever. Lissiana's heart pounded hard in her heart as she struggled and shouted, desperate for anyone to look towards her direction.

"The lady said to let her go." A new cold voice spoke up suddenly loudly, and Lissiana felt the relief right down in her bones when the force stopped pulling her back, and she looked back to see that someone had come to her rescue.

Her saviour was a man half a head taller than her, with his blonde hair shining brightly under the afternoon sun. He had an impressive build and the sharpest pair of blue eyes that Lissiana had ever seen. Dressed in practical walking boots and hunting clothes, the man had a mean-looking bow hanging from his back and a short knife to hanging on his buckle to pair the long threatening sword that was now drawn and pointed lightly in threat against the man who had been pulling Lissiana back.

"Stay out of this." Bad Guy refused to let Lissiana go despite the obvious threat on his life. "If you have heard of Black Wing, you will value your life and pretend that this hasn't happened. This girl will be our Boss's new plaything."

"I refuse to be a plaything for anyone!" Lissiana shouted, still struggling against Bad Guy's grip. Lissiana had not heard of Black Wings, but assumed that it was the name of the mafia here in Visternia.

"Black Wing, huh?" Lissiana's saviour didn't sound fazed at all. "I admit that I have heard of them. Say, is your Boss not supposed to hold immunity on the streets here because of close ties with the royal family?"

"Yes, you've got the right Black Wing. Now, if you value what's good for you, sheathe your sword, hunter, and pretend that nothing has happened." Bad Guy seemed glad that Lissiana's saviour had heard of the reputation of his boss. She flickered a frightened look over to her saviour who seemed to be considering the offer of the Bad Guy.

"It is honestly quite unfortunate that you work for Killon." Her saviour was turning out to not be much of a saviour at all when he withdrew his sword, guiding it easily back into its sheathe, and it making a loud clicking sound when hilt met scabbard.

"I'm glad you understand." Bad Guy, grinned at the cooperation of her so-called saviour, and begin pulling Lissiana back once more.

"I think you misunderstood." Lissiana heard those words even before she could start screaming for help once more. In a blur of movement, a feel of wind caused by someone who had moved past her too quickly, Lissiana found the hands on her shoulder suddenly gone. Once freed, she wasted no time to run a few steps away from whatever that had happened, making sure she was a good distance away before she turned back to survey the happening.

"It is unfortunate, because you will be joining him in jail very soon." Lissiana's saviour now had Bad Guy pinned against the wall by his shoulders and face, rubbing Bad Guy hard against the rough wall. "Please don't try to retaliate, because I would hate to dirty my sword or weapons with your blood."

"If you do something against me, my brothers will hunt you and your family down!" Bad Guy didn't seem to know the situation well as he protested.

"They are welcome to try." Lissiana watched silently as her saviour unbuckled his short knife from his belt, then showed it –sheath and all –to Bad Guy, whose eyeballs widened like a goldfish. "If they want to come find me, they can always come find me at the castle. I'll be there waiting all of you anytime. It will be good entertainment for the King and Queen and good exercise for me as well."

"Y-You... You are a hunter in the Prince's court?"

"I suggest you learn what is good for you and not get on my bad side at this moment."

"I-I-I understand... I'm sorry, please don't bring me before your prince..."

"Do you have a problem with him?" The question was purely curious.

"I-I-I heard t-that he is a d-demon... t-that he practices his demonic powers in the castle..."

"Is that so?" Lissiana's saviour sounded amused now. "Maybe if I were to mention a certain Black Wing member under Killon..."

"I-I-I promise to quit this! I'm so sorry!"

"You said it yourself." The satisfaction was easily heard now as Lissiana's saviour tucked his short knife back on his belt. "Now go and never harass this girl again."

A second order didn't have to be said, and Lissiana honestly have not seen someone flee as fast as Bad Guy had done, leaving the two of them standing alone near the entrance of the alley.

"U-Um, thank you very much for your help. I'm new here, so..." Lissiana spoke up, clearing her throat to make her voice clear.

"I guessed as much. What's a country girl like you doing here in Visternia?"

"I'm here to study to become a Court Physician."

"Are you now?" The guy didn't sound impressed at all, but Lissiana guessed she could not blame the man if he truly was a hunter in the Prince's court. As someone who worked for the royal family within the walls of the castle, no matter how lowly a hunter was, it probably meant that this man had many chances to see Court Physicians-in-training often. "What's your name?"

"Lissiana. Lissiana Eraes."

"Then, open up your ears and listen carefully, Lissiana Eraes. You cannot trust people in Visternia just looking at their smiles. Those with smiles are the people with the most things to hide. If you are looking for a place to hide, stay in the inns bordering the castle walls. The closer you are to the gates, the safer you get."

"Thank you so much for you explanation, Sir..." Lissiana drifted off in a prompt, but it was clear that the man wasn't interested in answering her when he began to walk away.

"W-wait!" Lissiana found herself stalling the man before she could stop herself. "If you work for the Prince's court, then will I get to see you again?"

"If you become a Court Physician." The man answered, and walked off without a second look backwards.

________________________________________________________________________________

"Prince Vergil, it is time for you to leave for a shower before you attend to the paperwork for today." The reverent-as-usual voice announced as Vergil twisted his wrist quickly, forcing his opponent's sword to slide along the blade of his. His opponent lost balance quickly, and Vergil was equally quick to end the fight by pointing his blade at the exposed throat of the fallen soldier.

"Vergil, you have long been past the need of attending training sessions with the soldiers to build up your strength and sword-fighting skills." His coach that had once been a dictator on the training ground was now an equal for Vergil when he sheathed his sword, then accepted a towel to dry his sweat on from his attendant.

"It has also been too long since I last had a good chance to swing the sword hard as well. I was itching." Vergil confessed as he stepped close to his coach. When he was younger, Coach Erasmus had been merciless and made Vergil go through hellish training. It had not been good memories, but now that Vergil had grown up and thought rationally, he could no longer harbour much bad memories for his coach. In fact, Vergil now cherished his coach much more –because Coach Erasmus was one of the only few people left in the castle who still dared to call him by name without title.

"A sword is meant for protection, not to ease an itch." The expected stern lecture came from the old coach, but Vergil only patted the back of his coach understandingly, then made off. He had come down for a short breather to get rid of the itch of swinging a sword, and now it was time for him to attend his princely duties again.

There was really no need to bid farewell to the group of soldiers-in-training that had been in the middle of a lesson with Coach Erasmus when he had intruded. Those men would finish their training in time to come to add into Vergil's already-too-big personal army of soldiers, though Vergil had never saw the need of having command over so many well-trained soldiers.

Still, a prince had to keep his prince's likeness, and thus Vergil wiped the sweat off his forehead as he walked through the corridors back to his room.

"Go ahead and prepare my bath. If you have time to follow beside me, then you have time to prepare my bath beforehand." Vergil ordered his attendant Zen who had been following closely by his side. Zen had been introduced as a bodyguard/attendant since Vergil was fourteen, and he guessed that Zen was now easily a part of his everyday life.

"I understand. Please ensure that you do not delay."

Vergil did not bother to answer that he never had a tendency to delay before. Zen put faster strides in his steps, and soon disappeared around the corner.

Finally alone again; a prince like him very rarely had chances like these anymore, particularly now that he was of age and clearly in the line of succession. The closer he was to inheriting his father's title, the more vulnerable Vergil was to external threats. Personally, Vergil was unfazed and unafraid for his safety but the same could not be for his easily-sickly and worried mother. Thus for her sake he had allowed her to install some bodyguards around him for most of his time.

"All because of that idiot..." Vergil muttered under his breath with a large sigh. If he wasn't the only one left, if that idiot had been obedient enough to stay when their mother had begged... but it didn't change the fact that Vergil was the only heir left in the castle walls.

Vergil blinked when he saw a familiar-looking figure making towards him from the opposite direction in the long corridor. Slowing down his footsteps so that he could see her clearly, Vergil could not stop his instincts to stop right in the line of the woman, who was busy reading a book propped between her hands.

At least she managed to sense something in front of her before she walked blindly into him, though the look of surprise was clearly there when she backed up to a comfortable position as she looked up at him, a spark of recognition firing in her eyes.

"You are the hunter I met on the first day I came here! The hunter in the Prince's court!" She remarked excitedly, clearly glad to meet him again. "I almost couldn't recognise you because your hair was bright blonde that day, and silver-white today."

Vergil had forgotten that he had disguised his hair colour that day. Vergil had just finished hunting with a few members in his court, and had requested to be left alone while he disguised himself to patrol the capital town of Visternia that day. What he had seen was not surprising, but coming to the rescue of a poor country girl had turned out to offer him a little entertainment and amusement during that day -as well as knowledge that Killon, the Head of Black Wing, was making full use of his official power.

Now, he was seeing the same girl within the walls of the castle, in crisp and clean uniform.

"I assume you have accomplished what you set out to be? You are a Court Physician in training now?"

"Yes! Thanks to your advice, I managed to sleep safely for one night. The next day, I came here and was accepted as an understudy immediately. I worked hard, and was promoted to Court Physician-in-training a month ago! Right now, I'm slightly higher than what I strove out to be..." A good-looking blush appeared across the girl's cheeks.

"And what position would that be?" Vergil asked. He had never been really interested in the ranking system of the Court Physicians; in fact, he only really knew the Head Physician well since the elderly man was also the only Royal Physician.

"I am an official Royal Court Physician tending to the needs of the Queen! The Queen is often sickly, and the Head Physician nominated me as a personal Royal Court Physician to tend to Her Majesty's need in times of discomfort." Lissiana answered with a proud smile as Vergil blinked in surprise.

"This is a first. I have never heard of a Court Physician attending to a member of the Royal family personally except for the Head Physician." Vergil commented, watching as the woman nodded, clearly understanding the uniqueness of her situation.

"I understand your confusion as well. I was utterly honoured to be given a completely new title when the King announced it."

"The King announced it personally?" Vergil asked again.

Vergil supposed that no matter how busy his father was, the King would spare no effort ensuring the health of the Queen by personally announcing the appointment of her personal Court Physician.

"Yes. The King loves the Queen very much and will do anything to ensure that she is well and comfortable. Their love is much enviable." Lissiana's smile was genuine.

When Vergil was much younger, he had thought that his parent's lovey-dovey actions in front of the public was disgusting and embarrassing. Now that he had grown up and realised how fleeting this thing called 'love' was, he supposed that he himself admired his parents a little bit more on how they were able to resist the pressures of the court and country to continue loving each other the way they did. To protect his wife and family well, Vergil's father was very strong, powerful and reliable to allow them to live their peaceful lives within the castle walls without fear of being attacked or overthrown all of a sudden.

"You are dressed much differently today." The comment was directed at Vergil with a polite smile.

"I was at the training grounds." Vergil answered since it was the simplest way to explain why he was dressed in a soldier's garb. He usually had his own set of training wear, but Vergil had attended the training without warning this time and had to simply borrow from the soldiers in training since he could not be bothered to return to his room to retrieve it.

"A hunter is allowed on the training grounds?" It was the girl's turn to sound surprised.

"I am more of the prince's attendant. I have to do things he does by his side." Vergil lied easily. The girl clearly didn't know the truth yet, and he was rather amused at how clueless she was. Still, Vergil could not say that he hated the casual way in which he was being addressed. There were little people in the castle who would see him in his un-disguised self, and still not recognise that he was the prince.

"I see. It must be hard for you, then. I hear from the maidservants that the Prince often has a busy schedule. He starts work from the early morning to the late night. It is not a wonder I haven't seen him around ever since I came here."

Vergil could not stop his smile of amusement at the fact that the woman was saying that she had not met the prince before when she had literally met him on her first day in town. Turning slightly to hide most of the smile just so that she would not get too suspicious, Vergil looked out towards the well-groomed garden right outside the corridor. The gardeners were currently hard at work, caring for the beautiful flowers that his mother loved looking at.

"The prince does have a busy schedule." Vergil admitted. "But he works hard so that his mother will be satisfied. The Queen is sickly, and he doesn't want to be a cause of worry for her."

"Yes," Lissiana nodded. "The Queen often talks to me about her sons. I heard that her body became much frail after giving birth to the princes, but she still loves him very much."

"You look a little unsure." Vergil noted with surprise at the expression that came with his reply. "Is there something wrong?"

"I... Um... Can I ask you about something?"

"What is it about?" Vergil asked, not understanding the reason behind the sudden hesitation that was appearing all over the woman's face and voice.

"I am curious about what happened to the Second Prince. The Queen always talk about her sons, but I was warned to not ask about the Second Prince. The Head Physician told me that the prince left the castle when he became an adult, and that made the Queen's health deteriorate much more. I tried to ask some of the maidservants, but they said that it was a topic that could not be said within the castle walls..."

"You are asking me if I am willing to tell you the truth?" Vergil asked, not particularly surprised, but also silently approving the girl for her courage. The taboo of the topic of the Second Prince was well-known around the castle, mainly because ever since the Second Prince left, Vergil's mother had been quite disappointed. Her health had never really recovered to be the way it was before, and thus no one in the castle had been allowed to even speak of Vergil's brother anymore. He could only guess that no matter how the Queen was insisting that she was fine now, she still missed his missing brother very much.

"If you can't tell me as well, it's okay..." Lissiana shook her head quickly. "I get that it's a sensitive topic for the people around here. I'm just curious, that's all, because I haven't been working around here for long enough to be trusted with whatever secret."

Personally, Vergil did not think that the topic was a taboo. His brother –though irresponsible –had been a good brother and son during his days in the castle. He had studied and grown up with this brother of his, and now that his brother was gone from the castle, he had not really wanted talk of the Second Prince to be a taboo. However, he did understand that not talking about his brother in front of his mother might help her get over his departure better, and thus had just chosen not to bring his missing brother into any conversation with his parents.

"I don't mind telling you about him." Vergil answered quickly, watching as his words reaped immediate results. The woman's face brightened up so quickly that if Vergil suspected that she might have pinned lots of her hope on him to tell her the truth. Such a naïve little girl. She truly belong beside his mother –both of them were gems that were most beautiful when they were untouched and uncut by the painful realities.

A movement at the end of the corridor behind the woman took his attention, and Vergil was immediately reminded at what he had been intending to do before he stopped for a conversation with the girl.

"I will tell you about him some other day, but for the moment, I have urgent matters to attend to." Vergil made sure that he did not show anything on his face to give away the fact that his attendant Zen had come back to find him after realising that he had delayed (despite Vergil promising that he would not). "Please excuse me."

"Of course! Don't let me hold you." Lissiana seemed to take his promise well, still smiling brightly as she let him brush past her.

"Wait!" Her call surprised Vergil, and he spun around quickly, blocking the view of Zen making towards him. "You haven't told me your name, and I told you mine when we were in Visternia."

Name. Besides realising that he hadn't given the woman a name to call him by, Vergil suddenly realised as well that he had not prepared a fake name for her. She clearly still didn't recognise him as the prince, and he didn't want to risk her recognition by saying his true name.

Vergil took the quickest look around for some form of inspiration.

"Viburn." He said quickly, after having spotted the plant being tended right outside. "I was named after Viburnum."

"That's a good name." Lissiana nodded in acknowledgement. "Then, I'll see you around someday again, Viburn."

"Yes, I'll see you around too." Vergil rushed through his farewell, and was almost literally running towards Zen a moment after.

Lissiana watched as Viburn reached the man who had been approaching them from the end of the corridor, exchanging some serious words. Clearly Viburn had been the in middle of getting somewhere before they stopped because even from her distance she could see the softly apologetic expression on the guy as he talked to his friend/colleague.

Lissiana smiled to herself as she walked away with a new bounce in her footsteps. She had been wondering if she would be able to meet the 'hunter in the Prince's Court' again in the castle when she had entered the castle, and now she had fulfilled that wish. He had even promised that he would be seeing her around again, that he would tell her the secret of the Second Prince.

Viburn was a nice guy, Lissiana decided. He was gentlemanly and polite. He might sound a little cold and ruthless at times, but she guessed that it was born from his occupation as a hunter/soldier/attendant. He would make a lousy hunter/soldier/attendant if he didn't have the heart to do things that needed some strong will. The way he carried himself was also rather self-confident, and when he had talked about the Queen, there had been a great measure of respect.

The more Lissiana thought about it, the more she decided that she liked the person that Viburn was. He even had an aura of royalty around him. Perhaps he had rubbed elbows too much with the Prince.

She didn't know much about him yet, but Lissiana guessed that there would always be more chances to come.