Raven stared.

She wondered if the whole thing had been a scam, but then dismissed the thought. The letter had held the Royal seal upon it.

"Would you care to elaborate, Chancellor?" She said, almost taunting.

He didn't seem to notice her tone at all, turning to the mousy man beside him, his palm upwards. The man placed a thick, leather bound journal in his hand.

"This is Jeremy, by the way." The Chancellor said. "One of the most trusted guards Navaya was blessed with."

A mousy name for a mousy man. Raven humored with herself, yet didn't speak out loud.

The Chancellor placed the journal on the table, and gently pushed it towards her. Raven took it. As she opened it and flipped through, the Chancellor spoke again, his voice deep and grave.

"Last month, Princess Anya was attacked. And it was no normal attack. Gabriel Santiago, a 48 year old warrior who has served Navaya for 20 years, was her attacker. His loyalty to the Royal family had been unquestionable."

He paused, and Raven felt the incident had affected him personally.

However, he looked up only a second's delay later and continued, "But that is not what has made us so worried. No, what has us tense now, is the strength of his attack. Gabriel was old, nearing his retirement now, in fact. And yet, it took us over fifty soldiers to subdue him. He fought our manpower like a beast, desperate to get its prey. It was... unnerving, I'd say, to watch. He has murdered warriors. Only two protectors that were on the scene have survived, out of which one is left in no state so much as lift a finger."

Raven's attention was fairly divided. As the Chancellor continued his interesting narrative, she read the first few pages of the journal, and then skimmed through the rest of it.

It held a record, some sort of a scientific record, Raven would guess, detailing on Santiago's corpse... if she could call it that. He had apparently collapsed after being subdued, and when a soldier had tried to move him, his eyes had popped out of his sockets.

They had carried him off to the Health Specialist at the castle, to get him examined, where they came to know that Santiago's corpse was empty. Completely empty. No muscles, no bones, no organs, no tissues. Nothing. As empty as a jellyfish's brains.

It was interesting.

"It is the most bizarre thing ever." The Chancellor said. "We have never seen anything like this and... I am afraid, Raven. I am very afraid for Royal family at this moment. The Princess is the only eligible heir to Navaya, and if anything is to happen to her, very soon we will have to be afraid for Navaya as well."

Raven saw the sincerity in his eyes.

"We believe," The Chancellor looked uncomfortable, as if he would beg for a different set of words than what he was about to speak. "That it might be some... some dark force. Something that wants to bring down Navaya. Something like... Black Magic."

Raven listened. Then she sat back, and took a deep breath in.

"Where do I come into all of this?" She asked him.

"We want you to come help us. Navaya knows no warrior greater than you-"

Jeremy, who had been silent and unmoving for the entire conversation, twitched, as if he would beg to differ.

"-and we wish to provide the Princess the highest strength of security possible." The Chancellor continued, as if he hadn't noticed. "We ask you to guard the Princess, till these times of danger are over."

"You want me to babysit her?" Raven asked, incredulously.

The Chancellor frowned, and Raven sensed he disapproved of her little joke. "The Princess is already at the ripe age of seventeen, the same as you are, I am told. I would appreciate, Raven if you took this situation as seriously as it-"

"Please, Chancellor," Jeremy interrupted, and Raven was surprised he had a voice. "I warned you beforehand, allowing an outsider to know of our weakness could not physically lead to a safe situation. Yet, you insisted. Now here we are, trying to explain our problem to a moron who doesn't-"

Even before the thought appeared in her head, Raven's hand flew to her leg sheath, her fingers wrapping around one of her beloved twin daggers and before she could even think to stop herself, it was gliding through the air, towards Jeremy.

It pierced through the collar of his shirt, pinning it to the back of his chair.

"Oh, Heavens," The Chancellor exclaimed.

She produced the second dagger, and placed it on the table in plain sight of her two acquaintances.

"Insult me one more time, mouse boy, and this next one will be through your throat before you're done." Her voice was calm despite her words.

She picked up the journal again, and just as she was deciding on giving it a thorough read, thunder broke the silence in the room. Raven looked up and out of the living room window, and realized rain was closer than she had expected.

She stood up, pushing her chair back, and left the room without another word to her guests. She headed to her quarters, where an open window fluttered in the wind. She closed and latched it, protecting her small space from getting sprayed all over by rainwater, before returning to the living room.

Raven had barely stepped over the threshold when the alarms in her head went off. She barely registered the whizzing sound as her own dagger flew straight up to her face, only for her to catch it when it was a mere inch from her eyes.

The glint of its blade in the light almost blinded her with its closeness, and Raven could not help but give its handle a fond caress.

"Jeremy!" The Chancellor's angry voice rang through the room even before Raven could lower the dagger.

Once she did, however, she found the Chancellor thundering in his seat, very much like the sky outside. The fist he had placed on the table was trembling.

"Jeremy Michaels, you are hereby suspended from any and all duties you owe to the His Majesty, the King." He said, half-yelling.

"Chancellor, I only-" Jeremy began, but the Chancellor's voice cut right through.

"You are banned from speaking of your services to any and all personage from hereon, any violation of which will be responded to with suitable sentence from the Court."

His eyes were filled with rage, and his voice indicated that he was still holding himself back.

Jeremy gaped for a moment, possibly gathering his bearings. Then, he produced a badge from his pockets, placed it on the table and saluted the Chancellor one last time, his face grave.

He left then, and as soon as he was absent, the tension drained out of the Chancellor's frame.

"I'm guessing that was not very easy for you..." Raven muttered, sitting back down and slipping both her daggers back into her leg sheaths.

The Chancellor nodded, sighing. "He has worked for us a long time now. His absence will be felt in the palace."

"Well, I did provoke him a bit," Raven admitted, albeit there was no emotion in her voice.

He shook his head. "He does not understand the seriousness of the situation. If we don't act fast, the Royal family will be dead soon," His voice hitched here. "And Navaya will be left without ruler, free to succumb to chaos and goodness knows what."

Raven knew to do nothing else but nod.

"So please, Raven," The Chancellor looked exhausted, as if the slightest of provocations now would make him want to cry.

"Trust me, Chancellor; I am taking this matter much more seriously than it might appear." She assured him, feeling guilty. "In the seventeen years of my death-filled life, I have never come across anything like what you say."

Raven paused for a moment.

"What of my working conditions?" She asked.

The Chancellor looked hopeful. "Accommodation for you will be arranged right next to Princess Anya's quarters, and everything else you require will be arranged for in the castle itself. You will be additionally provided with 3000 Karps for every day that you serve the Royal family."

Raven raised her eyebrows. 3000 Karps? She thought. That is more than what I need in a month, much less a day.

"Would you require a personal maid?" He asked her, and she almost laughed.

She never wore gowns or dresses, and there were two reasons to that. One, they were expensive and difficult to handle, wash and store. Two, fighting in skirts was something only a goddess could achieve, and Raven had not yet reached that level.

She shook her head in response to the Chancellor's question.

"Anything else you would wish to know?" He asked.

Raven shook her head again, a slight smirk on her face.

A part of her wondered what the consequences of agreeing to this demand would be. It was dangerous, but that was exactly why she was willing to do it. Best case scenario, she wasn't as good as the Chancellor had thought and would succumb to whatever monstrosity threatened the Princess's life.

Worst case scenario... well, it was better if she didn't think about that for the meantime.