Well, today is my birthday. Yay! I'm turning... one year older! So, I'd like to ask you, the viewers, for a little something. It isn't too much, but I'd like some comments/reviews/messages, that tell me your thoughts about the series. It'd be something nice to read throughout the day, of course they don't have to be praise, what I want are honest thoughts. I know that some of you guys, you know who, have already commented your thoughts, there's no need to do it again unless you want to. Also, I plan to release the one shot today with the chapter tonight.

That being said, "the best-laid plans of mice and men often go awry." -Robert Burns.

Basically, I won't promise the one shot but I hope I finish it by tonight.

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By the time I got back to the inn, Axel and Hector were sleeping peacefully on the beds. Guess who had to sleep on the floor? Hector. Nah, I'm just kidding, I didn't want to wake him up so I slept on the floor. Sure, it was hard and cold but I slept like a log. That situation really had me tense, I was just glad to be back in one piece.

Axel snored a bit, but it didn't bother me. On the other hand, I think it actually helped me sleep. I've never been a stickler for noise, without it I feel a bit lonely. My teacher would always have a fire burning before I slept, mostly because it was cold, but I knew that he knew it helped me sleep. He didn't always show it but he was very kind.

In the morning, we set off again for the mansion. Yesterday I didn't even meet my grandparents. I wonder if they had something important to do.

We make it to the mansion and go inside, I peer around looking for Aisha. I know I won't spot her or anything but I still try anyways.

Although I don't think that I'm showing it, Aisha's been getting on my nerves a little. I just wanted to see her again, I wanted to talk to her, ask her how she's been doing. I can figure the latter out but I'd really like her to tell me herself, things like that are best heard from from the person who experienced it. I hope that Millicent wasn't hounding her for all the eight years.

If I saw her yelling at Aisha, I'm sure I'd slap her. My little sister's annoying but I won't have another person yelling at her that's not me, it's just unethical.

After scanning the room and finding nothing, I think to look for Joseph, he'll be useful. But before I even put another foot forward, the door in the next room opens. My grandparents walk in talking to two men. Both look sturdy, one's plain and the other one has hair that matches the name of the city, it's a brilliant green when the sun hits it.

"I don't believe we will be getting anywhere. If your master truly wants to marry Aisha then he must win her heart." Frederick says.

"Lord Yurfray," the plain one says. "I believe that you've already set her up for marriage isn't that so?" what? Marriage? How come they didn't tell me this?

"We-" he sees me and stops.

"Didn't her rejection greatly hurt the Yurfray family? Your family was under ridicule for months, just because that little girl wouldn't do what she was meant to." he glances over at me but quickly returns his focus back to Frederick. "I've even heard rumors that one of your daughters was greatly offended that her own daughter wasn't picked so she chose to separate herself from you. It seemed like you also had quite the affection for your grandchildren there."

Is this why my mom's siblings have been so harsh on her? How come they spite my mom when they talk about us.

"That last-Julie was already having a troubled time with us, she just chose to leave when that happened."

"Oh? Like the time where your eldest daughter, Ayleth, left? She went to marry a commoner, isn't that also correct? The family wasn't too pleased to hear that their son was rejected by the daughter of a commoner." he says straightening his shirt.

"That's none of your business." my grandmother says.

The man shrugs his shoulders, "I suppose so." he falls back into a more relaxed stance. "But wouldn't this also hurt your family more? I'm telling you this for your sake, but if Miss Aisha refuses to marry our master then we won't be responsible for what might happen to you."

"...I-"

The man holds up his hand stopping Frederick from speaking.

"How about we make a compromise?" his taps his fingers against each other. "For one day, we will take her to see our master. If she likes him and agrees to get married then we both win, if she meets him and chooses not to marry him then we won't hold it against your family. How does that sound? Only one day." he says.

I can tell that Frederick's slowly giving in. On the outside, there should be nothing wrong with accepting this but it's possible they could say he took her chastity away or something like that. I'm sure that he doesn't want to lose Aisha's trust but he certainly doesn't want to have the family's name go down further.

"So be it." Frederick says, his mouth twitching slightly.

I feel a slight nudge to my side, "Hey." Axel says. "Are you okay with this? Your sister's going to be married off."

"She's not going to be married off." I tell him. "She gets a choice." that's what I'd like to believe but I know that it's not entirely true. If our grandparents wanted to marry her off they could force her to do it. She could run away but she'd have nowhere to go.

"Who're those three over there." he asks my grandfather.

"They're guests. The one with black hair is my grandson, Aisha's brother." he says.

"Her brother?" the man with black hair walks towards me.

"I'm Rainen." I say quickly. "If you're taking my sister out today, I'll be going with you."

He raises an eyebrow as if saying, "Oh really?"

"Oh really?" he says. "What makes you think that?" he's coming of rather hostile for a representative.

"Are you going to stop me?" I challenge him.

He looks a me a while before shrugging. "Not really, it won't matter." saying that, he walks back to my grandparents and asks them to get Aisha. He gave up rather easily. It'll be like he said, even if I go, it won't matter, it's up to Aisha to choose. But, if anything goes wrong, I can step in and help her.

The door opens, Aisha and a maid come through.

"Hello there." Aisha says politely enough. The maid bows and leaves.

"Hello Miss Aisha. I'm Jacob. I'd like you to meet with my master, your grandparents have already accepted."

Aisha glances at our grandparents, "I-"

She's stopped by Jacob, "Like I've said, they agreed. If you do not go, then it'll be a big stain on the Yurfray's reputation." he says.

"...Who am I going to meet?" she asks.

"He's Ulrian Elwald." her eyes widen at the name. "Here is his family's official seal." he hands over the paper for her to look at.

"She seems to be quite liked by powerful people." Hector whispers to me. I haven't heard of this family either. Seeing Hector's movement, Aisha looks over to us. Her eyebrows furrow and she keeps staring at me. What's she thinking? I just stare back at her with a blank expression.

"We should leave quickly, he's not a very patient person." he beckons for his companion to come over. "May we get going?" he gestures for Aisha to go first. She hesitantly takes a step forward, one after another and she finally gets out of the door. I allow the two men to go in front of the three of us.

"Shouldn't you be trying to get closer with your sister?" Hector asks.

"She probably wouldn't want me to anyways." I say. "I'll keep my distance until after we meet with that Elwald guy."

We walk through the front gates, two guards accompany us. They were sent after us by my grandparents, they're both big and stocky, good as intimidation. Anyone will think twice before messing with guards like these guys, I doubt people mess with nobles much anyways.

"Where are we going?" Aisha asks.

"To meet with Master Ulrian of course." Jacob says. "Where else would we be going?"

"I don't think that this is the right way to the Elwald family's house." she says.

"He's eager to meet you." he tells her while walking with his hands behind his back. "He's already waiting at a place for dinner."

"Wouldn't that be better served at his house?" Hector asks.

Jacob turns around as if a bug just landed on his shoulder, "He doesn't like his house much, too many people running around in there. He wants to meet in a more... private place." Aisha's body stiffens up slightly when she hears his last word.

"Hahahaha." the man with green hair laughs. "Don't worry young Miss. He wouldn't dare touch you, not until you're married that is."

So she didn't have a choice, is that it?

"Shut up Talon." Jacob snaps. "It's up to her if she chooses to marry him or not, that's what we promised Lord and Lady Yurfray."

From here, I notice a smirk appear on Talon's face.

"Of course she'll get a choice." he laughs. "We all get a choice." he says as we round a corner. Waiting on the other side are two cloaked figures. They stand there patiently, they're both facing our group. Both of them take out knives, Talon puts his hand up and fires off a stun, but it hits Aisha.

I'm lost on what's happening for a second, that is, until the cloaked figures run past Jacob and Talon. Damn, a fucking trap, glad that I came along. I start to drop down a knife, my free hand shoots off a fireball at Talon.

Jacob holds out his hand and destroys the fireball. "Now!" he screams.

Talon turns around, his emerald green eyes lock with mine and I feel my legs buckle. Fuck. I can't move, everything around me slowly turns to black, the situation looks worse every time I can open my eyes slightly. I try to force them open more but it's impossible. The two guards are taken down and I fall unconscious, the last sight being that of Jacob and Talon running away with Aisha.

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Hector stepped forward with his sword drawn when he saw Rainen fall to his knees. The two men who they had thought were servants of the Elwald family were actually kidnappers. They'd been tricked by the men named Jacob and Talon, those two ran away with Aisha as the two cloaked assailants faced off against the guards.

"Kill them all." Jacob said before he turned around and ran away with Talon. "We'll meet you guys back there."

"Let's go." one said.

"Yeah." the other said.

"Axel!" Hector shouted. "Take Rainen away and call for help. I'll hold them back here."

Axel didn't hesitate to grab Rainen but when the idea of leaving someone behind came up he almost froze. He personally didn't want to leave behind a friend to save another, with him here he could provide magical support for Hector. A two vs two battle would be less one sided than one vs two.

"I'm staying!" he shouted at Hector.

Hector gripped his sword tightly. With other people to protect, he'd have a much harder time fighting, especially if they chose to target Rainen and Axel. He didn't even know if he could win in a two vs one, the way that they took out the guards so quickly was quite an unexpected feat. Hector knew that guards weren't the strongest but he knew that those two guards that had just gone down were a slight cut above the rest.

"Axel, I won't say this again. Take Rainen and leave! Call for help!" the two cloaked persons split up as if to surround Hector, trying to get him in a pincer attack.

"But-"

"I'll have a harder time if both of you guys are here! Rainen's unconscious, he'll be an easy target, take him away and call for help. That's the best thing you can do." Hector screamed.

Both charged at the battle ready Hector, as they both drew closer time slowed for him. Dozens of scenarios played in his head, he played a scene of the two taking down the guards, doing his best to analyze the event he just saw. What's the best way I can take them down? he thought to himself.

His thoughts were interrupted, however, when one, in a sudden jerk, turned his body and shot out a fireball at the fleeing Axel and Rainen. Axel was too distracted with trying to drag Rainen away to react to the flying ball of flame coming straight at them. Without any barrier, they'd be dead.

"[Enchantment: Nullify]!"

The fireball instantly died out. Hector's sword contained multiple enchantments, one which happened to be nullify. Nullify was a high level spell with limited uses that could cancel another attack at the cost of one's own mana, having to equal or be greater than the mana used with the spell. Since it was an enchantment, Hector used no mana to erase the fireball from existence.

"[Wild Swing]!"

A great gust of wind came from the two's feet, they were both blown back a few feet. At a close distance, those who didn't dodge the skill would have been perfectly cut in two.

Hector lowed his stance and moved his sword to his side, the blade slightly inclined for a better cut. There wasn't much that Hector could do in this position, taking the initiative could leave his fleeing friends in a bad spot. The only positive he could see was that neither of the two were wearing armor and both had short ranged weapons, although they both did have magic.

Without armor, Hector didn't have to focus on attacking the gaps and had full reign to whichever body part he chose. He stared harshly at them, his gazes quickly flickering between both of them, not letting a single movement of them go unnoticed. Even one little slip up and they'd be on him faster than a pack of wolves on injured prey.

"What? Playing the hero now are we?" one of them says relaxing his body. "It's not good to be so tense, we promise we'll kill you guys fast. There wasn't supposed to be anyone but those two guards anyways, I guess you guys just had some bad luck. So why don't you stop trying to play hero and run away? If you do, even we might not be able to catch you."

Hector's mind didn't even waver, he knew what they were doing, trying to tempt him with the thought of escape. But he knew that the slightest bit of weakness could be the end of him. So he blocked out everything they started to say, keeping his eyes focused on their movements, thinking only of how he could buy more time for Axel to get away with Rainen.

"It's not gonna work tenth." the other one said. "Guy's as stiff as a board. Let's hurry up and kill him before that kid over there can call for help." both of them crouched back down, ready to pounce at Hector.

Axel, who was still in their range, with all his strength, lifted Rainen over his shoulder. He would have fallen right there but his years of carrying around his father's armor and his string of quests he completed, finally came in handy.

As the two cloaked figures bounded for Hector, he readied his sword for another [Wild Swing]. He felt a shock run through his body, his muscles were responding to his commands and the blade started to move, slicing across the air.

The tenth, expecting this, stomped his foot into the dirt, sending mana pulsing through the ground.

A pillar rose from the ground, it was aimed at Hector's blade, meant to disrupt the dangerous skill he was about to pull off. The other cloaked figure, the ninth, raised his dagger, he had it pointed up, aiming for the neck.

With the pillar knocking off the balance of his swing, he couldn't use the skill anymore, and sensing the danger, he twisted his body, hiding behind the pillar. It didn't act as a very good obstacle though, the ninth easily maneuvered around it and lunged at Hector.

Hector twisted his arms and brought the sword back around to parry his attack. Following up with a kick the ninth was sent back.

"[Lightning Tempest]!"

The ninth and tenth froze at the words that came out of the swordsman's mouth. They both were caught unaware of the fact that Hector could use advanced level magic, or any magic at all for that matter. Unable to react to the revelation that their opponent wasn't an average knight with only enchantments, both of them failed to create a barrier.

"GUWAAAAAAAAHHHHH!"

The ninth let out a gut-wrenching scream as the electric attack surged through his body. Noticing their shock at his magic, since he's been carefully watching them the whole time, Hector quickly finished the ninth off with a more powerful version of stun.

"[Paralyze]!" he shouted.

The sudden green ball shot forth hitting the ninth directly in the chest. He slumped to the ground as if he was just stabbed clean through.

The tenth recovered from his shock and ignored his fallen comrade. Charging once again, he fought toe to toe with Hector. His attacks were getting desperate, he only joined the twelve a month ago making him one of the least experienced. He simply joined to make money, he was a capable fighter, but his panic at his ally's downfall he started making many mistakes.

Despite his constant failings, he was still talented enough to not completely lose. He pushed Hector back, who's movements started becoming more fluid. Like a sheet of paper or a leaf in the wind, Hector flexibly moved his arms to parry the blows.

His mind was becoming clearer. He started to understand why he lost to his student over the summer. As he fought with the tenth, his body began feeling like it once had when he was younger. Hector was still fairly young, only twenty nine, but what felt younger wasn't his body, it was his mind that had fallen into a slump. The reason that he had fallen to the student over the summer and Rainen was because he had underestimated them and let his guard down.

A smile started appearing on Hector's face, he was enjoying the fight. The tenth, visibly frightened, stepped back and released a spell.

"[Fire Burst]!" the flames came out from his hands. "[Calm Mind] [Boost Spirit]"

The tenth's anxiety immediately died down, the worried thoughts he had about his opponent were gone without a trace. His mind was back to the start where he still had the ninth. But that was his mistake, the calm mind was certainly going to help but the arrogance he gained from canceling out most of calm mind's effect with spirit boost was his undoing.

His confidence rose thanks to the effect of boost spirit which raises the user's hopes. Calm mind would have kept him in a more neutral state.

Hector ducked impossibly low under the fire and dashed. The tenth, with his heightened arrogance, swung his short dagger at Hector. Hector stopped before the dagger could cut through even a strand of his clothing and countered with his own swing.

"Guk."

Blood came from the tenth's mouth, he clutched at his side where the blade had hit. His hands started to glow green but the light in his eyes faded before the magic could go off.

Hector stared at him for a minute, making sure that he lost enough blood to kill him. He nodded when he thought the amount was enough and went to grab the ninth. He looked down at the slumped over body, almost moving to pick him up but stopping.

"[Paralyze]" he shot another spell for good measure.

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I wake up on my grandparent's couch, there's no way that I'd forget this sofa that just takes in my whole body. Fifteen or so other people were in the room, one is Axel, one is Hector, two are my grandparents and the others are fully armed guards.

"What's going on?" I ask. Everyone turns to look at me.

"Ah. Good. You're awake now." Axel says. "Hector brought back one of the people who kidnapped your sister."

Hearing that, I swing my feet to the ground and stand up. My head feels groggy and my body is unbalanced.

"Whoa." Hector catches me by the arm. "Where are you going?"

"To interrogate that bastard." I tell him.

"Do you even know how?" he asks.

"I know how to use a knife and break bones in the body." I say.

"C-calm down there. I already did it. He gave up really fast, don't worry."

I look around the room, "Is that why everyone's here?" I ask. "To save Aisha?"

"Yeah." Axel says. "We're heading out now. Their base should be a warehouse a little ways away from here."

"I s-" I stop my voice. "What was the name of the person you caught? Did he have any aliases?" I ask Hector.

"Aliases? Well, he kept calling himself the ninth til the end of the interrogation."

So they are a part of this. Why? What do they have to gain from doing this? Was this a request from the empire? Hello, this is the empire, please kidnap this red head. Is that how it went?

"We're leaving right now." Axel says. "Let's go."

"Hmm? Ah yeah." I pull away from Hector and start walking to the door. The sun has fallen, was I really out for that long?

I reach for the handle.

"Wait!" a voice from behind says. "I'm coming too."

I turn around.

"Please take me with you cousin Rainen. I wish to help."

It's Dylan.