Alexandra felt her face paled and her body turn cold. Hearing the amused man's voice, she didn't dare to look back and mustered up all her strength to run as fast as she could out of the forest. She didn't need to look at the man to know it's definitely the one that has been looking for her.
"Hey hey! Don't run away again after I finally found you," the man said, chasing after her with a wide grin on his face. He seems to enjoy the little chase. The woman is pretty gutsy and he doesn't really hate that. It's boring to kill someone who won't even struggle for their life after all.
Alexandra ran as fast as she could without looking back. If anything could save her now, it is her quick feet. The man picked up his pace and started to close their gap. Alexandra heard the steps behind her moving closer and closer at an alarming rate, but she can't run even faster than this.
She scanned the road in front of her and saw a beautiful carriage stopping there. The carriage is gorgeous and does not pale in comparison to a noble's. There must be an important figure riding the purple carriage with gold ornaments decorating the whole thing. An important figure must have some guards along, she thought. She decided to run straight at the carriage and plead for some help.
The man saw her moving towards the fancy carriage on the road and he frowned. He prefers not to kill other people along with his target if possible. Though he enjoys torturing and hearing screams as he cut some body parts away from the body, he really wants to just finish this job here. The carriage had purple roses and golden ornaments and he knows what it signifies. He does not want to complicate the mission by bringing trouble from that faction. But he can't really leave the woman alone.
They had thought they had finished the mission beautifully and slaughtered all the targets when he accidentally heard someone from the house take shelter in the village. He can't believe his ears as he saw all the bodies of the targets before confirming the end of the mission. The woman called "Alexandra" is among the dead bodies, though her face was scarred and burned, her figures and red hair fits the description they got. His other companions had left and he also was on his way home when he accidentally stumbled on the hunters gossiping in the middle of the forest. Their reputation would be tarnished if someone finds out they had left a target alive so he decided to put an end to it right now.
Alexandra ran right to the carriage and saw the coachman along with some men holding weapons, they seemed to be the guards. The men saw her running towards them and looked over. They saw the woman had someone chasing over her and wondered what they were doing. Are they playing something? But the woman clearly shows no joy in her face. She looks pale and terrified, like she's running for her life.
"Please help!" Alexandra screamed and stopped right in front of them. The men stood up and looked at her, holding their weapon in their hands. "What's wrong, miss?" one of the guards asked her. "The man is trying to kill me," she said while panting. The men exchanged glances at one another and wondered what they should do.
The man chasing her reached their spot as well and stopped. He smiled at them and said "I would prefer if you gentlemen don't meddle in this. It's our personal problem." Alexandra glared at him and said "I don't remember creating any problem for you. Why are you trying to kill me?"
"It's a job missy, no hard feelings" he said while shrugging his shoulders. "Are you an assassin? Who sent you?" Alexandra asked the man again. "Confidential," the man answered smiling at her.
The guardsmen wondered what they should do. The woman is clearly targeted by someone who hires this assassin to take her out. That means the guy is a professional and they are not sure if they should meddle in or not. It might create unnecessary complications. Furthermore, to have a professional assassin chasing after her, the woman is clearly not normal as well.
"What is all the ruckus?" a charming woman came out of the carriage after hearing the commotion. The woman carries a paper fan with white feathers on it and wears a beautiful black and purple dress. She is the important figure, Alexandra thought after seeing her demeanor and presence.
"Ma'am!" the coachman and guards saluted at her, standing at attention.
The woman glanced at the young woman and the man holding a sword standing in front of her. Alexandra saw the woman and decided to plead to her "Please help me. The man is trying to kill me" The woman scanned Alexandra from head to toe before moving his eyes to scanned the man as well. She then asked "Are you from 'doom'?" The man smiled at her and answered "Yes, I am a member of 'doom'"
"Hmm" the woman seemed amused, she saw the ornament of the man's sword and figured out his affiliation. An assassin from doom, the young woman is clearly not a small character. "To have a doom assassin set on killing you, you have bad luck girl" she said looking at Alexandra.
Alexandra did not understand what 'doom' is and what it signifies. She looked at the woman before glaring back to the man in front of her. If looks can kill, she is sure she bore a hole already on the man's face by now.
The woman folded her fan and looked amused at the young woman. Chased by an assassin, she clearly exhausted herself out but she refused to bow down to her destiny of being killed by the man. Her green eyes showed determination and power, and she quite liked the young woman for it.
"Alright, how much?" the woman asked the assassin. The man looked at her and seemed shocked for a moment before a smile came on his face, "You want to save this woman?" he asked her. "I quite like her, it's quite rare to find strong women these days. It's a pity if you killed her" she answered back.
Actually the guy quite liked the young woman as well. She is feisty enough to run away safely from the slaughter at her house and had the audacity to hide in the forest while knowing an assassin is looking for her. It's been a while since she found a defenseless woman who can hold her own ground, he had his share of fun playing cat and mouse with her. Besides, it's not anything personal. It's not like he holds a grudge with the woman, it's just a job where someone paid him to take her out.
"500 gold" the man answered. "Deal," answered the woman with a small smile. She went back in the carriage and came out again to throw a small bag of gold to the man. The man took it and started counting. Alexandra looked at the scene while still glaring at the man. "Who hired you?" she asked him. "Confidential missy. I will be in trouble if I tell you. I'll give you an advice though, you should change your name and appearance and hide away somewhere." he smiled while answering her.
"What's your number?" the woman holding the fan asked the man, looking at him from just outside the carriage. "Seven," he answered her. "Seven? Girl, you're lucky to have met me here otherwise you would have lost your head by now," said the woman looking at Alexandra. Alexandra did not know what number means or what 'seven' signifies, but she agrees that she can't escape the man without her help, she is truly lucky today. "Thank you madam" she said to the woman.
"I'm called Garnet. Seven, if you got into trouble because of this, you know where to find me" Garnet spoke to Alexandra before switching to the assassin. "Sure. I will just pretend that I didn't hear anything and she is already dead." the man said to her. "It's not like anyone else knows that she's still alive. I'll come to the Purple Rose some time to have some fun instead, give me a discount," he added, which had Garnet giving him a cold smile. He then turned to speak to Alexandra "Missy, remember to change your name and appearance. Otherwise you'll bring trouble for both of us" he smiled at her before leaving the place in one swift motion, leaving no trace of where he was or where he had gone to.
Alexandra gasped in shock. The man could move as fast as the wind just now but he spent time chasing after her before. He is clearly toying around earlier, he could have killed her right after she left the house if he wanted to. She realised again how lucky she was to meet Garnet's entourage here. The woman isn't joking when she said Alexandra had been lucky to have met her. The assassin called 'seven' had hidden his true power to play a game of chase when in fact he is capable of ending her in one second.
"Come inside girl. You will come back with me and work for me to pay back that 500 gold I paid for you," Garnet spoke to her while walking inside the carriage, she seemed unbothered by the fact that the assassin could disappear in one second. The coachman and guards also do not look shocked and moved to prepare to continue the journey again. They had guessed his true capabilities when he said he is 'seven' from doom.