English ain't my first language, so if my grammar does acrobatics sometimes, mind your business༎ຶ‿༎ຶ(◠‿◕)
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The moon was high up in the sky, the perfect time for villains to show up.
Speaking of villains Maraye, perched on the tall fence above a large estate, the goosebumps on her skin a result of the cool breeze.
Tonight's mission was simple—rob the wealthy man who owned this estate.
Timing was everything, one of the teachings her master had embedded in her. They had to wait for the signal, something that had never failed them since time.
She adjusted the mask on her face, her eyes watered from the nervousness stirring within her. The smell of wet nature invading her senses.
She glanced back at their captain. Though he blended into the shadows, she could still make out his silhouette.
Her gaze traveled upward to his face and her breath stuttered at the sight of his eyes. They were very much visible and they were staring directly at…..her.
She quickly looked away, her hands curling into a fist. She wondered what he was thinking.
Last night, she had seen him outside her window, he just stood, staring—a blank expression on his face. It was the very same one he was giving her tonight.
A shiver ran down her spine, for reasons more dangerous than she dared admit.
'It couldn't be…right? He couldn't have found out already.'
She shivered at the thought of her life ending over a single slip up. Her captain was like that, not batting an eye before ending a life.
She could feel his stare burning down her back where she stayed perched.
As if one problem wasn't enough, she was also for the first time on a high stake mission with the top five. The elite shadows her master trusted above all.
This could only mean one thing, her master was putting her to the test, a test to see if she was more than just an ordinary 'eyan'.
This was a world where some healed wounds, some bent fire, and some grew scales in secret.
Maraye had grown nothing.
Just a sharper gaze and a faster hand. Enough to survive the slum, but not enough to matter, not yet.
A still silence suddenly settled into the night and Maraye strained her ears.
'when nature turns silent, listen. It is trying to tell you something' She could hear her master's voice in her head.
The signal.
She froze, her eyes following the small shadow arrow that zoomed past her.
'It is time'
She drew out her knife and without hesitation, she jumped.
Five shadow figures followed, leaping into the night.
Swift. Fast. There was no room for mistake.
Her sweaty palms gripped her dagger firmly. All she had to do was successfully evade the Mages, and sneak into the upper room where the merchant did most of his work.
But it was easier said than done.
The mages patrolling the estate were one of the most menacing beings they've ever come across throughout her entire life.
They were Mages who tore through child healers before they even bloomed, skinning their preys thin till whispers of smoke remained.
One thing Maraye hoped for tonight was to never cross a Mage one on one.
She moved fast, sharp—jumping mid air to land on another fence.
A cold hand touched her back and she froze in horror, slowly turning to glance at whoever it was.
The hand stopped her, pressing down on her shoulder, Maraye froze again.
"We'll stall the Mages. The rest is up to you." A cold voice spoke.
It was one of the top five. Strangely she had never seen them outside of an operation, in fact they had never been seen this up close.
She glanced behind her, the figures were gone, including her captain.
She breathed out, her feet fast and running, she jumped again landing against the window.
She was on her own this time, she knew it. It was an operation to prove herself, her master had given her a chance. She couldn't mess this up.
Within the blink of an eye, she was already inside the room.
'Bingo!' She smiled. Studying the map inside out had paid off.
All she needed to do was steal three things. One of the most important one was the merchant's fingerprint and then two red file.
The room she was in seemed like a guest room, she walked towards the door and just when her hand touched the doorknob she paused.
Her master had always warned about this.
' You are invading a place never use the door, all that awaits you is death.'
She slowly backed away, her heart thumping at the thought of a Mage standing guarded outside.
She glanced upwards, and as though the heavens had smiled at her she saw a gap too small for the average eye to catch up in the ceiling beam.
Hope danced in her eyes.
Leaping off the floor, Maraye shifted the plank, and disappeared into the dark wooden hole...
Elsewhere in the estate…
In a dark room, with just one candle stand to light up the desk area alone, sat a young man, his afro rich and lush resting back on his head like a halo.
He adjusted in his seat, finally done with the paperwork. His wooden pen just as darkly rich in colour as his glowing skin, the effect of the single candle stand in the room.
One would wonder how he had managed with work under such poor lighting conditions but strangely, he had extremely good sight.
No one was in the room, which was extremely strange yet comfortable at the same time. He toyed with his pen while deeply lost in thoughts, before slowly setting it down on the table.
Before his pen could touch the surface of the marble table, he felt something cold and sharp against his neck.
He froze. His eyes travelling towards the object. It was a dagger. Against his neck.
Someone was behind him.
"Make one sound and this knife bites deep into your neck"
A sharp low voice sounded behind him. An intruder.
"The same goes for you" Another voice resonated, a long sword coming to rest on the intruders neck, catching a faint glow of the candlelight as it did.
There was another person behind the intruder too.
A still silence befell the room, grips tightening on the hilts of weapons.
Pulses quickening.
With the young man remaining frozen in his seat…