Lesley sighed as she stared at the fire she made.

The night was undeniably cold.

It had been months since she arrived her in the Land of Dawn. Her main purpose was to bring her little brother, Harley, back to the Vance Household.

But she saw how her little brother became matured during his stay here. Her once prankster and childish little brother became independent and survived on his own while making friends.

That was why she decided she would just protect him, even from afar.

Lesley stretched out her hands near the fire to absorb more heat.

Until now, she was still not showing herself to Harley. Though she always hit those who were inflicted by his magic.

And she intended to hide herself because all that matters was her little brother's safety.

Lesley added more branches to the fire, she couldn't sleep for too long. She knew danger was always around, she couldn't risk Harley's safety.

She put her sleeping bag, but she didn't have any plans on getting sleep. She was just feeling cold so she wanted to snuggle in her sleeping bag.

She took her rifle and used it to see if Harley was comfortable in his sleep despite of the coldness. She released a sigh of relief as she put down her rifle. They still had their fire and he was sleeping peacefully on a sleeping bag.

Lesley was about a hundred meters away from where Harley and his friends were. She chose a higher place from where they were so she could still monitor the perimeter.

Lesley closed her eyes, just to rest for a bit when she heard some rustling of leaves.

She got up and immediately picked up her rifle, ready to shoot of whoever it was.

"Who's there?" Lesley asked as her forefinger placed on the trigger, ready to pull it any time.

She was confused suddenly when she saw something glowed.

What's that? She asked herself.

The rustling disappeared. But then her heart stopped for a second when she felt a presence behind her.

Lesley immediately turned around and pointed her rifle to that someone.

"Whoa, be careful." The stranger said as he held the tip of her rifle.

Lesley reached for her grenade and threw it between them to knock back the stranger, enough to give space between them.

She pointed her rifle to the stranger once again, "Who are you?"

The stranger raised both of his hands, trying to calm her, "Hey hey– calm down. I'm not going to hurt you."

Lesley didn't budge, she was still pointing her rifle to him, "I'm asking you, who are you?"

"I just arrived here Miss. I'm not going to fight you." He said, still trying to calm her, "Just please put your rifle down."

Lesley squinted her eyes. She was still suspicious of the stranger.

The stranger sighed, "I guess I have no choice."

What?

Lesley was shocked when the stranger disappeared. She looked around but she didn't find him.

What? Where is he?

She was shocked once again when she felt a presence behind her and grabbed her rifle from her grip.

"Hey!" Lesley exclaimed.

"I told you to calm down. I'm not here to fight you Miss." The stranger said as he raised her rifle.

Lesley tried to get it from him but he was tall despite the fact that she was wearing boots with heels.

She still tried to get her rifle from him that she unconsciously held on his shoulder to get some force to reach higher but it made the stranger leaned to her, making their faces closed the gap between them.

Lesley was stunned from their position, as well as the stranger.

She unconsciously stared at his pair of silver eyes, same for him.

Lesley saw an emotion on his eyes but couldn't name it. She noticed his pupils dilated.

"Your pupils were dilating." The stranger said as he brushed some of her hair locks away from her face.

"Yours too." Lesley whispered, her senses were taken away by his captivating eyes.

The stranger smiled, "Oh, because I like what I am seeing right now."

She couldn't comprehend what he said as they just stared at each other for she didn't know how long.

Lesley suddenly felt a chill from the cold breeze and that was when she got her senses back, breaking the staring contest with the stranger.

She immediately snatched her rifle from his grip that also seemed woke the stranger from daydreaming.

"Just calm down okay? I told you, I just arrived her. I was looking for some shelter but then I saw a fire here and the night was so cold." The stranger explained.

Lesley eyed him and she saw his daggers. They were glowing.

"So those were the ones glowing a while ago." She looked up to him. "You're still not answering my question. Who are you?"

"If I told you my name, would you allow me to know your name as well?"

Lesley shrugged as she sat down on her sleeping bag, "As long as you are not against a magician named Harley Vance, then we're cool."

The stranger frowned and sat near the fire, "Is he your boyfriend? Then why you were alone here?"

Lesley looked at him with shock on her face then she laughed out loud.

"Hey! Do you find my question funny? Why are you laughing?" Frown was still evident on the stranger's face.

"Because you just accused my little brother as my boyfriend." Lesley wiped some tears in her eyes from laughing. It was the first time in the past months that she laughed like that.

The stranger looked down, and scratched his head from shyness. "Oh, I'm sorry for jumping into conclusions." He looked at her, "Well, you can't blame me. With that beautiful face of yours, it is impossible for you not to have a boyfriend."

Lesley felt her face heated up. Thank goodness that the blush wasn't obvious on her face because of the tire.

No one told her she was beautiful except for her father, adoptive parents, and little brother.

"I don't have any plans on having a boyfriend because my little brother's safety is my priority." She said in a low voice, enough for the stranger to hear.

The cold breeze blew once again, and despite the heat given by the fire. Lesley noticed the stranger shivered.

She sighed and opened her bag to get a blanket then tossed it to the stranger, which had a fast reflexes because he caught it.

"Thanks." The stranger mumbled as he smiled to her.

She gave him a small smile before lying down to the sleeping bag. She suddenly felt tired.

Lesley didn't know she had fallen asleep when suddenly she felt someone was gently tapping her cheeks.

"Miss Sniper, wake up." Lesley opened her eyes. The fire was already out and the moonlight was the only one that gave them enough illumination.

"What is it?" Lesley asked the stranger as she got up.

"I can sense black magic on the perimeter. We should move to a safer place." The stranger answered as he helped her to get up.

Lesley's eyes widened and she quickly picked up her bag and her rifle.

"My brother and his friends were j ust a hundred meters away from us. I need to protect him– them!"

She was about to run but the stranger grabbed her arm.

"Can I come with you?" He asked her.

"Suit yourself. But now, I need to ensure my brother's safety."

Lesley yelped when suddenly the stranger scooped her in his arms.

"What do you think are you doing?" She exclaimed.

The stranger chuckled. "We can get to your little brother's location faster. Hold on tight, miss beautiful sniper."

Lesley blushed as she held on his shoulders, "You still haven't told me your name."

"Oh, my bad. I'm Gusion Paxley, miss beautiful pinkette."

A Paxley? Lesley wanted to ask many questions to him. She knew Paxley family were known as a prestigious mage family and hated weapons.

Why does he have daggers with him?

Lesley was pulled from her thoughts when she heard Gusion chuckled once again.

"I can tell you have many questions to ask me." He said while staring at her.

"Yes, but we have time for that later. For now, I want to make sure that my little brother is safe." Lesley said worriedly.

"Before I run, may I know your name?"

"Oh, my name is Lesley Vance." She smiled at him. "Now, I believe we have to go to my brother's location. Time is running Paxley."

Gusion laughed and started running, so fast that Lesley had to bury her face on Gusion's chest because of the wind.

And that's how the Holy Blade and Sniper met. Little they did know, the two of them will play an important role to each other's lives.