*still in flashback*
{THIRD PERSON POV}
Sei was beginning to wonder if he was a masochist. After all, what other idiot would start crushing on the girl who'd been hell-bent on slitting his throat every other night for the past two months?

Sei eagerly anticipated her visits. Azalea had become the highlight of his life in such a short time.

He first fell for her strength and prowess with dual daggers. The way Azalea wielded her two short blades... it was seemingly effortless, like a graceful dance rather than an angry girl trying to kill him.

Azalea had probably been studying the art of battle for as long as, if not longer, than Sei had.

There was also her unusual beauty. Sei was the type who believed that what was on the inside mattered most, and he never judged a pearl by its shell.

But Azalea was easily the most beautiful girl he had ever seen, in a not-flashy way.

As the first imperial prince of Zoral, he had seen all different types of girls trying to woo him, each with their own set of charms. Yet none could compare to the lovely and deadly Azalea Merī.

Her stunning, bright red eyes were genetic proof of her membership in the main branch of the infamous assassin clan known as the Bloody Merī family.

They worked in the shadows, and their reach had already spread throughout Fortissia, even into the more peaceful kingdoms of the west.

The Bloody Merī family was hired by the king of Kheorin, whom Sei was currently waging (and winning) battle after battle against.

It wasn't just Azalea's eyes. It was her straight black hair and the way it curled in at the ends. It was all the micro-expressions she made while they fought.

Gods, I really have it bad, Sei thought to himself. It was to the point where he was dreaming about her.

Meanwhile, Azalea also felt a connection to Sei beyond him being her target.

Azalea knew she should've retreated. The mission had been compromised the moment the prince saw her on that balcony. Even more so when she foolishly gave her real name. No doubt Sei Fujimiya knew of the notorious Bloody Merī family. He would be even more on guard than usual.

Azalea should've withdrawn and let someone else finish the mission. However, she was irked, This was the first time Azalea's target had ever successfully thwarted her. She was a gifted assassin from day one of her training with her grandfather.

Rudolph Merī was the patriarch of the clan. Azalea was his only grandchild by blood and living kin.

Since birth, becoming the Bloody Merī matriarch had always been her future. Her grandfather raised her after both of her parents were caught and tortured to death on a mission when she was four years old.

Azalea was skilled enough to figure out that Sei was holding back against her, which wounded her pride.

He was her target, no one else's. As they learned about each other through locking blades, he became more to her. A feeling that Azalea had never experienced before budded inside of her heart.

She was terrified to examine this new emotion too closely, in case it exploded.

The more Azalea fought with Sei, the more obsessed she became with him. She could see a different future for herself now, a less bloody one with Sei...

But she knew that was impossible.

The two of them lived in different worlds. Azalea was an assassin, the future queen of the night. Sei was the kind and charismatic imperial prince of Zoral. He was a born leader, brave and empathetic. People flocked to him and fled from her.

Sei was the flame to her moth. If she got too close, she'd be burned.

Sei was the sun in Azalea's sky, blindingly bright and out of her reach. No matter how far she leapt, she could never reach him. They were too different, since the shadows are always darkest under the sun.

Azalea tried to keep her distance. She pulled away emotionally, venting her frustration by attacking Sei with her dual daggers every other night.

However, the pair was magnetized to one another. They were bound by glowing red strings the moment they locked eyes on the balcony that night.

In the end, Azalea decided that being near Sei so much was causing her needless temptation.

Not wanting to cause herself excessive pain when Sei died, Azalea decided to withdraw back to the Bloody Merī hideout temporarily. Her goal was to forget about her blooming feelings during the time off, so she could go back to her mission with a fresh mind.

While Azalea was giving her report at the hideout, she left out the tiny detail about falling in love with her target, for obvious reasons.

Her grandfather offered to send another assassin to complete the mission, but Azalea refused.

"He's my target, Leader. Let me finish him off." She insisted, kneeling before her grandfather.

"You only have four days left. The client grows antsy as Sei Fujimiya overwhelms his forces."

"Yes, Leader. I will rest for three days, then I'll complete my mission without fail."

"I permit it. You're dismissed to your room."

"Thank you for your benevolence, Leader." Azalea stood and did as she was told.

She flopped onto her soft bed, buried her head in her pillows, and moaned loudly.

Currently, even the thought of killing Sei made Azalea's heart throb like she was being stabbed by a billion hot needles. She had three days of separation to force herself to get over him.

Azalea didn't want to get over Sei. She wanted to see him smile at her again. She wanted to be a part of his world. She wanted to bask in his sunlight.

"Stupid!" Azalea mocked herself. "Who'd welcome an assassin into a palace? Such thoughts are unbecoming of the future matriarch of the night."

At least, that was what Azalea thought, up until she read the monthly report of a woman named Torou.

It wasn't a major deal. Reading the reports was a menial task assigned by her grandfather to prep her for the day when she'd take over all his duties. She was bored, so she opened the reports.

It was a report from a minor branch of mercenaries working in a far western country called Clarines. The report was meant to correct the record.

The Bloody Merī family made sure to keep detailed records of every member who worked for them, as well as how they died.

This record was about an assassin from a minor mercenary branch who went by the name of Obi.

Obi was presumed dead when he never reported back after a mission. The job was to sneak into Wistal palace and "warn" a red-haired gold digger to stay away from the second prince, with force if necessary. The request was withdrawn soon after they lost contact, so Obi was labeled KIA—killed in action.

But this recent report stated that Obi wasn't dead, as they had assumed. Torou, the mercenary who submitted the report, stated that she'd been tracking her latest target but was caught up in a sudden rainstorm and took shelter at an inn.

There, she met Obi and his traveling companions. Further investigation revealed that those companions were none other than the second prince of Clarines and his two aides, as well as the red-haired woman from the initial request.

Obi helped Torou subdue her target's guards, but had no desire to return to the organization.

Obi was currently employed as a messenger for Clarines' second prince. His status was to be switched from KIA to Deserter in the system.

Desertion wasn't uncommon in their line of work. Obi had a fantastic track record, but his loss could be compensated for. More importantly, he didn't hold any critical intel about the main family. Her grandfather had already decided to drop the matter without follow up, so the case was closed.

But it's impact on Azalea was huge. She had been suppressing her feelings for Sei because she thought their lives could never mix.

Yet this Obi, a man Azalea would never meet, was living proof that she was wrong. Obi was a former assassin who wasn't merely welcomed into a palace, but was hired by the second prince. He wasn't just living. He was thriving.

For the first time, Azalea saw coexistence as an option. She was elated. She wanted to waltz out of the Bloody Merī base and never look back.

However, if Azalea left without permission, her grandfather would realize she was deserting and drag her back before she saw Sei again. So Azalea forced herself to wait. The next three days felt more excruciating than all of the hellish training her grandfather put her through when she was four.

Azalea's grandfather saw her off when she left. Perhaps he sensed something was wrong. She tried to feel guilt, but couldn't. The man had hardly been loving. Azalea was simply his replacement.

"Don't fail this time."

Those where the last words her grandfather ever said to her. Not encouragement. Just telling her not to be a disappointment. Azalea's resolve hardened.

That night, Azalea snuck inside Sei's bedroom and found him asleep. It was fitful at best; he kept grabbing at the air. How times changed. If this were that first night, Sei Fujimiya would be dead.

Instead, Azalea caressed his face lightly. Electricity sparked between them where her fingers trailed, igniting a wildfire in Azalea that had been suppressed for much too long. Sei awoke to her touch.

He groggily opened his eyes. "Azalea?"

Azalea giggled, feeling playful. She kept her hand cupped around his cheek.

Sei leaned into her hand, still quite out of it. "I thought you weren't coming back anymore—ah. I get it. This is another dream."

Azalea liked that word. Another. "Silly. If I pinch you, then will you believe me?"
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I've been putting in a lot of effort with names in this book, so here's another one (which might seem rather obvious).

The girl who gouges out your eyes when you chant her name three times in a mirror? I thought it a suitable assassin clan nickname (yes, I'm aware that it's supposed to be Marī with an A, but I like Merī with an E better).

*cough* S1 E5 of Supernatural *cough*

P.S. Sam or Dean?