The second guard turned from her throwing his head back in laughter. Apparently he thought the death of his comrade had been a joke. But he pushed open the gates’ doors anyways, and he soon left Kylla’s mind.

            She sheathed her dagger within her cloak, and scavenged the area for the short sword. Kylla found it half embedded in a nearby store’s cart holding apples. Once again she felt glad that the fight had ended before the guard had managed to land a hit, she walked through the gate.

            “Grige, hold it.” Once again Jones was following her; apparently the guard had let him through. Kylla touched her dagger, and entertained the thought of killing him. Deciding it would attract to much unwanted attention she shook her head and turned to face him. “How’d you do that? I’ve never seen you fight like that before.” Kylla noticed that his swords weren’t yet sheathed, causing her to narrow her eyes. “You looked like some kinda assassin from that school of ‘em.” He slung his swords over his shoulder and strutted past her.

            “Do you know where Draikovitch is being held?” Kylla asked, hoping it didn’t sound to suspicion. This man was one of the only she hadn’t seen drunk, and definitely the one she had to look out for. Despite his weak appearance and subordination to Alaric, she felt he could have abilities he hadn’t shown.

            “I’ve never gotten past the guard, but I heard it was thatta way.” He pointed north of her, at some giant castle. She groaned at the distance. Every time she got near it, somehow it seemed even further away.  

            When she went to walk again, this time towards the building he stopped her. Kylla almost shanked him with her hidden bade. It wasn’t that she missed, or that she stopped the movement; it was that Jones wasn’t there anymore. He stood almost an entire yard away from her and she hadn’t noticed him move. He didn’t seem to notice her clench her fists as he decided to continue talking.

            “If you’re going to the castle, I want to come as well.” His features changed into a mask of furry, just as it had before. This time she noticed how the look was familiar, almost feral.

            Feral? It was only then she noticed the one of the swords was a rapier and the other, a beautiful blade, the edge slightly curved. Not a hook, yet not a flat line.

            “Kei?” Kylla hadn’t meant to speak the name out loud, but when she did, it came out in her normal, feminine voice. She cursed herself, but this time, made sure it happened in her head. Any chance of him still thinking she was a male had just gone to the Abyss.

            Jones took a step back, and his mask of furry dropped as it was replaced by surprise. He lifted his hand to his face— Kylla reached for her dagger—and removed his hat. Then he blinked once and the familiar face returned. The sharp green eye, the messy brown hair, and his handsome features. Although this time the eye patch was missing, and in its place was a royally astounding violet eye. It was as deep as any ocean, it shone as brightly as the stars in sky, not to mention Kylla could almost touch the power radiating from it.

            “Kyller?” Kei mouthed, obviously more controlled than she was at this point for he didn’t actually speak her name with volume. “Or…”

            “My name is Kylla.” She whispered, keeping her voice low so that only Kei could hear.

            “Why did you hide that you’re a female?” Kei said, and she looked at him almost dropping her jaw. His face looked so handsome, and yet he was so naïve.

            “When was the last time you saw a woman with any power here? Or anywhere? This was the best choice.” Eventually Kei nodded, his violet eye disappearing as he resumed the form of Jones. Kylla was slightly disappointed at the change, but she kept it to herself.

            “Sorry.” He apologized. “But I’ve been living with Hilda for so long, I just…” Kei opened his arms as if it explained everything. Which in a way it had.

            Kylla remembered how Hilda had fought; almost matching Kei and she nodded, showing her understanding of his situation. She wasn’t sure whether she could defeat Hilda, and she didn’t want to find out anytime soon.

            “Why are you here?”

            “Durlock sent me to track you down, and if I could, help you kill Draikovitch.” Kei shrugged as if he was used to being sent on tasks like these.

            “Can you handle this? Draikovitch is most likely just as powerful as Durlock.” Kylla was trying to scare Kei out of it by comparing him to Durlock, but Kei apparently Kei saw right through it and snorted loudly. He looked around to make sure no one was listening before he continued.

            “As strong as Durlock? For the death of Lady Peace, Kylla, don’t exaggerate to such an extent. You might have seen him fight the thieves that night but,” Kei shuttered, his eyes blanking losing all warmth for a second and filling with wrath. “But I’ve seen him fight for real, with other guild master’s, and he crushed them.” He pointed to a worm, squirming above the dirt. “Imagine that worm is a guild master.” Kei picked it up pulled it apart and then crushed it between each of his fists. Dropped then and then crushed them beneath his foot. “And I’m Durlock.” Nothing more needed to be said, and Kylla prayed to The God she would never have to see Durlock again.

            With the talking done, both of them turned and headed towards the home of Draikovitch. They passed some other warriors who looked at them weirdly for a moment, probably because they were new to this side of the gate, but did nothing more. On the other hand, students of the academy, and some who were there for Draikovitch—the best word she could think of for them was henchmen—didn’t even glance their way. Lucky for them, the distance between the inner gates and the castle wasn’t as large as it had seemed at first.

            But a few minutes before the gates to the castle were to come into view Kei spoke again. This time it was on a subject she had never broached before with anyone.

            “Why do you insist on hiding your gender, and looks? You’re actually really pretty.” Kylla turned to look at Kei, feeling amused and slightly curious.

            “Where am I beautiful? There are scars all over my body.” She questioned him, truly wondering.

            “All over, Kylla. When I saw you…” His face turned red and he dropped his eyes. “Well you were astounding.”  Kylla poked her breast with her index finger and asked him if he was talking about them.

            “No, no I wasn’t.” He stammered, his face reddening even more.

            “Oh? So they aren’t good?”

            “That’s not what I meant! They are good.” He corrected himself, stuttering on almost every word.

            “Hmmm…” Kylla smiled, slightly, but she was unable to resist. “Your cool demeanor is gone, Kei.” He stared at her, and then sighed.

            “Go to the abyss, Kylla.” He mumbled and she giggled for the first time in years. Since she was a child really.

            Kylla froze; all of her muscles seemed to stop working. She had just remembered laughing in the past. When she thought about last few days she remembered how she had been making comparisons of her present and past. But that was impossible, since she didn’t have any memories.

            “Kylla? Kylla, are you alright?” Kei shook her a few times before slapping her out of her thoughts. She kneed him in his groin, and watched as he crumpled to the ground.

            “Yes, I’m fine.” Kylla answered as she watched Kei squirm on the ground holding himself. “Are you?”

            “Bitch.”

            When Kei was finally able to walk again, they continued on. Kylla noticed that Kei was keeping his distance and she felt better that way. Though he might be her friend—or as close to one as possible—Kylla still didn’t like people touching her.

            It would have taken them longer to get there, but half way through she felt it needed to get her body moving. So she sprinted, not as fast as she had on the way to the village, but at a decent pace.

            The castle was overwhelming in size, and the man guarding the gate didn’t fit in. He was taller than the one she had killed, but thinner and he held only a spear. Obviously for decoration only, Kylla leaped from the shadows and dispatched him of his head with experienced ease.

            Kei grunted, seeming somewhat angry that she had taken the first kill which pleased her. Kei took the lead, and hopped the tall gate in a single bound. He turned to look at her with a smirk, but she wiped it off his face when she leaped onto the gate, balanced on the thin wire and leaped onto the roof of the castle. It was a huge distance that would have been impossible for most.

            He stuck out his tongue and jumped through a window on a different wing of a building. Kylla heard yelling and screaming from inside, and quietly thanked Kei for the distraction.  

            Of course it would now be near impossible for her to find Draikovitch. Given of course that he simply didn’t escape once Kei began to kill of the guards.

            “Well, well. If it isn’t Triple Zero.” Kylla felt a whoosh of air as an arrow flew millimeters by her head. It only missed because she had crouched down to see if Kei was still visible. 

            The arrow came from a woman, slightly taller than Kylla with her silver hair tied behind her head. She had a bow in her hand, already laced with four arrows, which looked barbed.

            This one didn’t look familiar, but her skill pulled at Kylla’s memory. Then she noticed the dagger’s sheathed in the girl’s belt, and the daggers were shaped almost exactly like the ones Kylla used to own.

            “You don’t remember me do you?” The girl growled, her anger covering Kylla even from the distance. “I’m Double Zero. You helped free me of the brain washing and then used me as your pawn to escape.” Now it came back to Kylla in a flood of memories. Her past and the memory she had forced herself to forget.

            “I remember you Double Zero.” Kylla felt tears spring from the corner of her eyes. “But you weren’t a pawn. You were the thing that symbolized my own pride.” Another arrow flew passed her head, this time Kylla was ready and it missed by nearly a foot.

            “I’m not a symbol or a thing!” The girl screamed into the night, her voice carrying loudly. “I’m you sister!”