Prologue

The sun was setting down and the group was just about to get to their destiny. A small in in the middle of the forest, where they had been called for a mission, since things weird were happening in that place. And weird, as Aida said, were their thing. They entered and Sky coughed when the bad smell invaded their nostrils. Zander chuckled and walked to the woman behind the counter, whom had a sweet smile on her face. Sky looked in her direction and drew an apologetic smile, before covering her nose with her hand.

"Good evening. We came here because we received the notice that this hotel was being bothered by some strange events…" the elf said.

"Oh yes. We have been indeed. Don't get me wrong, it's not like I'm not used to weird things. I mean, in the times that go by, everything is weird and no one cares, but… This is downright strange."

"Would you care to speak what is bothering your business?"

"That's the thing. It's not bothering. It's actually improving my business. You see, I was once a target of many taxes, because the lord of this land is very… Imperative that everyone pays more than they should. And this business as always been on the line, but these last two weeks forward, it stopped. I no longer have people barging in, scaring my costumers and threatening me. I have no longer money being stolen under my nose. I no longer have to worry about my children. Everything is great."

"Seems like everything is perfect. Why are you calling for us?" Aida asked.

"Because I fear that something happened to him."

"And why do you care? For as much as you told us, he's an ass!" Jace replied.

"Because he might be the most awful person on this land… But he is still my brother." The lady told them. "And I don't need you to find who did this to this land. We already know. The reason why I brought you here… Is to catch that person."

"Okay." Zander frowned "And who is that person?"

"It goes by the name of Thaga." She told them.

"Thaga?" Aida frowned "I heard that name before."

"I'm sure you did. Thaga is a very well-known bandit that usually hurts other people… I don't see why it's helping here… But please… Find Thaga. I need to know what happened to my brother."

"Okay, lady, is this a capture mission, a take 'em out mission or simply a tracking mission?"

"It's a find that bastard and bring him back. Dead or alive."

Chapter 1: Who the F is Thaga?

"So, I guess we already know what awaits us." Zander said, sitting down on the small dinner room.

"Yes. I think we should collect intel first, though." Tillie said.

"You're right." Jace confirmed "So, it's supposed to be male, he's a bandit that ruins people's lives, and his name is Thaga. What kind of name is Thaga?"

"Maybe is not a name. Maybe is a codename…" Sky supposed "And Aida, you said you heard of him…"

"Yeah… I don't know. The name sounds familiar. And every time I try to think about it, it gives me a huge headache."

"Maybe it's a suppressed memory…" Tillie guessed. Aida shrugged and declared "Suppressed or not, we have to catch this asshole. Where was he last seen?"

"According to the lady, here, two days ago. Giving a bag full with gold to a poor child." Sky said "He seems like a really nice guy."

"But he isn't. Think, Sky. Where would he get that kind of money?" Jace asked, sitting down "I know it's not a very good idea and that Aida is going to disagree, but I think we should stay for the night. We have nowhere to sleep and our supplies are running out. I vote we stick around and tomorrow we go and ask around about the Thaga guy."

"I agree." Tillie and Sky said in unison.

"It's a good idea. I support it." Zander agreed. Aida sighed and accepted "Fine. We stay. But Jace… You get to ask the lady for the rooms."

"Okay." He said, standing up and walking out of the room, only to come back few minutes later with three room keys. Giving one to Sky and another to Zander, he said "Let's go. Our rooms are waiting."

"How did you do it?" Aida asked, amazed. Jace grinned and said "Gorgeous, with a face like my own, I can get us anywhere."

The noble crossed her arms and walked to the stairs that led to the rooms. Jace chuckled and allowed the ladies to go before them, following right after. Zander walked behind him and soon, they were all upstairs, looking around for their rooms. Quickly finding them, they made the arrangements: Sky would stay with Tillie, Aida would stay with Jace and Zander would sleep alone. The thing about the rooms was that they were all connected and they had doors in between, meaning that they could pass through one room to another without stepping out to the corridor. Entering the rooms, they all said goodnight to each other. When she saw that they were alone, Aida turned to Jace and asked:

"How did you get the lady to let us stay?"

"Easy, gorgeous. I called it mission expenses." He grinned, winking at her and walking to the bathroom.

"Sneaky bastard." She whispered, trying to fight the smile that appeared in her lips.

"So, Tillie, what do you think about this?" Sky asked, removing her clothes.

"I think it's mysterious." She told the girl "But that doesn't mean that it's not good. We are getting paid to take a dangerous bandit off the street. I think that it's a good enough reason for all the mystery."

"How do you think he is like? All badass and stuff or just a regular guy, like us?"

"I guess it can be a little of both. And who knows? It may not even be a boy. It can be a woman, for all we know." Tillie told her, dressing her night clothes.

"I guess. Tillie, can I ask you something?" Sky said, sitting down on the large bed they were going to share.

"Of course. What is it, love?" Tillie said, sitting next to the brunette.

"How do you know that Airdan is the man for you?"

"You're asking this because of Diego?"

"I don't know… I guess." She said, blushing.

"Look, from my experience, it's not easy to tell who's the right one. It can be Diego, or Jace, or Faelern, or even Kole. You never know. After a while, you start to notice little things. Like, he remembers something insignificant about you that you told him three months ago. Or that he tries to touch you more often, even if it's just a caress. Or that he tries hard to gain your attention. Or even when you're talking to him, you are all that exists, he forgets about everything else. Until one day you realize that, every time he touches you, your heart beats faster. Every time he smiles you feel warm and fuzzy inside. Every time you touch him, he blushes. And every time you smile at him he stops in time and becomes the clumsy mess that a person in love is."

"Really?" Sky asked, smiling a little.

"Yeah. One thing I know for sure, Sky. No matter who you choose, know this. It's an old saying that my grandfather used to say: 'Don't choose the person you think you can live with. Choose the one you know you can't live without.'."

"Wise words." Sky noticed. Tillie laughed and responded "Probably one of the few he ever said. That man was crazy."

The two laughed their hearts out and laid down, ready to sleep. They kept chatting until the starts filled the sky, about anything. Gossip, Alchemist, Potions, Aida and her relationship, shipping names, which they agreed that Tillie and Airdan should be 'Tirdan' and Sky and Diego should be 'Skiego'. Sky laughed at this one, because it was so ridiculous, and Tillie agreed, trying to find a nice way to ship 'Aida' and 'Jace'. Since there was no possible combination, Sky suggested they work out plans to set those two together, since there was so much chemistry between the two that it seemed that Tillie was in the middle of them making potions. And, with those silly talks, they eventually felt asleep.

"What do you think we should do next?" Aida asked, looking out of the window. Jace had come out of the bathroom and was lying on the bed, shirtless and looking at the ceiling.

"I don't know, Gorgeous. I'd say ask around, but are already doing that tomorrow." He said quietly, never removing his gaze from the ceiling. Aida sighed and turned to him, seeing him laying down.

"What's on your mind?" she asked, crossing her arms. "You are." He told her.

"What did I do this time?" she asked, walking to him. "Nothing. That's the thing." He said. Aida frowned and questioned "What do you mean?"

"I mean…" he sighed "That you don't need to do a thing to be on my mind. You're always there."

"Why do you keep thinking about me?" she asked, sitting down next to him, trying not to drool over his well-defined muscles. "Who knows?" he said "Maybe it's because you're my leader, maybe it's because you're my friend. Maybe it's because I'm stupid, or maybe it's because I love you."

"You what?" Aida asked, sucking in a breath.

"I love you. But you already know that, Gorgeous." He told her, never gazing her back. "C'mon, let's get some sleep. We both need it."

"Jace…" she whispered, watching him stand up and pull the covers down, entering the bed and placing his arms between the pillow and his head.

Aida gulped and went to the bathroom. Inside was small and dark, but once the girl lighted a candle, the small light illuminated the place. She looked at herself in the mirror, carefully gazing her blushed features, her sparkling eyes and her red lips. Taking a deep breath, she rethought what Jace had said. She knew that he loved her. He had said such a lot of times before. They had kissed a few times, but Aida always broke it. Because she didn't know what to do. She felt something for Jace, that much should be said. But she didn't know what. She needed help in understanding her feelings, and the only reason why she hadn't grabbed Tillie and talked to her was because she was afraid that the dwarf would find her weak.

She sighed and undressed herself, taking of her daggers from their hilt and unlacing her dark brown corset. Her boots were next, the black leather was comfortable, but tiring. The two metal bands that wrapped around her left thigh were taken off, and the black fingerless long black gloves were next. She stood in front of the mirror wearing a sleeveless black tube top, black shorts and black knee-high black socks. Gathering her clothes and her weapons, she left the bathroom, placing the items in a chair and unclasping her brown leather collar, placing it over her clothes. She walked to Jace and sat on the bed, with her back to him. Feeling a hand twirl around her hair, she heard:

"Aren't you going to undo your braid?"

"No." she answered "I think I'm going to let it stay. It's gonna hurt my head if I undo it."

She heard a sigh behind her and gasped when she felt a hand grab her hair and unwrap the strap that kept it tight. Slowly, fingers started to interlace with her white locks, undoing the long braid. Twirl by twirl, the braid became undone, and the closer his hands were from her head. Aida started to get a headache. She already knew this was going to happen, but somehow, the gentle pull of her hair relaxed her. She felt his fingers in the base of her skull and sighed, feeling the pain increase. He told her to relax and started combing her hair with his fingers, twirling the now wavy locks within his fingers, separating them and softening them. After he reached the tips, his hands went to her skull, where he started to massage, calming Aida down and soothing the pain. Once she felt better and the headache disappeared, the feeling of his fingers disappeared, and the bed moved again, indicating that he had lied down.

"Thank you." She whispered, but was sure that he had heard.

"It was nothing." He replied, closing his eyes. Aida smiled and lied down next to him, her back facing him.

"Jace?" she whispered after a few minutes. "Yeah?" he called immediately. "Are you awake?"

"I am awake, Aida." He told her, sighing. "I'm sorry." She said "It shouldn't have to be this way…"

"What do you mean?" he asked, frowning.

"You should be with a girl that is nice, sweet, pretty and safe. The kind of girl that can give you what you want. The kind of girl that…" she said, but Jace stopped her, firmly saying "Aida, shut up."

"But…"

"No buts, Aida!" he exclaimed, sitting up "No buts! There's no other girl, okay!? There will never be another girl! No girl out there is the kind of girl I want! And why in the hell would I go after another girl when I already have what I want? When I already know the girl I want? Tell me, what else should I want?!"

"Jace… I just don't want to hurt you…" she whispered, shutting her eyes firmly.

She heard him growl and then felt a pull, gasping when her back hit the bed. She refused to open her eyes but when she felt a hand tugging on her long hair, she opened them. And gasped. Jace was above her, knees firmly pressed against the bed, on each side of her hips, and hands on each side of her head, trapping her there. He was considerably separated from her, but Aida felt like he was too close. Just the very fact that she was hovering over her was enough. She saw his eyes, sparkling and burning, wild and angry. She gulped. Her head told her to kick him in the junk, but her heart told her to shut the fuck up and listen. Just listen.

"You're not hurting me. Okay?! I can wait, Aida. I can wait until this shit is all over, I can wait until the Silver Order is down and the war is over. I can wait for you, Aida. But please, do not test my limits. Do not. I refuse to let you test them. Because if you don't want me gone for good, if you want me to stick around, if you want to give yourself a chance to actually love me back, I strongly suggest you to NOT push my limits. Aida, you have no idea of how much you mean to me. And I know that I mean to you. So shut the fuck up about not wanting to hurt me. Because you are not hurting me. Okay?!"

"Jace…" she whispered, feeling the tears coming to her eyes. She tried to fight them, but Jace placed his forehead over hers and told her "It's okay to cry, Aida. Go ahead. Cry. I won't tell anyone."

"I'm sorry." She said, feeling the wet substance leaving her eyes and wetting her cheeks and hair. He smiled softly and caressed her cheek, whispering "Don't. Don't be sorry. Cry all you want, Aida. I'm here for you."

"Hey, Jace?"

"Yeah?"

"You know what would make me feel better?"

"No. What would make you feel better?"

"You wrapping your arms around me." She told him. The second those words left her lips, Jace pulled her up and kept her against his chest, hugging her tight.

"Than-" she started, but Jace only said "Any time, princess. Any time."

Everyone else was asleep. Wait, wrong use of conjunction. Everyone was asleep. Tillie and Sky were each in her side of the bed, sleeping soundly. Jace slept with Aida in his arms, the girl had fallen asleep while crying and Jace didn't have the heart to wake her up, so he just lied down and allowed her to sleep in his arms. Not that he minded, of course. As to Zander, he was alone in his room, on his bed, also asleep. His clothes were in a chair, his purple sash hung in the chair, and so did his black shirt, purple on the sides. His boots were kept in the floor, leaning to his bed, and he only slept in his undergarments, which were a nice pair of black boxers. The covers were pulled to his hips, showing his good and defined muscles, rippling down his chest.

Everything in the room was like it was supposed to be. Neat and soft. His clothes were folded, his belongings were together. The room was illuminated by the poor lunar light. The bathroom was dark as well, and the only candle he had lit was long out. The curtains blew with the soft breeze and the window was… Opening? From the window jumped a dark figure, its dark cape waving behind him. His face was masked, hidden by the hood. The dark figure walked slowly and quietly, making almost no sound. Slowly, he climbed to the bed where Zander was sleeping. Slowly crawling over him, the dark figure took out a dagger from the cape. It was small and shiny, beautiful, but sharp. He placed the dagger inches from Zander's throat and, even in the darkness, it was possible to see his smirk.

"What are you waiting for?" Zander asked. His eyes opened and gazed at the person over him, fearless.

He felt the coldness of the metal against his skin. Taking some time to try and observe the person behind the hood, he had no luck. It was too dark. But Zander wasn't going down without a fight. He slowly rose his hands under the cape, waiting for the right moment to attack. One aimed to the leg, the other to the waist. The easiest places to grab when it came to switching positions. Feeling the dagger close enough to almost pierce the skin, he decided that this was it. Grabbing the thigh and the waist of the figure at the same time, he quickly turned them around, throwing the dagger away while grabbing both of the person's wrists above the head. Looking down to the person under him, he gasped.

It was a woman.

A woman that kept her eyes shut firmly, and was trying to stop herself from shaking. Zander kept her there for a few moments, locking her tight and glared at her, using his fire to quiet her. He now understood why, when he had grabbed the figure, what he felt was smooth skin. It was a woman. He narrowed his eyes, trying to figure out why was his woman try to kill him. He asked her such, but she didn't answer. He asked her the name, she remained silent. He told her to open her eyes and she shook her head, but said nothing. Zander was getting annoyed. But, before he could act, a force pushed him away from the woman, making him fall on his back and hit his head on the floor. And, just before he lost conscience, he saw the girl standing up and grab the hood with a pair of glowing hands, leaving soon after.