Chad sat on the stiff bed in the mercenaries’ quarters, huddled under a blanket in the chilly night. Even after two nights had passed, he couldn’t erase that image of Sky and Jade in the flower garden from his mind.
After leaving the palace, he had to put up with the living conditions of a beggar and the fact that his savings wouldn’t last them a long time. For Sky, he was indifferent, and obviously, he had encountered exposure to living in worse conditions. But for Chad, this was the cost of his freedom. Such conditions didn’t improve since they arrived at the island city. Aside from what remained of his savings, he had his boat. But even with that, what could he do? He couldn’t use it for sleep or to fill his stomach. When their stored food was depleted, the only resort was for them to find a job outside.The harsh working conditions didn’t bother Sky, but it was him, as a prince, that struggled with working like a commoner. He realised how spoiled he had been, and compared his buddy’s palm, possessing coarse skin and callouses covered entirely. His palm was on the smooth side. He had never needed to work a day of his life, but everything changed when he left home.No matter what, he wouldn’t look back. Aside from being learned in accounting and the arts, his martial arts came in helpful. That was when he took on the bounty from the constables in the city, which he later realised was part of the Imperial Guard. Never had he thought he would meet her again. Or that she would be the subject of his sworn brother’s admiration.A few weeks after they settled down in Tribute, Sky had come back from a late-night stroll. He mentioned finding his mother’s grave, unable to believe she was dead, after asking around in the city. Few people knew about Yvette Sue, but he couldn’t disclose his identity, not when he hadn’t confirmed it.Sky mentioned meeting a mysterious woman and falling for her at first sight, but he hadn’t expected that woman to be Jade Gold.He couldn’t get over his admiration for her. It started nine months ago when they had an argument in the market over the last chicken. He originally hadn’t wanted the chicken, but coming across a girl as feisty as Jade, he found a way to tease her. Her large angry eyes were more than adorable, and he couldn’t get enough of her. And she had a temper like a dormant volcano erupting.When he finally stopped and allowed her to have what she wanted - the chicken, he wondered when he would ever see her again. Little did he know that about three months later, they would meet again over the bounty prize. It saddened him deeply to acknowledge how she had completely forgotten about their encounters. It was as if someone had wiped this entire memory from her.Maybe it was fine if she didn’t remember his first encounter, since it was brief, and the second encounter was just too depressing for her. For the bounty, he had infiltrated the rapist’s den and discovered the man’s identity. Jade Gold had landed herself in trouble. She had used herself as bait without executing a careful plan. It turned out to be more hazardous than ever. He saved her then. But she had rashly attempted to capture him with her own hands. To save her, this girl he barely knew, he intruded on her fight.She would never learn. There was no distinction between her then and now. Accepting an extremely dangerous mission was just like how she had endangered herself by charging toward the rapist despite the that her martial arts were way beyond the rapist’s level. Fortunately, he arrived on time, before she lost her life.The minute he arrived at the scene, the villain had already subdued her and had knocked her over onto the ground. He had fought off the man and defeated him easily, much to her indignation. The girl accused him of robbing her of the chance to prove herself by nabbing the villain and called him a cheat. But it was not over. She lurked in the shadows, following him secretly to watch him hand the man over to the constables and claim his bounty prize. He knew.She probably thought he would have never found out, but he detected her in her hiding position easily and confronted her. In her fury, she had expressed those words to him: “I hate you to the core of my heart”. He retorted by dumping half of the bounty prize at her feet and left in dismay. He thought she was a reckless woman after obtaining the prize, and it never occurred to him she was one of the Guards.After seeing how she acted with Sky, and how she remembered Sky but forgot him, he put the pieces together. She probably had eyes for his sworn brother and not him, and his chest felt heavy. If she liked Sky and vice versa, he knew he had to let go. He couldn’t steal his sworn brother’s happiness, especially when she was not into him.His sworn brother was also very crucial to him. It hurt like little knives pressing into his heart, but he clenched his fists and hardened his emotions. Maybe he was meant to be alone, after all.Here, on this island, he was no one. Hearing Sky continuously speak about Jade and the happy times they shared after the two of them had moved into the quarters just broke his heart.He got from the bed, silently pulling on his outer clothes and the shoes next to his bed. He couldn’t get to sleep, so decided that taking a walk around the camp would lighten his feelings. It was a full moon that night and looking around could help him relax his mind, so he could retire to bed. Tomorrow would be a long day and he needed to get as much rest as possible, which wasn’t likely to happen now.Close to his room, on the training grounds, he heard the clinking of metal and some energy-filled cries. He walked around the area until he reached the source of the noise, passing an array of tall trees with chunky trunks and small leaves. Someone was practising in the depth of night.Jade Gold stood firm in a martial stance, with her right hand holding her weapon poised above her head in a curved manner, while her left hand stayed near her waist. She spread her legs as far apart as possible while letting out a war cry with her strength.She paused, noticing his appearance.“What is it?”“Allow me to help you.”He stood beside her, guiding her to stand in the right position. A wave of relief came over him as she appeared to accept his guidance. Forgetting about his concern earlier, he invited her to have a practice spar with him.She hesitated, probably because he had defeated her before.“Let’s spar together,” he whispered, holding his hand out to her. She took it, still reluctant, and they moved together under the moonlight, feeling each other’s bodies in proximity.“Why are you so kind as to help me?” Jade asked suddenly.“Because you are my employer,” he answered, and missing a step, she stumbled, but his swift movements enabled him to catch her before she hit the rocky ground.As he helped her up, their eyes met suddenly, locking magically. He thought she was going to push him away, but she appeared mystified, rooted to the spot.“Miss Gold, are you in love with my brother?” He whispered with his lips almost touching hers.Jade gasped, breaking out of his hold.“I… I don’t know,” she stammered, dashing out of the training grounds as fast as her feet could take her. Chad watched her vanish into the darkness, pondering over what had just happened.Her heart was beating wildly, but he couldn’t figure out if she liked or hated him. It turned out to be more confusing than any of the mathematical problems he had ever encountered. If only he could read her mind, he thought, looking up at the moon.What was going on?Jade Gold closed the door after her, trying not to be daunted by the pounding in her chest. This man she claimed to detest so much turned out to have that impact on her. But why him?Sitting cross-legged on her wooden bed, she calmed herself and attempted to sift through the confusing emotions in her mind. She was Jade Gold, future Imperial Advisor and currently the only female Imperial Guard.She couldn’t allow her emotions to take over her like that! He was that boorish mercenary Roc Chadwick! Even when Jade encountered colleagues of the opposite sex daily, to the extent that she went through some accidental touching, she hadn’t reacted like that!The problem probably lay in Roc Chadwick. And after the mission, she had to get him out of her life, or he would mess it up! ‘Jade, don’t fret. You have your engagement with Levi Stanson,’ she reminded herself. This Levi was indeed a mystery. She hoped he was how she had imagined him to be: sexy, muscular and appetising to the eye. They w
No, she yelled in her mind. She couldn’t meet with her doom just yet, for she was just nineteen! She still had a lot to achieve in her life, and she couldn’t die just like that. ‘Please, almighty goddess Miyu, please, let me escape this,’ she prayed silently.In answer to her prayers, two hands appeared in front of her eyes, and Jade thought she was seeing things. She sensed someone lifting her to safety and passed out, dazed. Unlike anyone else, Jade didn’t fall into a deep slumber even when she was out cold. She saw images that were part of her life or her so-called past life. Visions even came to her out of the blue, sometimes at night, when she was supposedly sleeping, or randomly, like how she had just seen when she was drifting in the water earlier.This was a part of her that nobody else could fathom, so she quit telling anyone else, lest it frightened them like how it petrified that maid in her home during her childhood days. The maid had even fled the night after that. Sh
The morning was there before they knew it. Chad dressed in the mercenary robes that the Guard had presented them with, a splendidly tailored outer robe of the darkest brocade. Sky’s robe was no inferior: he wore a suit of dark blue, looking just as magnificent. Compared to the farmhand he was before, he appeared to shine.Chad washed his face with a basin of hot water as he contemplated what had happened the night before. As a prince with many consorts and a concubine he had never met, he had many women at his service, a different one in his bed every night, but he had heeded none of them any special attention like he did with Jade Gold.He couldn’t forget the fragrance on her slim body, nor her petite waist as he held her that night, almost having her for himself. He had been so close.What had happened to her for her to forget him? Had he never had that big an impression on her? He was sure she would have at least remembered his face when they spent a night of intimacy at the rapist
The rest of the day passed smoothly, and the two friends listened to an account of the island’s history directly from King Greyson, most of which Chad was not oblivious to, and Sky was finding difficulty understanding because of his dense nature. Jade involuntarily stared towards Chad’s way, but inhibited herself from further stares when Chad became aware.It didn’t occur to her why Chad’s eyes were a little downcast, though he appeared normal this morning when he arrived at the meeting hall. Jade decided it wasn’t her concern, and she had more worries on her mind to fret about. Greyson had cleared those doubts in her mind and, like he said, it was up to her to decide about her marriage and her discomfort about going on the mission.Other than her, Greyson had nobody he could trust and was capable enough to go on the mission. Because Xima’s eyes and ears were all over the island, he had no choice but to entrust such a severe task to his old friend, and he believed in her. Greyson also
Two days laterJade looked back at the Guard's office as it gradually vanished from sight. She and Chad were in a horse carriage, where Sky, sitting outside on the horse, manoeuvred through the thick woods. The city, also named Tribute, was in the island's heart.Their first destination was Faepool, a village closest to the city. It would take about five days for them to reach Faepool, and in between points of travel, they had to recuperate as much as they could.Before this, Jade had thought of her task as just exterminating evil. But it was her first time encountering these demons which the Shaman had defined as 'hideous creatures of a foreign race, with different colours'. It brought up her memory of the vision she had seen just before she almost drowned in the bath chamber. The Shaman had, like Greyson, kept everything for the last before coming clean to her.A part of her felt betrayed. But she understood they had their reasons for their actions. She had considered Greyson her co
The carriage stopped at an inn located just before the border of Tribute and Faepool, where they stayed for the night, resuming their road trip the next day.It was the first time Jade had stayed at such places even though she had travelled before, but seeing that Chad and Sky had experienced such stays before, she allowed them to make the choice of their rooms.Chad took the lead and selected two spacious rooms on the top floor of the inn. Over the last two days, he took over driving the carriage to allow for some private time between his sworn brother and Jade. He hardened his feelings, recalling the overheard conversation that other day between Jade and the king.It baffled him how she was engaged to someone and had no intention of breaking the arrangement.Her concern that she might not keep herself pure for him, did it mean she had someone on her mind? Was that someone, him or Sky? Although he had that encounter in the bath chamber with her, Jade did also have a heart-to-heart wi
Suddenly, Levi Stanson realised that someone had placed an icy blade to his throat and let out a cold scream. The man hissed, realising the other person present in the room, maddened at how Chad caught him off guard.“Who the hell are you?”Without taking his sword off the man’s throat, Chad smiled handsomely and answered, “I am the Hero of the Night.”Levi Stanson shouted again, but this holler was unique from the one earlier. At his beck and call, Chad could hear footsteps coming from downstairs. A strong tap on Stanson’s shoulder immobilised him. Next, Chad got ready to defend himself from the oncoming party.Chad pulled the covers over Jade to shield her nakedness from further attention. He took on a crouching stance and unsheathed his great sword, unleashing whirlwinds with his melee power. The impact of each whirlwind, released one after another, incapacitated the enemies in no time. One of his martial arts masters assigned to teach him martial arts, Master Jack Wind, had impar
Chad grinned devilishly at her.The words “It’s not a dream” echoed in her mind again and again. She reached for her clothes to realise she was wearing nothing but a sheer outer coat that didn’t belong to her.Her facial expression morphed into that of pure rage.“What… What happened? What am I doing here? And you, why are you in my room?”He just threw his head back and laughed at her.“Do you remember what you just asked of me? Are you saying that you’re going back on your own words?”She felt the heat of her embarrassment creeping across her cheeks. He leered at her. “If you, as a future advisor, can swallow what you just said, then who would take your words seriously in future?”His words made sense, but how could she have even thought she was still dreaming, after waking up from another lusty dream of performing the deed with Chad?She could have slapped herself on the face. She tried to move, but Chad inhibited her movement. Earlier he had distanced himself from her and treated