The Bounty Hunter

January 27th, 2089

The hell is wrong with my luck?!  This ball is supposedly one of the most secure events in the world.  I barely managed to sneak in and I literally had to use magic to do so.  The finest knights of the Kingdom are standing guard outside and throughout the venue.  All guests are heavily vetted before being invited and before entering the building they have to agree to a DNA scan to prove their identity along with a battery of other screening procedures.  

I spent most of my prep time on this job along with my entire allowance I had saved up from my parents to this point.  And right when I am about to be finished with my work, a freaking attack by republican rebels occurs.  Later on I would learn from the news that they had smuggled the bomb within the body of one of the party goers.  They had taken his family hostage and forced him to become a suicide bomber. 

Those morons don’t seem to realize that those kind of actions harm their cause irreparably amongst the general populace and make it near impossible for democracy to return to England.  I was unable to get a magic barrier up because I had my other spell fully charged and ready to launch.  To release that spell and cast a barrier is like trying to regain posture after one’s stance is broken, so I couldn’t make it in time with magic. 

Thanks to my enhanced senses I was able to react quickly and lunge away, but I was still caught within the blast radius.  The force of the explosion added to my lunge’s momentum and I was launched across the ballroom.  *Boom* *Crumble* I slammed into the stone wall, leaving a very large dent.  I fell onto the ground where some rubble fell on top.  My head was ringing and I could feel people screaming and gunfire ringing out. 

It seems like the rebels are staging a full on assault.  My mask was knocked askew and I had some cuts and bruises from the blast.  My quick reaction and sturdy physique managed to mitigate the majority of the damage.  “Hey! Are you okay?!”  The girl I had been dancing with appeared in my vision and started to move some of the rubble off me.  She had been out of the blast radius so she was unharmed.  “I’m fine.”  I responded as I fixed my mask and stood up. 

The view that entered my eyes was one of carnage.  There were bodies everywhere and at the other end of the hall masked soldiers were shooting at everyone that moved.  The guards were retaliating but that bomb had done a good deal of damage and they were taken by surprise.  The only reason the rebels hadn’t overwhelmed the hall yet was because of Elna.  She had survived the blast unscathed thanks to the magic barrier that she had on and was using a looted rifle to pick off the rebels.  She yelled for the civilians to evacuate while also rallying the guards. 

The screams of terror, the bloodthirsty cries of the rebels and the bodies lying around while fires were burning brought back memories of Hafor.  My emotions were become increasingly turbulent as they always do before I break.  I thought that I had moved on but just because the nightmares aren’t around anymore doesn’t mean the shadow on my heart has faded. 

No, no I can’t break here.  If I break here and have a dissociative episode, I’ll start indiscriminately slaughtering everyone until I kill Elna.  I started breathing heavily and I could feel my mana becoming much more plentiful.  The pulses of power will most certainly not go unnoticed by Elna.  I could see her flinch as she noticed another wizard was here.  No, no, no, no.  “HEY! Don’t just stand there!  We need to run!”  the girl grabbed my hand and pulled me along.  The feeling of warmth from her hand allowed me to rein in my emotions and calm down. 

As we were running, I saw a grenade tumble towards us.  Without saying a word, I embraced the girl and jumped to the side.  *BOOM* For the second time in less than 2 minutes, I was sent flying by an explosion.  And again I smacked into a wall.  I made sure to cradle the girl as best I could to minimize her injury.  Since she managed to prevent me from breaking, I’ll return the favor and protect her.  My plan has been shot to hell anyway.  I stood up again with the girl in a princess carry.  Her mask had been lost in the explosion, revealing a classically beautiful face.  She didn’t appear to be harmed from our impact. 

“You okay?” I asked her.  She nodded “Yes, thank you.”  I set her down and I picked up a pistol from one of the guards who had died nearby.  I then grabbed her hand and said “Stay close by me.”  Elna continued to heroically fight off the rebels as reinforcements for both sides arrived.  The ballroom turned into a massive shootout at one of the entrances. 

I chose to go out through the other door.  Seeing Elna staying behind to evacuate and help the other guests means that I might still have a chance to assassinate her tonight.  But only after I save this girl.  We burst into the now empty hallway, where we saw several rebels heading towards us.  Before they could do anything, *Bang* *Bang* *Bang* *Bang*.  They all went down with a bullet between their eyes. 

The girl let out a frightened whimper and I consoled her “Don’t worry.  I’ll protect you, so stay calm.”  We continued to move as I shot down another 10 or so rebels.  Eventually, we had to stop and rest since the girl didn’t have my stamina.  “Thank you.”  The girl said after regaining her breath.  “Save it for after we get out.  Are you okay to walk?  Those heels can’t be helping.”  The girl couldn’t go barefoot due to the shattered glass everywhere, but we were slowed down tremendously by her pace. 

“U-um, I think so.”  She stammered in response.  That is not encouraging.  “We’ll do it this way.”  I picked her up in a princess carry much to her surprise.  She reflexively put her arms around my neck and also turned as red as her dress.  Her embarrassment made her silent as we finally exited into the mass of emergency vehicles and police at the outside.  Sounds of fighting were still going on in the ballroom where the majority of the guests were. 

The girl was quickly surrounded by various security personnel and shuttled away.  I gave her a casual wave goodbye and vanished into the crowd before anyone tried to take me away.  I headed back inside the building.  With my cover blown from earlier, I don’t have to hold back with the magic.  I know Elna is still in there, so let’s try and salvage tonight.

Vivian Pendragon’s POV

My name is Vivian Pendragon, 1st born daughter of King William Pendragon and the presumptive crown princess of England.  My investiture will occur when I become 18.  All my life I have had to live with the expectations of my family and the country hanging over my head.  It’s been exhausting and I do not look forward to the increase in responsibility when I officially become the crown princess. 

However, I am exceedingly talented at ruling despite my anxiety about the job.  Law and administration come very easily to me, but I dislike the pressure that comes with it.  The thought of being responsible for an entire kingdom makes me queasy inside.  It doesn’t help that my younger sister has been exceedingly jealous of my position. 

It’s likely that she’ll start scheming against me soon now that she has a finance whom can give her the resources to do so.  I’d gladly hand over my claim, but my parents have been adamant that I’ll be their successor due to my extraordinary talent.  I have often entertained the fantasy of running away and living a normal life.  But I never thought about it seriously until now.

It is my 16th birthday today and I am at the usual masquerade ball held in my honor.  I was unfortunately caught by a rather annoying man and have been stuck listening to him prattle on about himself for the last half-hour.  Much to my relief, a man in an eastern style fox mask rescued me and pulled me to the dance floor. 

He was an excellent dancer and I could tell even through his clothes that he had an amazing body.  I was rather looking forward to flirting with him, but he simply kept dancing with me without uttering a word.  Eventually I initiated conversation and it somehow turned into me complaining about my life. 

I still don’t understand the impulse that came over me to do that.  The fox man listened to me patiently for a while then cut me off and berated me to be decisive.  He was right, I need to figure out what I want and then go get it.  Then a rebel attack occurred and I saw my dance partner get blasted across the room. 

Looking back on it now, it’s obvious that he should have become a red smear on the wall but he instead survived it relatively unscathed.  His mask was knocked askew, allowing me to peek in on his amazing looks and piercing dark green eyes as I helped him up.  Before we could escape, a grenade went off and he protected me without hesitation. 

It should have been fatal for him, yet he again survived with just some injuries.  He led me away from the hall and started easily dispatching the rebels as we went.  He reassured me and eventually embraced me as he carried me out of there.  I couldn’t help but be extremely embarrassed at the close contact.  Although I did really enjoy it… I was swarmed by my retainers and they took me away before I could say good-bye. 

The man with his fox mask simply gave me a cheeky wave and disappeared.  His advice from earlier echoed in my head as I remembered the carnage.  What should I do?  If I run away, my sister would inherit the throne.  She’s a headstrong and brash individual who would be a major liability as I ruler.  If I take the throne, I know I could do a good job but would I be able to handle the hardships? 

I would need someone I could trust to lean on from time to time.  At this point, the fox man’s face appeared in my mind.  Yeah, if he was by my side… I think I could handle it.  I only spent a little time with him, but I felt like he was someone I could truly rely on.  I want him.  I-It’s not because I’m attracted to him okay!  I’ve decided to become the Queen, so I need to surround myself with capable people.   So I’ll search for this mystery man and make him one of my retainers!

Terra’s POV

I ran full speed ahead back to the ballroom, which was a true breakneck pace.  I had illusion magic out so I didn’t have to worry about being exposed.  I really need to one day investigate the limits of my physical abilities.  Back in the ballroom, the battle was coming to a close.  Elna was tending to the injuries of the surviving guests as the guards cleaned up the remnants. 

I saw a chance and took it as I launched a fireball that roared like a missile across the room.  I simultaneously put all the onlookers to sleep.  Elna reacted beautifully and tossed out several crystals that hung in the air.  My spell was negated before it could reach her as it got sucked up by the crystals.  Haa, this will be troublesome.  According to Eual’s memories, Elna is the weakest wizard in the group but when it comes to the creation and use of magic artifacts she is without equal. 

I had hoped she wouldn’t be able to bring any items, but it looks like she smuggled some in disguised as jewelry.  I raised a wall of stone from the ground as a ruby ring on Elna’s finger shot out a jet of flame.  It struck my barrier and the stone started to quickly melt from the heat.  I struck out my magic clad palm towards the scorching stone barricade and knocked it towards Elna, pushing back the flamethrower flames as I did so.  The crystals from earlier shined for a moment and a protective membrane appeared to deflect the incoming stone.  It shattered and dust rose throughout the room. 

Elna and I had a moment’s pause after our first exchange while the dust was settling.  “So you’re the one who has killed Eual, Khoreena and Alren.  I’ll pay you back for that.”  Elna said quietly.  I could feel the emotion and anger behind her calm words.  I responded by sending a blast of lightning that was suppressed by those floating crystals.  The crystals suddenly shot across the room while Elna launched a flurry of metal shards towards me.  I deflected the shrapnel with a wind wall while the crystals formed a circle around the two of us. 

Damn it, she’s setting up a teleportation circle!  Elna continued casting spells to occupy me as the magic circle activated.  Shit.  I frantically managed to throw up some magic disruption to screw up the destination as both Elna and I disappeared from the ball room in London.