Chương 39: Vol. 2 - The Woman In Black

STELLA'S POV: Flying's fun, you know? Here in Celestara, Papa, Alistair Nightfall, previously known as Hoshikawa Hoshino and Isabella Nightfall, previously known as Elena Hoshino, however still known as Ella, allowed me to fly around here to look out for big baddies. Apparently, they got attacked while I was out, which left them, mostly Papa, with a psychological scar. Papa's been different ever since then. He seems distant, in a world of his own, cold, and indifferent.

He rarely speaks with emotion when with his companions, but talks a lot to Ella at home. I think it's because he wants Ella to forget what happened four or five years ago. Papa's Ella's only family left, so Papa wants to spend time with her so that she can heal faster. As for Papa, sigh. He doesn't plan on healing at all. He's directed all his pain to revenge and research. To avenge his parents, he's plotting a full ten-year plan. The amount of patience he has is terrifying.

Anyway, I'm supposed to fly back to the guild now to report my findings to Papa. Below me now is the guild, and there's a mature-looking man with white hair and violet eyes dealing out cards. That's Alistair Nightfall. The place Papa's working in now looks like a casino, but if you open a secret door through the front desk, it's actually the Assassin's Guild. Clara Thorne is usually at the front desk, whom Papa calls Matron in the guild. She usually gives out missions to Papa, Artemis, Jasper, and Tyler.

Artemis usually works as a hostess at the casino. Her long, teal hair and eyes are truly eye-catching. When she works, she'd tie her hair into a bun. Papa seems to care for her a lot. I have no idea what happened between them, but ever since then, Artemis seems to be attached to him, and Papa seems to have a faint hint of love for her. I'm sensing a little bit of love in the air😏, you know, you know? Jasper works as a waiter here.

His long white hair is tied back into a small ponytail that falls to his shoulders; it attracts tons of girls here. But take one look at his crimson red eyes, and you'd say: "He's not as hot as Alistair, he's just a bloodthirsty vampire!" And it's not just me who thinks that Papa is the hottest/cutest guy in the room, need I remind you. I'm not completely biased towards Papa; lots of people think he's very attractive, too! Please believe me.

And lastly, we have Tyler, the ex/still bully (but super scared of Papa, because four years ago Papa gave it to him), who is also a waiter here. He's got pale white skin, black hair and green eyes. What a weird combo, anyway, just like Jasper, he studies in Celestara Academy, 2C, so that Papa can get lots of intel from them. Papa, Alistair Nightfall, Ace of Spades, leads Legion Spades. This legion consists of all the elite assassins. Jasper Frostworth, King of Heart, s leads Legion Hearts.

This legion consists of assassins majoring in spells. Artemis Zero, Queen of Diamonds, leads Legion Diamonds. This legion consists of supporting assassins, archers, shooters, and other specialised units. Tyler Grayson, Jack of Clubs, leads Legion Clubs. This legion consists of assassins specialising in close combat. They use swords, knives, and other similar weapons. Ever since Papa joined the guild, life's been fun, interesting in fact.

Although I have no more time lazing around just like before, I get to participate in missions and even help out at the guild! I'm basically their mascot! *Proud Stella moment. Oh! Oh! And one more thing! When Papa was still little, someone gave him a blindfold, and ever since then, he has always worn the blindfold when killing people. Super cool!!! The outsiders know him as The Black Eclipse. How cool is that! But back at the guild and casino, where all the old family are, we call him Ace!

On the inside, our Black Eclipse is actually very soft, but his heart hardened a few years ago. Sigh, that boy had potential. Now I sound like his mom. I wonder what his parents would say if they saw him in this state. I'm sure they'd be happy but sad at the same time. They'd be happy that he'd want to sacrifice his emotional well-being to avenge him. To go down this dark path where people rarely return. But they'd be sad that he's wasting his life on them.

I think they would want him to live on, move on, pursue his dreams. But in this state of his… there's really nothing you can do. ALISTAIR NIGHTFALL'S POV: I'm sorry, Ella, I'm sorry, Dad, Mom. Even if you don't want to, I have to go down this path. This is for you. They took away the only people who've loved me since I was born. They took away the only people who taught me everything. They took away the people whom I loved the most.

And lastly, they took away the people who protected me, even if it meant giving up their lives. I know the two of you sacrificed your very own lives to hide my location. Just so that Ella and I could escape. This is also for me. I'm here, I'm in Celestara to find out the secrets you were hiding. The secrets that made Project Atlas want me. The secrets that made you cry. I'm not dumb. There's a reason they only wanted me and not Ella. Too late to reminisce on the past.

I'm sure all of you must be wondering after that ordeal. Let me tell you what happened four years ago… ~~~~~~~~~ People. That's one word to describe Celestara. It was bustling with people. So many that Ella would've gotten lost if I had not held on to her hand tightly. And Celestara's technology… it was amazing. It was better than back in Starhaven, but not as great as Frostveil, just somewhere in between.

"I love this place! There are so many people!" Ella exclaimed. How can she still be so joyful and hopeful after learning about her parents' deaths? Kids these days know nothing of guilt, remorse, and grief. Ella cried for three whole days during our journey here and bounced right back up on the fourth. She's like this little fire of mine, the only one who can light some warmth, hope and happiness in my heart.

"Starhaven's more peaceful and cosy, though. I liked it better there." I said solemnly.

"Don't be so dull, Brother! We have to adapt to changes! We must learn to survive in the wild. Mm hm, that's right," She nodded to herself.

"We're big adults now, we need to take care of ourselves now." If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it's taken without the author's consent. Report it. She's not wrong.

"I see…Though I think I'm more of an adult than you are. See, I'm this poor Brother taking care of his naughty, immature little sister." I teased lightly, but no matter what I did, I could not bring any emotion into my words. Ella raised an eyebrow.

"How could you! I'm nowhere near naughty, or…or immature! I'm at least a responsible kid, you know?" She puffed out her chest.

"Ok…If you say so…" I said dully.

"By the way, Brother, what job do you plan on taking on?" Ella asked.

"Jobs for people my age…there's a minimal selection. I'll have to look around to see what I can do. Honestly, I'll take any job as long as it pays well. After all, we desperately need the money, right?" I jingled the bag of platinum and gold coins Leo had once given me. Looks like they've finally gone to use.

"I was going to ask you to sell that pretty ring your friend gave you, but I guess it's better not to," Ella pointed to the ring on my right ring finger.

"You're right. You have no idea how much trouble I'd get into if I sold that ring." I said flatly. Ella laughed.

"Well, let's see what we're supposed to do today. Uh, buy a house, get groceries, furniture, and try to get a job. I think that's about it. Bwother, can we pwease get a big house with a pool or a bath house? I've always wanted one of those with marble flooring! And it should be really modern! I can't wait to check out the new houses!!" Ella looked at me with those irresistible, big, pale lavender eyes. Yes, lavender eyes, not brown.

Over the three days that Ella bawled her eyes out, all that stress caused her eyes to shed the brown iris shell that hid her pale lavender eyes, and her hair had also turned platinum blonde. That's why I must take good care of her. She cannot have any more stress. Her body will not be able to handle it.

"It all depends on the price. If we can afford it with some change left, then sure." I replied.

"Where should we head first?" Ella puffed her cheeks.

"Grrrrr, Brother, you're avoiding the question!"

"Crap, you found out." I looked away.

"And you're not denying it!" Ella gasped dramatically.

"I was thinking we should see the house first, after all, we still have the groceries that you dropped on the floor of the burning house four days ago. And I think the house will probably come with furniture. We'll just need to get some decorations and accessories for it when you get your paycheck."

"Great point." ~~~~~~~~~~ An hour later, we stood in front of a row of pristine modern homes, their glass walls reflecting the afternoon sun. Ella's grip tightened around my sleeve the moment she spotted the tallest and biggest one.

"Brother," she whispered, eyes sparkling, "that one has marble floors."

"That looks more like a bungalow or mansion than a normal home. I know you're just choosing it because it's the prettiest and biggest. You should at least look at the interior design first before making your decision."

"Crap, you found out," Ella looked away, perfectly mimicking me.

"You don't look like me at all. I'm smoother." I stated coolly.

"Crap, my brother's too smart," Ella looked away for the second time, as if a second arrow had struck her. After reviewing all the facilities each house offered, we still bought the largest house for only two platinum coins. Great price for such a big house. I still have quite a few coins left, though the realtor gave me quite an incredulous look when I immediately dug them out of my pouch. Let's see, three platinum, ten gold, and the remaining fifty are silver and copper coins.

I think we can survive with this for a year or two. But, I guess I'll still take up a job for fun; we're not in desperate need of money anymore. I see now that Celstara has advanced to the level of Earth. That can only mean one thing. Frostveil is advancing even faster and better than Earth. At this moment, where I reflect, I feel proud of my snow foxes. They finally grew up! *Dramatically dabs a tear"Ella, watch the house for a while. I'll be out for a bit."

I told Ella, who was busy finding her teddy bear among the boxes, that I pulled it out of my item box.

"Ok!"

"By the way, Teddy is in the third box from the right. If anything happens, use the house smartphone to call my house smartphone. I've written my number down on the table."

"Ok! Why do we have to use house smartphones and not get personal ones?" Ella asked.

"Because we're poor," I lied.

"All because you had to buy the biggest house, probably in the whole of Celestara. And, school will give you free ones, just wait till you grow up. Addiction is bad; you have no friends here anyway."

"Ok… then bye, Brother!"

"Don't do anything stupid at home," I warned.

"I'm not thaaaaat stupid!" Ella crossed her arms.

"Then I'm going out now," I said.

"Ok! Have a safe trip!"

"Oh! And go cut your hair, it's way too long!" Ella reminded. Too long? Yeah, it must be. I haven't cut it for the three years I was with Dad and Mom. They were too busy being paranoid. ~~~~~~~~~~ I stopped by the baker's first.

"Excuse me, miss, do you take thirteen-year-olds to—" Before I could finish, she cut me off.

"No, no, no." She waved her hands as if shooing away smoke.

"No thirteen-year-olds," she said firmly.

"Ah… I see. Thank you for your time." I bowed slightly out of habit and stepped back onto the street. That was fast. The next shop was a small convenience store. I rehearsed the words in my head as I walked in—polite, simple, confident.

"Excuse me, sir. I was wondering if you had any part-time work available—" He barely looked up from the counter.

"How old?"

"Thirteen." He sighed, already shaking his head.

"Too young. Liability issues."

"I understand." I left before he could say anything else. The third place was a café. Warm lighting. Soft music. For a moment, I let myself hope. The manager listened this time. She really did. She smiled apologetically when I finished.

"I admire your initiative," she said gently.

"But we can't legally hire children. Especially not ones your age."

"It's okay," I replied, even though it wasn't.

"Thank you." One shop turned into two. Two out of five. A tailor. A bookstore. A florist. Each rejection was different, yet the same.

"You're too young."

"Come back in a few years."

"We don't hire minors."

"School should be your priority." By the time I stepped out of the seventh store, the sun had shifted in the sky. My feet hurt. My throat felt dry. And the word no echoed in my head louder than anything else. I stopped walking. For a moment, I just stood there, staring at my reflection in a darkened shop window. Small frame. Cheap clothes. A kid trying to pretend he wasn't one. Of course, they won't hire me. I clenched my fists. But quitting wasn't an option. Ella was waiting.

So I straightened my back, turned toward the next street, and walked on—already preparing myself to hear no again. Then, there was a sharp tap on my shoulder. I turned to see a wealthy woman draped in an expensive fur scarf, dressed in black. A sleek black hat was shadowing her face. Everything about her—from the cut of her coat to the stillness of her posture—spoke of money and control.

"Boy," she said coolly, "looking for a job?"

"Yes." I nodded without hesitation. Her gaze swept over me, slow and deliberate, as if measuring something invisible.

"Your physique, expression, and character are quite admirable," she said.

"Suitable enough for this job." Before I could ask what job she meant, she smiled.

"I've been watching you for the past hour," she continued.

"Walking from shop to shop. Rejected again and again, yet you never raised your voice, never slouched, never begged." She clapped once. Sharp. Clean.

"Elegant," she said.

"Simply elegant." My stomach tightened. She reached into her coat and produced a black card, smooth and heavy, pressed with silver lettering I couldn't read. She placed it into my palm.

"Meet us tomorrow at 05: 46 a. m. sharp," she said.

"We'll see you there." I opened my mouth.

"Us…?" But she was already stepping back.

"Bye for now," she added lightly. The air rippled. In the blink of an eye, she vanished—her form dissolving into a thin puff of dark smoke that scattered into nothing. I stood there, frozen, the card still warm in my hand. The street was unchanged. People passed by. Shops bustled. No one reacted. As if she had never been there at all. I looked down at the card. For the first time since I began searching for work, someone had said yes. And for the first time, I wasn't sure if I should be relieved—or afraid.