It was night time already. Desa had spent hours watching the Filligrey Harbour and its movements. So many sailors and merchants had come and go, it was a hum of constant movement. Her muscles ached from lying down on the red bricked roof of the town house.

She cracked her neck and tried to workout the stiff muscles of her legs. In the cover of the dark, it was easier to move without being seen. She sat upright on the roof and cursed the decision of not buying liquor from the town market earlier in the morning. She hated going through with the killing without a little buzz going on. It helped her deny the reality.

Swinging her boot covered feet back and forth on the roof edge, she watched the dwindling workers on the harbour. Some of them were tying in their ships for the night and most of them were locking up their warehouses that stored crates of good that merchants brought in.

Desa had thought about just going in for a mission in the clear sky of day but the idea of definitely being caught and then rotting away in prison sounded like such a pain in the ass. True, she was already in a form of prison, bounded by a duty she was tricked in but at least she had earned herself a little bit of leash length. She had her own space, an apartment, she could blissfully spend the money she earned from killing to drown herself away from the problems she gained from said killing.

Ah it was all a loop de loop when it came to her problems. It always gave her a headache thinking about it. She had no way out of servitude to Sonterro and it was claustrophobic.

Maybe instead of locking her up, they would execute her. Wouldn't that be a treat? Finally escaping this wretched life she had no control over. Unfortunately she had tried getting caught before. Sonterro had corrupted his way into law enforcement. She was released due to lack of evidence they sad. The following days were just sunshine and rainbows of punishment. And the icing on top was that another rule was added to her binding.

'You will do everything in your power to not get caught or get imprisoned by guards while on a job.'

It was a longshot anyway. Trusting the justice system to finally release her from her prison made by Sonterro. But it'd been worth a try. That was when she was fifteen. She was twenty one years old now. How the time flew when you were having fun.

Desa looked around at the almost empty harbour and inspected the ships lining the docks. It'd been easy finding the ships that belonged to Aksel Cairn. There was a total of eight of them with giant masts and a big hull to carry goods in. The ships were not as big as some of the others anchored in the coast but they definitely looked to be of great size. Enough to cause Sonterro some competition apparently.

She didn't know much about sea travel, never had to learn and she wasn't going to start now. This was probably going to be the closest she would ever come to sailing away from the city of Avilfell and Sonterro. She closed her eyes and a giant building engulfed in flames flashed in her mind. She immediately opened her eyes. She didn't deserve to leave Sonterro.

Gritting her teeth, she inhaled a deep breath of crisp night air and with it, expelled any delusions of getting far away from here. She checked her ponytail to see if it was still good and tight and then silently slid down the rain pipe on the side of the house.

She thumped down on the cobblestone road and made her way to the docks. With her hood up, she was almost invisible in the night. Her elongated ears worked overtime as she looked around the harbour for any late shifters. Most of the sailors were gulping down their fourth beer by now after a hot day spent under the blazing sun hauling crates and sails. What she wouldn't give to be at Tilly's tavern doing the exact same thing right now.

Later she promised herself. After this, she would get so plastered that even Mac wouldn't be able to scrap her off the floorboards. The promise of a blissful sleep of intoxication eased a bit of the weight on her heart.

She hated this. Hated every second of it.

As she passed the ships that were marked as Aksel Cairn's one by one, she peered over and listened for any presence aboard. She checked all eight of them and circled back again. It wasn't like he would be conveniently found on one of his ships after hours, he could be enjoying his evening in a tavern with his fellow workers for all she knew. In that case, she would have to come back tomorrow and tail him.

Desa sighed, she really wanted to finish this today, go home, get the blood off her skin and drink until she forgot tonight. She turned around to the warehouse that said Cairn's Merchandise. Niam had said he was living above the warehouse, he would probably be there. Getting killed in his own house would offer some comfort at least? Desa shook her head. There was no way to absolute her guilt with such trivial comments.

She just resigned to her fate and made the silent trek up from the harbour to the warehouse. Before walking in, she took a deep breath and donned the ego she liked to use to alienate herself from the situation.

Toughen up. Do your job and walk out. And if you're lucky, death will come to you.

With the idea that she might be actually dead by the time the evening was over, a serene smile came over her lips. She liked to do everything in her power to earn her death before her order came on top and she killed her target.

This could be her night. Please gods, let the target know how to use a goddamn knife. As she stepped in through the slightly parted double door of the warehouse, she thought about her last target. Thinking about her previous victim was a big 'don't go there' topic but she couldn't help her thoughts wander.

He was a previous gold-keeper that had been skimming coins off the dealings of Sonterro's business. She refused to remember his name but the image of his dead body wouldn't leave her mind. He had been a mid height goblin with brown hair and a seizable tummy. He had been sweating a lot. Hadn't even put up much of a fight. What good would it do to him anyway? He was out of shape to out run her elven speed and Desa had her orders.

She placed her hand on the hilt of the dagger on her hip and willed the memories away. The gold-keeper had a family. Those jobs were the worst. She had teared apart a family. She still stopped by every week to leave a sack full of gold for the boy and his wife but it wouldn't bring back the life she took.

Looking around the crates of produce stacked on top of each other, she idly strolled around to inspect the space, enjoying the silence around her. They wouldn't leave the door open to the warehouse if no one was inside but she was in no hurry to find her target.

There were hooks connected to pulleys on the ceiling to help move the crates. Towards the back of the big space, she saw doors, guessing leading to offices and other facilities. Desa didn't feel like fighting in a closed office space, the cleaning up of the aftermath was harder if the blood stained everything.

"Mr. Cairn? I'm looking for a Mr. Cairn?" She shouted as she toyed with the lid of a wooden crate. The splintered wood smelled of sea water but wasn't damp enough to get mold. She opened the lid all the way, this one was filled with bags of flour. Nothing out of the ordinary if the name was misleading and the contents were actually illegal substances. She wasn't going to check.

"What are you doing?" Said a deep voice from the direction of the doors. Desa looked up from the crate and was met with a set of grey ones. The guy that was standing a few feet away was nothing like her previous victim. He was built like a sailor, his shoulders wide and strong from hauling sails and doing manual labor. His skin was tanned from probably the hours spent under the sun and his black hair was reaching his cheekbones. He looked tall and strong. Yes nothing like the short gold-keeper. His light grey eyes were suspiciously looking her up and down and she was enjoying how the hood of her jacket gave her the cover to gaze at him openly. He had a slight stubble on his angled jaw. His pants were tight around his strong legs and the shirt he was wearing was ruffled and creased like he had been working in it for days. Probably one of the workers still doing overtime.

The people Sontarro wanted killed were usually sniveling mid aged people with greed, with occasional exceptions. This elven before her seemed not that much older than herself. Maybe twenty five? Not likely to be the owner of the business that threatened Sontarro's.

Desa closed the crate's lid and dusted her hands. Took a step closer to the man. He was watching her every move. "I was looking for Mr. Cairn? Aksel Cairn? If you could point me in his direction i'd very much appreciate it." She asked as politely and kindly as she could manage.

He looked her up and down, like he was assessing her, to decide whether she was a threat or not. She must have done a good job not looking intimidating because he decided to relax his shoulders a little, which was telling her that he was lowering his guard.

"I'm Aksel Cairn. What business do you have with me?" He said in a rough voice.

Well now wasn't that great. The target was young and looked to have too much muscle and height advantage on her. Not to mention that he was an elven too, which said that her enhanced hearing, increased speed, he also had. Which was fantastic.

She sighed. This was not going to be a short night.

She took a casual step towards another stack of crates and played with the chipped off part on the corner. "Would you go far away. Very far away from here Mr. Cairn if your way of life was at risk?" She chose her words very carefully. It was always a tongue twister to find words that worked around the enchantment.

"What?" He asked. She didn't look up. He wasn't going to understand it before it was too late anyways. She always tried to warn them, always tried to let them escape. Not much more she could do when her hand was magically bound to grab the hilt and drove it into their hearts.

"You have a beautiful business here, it got too beautiful and powerful in fact. People notice that kind of growth." She vaguely said. Her hand was twitching toward the knife on her hip. She gritted her teeth. Not yet. She needed more time, she could maybe make him understand if she tried a bit more.

Desa closed her hands in a fist as Aksel stepped closer to her. "Is that a threat?" He sounded like he was getting angry. Maybe he could kill her before she had to kill him.

"I'm not at liberty to say. Would you consider a very lengthy vacation at the neighbouring islands? Perhaps the one you came from?" She threw a side glance at him from under the hood. His brows were knitted and he was closer now. His forearms looked more daunting with the sleeves rolled up and the visible veins seen from close up. She'd be unconscious with a good punch from him.

His patience was wearing thin it was visible from how he clenched his fists. "Who are you and what do you want?" He growled. Well she had tried. Again. Maybe she could slip up and die this time.

She turned around fully facing Aksel, leaning her back against the crate. She lifted her hands and lowered her hood. It was always nice to see people get taken aback the first time they saw her.

His expression changed from angry to surprised, probably from seeing her blood red eyes. The folk of different species had all sort of eye and skin colours. But she hadn't met a red eyed one as bright as hers.

"My name is Desa, Mr. Cairn." She said politely and then bowed in an exaggerated curtsy. "I wish we could have met under better circumstances but my hands are tied." She waved her hands as she straightened up. "Figuratively."

Then, in an instant, her hand flashed to her belt, grabbed one of her knives and threw it at his head.

He was just about to be impaled by it when he turned sideways and the knife got stuck in the crate behind him. Aksel Cairn immediately lost the surprise he showed when Desa had revealed her face and a determined one replaced it. His light eyes were darker now, looking at her angrily.

She couldn't blame him. She'd be angry too if someone threw a knife at their head.

Her hands were not her own as she lost the mental battle with the order from the enchantment and grabbed the second knife from her belt and made a stab at him. He was a breath away from her sidestepping her blows and ducking in order to escape the sharp blade.

He was moving swifter than she would have guessed was possible for a man his size but what amazed her was how sure footed he seemed. He knew how to fight! Oh gods thank you. He knew how to fight back. He tore off a wooden lid of a crate from nearby and blocked the swipe of her knife. Desa was doing everything she could to slow down her attacks, making her arm's movements less aggressive and more blunt but it was hard to resist it when it took over her as powerful as now. Her legs trembled from the concentration it took to not step toward him to take advantage of an empty space in Aksel's block and twirl into his left to just stab him in the lower back.

The second of hesitation she managed to cause her body must have worked because Aksel took it as an opportunity to grab onto her arm and twist it with unnerving strength. He bent it until she grunted from the pain and he hit the bent of her elbow with the piece of crate to make her loosen her grip. The knife in her hand cluttered to the ground. She still had the smaller knives in her boot but with him so close to her, it was impossible to bend down to retrieve them.

She had to push him more. "Mr. Cairn are you sure you really know how to fight?" She said smirking in his face. As her chest was heaving from the exertion she could smell the ocean on him, the free wind on a sail and the sun on his skin. It was dizzying.

He dropped the crate lid and moved to punch her but she ducked and rolled away from him. As she was getting up she pulled and threw a smaller knife at him, this time aimed to his chest but he was expecting it this time so he caught it mid air. His right hand was bleeding from catching the blade in his palm, she could see and smell. He didn't even bother trying to throw the knife back at her, just threw it to the hard floor beside his feet.

Aksel wasn't as out of breath as she was, and he was barely breaking a sweat. She inwardly groaned, why wasn't he attacking her more head on? What did a suicidal elf had to do to get killed around here?

She made a move to swipe her right leg to swoop his legs from under him but he jumped in time to avoid it and then lunge at her. They tumbled to the ground and her hand closed to a fist to punch him in the face. It barely fazed him as they crashed into a stack of crates and bustled through them to the ground. She could feel something wet clinging to her shirt, they must have broken through bottles of drinks. Such a waste, she thought as Aksel straddled her waist and held her arms down from her wrists.

Desa tried to throw him off with her hips but he was so big and very heavy. He was not bulging. She made a move to snap her teeth at him and kick him with her legs but he just pushed her down harder into the solid ground.

She yelled in frustration and then gritted her teeth. "Come on, hit me already!" She exclaimed angrily.

So close, she was so damn close to the damn peaceful end she wanted. Tears started forming at the corner of her eyes from the frustration. Why wasn't he just punching her to a pulp or stabbing her till she bled out.

His grey eyes were intensely watching her as she growled and struggled beneath him. She couldn't keep eye contact with him as his inquisitive look just looked curious more than anything. She wanted him to be angry, she needed him to be mad.

She turned her head and was barely able to extend her neck to close her mouth onto his left wrist and bit into it with all her might. She tasted his blood for a second before he pulled his left hand and twirled his hand towards the crates they had crashed through. Before she knew it, a deep burgundy coloured liquid was floating towards her fast and closing around her head like a bubble.

Except there was no air in this bubble. Only liquid. She tried to shake her head to get rid of it but the liquid followed her head. She was drowning in it. Her lungs started constricting with the lack of oxygen and the lack of an escape made her adrenaline hit the roof. Her anxiety was causing her to panic but a voice deep down was telling her to calm down. This was what she wanted. She was finally going to die.

She was slowly drifting away and as she looked up at the man standing above her through the blurry red liquid swimming around her head, she could have sworn she smiled at him in thanks, for finally bringing her peace.

What did you think? I love when I read comments to see whether you liked my story or not! I'm always open to suggestions.

Thank you for reading! ❤️