Jade Gold observed the man who had just entered her office. Noticing how his lips were contorted into a startled expression, she glowered at him queerly.
It wasn’t the first time a man would stare at her, and he wouldn’t be the last. She was used to it ever since she set foot in the capital. Every man, and even some women, would gaze unendingly at her.She gave up on knocking sense into them and considered it a form of appreciation. After all, she was the future Imperial Advisor! What were a few stares compared to the glory and reverence she would receive from the civilians?However, this man’s expression was a little different. It was that of shock, and he seemed genuine. What was so appalling about the sight of her?She tossed her hair back arrogantly and walked to him, chest up. Regardless of class, he was a potential mercenary for her to use in a mission, and never failed to treat any civilian, no matter commoner or noble, with due respect. That was one of the principles she had learnt while growing up with Greyson.“Mister?” She called out to him, and he quickly responded with a bow.“Madame, I apologise that I was distracted. You just remind me of someone I know.”That same old excuse? She contained herself from sneering at him and just smiled.“I was asking if you were here for the job,” she stated coldly, ensuring she sounded as solemn as she could. She needed to show the man she was serious about hiring a mercenary.He extracted a scroll from his sleeve and promptly handed it to her.“I am here for the mercenary position.”“For that, I need to test you for your skills,” she replied. “I’m ready at any time.”“First, I’ll need you to fill up the paperwork,” she indicated, pointing towards a stone desk in the vicinity, where a pile of scrolls lay accompanied by an inkstone and a brush. The man nodded, walked towards the desk and took a seat on the wooden chair.He finished filling up his name and other information, setting the scroll down on the desk. Jade neared him and read what he had written on the scroll. His name was Chad, a surname that was uncommon in the island city. She ignored the other information, merely focusing on his age and his skills.“So, you have been practising martial arts for about fifteen years now?”“Yes, I’ve been practising since I was six.” He answered the question very naturally. The fact that there were only a few people who would have started learning at such a young age daunted Jade. She suspected that he was lying. There were few martial arts masters on the island and most of them isolated themselves from the public to focus on cultivation.“Okay. I’ll take it as it is.” She decided to disregard what he had answered. Maybe he had forgotten the age he started practising. There was no reason to lie. If he could parry three blows from her without getting thrown aside like a grass blade in the wind, then she would shortlist him among the final candidates to join her on the mission. His final fate would depend on the other potential recruits.He looked at her blankly for a few seconds, before confirming by following her. They moved on to the training grounds outside the office. This was where her colleagues, the other guards and some of the newer recruits, worked on their martial arts. Jade was a master at archery but was vulnerable in direct melee combat.As an imperial guard, it placed her at a disadvantage. Hence, she opted for weapons like whips and spears that allowed for some distance between her and her opponent. So far, she had not lost a single battle. She also owned a long sword that had been passed on to her by the Golds' predecessors, and she barely had a chance to use it. Despite how she excelled at the art, it didn’t change the fact she had a weaker constitution and thus, couldn’t handle more powerful enemies. Once outside, she threw on her blue-and-black uniform, before reaching for her whip. Her uniform was unique from the other guards present, basically because she had a special appointment with the king. The other guards sparring saw her and greeted her nervously. Jade just smiled falsely and took her place in space, before she gestured to Chad.“Pick up a weapon.”“So, we are sparring?” She realised that his voice sounded familiar suddenly, but she couldn’t recall where she had heard it before. Brushing her thoughts aside, she rolled her eyes at him.“What do you think we are doing here, discussing the weather?”She had always been a feisty girl. Whether then or now, she wouldn’t lose to any man. And Chad was no exception. Even if he ended up becoming her appointed mercenary, she wouldn’t go easy on him. All he had to do was just take three blows from her. If he was skilful enough, he would be able to evade them.He didn’t reply, instead, he strode over to the weapon rack and scrutinised the available weapons closely to make his pick. Her eyes roamed about, watching the man select his weapon. She could tell he wasn’t an ordinary fighter. He ignored the light weapons, moving towards the heavier weapons: the great axes, greatswords, a ball-chain-like weapon known as the meteor hammer, a bludgeon, and many others. “What if I say my desired weapon isn’t among the ones available here?” He questioned in a deep, confident voice.Ah, the audacity! She thought irately, but just plastered a false smile in pretence over her face.“Then you are free to use whatever you want.”“I have brought it with me.” He reached to grab the sword dangling over his back.She hadn’t asked him to use his weapon because the rules didn’t permit so. There were chances a strange person would pose a security risk, but this man seemed genuine enough. Even then, if she sounded the alarm, her colleagues would immediately come to her rescue. But she hoped it didn’t have to go up to that. She was capable of defending herself.She was astonished by what she heard from him next.“Are you sure that you want to spar with me?” “Quit the talk and get to the action,” she uttered crossly.He unsheathed the sword, which gleamed with a bright golden ray as she had never seen before. “Bring it on,” she challenged him, brandishing her whip so vigorously that it let out a sound.“As you wish, Madame.”“You just need to be able to take three strokes from me. If you manage to do that, I will consider you,” she stated firmly.A look from the man assured her of his confidence, and she shifted into a fighting stance before charging toward him cautiously.Chad watched the lady as she got into position. A question bugged him in his mind.Had she totally no recollection of the past? Or how they had met before?First, it was not one, but two times they had met. Second, the relationship they had was too complex!But he hadn’t asked her directly. Instead, he had done what she asked of him until she had asked for a spar between them.That just confirmed his doubts about her, that she had indeed forgotten about him! He knew clearly that if she remembered what happened between them half a year ago, she wouldn’t have asked for a spar so authoritatively!It was because she had lost to him so terribly, that she detested him and never wanted to see him ever again! No matter how long it had passed, he would always remember how she had said those words “I hate you to the core of my heart”. Though he had many consorts during the time he was in the palace, he had paid no attention to them. The girl had captured his attention so deeply that he couldn’t
Jade paced up and down in the office, her mind fixated on the actions of the mercenary earlier. She was still fuming from what had happened, yet her mind was in turmoil.What in the world just happened?She rubbed her temple and stared up at the rafters above her. “Senior Jade, are you fine?” A junior officer passing by inquired. She faced him for a bit, smiling pretentiously. Her cherry lips and rosy cheeks distracted him for a moment. “I’m okay. I just need a break from things.”He appeared concerned. “Was it that man earlier? I heard things were getting out of hand.”She felt a blush coming over her cheeks. It was the first time a man had come so close to touching her, but she detested the man with all her heart! Still, he was the only one who had defeated her, though it made her embarrassed, and she had such use for his skills. The mission they would head out on wasn’t a normal one.“I don’t wish to talk about it,” she turned away so that her junior wouldn’t notice the flush on
Jade finished demonstrating the details of the trip, pointing to the map unrolled before them. She paid extreme attention to the details, not missing every one of the fifteen territories where the civilians had noticed a demonic presence in the area. She had noted down the behaviours and tendencies of these creatures, plus the measures that they needed to take.The way Chad was acting when faced with the information she just presented irked her even more. He sat down on the floor, coolly watching her, without a single tinge of seriousness on his visage. But getting furious at him was meaningless. He would end up infuriating her with something new.She turned to Sky instead and questioned him.“Are you clear about what we have to do?”Sky smiled foolishly. “As my brother said, we will keep you safe, Madame!”Jade glared daggers at him for a few seconds before walking away and heading into a room. She seized a porcelain cup lying on a table nearby, accompanied by a teapot and poured her
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 bud
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