♫War of Hearts—Ruelle♫
ECLIPSE
The morning Eclipse was to leave the Hollow for Alpha Monart's estate—the man she was now meant to call father—began with a letter buried beneath her pillow.
She had not placed it there.
"You're not the only assassin the Hollow sends. Dispensable as you are, tread carefully. Your mission is already compromised."
It was not merely a warning. It was a statement of knowledge.
Her room had been breached.
For five years, the cave-like chamber had been hers alone—sealed with security measures only a handful could bypass. In the Hollow, a room was sacred ground. Each assassin was responsible for its protection. Failure to do that much was a weakness.
Someone had entered hers anyway.
Primary suspects were two;
The Bloodhound… and Ronan.
But the handwriting on the letter did not match either.
Which left the secondary list of suspects. A list far worse and contained those with authority enough to override her defenses.
The Sages.
High-ranking administrators.
The Pale Warden.
Someone unknown had touched her sanctuary. And they knew exactly where she was being sent in a so-called mission that was purportedly known to only Raven, the Bloodhound, herself, Ronan and the Pale Warden.
Who was it?
Eclipse didn't dwell on it much as she tossed the letter alongside with the sparse personal effects she had into her fireplace.
This was going to be the last time she would be in this place she couldn't call home for five years. Whether she succeeded in her mission or not, she knew her death was assured either way. So she would never return here again.
The only thing she hesitated to toss into the fire was the single rose plant that survived the harsh terrain of her rocky backyard. Planted in the memory of Rose, it had bloomed into a single white rose flower.
So pure and clean it was… when she herself felt anything but.
"You must be disappointed for how I have turned out, Sister?" She croaked as she stared at the fireplace.
Rose appeared in the tongue-licking flames as she always easily did. Limp body hanging by a pole, she raised her head, and stared straight at her with eyes filled with pain.
"But do forgive me because I do not know how else to live but this way." She choked out, "Even now, I still see you. Can still feel you…Can still remember that night. How else can I live then, if not this way?"
Without another second of hesitation, she tossed the flower plant into the flames.
Then she turned her back and left the Hollow.
Their journey to the Monart Pack was a discreet one. Accompanied only by the BloodHound and Ronan, Eclipse rode a carriage while they followed in wolf form.
She had long mastered concealing the scent of her wolf, but she still had to be careful lest anyone caught sight of her Ashen Wolf which was quite distinguished in appearance.
Thanks to the unique abilities of the Ashen Wolf, Eclipse managed to pull off the identity of the lowest fifth-rank shifter by controlling her wolf's presence. A masking skill she mastered thanks years of training.
So to anyone who encountered her, she was just a powerless, weak girl who could hardly shift. And her act of weakness would be her greatest advantage to fulfilling her mission.
If she kept her head low enough, pretended to be the sweet, doe-eyed Eclipse Monart, her opportunity to strike would come. Manipulating the innocence of the new identity she needed to assume, she might just raise her success percentage from forty to fifty.
Two hours later, she was welcomed to the Monart's mansion by a butler she recognized from the numerous paintings she had to ingrain in her mind.
"Miss! You've finally come back!" the old man exclaimed while she smiled sweetly.
She had half-suspected that the Monart's were all in in this act, but she was now just confirming it for herself.
But the past few years had proven that she was quite the actress herself, and a very good one at that.
"Mr. Kem," she said in a soft, airy voice. "It is nice to see you again after so many years."
The old butler smiled hard, the corners of his eyes crinkling.
Eclipse couldn't tell if the old man was that good of an actor or whether he truly could not recognize that she was not the real Miss of the house since 'Eclipse Monart' had been away from home since she was five.
That would make some sense, but then again….
"After all these years, you still recognize me, Miss." He croaked, tears misting his eyes.
She lightly patted the man's sagged shoulders. "I might forget you, but not the sweets you occasionally gifted me." She quipped as though lost in a memory that was certainly nonexistent.
They were ushered inside by the now emotional butler who wouldn't stop ranting about how pleased Alpha Monart would be to finally meet her.
"I have always found that you're a little too good at this." Ronan murmured to her as if to distract her.
The Bloodhound wore an inscrutable expression, cloak over his head as if to mask his features while he walked ahead.
"Is that so?" She muttered back.
After five years, Ronan had long learnt the hard way that Eclipse was no longer the young, ignorant Miss he used to serve. And after accompanying her to all of her missions, they now shared a different kind of bond.
No longer that of a protector and a ward. But a protector and an executioner—her being the latter.
"I haven't had the chance to speak to you since," He murmured persistently, inching closer to her, "but while I am glad that your chance has finally come, something about all this feels fishy."
The letter she received earlier that morning flashed through her mind. "I know." She said, "I will be careful." she promised just as the butler opened a grand oak door for them, urging them inside with a smile.
They entered what looked like an office, and standing right there in the middle of the room was a large man with midnight dark hair that almost resembled hers.
"Daughter…." He exclaimed, his smile far more wooden than that of the butler.
"Let's cut the drama already," Eclipse said curtly, "where is the real Eclipse Monart?" She asked.
The smile fell from her father's face while the Bloodhound pulled his hood down.
A vein ticked in Alpha Monart's jaw. It was clear that he was a man who didn't enjoy being cut short when he spoke.
"Straight to business I see." He commented in a grave, thick voice. "However, the whereabouts of my daughter are of no concern to you. I believe I've already made it clear to Raven that you're the only daughter I have."
Alpha Monart was definitely in it with the Hollow, that much was obvious. What wasn't obvious though was what became the fate of his real daughter.
For this mission, was she stowed away where none would ever find her? Or worse, was she silenced?
The Bloodhound shot her a warning stare that he rarely mustered. He was clearly telling her that Alpha Monart was not someone she could trifle with.
"You will be departing tomorrow," the Alpha said, producing a scroll, "by the decree of the Alpha King, you will leave unaccompanied and unattended."
Eclipse took the scroll from him, eyes frantically perusing through the handwritten decree by Malric NorthSteed which clearly stated that the Prospective Brides can only enter alone.
No maids. No handmaidens. No attendants.
That was very unusual.
"Is this normal?" She asked.
"Certainly not." Alpha Monart answered. "It would seem the Alpha King is on guard. Understandably"
That answer was not enough. Most, if not all of the brides came from prestigious families and have long gotten used to being served in a certain manner.
So no matter how skilled the temporary attendants that will be assigned to them by the North will be, it would prove to be a hassle. And if Malric NorthSteed was truly on his guard like Alpha Monart just stated, it was all the more reason for her to tread very carefully.
She could not afford to rush this as much as she wanted to lest she commit a misstep that would have her thrown away from the game before it started.
"I don't know…." Alpha Monart tsked, taking her in with a distasteful stare, "is she truly the formidable Arrow I've heard of? Aside from her pretty face, she doesn't seem to have much going for her."
Eclipse folded the scroll calmly, not at all disgruntled by the comment. Raven had said the same thing herself.
"That is the plan." The Bloodhound merely said. "If that is all, I would like to have a final word with her. In private."
Alpha Monart nodded disinterestedly then left the room, followed by Ronan who stared at her for the longest time, before he reluctantly left.
Because now was where she had to deal with the hardest part of her mission.
The Bloodhound produced a pill. Crafted by the Hollow's most skilled—but certainly vicious—alchemists, it contained wolfsbane and a dangerous element known as wolf-eater.
Taken in a certain dose, the poison was enough to cause the most painful and vicious death.
Taken in the dose that the Bloodhound had with him though….
"Without the antidote, you know you will suffer right?" he asked.
Suffer was such an understatement. She knew personally what the pain was like having tasted the bitter pill for herself in the past.
"How many days?" She asked in a grave but determined tone.
"Fifteen." He answered, "you must buy the antidote from our Contact on every full moon. The only acceptable currency will be substantial intel you've gathered, together with evidence that you haven't acted out of command."
Meaning that if she dared attempt to make a move on Malric without the order to do so, then she would be left to suffer the most vicious, heart biting pain like no other, that's if she didn't die from her failure alone.
Eclipse took the poison, chewing the bitter tasting thing before him until he was sure everything had made its way to her stomach.
"Is there any more?" She asked.
The Bloodhound remained silent for the longest time before he said, "Beware of the Four Cardinal Betas." He repeated the warning he had been drilling in her head for the past five years.
And in that simple sentence laid what would be their final farewell.
She simply nodded to it, detached just as him. Then it dawned on her that by this time tomorrow, she would be in the North… in the same territory with the man she hated the most.