• How many times did she tell me? How many times did she plead for me not leave her alone? How many times did I ignore her? It was so long ago… Yet it seems like it happened only yesterday… I miss her… I miss home… I can’t seem to forget it no matter how many times I try. I want it to disappear, this pain… I want to forget. I want her ghost to stop haunting my thoughts and my dreams. I can’t seem to forget. Not once.

    “Oi, kid, you alright?” I looked up past my white bangs to see the bartender looking at me, somehow concerned.

    “Fine,” I muttered, digging into my pocket and setting some money on the bar, getting out of the chair and walking out of the bar. Yeah, people stared at me, but what wasn’t there to stare at? My right arm is made of pure ice and my eyes seem to scare anyone who looks into them. Not like I care, though. I’ve got a job to finish.

    I dug into my pocket and brought out a slip of paper. “Kill Lord Cerun,” the note read. I sighed, shaking my head. A life as a mercenary wasn’t easy, definitely not. I walked silently through the streets, putting off an aura that no one dared to interfere with. No one wanted someone like me to mess with them… Though the fact that I’m only 5’3” doesn’t help, it really doesn’t.

    “Hey! Lookie who we got here! A little warrior who thinks he can walk through these streets like he owns them!” The laugh accompanied a large frame that stopped before me. I kept my gaze on the ground, not wanting to bother with these morons.

    “Move,” I growled. I tried to step to the side, but only managed to find another body blocking my way. I was finally forced to look up at the man who had block my way.

    “Why should we, shortie?” The first man laughed, a large club resting on his shoulder. He looked down on me mockingly. That with the fact he had called me short all pointed to one thing: they had no idea who I was.

    “Because I would prefer not to hurt those who don’t deserve it,” I muttered, glaring up at the man, my eyes emotionless and yet they could send fear coursing through any man’s body.

    “Humph, I like to see that, little one,” the man smirked. I moved my right arm a bit out to my side, turning it quickly to an ice sword. “Hm? What’s this?” I closed my eyes for a moment before shooting them open and darting out, slashing quickly at my enemies, wounding them all in the blink of an eye.

    The biggest of them all, the one who had insulted me, lay before me, eyes wide with fear. He was the only one left alive. The villagers had run in fear, though a few were still rooted to the ground.

    “You would do right not to mock the Red Ice Mercenary,” I muttered, my sword turning back to my hand. I ran it through my hair, streaking it red and icy. “You should know better than to mess with your superiors.” With that, I walked past the man and went on my way, knowing there was nothing this man could do against me.

    Now that I think back on it, I should have paid closer attention to the ones who were around me, because the next thing I knew there was only darkness and the sound of quiet laughter. Oh, how I would grow to hate that laughter.