Montague is Dead

Chapter 1

THE DATE IS July 31, and the moon is out and it is my birthday. The same as Juliet's. My nails had soil underneath and blood must be mixed with it. My palms were sore from a bad landing earlier. I failed to finish off my target, and he had pushed me away from him. Now I cannot find him in the darkness within this vast forest.

Mostly I could only hear the leaves rustling and my heavy breathing. The night owls started to hoot and smoke was everywhere. My vision wasn't trying to adjust to the dim setting. I gasped for air silently as I moved my head around, watching the surroundings. The man is near, not running, just hiding behind these big trees. I know because my newly bought dagger is still stuck in his stomach when he pushed me. I never got the chance to pull it back and I can say that he's losing a lot of blood currently.

Luckily, nobody is coming to help him.

I can only estimate that midnight is approaching, and my first day as a 13-year-old girl is coming to an end. The sky has dusked already yet I have still not finished my first ever assignment. And so far, I am doing it poorly.

My mother has passed me her old dagger, but I chose to have a new one. The dagger experienced the best, and I think I would disrespect it with low-quality performance. It is my first time, after all, the dagger surely would understand that.

After hours of home tutoring, my mother would continue our training that often ends just after midnight. It has been 5 years since I was started to be trained but I still cannot execute a simple task quickly.

If only I could just have a proper vision of him then I can make this work. I have his blood all over me anyway. That was all I needed.

But you don't, Scarlett. And you have to think of another way.

I could be overestimating myself. Already ten minutes have passed since he got away from my grasp and my feet are already aching from the continuous searching. The man is just around here. Right?

Briefly, I pulled down the fabric that enshrouds half of my face. Using my top, I wiped the sweat that traced my cheeks. I am aware that taking a break right now is not the best option to choose, but if I don't, I might lose my life before my target. I took a couple of strides to the nearest tree, but my footsteps were halted when I hear a gunshot. It was loud, almost like it's just in my vicinity. My ears rang in a constant volume, and then it faded.

Where did it come from? Was the Viscount carrying a gun? Why didn't he shoot me then? Or is there somebody else in this forest aside from the two of us?

I fixed my headdress carelessly that had extended clothing connected to it, and covered the lower part of my face again. I searched for the extra dagger secured in my boots, my mother's. After cautiously observing, I leaped from tree to tree and hid behind them. Who fired the gun?

Before I could take another step, I felt a tight grasp on my left leg. I yanked it as a reflex.

It was the Viscount! Crawling against the soiled ground, holding onto me, muttering words along "Help me." or something like that. My heart was pounding fast when I observed his quivering body. I released a soft gasp when my sight landed on the gunshot on his back. His blood was pooling underneath him, soaking his navy-blue tailcoat entirely. It made me squeamish for a while, as I am not fighting a training dummy anymore. I could smell the metallic scent everywhere I turn.

Shortly after, his clutch released my leg and his hand fell to the ground. It was an obvious sign of death. Am I successful then? Near his torso, my new dagger made contact with the ground. I immediately picked it up and wiped the blood with my shirt.

Another figure surfaced from the great amount of smoke, much taller than me. He's also wearing the same attire as I do, and when he brought down his mask, my eyes widened with surprise. It was my father.