Heroes of Darkness

Prologue

PROLOGUE

"Stay here for me," she said. "Keep watch." Her Spirit Pokémon nodded its head in the darkness. It sat on its hind legs between the trees, glancing around with its red eyes. It would keep her safe, and alert her to followers. This meeting was something that she couldn't risk the wrong people finding out about.

She felt the wet leaves crinkle beneath her feet. It was midnight, but the treetop dwellings were still alive with light, especially the ambassador's from the capitol loft. There had always been an ambassador from Sootopolis present in her city since the Empress came into power seventeen years ago. She saw the loft through the trees in the distance, and could hear the raucous sound of Sootopolis soldiers coming from within.

They should be well and good drunk by now, she thought. She had made sure of that. Tonight more than all other nights, she couldn't afford to be followed. If they so much as suspected I am in league with the Draconids...

She wasn't, of course. For most of her time as governess, she had spent her time following the Empress's laws. How could she risk her position, her life, or the single shred of honor her family had left? Association with a terrorist band of outlaws such as the Draconids meant certain punishment. Public death. She had seen it before. She had even passed the sentence a few times. For seventeen years, she had followed the Empress's every law and every command.

That was until she found out the secret. The secret that had changed everything. Instead, she now she sought out the Draconids, not to bring them to justice, but for one simple request.

He said he would meet me here, she thought. She let her hand drop near her hip, brushing the dagger hidden in the belt of her skirt. You could never trust the Draconids. They weren't afraid to murder even noble lords and ladies. Just as easily as an alliance could be forged, it could be broken, and often they were.

She listened. It was silent in the deep forest now. Only the soft familiar sound of rain trickling through the canopy and onto the ground made any sound at all. She hated that sound. These days, it seemed that the very memory of sunlight was just a childhood dream.

She heard it, then: a quiet sound of wet leaves and ferns being trodden on. Her contact had arrived. She smiled. He thinks he can sneak up on me. These woods are too familiar to me not to notice someone new.

"You've come?" she asked. Silence answered. "Don't think you can hide from me. I know you're here." She tried to sound brave and strong, but still the slightest waver was in her voice.

A voice answered, but from a direction away from where she heard the footsteps. "The reason you are aware of my presence is because I want you to be. If I wanted to hide, you would never know." She turned her head towards the voice. It was a man's; deep and strong.

"If you're not hiding, then show yourself," she commanded.

"Drop the dagger, and I will," his voice was somewhere else now, and the footsteps had moved as well. Was there more than one of them? A chill ran down her spine. She should have brought her Spirit Pokémon with her. He spoke again. "We can meet face to face when you've disarmed yourself. Our arrangement requires a certain degree of trust."

Her arms began to tremble. She could imagine the image of the other noble lords, ladies, and other high profile figures who had been murdered by the Draconids. This is different, she reminded herself. Quickly, so as not to show weakness, she unsheathed the dagger and threw it away into the brush.

The voice came in her ear, "Now let's negotiate terms." She spun around. No one was there. When she turned back around, a tall figure, cloaked in a black hooded robe stood before her. On his chest was a round golden pin, not unlike a coin, emblazoned with the picture of a tree on fire.