LuNortha (Book 1 of LuNortha trilogy)

Chapter 1

¤ Veronica ¤

It's evening, the sun has already set long ago but it's still hot. Veronica is on her way to her meeting. A new job that she may take if the price is right. What the job is about she does not have any clue. The person that wants to hire her wants something but never told what exactly he wants. 'Surely it's about some guy they want to take down so that their business can grow more.'

The meeting is at her favorite alley, it is dark that you can only see your shadow and there is only one way out that only she controls. Once she gets to the alley, she sees a long dark silhouette maybe ten centimeters longer than her with a hood that hides the person's face.

'' You have ten minutes to tell me what you want from me.'', Veronica says impatiently as she looks bored at the person.

'' I do not need ten minutes.'' the person replied in a dark voice.

'' So heavenly confidence.'', she replies back and suddenly feels vigilant about the person in front of her.

The person takes off the hood and she does everything to not show her shock, Crown Prince Kai of the Empire Northa stands in front of her.

''What gives me the honor of meeting your highness?'' she asks, showing no sign of bowing.

'' I want you to look for someone'', the Crown Prince replies as he tries his best not to show how amused he is about her way of talking to him.

'' Who? and why me?''

'' You are a person who finds everyone and kills them if you get paid', the Crown Prince replies. ''... I did not expect you to be a woman and above all not so young. How old are you?''

Veronica doesn't answer his question. He takes a step forward and gets a growling response from her, one more step and he would regret it. He stops and instead looks with interest at the assassin in front of him.

" Do you not have enough people who obey you, little prince?" says Veronica with a grin, she meant to make him annoyed but instead he started to smile.

'' Not someone I can trust,'' the Crown Prince replies.

The assassin blinks in surprise. She had not expected that answer from the Crown Prince.

''But you trust me? An assassin who does everything for the money?'' Veronica is suspicious and starts looking around.

The smile on the prince grows bigger. ''Are you really an assassin who does everything for the money? I don't think that is really the truth, what do you think V?''

Veronica does not answer his question but instead keeps looking for signs of his lies. ' Nothing. What is it you really want, prince? Some fun or is it something real?' she thinks and lets one of her hands go under the jacket for the knife while she keeps looking around the alley.

'If you do this, I can give you what you want.' The Crown Prince's voice sounded more honest than it had done before, it made her stop looking around and instead turn her attention back to the prince. What Veronica saw made her believe in him. She saw the same desperation she had for two years now. The desperation to find the killer. ' He speaks the truth. Who made you desperate enough to find me, prince?' She thinks as he stares intensely into her eyes.

'' What is it that I want, little prince?'' The assassin asks suspiciously.

''Find the person who killed your family'', His gaze softened, Veronica froze, no one knew. No one even knows who she is. ' How does he know this?'

''I take your silence as a yes,'' the prince continued, and the little smile that had been there before had disappeared. Veronica realized she did not like the soft and pitiful look the prince gave her. The smirk she could handle but not the pitiful looks he and the others gave her.

''Who am I going to find?'', she finally asks and takes a step closer to him.

''Princess Kaira and you will find out who took her. You will enter the castle under cover. You will pretend to be Lady Mareena North, my cousin.'', he replied simply, and the little smile reappeared.

''Why should I be under cover and why the castle?''

''Because the person who kidnapped my sister is there,'' the prince replied.

''How do you know that?'' The prince tenses a little but as fast it goes away and he shrugs, but you could see the cold in his eyes when he said ''Death told me.''

For a long time, they are both silent and looking at each other. She looks for signs that he is lying about what he really wants but something tells her that he is telling the truth. The question that matters is how the hell he knew to contact her and how he has information about her. Something tells her that she will regret this. But there is something in her, a feeling that she and the prince are made of the same dark monster through their life. After a deep breath, she extends her hand towards him and says ''Prince, it seems like we are going out hunting.''