Agent 003

New feeling

I furrow my eyebrows in confusion, "Are you sure?"

"Yes."

"But-" I start to speak, but she quickly cuts me off, "I don't like to repeat myself. Now, show me what you've got."

I glance around, and everyone seems calm. I look back at her, still unsure, but I get into my stance. She used to be one of the best assassins in the world, but that was a long time ago. She's older now, so I'll have to be careful not to hurt her.

I get into position, waiting for her to attack, but she doesn't. So, I make the first move, keeping my punches slow so she can easily dodge them. She ducks my attack and throws a punch, which I block easily, but something tells me she's holding back.

Then, out of nowhere, she steps closer, and before I can react, her fist connects with my face.

I hit the floor hard, pain spreading through my face. My vision blurs, and my ears are ringing as I try to get up. What the hell just happened?

I gather all my strength and stand, but my vision is still fuzzy. I don't think I've ever been hit this hard in my life. Maybe she still got it?

I circle her, trying to figure out her fighting style, but I can't see any patterns. I throw a punch at her face, but she ducks, and as I go for an uppercut to her ribs, I suddenly feel a sharp pain in my stomach. The blow is so strong it knocks every ounce of breath out of me. I didn't even see her move her arms to be honest.

I drop to my knees, coughing hard as pain radiates through my body. Breathing becomes more difficult, and I struggle to stand.

Anastasia is beside me in seconds, her hands on my face, her expression panicked. "Breathe, baby." ,"Mom, what the hell?" I hear her shout as I manage to gasp for air.

"No it's my fault for underestimating her." I manage to say as air slowly start going into my body again.

Monica helps me stand up and says,"Are you okay, darling? I didn't realize I hit you that hard."

I look at her and laugh slightly. "It's okay, I deserved it."

She smiles and says, "You're a very talented fighter, but there's still a lot to learn. I can help you with that."

"I would love that," I reply

I spent the rest of the day with the blade family or the serpents. We were gathered in one of the living rooms in the penthouse. Anastasia, Tristan and baron were cracking jokes and telling stories about them selves.

When I turned my head I saw a big painting on the wall. It had weird looking stuff that I couldn't really describe but there was something written in Italian on it.

"il vero amore non muore mai" Monica says to me noticing that I was looking at the painting

"True love never dies." I say facing her

She raises an eyebrow,"you know Italian?" I smile and say, "fluently."

I look at Anastasia, and her face is bright red. She probably realized that I understood what she said to me yesterday.

"Ana, are you okay? Your face is really red," I say with a knowing smile. She grabs her glass of water and mumbles, "Y-yeah."

"Well, kids, your dad and I are going to bed now. Victoria, you should stay here; it's very late," she says, looking at me.

"Thank you, Mrs. Blade, but I'm heading out now," I reply. She smiles and says, "Well, you're always welcome here. Have a good night, everyone." She looks at everyone before leaving with her husband.

As soon as they leave, Anastasia moves closer and rests her head on my shoulder. "Yep, that's our cue to go," Tristan says as he gets up to leave with his two brothers.

"At least they can take a hint," Anastasia says, chuckling. I smile and kiss her forehead. She lifts her head and looks at me. "Please stay tonight," she says, pouting naturally.

I gently hold her face and peck her lips. "No, baby, I can't."

"But I always stay at your place."

"That's different."

She sits on my lap and buries her face in my neck. "Well, I'm not getting up, then."

I think for a moment, then pick her up. "Alright, but we're going to do a lot of kissing," I say as I carry her to her room. She laughs and buries her face in my neck again. I gently lay her on the bed and then lie down next to her.

"Did you really like my mom's food?" she asks.

"Yeah, it reminded me of my dad's cooking. He was a bad cook," I say with a smile.

She smiles too, closing her eyes as she rests her head on my chest. She holds my hand close to her mouth and gives it a kiss.

I wrap my arms around her, looking down at her. "Are you going to sleep, baby?" She doesn't reply, and I can tell she's drifting off to sleep.

I sigh and decide to sleep as well.

That night, for the first time in a long time, I thought I could finally sleep in peace. There was no mission waiting for me in the morning, no bloodshed required. I could rest knowing that someone was beside me-someone who wouldn't hurt me, someone I could trust. But then I realized, that someone should never have trusted me. Because that someone is the one I have to destroy.