The Spoils of War (COMPLETED)

Her Own Mission

"Silas wishes to see you in his office." Jasmine froze in place with the rag still pressed against the table, took a deep breath, and then turned with a smile on her face. Her day was going so good until those words met her ears.

Killian stood behind her with an impassive look on his face. He had caught her freeze before turning towards him but couldn't think of why she would have to be worried about meeting with their boss. Unless she had done something he wasn't aware of?

"Then I shouldn't keep him waiting." She spoke a little too loudly and hurried off with the rag still clutched in her hand. Killian could only shake his head as he watched her go. He looked around the room and couldn't spot a speck of dust anywhere. It was an improvement to it's normal dirty, drab appearance, he was going to miss it.

...

Standing outside the door of Silas's office Jasmine took a deep breath and was about to raise her fist to knock when a deep baritone voice beat her to it. "Are you going to stand there all day or come in? I do not have all day."

Her nerves skyrocketed to new heights at his voice. Did someone tell him?

The door swung open only enough for her to slip through before she shut it back. Her eyes glanced around only briefly before she caught sight of a small stain on the rug. A sting in her eyes was the only indicator that she had been practically boring a hole in the floor with her stare.

"Are you not curious as to why I called you here?" She fought the urge to look up. Even knowing that it could be taken as rude she kept her face down.

Her tongue felt swollen, but she knew she couldn't keep him waiting forever. "Did I do something wrong?"

Silas's mouth twitched as he almost smiled. Quickly trampling that fleeting action back down into his dark attractive heart he decided to play with her a little. To be honest he had heard some interesting things about her recently but the real reason he called her was far more important. "Shouldn't you tell me if you did something wrong?"

He didn't miss the small tremor that ran through her at his words. He knew her character and any minute she would break, but truly he was curious how much of what was said was true.

As if a switch was flipped he watched as she went from trembling fawn to fierce tigress. "I know I shouldn't have done what I did but that man had it coming. I will not apologize for kicking him as who knows what he would have done do me otherwise. He was revolting and I will not apologize." Her head was now held high, not backing down as if she were prepared for the worst and would meet it head-on.

Silas found himself wanting to chuckle. He debated if he should act like he didn't know anything to scare her or if he should just be forthcoming. Taking the latter option he steepled his fingers as his elbows rested on his desk. "I agree he was revolting. However did you have to kick him...there." He winced a little before continuing. "What he did was unexcused and he has been as the guild would say, let go. You will have no more problems from him, or any other member of this guild. I thought that with my warning they would know better than to try anything but it seemed there were some people who made it this far into life with undeveloped brains."

Jasmine almost felt her knees buckle. She was sure that he had called her here to discipline her for attacking one of his members, not to tell her that the said member was the one who was taken care of. He must have read something on her face because his serious face became slightly less fierce. She wouldn't call it soft per se, but on him was probably about the softest he would get. "You are a valued member of this guild just as much as the others and as such you have the right to stand up for yourself. I do not expect you to lie down and take any of their, for lack of a better word, shit." He could see her body relax in relief. "Now to the real reason I called you here." He didn't want her to stress herself out again so he quickly continued. "There is a mission of sorts I would like you to do for me. It is not something I could tell someone else to do, and I feel like you are the perfect match for it. There is a package that needs to be delivered to the capital. I can send someone to guard you up until the gates but you will have to make the actual delivery. Of course all food and accommodations would be taken care of by me so you would not be losing any money, only gaining a vacation of sorts." If he told her the real reason it had to be her, he knew she would not go. Through his vast amount of connections he had heard an interesting rumor. A rumor that was only later confirmed by one of his own members. It went as follows 'Crown Prince Alaric is searching for a mystery girl. Her appearance is of blonde hair, blue eyes, and creamy white skin. She is approximately five and a half feet in height and went by the name Elizabeth. If found she is to be brought to the palace unharmed.'

Alistar had confirmed and even shared his guess that the girl in question could be their own resident beauty. Between himself and Silas they had concocted this plan to bring the two together. If she happened to be the girl then they would be helping a friend or comrade in a sense. Plus Silas knew the boy, if he really had become interested in the girl he could be assured she would be taken care of...and in a better situation than he could provide for her. That recent occurrence with that hooligan was proof enough of that.

Jasmine thought hard but couldn't think of any reason why it would have to be her that delivered it. "What qualifications set me apart from anyone else here? I mean I'm thankful you trust me with such a task but...am I really the best person for this task?" She gave him a look that suggested that he might have a couple of screws loose and truly that may just be the case.

Raising a perfectly sculpted eyebrow he drummed his fingers together. "Could you imagine one of the usual rough bunch delivering something? What if they were to scare away the recipient...what would I do then? As a young lady who looks cute and harmless you are the best choice...not that you are so harmless." The last part was almost whispered under his breath as he remembered the kick that according to Killian 'could be heard several rooms over through thick walls'.

Her thoughts were in a jumble. On the one hand, she was happy that he trusted her with such an important task...on the other, she worried about leaving the safety of the guild. "I will do it." She clenched her first in determination. If she never left the guild it would be as if she traded one cage for another. In the end a cage was still a cage whether it be of her own free choice or not.

Silas commended her in his heart. He could see she was scared but she still went forward, towards the great unknown that was life. He wondered if he would ever see her again after her "mission".

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Word count before note: 1327

Hey I am sorry that I haven't been posting many updates. I think the spinoffs will be decently short. Like enough info to give them a story but less than 30 chapters probably.