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If one were to ride horseback north from the village where the Corenola's resided, they would come across a similar town one hour away. This was where the Versuolo's dwelled and their small mansion could be seen from quite a distance. Most of the townspeople assumed the family was somehow involved in the trading business since they were always coming and going, but their real occupation couldn't be further from the truth. Mr. and Mrs. Versuolo were highly trained and well experienced assassin's and all four of their children had followed in their footsteps. Two sons and two daughters, all of them were deadly in their own characteristic way. Cassius Versuolo--the youngest son--was the most promising with his capability to charm the pants off of anyone before easily finishing them off, but at only nineteen years of age, he still had much to learn. His older brother, Nero, was not much older, but far more powerful. Unlike Cassius, he showed mercy to absolutely no one and did not bother to play with his victims before condemning them to the afterlife. To each it was their duty to be an assassin, but it was more of a game to Cassius than it was his brother. Thus being the reason why the youngest son was still in a training mode. For the past few months his parents had kept him busy with minor assignments and he had executed each one with perfection. In fact, he had only just returned to the mansion the night before after killing an entire house of soldiers. News of the soldiers terrorizing the family they had invaded had made it's way to the Versuolo's ears and Cassius's mother had deemed it a noble test for her son.

Stirring from his short sleep as the sunlight invaded his bedroom, Cassius--or Caz as his brother enjoyed calling him-- groaned loudly before sliding his feet onto the stone floor below. Sitting upright on his crimson covered mattress, Caz ran a lightly tanned hand through his mess of white hair. It was customary for the men in the Versuolo family to bleach the color from their hair, but the purpose had been lost somewhere in the previous generations. All Mr. Verusolo knew was that it gave the family a sort of trademark look--and being somewhat vain-- he refused to change anything about the odd tradition. Thus, the snow-haired male rose from his bed and shuffled towards the dresser across his bedroom. Pulling out a light blue tunic his mother had purchased from a foreign merchant, he admired the silver dragon design on the front before pulling it and a pair of black pants over his body. Finishing his outfit with a pair of black leather shoes, Cassius tucked his favorite, retractable blades into the black gloves he wore upon his hands and added a variety of other weapons on his persona. None of them could be seen of course, but it was customary for every assassin to always be prepared.

Leaving his bedroom, the young male bounded down the stone staircase and entered the dining area without making the slightest of sounds. He was greeted by a flying knife and caught it easily between his fingers as he gave his older brother a dry smile.
"Good morning to you also."he grumbled under his breath, tossing the knife onto a counter as his older brother's loud laughter filled the room.
"Don't be such a grump Caz! I just missed you after your little journey is all. Did you talk to mother yet?"
Standing at six feet and three inches with muscle covering every ounce of his body, Nero was a sight to behold indeed. The women in the village chased after him mercilessly and he was all too happy to oblige their lust, but Cassius had never once envied his older brother. He was tall enough ((five feet and eleven inches)) and extremely well built without having to look like a beastly blacksmith. Nero also had a more rugged look to him while Cassius had "softer features" as his mother liked to put it. Rolling his chocolate brown eyes at his brother, the young assassin shook his head as he poured himself a goblet of red wine.
"I only just returned home a few hours ago Nero. The only thing I've seen besides my bed is your ugly mug. Where is she anyway?"
Nero jerked his head towards the hallway and Cassius somehow knew he was gesturing towards the library. Though she was a deadly woman with a ferocious tongue, Mrs. Versuolo was a woman of knowledge and loved reading and writing more than gutting a person.
"She wanted to talk to you about something that had to do with the Corenola's upcoming ball."
Cassius stopped in the doorway and looked back over his shoulder towards his smug sibling. Wrinkling his nose at the word ball, he departed in search to find out what on earth his mother had in store for him.

It had been about an hour and a half since Cassius had left his home on the back of his favorite steed. Covered with a light black cloak, he left the hood down so he could savour the cool early autumn wind against his face. Fresh air always helped clear his mind and cool his temper and it was what he needed most right now. He could clearly remember the conversation he had held with his mother and frowned at the news she delivered him. His next and final training assignment was actually from an outside source. The client's name and history was unknown, but he had paid a pretty sum for this job. Cassius was to attend the Calenora's upcoming ball in a few weeks and mingle with all of the guests. His target was a female and would be marked with a wine spill. This would require him to pay careful attention to ALL female attendants during the entire night and when she was finally marked, he would have to somehow lure her away from the public and finish her off.

This type of mission was his speciality and suited him perfectly. With his charming personality and clean kills, his mother figured this last test was a god-given gift to him. In the mansion Cassius hadn't argued with her and silently accepted his mission, but now that he was far from his town, his anger was boiling.
"Kill a woman? What sort of threat can a woman possibly present? It's probably just the client's cheating wife that he wants revenge against. This mission sickens me."
As he muttered under his breath, Cassius failed to notice that his black horse had veered from the marked path and into an unfamiliar field filled with yellow flowers. By the time the young man finally noticed, his horse had already stopped to nibble on the delectable petals around its hooves. Annoyed, Cassius figured it was best to leave the beast alone rather than go through the effort of pulling it away from its meal.

Sliding off gracefully from his saddle, Cassius walked a few feet away from his horse before noticing something strange laying on the ground not too far from where he stood. Narrowing his eyes against the bright morning sun in an attempt to see more clearly, cautiously approached the figure. Once he was close enough it was easy to see that it was a woman laying on the ground and concern sparked in the man's dark eyes.
"Hello?" he called out tentatively, looking around to see if anyone else was nearby that could claim the girl. Seeing none, he shrugged and approached even closer.
"Hello?" he repeated more loudly this time.
"Are you alright?"