Staring at the ceiling with blinded asphyxiation, her dark hair sprawled out beneath her head in a messy mass, and strong shoulders relaxed on the comforter of the bed. The way she laid looked comfortable, yet in an admirably exhausted manner; her legs hung over the edge of the bed, and her right arm folded above her head as the other was clearly a stump. She looked pale, and the water that still clung to her features rolled off her face like sweat, those dark gray eyes closed and shut out the visible world around her.

But, it wasn't long before a knock on the door.

"Are you up Alphard-sama?"

I don't want to be. Alphard thought to herself with a quiet growl, fixing her voice to a more pleasant tone, eyes still closed. "Yes. What is it?"

"We'll be arriving at our destination in fifteen minutes."

"Alright."

Footsteps left her doorway, and she sat up abruptly on the bed, glancing to her right towards the open window of clouds outside. Flying in her own plane, it felt like a death wish, but when had that ever bothered her? She made so many wishes for and with death, but they never came true, regrettably.

Getting to her feet she walked over to her duffle bag, and pulled out the strapless tube top that showed off basically her entire torso and slipped it on with minor trouble. She had already thrown her pants on earlier, and the bra beneath the shirt, long after her shower. Using the towel hanging on the doorknob she wiped her skin free of water drops, then used it to dry her hair a bit better than how it had been earlier.

Standing by the window her only hand held the towel at her side, staring into the bright cloud filled sky, a question began to pull into her head once more like it did whenever she looked at the sky. What would have happened if I let Canaan pull me back on top of that train?

Shaking her head, she threw the towel on the bed, and pulled the suspenders over her shoulders. Her hair was kept down but it was just a little damp; however it was tamed with just one brush of her hand through it. Snatching her trench coat she walked steadily out of the small bedroom and into the main cabin of the plane, holding the coat over her right shoulder.

"Alphard. Please take a seat, we will be descending soon." The voice belonged to a young man, he was much younger than the one whom she purposely forgot about when he turned into a monk. He was thin, and very much attractive to the right person, but he was formidable.

Alphard sat in one of the seats with a plop, coat falling over the arm of the chair. "Liu Feng, I trust you'll have my back once we touch solid ground." Her gray gaze lifted to the young man, she trusted the Chinese men and women, but still wary since the last one was homicidal.

Liu grinned lightly, a twist of smile within. "Yes, Alphard. You can trust me completely." His hair was short, black with light blonde highlights on the tips of his spiky hair. He might have looked like some ambassadors bodyguard with the suit and earpiece, but he never carried a gun and he rarely wore the black glasses with a snake designed on either side. But Alphard trusted him because he was strong, and surprisingly loyal; he just replaced the vacancy of that idiotic woman Liang Qi.

"Good," the woman grinned delightfully. Lifting her hand, and calling over the other of her hired help.

The other was also a Chinese man, but much smaller in stature; however his hair was a dark brown and scruffy looking. He came over and offered her the reports of their next place of attack, "It seems they have no clue who you are, but very intrigued a woman is in charge."

The woman just laughed with a light shake of the head, "Of course. Aren't they always?"

"Yes, madam," he smiled accordingly, head bowed still. He slowly stood back to his feet, and folded his arms behind his back.

"All passengers have two minutes to get back in their seats, and buckle up, we will be descending."

---

The door of the plane was slowly leveled down, and standing at the entrance was Alphard with her jacket over her shoulders and one sleeve beating in the wind at her side. She hadn't seemed to care too much about the loss of the arm, after all she had shot it off in the first place, and she knew pain like no other human being she knew could comprehend. It had taken close to ten shots to rip through her arm that day, but only on second to fall down the cliff into that ravine.

Walking down the steps she noticed the car waiting for her just across from the plane, the driver standing outside it and a woman by the passenger door. A part of her on the inside grimaced, but her expression stayed cold and exquisitely collected as her dark hair was blown in her face slightly. She didn't even acknowledge the woman when she arrived at the car's side, making a hint she could care less about any such woman working for her, and slid into the car without a single word.

Liu made a gesture at the lady with a teasing growl pointing his finger at him, chuckling light at her reaction and slipped into the car as well. The other man sighed, and apologized to the woman in his stead and slipped into the car after him, sitting across from both Alphard and Liu. Whomever the woman was, since Alphard didn't recall ever hiring another one, she simply ignored her unless she might have something important to say.

"Your adversary, Canaan, is targeting you after all this time." The woman spoke up as the car started moving, but it made no change in the dark haired woman's expressionless face. Clearing her throat, "It's wise to keep your bodyguard with you at all ti-"

"Do you think I'm incapable of handling her?" She suddenly interrupted, her gaze not once lifting from her lap, but the cold voice caught the woman off guard.

"N-no, I'm sure you can handle her just fine, Miss Alshaya." The advisor mentioned lightly, "But it's advised, since the last meeting you had with her on the train." Struggling to keep her composure, lifting a hand and fixing her glasses a bit; literally, nervous that she may cross the line.

"I'll keep your warning in mind, but don't tell me what to do. Do you understand?" Alphard demanded, looking up from her lap to the woman's face, giving her a stern gaze. "Because I do not take orders from anyone, the only ones taking orders includes everyone, including you."

The woman shuddered from the cold gaze, it was truly like that of a serpent about to strike it's prey for just trying to defend itself with helpless mutterings, but there was a sort of mercy in those cold gray eyes that calmed yet scared her. "U-understood, Miss Alshaya."

"Good," lounging in the seat, and crossing her legs she looked out the window to her left. "Shall he make preparations for darling, Canaan? Because I have a feeling she'll be here soon." She grinned lightly, frankly she could feel that the young woman would be coming her way soon enough, she always did. And she could feel her adrenaline waiting to burst, and her blood boiled in excitement of their next meeting.

"Yes, ma'am." Shun responded, the young man sitting next to the advising lady, he pulled out his cellular. Dialing a single number it picked up quickly, "We will have an unwanted guest this afternoon, be prepared for anything, it is Lady Alshaya's orders. Do not displease her." He told the man on the other line, before hanging up without waiting for an answer. "The manor shall be expertly guarded, My Lady."