The next day, I made my way around the castle aimlessly. Xander had left shortly after Corrin, apparently. He left a few notes on his desk that we, his retainers found after waking up with specific orders for each of us. Peri was being sent to assassinate a noble. I was going with her, sadly enough. We weren't leaving until later in the evening since, obviously, most assassinations tend to be at night. For now I had time to kill. Xander outlined that Peri would be the one to actually do the stabbing, meanwhile, I'd be distracting and fighting off the guards "with any means necessary" according to the note. Attached were details on the layout of the mansion, guard rotations, etc. Peri squealed when we found the note, saying that finally she could kill someone while in Xander's service. I just sighed at the fact I was going to be spending my evening with a psychopath. 'Laslow' seemed upset with his job, simply because it didn't involve one on one time with Peri.

"You're so lucky father!" He said sadly. "I have to go and judge the happiness of the townsfolk and you get to spend the whole night with Peri!"

"Maybe you'll meet a girl in town, eh?" I replied, hoping to cheer him up.

He sighed. "Not if Selena has anything to say about it." Poor guy. Apparently she was going with him, and Selena was hard on him when it came to hitting on women. I also often chided him, but I did it with a wink on my face. The way I saw it was that if my son wanted to be a playboy why stop him? It was harmless for now. Whenever he actually married someone would be another matter, but he'd cross that bridge whenever he got there. As I continued to walk around the castle I met with several people that I already knew. Effie was in the mess hall eating four plates of food. We exchanged words briefly before I left again. Arthur was hanging by his feet from a chandelier and when I asked him why he simply said luck wasn't on his side. I ran into a new face though, a man named Niles. When I said hello he just kind of… scoffed at me and walked off. I couldn't find any of the royal siblings, as it appeared they all left to go after Corrin, despite the king's orders. Unsure how to spend my time, I decided to pass the rest of it in the music room. I was told by a servant that it was no longer being cleaned.

I had brought all of my stuff with me so that I could leave as soon as necessary. I laid it on top of the piano and sat down to work on my craft. I was more in the mood to write rather than sing something already within my repertoire. I played random chords until I found a progression I liked. I'm terrible at making up lyrics on the spot, but the melodies come up easier. Olivia and I would do this sometimes, with me playing piano and her singing. It was a lovely duet, at least to me. We'd mess up quite a bit; that comes with hours of improvisation, we didn't care. As the time passed the lone window began to darken as the sun no longer shone through, until eventually I felt a warmth next to me. I looked over and saw pink hair. I jumped.

"OLI-" I started before I bit my tongue. Looking up more I saw the pink turn into a light blue. Peri. She wore her hair differently today, instead of straight back it was in two ponytails, presumably to keep it out of her face, but then she had a part of it covering her eye, the one that was green. She wore simple clothes, but there was a pack with her armor in it lying on the floor next to her. She smiled at me happily.

"Hi Matty!" She said. "Whatcha playing?"

"... Just…whatever comes to mind I guess."

"Fun! Do you know anything fun that we could sing together? Xander said that you can sing and I like singing every now and then!"

I really didn't want to do this. I looked out the window. "Um…" I began. "I think we should head out on our mission don't you? Wouldn't want to disappoint our Lord."

She pouted. "Yeah you're right. Later though, ok?"

No promises. I thought. "Sure." I said. We got our stuff together and walked out of the room. "Lead the way." I said, laughing slightly. "Because I have no clue where the hell we're going."

Turns out we were only travelling about three miles away from the castle. When there was only half a mile or so left, we paused and put on our armor and weapons. To avoid making too much noise, this was limited. A thick piece of metal in our breast pocket in case of arrows, and some light leather armor. I'm sure Xander knew that stealth wasn't my strong suit, but I was supposed to be a distraction.

"Know why we're killing this guy?" Peri said excitedly, grabbing onto my arm.

I yanked my arm away and looked at her. "I don't really want to know-"

"Trading with the Hoshidans!" Peri yelled and twirled around. "Isn't that just the dirtiest thing to do to the person who gave you your nobility? He has it coming!" She bit her bottom lip and continued to skip around me as I got ready. I finished putting on all my stuff, and put on my trenchcoat to hid my elixirs and knives. The sword would be too obvious for how I was going to get in. This was my life now. Kill me now. I thought. Actually, on second thought, she'd take that literally. Please don't kill me.

"Whatever you say, Peri." I sighed. She stopped skipping and leaned in towards me.

"Hey! Be more excited! It's our first mission together this is an important milestone in our relationship."

"We don't have even a working relationship yet, Peri."

"And that's exactly why we need to work together and get to know each other more over the course of this mission!" She said, hitting me with her elbow.

"...Right. Sure. Let's get going. Quiet now. You can handle the three people guarding our target once I get everyone else away, right?" I just wanted to confirm.

"Killing's what I'm good at," she said, matter of factly.

"Wonderful." I said under my breath. "You know the signal. Once I lead them away, be ready."

"I know all this already, geez." She said. "Come on you'll see, I'm capable!"

"I don't doubt it, Peri, I'm just double checking." We reached the edge of the woods, the closest we could get to the mansion without being spotted by any guards. The one entrance was through a gate on the south side, one that had one lookout who controlled it. From there the room that was the first you walked into was the parlor, followed by a private bar and a grand hall. Guards were stationed at the end of every hall, on the outside of the door frames. So, when you entered a hall, there would be a guard immediately on the right or left. From there I just needed to work my way to the second floor to the pavilion above the grand hall. The plan was to make as much noise as possible in the grand hall before leaving for the second floor. When all the guards gathered in the hall, I would appear and shout at them all from the second floor. Then, I'd wait until they appeared in the second floor and run for my life. The target was on the first floor, so Peri could waltz into his chambers, kill his guards and him, and get out. Once she gave the signal she was out, I was to leave the mansions premises.

"Alright Peri," I said in a hushed voice. "Stab me."

"Ok!" She said, "Where?"

"The arm, and a small graze on the side. Small ones, but make them look bad."

"Alrighty!" She said, pulling out a knife. I put a cloth from my bag into my mouth. "Good luck!" She stabbed me in the places I asked. I screamed through the gag, telling myself I'd been stabbed before and lived. I'd be fine. She didn't make them too deep, but deep enough to make them concerning. I stood slowly, adjusting to the pain. I took out my gag and breathed heavily. I looked at her and did a small salute.

"You too." I said. I hobbled up to the gate, holding my side telling myself it would be over soon. I had everything I needed for this mission, and this was a part of it. I finally made it to the gate. I focused through the pain. Your name is Geitz, you're married with one kid, you're a merchant, you were getting robbed at night, you need medical attention inside, you sell spices, you will offer compensation for help. It's possible I wouldn't need to say any of this, but I knew it was better to have answers ahead of time instead of coming up with them on the spot.

"H-Hello…?," I said raggedly to the guard on the other side of the gate. She jumped and turned around. Hopefully she was soft hearted, or this might take a while.

"Halt civilian. What do you need?" She asked.

I walked into the torchlight to better show off my wounds. She gasped and looked at me worriedly. "Please…" I said, stumbling. "I need… help… let me… inside…" I panted heavily and collapsed to the ground. I heard a shocked noise from the guard and the jingle of keys. I resisted the urge to smile. I heard the giant metal doors open and felt my head get lifted up. She looked at me concerned.

"I cannot have you dying here. It will cause a scandal for my liege. Please, come in, I'll fix you up, but then you must leave immediately. Understood?"

I nodded weakly. She grabbed me by the arms and dragged me into the courtyard. She dropped me and went back to close the gate. I stood up slowly, making as little noise as possible. I pulled out my knife. I could still move, of course, but she didn't need to know that. As soon as I heard a click in the lock for the gate, I tackled her, putting a hand over her mouth and stabbing her in the side. She cried out against my hand and started to breathe heavily. I leaned into her ear.

"I'm sorry. I know it hurts. Here's whats going to happen. I'm going into the mansion. You're going to stand right here, at your post, and act like none of this happened. I have people watching, they'll know, and trust me, you don't want to give them a reason to kill you, because they will. Or, if you can't do that…" I dug the knife slightly further into the wound. "I could just kill you right now. Pick your poison." I wouldn't actually kill her if she refused to do so, it was just a scare tactic. She nodded.

"Ok." She said through my hand.

"Good." I said, getting off of her, leaving the knife in so she wouldn't bleed as she got up. "You're also going to need to let a blue haired woman through here. Again, do not resist, or I promise you, with her around you're as good as dead." She stared me down angrily, but she seemed to get the message. I passed her a elixir and took out my knife. She winced, as I cleaned the blade on my pant leg. I drank another elixir I had from my belt and felt my wounds close. I had two more, one in emergency if things went poorly. "Listen," I said to the guard as she drank the elixir, "It's nothing personal, really." I shook my head. I sounded like an idiot. I didn't even wait for a reply and dashed into the manor.

I was greeted by normal stone walls with more than a few cracks in them extending down the full length of the opening hall. Every now and then there would be a small table with a vase of sad looking flowers in it. I was reminded of what Inigo told me when we first arrived in Nohr, that the nobility was being killed and their riches taken by the royal family. Yet, this one wasn't rich at all. He seemed to hardly have anything, and his house was in desperate need of repair. I almost felt bad, but at the same time, this was why I didn't ask for details. I was just here to distract people. No one had to die because of me today, if I played my cards right. I made my way down the hall, thinking of the map in my mind. If I remembered it right, I would need to go through the door on the left, which was just an archway. That hallway would lead to another hallway with two guards, with the bedchamber in the center on the left. To the right would be windows that looked out at the forrest Peri was waiting in. I pulled out a knife and an elixir. I held the elixir with my thumb against the handle of the knife and held my back to the wall of the archway. I held the knife in a backward position in preparation to stab. I took a deep breath.

"Heads up!" I yelled at the top of my lungs running through the doorway and stabbing to my right. I felt the blade insert itself into the guard stationed there. They cried out in pain, and the guard on the other end of the hall fiddled for his weapon in surprise. I dropped the elixir at that guard's feet and pulled my knife out of him. I kept running down the hall, throwing my knife ahead of me into the leg of the guard. He cried out in pain as I ran past him, hoping over his body.

"Intruder in the house!" I heard him yell in pain. "Everyone, spread the word!" Within moments I heard a chorus of guards repeat the cry until I heard footsteps throughout the whole house. Taking out a larger dueling knife, I kicked a door that was supposed to lead to stairs. It didn't and I surprised a poor guard that was taking a bath. I stood there for a moment, blushing slightly, before shaking my head and running across the hall to the other door on this end. This door lead to the stairs, and I began to climb them as fast as possible. This would bring me above the hall I was just in, and should look over it with a railing. Sure enough when I got to the top, to my left were the two guards, still on the ground in pain. I pulled out a medium sized rock from my coat pocket and through it through the center window. That was the signal. Peri would be making her way around to the gate now and I would need to keep the guards busy and away from this hallway until Peri broke another window in her escape. I kept running and found myself face to face with four guards. I turned around and was met with another three. The closed in on me slowly from either side. I backed up against the wall, and after weighing my options decided there was only one. Taking a running start, I leaped over the railing, ignoring my fear of heights. I landed, hurting my ankle, but alive. I looked back up and saw two guards readying spears. Without fully rising from my landing, I leaped to the side and rolled, hearing the spears clank to the ground behind me.

"Better luck next time!" I shouted, giving them a mock salute from the ground. I ran past the guard with my knife in his leg, and he tried desperately to grab me. I jumped over him again and found myself back in the hallway with the stairs and the bathroom. I made my way to the doorway of the stairs and readied my dueling knife. This was the side that had three guards. Three was easier than four. The first came through the door and I gave a quick thrust to his leg, tripping him up and causing his friends to fall on top of him in their rush. I kicked the top one off the pile and against the wall, knocking him out. The second one stood up and swung a sword at me. I stepped to the side, and left a small gash in his sword arm, causing him to drop his weapon. He retaliated by punching my chest, luckily enough on the metal plate in my breast pocket. He grasped his hand in pain and I shouldered him over his friend, still on the ground, so that he fell onto his back. I returned to the second floor and dashed over to the other end. On the way I saw that the window I broke was the only one broken, still. Peri wasn't done. I swallowed and kept running, beginning to lose my breath. I reached the other end and going through the door, was met with a sword to the side. I cried in pain as the blade left my body, sending out a lot of my blood with it. I fell to one knee. I looked up, the guard raising her sword to bring it down on my neck. I quickly flicked my wrist and stabbed her in the gut with my dueling knife. Her eyes went wide, she took two steps back, lowering her arms and falling backwards. I quickly undid the hook on one of my elixirs and drank it. I put the other one next to the guard that I had just stabbed, as I probably hit one or two organs. I was out of elixirs, so I needed to be more careful.

Just as I thought that, I heard glass break behind me. My eyes went wide, I turned around, only to get tackled by another guard. He pinned me down and smacked my knife out of my hands. Raising his fist, he punched me in the face. I managed to get my fists up to block most of the damage from the rest, but they still hurt like hell.

"P-Peri!" I yelled out, voice inhibited by my own blood in my throat. I continued to take a beating, unable to get a word in edgewise. The other guards began to come and see the spectacle, laughing, likely thinking that I was the only one in the house. They were soon corrected, as suddenly a spear head pierced my assailant's neck. I screamed in surprise and looked up to see Peri looking at everyone angrily.

"Leave him alone." She said coldly, way different from the bubbly personality I'd seen. The guards didn't need any more incentive and ran. That didn't stop Peri. As they ran she threw her spear into one, sending the guard to the ground. Peri yanked on a rope she had attached to the hilt, violently ripping the spear out. Blood pooled all around the guard as he moaned in pain. Peri walked up to him slowly, a menacing look of pure bliss on her face.

"P-Please…" The guard yelled meekly, holding his hand up to Peri. "I-I have a daughter, I won't attack you, I only was assigned here for money!" Peri kept advancing. The man got more desperate. "Please, I beg of you, you don't need to do thi- AUUUUUUGGGGGHHHHHH!" He cried out in pain as Peri stabbed him in the same place as she threw the spear. I couldn't stand to watch it, but the body on top of me was too heavy.

"Peri, stop!" I yelled, trying my best to squirm out. She ignored me. The guard panted in exhaustion. Peri knelt next to him and lead a hand along his gaping wound, causing him to cry out yet again.

"So much blood…" She said, the hint of a laugh on her lips.

"Please… let me… go…" The guard was losing consciousness from the pain. "...Lilly… I'm… sorry…" The guard stopped squirming. I stopped struggling and looked at the scene in silence.

"...Peri…" I said in anger. She didn't hear me. Unable to move, we stayed like that for a minute or two until Peri skipped… skipped over to me and helped me get the body off.

"We did it!" She said happily, smiling at me. I didn't say anything made my way down the stairs. She hummed a tune along as she skipped at my side. The whole hallway to the gate was filled with bodies. I had a sinking feeling as I went through the door to the gate. There slumped against the wall, was the guard who let me in, a giant hole in her neck. I froze. Dead silence. There was no sound from the mansion. I turned to my companion who smiled at me.

"...Our job was to kill the lord of the house Peri." I said.

"Aaaaaaaaand we did! Go team!" She said. I looked back at the body of the woman who let me in. I'm sorry. I thought. I didn't know. I should've known. "Hey what's got you down?" Peri said walking closer to me, concern in her eye. "We did it, this should be happy…" She placed a hand on my shoulder and I quickly slapped her hand away and turned to her. She yelped in surprise.

"Our job was to kill one man Peri! Not an entire fucking household!" I clenched my fists at my side, resisting the urge to pull out a knife and fight her. "Why did you kill everyone!?" I yelled.

She looked at me in shock. "They were in the way." She said flatly.

"In the way, huh?" I said in anger. I stomped over to the guard woman at the gate and pointed to her. "She let you in didn't she?"

"Yeah…?"

"So why did you kill her, did she attack you?"

"No, I-

"Then why the fuck-"

"Because she was there to kill!" She shouted finally. Silence.

"B-Because she was there…?" I said softly. Peri nodded, still surprised by the fact I was making a big deal out of this. I looked back down at the woman. How could anyone think like this. "... We're going back." I said, walking out of the gate.

"Hey, listen…" She said softly. I turned around and pointed at her. I felt some tears forming in my eyes.

"No, Peri, you listen to me." I said. "I don't know what fucked up reason you have for doing this, but I'm letting you know right this very second that if this ever happens again on a mission, I am not only never going on a mission with you again, but I'm going to end your life." Her eyes went wide.

"B-b-b-but, we're allies!" She stuttered out.

I shook my head. "Not if this keeps up. I will kill you, and I make it a point to kill as few people as possible, so that's saying a lot. Don't think that you could run either because even if you hopped dimensions, I'd find you." I turned around and marched into the woods. "I will." On that note I heard Peri follow me slowly behind. The trip back to the castle was made in silence. When I did get back finally, I split off from Peri immediately, went into my room and laid down in my bed.

"How was your night with the ever mysterious Peri?" Inigo said, wishfully.

"Fuck off kid." I said, pulling my blanket up to my neck. I felt him immediately withdraw, and felt instant regret. Damnit Matthew. I thought to myself as I drifted away to sleep. Can't you do fucking anything right tonight?

A/N: Hi. No song here, doesn't really fit don't you think? No flashback either, we're saving some of them because we've realized this thing is going to be very long. But hey, the two paths are synched now and happening at relatively the same time to each other. That's good, right? No more confusing time differences. Enjoy your night. -Matt