Author's Note: Hello guys! First, I should start with apologizing about how late this chapter actually is. I feel quite bad given the fact that I promised my updates would be more frequent on the last chapter. Now, I won't say anything else and let you get to the chapter already because I guess I kept you all waiting enough!

The next morning came as fast as she expected, though she couldn't say the same for her resolve to leave her cabinet bed. She knew she had to be up early, she had to. His instructions the previous night were clear.

"Meet me on the ship deck at 07:00 AM sharp. Avoid any delay."

Sighing loudly she pulled the covers of her body and rushed towards the closet slipping into one of the extravagant luxurious dresses Jhin has provided her with. After fixing her hair and make-up to a more presentable level she left her cabinet in a hurry, making her way upstairs to the main deck of the ship were she was supposed to meet him. As she expected, he was already there – and surprisingly without his mask on - even though there were still 20 minutes left for their appointment.

Her footsteps echoed on the open space as her heels made contact with the hard wooden floor which directed his attention to her.

"You are early, Arwen."

She faintly smiled before sitting beside him at the bench.

"You are early as well. Have you been there for long?"

His eyes quickly scanned the place for any other sign of life or disturbance before answering her question.

"Long enough to finish my preparations. The stage is set and so is the audience. Now, it is your turn to take your place on the stage."

She could feel cold sweat eveloping her whole body at his words, mentally wondering what could he possibly had in mind. She felt ashamed about her frightened reaction, even though she tried to get rid of it by giving herself a prep talk more than enough times the night before. She was scared. Scared that she'd disappoint him in some way. But deep inside, masked by her layers of terror she was feeling thrilled. Not knowing what the next moment might bring and having her life hanging by a spider thread was disturbingly thrilling for her. She knew she shouldn't feel this way, but there she was overcoming her fears and replacing them with thrills. Maybe his impact on her was grander than she initially thought.

Pushing all those thoughts aside she turned to face him nodding her head.

"And what might my role be?"

He paused for a brief moment before standing up and gesturing her to follow him. She complied and rose from her seat walking beside him towards the front edge of the ship. Once they arrived, she noticed a small box placed down at the floor covered with a small piece of cloth.

"Open it." he suddenly said and she nodded reaching for the small box . When she did, her eyes widened at the sight of the items inside. There layed a small convenient black gun and a sharp dagger of the same colour with the initials GD craved on it.

"What am I supposed to do with these?" she asked as firmly as she could holding his gaze. He sighed in an irritated tone before taking the items out of the box and handing them to her.

"Use them for self defense. You can never tell what will happen in the middle of a show and if you value your life enough you will keep these with you. The people we are dealing with will not hesitate to take your life to save theirs. It is much like chess and any other strategic game. If you hesitate you lose; not pawns but your life. I believe I have made myself clear."

She only shook her head in understanding before hiding the weapons on a safe place under her long dress. Once she was done, her attention was back to him, eagerly expecting the rest of his explanation. Sensing her eagerness, along with hints of fear and uncertainity, he proceeded to explain the rest of his strategy.

"This ship is bound to reach the port tomorrow morning. But tonight, the captain plans to hold a banquet to celebrate the last day of this journey. Our target is said to be attending as a honourable guest, therefore our presence is mandatory as well. Remember, our identities are still Caspian Forbes and Genevieve De Leon, even when we reach land. Now, like I mentioned the night before, I plan to use you as a decoy to lure our target to the center of the stage. I expect you to have learned basic etiquette from your attendance at the party last night, because you will certainly need it in order to impress a man of his caliber."

He momentarily paused picking up a map that was hidden underneath his coat and started to explain while opening it.

"This is an accurate design of the room where the banquet will be held. The only thing you need to do is lure the man right here on the center and avoid the red marked spots. I don't expect you to understand the importance of this map and the way it is arranged but if you follow my instructions, this performance will be perfect and your debut will be as grand as I imagined it."

She furrowed her brows at the last statement, lifting her head to meet his gaze and spoke while maintaining eye contact.

"My...debut?"

He half smiled wickedly, something she felt very uncomfortable with, and proceeded to explain.

"It would be a shame to restrain an artist such as yourself to simply being a decoy. Like I said yesterday, your role is pretty critical in this performance. You see, Whisper can shoot 4 times in a row, with the last bullet being the most powerful as you have witnessed. But after this, I will need several seconds to refill, which might be proven crucial if I don't have a back up. This was usually not an issue but given the circumstances, I do not have an immediate escape route and I cannot switch positions very often. On those seconds I will not be able to shoot anyone who will come near me or you. Therefore, your job is to take down anyone who will approach you or my sniping spot. Is that clear?"

The colour that drained from her face was nothing in front of the intense heartbeats and the shocked look in her eyes as she processed his words. She was aware that this day would eventually come and she had no means to avoid it from the moment she agreed to go on this journey with him but now that the time was finally here, she couldn't bring herself to understand how was she supposed to end another human life so aburptly.

"I don't know, I have never done this before. How does it feel?"

He blinked at her question, not expecting a display of such a calm demeanor from her.

"Like you've been stricken with the greatest of inspirations. Once we finish, you will be able to admire your work of art with pride. Besides, to satisfy their audience, an artist must first be satisfied with themselves."

She only nodded in an effort to hide her uncertainty and gazed at the horizon where the sun was starting to make an appearance.

"I hope you are right, Jhin."

The rest of the day passed relatively fast for her; her mind occupied with the many different scenarios that filled her head. What if something went wrong? What if she hesitated the last moment? Could this night be her last?

Countless questions circulated her mind like a whirlpool of emotions. Strange, unfamiliar, contradicting even. Staring at the ebony black mask that lay in front of her, her mind took her back to events happening throughout the day.

Flashback

"Lady De Leon?"

She spun around almost too quickly at the sound of his smooth and almost gentle tone, utterly surprised by it only to be reminded that they were on a public area where they had to use their alternate identities. Slightly shaking her head to dismiss any unwanted thoughts she raised her eyes to meet his gaze and immediately noticed him holding out a rather elegant dark box gesturing her to take it.

"What is this?"

"Open it."

She complied and slowly opened the almost heavy box only to find a rather familiar item hidden inside. Examining it twice to be sure, she glanced back at him and then to the box only to see the very black mask he had given her the day they visited the music hall and watched his performance for the first time. She nodded in gratitude and kept the present inside her bag glancing back at his direction.

"Wear this tonight at the banquet and meet me at the entrance of this floor as soon as the feast begins." he said and turned his back to her disappearing inside the crowd.

Sighing, she nodded at herself and made her way to the cabin to prepare herself for the upcoming night; both aesthetically and mentally.

End Of Flashback

She didn't know if she was just imagining it or not but the night already had a different kind of...air around it. The rest of the ship was overtaken by deadly silence, the only source of sound could be heard at the main dock where the party was held. Holding up the skirt of her dress, she made her way upstairs as elegantly as she could master, before noticing a strange setup at the entrance. She decided not to look further into it in fear of ruining his plan and just went along with the flow of the party. Sensing his strong presence behind her, she turned around and gave him a nod before heading towards the target's direction, patiently waiting for the clock to strike midnight while trying to engage a conversation with the unfortunate nobleman.
Jhin nodded to himself in satisfaction seeing that his plan was proceeding without any trouble so far, even though it was the first time Arwen was doing something like this. Finally reaching his sniping spot, he put on his signature mask and refilled the bullets of his precious "paintbrush" while he patiently waited for her signal. "I hope she remembers the right order of things" he thought to himself, half smiling when he saw her taking out a small mirror and doing the small hand gesture he ordered her to. "Yes, it's showtime."
Meanwhile, Arwen has finished drinking the rest of her champagne which she indicated to the man in front of her.

"It seems like I am our of champagne. Please excuse me while I go refill the glass, my lord."

The man only nodded allowing her to move further away from him. Careful to not cause any suspicions, she hid behind a thick column and instantly wore the ebony black mask Jhin has offered her, waiting for the show to begin. As she suspected, the lights went off causing a few people on the ball room to scream in fear. After that, a sole spotlight was lit above the man who had been Jhin's main target, while a familiar smooth yet menacing voice could be heard throughout the room.

"Baron Allan Guimond, tonight is a special night for you."

Royal guards were on the move whilst the man stood frozen in shock under the spotlight.

"Tonight, you shall be the protagonist of my show and entertain this grand audience. Now, dance!"

Three consecutive bullets made their way near the man's feet making him scream in terror while jumping to avoid them. Arwen watched the scene displaying before her eyes with disbelief. What was he doing? There was absolutely no chance he missed his target so...was he missing on purpose? Maybe he wanted to toy with the man? If so, it endangered their stay here even longer. But who was she to try and understand what is really going on inside a madman's mind?
She decided to stick to the plan for now as it guaranteed both her safety and his. Suddenly, a loud crash could be heard near her. She moved her gaze at the source of the noise only to find out he was firing these strong kind of bullets he did the last time he saw him in Ionia. Her face completely paled for a moment, remembering the damage those 4 bullets caused back then. There was no doubt about it. He was planning to sink the ship. It's not just Baron Guimond he wanted to kill. It was everyone.

"That woman is an accomplice of the Golden Demon! Get her!"

One of the guards shouted and Arwen noticed several men running towards her with their guns loaded. Not knowing what to do, she decided to run. Run opposite of the direction Jhin's sniping spot was. She thought that since she might have ruined the plan by making her presence noticeable, she should at least buy his some time and guide them away from him as he had instructed her earlier today. Lost in her thoughts she didn't realise there were two guards standing in front of her now, pointing their guns on her head. Stopping at her tracks she was now surrounded by 5 men. She looked at Jhin's direction but it seems like he was too absorbed on his performance to even notice her. But would this be the end of her? Is this how she wanted her life to end? She couldn't die knowing she has been relying on him until her very end. No, if she was to fall she'd fall fighting. Closing her eyes and taking a deep breath, she silently grabbed the dagger and the gun under the skirt of her dress. In an instant, her eyes opened wide and she shouted on top of her lungs.

"I will... NOT DIE HERE!"

Instantly, her dagger flew straight through one of the men's chest making him fall on the ground squirming in pain. She used the moment of distraction of the rest of the guards to load her gun and shakily started to shoot at them with barely any precision. She understood that this would bring her a disadvantage in fighting so she strapped the gun back to her thigh and grabbed the dagger from the now dead man's chest along with some silverware from the buffet and proceeded to defend herself with them.
The rest of the fight was a blur to her due to the high levels of adrenaline running through her veins. She only understood what she had done once she saw her bloodied dagger stabbed between the last guard's eyes, creating a pool of blood beneath her feet. Once realisation hit her, she felt hot tears blurring her vision, threatening to fall as she glanced the scenery around her. The people who were partying and laughing a few moments ago were now laying dead in similar pools of blood. Glancing back at the five deceased guards around her, she finally understood the purpose of the trip. This was art too? Painting a room with her favourite red colour, which comes not from natural ingredients but blood? How was she supposed to embrace this kind of art when she found herself looking at the colour red in disgust? The colour she once loved.

"Arwen."

The familiar voice of her traveling companion pulled her out of her thoughts and she stood up turning around to face him, the tears now dried on her cheeks.

"Jhin, I..."

He gave her a nod of approval before continuing to speak.

"That is actually...not quite bad."

She stood still looking at him in shock while trying to proceed his words.

"What do you mean by that?" she finally managed to ask.

"Your art is incomplete but shows endless potential, Arwen. You are obviously not getting along with guns but daggers seem to be quite effective when you use them. And your idea of using silverware was not bad. Not bad at all. It seems you have a rather elegant taste on your weapons."

She remained silent trying to process the things he just said. What was he talking about?

"I feel like this is not the time to make jokes."

His look instantly darkened and she instinctively took one small step back before watching him turn his back on her and walking towards the balcony of the ship.

"I do not joke. I simply stated my admiration towards your effort to create this kind of art. Now, if you don't want to die here as you previously stated, I suggest you follow me to this small boat outside. The ship shall sink soon."

Nodding hesitantly, she followed him outside where a wooden boat was already prepared for them. She jumped in taking only the necessary belongings she possessed and observed him as he did the same, slowly descending the boat towards the dark midnight ocean.
As the boat moved further away, she watched as the ship was now engulfed in flames, caused by Jhin's explosive bullets, and sinking deep into the ocean along with every proof that the present night ever happened.

"Once we arrive in Noxus we are going to visit some old acquaintances. The only issue is that they hate me and in order to make a necessary deal with them, I'd like you to be the negotiator."

She blinked at him before tilting her head in a questioning way.

"Aren't you always the one who is better at smooth talking? Why should I do it this time?"

His gaze was now on her, a serious look in his eyes.

"We are visiting a family of assassins. If there is one thing you should know about people occupied in this 'industry' is that we thoroughly hate each other. We tend to prefer blunt, honest and straightforward people like yourself. Besides, this old acquaintance of mine is an expert on daggers. She would take up the challenge of teaching you for a week in exchange of information. She never steps out of a good deal."

Arwen looked at him with her eyes open wide almost ready to yell at him but she managed to keep her composure and answered.

"You want me to negotiate with a woman who would not hesitate to kill me in my sleep? And make her tutor me about daggers above everything else? I don't know if it is possible."

He shook his head in a disapproving way and moved his gaze towards the now visible Noxian port.

"Arwen." he begun with a low voice, "If your will to live is as grand as it seemed to be back on the ship you will use anybody to make it alive; even me. Now you are given a chance to learn not only self defense but engaging in a fight as well. Like I said, do not miss it. The dawn is near and we'll reach the port once the sun is up. Think about my suggestion."

She nodded before moving her gaze to the blinding lights of the Noxian port, thinking about all the adventures that awaited her in the morning.

Author's Note (2): Hm, I wonder which prestigious Noxian family of assassins is going to make a cameo next chapter! (wink wink) Hopefully it will be out before June ends. Lastly, I'd like to use this chance to say thank you to everyone who's been supporting the story so far! You guys keep me 100% motivated to continue this! Please don't forget to review, follow and favourite if you haven't already. See you soon! xx