I sweep Thar's legs out from under him with my sword. "Again!" I shout, watching him hit the ground as the hot sun beats down on us. Sweat drips down his face, it's been getting hotter lately.
"Nah, bro, I'm too exhausted to get back up", he groans, breathing heavily. I tilt my head. "Does that mean I win?" I raise my sword, but at the corner of my eyes, I catch a flicker of movement a knife heading my way. I narrowly dodge it.
"I could have died", I mutter as I see Thar smirk as he pushes himself up, and clinging to his sweaty back, "You and I know you wouldn't."
I roll my eyes sarcastically. "Oh, sure," I say, flicking my fingers as I swiftly send a fireball towards him, which he barely avoids. I watch as it bruises his arm, leaving a scorch mark on it.
"What the hell, man?" he snaps, glaring at me.
I smirk. "Not so nice, is it?"
Before he could have a chance to speak, a servant approaches us. I glance back at Thar. I guess our sparring session is over.
I walk, letting the servant lead me. As we reach the main door, the security guards open it. I see my father talking to his associates. When I step inside, the room goes silent; all eyes are on me. I sighed softly. It's always like this. Perhaps it's because I'm not wearing a shirt, which Thar ripped apart earlier.
"Father, you asked to see me?" I catch a flicker of disdain in his eyes before his expression settles into one that is cold and indifferent.
"Yes, I did. There's a matter that urgently needs my attention, but I'm sure you can handle it. There has been a situation in Mondaline, 30 people were killed in one night. I need you to investigate," he says, flicking his hand dismissively. This type of violence had occurred frequently in Mondaline, a place my father never cared for. But now that he's asking me to deal with it, it must involve someone important.
It's always commands. I've been trained more like a weapon than an heir, which makes me doubt whether I'll ever truly be one. I always end up doing his job for him. Sometimes I wonder if he has grown rusty or simply cannot be bothered to deal with trivial matters of state, especially given that Mondaline is a city of no power. It's not far from here, but there is a great difference between us.
As I walk out, I bump into Thar.
"What was that about?" he asks.
"Just a matter I have to take care of in Mondaline," I reply. I notice the spark of excitement in his eyes; unlike me, Thar cares about the people of Mondaline. I have no idea what interests him about them, perhaps their unique features, but he knows more about them than half of the city does. Somehow, he is aware of every situation before it reaches my ears, probably due to his close relationship with my father.
"Oh, is it about the latest incident? When are you leaving?" I frown, and his brow furrows in response.
"I'll leave tomorrow, although it seems you have much to say," I say. A small smile creeps across his lips as he waves his hand and walks away. I sigh and follow him.
We reach a small room filled with scattered books and loose papers. Thar opens a battered door that looks like it might fall apart. The room is dusty and old; I cough slightly as I adjust my eyes to the dim light. My gaze is drawn to a table covered with flyers, a map, and various documents. What has he been doing here all this time?
"I've looked into this case as well as the previous one, and I've discovered a lot," he says, pointing to a board pinned with several papers. "First of all, only relevant people have been attacked, which suggests that whoever is behind this is searching for specific information. Secondly, they are very skilled."
I nod, nudging him to continue. "Thirdly, they kill in a pattern and never let a witness leave. But she makes one mistake." I could easily guess what he meant: CCTV cameras. "CCTV cameras," I replied.
"They have no idea about this. It seems they are not very educated. Although they are really fast, I managed to get pictures, which might help you, and it leads back to a lady with white hair." I squinted my eyes at the black and white picture displayed before me her face although not visible, I could see her white hair and it was fasinating enough for me not to blink, "her hair is rare or so i think, it would not be hard to catch her but bring her back safely, she looks perfect, also giving that she killed 30 people in one night she is a hard bargining chip and not someone easy to mess with and if she is as uneducated as we guess, it should not be hard to use it to our advantage, so I must warn you it is not gonna be as easy as you think", I roll my eyes at his comment he was way more perverted than me, although i could understand, white hair was not common espectially not in this city.
I look at Thar. "The Mondaline do not like us, especially not me or this family. What do you think I should wear to blend in?" Thar's eyes widen for a moment. "I think at this moment, you're acting dumber than me. What do you think—if not a commoner's outfit?"
I frown. If I wasn't trying to be discreet, I wouldn't care if they recognized me or not. "I'll go sharpen my sword, then."
Thar's eyes widen in alarm. "No, you cannot! A sword is seen as treason."
I raise an eyebrow at his words. "How can a sword be treason?"
Thar leans closer to me, whispering into my ear, making me nearly drop the picture I was holding.