He was one of many men asked to come to this foreign city for a special job. A powerful foreign ruler had organised for a group of specialists to watch over the castle, to study the day to day routines of those employed there, and to search for any weaknesses in it's defence. 

So there he was, sat in his 3rd story room, peering through his window that overlooked one of the side entrances of the castles walls. The night air had become a little chilly, so he had wrapped his shawl around his shoulders as he sat in his wooden chair, taking slow, steady puffs on his pipe, the burning tobacco lighting his face as he did. And that's when it happened, a small figure shot out from the gatehouse he was assigned to overlook, the person was in a rush, but the way they moved, it was certainly no messenger or person from the military. This peaked his interest. Waking his colleague, he explained that he had something to do, and that he needed him to take his place at the window.

The shadowy man had been following the girl for quite some time now. She was obviously trying to hide her identity, and for good reason, this was the Princess Evangeline. As hard as she was trying to hide her face, her stalker was trained to keep a sharp eye, and this girl was no professional at disguise. He had seen her in a picture that he was given when he had been briefed on this assignment. He kept far behind her, hidden in the shadows, so as not to arouse her suspicions, or blow his cover, but fortunately she seemed far too preoccupied by something else, and suddenly all that the man could think of was how much money he'd get if he brought in the Princess to his superiors. This slack in attention proved to be his downfall as the Princess suddenly turned and saw him as he lingered under one of the lamps, lost in his thoughts of riches. [i]Damn.[/i] He thought as he saw the look of surprise on the girls face, just before she started moving faster than before. He quickened his pace, he could quickly catch her if he needed to, but there were still a few people in the streets and he wanted to avoid a scene if he could, a recent string of murders in the city had almost the whole populace on a state of alert. It was if Lady Luck had heard his prayers and suddenly bestowed him with great fortune, as he noticed the Princess enter a very dark alleyway. An evil grin spread on his face. Maybe he could have a little fun before returning with [i]Her Majesty[/i].

He entered the alleyway, slowly. He heard a gentle sobbing coming from far in front of him. It was dark, but he could just about make out where she was, it wasn't his first time hunting prey. Step by step he could feel the presence of his trophy nearing his reach.

"Princess, I know you're there. Why don't you come here. Come to me. I promise I won't hurt you, I just want to talk to you."

He probed the darkness with his hands, the alley was nearing it's end and he suddenly felt very excited. Suddenly, he felt something soft under his touch, a cloth of sorts.

"Ha. There you are, you little wretch. Time for us to become better acquainted."

"You know, sir. I think I would enjoy that very much. Although, I am afraid to say, that you would not."

A flash of confusion flashed through the hired goons body, like someone had dropped a bucket of cold water over him from above. That voice was definitely not that of a girl, no, it was the voice of a man, of someone who was filled with confidence.

"Who are--"

He tried to finish his sentence but a cold hand was wrapped around his throat, it wasn't tight, but he felt the strength leave his body. He felt a breath flow across his ear and his body went cold, then came the last thing he'd hear, a quiet whisper.

"My name is Azrael, and I am your end."

And then, the man went limp, the strangers hand let him go, and he sank to the floor.

Turning, he walked toward the girl, it seemed she may have heard the foreigners words, but had not worked out what else had happened after that. Although Azrael could see in the dark as well as anyone could see in the day, he knew that the girl could likely not pick him out in the shrouded alleyway. He edged nearer to her, aware of how frightened she may now be.

"Do not be frightened, little one. I saw your plight as I was travelling past and I could not of sat idly by and let you be harassed by that man. Please, I mean you no harm, are you okay? One moment, let me reveal myself..."

He trailed off as he felt in his pocket for his book of matches. He broke off a match from the inside, flipped the book, and with a single strike, lit the match. He held the match between his thumb and forefinger and lifted it to his face. The light flickered against his pale features. His skin was almost the same shade as the moon, although it had now received a faint orange glow from the flame. He peered at the girl, who was now no more than a few feet away from him, through his dark maroon coloured eyes, almost as dark as the blood that flowed through his very veins. His short blonde hair swept across his forehead, cutting short just above his right eye. Just barely visibly in the light was a small black crucifix earring in his left ear lobe.

"Good evening, miss. I am Azrael, would you like me to escort you home perhaps?"