Ace, the Magic Blade

"Ace?" Venus said with genuine surprise.

Standing in her doorway was a tall, handsome man. His hair hung loose to almost his shoulders and although he was muscular and masculine, he was in an altogether unmanly pose. He flinched backwards and his hands were thrown up defensively in front of his face but it didn't hide his eyes, which were wide in shock.

"Dammit, Venus! Do you do that to everyone who knocks on your door?!" Ace angrily spoke as he composed himself. "Why can't you just say hello to me like a normal person? I'd ask you how you've been, but I can already see that you're looking..." He continued his rant until he froze mid-sentence. His mouth still open, his gaze began to travel downwards from Venus' face down to the rest of her body, which was clothed only in a thin shirt and panties.

Ace finally closed his mouth and swallowed. "...good. You're looking real good."

Venus sighed and rolled her eyes. She put down her knife and beckoned him inside, ignoring the sidelong glances Ace made towards her lower regions. When she heard Ace close the door behind him and she felt they were deep enough in the room, Venus swiveled around and set her feet.

"Why are you here, Ace?" Venus folded her arms underneath her breasts and stubbornly refused to put on any more clothes, lest he get more opportunities to leer at her. "I'm sure you didn't just come by to knock on my door and admire my bum."

Ace smiled sheepishly and conceded her point. "There was a letter for you. Since I was available and in the area, I was drafted into playing messenger-boy." He said, holding out a strip of paper that was folded neatly into an envelope.

"A letter? From who?"

Ace kept quiet, but from his stern expression Venus could deduce that whoever it was, this was an important letter. Narrowing her eyes suspiciously, Venus took the message from him.

Turning away so he couldn't spy on her, Venus walked a few paces towards one corner of the room and cautiously looked at the missive. On brief inspection, the front of the letter was bleached white and, in neat writing, had the words 'To Venus' written on it. On the back was a seal stamped in red wax. The symbol imprinted on it was of a single rose, surrounded by a field of blades. It was the official seal of the head of the Shadow Hunters, Master Yorin.

Venus' heart nearly leapt into her throat. She quickly looked over her shoulder at Ace, but he gazing around the room and wasn't paying attention to her. How could this be? LaSalle's words rang again inside her head. Willing her hands to stop their shaking, Venus reached out and broke the seal. She unfolded the letter and began reading.

     Venus,

     How have you been, my child? I know it
     has been years since we last spoke, but
     I still remember when Tychus first 
     brought you in to see me. A little girl, 
     so frightened and yet brave enough to
     speak the words and swear to fight
     against the Shadows.     

     When you have time, I was hoping that
     you can come to Regis so we can chat
     about old times. Hopefully soon.

     Yorin

That was it. She exhaled in relief. No mention of any missions or dire warnings. Just a simple courtesy letter. But it was true that they had not spoken for years and it felt like this came too suddenly to be a coincidence.

Tapping the letter absentmindedly against her fingers, Venus wondered silently what she was going to do.