Even after yesterday's fiasco, Fleur de Lis was being given a second chance. Instead of coming home a little after midnight, like she'd told her employer, she was held up in the hospital with a head injury. Normally such a screw up would mean she would be replaced on the spot; her employer, on Mr. Fancy Pants, insisted she stay. After spending a full day with him in his estate and familiarizing herself with the grounds, la Fleur could honestly say she was glad she hadn't left.

Fancy Pants the appointed "Most important pony in Canterlot" was truly a delight to work with. Both as a pony and her charge. She wasn't so much dazzled by his admittedly great charisma, simply found him very acommidating to her mode of operation.

Try as she might though, even with all she was doing to prepare the house, a nagging thought of the shy colt Silver Leaf stayed with the otherwise focused mare. As much as she wanted to go and apologize, her personal life was now a thing of the past. That and she was somewhat convinced that Silver Leaf would be even more afraid to be near her than he had been before last night.

Because of the difference in social standing between the young pony and her employer, her hopes of crossing paths with Silver Leaf were significantly dimmed.

Fancy Pants commented once or twice on her seemingly aloof gaze, she dismissed it as her wound acting up. A lie she could tell Fancy Pants didn't buy; he held is tongue on the issue nonetheless.

It was 8 p.m. by the time Fleur de Lis was satisfied the house was impervious to the average intruder, or would shortly be made so partially at her company's expense. Where physical means of preventing entry were mostly impossible several layers of warding magics were placed. Several different spells were put in place twice in each instance; Fleur de Lis did the first, followed by an overlapping spell by Fancy Pants. She'd had to teach him most of the spells, and she was pleased to see he was a quick study in intermediate magics. The primary wards were there alert the caster of anyone other than the caster who passed within a few feet of the rune. The rest were merely there to hinder intruders until someone could respond. She'd briefly thought about using slightly more lethal spells, but when she'd presented the thought to Fancy Pants he'd dismissed it immediately as unnecessary.

Despite the distracting thought it had been a very pleasant day, one she hoped to repeat several times. Though working with the contractors tomorrow to put in more resilient windows was sure to be a detractor from any pleasantness, she was sure she could make it work.

After a light dinner and a few more words traded with Fancy Pants, Fleur de Lis found her way to an unfamiliar bed that was hers for the first time tonight, and would be for many nights to come.

Late into the night, how late she could not tell, Fleur de Lis felt a tingling sensation in her horn. It was more than enough to rouse her from her sleep.

It's tingling because... because... She tried to string together thoughts through the haze of sleep. Adrenaline suddenly shot through her body and she bolted upright, and in mid air as she said "The wards!"

As gracefully as she could Fleur de Lis landed on all four hooves, clumsily as the adrenaline kicking through her system washed away the sleepiness. Her door swung open and she was out in the hall in time to see Fancy Pants coming out of his room much the same way.

"A basement window." La Fleur stated as she nodded in the weary stallion's direction. He'd made remarkable time getting out of bed, but he was clearly not the kind to be ready for a fight at a moment's notice.

"Right, should I-"

"Stay near me, and keep as quiet as possible." This was her area of expertise. She was in charge now, and her tone cut through Fancy's own sleepy haze and suddenly he was wide awake.

Fancy Pants, now truly aware of the situation, looked nervous. Something Fleur de Lis had never seen before. He nodded and fell in step behind his bodyguard as she stepped very carefully down the stairs. He mimicked her as best he could, but of course he was considerably heavier than the slender mare.

He wasn't quiet enough for Fleur's liking so the moment they were both at the foot of the stairs she wheeled around and looked him straight in the eye.

Her direct gaze was assisted by the soft pink glow of her horn as she whispered, "I need you to focus Fancy, you're going to be fine." Her words were carried along with a small enchantment spell that would at least temporarily calm his nerves.

He nodded again, more confidently. He dared not speak, because he knew his voice would carry in the house.

They made their way through the house down the stairs to the basement. It was an open doorway into the basement, without an actual door. Another thing that was to be fixed tomorrow.

Fleur de Lis stopped short of the doorway, and Fancy Pants followed suit. Her ears swiveled back and forth to try and locate the intruder as she turned to look back at her charge. He had an uncharacteristically determined look instead of his usual inquisitive indifference. No doubt a consequence of the enchantment. She was going to have to discuss with him how to handle situations like this in the future. As well as get actual permission to use compulsory magic on him when needed. She'd taken a slight liberty in using the spell in the first place. She expected some forgiveness after this was over.

From somewhere in the basement came a series of shuffling sounds followed by the clacking of something solid against the stone.

La Fleur's brow knitted together in concentration as she tried to discern what would make such a noise. If it was something walking it wasn't equine or quadrapedal. A minotaur would never have fit through the window. Were it so inclined it might be able to break down the wall, but that would've made a noise far too loud to be ignored the next block over. Another look back to Fancy Pants told her that he'd heard the sound too, but had just as many answers as she did.

Silently la Fleur raised a hoof while looking at Fancy Pants. She brought it down with the well manicured edge pointing down, without touching the floor. She waited for a moment before Fancy Pants nodded and slowly sat down. She pointed to her ear and the into the room before moving forward.

Her horn was glowing again, the light it shed was similar to the light of a single distant star. It didn't help her see any better but it kept her hooves from making a sound. A spell for sneaking practiced many times over, the amount of magic needed to maintain it was very much the same as the light her horn produced; minuscule.

No more than a couple yards in to the substantial basement she froze. Her earlier assessment of the intruder's gait was off. It was a quadruped, and part of it's walk was very well padded, in addition to the clacking of what she determined to be talons. A gryphon.

Now every one of the intruder's steps made her cringe slightly as she moved through the rows of shelves filled with assorted collections. She'd believed she had the superior force if absolutely needed to take on a single intruder. Before her initial assessment she knew she could take on a single pony with Fancy Pants as back up if things went horrifically wrong. Assuming a biped, she didn't know what to expect and left Fancy Pants out of it completely; he would be able to run for help if nothing else. A gryphon was not something she wanted to engage in close quarters; not in conversation nor physically.

Fleur de Lis knew a gryphon that worked as a bodyguard. His gruff attituded with employers and extreme measures of protection lost him several jobs, but he almost always garunteed no one would approach his ex-clients with hostile intent for fear he was still around. Most of his service records involved physical altercations that were barely inside the bounds for a response of "overwhelming force." She thought of him now, because he'd convinced her he was one of the nice ones.

As she neared the source of the noise, through a labyrinthine series of shelves as opposed to the neat rows elsewhere in the basement, she wished she'd sent Fancy Pants to fetch some guards. If she took her time perhaps he would do so anyways. She could only hope. At last she peaked around the corner and spotted the intruder.

It was in fact a gryphon. A gryphoness to be exact her, plumage had a coloration that Fleur de Lis could not discern in the glow of the moon. . As la Fleur spotted her she was standing on her hindlegs, staring at a chart while carefully marking the wall with chalk on a bare spot of wall. Previously boxes had been stacked up in the corner of the room where she worked, which explained the shuffling from earlier. Many things started to click into place for Fleur de Lis, but what she was chalking onto the wall baffled her. They appeared to be an arcane diagram for a spell she was unfamiliar with. It appeared to be a little under half way done and it was vast and extremely complicated. She could deal with the symbols after the gryphon was out of the way. Just as Fleur was about to act out a plan that was slowly forming in her head she froze again.

On the gryphon's arm were a series of colored bands some multicolored others a single solid color. A gryphon tradition she remembered being taught by her colleague. They were trophies, of kills. To a gryphon nothing less than a kill warranted taking a trophy. All of them were bands of ponies' tails. How many she dare not count for fear of losing her nerve.

Upon further examination she realized something that made her shudder. The chalk the gryphon used to write the arcane symbols was wide where she gripped it and featured a singular spiral pattern. A severed unicorn horn. A twinge of sympathetic pain sped through her own horn, but she kept her focus. This gryphon was a hardened murderer. She steeled herself to approach the intruder hoping that she could talk the gryphon down loudly enough for Fancy to hear so he would fetch the guard. Any altercation with the gryphon would result in a serious injury at least.

"See something you like?" The gryphon asked without shifting her position. Her voice was gruff, but undeniably feminine

Fleur de Lis looked up and realized her mistake far too late for the knowledge to help her. The gryphon's back was not completely turned to la Fleur, and as she examined the paper she held, she did not need to turn her head at all to be able to see the mare's head poking around the corner. Fleur de Lis was speechless.

"I know I do." The gryphon continued, looking fully between her work and back to Fleur de Lis. Seemingly satisfied she put the paper and "chalk" on the floor and stretched out her limbs. Her movements reminded the found-out mare that the gryphon was a truly powerful predator. Her wingspan dwarfed that of any pegasus she'd ever met. Her talons sharp enough to rend flesh and bone with little resistance. The simple act of stretching was a show of power.

Having been caught Fleur moved away from her cover, and for a moment neither gryphon nor pony moved; save for the eyes traveling up and down the others body to size up their potential opponent. It seemed the gryphon wasn't willing to take the slender mare as a true combatant and instead eyed her in a way that Fleur de Lis was all to familiar with. The thought of not being taken seriously gave mare hope of a solid surprise attack and disheartened her at the same time. The gryphons confidence in herself was likely not misplaced. She held onto the hope though, as she knew underestimating any opponent was a sign of some overconfidence.

After a few more drawn out moments of examination, the gryphoness settled onto all fours and smirked.

"Why don't you give me a once around." She said it as a command rather than a request.

La Fleur didn't budge, not to obey or attack. She simply stood there, with as impassive a look as she could muster. Given the circumstance her lips may have curled into a slight from; which did little to betray the trepidation she felt about being in this situation.

"How about this then: You do a little twirl, maybe let me get a peak under that silky tail of yours, and I won't cut you open and hang you up by your entrails till morning?" The gryphon shifted into a pouncing pose, fully ready to make good on the less appealing side of the deal.

"Why are you-" Fleur de Lis began, but was quickly interrupted.

"Shh sh shhh. Turn in place and then I'll answer questions."

With a look of absolute resentment Fleur de Lis did a practiced twirl in place. It was apparently to quick for the sly gryphon's liking.

"Again. Slower." She commanded sitting to enjoy the show. She knew she had the mare's cooperation for the moment.

Reluctantly la Fleur spun in a much slower circle. The moment she was faced away from the gryphon she was commanded to stop.

"The tail?"

Fleur de Lis shot the gryphon a bored, questioning look. Her face had initially been a scowl of utter resentment, but she switched it to maintain her calm appearance.

The gryphon crossed her arms and waited, giving no room for other options.

Slowly she lifted her tail to the side. She wasn't embarrased or humiliated by the action like some mares were. On a windy day a pony's tail could get away from them and put their "hidden treasures" on display. The fact that she was being more or less forced to frustrated her to no end. As soon as her tail settled over her back the gryphon made a short strained noise and the clack of talons on stone clued Fleur de Lis in.

In a swift motion she bucked her hindlegs out and up at where she knew the gryphon would be. She may not have had accuracy or sight on her side, but she didn't need it to strike such a large airborne target. Her hooves connected as she turned her head. She'd struck the gryphon in the sternum.

The look on the female gryphon's face was one of realization that likely struck the same time la Fleur's hooves did. Her opponent wasn't big, so she must be fast.

Fleur de Lis's first blow was a short lived victory as the winded projectile of a gryphon landed on her. Likely not the way the gryphoness intended, but she still had the mare partially pinned. Fleur de Lis scrambled to get away from the gryphon while she could, but already felt her attacker's grip around her left hind leg.

"You dumb whore." The gryphon wheezed. "I thought you'd at least be smart enough not to fight back."

La Fleur managed to slip away from the gryphon as she recovered. Turning around to face her once again she saw the devilish glint in her opponent's eyes. In an excellent display of a gryphon's fortitude she had already recovered from a blow that would've downed a lesser creature for at least a minute.

"I'm no whore." Fleur de Lis stated simply as her horn began to glow steadily brighter.

"That's too bad, I was looking for a good time too. Is that Fancy Pants guy still passed out upstairs?"

"You mistake my presence here." Fleur retorted snappily, "I'm a bodyguard."

The air around them became flooded with a bright pink light that vanished as suddenly as it appeared. Fleur de Lis was visible as a transparent outline of herself. The gryphon leapt for her prey and passed right through her ethereal form. Fleur de Lis dashed through several shelves, passing through them unhindered.

Once she was safely away her body became corporeal again and she started breathing heavily from the strain of her spell. Two deep breaths and she had steadied herself enough to become quieter. She listened for the gryphon who was certainly stalking through the maze of shelves. Already she could feel the sweat drying on her body. She was in it now, her comfort zone; the fact that she was most comfortable when her life was threatened always made her smile.

The tell-tale sound of talons on stone drew steadily closer. Expecting the gryphoness would sniff her out shortly, Fleur de Lis readied a very forceful spell that illuminated her position. The clicking picked up in speed as her horn glowed, and the gryphon charged around the corner partially airborne.

"Gotcha!" She roared just as la Fleur unleashed her spell.

A bright pink bolt of magic in the form of an armored hoof impacted the gryphon's throat. The gryphon crashed into the shelf behind Fleur de Lis as she dodged to this side.

The gryphon staggered to all fours and immediately began clutching at her throat, signalling to Fleur de Lis that her windpipe had likely been crushed. Pressing her advantage she felt out with her magic for anything that could be used to tie up her stunned opponent with, and found several suitable materials within reach of her levitation. In short order the gryphon was tied, still suffocating from the blow to her throat. Even at death's door the gryphon managed to remain menacing as she was bound.

Only once her opponent was tied up six ways from Sunday, did Fleur set about repairing the gryphon's crushed windpipe. With her magic she reset the damaged muscle allowing for very shallow breathing.

The gryphon, at the verge of unconsciouness began writhing against the multitude of clothes and ropes at the very uncomfortable sensation of her throat being magically manipulated, and the burning pain of oxygen suddenly allowed back into her body. She wanted desperately to clutch her head, but was held in check by her bonds.

"I will eat you alive!" The gryphon shouted, using up what little air she'd managed to take in. She started panting from the exertion.

"I have no doubt you'll try. Before the guards come to haul you away though you'll answer some of my questions."

"Bite m-" A lance of pain shot through the gryphon's left wing, halting her speech and setting her back to panting again.

"For every answer I don't like I take three of your primaries." This stopped the gryphon's struggling for a moment.

"What kind of pony are you? I can almost respect you, just for that."

"I don't want your respect." Fleur de Lis said coldly. A constant soft light began emanating from her horn.

Three feathers hung in the air before the gryphon, and she felt a light pressure on both her wings. She wiggled into a slightly more upright position and tried to fake calmness with a slight grin.

"First question: What were you doing down here?"

The gryphon opened her beak and closed it several times, trying to find a way to answer the question in a way that wouldn't lose her more feathers.

"I was doing a job for someone?" She tried, more as a question of whether or not that was adequate.

Fleur de Lis smiled as the expression on the gryphon's face was one of fear; she had her opponent under her hoof.

"Who?"

"You know I'm not going to tell you." The gryphon said flatly, followed by a grunt of pain as three knew feathers joined the three already hanging in the air.

"I suppose not. Third question: How did you complete so much of such a complex arcane script so quickly. That was too accurate to have been done in the time it took me to get down here."

"You're right," The gryphon confirmed quietly. "I've been at this for a month or so now. Slipping in and out unnoticed.to do my work. Then one night, some slim piece of flank waltzes in and interrupts me."

Fleur de Lis rolled her eyes at the "compliment" and continued her questioning.

"What is the spell for?"

"It's some kind of portal. I was told it was two-way from some place really far away." No feathers lost. At this point the captured gryphon began to visibly relax.

"Are you-" La Fleur's ears perked up as the sound of armored bodies moving through the basement caught her attention.

An orb of light floated from Fleur's horn up to the ceiling to guide the guards.

"Do you have any allies to continue your work?"

The gryphon snapped her beak shut. The astoundingly mean pony couldn't keep this up once the guards arrived.

"Answer me or you'll be bald by the time they get here to take you away."

Pain shot through the gryphon's entire body in half second intervals steadily increasing in severity. After only a few moments her silence was broken.

"We work independently, if one fails others will continue their own work!" She said it much louder than she meant to.

The pain suddenly stopped. Hanging all around her were feathers and patches of bloody fur.

"You can't actually be a pony, there's no way a pony would do this." She said in exasperation as the last of the throbbing pain died away.

"Only in dire circumstances would I every do this to a living creature. It's easy enough to imagine though, isn't it?" Fleur de Lis said with a tired chuckle.

The feathers and fur vanished, as did any remaining traces of the pain the gryphon felt. Her wings were untouched her fur was only a little damp from sweat. She was unharmed.

Fleur de Lis looked tired. Her body glistened with sweat in the pale moonlight that shown into the basement. As several guards rounded the corner into the small space she fell back on her haunches and let out a long sigh of relief. She ran a hoof through her mane and grimaced at how frayed it felt.

"Ma'am?" One of the guards spoke up.

"Take her away. I'll tell you what I know."

Two of the guards moved forward, then backed away unsurely. Even while bound the gryphoness was an imposing figure. They nodded to each other, before one of them approached her quickly. The other followed behind with his horn glowing, and the gryhpon was quickly immobilized. The closer guard checked her current restrains and added cuffs to the ensemble.

"Fleur?" Came the concerned voice of Fancy Pants.

With an exaggerated sigh she responded, "Didn't I tell you to stay put?"

"I felt the need to do something. I'm sor-"

"Don't be. If you followed everything I said to the letter we might both end up paying for my lack of foresight. You did exactly what I hoped you'd do."

The gryphon floated by Fleur de Lis with a slightly haunted look about her.

"That was fake?" She asked with uncertainty.

"All in our imagination." She replied with a nod. At her response the guards halted the gryphon's passage.

"That's a pretty twisted imagination you've got for a pony. Ever taken a life?" All eyes turned to the mare with a morbid curiosity.

Fleur's expression became hard to read as a storm of mixed feelings overcame her. "I never got your name." She said calmly.

"Shriek." The gryphoness said shortly.

"I have." Fleur de Lis answered just as curtly. The guards took the hint that la Fleur was done and continued carrying Shriek away.

She turned to the remaining guard.

"Can I answer questions tomorrow?" To emphasize her point she yawned widely and sagged to show how tired she felt. The post adrenaline high was quickly giving way to exhaustion.

"Y-yes ma'am, there will be an investigation team tomorrow. You can answer their questions." The guard was clearly shaken by the prospect of the slender mare having killed before.

Fleur de Lis shook her head as she thought about all the guards who'd likely never been in a proper fight before.

"The gryphon is a practiced killer, handle her very carefully." She warned.

The guard nodded quickly, before turning to leave. Fancy Pants cleared his throat as the last guard retreated to follow his comrades.

"Is this going to happen again?" He said as though this were simply a nuisance. This wasn't the same nervous wreck of a stallion she'd had to enchant upstairs.

"No this won't. Although she wasn't after your life."

"That's both troubling to hear and a relief. I suppose I should let you rest though. Thank you."

"It is my job after all." She said bemusidly as she moved past him.

Back upstairs Fleur de Lis barely managed to find her bed before sleep overtook her. Fancy Pants checked on her just before he returned to sleep. Carefully he moved her fully onto the bed and under the covers. The door to her room clicked closed without a sound.

Fancy Pant's felt his nerves skitter as he tried to fall back to sleep. Surely he was safe for now, but thoughts of what lie ahead lost him sleep through the night. Both Fleur de Lis and Fancy Pants eventually found themselves in a dreamless sleep that night.

The first rays of sunlight came far too early for either of their likings.

Author's Note

Leave a comment telling me how much you hated the wait, unless you're a new reader. If you are new then tell me how hyped you are or aren't.