Talwar and Khanda--Assassins in Love

by Barbara G. Tarn

  "I see, the tigress is still untamed."

  He was damn fast. And much stronger than her. He grabbed her wrist and squeezed, making her drop her weapon. Then he pulled her into his arms, and tried to kiss her.

  "I will have you," he said to her ear, his hands squeezing her body. "I will make you pregnant, so you'll have to marry me!"

  "Let me go!" She tried vainly to get rid of his hands and lips. "Khopesh, let me go!"

  "Quiet, kitten! I'll tame you," he retorted before closing her mouth with a disgusting kiss. She wanted to scratch his face and bite him, but he held her too tight.

  "If you do this, I'll kill you, Khopesh!" she warned.

  "And then what, kill yourself out of shame?" His mocking laughter was the worst sound she'd ever heard. "You will be mine, Khanda, whether you want it or not!"

  ***

  Talwar stopped at Rahul's house and it was another happy reunion with his second sparring partner – this time at the fighting monks' school. Rahul was indeed getting married in a few days and he invited Ajay to the banquet.

  Outside of the Guild, he was still Ajay, and it felt good. Maybe he should give up the assassin's name and pick up some other trade. Rahul could probably help him to fit in with the merchant class even though he was supposedly a warrior and a nobleman.

  Still smiling, Talwar headed back to the palace. Hopefully his father would come soon and he'd ask for Khanda's hand. Once they were husband and wife, they'd decide what to call each other, and where to live.

  As he headed for the upper floor to put the pole-arm in his room, he heard sounds coming from the inner garden. Khanda raising her voice and slapping someone. And then Khopesh's threatening whisper.

  Talwar stopped and listened. They were definitely fighting. He changed direction and went to the inner garden, stopping at the door.

  Khanda was in front of the fountain, struggling against Khopesh. He had obviously taken all her secret weapons – her dagger lay on the ground – and was trying to force himself on her. To her credit, Khanda wasn't screaming for help, but Talwar didn't think she could stop his cousin.

  He stepped into the garden, squeezing the shaft of his weapon and gritting his teeth.

  "Let her go!" he ordered.

  Khopesh stopped trying to kiss her and rip her bodice off to glare at him.

  "Get out of here, Ajay. I told you she's mine."

  "I'm not yours!" Khanda struggled again and slapped him.

  Khopesh held her even tighter, so Talwar whirled his pole-arm and hit his cousin in the back with the shaft, not the blade. Khopesh groaned and scowled at him. He let go of Khanda and pulled out his double-bladed katar.

  "Get out of here, Ajay!" he repeated threateningly.

  "My name is Talwar. And she doesn't want you to touch her."

  Khopesh swung his arm with a scream of anger, but Talwar jumped back. Instead of using the blade, he used the bottom of the pole-arm to thrust.

  "Tum zinda ho!" he whispered, activating the spell of the seal of the Goddess Zindagi.

  Khopesh screamed in pain, thrown back by the green magic flame of the seal. He fell on his back and shivered uncontrollably before passing out. Talwar saw that his cousin's tunic was burned and that his skin was marked by the seal of Zindagi, a burning scar that would never allow him to forget.

  Khanda had gasped when Khopesh had been hit, but she recovered first. She grabbed Talwar's wrist with both hands and shook him.

  "Let's get out of here, quickly!" She picked up her dagger from the floor and they rushed out of the garden and the palace. "What did you just do?" she asked, worried, as they mixed with the crowd in the paved streets of Agharek.

  "I went back to the monastery to say good-bye to my teachers and the abbot thought I deserved to take the pole-arm with me, even though I'm an assassin," he answered, still breathless. "The seal of Zindagi doesn't kill. Khopesh will have a scar to remind him that no means no."

  "He's not dead?" she insisted.

  "No, but the spell hurts more than the scarification rite, obviously..."

  "Then we must leave this place," she said, determined, stopping to look him in the eyes. "He will never forgive you, and will make our life miserable. Even if your father and mine agree to our wedding, he'll do everything in his power to destroy us."

  "I was thinking we should move away from Agharek anyway," he said. "But I hoped we could do it with our parents' blessing." He sighed. "I guess it's not meant to be. Are you still willing to follow me wherever I go?"

  Her smile dazzled him. "Yes, Talwar. I'm yours and I will follow you wherever you go."

  "I love you, Khanda," he whispered before briefly kissing her. There was no time for this right now. They had to get out of town before Khopesh came to his senses and the search started.

  Khanjar couldn't believe his ears when he heard what happened, but had no suggestions on what to do next. Again he proved to be a member of the Guild to the bone when he said he'd never dare to do such a thing.

  "I mean, hitting Khopesh! I know he's your cousin, but he's the son of the Head of the Guild! He's an arrogant bastard who will come after you with all his means! How will you outrun him?"

  "I appreciate your worry, but it's not helping," Talwar snapped. "Come, Khanda, let's try someone else."

  Rahul proved more useful. He was a merchant's son and gave them all the money he could spare, since neither could go back and get their belongings. Then he sent them to the pier where his father had a ship ready to go upriver to the town of Lakresha. Rahul's money allowed them to pay for passage, hence they sat onboard the river barge while the rowers pushed it in the current and started rowing against it.

  Talwar took the blade off the pole-arm. The shaft looked like a walking stick and he could hide the blade in a travel bag when they managed to get one. Maybe in Lakresha he could convince his uncle to give him some travel gear, if he found a good excuse to show up at his door. Talwar frowned, worried, trying to come up with a good lie – something he wasn't very good at.

  Khanda nestled against him as they watched the walls of Agharek vanishing in the distance. They had eloped together. Talwar never thought it would end like this. He knew his cousin wasn't dead, and that he'd want revenge. He and Khanda must go far away. Then he could defend life like he'd promised the abbot. And be with the woman he loved.

  Her warm body against him helped him relax as the white walls faded away with another piece of his life. Time to start a new chapter. And with Khanda by his side, everything was possible.

  6.

  It was only later that night, when they lay side by side in the room of an inn on the river shore, that they spoke about what had happened. The rowers slept in a common room, but the few other passengers, like them, had requested private rooms.

  Talwar had been given the key to a small room that barely contained the double bed, and they retired there immediately after the dinner of fish and vegetables that would have left him hungry if his stomach weren't tied into a knot.

  The enormity of what they had done had sunk in, and he wasn't sure running away had been a good idea after all. Maybe he should have confronted Khopesh and their fathers, and fought for his love. Maybe he should have stood his ground, like he'd considered doing in the abbot's office.

  He had no idea why his elders still had such an influence on him, but he felt guilty for betraying his father's trust... forgetting his father had forced him to do things he didn't want to do. He understood a little better why Khanjar had hesitated in helping them, but still felt betrayed by his childhood friend.

  "Why were you still at the palace? I thought you'd gone back to your family," Talwar said, holding tightly to Khanda's warm body. Intimacy became easy as soon as they were alone in the small spartan room, but they hadn't taken their clothes off yet, since he thought she might still be upset by Khopesh's attempt. Her head on his chest was a very light weight that made his heart beat faster.

  "I had to tell Khopesh I didn't want to marry him," sh
e answered, frowning. "And that's when he decided he must have me at any cost. He said he'd make me pregnant so I'd have to marry him."

  "Bastard," he said through gritted teeth, squeezing her. "Taking your honor for his pleasure!"

  "He was always too sex-oriented for my tastes." She shrugged. "Some of my friends drooled over him, but I think he only considered them objects and used them for his own gratification. He wanted me because I never really fell for his so-called charm."

  "His ambition will be his downfall," he grumbled. How could anyone even think of soiling Khanda... He wondered if her training had prepared her to seduce her victims and how. He was almost certain that she was still a virgin.

  "Thank you for saving me from him." She smiled and squeezed him back. "My hero has come back just in time!"

  "I'm nobody's hero," he protested. "I failed the first mission and I'm reluctant to take more lives..."

  "And that's why I love you, Talwar. If we're not going to be assassins, do you want us to use our birth names?"

  He pondered. "I think we should keep our weapons' names," he said at last. "Because we're going against our own families and our traditions. Our life will be a constant war of self-defense, Khanda. And I'm happy you're as lethal as I am. We're both mighty swords, and I'm sure we can live long and happy with our skills, even away from our world."

  She grinned. "And I'm happy to become the wife of such an excellent warrior," she teased. "Who won't have to rescue me ever again, I promise!"

  "I'll rescue you anytime you need it," he assured her, amused. "But... you've lost your rights to dowry and should give up your ornaments."

  "I will sell what I have in Lakresha. The Assassins' Guild can send them back to my parents and we'll have money to continue our journey," Khanda answered with a shrug. "Where would you like to be married?"

  "I suppose Lakresha will do," he said, thoughtful. "My uncle is Head of the Guild, and hopefully he doesn't know about Khopesh yet. He might bless us before we leave again."

  "You're not planning on staying in Lakresha?"

  "No, Khopesh would find me easily there. What do you think of Argantael?"

  "It's a long and perilous journey..." She mused, then smiled at him. "But with you by my side I can climb that lone mountain in the desert and come back alive!"

  He chuckled. "You won't have to climb mountains, I promise," he said, kissing her forehead.

  She nestled more comfortably against him and he caressed her naked arm.

  "Khanda... about your first mission... can you talk about it?" he asked hesitantly.

  "If you want. I'll never hide anything from you, and besides, there isn't much to it. I was sent to seduce and kill. I danced, ensnared and strangled him with my noose. I doubt he saw it coming." Her voice was flat, she clearly hated the memory.

  "So he didn't touch you?" he asked.

  "He wasn't supposed to." She scoffed. "Of course he tried, but that didn't save him. If you're asking because you want to know if I'm still a worthy bride, yes, I am, because you stopped your cousin before he had his way. You know we belong to the first man who takes us."

  He didn't like that, but it was another reason not to follow tradition. Youngsters supposedly had their say in wedding matters, but if they dared to go against the family, they rarely found support.

  "Did you tell Khopesh why you didn't want to marry him?"

  "Gods no! He'd have come after you and then forced himself on me so I'd have no choice! He was mad because I didn't tell him his rival's name!"

  Talwar smiled and kissed her forehead.

  "My proud and courageous Khanda who almost got herself killed," he whispered tenderly.

  "Better dead than dishonored, right?" She moved her head to look him in the eyes and shot him an impish smile. "What about you, my shy Talwar? Did you have any... experience, or did the monks force you into abstinence?"

  Talwar chuckled. "It was impossible to keep a chastity vow when I was fifteen! The first two or three years I went with Rahul to a brothel every time we could get away from school!"

  "So you learned all the naughty stuff?" She sounded pleased.

  "Most of it." He smiled, then frowned again. "Was my wretched cousin's attempt enough to turn you off men?"

  She giggled.

  "No. I know you're very different from him. I know you'll never hurt me or force yourself on me. But I've dreamed of the perfect wedding and the following night and..."

  "And I will fulfill that dream," he promised. "I will not touch you until we're married."

  "So what are you doing right now?" she teased.

  "Cuddling?" He smiled. "You're right, we should get some sleep. Sweet dreams, Khanda."

  She gave him a peck on the cheek and rolled over the bed, hugging the pillow. Talwar blew out the lamp and waited in the dark until his arousal calmed down.

  He'd done the right thing. He'd have a lifetime with her, why rush things?

  ***

  Khanda felt as if a weight had been lifted off her chest. They were on the run, but they were together. Her sweet Talwar had saved her from Khopesh and now was taking her away from Agharek and the damned Assassins' Guild. And he respected her, unlike that bastard cousin of his.

  It felt good to nestle against him on the river barge or lazily make plans for the future. Of course they'd have to get married first, to avoid retaliation from their families. But they really shouldn't stop in Lakresha and she looked forward to seeing the world with him.

  His kisses were sweet, not wet and hungry like Khopesh's. His hands were gentle, not groping and squeezing like his cousin's. He was a gentleman to the bone, any girl's dream, and thank the gods he belonged to her as much as she belonged to him.

  She had fiercely defended her body while she waited for his return, but now looked forward to surrendering to his tenderness. She was certain he wouldn't disappoint her and she'd have the life she had always dreamed of.

  She started addressing him as dilbar, which was an old, literary form of "sweetheart" taken from their favorite epic. Both had enjoyed reading it at different times and dilbar sounded like a wonderful pet name – old-fashioned like them.

  As long as they managed to get away from the former Kingdom of Akkora and the Assassins' Guild, of course. Her bird friends had followed the barge for some time, then new friends had showed up.

  She'd have to give up talking to them, at least in front of witnesses, including Talwar. But they told her nobody was following, so she felt safe. Toucans and colorful parrots greeted her from what was left of the jungle as she slid by on the barge, while kingfishers and barbet birds, bee-eaters and ant-birds sent their chirps and calls towards the barge.

  Even if Talwar didn't talk much, the birds told her of what lay ahead. She was happy about how things had turned out, and that she wasn't alone in her adventure. And she looked forward to exploring Talwar's warm body as soon as a priest married them.

  ***

  The three days necessary to go upriver went fast. What was left of the jungle went by, interspersed with small villages where the barge stopped to load or unload. Hippos and crocodiles waded around them, making swimming unsafe and sometimes forcing the barge to detour around a particularly lazy hippo that wouldn't budge.

  Before falling asleep every night they talked more about their missions and how they made them feel. Neither liked killing and Khanda admitted she had stopped to be sick outside of her first victim's palace.

  They should get married and find another way to earn their living, maybe as bodyguards of noblemen in foreign towns, where nobody knew who they were. But they felt they needed the gods' blessing before continuing their adventure, hence they disembarked from the barge and went looking for the Assassins' Guild of Lakresha – a guild only they could find since they knew what and who to look for.

  After two nights in village inns with the barge's crew and passengers coming and going, they reached Lakresha, a smaller copy of Agharek, with a council running the town in the same way as t
he former capital. The Guild's palace had the same multi-lobed arches and red sandstone of the Agharek palace, but it was less refined. Smaller, more discreet, it almost vanished next to the town hall that faced it on the main square.

  Head of the Guild was Peshkabz, brother of Gupti, Jamdhar's wife, therefore uncle to Talwar on his mother's side. Both had daggers' names.

  Peshkabz welcomed his nephew and his "betrothed", oblivious of what had occurred in Agharek.

  "Something happened and I couldn't wait for Father to ask for her in marriage," Talwar said. "Thus I beg you, Uncle, to have us wedded today. We want to regularize our position as soon as possible."

  "What was so unsettling that it prompted you to elope?" Peshkabz asked with a frown.

  Talwar hesitated and Khanda answered in his place.

  "I was attacked, Peshkabz. A young man that I had rejected tried to force himself on me so I'd have to agree to our marriage to save my honor. Talwar saved me and injured the suitor, so we ran away before being punished for harming a member of the Guild."

  Peshkabz stared at Talwar who nodded repeatedly. Khanda had nicely summarized their situation without giving any names – saying that Khopesh had been rejected in favor of his cousin wouldn't sit well with anyone.

  "Are you sure Jamdhar would have approved of her?" Peshkabz asked.

  But after hearing of her family tree, he agreed to call the priest and have the quickest ceremony available, with a banquet that would include only the current occupants of the palace.

  "I will make sure to inform my parents," Talwar promised, bowing to touch his feet.

  Then Peshkabz shooed them out to wash and dress for the ceremony. Talwar watched Khanda go with the young women of the house and then followed his cousin Chilanum to another apartment where he was bathed and groomed by young male relatives who chattered excitedly around him.

  Luckily Chilanum and he were the same size. He wore Chilanum's wedding clothes and a silk turban before going back to the inner garden where a small altar had been set up. Flowers and a small brazier decorated it, and an old priest waited for him and the bride by the small statue of the God of War, Mahal the Great.