by Jake Taylor
She walked straight through the city to the keep and walked in without pausing for a step. Lord Faust met her in the hall, confusion written on his own face. “Isabella…? What is this? Have you…” He trailed off as he noticed the look in her eye and the fact that she was continuing towards him, sword in hand. He backed up a step, but before he could call the guards Isabella moved.
The iron sword pierced the king’s chest, erupting out his back as if it met no resistance. His eyes widened in shock as she lifted him bodily into the air with bared teeth and a glare full of hatred. She then turned and threw him off the sword and through the keep’s doors. The wood splintered outward and his body hit the road outside, bouncing a ways before coming to rest.
Soldiers and citizens alike stared in surprise and horror, looking from the body to Isabella as she stepped back out into the sunlight. No one made a move to stop her as she walked down the road past the lifeless body of her former king. She continued past hundreds of curious onlookers, guards and soldiers, all of them moving out of her way and making no attempts to say anything to her. It was just as well, as no one had any idea what to say.
She made her way along the road and continued out of the city heading east. Isabella of Two Faces left the country of Areya and did not look back.
Chapter 1: Loss and Gain
“I always wondered why people would complain about life so much and do nothing about it.”
IXH
Twenty Years Later – 3228 AF
The two assassins drew too much attention in the tavern downstairs, so they spoke in the room they had rented on the second floor, in the comfort of privacy. Night had fallen outside on the town of Stahl and Haruka stood at the window, watching the last light of the sun fade. She was a tall woman, just over six feet in height. Her brown hair was waist-length, straight and silky with bangs across her forehead above her green eyes. Though she was an elf, her ears were small and round, as were those of most elves. She looked like a slender human; only High Elves had the sharp features and long ears that stereotypes often included.
She had a stern and serious appearance, her body hard and fit. She was easily thought attractive, but her stance and attitude warded off most potential pursuers. She wore a long ankle-length green coat with three-quarters sleeves over a similarly-colored tunic; both were a dark green with cream-colored accents. On her hands were matching fingerless leather gloves with hard bracers over the back of her hands and forearms, with a gap over the wrist so it could bend easily.
The most identifying mark on her was the tattoo of a black sun on her right wrist, the symbol of the Black Sun Monastery, visible in that gap between the bracer pieces. Her partner, a younger woman with blonde hair and a similar outfit, bore the same tattoo in the same spot. This was Sarya, a less-experienced yet harsher monk who took a little too much enjoyment from assassination for Haruka’s comfort, as to her it was just a profession. At the moment she spoke of their target, but it didn’t really matter; it was some politician with no fighting ability. His guards were the only obstacle and they’d be able to deal with those easily enough if things went as expected.
After they had gone over the details yet again, Haruka turned to her partner, nodding her head towards the window. “Walk,” she said, receiving a nod in response. She opened the window and dropped silently out of it. The town of Stahl was fairly large and, at the moment, colorful; apparently they were celebrating some sort of festival this week.
Almost every building in Stahl was made of wood but very well constructed, each two or three stories tall. Colored paper lanterns were strung up between them on long wires giving the town a friendly and welcoming feel. Larger lanterns with intricate designs hung in intersections of the town’s dirt roads. Haruka walked through the town towards the lake; she’d always been partial to water and she wanted to see if it had been decorated as well.
She was impressed once she arrived on the shore, seeing that they had floating colored lanterns all across the lake, as well as colorful lights decorating the piers and nearby gazebo, causing the water to reflect the colored lights in a pleasing manner. The gazebo itself was interesting due to the banners streaming from it; it would, she assumed, be used in some part of the festivities. On her way to investigate the gazebo she heard coughing coming from inside, increasing her curiosity.
Inside the small white-wood construct her eyes caught a lone woman who immediately drew her attention for reasons she couldn’t identify at the moment. She was a little shorter than Haruka (about six feet even) and softer, but there was both an underlying weakness and strength in her, in the way she moved, that gained Haruka’s respect. She had dark blue hair, thick and long, that curled gently about her neck and shoulders. Her skin was lightly tanned as if she spent most of her time travelling.
She wore a simple golden robe, but on her hip was a belt that held two swords; one was a large broadsword with a grey cross hilt and handle. Oddly enough it was tied into its dark brown scabbard with wrapped bands of grey cloth in a way that prevented it from being drawn easily. Beside the broadsword, slipped through a belt loop with no sheath of its own, was a contrastingly simple - almost crude - iron sword that bore many chips and marks.
The woman turned towards Haruka as she entered the gazebo, grey eyes (with an oddly deep appearance) landing on her as a smile appeared on her lips. “Hello,” she greeted softly. Haruka had identified her as a warrior instantly, but she looked tired, gentle even. “I don’t recognize you, and I’m pretty good with faces.”
“Visitor,” Haruka answered, inspecting the woman more closely.
She didn’t seem to notice the analyzing, or at least she ignored it. “Oh, so am I. Did you come to Stahl for the festival?” she said with a curious tilt of her head.
Haruka found her endearing already, which was fairly unusual. She shook her head. “Business.”
“I see. Well you should take advantage of the festival while you’re here; I hear it’s pretty enjoyable.”
The monk gave a shrug. “Perhaps.”
The woman smiled in amusement. “You don’t talk very much, do you?”
Haruka blushed slightly, avoiding her eyes. “Sorry.”
“No need to apologize. It’s kind of cute actually,” she said with a soft laugh, increasing Haruka’s blush. “Can you at least tell me your name? I’m Isabella Enyo.”
Isabella. It was a fitting name, she thought; it had a soft, classical sound, as opposed to her harsh name. “Haruka Saito,” she answered. She wasn’t sure why she gave her real name; it wasn’t a normal practice of hers, especially while on a mission, but for some reason this woman made her want to be honest.
“Haruka Saito,” Isabella repeated, as if trying out the name on her tongue. She gave her a smile. “I like it. It fits you, Haruka Saito.”
Haruka raised an eyebrow. “Fits?”
“Sharp, dangerous… A name for a fighter,” Isabella said with a smile, and Haruka felt in that moment that Isabella could read every detail of her. “But it also has a lot of promise.”
She frowned in confusion. “Promise?”
“Haru,” she said with a nod, mentioning Haruka’s nickname. “Ruka.” She then gave a happy smile. “Ruki!”
Haruka blinked. “Ruki?”
“It’s cute,” Isabella responded. “And I see no one says it, so it goes unseen.” Her grey eyes gave her a more serious look. “Just like that side of you.”
Haruka looked away. She didn’t know what this woman was talking about, she really didn’t. As far as she knew the ‘sharp, dangerous’ side was the only side of her. She looked back to the blue-haired woman after a few seconds to see her staring out over the lake now. She was glad for that; the woman’s gaze had been a little intense. “Yours?”
“Hmm?” She looked back at her. “Oh! My nickname? That would be Bella.”
Haruka nodded. She looked around, then back to the woman. “Why?” She gestured around them. “Here?”
“Why am I here?” She
turned around to lean back against the wooden railing. “Do you mean in the town or in the gazebo? Never mind, I’ll answer both. I’m in this town because of the festival; someone told me it was something to see. I’m in the gazebo because it looked colorful,” she said with a shrug and a smile.
Haruka returned the smile, appreciating that this woman simply seemed to accept her manner of speech; most people became annoyed with her short, terse responses, and the fact that they had to discern what she said. It frustrated her because it wasn’t like she could do anything about it; she’d been born with very weak vocal chords. Using them too much was both difficult and painful; she couldn’t really manage more than one or two words at a time without her voice just cutting out. But with Isabella it didn’t feel frustrating; it felt simple, even amusing, because for whatever reason the other woman seemed to like it.
The other woman’s smile disappeared as her hand went to her chest; she began coughing, the sound Haruka had heard earlier, nearly losing her balance. Fortunately Haruka was fast, able to catch her as she fell. She helped her sit on a bench and Bella smiled weakly. “Thank you, Ruka,” she said a little breathlessly.
Haruka looked at her in concern, making sure she didn’t fall over before taking a seat beside her. “Sick?”
“Unfortunately. It can be a little annoying,” Isabella said with a soft smile of acceptance. Something in her eyes told Haruka that she believed she deserved the illness, but she didn’t comment on it. She gave Haruka an appreciative look. “No need to look so worried… I’ve been sick for years.”
Haruka shrugged. “Unfair.”
To her surprise, Isabella laughed and shook her head. “Don’t be so sure. It’s pretty much as fair as it can get.”
Haruka frowned. “Why?”
Isabella looked away. “I’d… rather not talk about that.” Both were silent for a few moments before Isabella looked back at her. “The festival proper is supposed to take place in two days. I know you hadn’t planned on it, but would you maybe want to go to the festival with me?”
Haruka blinked. Was she…? The invitation was unexpected; unnecessary, really. Besides, there was the fact that Haruka had a mission in a few hours and really needed to leave after that. Staying longer for the festival wasn’t planned. So of course, the answer was, “Yes.” She blinked again. Yes? Why had she answered yes? She was supposed to say no!
Isabella smiled brightly, the sadness in her eyes replaced with excitement. “Really? I mean, great! It’ll be so much fun!”
Haruka found herself unable to dash the new happiness that had just appeared in her companion. Judging by her surprise at the acceptance, she probably didn’t have any friends, which was strange considering her friendly and endearing demeanor. In addition to that, for some reason Haruka found herself actually wanting to go. Well, why not? Why shouldn’t she enjoy something for once?
She smiled at Isabella, nodding. “Fun… Rare.”
“Fun shouldn’t be rare. You just need to learn how to do it right, I think.” She looked down, closing her eyes for a moment as a wave of fatigue washed over her. “I’m sorry… I… should probably sleep soon.”
Haruka stood up, offering a hand. “Walk?”
“You want to walk me to my room?” Isabella smiled gratefully. “Such a gentleman,” she said, laughing softly at Haruka’s new blush as she took the offered hand.
Haruka pulled her up and steadied her with a firm grip on her shoulder; it turned out to be a good idea considering the woman’s weakening state. They began walking slowly back towards the inn Bella was staying at. “I’m usually not this bad,” she said as if in apology. “I’m lucky you were here tonight. Imagine me crawling back to my room like a drunkard.”
Haruka smirked. She admired the woman for accepting and joking about her condition like she did; many people would whine, complain or curse their god, but Isabella seemed to believe it was simply her situation. “Graceful,” she said in response to the joke.
“Maybe I am, but not enough to make crawling look good,” Isabella said, grinning as she heard Haruka’s chuckle. “That was the first time I’ve heard you laugh.”
Haruka shook her head, putting a hand to her throat. “Coughing,” she lied with a grin of her own.
“Sure, fine, make me feel worse,” Isabella sighed dramatically. “I’m not funny, nobody likes me, woe is me.”
“Depressing.”
“Life is depressing, my dear. Haven’t you read any poetry? The world is sad, life is sad and there’s no way out.”
“Suicide?”
“Now that is a dark joke. Though true. I always wondered why people would complain about life so much and do nothing about it.”
“Fear.”
“You’re very wise and aware, Ruki.”
Haruka smiled a bit at the nickname. They reached the inn (a different one from Haruka’s) and went all the way to Isabella’s room, where Haruka opened her door and watched her go in. Isabella paused in the doorway, looking at her. “Thank you for spending your time with me tonight, Haruka. And for walking me.” Her words and expression were sincere as she tilted her head, studying her closely. “No matter what you think about yourself, I think very highly of you.”
Haruka forced herself to pay attention to the words and take them in, smiling appreciatively at Isabella. “Thanks.” She held her gaze for a few seconds more before pointing into the room. “Sleep.”
Isabella grinned. “You’re a stern caretaker.” She backed away, closing the door with a wave. “Goodnight, Ruki.”
Haruka sighed after the door closed, a smile still on her face as she exited the inn. This certainly wasn’t an event she had expected, but was it unwanted…? No. No, she actually felt happy. Perhaps this could be a long-term happiness. She wasn’t sure how that would work, considering her job, but she knew she was looking forward to the festival. And more importantly, she already knew that the festival wasn’t the last time she wanted to see Isabella.
Fortunately her partner Sarya didn’t question her about her different mood when she returned. For once she went to sleep that night with other things on her mind than the job.
IXH
Early the next morning, Haruka and Sarya sat on a rooftop waiting for their target. He took an early-morning walk each day, the perfect time to strike since his guards would be sleepy and less attentive. The man, a wiry type with glasses and a simple robe, was humming to himself as he walked along, not a care in the world. Good; it looked like this would be easy. That was fortunate considering that Haruka herself was somewhat distracted this morning, a fact that Sarya had noticed but had refrained from commenting on.
The two dropped from their rooftop position, striking quickly. Two of the six guards were down before they knew anything was happening, each hit by a knife-hand to the throat; another two were down before they could react, solid strikes to the head from each monk knocking them out. The last two were able to get their weapons out and put up a bit of a fight, allowing the target to run. Haruka called out a command and took off after him as Sarya stayed to put down the remaining two guards.
Haruka was far, far faster, so even though he had a good head start she was catching up quickly. After she saw the man round a corner she heard him calling out to someone for help, and that was unfortunate. Haruka hoped she wouldn’t have to kill them as well; perhaps she could just put them down. She rounded the corner and skidded to a halt, her eyes going wide in surprise.
Between her and her target stood Isabella, clad in dimmed golden plate armor that was almost bronze in color and paired with a blood-red cape, holding her broadsword – still tied into its scabbard – out before her. She, too, seemed shocked at the situation, and appeared to have no idea how to react. “Ruki…?”
Any further conversation was cut off as Sarya rounded the corner, spotting the woman defending their target. Before Haruka could say anything Sarya charged, moving with incredible speed into a spin that would take her around the woman’s guard. Or at l
east it should have. Isabella moved with a fluid grace that seemed slower than it was, her sheathed sword taking the normally perfectly-balanced Sarya’s legs out from under her.
Sarya cried out in shock but Bella caught the back of her shirt before she hit the ground, hauling her back towards Haruka who managed to catch her. Sarya glared as Haruka helped her stand. “Okay, looks like we’ll have to take her out first.”
Those words caused pain to Haruka, especially because she knew they were true. She looked at Isabella and attempted to push emotion out of the picture and focus on her job. In that moment Isabella looked incredibly sad and disappointed, enough so that Haruka almost reassured her, but she bit her tongue and charged instead.
She went for a leg sweep and Isabella slid her foot back just enough to avoid it. She threw a knife-hand strike at the woman’s neck, which was blocked by the sheathed sword. She leapt into a spinning kick, but to her surprise Isabella ducked it and brought her sword up, striking Haruka in the back and leveraging her into a throw to the side.
As Haruka flipped and landed she saw Sarya rush Isabella next, going into an attack routine. The blue-haired woman flowed around half the attacks and blocked the rest before hooking her sword against Sarya’s thigh and yanking it up as she shoved her shoulder, flipping her to the ground.
The two monks recovered and attacked again. Haruka knew Isabella was sick, weak, and couldn’t keep this up forever, but somehow she was holding them off for now. She moved in a manner that implied incredible experience, though it was clear she wasn’t perfect against unarmed attackers as she began taking a few hits. Haruka felt a pang of guilt every time a hit connected, but she forced herself to go on; she’d only met this woman the night before, after all, while she’d been a Black Sun Monk her entire life. Who really deserved her loyalty?