Thicker than Water
By Jazz Anzara
((Author's Note: This story is shorter than I am used to writing, but I will be greatful for any and all comments. I have added a section to the center of it. Be forewarned, it is dark towards the end. Thank you.))
"They say that blood is thicker than water. But for a princess who had nothing, love is thicker than them both. I knew that I was forbidden to love a Shohou assassin, but I could not reject him. We were both warriors then, and we did not need words to give understanding. Our time together brought joy like nothing we had ever known. But I should have realized it could not last…because my brother has been taken by him. No matter how much I wish it did not have to be this way, I can no longer stand the weeping of my mother. I must bring him back or my heart will kill me before the assassins have a chance.
The skies seem to reflect my rage in their dark depths; thunder roars over head like a caged beast. If it were a hurricane, or even a typhoon, it would not be enough to stop me. I have held back for too long. "
Turning her eyes to her brother’s picture, Kaltara finished honing her blades neatly as she belted them around her waist. Her eyes reflected in the night like two emeralds in dark water, seeming black save for the small twinge of green in the reflection of the light. Tonight was the night she would finally be able to save the one dearest to her family.
One week ago, Martin had vanished. He was heir to the thrown, and the prince people believed could bring the country from its status of good into greatness. And she knew who had taken him. It was the only person who knew how to open her third story window without a sound and the one person she had loved.
Bitterness, however, now overshadowed that love. A desire burned in her heart to see her brother home, to make those who hurt him pay, and she could not rest until that desire had been fulfilled. Though a small part of her mind questioned if she would survived the encounter, the majority of her soul was firm. She would live, and Martin would come back with her. As a girl, she had no other duties.
With a heart bent on revenge, Kaltara belted on the last of her instruments of death before dropping out the window onto the roof. She knew where to find him.
~
"The only thing worse than a Monday morning is a Wednesday night when you have been ordered to kill the one person you love. Perhaps it was wrong of us to become romantically involved. I should have realized that eventually I would be ordered to kill her. But even as I sit staring at the knives in my sheaths, preparing to kill Kaltara, I know I still love her. I only pray she can forgive me for the death of her brother. While love may conquer all, for an assassin of my standing, orders conquer love. Tonight, once again, it must be that way."
It was not his style to be so sentimental when it came to a kill. However, he had never been in love with his target before. Quixotic sat silently on the balcony staring out into the night sky as a breeze ruffled his black hair. He had been there for the past minute, simply observing the city, prolonging the moment which was eminent to come. "You dread seeing her," his partner, Rileana observed. "You are unusually tense."
"Hm. I doubt you would be loose when you have received orders to kill one of Ryka's princesses," he returned, voice emotionless.
Rileana's eyes gleamed thoughtfully in the star light. Leaning on the rail thoughtfully, she stared at the lights below. Flipping her rope like braid over her shoulder, she replied, "I wouldn't be nearly as reluctant though. Come on Quix. She's just a girl."
Danger sparked in the air suddenly as he turned his icy eyes to her. Something hanging the air gave it a darker feeling, and she backed away from him slightly, her hand falling to her blade automatically at the unspoken threat. "No. Kaltara is… special," he returned. "One like you wouldn't understand that."
"And neither would Jozoboro. Listen to me, Quixotic, he will kill Litany if you don't complete this mission and you have no other way to pay for her release. You have a choice to make between your sister and this girl. There is no avoiding it," Rileana said acidly. Turning, she stormed off to complete her own assignment.
Watching her go without remorse, Quix simply shook his head before walking over to close the door. It had not been his choice for Litany to be captured by a gang boss, but it had been out of his control. He had been off on a mission when the gang had jumped her in the market. "But now it is in your control. You can save her. That’s why he gave you this chance to kill someone else." he thought.”It just happened to be the girl you loved.”
~
Her thoughts were filled with her brother as she moved across the cities roof tops. Picturing his almost lime green eyes and soft dark red hair, Kaltara found herself smiling slightly. Martin had been her support, since their parents had been killed early in life. There had never been a time when he wasn't there. Even up to the point before his abduction.
~
It had been late in the evening, after the night meal, and they had been up in the attic. For them, the high rafters were the one place they could escape the maids and butlers who insisted that royalty be pampered. It also allowed them to act like normal teenagers, as well as work on their throwing skills…
“Grip your fingers a little tighter,” Martin critiqued after watching her miss a target by half an inch to the left. “And avoid flicking your wrist. It should be smooth. Like this.”
There was a small hiss as the blade shot from his fingers to hit the target. It was buried up to the white hilt in the small point which they had drawn on the wall. As he pulled it out, there was a second hiss, and a black hilted knife struck the wall a fraction from his nose. Turning his eyes to his grinning sister, Martin remarked, “You’ll never get a good throw sitting like that. I can only hope that was intentional for you to miss.”
“You know it was, you’re just too jealous to admit it,” Kaltara teased as she got up to retrieve her knife. “I’ve been getting some other help lately.”
His eyes narrowed. There was no one else who could teach her in the palace that he knew of, which meant that the help had to be coming from elsewhere. Martin doubted that any of the people in the main city could throw blades, and the Yakuza assassins were after their blood, thus unlikely to teach one they would kill. “Really? From who?” he questioned spinning a knife on his palm.
Silence hung as she paused to pull her knife out of the wall. “From someone I met. He… used to be an assassin,” she said, using half truths. Martin would be furious if he knew the truth, and she wasn’t willing to put Quix in danger. “He’s pretty good for his age.”
“As long as he isn’t after your blood, fine. Good throw, by the way,” Martin remarked with a smile. “We should get back before the servants send out a search party. They always worry when we come up here.”
Kaltara nodded and sheathed her knives back into their cases. Dusting off her pants, she retied her hair neatly. He kissed her on the forehead, since they would have to go opposite ways to their bed rooms, and there wouldn’t be time if they wished to avoid a lecture from the governess. Kaltara returned it with a hug before following him out the window and down the ladder to the balcony window. It was cold, she noted with a frown as she stepped inside. Someone must have left a window open.
Heading down the hall to her room, Kaltara locked the door behind her. It was even colder in here than it had been in the hall. Softly, she headed over to her window and checked the latch. Someone had opened it just enough for a man to get through. Quix has been here…
Glancing around the room, but not seeing any trace, she decided that he must have come earlier while she was in the attic and then left again. Disappointed, she had missed one of the few opportunities to be with him, Kaltara changed into her night clothes. Crawling under the covers, she was about to relax when a scream broke through the night.
“He’s gone! The Prince is gone!”
~
Anger filled her heart as she brought her mind back to the present. There had been no trace of blood which implied that he had been taken. If Quixotic would not tell her where he was, she would kill him. And right now she had a perfect shot.
~
Suddenly his instincts took over and he jerked back to narrowly avoid a knife that whizzed past his left ear to bury halfway up its blade in the wall. Blue eyes sweeping its trajectory, he saw a flicker of movement to his left. As a metallic hiss broke through the air again, he dived to get cover indoors, behind the wall as a second knife embedded itself in the wood.
Holding his breath, he listened carefully to the movements outside as the person shifted to his balcony softly. By the soft thud of the steps, he guessed her to be a girl, not very tall, but fast. She seemed to be approaching the main room with deliberately slow steps. As the feet crossed the frame, Quix leapt up to place his knife at her throat, only to find her blade at his neck. The knuckles gripping both blades were white. "So… you've decided to come to me," Quixotic whispered.
"Yes," she replied shortly as she twisted her blade to a more lethal position. "I have to save my brother."
"All that matters to me is my brother's safe return" she thought as the silence hung thick.
Their goals were equally important to them, and this was a fact that Quixotic could recognize. Desperation to fix her situation had consumed her. But she did not realize that it was an unobtainable goal. "Kaltara… you don't get it," he said bluntly. If he was going to be able to do this, then he had to kill his emotions.
"You don't realize that even if you were to kill me, you would not be able to save him. Martin is dead. He was killed the night he disappeared."
Anger flared and it seemed as though she would strike him down for his very words when something seemed to take hold of her and she fell to her knees, blade clattering to the floor.
Tears slowly carved a glistening path down her cheek. Her heart was breaking into pieces and her mind knew that he was not lying. Quix never used that tone unless he was serious. The light which had once sparked in her green eyes now died.
Turning from the despair before him, Quixotic steeled his heart against pity. "You had nothing to do with the orders you were given, and there is no reason that you should feel guilty. Your mind should be focusing on what you are going to do to save Litany. Think of it as ending her pain… and think only of that," he ordered himself, but his barriers were fast breaking.
"Kaltara… I want you to come here."
"What?" she asked, confusion showing in her eyes as she managed to finally regain control of her emotions. "Why?"
"Please… just do it," he replied softly, eyes staring at the floor. If he were to look at her, he knew he would not be able to do it.
Getting to her feet slowly, Kaltara dried her tears before coming to stand before him. Her mind was numb as softly she walked over to him. In an instant his arms were around her, holding her as he kissed her deeply. Startled slightly by his passion, Kaltara closed her eyes as a sense of peace filled her for a brief second. Then the blackness over took her vision.
Two tears fell like glass shards to hit the floor with a soft ping as he cradled her to his chest. Despite his attempt to remove his emotions, his pain was sharp, something that he could not detach from this time. As his mind slowly cleared and the pain slowly dulled, Quixotic picked her up in his arms and vanished into the rainy night.
“Even the skies weep at her death. My chest feels as if I have been stabbed with a thousand blades; I can barely breathe. To kill her may have been the only way to save Litany, but that does not ease my guilt. Surely, I made the biggest mistake of my life when I chose a Ryka princess to fall in love with.”
