ICevoL wrote...
Prompt: Zevran, the Instrument of Fate
Consequences Zevran lounged in the parlor of the
Feathered Swan, a modest brothel whose chief claim to fame was its distance from the docks and the pervasive stench of dead fish. Kamina should be arriving soon. He smiled a bit recalling her lithe figure stalking a target on his House’s last combined mission with House Alanza. She was rumored to be as creative in bed as she was in dealing death; thus her invitation to meet him here had been more than welcome. The
Feathered Swan, like most of the brothels in Antiva City, indeed in most of Antiva, kept a few rooms available to Crows for a slight fee. Zevran had already paid; this was personal business, not guild, so the coins came from his own pocket.
Kamina strode in, her bold steps and the slightly arrogant tilt of her jaw oozed a carnal appeal possible only in a confidant assassin.
Zevran’s smile widened, “Kamina, my dear, you look positively delicious.” He sketched a bow and made a show of admiring her. “No innocent Chantry Miss tonight, perhaps we should play pirates.”
Her lips curved in an answering smile, remembering the disguise she had worn for their shared mission. “Hmm, I was thinking more Empress of Orlais.”
“I, your humble chevalier, shall guide you to the royal suite.”
“I do hope you brought something interesting to dine upon, my
appetite won’t be satisfied with ordinary fare.”
“Only the finest Antivan delicacies,” Zevran purred.
Later, perhaps a full turn of an hourglass, Zevran slid a tiny dagger between two vertebrae just below the base of her skull. Kamina’s expression of ecstasy turned to one of surprise, her lips shaping a silent “Oh.”
Zevran lifted her limp body from the bed and set her gently on the floor (always best not to make more of a mess than needed – it kept one in the good graces of the madams).
With her fading strength Kamina managed to ask, “Why?”
“I’m sorry my dear, Grandmaster’s orders.” He gave her a final, gentle kiss before gathering his things and departing.
In the front parlor he slipped a scrap of paper out of his leathers and presented it to Madam Gitana. “The room will need a bit of clean-up, I’m afraid.”
Her lips pursed for a moment as she unfolded the missive, then her expression turned to wary appraisal as she handed his coins back. The seal indicated his mission was from the Crow Grandmaster himself.
“Thank you, Madam.” He sketched a bow and left, his steps casual and confident as he strode toward the docks. His nerves tingled as he contemplated the rest of the day’s work.
*****
Crouched next to Taliesen he watched the lazy flap of a curtain from their third-story perch. A fishwife called below, perhaps a block away, “Oysters, get your fresh oysters, ten coppers a dozen.”
Zevran reached for his usual calm, this was no ordinary mission, these no ordinary targets. Taliesen shifted next to him with uncharacteristic impatience.
“Oysters, get your fresh oysters, ten coppers a dozen.” The fishwife in the red shawl was almost to the front door of the house across the narrow alley.
The signal given, Zevran leapt, his body twisting to avoid the trap he knew lay on the floor below the curtained window. He landed and rolled, clearing the way for Taliesen to follow him. Zevran’s daggers were out before he even stood, taking a slender elf lad through the throat, cutting off his cry of alarm. No time to be neat here, speed was all that mattered, they must strike before the House’s defenses could be raised. Through the thin walls he could hear the muffled thumps as others of his own House entered and found their targets.
Zevran and Taliesen worked their way from room to room leaving a trail of death and blood behind them. It was not easy; their adversaries had the same training, the same tricks. Breathing heavily and both sporting minor wounds, they cleared their assigned section and proceeded to help clear the rest of the house.
Master Jerold was waiting in the front parlor when his house members had completed their sweep. “Well done, the Grandmaster will be satisfied. Let this be a lesson, each cell autonomous, but is finally subject to the Grandmaster’s orders. Disobedience is not tolerated.” He waved Zevran and Taliesen over. “Your work today was adequate, you completed more than your task. Take first choice of our new apprentices.”
Zevran regarded the ragged group of children, separated from another group of their brethren under the charge of Master Lucero of house Nekana. A ragged human boy, perhaps ten years of age, caught his eye. There was intelligence there, and still a bit of defiance, unusual in a Crow apprentice of his age. He waited while Taliesen made his choice, a slender dark-haired elf girl, her youthful figure already displaying a wiry strength.
When his turn came he signaled the human boy to follow him and they left the stench of blood and sundered bowels, the reek of a House Alanza’s destruction, to return to House Arainai’s headquarters.
edited for formating
Modifié par TanithAeyrs, 05 septembre 2010 - 05:49 .
(I've become so very modest after all these experiences since Awakening...)
Retour en haut
); and it is impossible for me to do something for the contest this week (I guess, everyone who writes, will understand, what I mean...) 
