Beruka sat in silence in her dark room. It had been a week since she had become Lady Camilla's retainer, and she hadn't found her rhythm, her purpose here. She trained properly, escorted her lady around during meetings, and stood in silence. But nothing felt right. Well...more so one particular thing felt wrong.
The young assassin curled up on the bed, unsure of what to do with this...free time she had been given. What was there to do? She could train. But her skills as an assassin wouldn't help her now. Would Lady Camilla be upset if she decided to continue taking contracts? Beruka was uncertain of that...she didn't want to test that until she became more comfortable here. So what was she to do?
Before she could answer that question, there was a knock at the door, heavy yet gentle. Beruka stood and opened the door.
"Lady Camilla...do you have need of me?" she asked directly.
Camilla was stunned for a moment. Beruka had recognized her so quickly...it was a little jarring, but she quickly regained herself. "Yes. You seem to be adapting well to your new life, but there is something I have neglected to put you through."
"A test? What is it?"
"A test that will decide if you can stay here or not," Camilla answered as she turned to leave, trusting Beruka would follow behind her without order.
"And if I fail?"
"Then you can no longer be my retainer." Camilla glanced back at the smaller woman, expecting to see panic, or determination, or...something in her expression, or a light of these emotions in her eyes, but there was nothing. Her expression was neutral, and her gray eyes were blank and distant, staring ahead with no emotion. It was almost unnerving…
"Then I will not fail."
Camila chuckled and focused her gaze ahead. "Well, it's not really something you have control over dear."
Beruka said nothing at her lady's words. Things had always been out of her control, she was used to such things. She was slightly confused when Camilla led her outside to the stables. Camilla unlocked a set of stables and led Beruka inside.
Beruka hesitated at the creature inside the dark building. A wyvern with dark purple scales and piercing red eyes stared at her from the nearest stall. Camilla walked up to the stall and chuckled. "Come on Beruka, he won't bite...probably."
Beruka hesitated only for a moment before stepping forward. "So what is my test?"
"Well, to put it simply, I can't have a retainer Striker doesn't like. Some come, I'll keep him from nipping at you."
Beruka looked down at the wyvern...she could feel it...the darkness and evil irradiating off this creature. But she was given a command, so she obeyed. She stepped forward, and Camilla took her hand. Camilla placed her hand on Striker's head, then backed away. Beruka stood still, staring down at the dark wyvern.
The wyvern, Striker, shifted positions and grunted, watching Beruka with his red eyes. He looked at her the same way some of her employers looked at her. His gaze was harsh and judgemental, not quite malicious but definitely not kind. Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed Camilla looking...confused would be the closest word to it. Beruka noticed a darkness creeping over her hand, and the feeling of magic overcame her...the energy searching for something, prying at a place in her mind that has long been numb and blank.
"...whatever you're looking for, you will not find…" the ex-assassin said simply.
Camilla stepped forward and grabbed her retainer's hand. "What's...wrong with you?" she asked softly as she tugged Beruka's hand away.
Beruka looked away and shrugged a little. "I don't know what you mean." Camilla pulled away, looking over at her wyvern. Beruka looked between them, and she could tell something was wrong...but she wasn't sure what. "Have I failed?"
Camilla blinked a few times and smiled, shaking her head. "No...no you haven't, Striker just doesn't know what to make of you. I don't either really, but I'm sure that'll be smoothed out as we spend more time together."
Beruka nodded and watched Camilla dismiss her dragon then turn to leave. Beruka hesitated for a moment before she turned to follow. She moved to follow when something curled around her ankle. With a tug, Beruka was set off balance and sent to the ground with a thud. When she attempted to get up, a large weight was placed on her back.
The assassin growled in annoyance and glanced back, the sound dying in her throat when she saw what was laying on her...another wyvern, this one smaller than Striker, and brown instead of deep purple, had its head stuck through the gate of the stall...and was resting on Beruka's back. The small girl squirmed, only to find herself stunned when the dragon opened its eyes. Its eyes were bright yellow, glowing with some kind of power...and Beruka found she couldn't move under its gaze.
"Um...L-Lady Camilla…?" Beruka hesitantly called out.
Camilla paused and turned around. "Oh, dear...I'm sorry Beruka. That's a young wyvern we found injured out in the mountains. I brought her here to recover. She's supposed to go back home next week."
"And what...is she doing?" Beruka asked carefully.
"I don't know. She's a strange one." Camilla approached and tried to lift the female wyvern off her retainer. The wyvern growled and snapped at the woman who tried to touch her. Camilla jumped back and frowned. "Hmm...she seems to be comfortable there."
"Um...I am not," Beruka said sternly. "Wyverns are pointy, and I can't do my job from here."
Camilla snorted and shook her head. "Well, wyverns without a rider pretty much do what they wish. There's not much I can do here."
Beruka groaned and closed her eyes. "Well, I cannot just wait for her to move." Beruka carefully turned and put a hand on the wyvern, with the intent of trying to shove her away. ...that intent left her the moment her hand touched those brown scales. Magic suddenly washed over her...and something else she didn't understand, a strange feeling of warmth...and tiredness. It was something she didn't understand...but it felt like part of her that was missing just...clicked into place. She hummed softly and closed her eyes.
Somewhere above her, she heard Camilla laugh. "Well...it seems this little wyvern has chosen a rider."
Her words jolted Beruka from this tired feeling. She jerked her hand away and shook her head. "What do you mean, Lady Camilla?"
"Wyverns choose who rides them...they choose who gets close to them. Striker chose me, and this wyvern…" Camilla paused and looked down at the two.
"Garnet." The word stumbled from the assassin from her mouth before she even realized she was speaking.
Camilla smiled as the brown wyvern, Garnet, finally lifted her head and slipped back into her stall. Beruka carefully got up, inching away from the stalls. "I'm...just an assassin."
"Wyverns don't care about pasts...just about who you are." Camilla gently helped Beruka to her feet. "I supposed you don't have a choice but to stay now...we can't have an unsupervised wyvern rider."
Beruka focused her gaze on the stall that held the strange wyvern. Everything has changed now...but Beruka was used to change. She turned and followed Camilla obediently, keeping her head down.
"Tell me, dear, do you know how to use an ax?"
"No, Lady Camilla."
"Well, I'll be training you in such things. And we'll have to get you some new armor...leather armor doesn't work well in the sky."
"Yes, Lady Camilla." Beruka lifted her hand and placed it on her chest, trying to ignore the dull pain in her chest.