This is dedicated to Waiting...Holiday.
To the best of my selected recollection, I grew up in a town dojo. The town belonged to a world known as Kataniya. The majority of which happened in that dojo, I have chosen to let go. There was nothing but memories of training. No heartfelt moments, no family dinners, no hugs, kisses, or affection. Just the cruel cold-hearted world it was. I chose only to remember what happened after leaving that place.
When I turned thirteen, a man by the name of Saturie came to our town. He came in search of a new member for his group. Unable to decide on what person to take, he declared a tournament. My parents were certain that I stood no chance, but entered me regardless, because if by chance I won, my family would be paid greatly for me.
"It's not that we wouldn't make money off you as an assassin, but this is just good business Aria," my mother said without looking at me before I entered my first round.
Her words were cruel and bitter, but honest. But that is how business is.
To be truthful I only remember a few of my fights. Most of the ones I remember, I only remembered because at battles end the parents were so disgusted with the child's lack of competence the beheaded the child. But there were a few that were not mine that I chose not to for get.
One happened to be the battle of a boy named Ladin, and another named Keynan. By the end of their battle, Keynan had exhausted all of his energy and was slowly dying from the blood loss of his deep wounds. Ladin was barely standing, but it was because of his state and brilliantly swift style that Saturie cancelled the final match between Ladin and me. He declared that he would take both of us with him. I remember his exact words.
"It is because these two are both truly worthy, and truly equal that I take them both. Do not take this as a sign of mercy. For I give none and expect none. I can see that if Aria and Ladin were to fight at full strength, they would surely bleed to death and die fighting at the same moment. It would be utterly pointless to allow them to do so. Besides too many is always better than none at all," he said with a smile of grimace.
Saturie then dismissed the group of spectators. He informed us that we should get acquainted that night and we should meet him, prepared to leave, at noon at the town square the next day.
I then watched as he turned his back and left Ladin and I.
Saturie was a proud man standing about six feet tall. He was broad shouldered and his skin was always darkly tanned. His tan skinned looked as if it was caste into a marsh whenever his true skin tone showed.Saturie's hair was dark brown, almost black, and it seemed to defy all laws of gravity the way it stuck straight out of his head. His trademark was the red colored bandage that was wrapped around his forehead four times and then diagonally down covering his right eye. His arms and body were marred by many slit scars that sometimes formed an x. Nonetheless eh was considered skilled, dangerous, but most of all handsome. Some say it was his grey eyes that teamed with mischief. Some say it was his all too convincing, all too sweet grin that so many saw for their last sight. Whatever it was did not matter, Saturie was one of the most powerful people of the time.
After he had gone out of sight I took notice of a bundle of bandages he had left behind along with a bottle of alcohol used for cleansing wounds. It was clear he had intended for me to clean Ladin's wounds. I had never been taught to care, or allowed to care for anyone's wounds. My family considered you weak and undeserving of life if you ever tended to your wounds. This lead to a very interesting situation.
"What are you waiting for," Ladin scowled speaking harsh and hoarse at me.
I remained blinking stupidly at him and he little care supplies.
"Well," he said glaring at me.
"Only the weak require nursing," I said coldly.
Ladin simply frowned at my statement and began inching his way towards the bandages using his weapon.
"Look I don't know what your family believes, nor do I care for that matter, but if I am going to train tomorrow I won't be able to wait for it to heal," he said as he nudged his opponent's dead carcass out of his way.
I stared at the stiff dead body considering my options. I could help him, thus making the training go more smoothly. However this first option would definitely disgrace my family. But if I refuse to help him, I could risk angering my new leader and master. I reasoned that I was no longer under my family but under Saturie, therefore I should follow his seemingly obvious orders. My family had been paid for me, and no longer cared about what I did.
"Fine," I said grabbing some of the bandages and attempting to bandage his wounds.
Ladin winced rarely, but did not dare to complain. After a while I got to the deeper cuts and poured alcohol on the. This caused him to start talking in order to take his mind of his pain. He asked basic questions about my style, type of sword, who the black smith I used was, nothing extremely personal. I simply answered all his questions and asked none in return, though he gave me time between his to do so. Besides, I had none. I had seen him and battle and already figured out everything I wanted to know. But at some point he took a turn for the worse. Ladin caught me off guard by asking about my family.
"So what is it like to be the child of the lead assassin family," he asked with distinct bitterness. "You know to get everything you want, and be able to walk all over everyone like they were nothing."
I said nothing. I simply poured the remain half of the bottle on his deepest cut which was already bandaged.
"What the hell is your problem," he snapped grabbing my hand. "You think you can just do whatever you please just because your so"
Ladin stopped speaking because at that point I had dislocated my wrist and removed my hand from his grip. I suppose the look I was giving also took part in silencing his words. His arrogance had completely unnerved me, so I cared not.
"I suppose I got my skills from sitting on my ass and coming from the right parents," I said sarcastically and icily as I stood and snapped my wrist back into place.
"Do you really expect me to pity and believe you," he said still in the same biting tone as before.
I stood there looking dumbfounded at his words. Was everyone so stupid as to think my family pampered their children? The thoughts of my family being nice made me laugh.
"You seem to think my family has a kind side to it. Well let me correct your vision, they'd slit my throat before wasting a split second on any affectionate action to me. I have never received praise. Not once. I have had to earn my keep. I do not train all day. I spend the same time training as I do working," I replied strongly. "So to answer your idiotic question. It is rather deplorable to say the least."
"I see you two are getting along well," said a voice from behind me lurking in the shadows. "Aria, you'd better turn out as well as I hope. You cost me quite the small fortune. My hopes are risen seeing as you have passed my first test."
It was Saturie. He stepped out of the shadows wearing a playful grin that fit him very well. He seemed joyful at my so called success, though I was unsure what I had done.
"You looked confused, allow me to explain my dear," he said with a sigh. "I left the alcohol and bandages here to test you. If you were still loyal to your families way and orders you would have left them lie, and Ladin would have had to wrap himself of course. However, instead you obeyed my obvious order and passed the test. This assures me that you understand the concept of no longer being a part of your family, and being so I will have to rename you. But for now you are just Aria."
I watched Saturie shaking my head to show I understood his words. Saturie impressed me, he was a wise man. I decided then and there that I would accept any name he gave me. I could tell following Saturie, if nothing else, was what my family called good business.
"Good, then you'll understand when I say I don't give a damn about your endurance anymore. You have plenty. From now on bandage your wounds. I take no chances. Take care of them. You have lived long enough in that hell hole to deserve to live," Saturie said finishing off with a hint of Malice.
Yet again I shook my head showing my understanding and respect. Saturie smiled at me and threw me a bottle and some bandages. I caught them easily and began to take care of my own wounds. This interaction seemed to make Ladin like me even less. He glared at me with loathing oozing out the corners of his eyes.
"And you Ladin," Saturie said in a coarse tone. "Show Miss. Aria here some respect. After all she has been through more than you can ever imagine."
"How can you expect me to do so? She is nothing but a rich," Ladin began but Saturie cut him off with his sword.
"Get one thing straight my dear boy that family spends no money on their children. None, not one penny. And I know this because I trained there for a month. I lost my eye to her mother because my footing was a centimeter away from where she wanted it to be. She carved it out without warning in front of the entire class. No one, besides me and her mother, to this day understands why I lost my eye that day. The only reason I survived that encounter was because I had a friend come to my rescue. Had I not I would have bled to death. So it be wise if you'd forget your ridiculous aggressions against her for her family and actually get to know Miss. Aria," Saturie said in stone seriousness.
From that first night on, Ladin and I made slow progress as he came to understand my family. But when our training period was over Saturie made an announcement that Ladin would be going with a separate group. In that separate group, the leader was slowly dyeing and desired to have a predecessor to care for his men. Ladin left and we never met again in that life. Soon after Ladin departed us I was given the new name Zephyra, after the goddess of wind in our lands.
For the next three years Saturie kept me close. He was near me during battles, always demanded that I go along on missions with him, eat with him, and be sleeping in the room or the tent next to his. When I turned fifteen, Saturie has me start playing his wife when we went on assassination jobs. At that point I still didn't comprehend what was happening for I had yet to learn the emotions Saturie held for me. On my sixteenth birthday Saturie asked me to wed him, and in my confused state still I refused him. However, because of the man Saturie was he did not give up. He asked again when I turned seventeen, and I now had confusing mixtures of emotion towards Saturie that I did not understand. So as a result of my confusion I refused him yet again. That time, Saturie acted hurt by my refusal, and questioned it. I explained the feelings I had, and how I did not understand them. He simply smiled, hugged me, kissed me, and then walked of telling me I was learning quicker than he had hoped. Over the next year, I came to understand the feelings as the feelings of love. I had ever experienced them before, and wasn't sure I liked this newfound emotion. But that didn't matter too much. On my eighteenth birthday Saturie proposed to me again, and I accepted. Saturie was twenty three when I married him.
A week before my nineteenth birthday Saturie died in battle, and left me with his words of explanation and giving me full command of his men. I was instantly accepted due to Saturie's feelings for me, and his men and I fought well together until we were ambushed by darkness and slain the month after I had turned twenty three. As I sunk into darkness, and my heart was taken from me, I thought of Saturie's last words.
"Zephyra my dear, you have learned a very powerful emotion. When you started with me in the beginning I wasn't sure I would be able to teach you, but you learned it. Please choose to forget what happened while you were with your family, remember me instead, for you should be able to love, and show kindness. You were meant to be great all along Zephyra."
To be continued
Elizabeth R. Austin