Celaena was reading her book next to the little fireplace when Sam walked out of the room. He was wearing a dark green tunic, combat boots and gloves. He was stunning. Celaena looked at the window, seeing the purple sky telling that the sun was going down. Winds were calmly blowing, entering the apartment through the window, making the flames of the fire dance.
"Is it time already?" she asked him. Sam nodded, still working on the buttons of his tunic and walking his way to the kitchen. Celaena jumped the couch and followed him.
"Don't go" she whispered, kinda hoping he wouldn't listen. But he did. He looked at her.
"Celaena…"
"I thought about it, okay?" She said, gesturing aggressively her hands. She started walking in circles around the kitchen table, stressed "and I can't stand you fighting in that pit! You're Sam Cortland!"
"Yeah… I know that" he said sarcastically, trying to make a joke of the situation but she was pissed.
"You are Sam Cortland. Second best of the King of Assassins. You can't be working in a trash!"
"What?!" Sam got close to her "We left that life behind us Celaena. I'm not the second best, you're not his protegée. We're not Adarlan's Assassin anymore. We're not even in Adarlan, Celaena. We're just Sam and Celaena".
She breathed hardly. Those words he'd just said. They all hit her like a punch in the face with her own knives. He was right. He was damn right. And worst of all, to begin everything, she was the one who freed them. She was the one who paid hers and Sam's debt to Arobynn. She was the one who chose to leave the King of Assassins, and the Assassin's Keep. So why was it being so damn hard to do it? She couldn't bear the thought of leaving her name behind. Adarlan's Assassin. She was Adarlan's Assassin. That was all she was. That was her identity.
Now she was no one.
So she busted into tears.
"Celaena?" Sam asked her, he was holding her head with his hands while she cried. And she couldn't help herself but cry. And she couldn't think of why she was crying, she was just… crying. Because she couldn't be Celaena Sardothien if she wasn't going to be an assassin. That name was given to her because of what she was to become, nine years ago. And she couldn't… she couldn't… Gods, she couldn't even bring herself to say who she was before those nine years because she was a coward and she wanted to leave it all behind.
So, even if being with Sam, and being away from Arobynn had pleased her, and gods it had pleased her, she couldn't help herself to think that now she was no one.
"Please, don't go" she implored to him, between breaths. Sam now was all she had from a life. He was the remaining of an identity of hers. The identity that she was for nine years and one day she paid to not be her no more. If anything happened to Sam, she'd be no one for good. Forever.
That scared her.
"I have to go…" he was caressing her head.
"No, please!" she almost yelled.
"Celaena, calm down" he backed down. He looked at her, head to toe. "What's wrong with you?"
She stopped crying. She looked at him, seeing his confused eyes staring back at her. She took a deep breath and walked to the front door, ignoring Sam. She turned the key, opening the door and then she took the key, walked out of the apartment and locked the door. Then she throw the key in her pocket and started walking down the stairs. She heard Sam yelling and hitting the door, ordering her to open it. She ignored him.
She stopped in the middle of the stairs when she heard him shouting one thing to her.
"You know I can simply jump from the windows, right?"
She shot running up the stair and unlocked the door so quickly she thought she'd broke the key. She stormed into the apartment but Sam was just sitting in the kitchen balcony. He ran towards the door but she blocked it.
"Celaena, let me get out"
"No" she simply replied.
She turned to lock the door again, but he grabbed her shoulder. Bold move. She grabbed his arm and twisted, and then threw him away. Sam hit the ground harshly. She turned back to the door and locked it before he could grab her feet and pushed her to the floor. The key was still on the lock.
He was on his feet, ready to run towards the door but she put her left foot in his way. Sam had managed to jump it but she was up and jumping at the same time, grabbing his hips and going down to the floor again. He had fallen on top of her, and she rolled so he'd be down, and punched his face with all the strength she found. She was lucky to hit the bruise on his eyebrow, because it would hurt more. She, then, stormed off to the door and got the key from the lock, throwing on her pocket.
She felt a kick on her back. Sam was sitting but within half a second he was already up. He throw a punch but she ducked and took the opportunity of ducking to go running down his opened legs and crossing the living room where the first window was opened. She closed it and locked it. She later would have to thank Ophelia for making her father sell them a master key apartment. Also thank Sam for thinking that they'd only need one key. Sam was already running after her on their little apartment but she was faster. She got into the room and locked the window. When she was out, she was knocked on the ground by a punch. She still had the key on her hand though.
"Give me the key, Celaena, gods damn it!" he offered his hand for her to go up, saying that he didn't want to fight. She accepted. With the impulse, she throw a kick with both legs onto his stomach, and then one last between his legs. Sam groaned. She got up and ran into the kitchen, locking the last window.
"You'll have to break it all if you want to get out. Good luck telling Ophelia that"
Sam still was groaning and yelling her name, but he couldn't move from the pain. Celaena quickly was out of the apartment, locking again the door and running down the stairs.