Chapter Ten

Only To Watch It Burn

Focus on where I wish…

To be standing…

And it…

Will be so…

I fell onto my hands and knees with a rather impressive smack! Well…I may actually feel that one tomorrow. I stood up, shakily, brushing the dirt off of my legs.

Focus on where I wish to be standing…

And it will be so…

I sighed, putting my hand gingerly against my forehead. At least I managed to transverse myself onto the bed this time. Outsider's eyes, how…? How are my brothers able to transverse so flawlessly?

How are you supposed to get used to the feeling of your body being ripped apart, piece by piece, and put back together again in rapid succession?

How many two-sided blades must I wield to get out of this ghastly place? I knew that I needed to save all the mana I had. Yet, I also knew that I desperately needed to practice using my magic. Though, how to properly perform a tethering is still somewhat beyond my understanding. As are the transversals, come to think of it…

All we ever do in our brief lives is learn. I am beginning to see that now. Master Daud and my eldest brothers taught me the basics of being an assassin. They taught me the complexity of it. Now, I have to learn how to use my magic alongside my training. And, for the time being, I am my own teacher. Is this to my detriment, or to my benefit?

I closed my eyes and began to calm my breathing. Using my powers is a lot more strenuous than I previously thought it would be. And that is considering the fact that I am transversing back and forth across a miniscule room.

So how did I manage to do a…what did Kieron call it? Was it not a…a long distance transversal? I cannot recall exactly, yet I do remember how much he loathed doing them.

How many days was I unconscious, before I awoke in this place? It must have been a long while, if Master Daud had time to sell me off to these…these pitiful excuses for human beings. And he sold me for a single coin!? Come on, I know I am worth more than that! The least Master Daud could have done was sell me off for more, so that my brothers could stock up on food and supplies for months! Months!

…Did I really just think about that? I cannot believe I did. There is definitely something wrong with me…

"…And what did you say her name was?"

"Corabelle Gouverneur."

"An interesting name, for a Serkonan. And here I thought the Gouverneur family was wiped out over half a century ago!"

"There was a Gouverneur family, Mother Lestelle?"

"Oh, yes, yes…" A long pause. "Have we arrived, my dear?"

"Yes, Mother. Are you sure you want to speak with her?"

"Yes, child, I'm certain. Open the door."

The door creaked open, and in walked an older woman, along with the young Sister. I sat up as the Sister closed the door, and I crossed my legs, carefully resting my hands on my lap. Remember your cover story, Arissa. It should be just like the last time.

Mother Lestelle wore a dress of white, adorned with golden and black lace. That same symbol, the topless star, was evident on her forehead. Her hair was tied back elegantly, and was the same color as the dress. She had significance in the Oracular Order. Is it possible that she is one of the blind oracles?

I highly doubt it.

"Your name is Corabelle Gouverneur. You're from Batista, in Karnaca," Mother Lestelle said, her voice stern and thick with an accent that placed her from Morley. "So, you're Serkonan. But the problem I have with you is that you don't have a Serkonan surname. You told quite the compelling story to my apprentice. I wonder if any of it is true. Is it, child?"

Uh…Apprentice? The Sister is her apprentice?

"You are taking a calculated risk, believing in any of my words," I replied, stoically. "You have everything to lose, while I have nothing to lose. So, in actuality, you should not trust me. You should not be here. And yet, here you are, because you believe that you can save me from the Outsider's corrupt embrace. Can you?"

Mother Lestelle was scrutinizing me, dissecting my words one by one. Perhaps she was even attempting to see if I am truly Serkonan. Who can tell what the thoughts of zealots are?

The Mother crossed her arms. "We're about to find out. How long did you say you were in Dunwall for?"

"I cannot give you a definitive answer. It was…two or three weeks, at most."

"And why can't you give me a definitive answer?"

"I…have suffered a lot of emotional trauma, recently…"

"Very well. Why were you in Dunwall, then?"

"To start a new life."

"Why?"

"My brother died of phthisis. I was too heartbroken to remain in my homeland."

"You don't sound like you're from Batista. Karnaca, most definitely. Not Batista. They have a…unique cadence to their speech. Speak Serkonan to me."

You have got to be kidding me… You are making this more difficult than it needs to be, woman!

"Se lo tu dici," I said. "No preoccuparvi, su altezza. Sono grato del tuo aiuto."

"I haven't helped you yet," she snapped. "Anyone could say that sentence!"

"Mother, please…" the Sister said. "Isn't this getting a bit ridiculous? That sounded very fluent to me, and…"

"Silence, apprentice! The questions are complete when I say they are!"

The Sister sighed. "Yes, Mother."

Mother Lestelle fell silent. Unfortunately, it was not for long. "Give me your hands," she barked.

"W-what?" I stuttered, feigning being intimidated.

"Your hands. Now!"

I held out my hands, and the mentally disturbed old woman began to rub her thumb over the palms of my hands.

"You weren't a spaller," she said, bluntly. She grabbed me by the shoulders, spitefully glaring into my eyes. "You never were."

"Yes, I was!"

"Jocelyn, stay where you are!" she ordered her apprentice. "Who are you, truthfully?"

I should have known this was going to go wrong…I should have known it! Okay…Okay, uh…I have no idea what to do…Master Daud, why did you never teach me what to do when your cover is blown!?

Outsider, please help me!

With equal malice, I met Mother Lestelle's gaze. "Why does it matter to you who I am?"

She slapped me across the cheek. Outsider, I beseech you. Please, help me. "Tell me who you are! Who do you work for?"

"You know that I do not interfere in the affairs of mortals," I heard the Outsider say, somewhere…in my head? "Tell me, Arissa. Are you ready to watch your soul burn bright, in an abyss of everlasting darkness?"

"If you want answers, pry them from me, you Oracular zealot!"

Yes, I am ready to take the step into the darkness…Help me. Please.

"Remember your training. I will watch this spectacle with mild interest, to see just how intelligent you are."

Mother Lestelle brandished a dagger. "Last chance, child. Tell me who you are! Tell me who you work for!"

"Mother!" the Sister screamed. "Stop it! Please, stop this madness!"

"Silence, Jocelyn!"

Remember my training…

There is a dagger…

Wait…A dagger…

Snap a neck, take a blade…

Well, snapping her neck will not work. Can I trick her into going for my eyes? I will have to kill them both, after this…

So be it.

"My name is Arissa Gwethalyn Daurana," I said emotionlessly as I transversed onto my feet, directly into one of our many combat stances. "And I am a Whaler."

I let go of my emotions, and I allowed nothing but raw instinct to take over. I feinted, to scare Mother Lestelle into striking. And it had worked. She lashed out at me with the dagger.

That was when my training took over.

I intercepted her arm with my own, effectively blocking the strike. Then, in that same motion, I turned sharply, so that I could get my leg behind hers. She was in front of me now. Yet, the motion continued. With my left hand, I grabbed her just above the elbow, and I pinned her blade arm against her side.

In a few short seconds, the dagger clattered uselessly onto the ground. With my free hand, I grabbed her by the windpipe, and began to squeeze.

"Young Sister, if you dare to move, I will kill Mother Lestelle. And if you try to run, you will die with her."

"Okay," the Sister relented. "Okay, please…Please, just…don't hurt us…"

"I had never planned to hurt either one of you," I replied. "Your Mother attempted to draw first blood."

"She was only trying to…"

"Do not attempt to explain her idiocy. All of this unpleasantness could have been avoided, you know. You just had to let me go. But no," I glared at Mother Lestelle. "You were the one who wanted to interrogate me."

I let go of the Mother's windpipe, allowing her to take a few short seconds of breath so that she could respond. I held out my hand, and I desperately hoped that I could summon up my tethering with my right hand.

Come on, tethering…I need that dagger…

"So, you're a part of that little Whaler group," Mother Lestelle said, fretfully. "I should have known it by the way your palms felt. You have the hands of a murderer."

The tethering grabbed the dagger, bringing it to me. Thank the Outsider, it worked! Now that I was armed, I held the dagger to Mother Lestelle's throat.

Say goodbye, innocence…Today, I become an assassin.

"You are right. I do," I replied. "The Business of Death is all I know. And it will long surpass religious zealots like you and the Overseers."

Without hesitation, I cut Mother Lestelle's throat. I threw her onto the ground without a care, like a child discarding an unwanted toy.

"Mother!" the Sister bellowed.

"You're next," I told her, prowling towards her.

"Please! No! I…I won't tell anyone about you! I…I swear! Please…"

She was steadily backing herself into the corner. I kept pressing her further and further into it, until she had nowhere else to go.

"Truly, I am sorry for what I am about to do to you," I whispered. "Yet, I cannot take the risk of letting you live. And unfortunately for you, you chose to lead a life of religion. You chose to serve here, in this dangerous place, surrounded by adulterers, deceivers, murderers, so on and so forth. You trusted my words, and it was the greatest mistake you ever made."

"Why are you doing this?" she whimpered. "Please…I don't want to die…"

"Does anyone? I am doing this because I have to. If not me, then surely you would die by someone else's hand. Fate is a cruel mistress, my dear. And truth be told, I did not want to deceive you. Alas, I had to. You do not deserve this fate, no. Allow me to wish you the ability to find peace in death, so that you may walk with your gods or whatever it is you believe in."

The Sister sobbed.

"Do not cry," I whispered in her ear, as I stabbed her in the heart. "It will all be over soon."

I left the dagger in. She slouched against me. I could feel her life ebbing away. I saw her white dress becoming tainted with red.

And I had to fight, to hold back the tears of knowing what I had just done. I killed two living, breathing human beings! They did not even need to die…Did they?

They were dying because of the choices I made…

With a final shudder, the Sister closed her eyes.

She was dead.

I gently laid her body down next to the Mother's, and I…I looked away.

I cannot dwell upon this now…I…I have to escape. I…I have to make a run for it! Hide, somehow…I have to…I have to…

I froze in place, as I heard the door open. I looked up, only to see an Overseer zealot standing in the doorway. He looked at me. He looked at the two bodies.

And he said nothing.

I blinked. He was gone.

So I blinked again.

This time, I found myself in a Tyvian chokehold.

"It'll all be over soon," the Overseer whispered into my ear as unconsciousness took hold over me.