Chapter 3

Sadness flies away on the wings of time.

-Jean de la Fontaine

Nino sighed as she headed back to her room, which was located right in the middle of the halls, between Linus' room, and Ursula's. Lloyd's room was next to Linus' room, and Jaffar's room was next to Ursula's. Naturally, Linus and Lloyd had the biggest rooms due to their father, and Ursula the next. Nino had gone into each room except for Jaffar, and now that she had seen him with a bird's eye view, she was curious to know what kind of person he was.

She had gotten some information out of Linus to tell her about Jaffar. He explained that he was a dark character, who killed many people, including civilians. Of course, Nino knew that some things weren't reliable when they came out of her brothers' mouths. They seem to think that she was still a child, when she was already a fourteen and developed into a young woman.

Lifting her white dress as she went down the stairs, Nino stared at her hands. They were still quite small, and were quite bony, despite the fact that her parents provided her with the best foods of the country. Sonia had promised Nino that she would be able to have a high-ranking job in the Black Fang, and Nino knew that one day, her hands were going to be tainted with blood, just as her mother had said to Jaffar.

"Look at his filthy hands, tainted with the blood of the innocent."

Nino was amazed at how different human hands were. While her hands were small and inferior, the hands of her mother lead the entire Black Fang army with one single whiff. The hands of her mother could dismiss the attendants out of a room, or could command an entire army and defeat a force easily. The hands of her mother had probably killed many people, despite the fact that she continued to say that her hands were beautiful.

Purple slippers tapped the marble floors of the castle, echoing throughout the hall. Her warm purple cloak swayed slightly as she took each step. Blue eyes were carefully scanning the area around, making sure that none of the guards caught the sight of her. Nino never liked the knights who were guarding the hallways, for they seemed to gaze endlessly at her.

Nino herself was used to people gazing at her. Ursula had given her a long stare when they first met, which was not quite long ago. Uncle Uhai had given her a long stare when he first acknowledged that she was Sonia's daughter. Her father, Brendan Reed, had given her a long stare when she completed her first mission. Her mother had given her a long stare when she had asked her to teach magic.

Of course, she couldn't forget the eyes she saw for the first time today. The assassin, Jaffar's eyes had pierced her in a way that was unlike the others. He had beautiful eyes, sharp, burgundy eyes. It would have been more beautiful if they weren't so sad, Nino mused to herself as she entered her room.

Closing the door, Nino thought more about what she had said. Jaffar's eyes were sad, were they? She shook her head, putting on a smile to convince herself. Jaffar's eyes shouldn't be sad, for he was emotionless. That's what her mother had told her, and what Mother said was usually right. Uncle Jan had said the same thing, and Nino knew that she could trust Uncle Jan's words.

Nino sighed, jumping on her bed decorated with lavender sheets. A scent of lavender swiftly entered her nose, making her aware that a servant had entered her room earlier in the day. The servants always sprayed her room with a lavender perfume, which she adored. Nino had begged one of them to give her a small bottle of it, which they did. The small vial was on her dresser, standing out because of its vivid lilac hue.

Reaching for the table that was beside her bed, Nino picked up a book that Linus had given her from his last mission. There were letters printed in gold on the cover, which read "Journal". Nino had gotten Lloyd to read it for her.

It frustrated her to no end that she couldn't read or write. Her mother refused continuously when Nino had asked her to teach, and neither Linus or Lloyd would teach her how to do so. She had almost successfully gotten Uncle Jan to teach her, but he had left before he got the chance. Nino was sure that Ursula would not teach her, for she was devoted to her mother, and her mother's orders were Ursula's commands.

Nino walked over to her desk, getting out a quill pen from the drawer. Drawing helped her ease her anger at these times, but often times it brought about even more of the anger when she thought about writing words instead of drawing pictures. Before dipping the quill in the ink, Nino turned the pages to see the previous pictures she had drawn.

One the first page, Nino had drawn a picture of a girl with wings. The girl's features had resembled herself that even she was surprised at her artistic abilities. Nino had not meant for the girl to look like her, but she remembered that her hand felt like it was guided not by her mind, but her soul. The girl had great wings on her back, wings that seemed to carry even the heaviest of things, such as sorrow.

It reminded her of a quote Uncle Jan used to tell her when her mother often yelled her after their lessons on magic. Uncle Jan would always wrap his arms around her shoulder, and would comfort her until her tears dried up for the moment. He would always take the time to listen to what she had to say, ignoring his most sacred duties at times.

"Sadness flies away on the wings of time, Nino."

Nino would feel extremely selfish when she was with Uncle Jan; he would stay by her side forever, and had promised her that he would serve her through thick and thin. That was a lie, since Uncle Jan left and never came back. Uncle Jan left, Uncle Legault left, and Uncle Uhai left. Nino remembered that she had made each of them to make a promise to her; that they would all come back. She had made them swear by their hearts, and make them link pinkies with her. But they never came back.

Nino laughed to herself, quickly turning the page. She wasn't sad. She wasn't sad.

"I am not sad. I am not sad." Nino repeated, trying to convince herself. Shaking her head, blue eyes focused on the page that lay opened.

On the second page, she drew her whole "family", which consisted of her mother, father, Linus, Lloyd, Uncle Jan, Uncle Legault, Uncle Uhai, Ursula, and Jaffar. They all looked very happy, including her mother, who wore a big smile in that picture. Her father had his great big arm wrapped around her mother, who had a beautiful smile. Linus and Lloyd were on the side of her father, who also wore big smiles like they usually had. But in the picture, they weren't giving her mother the glares that they usually gave her. Uncle Jan stood to the side next to Uncle Uhai, both smiling like they always did. Uncle Legault, with his bad left eye, was smiling broadly as well, and even Ursula seemed naturally happy instead of the gloating she usually did after her mother congratulated her. Jaffar was on the very side, giving them a smile that she'd never seen in her entire life.

Nino felt the corners of her mouth curve into a smile. They looked so happy that it looked like a lie. Linus and Lloyd would never give her mother the great smiles that they had in this picture. Her mother would never smile like that. Uncle Legault wouldn't smile if he was with Mother, since he didn't like her. And Jaffar would most certainly never smile like that, because he was an assassin and had no emotions.

Nino knew she would never have such a family.

The happy family that she used to imagine was all a lie, and she knew that. The Black Fang, who used to be in fair control, was collapsing, and Nino could hear the sound of it breaking down. And as much as she didn't want to believe it, Nino knew that it started when her mother married her father, and took control of the Black Fang with an iron hand.

Her thoughts faded away slightly as she put the quill onto the desk. Nino put her arms onto the desk, using them as a pillow for her head. Blue eyes fluttered a few times, taking short glances at the picture before her. With each blink, the picture faded, like it was a dream from the start. The last thing Nino remembered was the lavender scent filling her nose before blue eyes closed completely to fall into a deep slumber.

"Jaffar, you understand that I'm doing a great favor for you, don't you?" Sonia asked, pausing to take a look at Jaffar's reaction. After noticing that he, as usual, showed no emotion, she continued. "I'm giving you a second chance to become a perfect specimen like Master Nergal and I."

Jaffar bit his tongue and nodded, not bothering to correct the fact that he didn't really want to become a perfect specimen. He highly doubted that they were perfect specimens themselves.

"You're one of the Four Fangs. An injury like that," she paused again, pointing to Jaffar's tightly bandaged arm, "would normally result in me executing you."

Jaffar nodded again. He knew the law the of Fang like the back of his hand, and had wondered she didn't kill him in the Chambers, but he had convinced himself that Sonia cared about her daughter and didn't want to let her see the gruesome sight of a failure being killed.

"You do understand that failures are not permitted in the Black Fang, don't you?" She asked, golden eyes meeting scarlet ones. A smirk spread across her face when she saw him nod once again.

Jaffar noticed that Sonia had changed garments since the time he saw her in the chamber an hour ago. Her usual revealing attire was once again present, and her wiry black hair was neatly combed and hung loosely around her shoulders. Golden eyes were focused on him, and they were looking at him hungrily for any emotion.

It was a pity, Jaffar realized, since Sonia was a really pretty woman. If the look in her eyes weren't full of malice and hunger for power, she would really be a beautiful woman. He could understand why Brendan had married her.

"Jaffar?' she said loudly, bring him back to reality. "There are many risks, and I'm not willing to take any of them," she explained hastily. "I need that book, Jaffar."

"I will get it," he murmured, his eyes downcast. Jaffar noticed that his eyes were almost always downcast when he faced Sonia, not because of respect, but so that he wouldn't have to look at her malicious eyes. Her eyes were boring through him, and he could feel it.

"Of course, Jaffar," she said, waving her hand. "If you don't, I'm going to kill you. You know there are plenty of assassins out there I could use."

She smirked, resisting the urge to laugh out loud when Jaffar's eyes slightly widened at the comment. She loved to manipulate people, and she praised herself for being able to control people even Jaffar, who seemed immune to it.

A slender hand moved out towards Jaffar's cheek, and he made no effort to resist the hand. Sonia removed Jaffar's cape, and smirked once again, taking a look at his features. Only she was daring enough to take off his cape and take a look at the assassin's uncovered face. A part of her laughed at his features, as it seemed exactly as she thought. One part of her was taken back, for she never realized how handsome the assassin was.

"You have a decent face, Jaffar," Sonia mused, her hand somewhat stroking his cheek as she pulled it away. He was used to her somewhat bipolar personality: she had been throwing goblets at him an hour ago, and now she was telling him that he had a decent face.

Jaffar noticed that Sonia's fingernails were painted a vivid hue of red. The hue was so dark and rich in color that it resembled blood in his mind. He quietly wondered whether Sonia actually painted her nails with blood.

"It's such a pity you're an assassin..." she continued, a smirk rising on her face. "If you weren't, you would've made a great personal servant..."

A shrill laugh escaped Sonia's mouth, turning her back to Jaffar. "I forgot. You are my servant, Jaffar!" She looked over her shoulder, hoping for any emotion on the assassin's face, but when it lacked what she had been looking for, she gave up.

Sonia exited the room, her golden sash making a sound as she left. Her perfume of a spicy scent, filled the room. Outside, Jaffar's trained ears heard the guards bowing down to Sonia, their thick armor making a sound as they hit the marble floor. He knew that the guards only bowed to her out of their law.

He took a glance at his arm, which he bandaged. Ursula, after finding out of his failure, had been bothering him to go to the physician, but he preferred to take care of his own wounds. Being wounded many times in the course of his lifetime, he was used to bandaging his own wounds. His room contained an endless supply of tourniquets anyway.

Jaffar reclined on his bed, which was quite small. His entire body barely fit on it, and the mattress was rather soft. Ursula always told him that he had a bad posture, and it was probably because of the bed. Jaffar didn't mind, though. It had been long since he slept on an actual bed, and he was grateful for it. Even the smallest things, such as sleeping on a bed, made him feel grateful.

He didn't bother to put his cape back on. He ran a hand through his scarlet hair, which the locks were hardened with sweat. Jaffar decided to take a bath later on in the night, wanting to procrastinate for a few hours. The journey had tired him greatly, and he had underestimated the amount of stamina he had used. Talking with Sonia had always made him feel tired as well.

Rolling to his side, he sighed deeply. Jaffar knew that he would always be a servant to the Black Fang, and nothing more. It hadn't occurred to him that he would actually be considering about his existence. When he was but a child, and had mustered up the courage to ask Nergal about his parents, he would always reply that his parents were dead, and that he was a fortunate child to be found by the Black Fang. Jaffar always had doubts about that, and he doubted even to this day.

Nergal had always told him that assassins weren't supposed to "wish". When young Jaffar had spotted a girl praying to the stars, Nergal had told him how pathetic it was. Stars would never grant a wish to anyone. But Jaffar had secretly prayed to the stars for success as an assassin. Nergal never found out.

When Jan was still in the organization, while Jaffar was still a new recruit, Jan had told him that sadness flies away on the wings of time. The old man was kind to Jaffar, while none of the organization approved of him. Even though he knew that it was a pathetic attempt to befriend an assassin, Jaffar couldn't deny the feelings of gratitude at that time. Perhaps it was the time when he most needed someone to talk to.

Now, he didn't need anyone to talk to. He was emotionless. He was a near complete specimen, who was immune to love nor any silly feelings. He was an assassin whose hands were stained with the blood of many, and his hands would get stained even more in the future. He would kill for the Black Fang, and would live out his life as nothing more but an expendable product. That would be his sad life.

Jaffar closed his eyes as the thoughts flooded his mind. What the regular people call "feelings" were starting form in his mind.

He would never be a human to the Black Fang.

"Jaffar, sadness flies away on the wings of time," Jan said, winking at Jaffar. When the young boy showed no expression, a chuckle escaped his mouth. "Lad, I guess Miss Sonia wasn't lying when she boasted that you had no emotion."

Jaffar remained silent, his scarlet eyes focused onto the floor. His façade hadn't cracked, and hadn't moved a single beat. His eyes darted away from the floor, and onto Jan, who seemed like he was expecting an answer from him.

"...What if...the sadness is too heavy for the bird?" he asked quietly, burgundy eyes meeting brown ones. Jaffar again showed no emotion when Jan looked taken back at his question. He knew that Jan expected him to be stupid; that he only knew how to kill. He knew that the organization thought of him as a destructive machine; one that could be programmed to kill. Jaffar wanted to prove that he had logic in himself.

"Well..." Jan began, hesitating as he took a glance at the piercing glare of the young assassin. "A large bird can carry the weight, can it not?" he laughed weakly at the meek answer. When Jaffar did not look satisfied at the answer, Jan began again.

"The bird...is an animal that has a duty. Its duty is to carry the sorrow of people, and ease it through Time so that it would heal the people. That's why it can carry such weight. Whether the sorrow of a person be small or large, the bird will always carry it away from you.

My sorrow is pitifully small; I have more happiness than sorrow, Jaffar. It is a great honor, working for the Black Fang. I feel that it is my duty to work for the Black Fang, and I am forever obligated to the organization. As for my past sorrows, the bird has taken it away. My sadness has flown away on the wings of time."

Jan took a long look at Jaffar. The young assassin was of lean build, and sported scarlet hair that matched his eyes. His eyes were piercingly alert, and resembled a hawk's. Jaffar's eyesight was great compared to his weak ones. The assassin wore a long cape, which hid most of his body. Jan knew that when a person found out what was hidden beneath the cape, they would tell not a soul, for their life ended as soon as they found out.

Jaffar gave him a quick glance before casting his gaze down at the floor again. For a second, Jan thought he saw something in Jaffar's eyes. But it was a second, and his eyesight was weak. Squinting his eyes, Jan tried to get a better look, but Jaffar's eyes were still the piercing hawk eyes. And the burgundy eyes were giving him a look that could easily be mistaken for a glare. Jan decided wisely that he should not stare any longer at the assassin.

"Jaffar, your sadness will fly away on the wings of time". Jan gave the assassin a smile. Jaffar did not seem amused nor disappointed. Once again, his expression was monotonous. Sonia had really not lied about the new recruit, Jan thought.

The assassin left the room quietly, his footsteps both silent and gracefully. Jan gazed at the young man until he became no smaller than a grain, and finally disappeared within the halls. All Jan could assume about Jaffar was that his sorrow was so great that probably the bird wouldn't be able to carry it away. His face was emotionless, but his eyes gave away. For an sliver of a second, Jan thought he saw emotion in the assassin.

"Miss Sonia wouldn't lie. He wouldn't have emotion." Jan said to himself, standing up. His mission would take place in just a few hours. He should be up in his room, getting ready. "Or would he?"

Ignoring his questioning mind, Jan exited the room. It was a very sunny day, and the sun's warm rays felt good. It reminded him of Nino, who was like the warm sun. She was the sun of Black Fang, the ray which brightened the organization. The Black Fang was different from how it used to be long ago. Yet Nino seemed to represent the Black Fang when it was still an honorable organization. She was a sweet child. Jan would feel no remorse being a Black Fang when around her. She was the bird who flew away with the sadness of Black Fang.

"Yes, Jaffar...there is no weight that the bird cannot carry... sadness flies away on the wings of time..."

A/N: Ugh, I haven't updated in a long time. The quote I used in this chapter, "Sadness flies away on the wings of time", is one of my favorite quotes. I could really imagine a bird carrying away sorrow from a person. In this case, the bird was Nino. This quote would be more relevant in the future chapters.

This chapter is a little longer than usual, just because I had fun writing about Jan and his conversation with Jaffar. I really like writing in italics. I have no idea why.

And to TheOneAndOnlyT, don't mind what I wrote in my reviews. I said something about you having the same dialogue as another story, and I thought you wrote that story as well, but it turns out that you were using some lines from the game. I have never played Fire Emblem before, and I just learned about it because my friend owns the game. And I only saw the part where Nino and Jaffar were escaping together after they didn't kill the prince, so I had no idea about what Jaffar said when he got hurt. There were so many stories that said the same lines so I was really confused. So I'm really, really sorry if it offended you. Sorry!

And to all of you who reviewed, thank you so much!