For those of you who care (i.e. none of you :/) the "...food..." reference before the last chapter was from Strong Bad e-mails. If you've never seen Strong Bad's e-mails, go to homestarrunner. com and watch them now. They're hilarious.
Firelien: Have you left a paper assigned a week prior left until 10:00 the night before it's due? If not, then you're not the epitome of procrastination—that's my job ;P (for everything but fanfictions, of course :D)
timmycheese: It's all right, you can calm down...
The Story Master 125: I'll make fun of your spelling wherever I feel like it, thank you :P
Ragnarok-legend: OK! The chapter's here! Please don't kill me...
Ryst: "Against the game script" is my specialty, if you haven't noticed :P Thanks!
Winteress: YES! GO RED SOX! WE BEAT THE YANKEES, AND WE'RE GOING TO BEAT THE CARDINALS! AND I'M SCREAMING WAY TOO MUCH! :D :D :D
Mornie: Thanks for your review!
AmbieChan: What's that...the fifth time now? :D And as for the AP exam...it will seem really hard, but it's actually easier than you think to get a good score. Look at it this way: the maximum number of points on the test (through some weird multiplying) is 180. To get a 5 on the exam, you need to get around 114. That's 63 percent. Oh, and if you're wondering, I got a 4.
MagicianFairy: Thanks for your review!
Flaming Soul: I love writing cliffhangers as well; keeps the readers interested. Reading a cliffhanger, on the other hand...
Emotion Changing Reviewer: Reference? --points upward--
Icy AngelWings (x3!): Thanks for your reviews!
Bloody Mary: I wrote it very well...sorry, I'm a stickler for those grammar things :/
Inferno-Hero: Thanks for your review!
hyliansage: Yes...um, "working." I really hope you are working on it, I liked that story...
Juggernaut (x4!!): Thanks a lot of reviews...thanks!
Oswin the Nino Fanatic: Don't go getting dirty thoughts just yet. You can save that for the end ;)
TrisRika: Actually, I don't like Eliwood either :P Hector is so much better...
FireEdge: Good! We need an update to Stray Arrow...
--tries to think of a food-related reference but fails-- Um...Chapter 7!
Chapter Seven
Compassion
Jaffar did not look back.
It was a good thing that he didn't. If he had, he would have seen Nino rooted to the spot, staring fixedly at his retreating form.
But thoughts of looking back did not pass through Jaffar's mind. All he knew was that the soldiers, these dangers to Nino's safety, were around the corner of the hallway.
And any threat to Nino's safety had to be eliminated.
The clanks of the soldiers' armors sounded louder and louder as Jaffar neared the corner of the hallway. The corridor around the corner was darkened, but as the assassin peered around the corner, he noticed that one of the soldiers was carrying a lit torch.
This was almost too easy to be true.
Pressing himself against the wall, Jaffar waited until the clanks of the soldiers' indicated that they were close, that most of the torches in that corridor had been snuffed out.
Then he whipped around the corner, locating the torch-bearing soldier in an instant and flying towards him so fast that he was a blur. Before any of the other soldiers even had time to widen their eyes in surprise, the soldier that had been carrying the torch was beheaded.
The assassin didn't waste a millisecond. Whipping around, he snatched the torch out of the soldier's lifeless hand and flung it as hard as he could down the hallway.
The remaining soldiers had not even noticed the assassin due to his incredible speed. Instead, they turned confusedly and watched as their only hope of survival sailed down the corridor and hit the floor, its light snuffed out instantly.
That left several confused soldiers quite literally in the dark.
Jaffar stood unnoticed in their midst, his well-trained night vision enabling him to see the soldiers clearly as their gazes darted about frantically, some muttering incoherent words of terror under their breath.
The assassin did nothing except flip his daggers into his hands.
This was what he had done all his life.
-----
He stood alone, in the middle of a circle of death. Blood poured onto the floor, creating a pool of blood that rapidly grew wider.
He had killed them all. They had deserved it. They had intended to hurt Nino.
But what was he supposed to do now?
"Oh Saint Elimine!"
The assassin whirled around, towards the corner he had initially come from, at the sound of a masculine voice.
It was another soldier. He was carrying a torch; apparently he had run into the lit hallway to grab one.
The soldier quickly dropped his lance, holding up his hands above his head, though he still held the torch in his hand. His eyes showed mortal terror, and his voice shook as he yelled, "Please, d-don't hurt me!"
Jaffar gave a deadly whisper. "You were going to kill Nino." He could have killed the soldier right then and there, but some strange feeling prevented him from doing so, a feeling he couldn't identify.
The soldier took a few steps back, his breaths coming in gasps. "I-I w-was just f-following o-orders! P-Please, let me go! I-I s-swear I won't d-do anything!"
The strange feeling surged. Why was it that he didn't want to kill this soldier? His comrades all lay dead about the assassin's feet. What was different about this man?
And then, quite suddenly, he thought of Nino. He saw her, laughing with her brothers, that first time he had met her...
Jaffar closed his eyes and breathed in slowly. Nino would not want Jaffar to kill this soldier, even if he had been ordered to kill her. The soldier had merely been doing what he was told to do, nothing more.
Jaffar realized quickly that this soldier was frighteningly like himself.
But Nino had forgiven Jaffar for simply following orders. She would want him to do the same for this man.
"Go," he breathed.
The soldier's face split into a maniacally ecstatic grin. "Th-thank you! Oh, Saint Elimine thank you!" he shouted.
"Go," Jaffar repeated. It was better that the soldier leave before the assassin decided to change his mind.
"Ye-yes, of course!" the soldier responded fearfully, before running as fast as he could past Jaffar and down the corridor towards the entrance. The light of the torch silhouetted him as he sprinted away from the assassin.
Jaffar closed his eyes again as the image of Nino smiling and laughing played through his mind once again.
He had saved her.
He had saved her, just as she had saved him.
But now that she was safe, what was he going to do?
He couldn't simply go out into the countryside and try to live a normal life. Not like Nino; any reasonably kind person would allow a cute young girl to stay the night, or maybe have some food. But Jaffar's mere appearance struck fear into the hearts of those who gazed upon him.
The Black Fang would be looking for both of them, of course, but which would they rather eliminate: a young girl who could barely use magic, or the most skilled assassin on the continent? Nino's disappearance would go unnoticed by the Fang. Jaffar's would mean extensive searches to find a traitor.
He had no way to live anymore. But yet, as he thought about it, he realized that now, he had no reason to live either. Nino was safe. He had nothing left to do in his life, no reason to keep on living.
Nino was worthy of living. But he was not. He deserved to die for the murders he had committed.
With that thought in mind, he made his decision.
-----
The corridor that stretched from where Jaffar had entered to where the prince's room lay could not have been longer than several yards, yet for the assassin the small hallway seemed to stretch on forever.
His decision had been simple. Doubtlessly the prince would be frantically searching for who had caused such havoc as soon as he saw what had occurred in his manse. Jaffar would make it simple. He would present himself to the prince and tell him everything, though he would make sure not to mention Nino. Then he would be executed for his crimes.
It seemed like such a simple plan, yet Jaffar was having extreme difficulty just making it to the prince's room. A strange, empty feeling filled his being as he walked, and he knew it was from the fact that he was never going to see Nino again.
Nino...
Why did he have to think about her now? He knew that now, she was safe, yet when he thought about her, he was filled with an overwhelming desire to rush to her side, to make sure that she was still well.
He reached the door to the prince's room.
Could he do this?
He looked down, closing his eyes.
And so it ends...
His life...was done. He had to stop thinking about Nino. He had to just open the door prince's room...
And he would have done so, if not right then and there, he had heard a faint cry.
"PRISCILLA!"
He didn't know who had called that name, or even who the voice was referring to. But he had not been expecting to hear anything, and the sound caused him to look up, at the end of the hallway, where the voice had come from.
And that was when he saw Nino running down the corridor, towards him.
"Nino?" he whispered, more to himself than her.
"Jaffar!" she shouted, running as fast as her small figure could carry her. As she reached the assassin, she flung her arms around him in relief. "You're okay!"
"Nino..." Jaffar repeated in disbelief. What was she doing here?
He was extremely aware of Nino's arms around his waist, of the warmth her little body was giving off. For a moment, he forgot everything that had happened, and he simply stood there, reveling in the feelings Nino's small act was giving him.
And then he snapped back to reality.
Nino was still in the manse. Why had she not left?
"Nino," he repeated again, and she looked up at him inquisitively.
"What is it?" she asked, a large smile plastered on her innocent face.
"I...told you to flee," he whispered slowly. He was not angry; he was fearful for her safety above all else.
Nino looked at the floor, though her arms were still around the assassin. "I...I know," she replied, sounding almost like a child being punished for misbehaving.
She disengaged her arms from around him, causing Jaffar to suddenly feel strangely empty.
"But...these people came and helped me," she went on, smiling slightly and pointing down the hall at two quickly approaching figures.
Jaffar looked at where she was pointing. The figures she was indicating seemed familiar, somehow. One was a tall woman, her long dark-green ponytail flying behind her as she ran. She wore the garb of the nomads of the east, a blue shirt and a long blue skirt that was cut so that the sides of her legs were visible. The other was a man of average height, with short blue hair, who carried a large battle axe and wore a rather imposing amount of armor.
"Nino!" the woman shouted as she approached. Her accent was strange to Jaffar, but he supposed it came from her obvious plainswoman heritage. "You shouldn't run off like that," she reprimanded, though not harshly. "You never know where enemy soldiers may be lurking."
"I know, but it's all right!" Nino responded happily, gesturing at Jaffar. "Jaffar won't let me get hurt."
"Jaffar?" the woman asked, looking at the assassin as though she had seen his face somewhere and was trying to remember when.
"You."
The deadly whisper came from the blue-haired man. He raised his axe threateningly, a mad rage towards the assassin glinting in his eyes.
"Hector?" the woman asked confusedly. "What...are you doing?"
"Don't you recognize him, Lyn?!" the man known as Hector nearly screamed, turning to her furiously. "This is the man that stopped us at the Dragon's Gate! This is the man who killed Leila!"
An flicker of recognition passed over Lyn's face, and she turned to the assassin with the same vengeful expression as Hector.
"No!" Nino cried suddenly, stepping in front of Jaffar and spreading her arms defensively. The eyes of Lyn and Hector gazed down upon her irefully, causing her to shrink back against Jaffar a little, but she did not move from her position.
"Get out of the way," Hector commanded.
"No!" Nino repeated, shrinking back more. "He hasn't done anything wrong!"
Lyn almost snorted at that. "Hasn't done anything wrong?" she asked almost incredulously. "Do you have any idea what this man has done in the past?"
"Yes!" Nino shouted frantically. "B-but it's not his fault! He...he was just d-doing what h-he was told!"
Lyn's anger seemed to diminish somewhat at that comment, but Hector's expression was unchanged. "So what?" he demanded. "He prevented us from rescuing Eliwood's father. He killed Leila. It's—"
"Hector, wait," Lyn interrupted. She turned to Nino. "Nino...is the prince alive?" she asked. Nino, however, turned to Jaffar for an answer.
"Yes," he replied.
Nino turned back to Lyn and Hector, her gaze lowered. "Jaffar...told me to flee," she explained. "He wanted to protect me...and the prince," she added hastily.
Lyn looked at Hector.
"What? What are you looking at me for?" he demanded.
"Why do you not kill me?" Jaffar asked suddenly.
That got everyone's attention. Lyn's face held a confused expression; Hector was rolling his eyes as if to say, "Yeah, why not?"
His question, however, had the greatest effect on Nino. She turned around, looking up at the assassin with an expression of disbelief. "K-...kill you?" she stammered. "W-Why?"
Jaffar closed his eyes, breathing in slowly for the third time that night. These people, Hector and Lyn...Nino would be safe with them. Lyn had even expressed concern on her behalf...
It was clear to Jaffar that he was no longer needed to protect Nino. And if he did not have to protect her anymore...then he had no reason to go on living.
"I am a corpse." He had been working for evil all his life without realizing it. "I have been dead since the day I was born." She no longer had any reason to stay with him. "Just...leave." He deserved to die for the murders he had committed. "Kill me...and don't look back."
"No," Nino said resolutely. Jaffar opened his eyes to find Nino trying to keep herself from crying. "W-Why do you want me to leave? You saved me..." She shook her head. "You protected me, Jaffar. I don't want you to leave me..." She sniffed. "When you told me to flee...I-I was...scared...that you m-might get hurt..."
What was this emotion that he was feeling?
He knew that Nino no longer needed his protection, and yet...he didn't think he could bear leaving her again. The mere sight of her made him want to go on living, to stay by her side forever...
"Hector, Lyn," Nino went on, turning around. "Please...let me...and Jaffar come with you," she pleaded.
"And why should we let you do that?" Hector demanded.
"Hector!" Lyn shouted in a reprimanding tone. "They didn't take the prince's life, so we won't take theirs. They should...be allowed to come with us."
"Hmph." Hector rolled his eyes. "Fine. But don't think for a moment that I trust you," he added, his gaze fixed upon Jaffar. "If you do anything even remotely suspicious, then I will cut you down without hesitation. Got it?"
Jaffar did not reply.
"Jaffar..." Lyn asked hesitantly. "Do you...wish to fight for us?"
Nino turned to him, her eyes pleading with him to say yes.
He couldn't resist her gaze.
"If...Nino wishes me to," he replied.
He couldn't understand. Why was it that everything he was thinking about always centered around Nino? What made her so different from anyone else? Why did she seem so special to him?
Nino's face split into a huge grin. "Thank you, Jaffar!" she exclaimed joyfully.
"Is this acceptable, Nino?" Lyn asked.
She turned around, beaming. "Mm-hmm! Yes! Thank you!"
Lyn couldn't help but smile slightly at the young mage's enthusiasm. "Well, then...welcome aboard," she said. "Now come with us, we should probably be leaving." She and Hector began to walk down the hallway towards the entrance.
Nino turned to Jaffar, beaming up at the assassin's face. "This is great, isn't it, Jaffar?" she asked.
As the two of them walked down the hallway together, Jaffar looked down at Nino's smiling face.
He supposed it was.
He didn't know why. But he knew that he could go on, as long as he was with Nino.
Gah. Too much...fluff...sugar overload... x.X
Well, it took me until 12:34 AM, but I finally got this chapter done. I like it. How about you?
--tries to think of random thing to add--
Um...GO SOX! We won game 1, only three more to go! :D :D :D
Please review!!!
-TheOneAndOnlyT