Title: Weak and Powerless
Pairing: Jaffar x Nino
Word Count: 657 (yay, it's under 1000 words!)
Timeline: Chapter 26: Battle Before Dawn.
Summary: Jaffar has some choices to make.
Spoilers: Umm, basically it deals with the scene before Chapter 26 (in Eliwood's campaign) so you've been warned if you haven't reached this far yet. :D
Disclaimer: I'm just 'borrowing' Fire Emblem from Nintendo and Intelligent Systems. XP
A/N: This one was inspired by the song 'Weak and Powerless' by A Perfect Circle. I was re-listening to it, and BOOM, inspiration struck. Enjoy, and review please. :)

With a stony expression on his face, Jaffar stared at the girl in front of him.

Her nervousness was palpable like a heavy sweat on his skin. She would alternately look from the unconscious form of their target and then back to the stoic assassin.

It was weakness to look to others for support and determination; if you did not have the will to carry out your orders then you were of no use to the Black Fang.

With trembling lips and hands she raised the dagger higher to finally make a fatal strike against the Prince of Bern. But her arm shook so much that the blade wavered like a flag in a strong wind.

This girl teetering on the edge of womanhood was so powerless in Jaffar's eyes. She was physically weak, and her skills in anima magic were paltry compared to her mother's talent. The green-haired youth's vulnerability was so blatant that her stepfather and stepbrothers always tried to shield her from the harshness of the world.

Such a useless child could never become part of the Black Fang organization.

The knife stayed at its peak as she stared wide-eyed at Prince Zephiel's calmly sleeping face. Jaffar could easily see the war in her eyes, her strong desire to be loved by her mother versus the empathy for Bern's heir, whose situation was so much like hers.

The blade fell.

It clattered uselessly to the ground, its sharp point missing Zephiel's throat by inches.

"I … cannot do it."

"What? What did you say?" Jaffar asked blandly though he had heard her words perfectly. The assassin felt a rising pressure in his chest. He had a … bad feeling on what was going to happen.

"Did you hear him? All he wants is his parents' love. To be accepted. That's all," Nino said, trying to hold back tears.

Jaffar's lips curled slightly in a grimace. This weakling cried much too often, exposing her tender heart and leaving her open to attack. It was disgusting.

"He's just like me. No matter how hard I try, Mother always looks at me as if I were nothing. Her eyes are so filled with disappointment. She's never held me … not even once."

The longing in her voice mirrored the Prince's fervent prayer only a few moments prior.

"Stop this foolishness! I told you, I won't let you ruin my opportunity!" he said, his usually cool voice warming with anger. Nergal was his lord and master. He would not forgive mistakes even in the child he had raised to become his perfect killer.

"I know," she smiled in that kind way of hers. Mostly everyone had been drawn to that genuine warmth, had made them fall in love with Nino instantly. But this time it was marred with the sorrow that she felt. The assassin known as the Angel of Death felt that pressure in his chest strengthen.

"Do as you must, Jaffar. I won't resist. You can do it easily. But please, don't hurt the prince … for pity's sake."

Her blue eyes showed that she was no longer conflicted. She stared at him so peacefully, so … defiantly.

He remained silent, but she took it as assent.

"I'm ready to die."

She closed her eyes, waiting for his expert hands to slash her throat. Almost automatically his fingers found his large curved daggers, weapons that had tasted countless victims' lives. Unbeknownst to him the pads of his fingers glided over the smooth hilts of his weapons, this action betraying his indecision.

"Come."

Her eyes flew open at that one curt word.

"What?"

"We're leaving."

His young partner could only gape at him in complete shock before he grabbed her wrist and tugged her out of the Prince's room. Jaffar did not look back as he led them through the empty hallways. He did not want to see the person he was so weak and powerless against.