Blade grinned as he saw Noleos helpless on the ground, this was his favourite type of the kill, when his target is incapacitated but conscious enough so they know what is happening.
Savouring every second, he raised one of his short swords and tensed his arm to bring the blade down to strike.
Noleos began to cry , tears streaming down her face and giving a whimper every now and then.
The assassin never showed mercy in his life and wasn't about to break the habit now.
He liked to look his victims in their eyes so he gently raised his foot and pushed up Noleos's chin with it to see her eyes better.
His breath was stolen all at once, those eyes.
For a second he felt lost in those aquamarine depths which promised many things and stirred up so much emotion.
They were tinged with innocence but there was a sturdy calm about them also, as if they would accept any vision no matter how horrible it was.
Her eyes showed him for a second into her soul, how she loved and her stubbornness .
He felt he could swim for miles in those eyes and still not see what they had to offer.
All his life he had no problem killing anyone, innocent or guilty without even a twinge of remorse, now though, his deeds seemed to stretch behind him like a road burned, blackened and lined with death.
The full weight of his many vile deeds seemed to assault him now for the first time in one mind-numbing barrage.
His mind was flooded with guilt, disgust and hate for what he had become for the first time.
He felt like the most pitiful creature on the planet and wanted to do no more than curl up in a ball and die.
He felt useless and despicable .
But for the first time in his life he felt emotion and that gave him hope, hope that he could change.
He stepped back in shock at this revelation and lowered his weapons, his arms hanging limp at his sides.
'Well, aren't you going to kill me?' moaned Noleos ,her head bowed, not seeing that he had stepped back and still expecting the fatal blow.
'I don't know what I'm going to do' said Blade softly.
Noleos raised her head quickly, to check whether he was just toying with her but she couldn't help but feel pity for the dejected looking assassin standing a few feet back with his head bowed.
'Okay, I'll just go so' smiled Noleos timidly as she began to try and lift Jeanne, without any luck.
'No' said Blade sharply, then his voiced softened 'please don't go, its just…… I'm……. confused' he finished lamely.
'I'd love to stay and listen to the true confessions of an assassin but as you see I'm kind of in a hurry' she laughed sarcastically, but there was an edge on her voice, this guys seems like one of the more psychotic assassins who could snap at any moment she thought wearily, maybe if she could push his buttons and get him to get distracted enough with whatever he was feeling she could escape. She might as well get him to talk about it so he has an emotional breakdown or something, then she could make her escape. With my luck I'll be lucky if he doesn't go psycho if I talk to him she thought again.
'Well anyway, what is wrong with you…… I mean….. like…..why didn't you kill me….. Yet?' she said with trepidation and a slight quiver in her voice.
'I don't know… it is hard…. I can't explain it' whispered Blade 'I've killed hundreds of people in my life but I can't kill you, a Breton not even a Dunmer but yet I still can't bring myself to do it'
'That's comforting' Noleos said nervously edging further into the darkness away from Blade.
'I wouldn't try and escape if I were you by the way' he said calmly 'the streets are crawling with Empire soldiers, believe it or not you are safer here.
'You're still an assassin out to kill me I might take my chances on the streets if its okay with you' grinned Noleos trying to make Blade comfortable so she could make her move.
'Now that I think about it, my life, up until I saw you, is like a dream of something, I feel in control now, a control I didn't realise existed up till… well when I saw you' he said pulling off his hood and running his hand through his long black hair.
It was Noleos's time to be shocked, the Dunmer before her was the most handsome man she had seen.
He couldn't have been much older than her, only a few years maybe, his ebony skin was smooth except for a scar running down his left cheek but this seemed to accentuate his face, the rest of his features were typically elven except for his cheekbones which were normal rather than the high ones associated with all the elven races. Noleos shook her head and grinned at Blade.
'You've got to be joking a person doesn't just change their personality because of someone they see, this is crazy' said Noleos her voice raising.
'Yeah it sounds crazy but there is nothing I can do, that's what it feels like….. its hard to explain when you don't even know whats just happened' he said , a glazed look coming over him.
'Well what are you going to do now, you work for the Dark Brotherhood, right?' she asked.
'Yes and failure to obey a task for them results in death' he said , looking downtrodden 'I'd accept, even welcome death now because the guilt I have is unbearable'
'Or you could fight' whispered Noleos, her face beginning to split into a smile ' help fight the very evil you've been working for, Dark Elves live a long time, you could atone for your sins in that time'.
'It sounds too good to be true… this is the first time I have felt emotions' he muttered ' I feel like I wouldn't know what to do, this is all so strange, I feel like my life is just beginning'.
'Okay but first things first, you're going to help me, we have to get out of Gnisis, get out to the wilderness and get to safety for now at least' Noleos said matter-of-factly, almost like this was a simple task that a child could do.
'Okay let me just think for a second, we need a plan to destroy our trail or make them think we are dead' Blade murmured running his hand through his hair again 'we could go south , to the swampland, its easy to get lost there and the marshy ground would cause our trail to be almost impossible to find'
'I'd have thought that the soft ground would make it easier to be followed' piped Noleos.
'Usually it would, but marshy ground is flooded a lot and the waterlogged soil tends to absorb footprints' his lips twitched almost into a smile 'trust me, I'm an assassin'.
'Sounds good, could you help me with Jeanne first?' asked Noleos ' you are the one that knocked her out after all'.
'She's too heavy for me to lift' he said staring at her on the floor ' I have some herbs which may help' he bent down in front of Jeanne, leaned over her and when he pulled back she began to cough .'She'll be conscious in a few minutes'.
'Maybe its best if you back away and I explain what's going on before she tries to kill you' suggested Noleos ' By the way excuse my rudeness because you were trying to kill me that we couldn't be properly introduced. My name is Noleos'.
'What ..oh..yeah I'm Blade' he said scanning the alleyway for danger and finding none he turned back to Noleos ' Sorry but could I ask you a favour, you being a priest , could you well put their souls at rest, being so close to innocents I've killed is like torture' he motioned to the dead guards.
'Oh yes ……I forgot about them…for a minute' gazing at the corpses reminded Noleos of Blade's viciousness and she mentally got herself ready in case he turned on her, she still couldn't rule out the fact he was just a psychopath who got off on this but he seemed to be telling the truth ,and besides ,she thought he's the only chance I have right now. Working methodically she bent over each corpse in turn and muttered prayers in their ears, except for the decapitated Wood Elf but she sprinkled some herbs from her pouches which she still wore onto his stump of a neck to ensure his soul was at peace.
Blade stared pointedly away, ashamed at the carnage he had caused.
Their attention was turned to Jeanne as she sat up, spotted Blade and tried to rise and draw her weapon but fell over in a heap.
'Noleos get away from him quick!' the Nord screamed ' I'll distract him, go before its too late!' she tried to rise again but failed.
'Jeanne, calm down' whispered Noleos gently as she hurried over to her friend and knelt before her 'here take this, It'll help' she put a potion to Jeanne's lips and carefully poured the liquid into her mouth.
'Thank you' Jeanne gasped between mouthfuls of the potion. When she drained it she snapped her gaze to Blade who stood uncomfortably in the background, aware of her glare 'By Vivec what's that assassin doing there, why hasn't he killed us yet?' she moaned to Noleos.
'It's okay….I think… its hard to explain, just know that he is with us now and will help us' said Noleos 'you'll just have to trust me, okay?'.
'Yeah okay, just get him to help me up' she said ,loud enough for Blade to hear 'but I still don't trust him'.
Noleos nodded at Blade and he strode over, gripped Jeanne gently but firmly and help her to her feet.
'I'm sorry for what I've done to you' he muttered to Jeanne, kicking the floor in a child-like way.
'Hey, it's okay, I forgive you for now but you better explain your actions later' Jeanne seemed shocked at his remorse and although she was distant with him and still didn't trust him, she was willing to give him a chance ' for now we have to move out and escape the city, there's time for story-telling later once we're far away from here'
'Yeah we've already decided to go south, to marshland where we can hide out and not be followed easily' said Noleos as if it was her plan all along ' We have to be careful in our escape though, there's soldiers everywhere, all of them probably looking out for us'.
'Yes we'll leave in a few minutes, get ready' Blade used the organising to distract his mind from the guilt in the pit of his stomach as he cleaned and prepared his weapons and with a massive surge of guilt he plucked a crossbow bolt from the dead guards neck he had killed earlier. These emotions were still new to him he didn't know how to handle them.
'Okay I'm ready' said Noleos, hoisting her backpack onto her shoulders, almost as if she was just going on a journey to a nearby town and not fleeing for her life from an army. Her optimism astounded Blade, it seemed alien to him someone could act like that in the face of adversary.
'Yeah I'm ready too, I'll guard the rear' growled Jeanne, still distrustful of the assassin.
'Okay follow me and follow whatever commands I say, even if it is to leave me behind and escape yourselves' said Blade in a cold tone.
'Gladly' muttered Jeanne but not loud enough for Blade to hear, this time.
'Come on so' he muttered over his shoulder and slunk down the alley into the darkness. The two women followed him silently and kept on constant lookout. They made good progress out towards the Gnisis gate seen as how the temple was in the centre of the large town. Both Jeanne and Noleos knew that without Blade they would never have made it out, he constantly scouted ahead and checked was the coast clear for them to proceed. They had a couple of close calls where Noleos jingling pouches attracted some guards but Blade quickly led them away each time. Jeanne was furious and made Noleos stuff her pouches into her backpack, causing the Breton to pout and give her the silent treatment , still it was probably better since they were sneaking through a hostile city.
When the gate of Gnisis was in sight ,about a hundred metres ahead and after about two hours of sneaking, they rested for a couple of minutes. The catch was that the distance to the gate was open ground they would have to run to the gate, it was too risky trying to bluff their way out, Blade would be recognised as a Dark Brotherhood member anyway, even though the Empire was using the assassins , they would never admit it in public and would probably kill him on the spot.
'Okay let's go' said Blade as he slid out of the shadows ,back from scouting the gate ' there's only two guards there, they probably didn't think we'd make it this far. On my signal, one, two, th…..'
Half a dozen black clad figures dropped down off the rooftops them, more assassinns.
On reflex Blade launched a throwing dagger he had in his hand at the nearest, striking the figure in the forehead. He quickly drew his blades and launched his attack on two of the assassins, flicking a casual swipe at the head of the one then reversing his other blade at the others feet, hacking the legs from under him. Blocking the other attack and ducking at the same time he casually slit the fallen assassins throat and then brought that blade up, just slicing his attackers cheek but causing him to pull back.
Jeanne was having problems of her own as she battled two assassins, using her shield to block one and parrying with her sword with the other. She felt herself tiring though as they rained blows down on her.
Back at the other battle Blade realised he was fighting a seasoned opponent, despite his initial mistake the assassin handled his daggers well and had turned the tables on Blade. He had Blade on the defensive and his constant but unpredictable feints left Blade offbalance and more wary to launch a proper attack. Blade blocked all the blows stoically and even took a few nicks but he waited for his opponent to slip up.
The opponent thinking Blade was weakening grew self-confident and went for the quick kill.
He swung both blades from each side thinking his opponent finished but Blade quickly ducked them , balled up his fist and drove it hard into the man's jaw, snapping his head back.
The assassin staggered back and Blade spun around his side and chopped into his ribs.
The blow connected solidly and the assassin shrieked in pain, blood gushing from his side. The next blow cut into the back of assassin's knees and dropped the man to the ground like a sack. The third and final blow sliced the top of the mans head off and ended his life.
Jeanne was exhausted now and her arms burned like fire as the assasssins unceasingly attacked her.
She felt the end coming but she didn't want it to end like this.
One of the assassins kicked the legs from under her and she fell like hard to the ground. She expected to hear the blade rushing down to kill her but instead she heard a weird chanting.
A great whooshing sound roar in her ears and she felt a searing heat tear at her.
Suddenly it was gone and she saw Noleos standing sheepishly where the two assassins had been on burnt and blackened ground.
'Fireball' Noleos simply said as she help Jeanne to her feet and brushed the soot off her.
'Good spell that' Jeanne replied, then glance over at the last assassin , who had done nothing the whole fight but stand there and watch them 'I got one more of these freaks to kill'.
'Oh you won't be killing me anytime soon' a voice hissed from the figure in an unmistakeable Argonian accent , the figure was dressed in black, but not in the Dark Brotherhood type of clothing, this was more like a proper armour with chain mail 'I'm only here as an observer'.
'Observer of what' asked Blade emotion in his voice,anger, as he walked towards the figure ' Your not of the Brotherhood, who are you?'.
'Now that would just be telling' the Argonian said, a spear suddenly flashing at its side 'you'll find out in time'. With a final hiss he jumped high into the air as Blade threw a dagger at him and disappeared into the night
'Who the fuck was that?' said Noleos, something that was on all there minds.
'Who cares' said Jeanne ' lets just get out of here for Vivec's sake, c'mon assassin lead the way'.
Without a word Blade sprinted into the night and the others trailed behind him.
The gate guards didn't even try and stop them as they broke through to the wilderness and safety.
Yay another chapter done and dusted!. I enjoyed writing this one a lot, I tried to develop the characters a bit, especially Blade, I wanted to show his change in personality and stuff.
I hope you enjoyed the battle at the end, I spent a while trying to get that perfect.
So anyway, please please please rate and review, I really appreciated the last few reviews and criticism is welcome.
Tell me who you like too and crap and where you think I could improve stuff.
The next chapter will be up soon, I have big plans for this fic!
Till later anyways