2. Friends Made
Matthew made his way east silently, yet with a bounce in his step. He grew up on the streets of Ostia and was well aware that Jaffar had drawn the short straw with his acceptance of working the western side of Ostia.
He soon realised that his love of vice was resurfacing, for he knew well that on the eastern side of Ostia were many brothels, many rich men with big houses and even bigger treasure troves, there were old friends of his that frequented the bars and taverns that so populated the outskirts of Ostia, that if they were all having a busy night they almost perfectly outlined the city borders.
A shuffle off to the left behind him snapped him out of his pleasant musing and he had his two silver daggers in hand quickly and without even having to consciously pull them out.
Then, out of the darkness, stepped one of the girls whom Matthew had assumed was 'busy' with Legault. He didn't let his surprise show though; he had spent the majority of his life as an Ostian spy, a job which required him to be in full control of his emotions and his mouth.
"You would be wise not to sneak up on me like that, and especially not on Jaffar, for you see you would be dead if it were not for the fact that I, unlike Jaffar, talk before attacking" Matthew said with a grin, managing to sound threatening and cheerful at the same time.
"It wasn't my intention to sneak up on you Matthew" the girl said softly and sincerely as she walked towards him, "I am simply here to tag along, for I believe I need no longer pleasure that pompous Legault to cement my place in this group… I prefer to use my other skills". With that Matthew put away the dagger in his left hand and concealed the other in his right hand should he need it, he then took up a relaxed but ready – always ready – posture.
"Fair enough, we must make haste for the McGuile Inn; I have old friends there that should be able to help us get word on the street of our little group."
She nodded at him and they started on their way again. "Oh, and by the way, my name's Alexia, but you can just call me Alex." Matthew nodded and went to look down the path, but they came under torchlight and he couldn't help but look her up and down.
She had blue hair, so blue that it would put Hector to shame. She had a few strings of hair over her left eye that flittered every time the wind blew. Her eyes were also blue but yet they seemed hard and cold. As he eyes went further down he couldn't help but admire her well endowed and shapely bosom. Her clothes were a lot like Matthew's except they were a very dark shade of purple and were slightly frilly, also, she had a skirt bottom that was quite short and showed off a slightly tanned skin that was made more impressive by the torchlight.
As they continued on their way they looked at each other and smiled. Matthew believed they would become good friends. Alex, on the other hand, had something much simpler and enjoyable planned.
Legault gave one final thrust, relieving himself and groaning in ecstasy. The girl underneath him, Jessica by name, moved out from under him and put her breasts to his mouth making him suckle on them, and then she grabbed Legault's hand and moved it inside her, in and out she moved it, groaning until finally she orgasmed and fell forward onto Legault, letting him fondle her breasts.
"It gets better every time" Legault sighed contentedly.
"Want to go again, I'm always ready" Jessica said seductively.
Legault pushed her off him and moved to his clothes he had thrown on the end of the bed. He flicked them a few times then put them on and walked swiftly out of the room, leaving Jessica lying on her side on the bed, feeling angry at the fact that he left her when she was still unsatisfied.
Legault knew his destination. He intended on having another talk with this man who sought to have his sons killed. Legault cackled wickedly; he didn't need Jaffar or Matthew, two small children were no hard task.
Jaffar made his way along the busy streets very swiftly, he hated having so many eyes trained upon – and having been a great assassin, he was a firm believer that there were probably enemy eyes and crossbows trained on him as well.
He wasn't completely sure of his direction, but he decided if he got lost, then that might help him start to learn his way around.
Quick as death, he skittered into a side alley and then another, and another after that, until he came to a dead-end, but to Jaffar the (redeemed) Assassin, not all dead-ends were dead.
On the left was an abandoned ladder, and straight ahead was a tall wall. In the blink of an eye Jaffar had the ladder propped against the wall and he moved back to the alley's entrance. He turned and sprinted to the ladder, leaping atop the highest rung of it, and he propelled himself on to the narrow ledge that was the top of the wall. Jaffar quick-stepped along its length, then when he came to the end, jumped onto the roof of a nearby building.
Jaffar congratulated himself on getting such an excellent vantage point, when, to his surprise – how he hated being caught by surprise – he realised he wasn't the sole occupant of this roof-top.
Out came Jaffar's famed twin Killing Edges. He tapped each one once against the centrepiece of his necklace and they each made a whistling sound. Both blades, upon touching the centrepiece, became almost impossibly sharp.
Matthew and Alexia made great progress towards their destination and within a few minutes stood outside the McGuile Inn.
"Well, let's not just stand out here like statues" Alexia said nervously, the wind was picking up and it was starting to go beyond a cool breeze.
Matthew didn't hear her the first time, but instead, was deep in thought, remembering the time long past when he was a regular patron at the McGuile Inn. Remembering the times he spent at the Inn talking to friends, talking to his dearest Leila, talking to his father.
He didn't have time to continue his thoughts further as Alexia got sick of waiting. She gave him a sharp nudge, then swiftly moved the door and swung it open.
It wasn't the transition from the cold outside to the warm inside that made both Matthew and Alexia feel disoriented, nor the brightness and over-crowdedness of the inn. In fact, it was completely the opposite; the inn was barren and dank.
Matthew stumbled over his words while trying to say them, "Wha… no, but it's… father?"
"They sure are a lively bunch at the McGuile Inn aren't they" Alexia said with a chortle. She stopped when she realised that Matthew was already back out the door, Alexia quickly caught up with him and skidded to a stop to give Matthew some space, knowing that the Inn was obviously important too him and she knew he probably felt homeless.
Matthew sunk to his knees in the middle of the crossroad where he had stopped. Not caring who was watching or listening, not caring about anything in fact – Matthew started to cry.
After a few minutes Matthew got to his feet, red-eyed and with a cold, sickly – and angry? – look on his face. He walked over to Alexia and looked at her for a moment. She brought a hand up to wipe his tears away.
Matthew gave a weak laugh then started walking back the way they came. Alexia followed close behind, half because she felt like he needed space, and half because she had no idea why she was feeling sad for another person, something that Alexia, the abandoned daughter of Lord Uther, had never done before in her life.