Chapter 4: Devyn

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A/N: So, here is the next chapter. It is more of a backgroundish sort of chapter, memory fragments really, but I hope you all enjoy! I had something else to say, but I can't remember at this present moment XD

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"This is the Mark of the Amarië, my mark," Caynna said as she showed them the back of her hand.

"That's impossible," Fili said as he grabbed Caynna's hand and basically dragged it down to his level of eyesight where he was sitting.

No, it's okay if you yank my arm out of my socket, she thought as the two brothers looked at the mark.

Kili touched it gently. "It's really there," he said in shock.

No shit, she thought to herself. "It's tattooed onto my skin," Caynna finished out loud in a bored voice as she gently pulled her hand back and looked to Dwalin. "Do you still think I'm a legend, Mister Dwalin?" Caynna asked as she grabbed her glove.

"No, I believe you now, lass," he said though he still sounded unconvinced.

That was when the two brothers caught sight of thin, white lines on Caynna's forearm. But just as they saw them, the sleeve covered them once more as Caynna put on her glove and then her gauntlet once more, the armor pieces tucking the shirt in. "I heard a rumor that you died a while back in a fire," Bofur offered.

Caynna looked at Gandalf, a surprised look on her face. Gandalf gave a nod at the lass, and she visibly changed from surprised to pissed. "He's still alive," she said calmly, though Thorin could hear the fear and anger in her voice. "He is still alive, isn't he?"

"Yes…" came the reluctant reply. "He survived as well."

"Who?" Ori asked confused.

"If you will excuse me," Caynna said before she moved swiftly and quietly up the table. "I need to talk to you," she said to Gandalf as she passed him and continued heading to the study. "And someone may want to get poor Mister Baggins off the ground."

Gandalf watched as Caynna turned the corner to another hallway. "I must go talk with her," Gandalf said as he stood and made his way after Caynna as Bofur picked up Bilbo like a potato sack and carried him to his favorite chair.

As Gandalf entered the study he saw Caynna pacing back and forth. "He won't come after me unless I'm alone," she muttered, her usual pondering inside her head coming out in words. "Yet if he comes after me while I'm with a group he may have his own behind him. If I go after him now-"

"Caynna, why don't we sit down and talk about this?" Gandalf said as he sat in a chair large enough for him.

"How did he survive?" she asked harshly as her calm mask disappeared. "I know he didn't follow me out the window."

"He went the opposite direction," Gandalf said as he smoked on his pipe. "And not only that, but he was not injured like you."

"I watched the building collapse on him, Gandalf! I barely made it out myself."

"Caynna, he is alive and he will come after you," Gandalf said in a severe tone. "How, I do not know yet-"

"That doesn't help me. He was the one that killed those other assassins in the guild I was a part of. I was tracking him and why I almost killed him if it wasn't for those stupid novices-"

"Those 'stupid novices' are dead."

"I know. I killed them too. They were in league with my target. I have-"

"You will not go after him. He is far too strong for you," Gandalf said as Caynna started pacing and muttering once again.

"I just have to gather information on his whereabouts, his routines-"

"You cannot possibly defeat him-"

"-find his weakness, corner him-"

"-you are not even ready-"

"-or maybe find a decoy and try-" she continued.

"-are you even listening-"

"-I could lead him on a trail-" back and forth she paced.

"-Caynna, you must understand-" Gandalf tried reasoning with her.

"-follow him…no, he would see that-"

"-he will killyou," Gandalf sighed though Caynna did not hear.

"-he would know that I would be coming after-"

"He will kill you!" Gandalf shouted as he stood up swiftly. "You will be dead before you get within a mile of him! You are outmatched this time around!"

Silence spread throughout the house as Gandalf's shouting reached every corner of the hobbit hole. Even the company of dwarves gave a start at the yell. "Caynna, you cannot defeat him," Gandalf started in a gentler, yet still firm, voice.

"I…can," Caynna said weakly as she backed up against the desk and leaned on it for support as she looked down. "I…no…yes…I can…"

"You will be dead before you can even try to kill him."

Caynna shook her head. "No, I can…"

Gandalf watched Caynna's face fall from stubborn to understanding as she slowly lifted her head to face Gandalf. "I really can't," she asked as she averted her eyes and looked out across the room to the hallway, "can I?"

"No," Gandalf shook his head. "You need more time, more experience with harder opponents which is why I want you to join us on this quest. If you can come out alive you will be able to defeat him. But you must trust me on this."

Caynna was silent for a moment before she gave a nod. "I will trust you, Gandalf. I always have, and I will not stop now."

Gandalf gave a relieved sigh before he smiled at Caynna. "I know you are strong, but he is not to be trifled with or underestimated."

"I know. I did so once, and I will not do it again."

"I have to go check on the hobbit. But promise me, Caynna, that you will not leave this company to go after him."

Caynna looked Gandalf in the eye and gave a nod. "You have my word, Gandalf," she said. "I always keep my word."

"I know you do."

Gandalf gave her one last smile before he left the study and the lass in it. Caynna was deep in her thoughts when she heard someone walking her way. "Can I help you, Fili?" she asked in her usual calm though she did not meet his eyes as she was too deep in her own thoughts.

"You look like you need some company," he said with a nod.

"No thank you," she said calmly though underneath she was raging. What I need is this guy's head on a pike, she finished the thought angrily.

"Do you want to talk about it?"

"No."

"You can tell me," Fili said with a reassuring smile.

"Fili, you can tell your uncle that if he wants to get any kind of background information from me that he will talk to me himself," Caynna said.

"How-"

Caynna gave Fili a "really" look. "Fili, what am I again?" she asked him rhetorically.

"Besides that," Fili said as he crossed his arms over his chest, "do you want to talk to me about this?"

Caynna gave Fili an empty look before giving a sigh. "I know you are trying to help, but I only met you and your brother several hours ago along with the rest of this company," Caynna said. "Maybe some other time after I've gotten to know and trust this company more, but not right now."

Fili turned and began to leave. "Alright then. I will hold you to that," he said as he left the study.

As he past the now nearly empty pantry, his brother caught up with him. "Did she say anything?" Kili asked.

"No," Fili replied with a surprised look. "You thought I could get something out of her?"

"You've always been able to in the past," Kili said with a smirk.

"Shut up!" said Fili as he pushed his brother away slightly.

Caynna stayed in the study for a few moments longer before she walked out, her calm demeanor back once more. That was when she heard the soft humming coming from the living room. It was the dwarves. Then, a single voice started the song. It was Thorin, much to Caynna's surprise, though she didn't know why she was surprised in the first place.

"Far over the misty mountains cold.

"To dungeons deep, and caverns old.

"We must away, 'ere break of day.

"To find our long-forgotten gold."

The other dwarves stood slowly and joined in on the song.

"The pines were roaring on the height.

"The winds were moaning in the night.

"The fire was red, it flaming spread.

"The trees like torches blazed with light."

Caynna knew the song meant a lot to the dwarves, but somehow it meant little to her. She never really had a home to begin with, and couldn't see someone ever offering her a home still. Soon, all the dwarves found a spot in the living room and hallway leading to the living room to sleep with the exception of Thorin, who took the large guest bedroom curtsy of Bilbo, and his nephews, who took the smaller guest room. Caynna was offered the second guest bedroom first, but she politely declined and instead took a spot in the study. She had taken to sharpening her short swords before sleeping, much to Bilbo's dislike, and now placed them next to her as she curled into her cloak, which she had placed back on herself along with her jacket, which she tied up on herself. Caynna closed her eyes and drifted off into a fitful sleep, something she was used to nowadays.

Caynna looked into the lifeless, dark brown eyes of one of her mentors. She held a bloodied dagger close to her heart as she closed her old mentor's eyes. She stood as someone placed a blanket over the body, her dead mentor now in good hands. "Caynna!" someone called her name as her hand holding the bloodied dagger dropped to her side. "Caynna," they said again.

Caynna turned and caught sight of a tall, muscular man with medium length black hair pulled back into a low ponytail and a shadow on his face. His bright blue eyes searched for Caynna's face as he unhooked his dark grey cloak and draped it over a shivering, soaking wet apprentice. His dark grey pants were slightly wet from running through the pouring rain outside, and his black boots were covered in mud. Blood from several cuts on his arm stained his grey, long sleeved shirt under his dark grey leather jerkin. He made his way through the remains of the entryway of the once hidden assassin's guild on the east side of Minas Tirith, rubble and crumbling walls allowing the rain outside to find a way into the old building in several different spots. He pulled Caynna gently into his arms as she turned to him, her short stature compared to his six foot frame making it an odd pairing.

"I was too late, Devyn," Caynna said into her friend's shoulder, his strong arms holding the lass steady. "I was too late…"

"Let's go somewhere else," he said quietly and turned Caynna toward a hallway that led to one of the meeting rooms.

Once inside, he shut the door and turned to face Caynna. She stood holding the dagger that had killed her mentor. "You're bleeding," Devyn said as he caught sight of Caynna's bloodied, bare arms.

Several large gashes rested on her forearms, five on her left and four on her right. Devyn rushed over and gently removed the dagger from Caynna's hand to place it on the table. "I wasn't prepared," she said quietly as Devyn began to bandage her bloodied arms.

"What happened?"

"You weren't here?" she asked.

"I was ambushed on my way over."

"It's him, Devyn," Caynna said as her dark, storm grey eyes met Devyn's blue. "I tried to stop him-"

"And he did this? Were you even armed?!"

Caynna shook her head. "I was heading to bed when he came and attacked."

"Did you see where he went? Sorry," Devyn said as he tied the bandage on Caynna's left arm tight making her wince in pain.

"They took the backdoor out."

"Did they do anything else to you?"

"No," Caynna said offended.

Devyn gave Caynna a "really" look. "I meant did they catch you anywhere else besides your forearms," he said with a small smile.

Caynna looked up from her arms into Devyn's eyes. They both gave a soft chuckle as they thought of the drunken man that had tried to get Caynna to sleep with him once. It turned out that the lass had kicked the man so hard in the place the sun doesn't shine that he could no longer bear children. "Just my arms," Caynna said after a moment of silence between the two. "I'm going after him."

"What? Caynna-"

"I swore that I would. I never go back on my word."

"You can't go after him on your own."

"I'm not going to sit here and do nothing while he goes about killing those of our brotherhood!"

Devyn was silent as he searched Caynna's impassive face, only her eyes betrayed the hurt and determination that she felt. He tucked a stray lock of hair back behind Caynna's ear. "I like it when your hair is down in all these waves," he mumbled making Caynna smile slightly. "If you are going after him, I'm coming with you."

Caynna shook her head. "I can't ask you-"

"I'm telling you that I'm coming with," Devyn said as he held Caynna's face in his hands. "I swear to you, Caynna, that I will help you take out this bastard no matter what. He took the life of my own brother and now has taken the life of my uncle. Caynna," Devyn started as he looked into the lass's eyes, "did he say anything else to you?"

Caynna tried to look away, but couldn't. She was trapped in the icy blue gaze of the guy in front of her. "He…" she started to trail off, and Devyn could see her mind turning behind her eyes.

"Don't lie to me, Caynna. I know that look," he said in a soft voice. "What did he say?"

" 'The Amarië is mine'," Caynna said quietly.

"He's going to try and kill you," Devyn said more to himself than to Caynna.

"I have to-"

"You may be a full ranked assassin, Caynna, but he has years over you. Years! He's been training since he was five years old. He's got more tricks up his sleeve than you or I put together, and we're pretty damn tricky."

"Then we'll just have to outsmart him," Caynna said with a coy smile. "Won't we now?"

"We'll start tomorrow. We'll gather all the information we can while your arms heal and then we'll go after him."

"Deal."

"Will you be alright?" Devyn asked as they left the meeting room and made their way toward the master assassin quarters where their rooms were still intact.

"Yes…I'll be fine," Caynna said with a shrug as she opened the door to her room and walked inside.

Devyn shook his head as he lingered outside Caynna's room. "You know where to find me if you need me," he said.

Caynna's back faced him as she gave a nod in understanding. As Devyn turned to leave, he stopped and walked back in the room. He slowly brought Caynna around to face him, leaned down and gently pulled Caynna into a hug. She returned the hug, both understanding the other's pain without having to convey the words as Devyn held Caynna close to him. "If something were to have happened to you…" he started and trailed off.

"Nothing did, though," she said.

"I love you, you know. You're my little sister."

"And I love you too, Devyn. We'll find this bastard and bring him down."

Devyn pulled away and left Caynna to her thoughts.

A soft voice flitted through the air of the hobbit hole. It reached the ears of the person that was awake by a window watching the shaking form of the lass on the study floor. One word that sent confusion through the dwarf's head: Devyn.

"What are you still doing up? It's near midnight," Fili asked his brother as he walked up to him, neither able to sleep with so many thoughts in their heads.

"Can't sleep," Kili said in a low voice. "She's been talking in her sleep. It's kind of…unnerving."

"What has she said?" Fili asked as he looked over at the sleeping form of Caynna as her grip tightened on her swords.

"Just a name."

Fili raised an eyebrow in question, but Caynna's soft, sleepy voice beat Kili to the word: Devyn.

The two watched as Caynna shifted slightly and touched her neck gently before her grip on her swords tightened so much that her knuckles turned white. "That is unnerving," Fili said with a nod.

"She's remembering something."

"And I don't think it's a good memory," finished Fili as Caynna turned over to her other side, her swords clutched tightly to her chest like a life line.

She moved to face the two brothers, and her usual impassive, calm, smiling face had changed to one of pain and sorrow. The brothers exchanged a look as Caynna said the name again, though this time they could hear the panic and anguish in the single word: Devyn.

She was being pushed along the way through an abandoned and burnt down village. Snow reined slowly from the cloudy night sky, the white flakes falling about her as she was pushed again by the two cloaked and hooded men. Her own cloak had been left on Tilian's saddle. Caynna had sent the horse on as she was pulled from the saddle earlier. Her upper arms were bloodied and bruised along with a large gash from her shoulder to the middle of her chest right below her sternum. Her hair was slightly messy, but still up in the French braid with the three braids on each side of her head. She glared at the six men that stood in front of a large bonfire, a single man standing out among them.

The six hooded figures in front of her parted as she was pulled to a stop, her hands bound behind her back as the two hooded figures held her and four more joined the half circle around the bonfire, the twelve figures bowed their heads as three more walked around the bonfire, a familiar black haired blue-eyed man held in between two of the cloaked figures. "Devyn," Caynna whispered the name.

Devyn looked up at Caynna, his eyes betraying his emotions as he caught sight of Caynna. They swirled back and forth from anger to pain to sorrow. He, too, was bloodied and beat up. "Caynna," he mumbled the word as he was half dragged half pushed in front of the bonfire.

The third cloak figure that had led the two holding Devyn stepped forward and removed his cloak. Short, light auburn hair and hazel eyes turned to meet Caynna's dark storm grey eyes. "You," she said angrily, "Brogan!"

"It's great to hear your voice, my little Amarië," Brogan said as his face turned upward in an evil smile. "It's been a long time since you said my name."

"You bastard-" she started and was punched hard in the gut making her double over in gasps of pain.

"Don't touch her!" Devyn yelled out.

Caynna struggled against the two men holding her, but to no avail. "Brogan, let him go," she said with a groan of pain.

Brogan gave an "aw" as he walked toward Caynna. "I don't think so, my little Amarië. You see, you two caused me a lot of trouble and a lot of dead men," he said as he lifted Caynna's face to look at his.

Caynna shook her head out of his grasp and glared at him. "You killed our friends, our brothers," she said plainly and angrily.

"I killed those who betrayed me," Brogan answered in anger and hate. "They left me on my own against those brutes in the mountains! They left me for dead!"

Caynna glared at Brogan. "It wasn't as if they had a choice! Devyn and I searched for you for a whole year! A whole damn year, Brogan! We didn't leave you," she said harshly, "we couldn't find you."

"What was it that our uncle said again? 'Never leave a brother behind'?" Brogan repeated.

"We didn't have a choice," Devyn added angrily.

"No, you didn't," Brogan replied. "But now, neither will you. 'Never leave a brother behind'." Brogan paced back and forth before he stopped in front of Devyn. "If it was Caynna instead of I who was left in the mountains, what would you have done?"

Devyn was silent as he glared at Brogan.

"You wouldn't have given up on her as easily as you did me. Your own blood brother."

"I didn't have a choice, Brogan! Uncle called us back! The brotherhood was under attack-"

"By the same people that took me," Brogan interrupted, "by the same people you see here right now; ex-assassins."

"If it was up to us we would have stayed-" Caynna started.

"But you didn't. Now, I'll give you two a choice," Brogan snapped. "Who will be left for dead this time?"

"No," Caynna said as she turned to Brogan.

"Either one of you dies, or you both die," he said plainly and motioned to the two. "You choose."

Caynna looked to Devyn who shook his head. "Why don't you fight me, Brogan? Or are you too scared that I'll kill you this time?" Caynna taunted.

Brogan made a clucking sound in disappointment. "That won't do now," he smiled. "One, or the other."

"Then take me," she said quickly. "Let Devyn go!"

"Caynna!" Devyn shouted.

Brogan moved up to Caynna and then bent down to her ear. "You choose who gets left behind."

Caynna's eyes widened as Brogan turned and stalked up to Devyn. "No, Brogan, no!" she yelled out. "Don't!"

"Too late, sweetheart. You should have thought about the consequences before you two left me for dead in the mountains alone," Brogan sneered.

In a swift motion, he brought around his short sword sliced open Devyn's stomach, his blood dripping onto the white snow as it gushed out from the wound. "Devyn!" Caynna shouted as Devyn fell to the snow, his blood staining the white snow a crimson color.

Brogan gave a nod to the men holding Caynna. One brought out a dagger and sliced Caynna's left side open from the back of her left shoulder to the front of her left hip. It was deep enough to stop her from following them and to scar over, but not deep enough to kill her immediately. She was thrown to the ground as the cloaked figures turned away to their horses that were standing next to the burnt buildings. They mounted and began to ride off, all but Brogan. He stalked toward Caynna and bent down to her level and lifted her chin up to him, her dark, storm grey eyes glaring up at him. "I'll see you again sometime soon," he said with a sneer. "Good-bye, my little Amarië."

"You bastard, I'll kill you," she said as Brogan laughed and dropped his hand from her chin as he moved away.

Caynna watched as Brogan mounted his black war horse and took off after the rest of his men at a gallop. She got up shakily on her legs and rushed over to where Devyn was on his back clutching his bleeding stomach. "Devyn," she said in panic as she fell on her knees by his side. "Oh, by Mahal…I…I'm so sorry!"

"Caynna," Devyn said in a pained voice as he moved his hands to his neck and unclasped his necklace, "just shut up and smile."

"What?" she asked as tears began to form in her eyes as Devyn took one of Caynna's hands weakly.

"I want to see that smile of yours," he said as he looked into Caynna's eyes and placed his necklace in her hand. "Just one last time."

"No," she said with a shake of her head, "no, you're not dying on me, Devyn."

She brought her middle and index finger to her lips and whistled, Tilian giving out a loud neigh in response as he made his way toward them. Devyn grimaced in pain as Caynna could see him visibly fading away. "Devyn, stay with me," she said as she moved the strands of stray hair away from his forehead. "Just stay with me."

Devyn raised an eyebrow and Caynna gave a small chuckle and a smile at his choice of a facial expression in his current predicament. "There it is," he whispered with his own smile.

"Devyn…Devyn," Caynna said in panic as the light left Devyn's icy blue eyes. "Devyn! No, don't leave me! You can't leave me! Devyn!"

Tilian walked forward toward the shaking form of his rider as she held her dead friend in a final hug. "Brogan!" she yelled to the wind. "I'm going to kill you! I swear by everything I hold dear that I will find you and kill you!"

Tilian shrank back away from the lass as she closed Devyn's eyes and kissed him gently on the forehead. "I'll kill him, Devyn," she promised her dead brother, "I'll kill him."

As she stood, the pain in her left side increased tenfold, and she doubled over. Tilian moved forward as Caynna began to fall. He stuck his nose out and caught the small woman with his head. "I need help, Tilian," she mumbled as the amount of blood she was losing started to take its toll. "Go get help…now…"

The horse gave a snort before he gently set the woman down on the ground, her one hand clutching the necklace Devyn had given her. The last thing Caynna saw before she blacked out was her horse galloping off to find help.