Chapter 9: The Maiden and the Assassin
Sunlight streamed into the room as the twin suns rose, heralding in a new day. Vash squinted and rolled over onto his side as the light hit him full on. Unfortunately, with his eyes closed he didn't see how little room he had to maneuver and soon tumbled over the side of where he had been sleeping. He hit the floor hard and the rough fall jolted him from his sleep.
The groggy man sat up on the floor, wearily looking about his surroundings. At first he didn't recognize where he was, but after a few minutes it soon came back to him. They had dinner with Anya and her parents the previous night and it had been rather late when the night had finally drawn to a close. Sarah and Adrian had insisted that everyone stay the night and they had promptly put the girls in the guest room while Vash and Wolfwood slept in the living room. Vash would have preferred to stay with Anya but thoughts of protective Adrian breaking him in half quieted his ambitions.
Pleasing aromas of coffee and baked goods pulled Vash from his recollections. He slowly picked himself up off the floor and quietly headed to the kitchen. As he drew closer he could hear someone moving about, pulling out pans and dishes. He slowly peeked around the corner, finding Sarah Harper bustling about the kitchen, setting out small plates and cups along with a tray of fresh muffins. She soon spotted him watching her and she grinned, waving him into the kitchen. Vash grinned and stepped into the wide room, which was still warm from the early baking. Sarah immediately dragged him over to a chair at the center island and placed a cup of coffee and a plate with a muffin in front of him.
"Good morning, sweetheart. How'd you sleep?" she asked warmly.
"Real good. Thanks for letting us stay over." he replied then bit into the fresh muffin. The flavor was a rich chocolate and it was surprisingly light and fluffy. It was quite possibly even better than a donut.
"Wow! That's real good!" he exclaimed happily, quickly shoveling more into his mouth. Sarah chuckled at his enthusiasm and quickly placed another on his plate as soon as the previous one had vanished.
"I'm glad that you like them. They're Anya's favorite." She answered, her bright smile never leaving her face.
Vash paused at the mention of Anya and looked up at Mrs. Harper. He wiped the crumbs from his mouth then sipped his coffee to wash down the delicious muffin.
"Has Anya woken up yet?" he asked curiously. Mrs. Harper chuckled again then nodded toward the window behind Vash.
"She's outside." she added.
Vash looked out the glass window and found Anya sitting cross-legged on a chair. She was facing away from them, looking out into the yard, her own mug of coffee on a tray next to her. It almost seemed like she was meditating. Mrs. Harper seemed to catch on to what he was thinking and she smiled knowingly.
"She goes out there every morning. She calls it 'The Quiet Time' when everyone's not quite awake and she has time for herself away from all the emotions and thoughts." Mrs. Harper explained.
Vash's eyes widened in surprise at the honest admission as he continued to look out the window. Not only was he surprised by her knowledge of Anya's abilities but also that Anya required such measures.
"You mean she feels what others feel all the time?" he asked in awe. He couldn't imagine having to deal with that everyday.
"Not quite. She has learned to block it out. Some days are better than others though. That's why she goes out every morning, just some time for herself and practice."
Vash nodded in understanding then looked back to Anya's mother. New questions had come to him, especially after she had spoken with him so candidly.
"Were you ever afraid of what Anya is and what she could do?" he asked quietly. Vash knew that it was an odd thing to ask but he had to know. It was probably based on some need to prove that his brother was wrong about people. Sarah Harper didn't disappoint him. She smiled wistfully as she spoke to Vash, remembering those early days.
"No, we were never scared of her. Shocked and surprised, yes, but never scared. All I saw when I looked at her was a frightened and lonely little girl who badly needed a home and someone to watch over her." Sarah's smile widened as tears rimmed her eyes. "She was a blessing for us."
Suddenly, before she could react, Vash stood and wrapped the kind woman in a hug. She tensed briefly in surprise then gladly returned the hug. She then felt Vash shudder with quiet sobs. Whether they were relieved or sad cries she couldn't tell. She only rubbed his back comfortingly and continued to hold him.
"There, there. It's okay. You both are going to be just fine now." she whispered soothingly.
"Thank you."
Outside, Anya didn't stir from her meditative pose but she was keenly aware of what was transpiring in the house. Solitary tears trailed down each cheek as she "saw" what had happened. The talk had been necessary and now Vash knew that even though he too was different, he had a place where he was welcome. It was definitely a good start to the morning.
-)*(-
Late in the morning, almost afternoon really, Legato Bluesummers entered the tavern that went by the name of The Golden Maiden. He was in no particular rush to finish this job and had taken his time coming over from the hotel in which he was staying. Based on what his spy had told him, killing this girl would bring Vash the Stampede endless pain and therefore, Legato wanted to savor every moment of it. This included the moments leading up to the kill.
He ignored the greeting from the desk clerk and immediately headed to the tavern entrance. He paused a moment to survey the place. The room was sparsely dotted with occupied tables. It wasn't quite yet time for the lunch rush so there was plenty of room to sit. One group in particular though was rather boisterous so Legato chose a seat far from them and their unruly antics. It wouldn't bode well to have them interfere with his work.
A rotund male server greeted him brightly and handed over a menu as he rattled off various specials for the day. Legato barely listened to the man as he read the menu, since he already knew what he wanted and simply wished to verify if it was served at the establishment. While the male server was in midsentence, Legato snapped up his menu directly in the man's face and startled him into a brief silence.
"My apologies, sir. Are you ready to order?" he asked surprised.
Legato simply nodded the listed all the items he wanted. The server quickly scribbled down the lengthy order in his little notebook then waddled back to the kitchen. Nearby the large group of ruffians continued their rowdy exchange. Legato's face was an expressionless mask but inside his irritation rose considerably.
How easy it would be to rid myself of these useless pests he mused thoughtfully.
The idea even set a slight, cold smile on his face. His hands flexed as he prepared to unleash his ability on the simpletons. However, he was distracted by a quick movement to the side. He relaxed and turned to see another server, this one was female, assisting customers. Legato waited to see if she would move so he could determine if she was the one for whom he was searching. Luckily his server returned with the start of his order and he used the rotund man as cover so the woman wouldn't find him spying on her.
Soon he was rewarded for his patience as the girl soon turned around, and Legato grinned wickedly when he saw her. It was the target. He considered himself fortunate that he hadn't had to wait long to find her. Now the only thing left to decide was how best to dispose of her. Legato glanced up at his server, who was still babbling at him, and then glanced over at the group of ruffians. A plan began to form in his mind and his grin widened into a cold smile. This would be his best production yet.
-)*(-
Anya left her customer's table and quickly headed back towards the kitchen. She sighed as she looked over the order again. They had been so indecisive; she had started to think that they would never order. She sighed again as she was about to enter the kitchen. No sooner had her hand touched the swinging door, a strangled cry sounded from the end of the room from where she had just come. Anya spun about quickly to see her co-worker Martin heading towards the table of the rowdy customers. The odd thing was that Martin was walking in a strange, halting fashion that seemed like his limbs were moving of their own accord. Martin's face was a mask of sheer panic as he tried to understand what was happening to him. Suddenly Martin picked up a salt shaker in each hand and threw them at the large group. Both objects caught men directly in the face and soon they angrily stood with their weapons drawn.
"I'm sorry! It wasn't me! Please!" Martin cried out, sobbing uncontrollably.
"What do you mean it wasn't you?" one man, a particularly ugly man who had large boils on his face, snarled furiously.
No sooner had he spoken, his arm twitched weirdly and of its own accord, it raised and leveled the gun at Martin. The newest victim looked at his arm in shock.
"What the hell! Cut it out!" he yelled.
Not long after, the companion's arm soon leveled his gun at Martin as well. The poor server, still locked in place, could do nothing but sob and pray for a quick ending. Anya couldn't believe what she was seeing. She had never seen psychic control on this level, and there was no doubt in her mind that this display was anything but that. She realized that she had to do something fast otherwise an innocent man would die. The first important step would be to take the guns out of the equation.
The woman grabbed a nearby circular tray and flung it at the gunmen. Her aim was so precise it knocked the guns from their hands in quick succession. She ignored their cries of surprise and next scanned the room for the cause of all the trouble. All of the patrons seemed to be caught up in the unfolding drama except for one man. He sat alone and calmly ate his breakfast; almost as if he expected Anya to find him or he just didn't care. His attitude and appearance sickened Anya and she gritted her teeth in anger, unclipping the staff from her belt. In a matter of moments she was in front of the man's table, her staff extended to the side of his face.
"Leave these people alone." she ordered levelly. The man swallowed his bite of food and looked up slowly at Anya. He showed no fear as he stared up at her.
"Or what? You'll beat me with your silly little stick? Please!" he snickered and went back to eating his breakfast. Anya ignored his baiting, instead deciding to keep his attention focused on her rather than the civilians.
"Who are you and what do you want here?" she asked, still keeping calm.
The blue-haired man smirked as he set down his utensils and looked back up at Anya. His calm demeanor annoyed Anya and she didn't like his cold, appraising stare. She knew she had to get this man out of her town.
"My name is Legato Bluesummers and as to why I am here, well that is simple. I am here to kill you." he replied smugly. As he uttered the last word, Anya heard more cries of outrage and surprise as all the men stood and aimed their guns at her against their will. At that point, Anya knew that there would be only one way to defeat him. Not taking her eyes off of him, Anya focused her mind and reached out to each person in the bar. The first thing she had to do was separate the people from Legato's control. She imagined it to be like a wires extending from Legato to all the people. All she had to do was cut them loose.
"Drop your weapons." she whispered, sending her power out to each individual. To Legato's amazement, everyone did as she commanded. Once the guns were gone, Anya needed to remove the people from further involvement.
"Go to sleep."
One by one, each person lost consciousness and fell limply to the ground. Legato looked about in shock, rage etched on his normally calm face. He looked back at Anya, his hands gripping the table until his knuckles were white.
"How dare you! You ruined everything! How did you even manage that?!" he roared. Anya's only response was a swift smack across the face with her staff. Legato spun around in his chair then fell to the floor. He recovered quickly though and grabbed a knife from the table. The crazed man lunged up at her, aiming for her stomach, but once again, he underestimated her. Anya effortlessly dodged the attack and swung the staff into his stomach. The metal rod his solidly, knocking the wind out of him. Legato crumpled to the floor, dropping the knife in the process. Anya then grabbed him by the front of his coat and dragged him to his feet.
Legato braced himself for another hit but instead experienced something totally unexpected. He felt an odd prickling sensation in his mind, as if someone was sifting through his thoughts. This girl was reading his thoughts! The realization made Legato weak in the knees and he would have fallen over if Anya hadn't been holding him up. This girl could not have been human and the only other person that Legato knew of that could do something like this would want to know about her. His lips suddenly curled into a weak smile.
"Master Knives." he whispered gleefully.
Anya's eyes widened in shock and she abruptly broke her connection to Legato. She couldn't risk Knives learning anything more about her from their minds being connected. Although she feared that the damage was already done. Anya fought to keep her face emotionless as she focused her attention back on this awful man.
"Listen to me carefully. You will leave this town and if you ever come back, I will make you live to regret it." she replied slowly and dangerously. Legato nodded, still smiling, and Anya let him go, roughly shoving him towards the door.
"Get out!"
Legato sneered at her one last time but did as he was told. The would-be assassin knew that he was no match for her but it didn't matter now. He now knew what he had to do.
Anya mentally followed his progress for awhile. Once she was certain that he was truly leaving she broke the connection. A great wave of exhaustion and dread washed over her then. She slowly sank to the floor, unnoticed tears rushing down her face. Her staff fell to the floor with a sharp clanging noise as she sunk her head into her hands.
That terrible man worked for Knives, the one person she had hoped she would never see again. There was no doubt in her mind that Legato would report back to him. Then the question became what would he do once he found her. More importantly, what would he do to the people she cared about? What could she do to stop him? Fighting Legato was one thing but Knives was like her and could easily be her equal if not her better. At that moment she had no answers. All she knew was that she had to get to Vash. He was the only one capable of helping her fight off Knives.
Anya took a deep, calming breath and picked up her rod and slowly got to her feet. Before she left, Anya implanted a suggestion in the minds of the people in the tavern. They would wake ten minutes after she had gone, forgetting all that had happened. Any sooner and she risked them following her with questions. Still shaken, Anya slowly made her way to the door and headed out for home.