~The Darkness Within~
-Chapter 04: Cike-
The journey to Lin was a lot less eventfulthan Hui had thought. He had been waiting for some speeches from lord Shen, telling him his duties and aim of the whole war effort, or at least something. How wrong he had been. Shen didn't once speak to him, and Hui knew that he was not in the position to question that. Instead, Shen had some wolves to keep eye on Hui as he himself lead the party.
Not that he really wanted to interact with the white peacock in the first place, but getting thrown into something blindly was making him nervous. He had no control at all at the moment, regardless of the fact that that was the thing that he had focused in most of his life: having perfect control of himself, from sword strokes to feelings. The fear that was raising its ugly head inside him wasn't something he wanted to experience.
Hui's most pressing concern, though, was not what would happen to him, but to his family. He had promised to protect them, and he intended to keep that promise. But truthfully, he wasn't sure at all if he could do that. He didn't even know what Shen intended to do with him. Even though he was skilled, he knew he wouldn't last long in a battlefield against seasoned soldiers. His style was mostly quick strikes and retreat, and he didn't know how he would do in a prolonged battle against countless enemies.
To successfully save his province, Hui would have to eventually get free from Shen's service. The deal between Shen and Fei Cui would have to be nulled. Hui couldn't see the overly ambitious peacock ever releasing the province from his grip, so he was pretty baffled about what he should do. Obeying Shen would have to do until he'd find a way; there weren't really any other alternatives. Perhaps he could use something to buy Fei Cui free, or something similar.
Two nights after they had left the Emerald Palace they reached the Lin City. Hui had seen it once, years ago, when his father had wanted him to take part in a diplomatic mission to Chao Du She. However, the city looked nothing like the prince remembered; compared to the previous glory, it was now a pitiful sight. Collapsed, ruined, burned buildings scarred the scenery. There were not a living thing at sight; it was rather creepy, actually. Hui wondered if the civilians had fled or if Shen had killed them all…
Getting the feeling that someone was staring him, Hui turned around to see lord Shen behind him, looking amused. Startled, Hui bowed hastily.
"You like what you see?" Shen asked casually, taking a place at the reel next to Hui. "That is the kind of power I hold in my wings: to decide the fates of entire cities…" his voice trailed off.
The green peacock wasn't sure what he should say, the informality caught him off guard. But he didn't have to ponder for long, as Shen broke the silence again.
"My parents were rulers a lot like yours," he started. "But they were also makers of fireworks. Beautiful, intricate fireworks, but still just fireworks." Shen stared in the distance. "I wanted to be more; I knew that I was capable to more than just follow their footsteps. I was right, and they were wrong. Just imagine, if you had the power of the dragons at your reach, would you not reach out for it? The beauty of fireworks turned into weapon unlike anything else the world knows…!"
Shen was still staring at something Hui couldn't see, and he wasn't even sure if Shen even meant the words to him or if he was just talking to himself. It was rather disturbing, taking in account the unsettling glint that was forming into the lord's eyes.
"I will lead whole China into a glorious future, and all people will know to bow before me…" Shen nodded to his own statement, lost in his dreams. After a brief moment of silence he continued, his tone changed from dreamy to grim: "There are those who are as narrow-minded as my parents were, those fools who refuse to see the future. They think they can tell me what is right!" He snorted. "They'll all die."
The way the white peacock said the last words was so determined, so final, so cold that it made chills run down Hui's spine.
"What comes to you, prince, I hope you prove yourself worthy of the deal." Shen was now facing him.
Hui hesitated, but decided that he had to ask. "My lord… what is that you expect from me?" He hated talking to the madman like that, but it was a must.
Shen chuckled. "I want you to be swift as wind, quiet as death and deadly as dragon. I want you to be my secret weapon, my loyal assassin, with strong emphasis on the loyalty."
The information sunk in slowly. An assassin… Hui had suspected it would be either that or bodyguard, but now that it was confirmed he didn't want to accept it. Assassins are, they are murderers who rip apart families, who ruin lives of the innocent…! His mind screamed against the idea of becoming something that he loathed more than anything. Terrible memories from his childhood flooded him along with torrent of emotions: fear, regret, hate, anger. Pain.
That didn't go unnoticed by Shen. "Oh yes, I've heard you have met an assassin before. Such a sad, sad case…" he said, a little mockingly.
Hui's wings clenched into fists and he barely managed to suppress his urge to punch the lord. What did Shen know of his past? He has never experienced a loss like Hui had; how he dared to talk about it with such a tone…!
Hui breathed heavily and looked away instead of giving in to his feelings. One reckless action and he'd doom himself and his province along with him.
"Don't you fancy becoming something more than a victim?" Shen asked sounding honestly curious. "Shadows are feared only by those who don't understand them… become one and see the truth."
The youth pondered the meaning of those words. "The truth?"
Shen chuckled in his now-familiar way. "That you can't hide from death. Claim the lives of unsuspecting animals and feel more alive. Have a purpose. Oh, and of course, enjoy it." That being said, Shen left Hui to enjoy the sunset and think alone.
To kill, murder the innocent. Is that my destiny? How ironic. Like he even had a choice. Hui hated Shen for what he threatened to do to his province, but now he hated him more on what he was forcing him into. Okay, he had stepped up for this voluntarily, but how could he have chosen otherwise? He snarled out of frustration.
Even if he'd become an assassin, how'd he manage it? He could probably handle the killing part, but there was more to it than that. He should master stealth and infiltration, become invisible, or become expert of quick getaways… But in any case he had no other options than play along.
Soon they docked to a lightly damaged port, and Hui saw a welcoming committee of wolves standing in formation at the docks. Among them was one remarkably big and muscular wolf, and he was the first one to greet Shen as he left the ship.
"How was your journey, my lord?" the wolf asked with a deep, hoarse voice.
"Excellent," the peacock replied. "See, Bao Nu, here's my newest servant: prince Hui Huang of Fei Cui. A solution to the assassin problem," he presented Hui.
The wolf seemed to be of very high rank, so Hui bowed to him. The brutish canine examined him thoroughly with his gaze. From what Hui could interpret from his expression, he was skeptical of Shen's statement.
Finally Bao Nu commented simply: "He's young."
Shen chuckled it off. "Yes, but certainly not a hatchling."
"Sir, I don't– we should discuss certain matters with general Hua."
Shen turned serious. "Naturally. I have things to discuss too. Show the prince a place to spend the night at, then collect Liu Hua with you and meet me outside the gates."
Bao Nu bowed, gestured some wolves to accompany him and bluntly told Hui to follow him. They walked along the rubble-filled streets of Lin City. The descending darkness was ideal to support the eerie vibe he had gotten off the city while viewing it from the river. The further they got from the river, the less there were visible damages on the buildings. Though, there were clear signs that the houses and shops had been plundered by the wolf army.
Eventually they reached the northern city wall. There were two-storey houses built along the wall, but now it seemed as if they served as barracks to the wolves. Patrols were circling around the nearest blocks, and guards were posted at the doors of the houses. One patrol seemed to be placed on the wall.
The commanding wolf waved some guards to him, and then discussed something in a low voice with them. Soon he grunted and motioned his group, including Hui, to follow him again. The guards returned to their posts.
The air was getting chilly and first stars became visible at the time they stopped in front of an old-looking, wooden, two floors tall house. Bao Nu proceeded to open the door and walk in, and Hui followed with the rest of the wolves. Inside there were some canines apparently just hanging around a lit fireplace, laughing at each other's jokes. Upon seeing the commander, they immediately snapped to attention.
"Commander, this-"
"At ease, soldier," the alpha cut the soldier off. "I was told you have free space here?"
"That's right, sir. There's a whole room empty on the second floor, though it is a little… ascetic."
"It will do perfectly. Let me present you his majesty prince Hui Huang, your roommate for this night," Bao Nu sneered. "Well, where are your manners? Bow in the presence of royalty", he added, not in any less ridiculing tone.
Hui felt his cheeks burning in embarrassment as the soldiers bowed and said 'your majesty'. Of course he was used to people bowing him, but these wolves were clearly mocking him. Hui didn't like Shen, but apparently his head officer was a jerk too. If he'd have had his scimitars with him, he would've seriously considered chopping some heads off.
It was getting quite packed inside, and Bao Nu ordered harshly his guards back outside. Next he addressed the wolves inside: "Show the prince his quarters and let him settle down. I must ask you to NOT disturb him in any way, he's very precious to lord Shen."
As the soldiers glanced at each other and snickered, the high general had to snort in amusement, knowing his men's thoughts. "Not in that way. Probably. In any case, that's not my business. The point was, if you harm him, I'll see personally that you all are hanged. Understood?"
"Yes sir!" The soldiers assured.
"What comes to you, peacock: don't try anything stupid. I'll get someone to fetch you early at the morning, so be prepared." With that the alpha wolf left, leaving Hui alone with seven unfamiliar, almost thug-like soldiers. Needless to say, he didn't like the situation at all. Of course, that could be applied to almost anything that had happened during the last few days, so it wasn't as unsettling as it could've been.
Hui looked around awkwardly until one of the wolves stepped up. "Shall I show you your suite, my prince?" the canine suggested, and the others burst out laughing. Hui ground his beak.
"Please don't talk like that," he said, highly annoyed.
"My apologies, your highness, but I thought this was the proper etiquette?" the soldier continued his little show. The others were howling in laugher now.
"Just- Just show me my room, okay?" Hui wanted nothing more than to just get out of this situation, the faster the better.
"My pleasure," the wolf said with a stupid smirk pasted on his muzzle, earning some more laughs.
Fortunately the wolf actually did that now, and leaded Hui up a narrow stairway. The building didn't seem to be in a very good condition, and there wasn't much furniture, so the family that had lived there probably hadn't been very wealthy. After the stairs there was a short hallway with one door on both sides, and the hall itself opened to a larger room, which was notably empty. Hui guessed the wolves had carried the possible chairs, couches or tables downstairs to the fireplace.
The soldier opened the door to the left and held it open for the prince. "Your room. It includes a wooden bed and even a blanket, and that's a luxury!"
Hui stepped in and observed the surroundings. The room was rather small, holding nothing of interest outside a bed, small table beside it and two shelves on the walls. At the opposite wall to the door was a small window with shutters closed.
"Like it?" the wolf asked. "No? Too bad. If you need something, don't ask me," he stated and left back downstairs.
Hui closed the door silently and sat down on the bed. He sighed in deep and buried his head in his wings. So much had happened, and still he had the feeling that it was just the beginning. Which probably was true. He closed his eyes and listened the sound of his own breathing. He noted that the armor was really pressing his neck and back now after two days of wearing it. Lazily Hui straightened himself and removed his light cape. Then he fingered (feathered?) the locks holding the armor pieces in their place, first opening and removing the neck pieces and finally the plate body. The shirt he wore underneath was filthy, reminding him of the day spent at Fei Cui's marshlands.
He sighed again.
Now his attention was caught by his train: it was dirty and messed. When he had been smaller, he couldn't have waited for his train to begin growing. Now he had realized it wasn't that great. He had to always carry something that weighed quite a lot to be just feathers, got always in the way and was hard to maintain in good condition. His train wasn't even fully grown yet, so it was only getting more troublesome. And for what, exactly? Aside from the few applications in combat, its only purpose was to attract the ladies… that weren't really his concern at the moment.
Yawning, Hui stripped the ragged shirt and removed his combat skirt. He unfurled the blanket and lied down on the bed. It was rather uncomfortable, but it'd do. It was better than what he had had for the last two nights anyways. Some loose thoughts circled around in his mind, but he didn't bother to focus on them, and slowly he drifted to sleep.
Morning came sooner than he wished. At one moment Hui was sleeping peacefully, the next the door was banged open and a wolf yelled something about lord Shen requiring his presence somewhere right now. Hui didn't quite catch everything the canine shouted, but the general meaning was understandable enough. He groaned and bolted up. The wolf said something about getting downstairs in five minutes and then left.
Lacking options, Hui wore his stained shirt, and proceeded to get his armor on. While doing that, he made the mental note to demand Shen to give him some more clothes, if he really wanted him as assassin. With the armor on, he once more cringed at the state of his train, before hurrying downstairs.
It was empty there aside from the one wolf that had come to fetch him. The reason was apparent too: the sun wasn't rising yet, and it was pretty dark outside.
Noticing him, the wolf grunted "Good," and tossed a loaf of bread to Hui. He told him to eat it as they'd walk to Shen. With no need to stay any longer they stepped outside, and the cool but moist air brushed against Hui's feathers. It would've been cold there had they stood in place, but as they walked at a brisk pace it was nothing to worry about.
As they walked along the city wall they occasionally met some patrols, and the guardsmen all saluted Hui's 'guardian'. He was apparently an officer of some sort, though Hui didn't know how the wolf army was ranked and how to identify each rank. Another problem was that even if he'd know how to read the insignias, he still didn't know what his status was here. It seemed to be a mixture of special guest and a prisoner at the moment, and that didn't help at all. He knew he wasn't part of the army, yet at least, but it'd have been helpful to know how react to wolves around here. Foremost, he didn't want to face the royalty mockery he had received yesterday; he'd rather be considered as an ordinary soldier in rank.
They proceeded out of the northern city gates with little hassle; the guards had obviously been informed of who Hui was.
Now, as the sky was lighting up from the nearing dawn, Hui could see a whole village of tents spread on the fields ahead. There were some armed wolves patrolling around, but otherwise it was almost eerily silent. Hui caught a sight of a big tent placed on a small hill behind the main 'village', and that seemed to be where the wolf was taking him.
They were pretty close to the tent when a tall, muscular wolf suddenly came out. Hui instantly recognized the alpha wolf, who ignored both the green peacock and the saluting wolf officer escorting him.
"Our lord is in a bad mood…" the officer muttered to himself.
A little hesitantly they crossed the remaining distance to the command tent. The wolf told the tent entrance guard to inform lord Shen that the prince was here. They didn't have to wait at all; Shen himself appeared in front of them almost immediately. The wolf bowed and said 'my lord', and Hui mimicked him.
Shen looked worn-out, regardless of that he had changed the robes that were ruined during the trip to Fei Cui. The new robes were showier, with a lot more black than the old ones had had. However that wasn't enough to divert attention from the dark bags below his bloodshot eyes. Hui wondered if the peacock lord had slept at all during the last night.
"Dismissed," Shen said absent-mindedly to the officer, who retreated back towards the city. Shen stared to the horizon for a while, apparently trying to focus his tired mind a little.
"Can you handle this?" He asked abruptly.
"My lord?" Hui wasn't exactly sure what Shen was referring to.
"Are you prepared to become the reaper? Are you tough enough to take what it gives? Are you prepared to kill on my command, just to keep your family save? If you hesitate at all, I don't have any use for you and we can forget the deal."
Shen was really blunt and arrogant, but the questions themselves were good. Hui had mulled over them for a while. But now, he had an answer ready. "As long as you stay true to your word, lord Shen, I will keep mine," Hui stated defiantly.
Shen smirked. "As expected… that's good. Liu Hua!" he yelled, and the wolf in question appeared from inside the tent as he was summoned.
Hui observed the slim wolf. There was something sneaky in his appearance, and Hui wouldn't have trust anything to this canine if he had got the power to decide.
"Bring the prince's equipments," Shen ordered, and the wolf disappeared back into the tent. Turning back to Hui, he continued: "I will have to test you to find out if you really are worthy of becoming my servant. Beat the combat task I present to you soon, and you'll be trained as my assassin. I presume I don't have to remind of the stakes?"
Hui merely grunted as acknowledgment.
Liu Hua came back, carrying Hui's twin scimitars. He handed them over to the peacock, who placed them to his belt.
"Have you arranged everything?" Shen questioned his general.
"Yes, sir, the platoon is waiting at the sand field," the wolf replied.
"Good. Lead as the way."
So the two peacocks followed the canine's lead over a short distance to a bland, rocky clearing between two grassy fields. Like Liu Hua had said, a whole platoon of wolf troops was waiting for them there. Hui wondered why they needed a whole platoon; surely Shen wouldn't make him to fight them all?
As if reading his mind, Shen explained: "Audience creates pressure, and I want to see how you do under pressure."
Fine enough. Hui nodded.
"The only rule will be this: you're not allowed to leave the sandy area. Keep it in mind." Shen walked over to the platoon, which was standing in line at the border of the grass. Hui was now standing alone in the middle of the pebbled area.
"But, my lord, what shall I do?" the green peacock asked, a little confused.
Shen walked along the line, observing the wolves. He stopped in front of two sword-wielding ones and chuckled ominously.
"You survive or die… You two," he pointed the swordsmen, "KILL HIM!"
"W-what!" Hui whimpered, caught totally off-guard. But the two charging wolves didn't leave much room for explanation, and thus he quickly drew his blades.
His adrenaline rush kicked in, and he blocked off the first strikes like he had used to do back at Fei Cui. The only thing that he didn't count was that his opponents were stronger than anything he had faced at home, and that they were dead serious. Absorbing the force of the blows really hurt his wings, and it was close that he didn't drop the swords in shock.
Don't ever underestimate your opponents, master tiger's voice rang in his mind. Though, it wasn't really underestimation, but lack of preparation for a 'test' like this.
Hui leaped backwards, and the bigger of the two wolves followed for another strike. The peacock blocked it tardily. The impact made him cringe in pain again. His wings couldn't take many of these hits; he had to change his tactics.
The other swordsman, smaller in body size but wielding a larger, broad-bladed sword, tried to circle around to his back while the other wolf kept him busy. Hui had switched to parrying the blows instead of blocking, and he was doing better now. Though, there were two things that were holding him back: this was not training, and the consequence of a mistake would be death, so he was hesitant to try to attack at all in the fear of giving an opening to the enemy. The other thing was that he had never been in real combat, and the thought of really slicing through someone seemed so very final now. The hits he'd land or receive could not be undone.
Concentrate! He slapped himself mentally as a heavy blade swung dangerously close to his head.
Hui retreated at steady pace, making sure that the other wolf couldn't get behind him. His heart was pounding faster as he noted that the canines were pressing him towards the field's edge. Stepping on grass would be a failure, so he'd be basically cornered there. He breathed harder as he tested his opponent's defenses.
The wolf didn't budge.
Getting more nervous, Hui took another step backwards – and felt his heart miss a beat as the ground slipped under his feet and he fell and fell and fell…
He hit the ground right side-first, but didn't have time to even curse his train that had found its way under his feet, as the bigger wolf was already towering over him. Hui's eyes widened in fear as the wolf raised his sword up with both paws and stroke down.
The only move he had time to do was raising his left wing to block the attack. The shock of the impact of blade meeting blade shook him to the core, and he felt his wing going numb. But, the strike was stopped.
Hui rolled over his right side and bolted up. The scimitar was dropped from his now useless left wing. Now or never, he decided as the wolf, who had less maneuverable weapon and was generally less mobile, was only just preparing for next blow. Hui dashed the ground between them with his train and sent a cloud of dust, sand and some pebbles flying on the canine.
The wolf yelled and covered his eyes instinctively with his free paw, which was an amateurish mistake. Hui thrust forward with his remaining scimitar, using his whole body to give force to the stab. He made himself the mistake of closing his eyes, but this was the first time he landed such a hit on a living being. He felt the steel connect with the body; plunging trough the weak leather armor first and then driving deeper, crushing some ribs and then coming to halt, firmly lodged in the chest of the wolf.
Split-second later Hui felt something warm pouring on his wing, and he snapped his eyes open. The first thing he registered wasn't how red liquid poured out from the certainly lethal wound, how his blade and wing was getting stained, or even how the other wolf a little behind the first had halted for a moment in surprise and shock. No, the only thing that caught his attention was the eyes. The red eyes of the wolf were fixed on his greens, full despair, disbelief, fear.
It was like the world had frozen and there was nothing but him and the canine. A killer and his victim. The crimson eyes seemed to ask 'why', and Hui wasn't sure who was more horrified, the wolf or he himself. Then the eyes glazed over, the body fell on its knees and the moment shattered.
All the sounds suddenly returned; the audience bellowed and the remaining soldier roared in anger. Hui would have probably just stood there temporarily stunned and got slain, if his survival instincts hadn't yelled for him to move. Hui jerked the blade out from the wolf's chest and leaped backwards, just in time to avoid an unhealthy contact with a broadsword.
He wryly noted that the feeling was returning to his left wing, and with that, pain. Like he wasn't already distracted enough. The fight felt like a dream now. His movements were sluggish and he couldn't concentrate. The eyes of the dying wolf had captured him. He had taken a life, and he was forced to realize that he couldn't simply shrug it off. Those eyes… And as all that wasn't bad enough, he also noted, to his dismay, that he couldn't handle fighting with a single blade as well as he should have. He had omitted normal training as he had focused in dual-wielding. That seemed idiotic now.
The wolf was pressing him towards the edge again, and it was working. Hui couldn't get close enough to the wolf with the big sword to land a hit, or even ease the pressure. With two blades it would've been, if not easy, still manageable enough. This way he only wore himself out by constantly parrying hits that he couldn't dodge.
The audience was now mere two meters behind him, and the space was running out. Panic was trying to take him over and he had to struggle to stay calm. Take it easy, take it easy… dodge! …good. Now parry…! Stay calm… Hui clenched his left wing into fist. This was not what was supposed to happen. He promised to protect his home; it was simply not an option to die here, so soon.
Hui tried to slash at the wolf's feet, but it was easily blocked as he had expected. He followed the strike with swift kick at his opponent's right arm, hoping to make him lose his grip from the heavy weapon.
It didn't only fail to work, but the canine also kicked him back immediately while he was still on one foot, and the impact to his chest made him stagger backwards. Hui almost hit the soldiers standing in line at the edge of the 'play' area. He breathed heavily, maintaining control of his wearied body. He knew he couldn't match the strength of the wolf, nor could he maneuver around his defense. Not anymore.
Hui glanced at his audience. The wolves didn't hide their eagerness to see the peacock getting beaten. Maybe it was justified; he had killed their comrade after all…
A little behind them, Shen was observing from higher ground. His expression was almost unreadable, save for the hint of displeasure.
There wasn't much Hui could do. It was the harsh truth. With some sort of distraction he could possibly land a hit, but there wasn't anything suitable to do that with. Hui wasn't willing to risk exposing his back to use his train again. There weren't rocks sizeable enough to throw and cause some damage. Nothing. If he'd had his other scimitar, he could try throwing it, but alas, it was unreachable behind his opponent.
Hui backed along the edge as the wolf begun to approach again. His eyes darted on the weapons hanging from belts of the lined soldiers. A crazy thought occurred to him. After a second of frantic search with his gaze, he spotted a suitable one.
Switching the blade to his left wing, which was just able to hold it, he reached out and grabbed something from the belt of the nearest soldier. The wolf in question yelped in surprise, and the rest shouted at the outrageous act. He quickly sidestepped away from the line and unfurled the item he had taken with a swift swing.
Crying in anger, the wolf rushed towards him, sword held high above his head. Hui slashed quickly with his new weapon, and sharp crack cut air as the tip of the weapon broke the sound barrier.
The wolf howled in pain as a bright red gash appeared to the left side of his neck. His concentration was broken and he tilted towards right just before he brought down the sword. That allowed Hui to avoid the blow by diving forward, passing the canine.
He followed with another attack with the whip immediately after, slashing the wolf at the unprotected hams. Yelling, the canine fell to his knees. Hui leaped to him, throwing the whip off and switching the scimitar back to his good wing on the fly, and held the blade against the wolf's throat from behind.
Hui breathed out in relieve. Then he breathed in deep and let it go again. It was over. The wolf dropped his sword and froze in place, unable to move without getting his throat cut. After Hui's heartbeat had calmed down a bit, he turned his head to look at Shen, expecting him to declare the match finished.
Shen's gaze was cold and expecting. "The fight hasn't ended yet," he simply stated as Hui kept staring him.
"But- my lord, I have clearly won," Hui countered, not willing to see where this was going.
The white peacock snorted. "As my assassin, you will not dare to come to me until your targets are dead. The same applies to this test. Don't keep me waiting."
Hui looked down. He could not believe this. Shen expected him to kill someone who was helpless and totally at his mercy? That's what assassins do, a teasing voice whispered to him inside his head. Didn't you agree to become an assassin to protect those dear to you?
Well, he did, but… this was just so wrong. The wolf was all tensed up and breathing shallowly, his eyes closed. He had prepared to die. At that moment Hui hated himself. Do it! The voice commanded. His memory brought him back to the moment years ago, under a certain tree at the palace courtyard, when the panther had pinned him down and prepared to kill… there had been no empathy or mercy in the feline at all.
If that was what he was becoming into, then this wouldn't be anywhere near worth it. But what about your family? Do you want them to die like Jiao did? The voice reasoned.
Anger flashed in his face. He wasn't supposed to think about that name! Nor was he breaking his promise. But he couldn't just kill like that. He wasn't that brutal. Right? Kill or be killed; life is tough. Don't let that insignificant creature hold you back!
No. He wouldn't become an executioner.
Do it.
No.
Do it!
No!
NOW!
It happened like in slow motion. Hui yelled out the frustration from his inner conflict. At the same time he straightened his right wing in swift motion, pointing the blade towards horizon. The world turned static and Hui turned his gaze towards the skies. He had lost this one.
Even though he closed his eyes, he still heard the gurgling noises. They were soon followed by a thump, and then it was silent. He was expecting some cheering, booing or just general roaring from the platoon, but got nothing but silence. He was glad of that, but it made his actions seem more absolute. Like he had thought earlier; they could not be undone.
Slowly he lowered his wing and opened his eyes. The wolf's body was lying in front of him in a small but growing puddle. It was an animal that he had murdered. His second. Hui felt sick twist in stomach.
So focused he was in these dark thoughts, that he had failed to heard or notice how Shen had ordered the platoon in two lines, forming an aisle from him to Hui.
"Prince Hui Huang, come here," Shen commanded.
It was better to obey or it all was in vain, Hui thought bitterly. He was about to place the scimitar to his belt, when he happened to glance at its bloodied blade. He dropped it in disgust.
He walked between the two lines to the peacock lord, but it all felt somehow unreal. As Shen asked him to kneel, he obeyed without thinking much. It was easier if he just didn't think.
"My congratulations, seems like I'll get a good, obedient assassin after all. Your job will be tough, dirty, and certainly not glorious*."
"I can handle it," Hui stated darkly.
"Yes, but I think a better name is in place. The prince has turned into a reaper. Hui Huang becomes… Cike."
A/N: Dun dun dun :D
I don't think I've mentioned it here, but Cike was the name I developed my OC with. It means assassin. Hui Huang came into play later when I needed a more sensible birthname.
*=Hui Huang means glorious. (At least, it is supposed to. If not, I blame translators.)
Cike's story, like he will be called from now on, is not a stroll in a park. You're in for a rough ride! :P
anon: Yes, I have some plans for them. They will not be forgotten.
All in all, I've reached an important point in the story. We shall see where this goes from there. (Of course, I know where this goes, but you shall see xD )
Thanks for the reviewers, especially Hymenocallis Caribaea! You made me to pay more attention to the details :)
TF out.