20Though the tavern was the best in the city, this prestige did not stop people from getting drunk and into fights. I usually tried to avoid getting involved. As much as I liked a good fight, I did not fancy the thought of being in the middle of one with five brawny, drunken men. A man who wasn't involved in the fight slumped idly onto the bench next to me. He grinned at me, but it was obvious he couldn't see clearly. I wrinkled my nose in distaste. He was drunk, as were most of the others in the tavern tonight. Usually it wasn't this bad, but tonight was the princess's birthday, and the townspeople would use any excuse they could to get away from their dreary home lives.
I gave a warning look to the still-grinning man beside me and slumped to rest my head on the table. Why the mercenary company I was with had chosen that particular night to come to the city was a bloody strange coincidence. The princess's birthday. I groaned to myself. How the girl had the gall to call herself a princess. the selfish, spoiled, overdressed wimp! It made me long for home, but only for a fleeting instant. At least in my clan, leadership was given after proving the skill and strength to hold the position. A leader could be deposed if a stronger could be found, no matter to whom he was born.
I held a hearty dislike for the aristocrats that ruled this land, with their inherited power. And I hated the scorn with which they looked upon the farmers and merchants that gave their country the economy and food it needed to survive. I saw little sense in the system, as it gave people little incentive to work hard to improve their situations. Even the richest merchants were still just merchants, and could not hold the power of the aristocracy that was rapidly growing poorer.
The heat and stuffiness of the room was beginning to give me a headache, and I longed for the cool outdoors. I stood slowly and drained the last of the beer, grimacing at the aftertaste and the fire as it hit my belly. I checked to make sure my headband was pulled well down to shadow my eyes, and turned to walk out the door. I leapt lightly over a man as he rolled towards me and stepped outside, grateful to be able to breathe again.
"Lady, wait!" a man called through the door. I turned to him, a little irritated. My stare brought him up short, and he stammered, " forgot to pay."
"Oh. My apologies." I smiled apologetically at him and fished in my pouch for the proper coins. He bowed as I handed them to him and walked back inside the tavern. I turned back to the night, gazing out into the darkness. I sighed and pulled off my headband, letting my hair float out in the breeze, content that the lack of light would hide my identity.
The sound of drums brought me out of my own world, and I looked down the street to see what had caused the noise. I then cursed myself and the beer for making me forget that there would be a parade in honor of the princess. Sure enough, around the corner came the princess riding on a gentle white mare, surrounded by more servants and courtiers than I cared to count. They approached rapidly, and I could not help noticing that the princess looked a little embarrassed to be the head of such a spectacle. I also could not help looking up at her as she rode by.
By great ill luck, she happened to look down at me when she drew level. The lamps carried by her servants were bright, and the light hit my eyes just as she glanced at me. I don't know what surprised her more: the hatred on my face, or the vivid color of my eyes. There was fear on her face, and I knew what she saw; my eyes were normally the brightest purple you can imagine, so that they seemed to glow with a light of their own. In that moment, she knew who I was.
The princess stopped her horse with a gentle hand, and I cursed out loud and dodged away into the shadows. As I ran, I was shocked to hear her calling after me. "Wait! Don't go!" But her voice soon faded, and I quickly replaced my headband so the same mistake would be made again. I headed back to the mercenary camp, hoping to get there without being stopped by anyone else.
I was stopped by someone else, but this time I welcomed the company. It was Arisel, a fellow mercenary and comrade-in-arms. We had fought in the same company now for two years, and were good friends. She was a slender, well- muscled woman, as were all who were in the company, including myself. We were both of medium height, and stood almost exactly eye-to-eye. I grinned at her as she joined me. She grinned back and elbowed me lightly in the stomach. "Didja get a good drink tonight, Niren?"
"It was passable. Not as good as that farmer's brew, but at least it didn't choke me. How about you?"
She grimaced. "I've had better from stagnant ponds."
I laughed out loud. "You get what you pay for, my friend. I was willing to spend the extra coin tonight."
"Yes, well, if I had the coin to spend, I would. I don't have as much as you, y'know."
"That's because you spend it in every town we come to. Honestly, do you have to try the food everywhere we go?"
Arisel smiled sheepishly. "Yes. What if I miss something really good? We don't often pass through the same town twice."
I rolled my eyes. "There's more to life than food."
"Like what?" she retorted. "Drunken brawls and gambling?"
That hurt. She had hit too close to the truth. "I never gamble," I spluttered indignantly. "And besides, the brawling only happened once." I glared at her. "You know that I haven't been drunk since then." Then I grinned. "Besides, I won the fight."
It was her turn to roll her eyes. "There's more to life than fighting," she said, in perfect imitation of my tone.
"I like sleeping, too." I suited action to words, and yawned hugely. "Speaking of sleep, we're here, and I was on dawn patrol today, and I have it again tomorrow. I'm going to bed." I waved and trotted off to my tent, thinking of how nice my warm blanket would feel.
"See ya tomorrow morning, bright and early!" she called to me cheerily. I growled and she laughed.
I was smiling as I stripped off my boots and knife belt, and crawled under my blanket that was spread on the ground, expecting to be asleep in minutes. But sleep would not come. My smile was lost as I recalled the encounter with the princess. Now she knew who I was. The only person in the world with eyes like the Assassin.
* * *
"Come out, my violet-eyed warrior!" A loud voice called from outside my tent, rousing me out of my sleep. I groaned loudly and turned over.
"It's not even light yet! Go away." I said sleepily. I was rewarded with a laugh, and then the tent flap was opened as someone stepped through with a bright lantern. I pulled my blanket over my head, and then it was roughly torn from my grasp. I sat up and glared at my attacker, who was looking down at me with an unrepentant smile on his face. "One of these days, Bane." I let the threat trail off unfinished.
Bane laughed at me again. "You're so much fun in the morning! "Come on, get up. We've got patrol together." I blinked at him sleepily for a moment, then reached for my boots and belt. His voice continued as I stood unsteadily. "Too much beer last night? Well, don't worry. I've got some hot water outside, and there's that mint stuff you like so much to brew in it. And if you hurry, I'll braid your hair for you."
I looked up from buckling on my sword. "Really?" Bane was much sought-after for his braiding skills that he claimed to have learned from his mother, who had also been a mercenary. Though most women chose to crop their hair short, I and a few others let it grow, braiding it for battle. Bane's braiding was tight and neat and didn't come undone readily, unlike my braiding, which had a tendency to make me look like a cornered wolf with hair sticking out everywhere.
"Really. Come on, the sooner you get moving, the sooner you'll wake up."
"Just a moment. I'm coming." I stooped to grab my headband off the ground where it had fallen the night before.
"You know, I hate it when you wear that thing," Bane commented as he handed me a steaming mug of mint tea. "I love your eyes."
I sighed and sipped at the hot drink. "I hate wearing it. But I have no choice anymore, unless I want to be stuck in camp all day and night." I sighed again and said almost to myself, "All because of one failed assassination." I knew Bane heard, but he said nothing of it, only told me to turn around so he could do my hair. I complied, lifting a hand to rub my heavy eyes as I did so. I am definitely not a morning person, I thought to myself. It's the same thought I had every time I had to get up for dawn patrol.
Bane had my hair braided and pinned up around my head before I could finish my tea. I gulped the rest down, and the burning sensation as it went down my throat was enough to wake me up completely. We both stood and checked our swords and knives and then headed to our respective posts.
I reached mine just as the sun came up over the horizon, making me blink. I tapped the guard that I was relieving on the shoulder, and he turned and blinked at me sleepily. I grinned and sent him on his way before he could fall asleep where he stood.
My three-hour patrol was uneventful that day, as usual. At about nine o'clock, another woman came to take my place, and I went to find some breakfast. I found Arisel first, or rather she found me. Her enthusiastic yell made me cringe, and I socked her in the shoulder just for good measure. "It is too early in the morning to be making noises like that."
She grinned at me, unperturbed by my black mood. "Guess what we've got for breakfast?" But she didn't let me even have time to think of an answer. "Venison stew! The patrol last night shot a bunch of deer that came too close to camp!" She swallowed hungrily. "I waited for you so we could eat together."
"Thanks. At least I know there's food left, then." I smiled and shook my head at her. "Come on, I know you're starving, so let's move a little faster. I've been standing for three hours!" We took off at a jog, loosening up our cold-stiffened muscles.
The patrol must have killed the whole herd of deer, for there were about fifteen carcasses lying about, waiting to be butchered, not counting the one in the huge pot over the fire. The smell of the stew got my mouth watering, and I was dancing in place with impatience by the time someone finally handed me a bowl. Arisel and I sat down and ate, me as quickly as I could, and her enjoying every bite. I took both our bowls and got seconds, and this time ate mine more slowly. "So," I said in between bites. "Where did the big pot come from?"
"Captain found it somewhere. He had some of the men drag it over yesterday. Taren was practically jumping for joy when he saw it. Poor man, the mercenary life is wasted on him. He should be a chef for a king."
"Aye, well then we wouldn't get such good food." I wiped my bowl clean with a piece of bread and sat back to lick my fingers. "Kings don't need good cooks. They're fat enough as it is."
"If it weren't for the kings and nobility, we wouldn't have a job, y'know."
"No, then we'd all have decent jobs that made money, because the nobles wouldn't be there to take it from us." I smiled wistfully. "A nice, quiet farm. A few dogs, some cows or goats or something. No more killing, no more bloodshed." My face twisted and I continued softly, "No more fear from others."
Arisel looked compassionately at me. "It really bothers you, doesn't it? That everyone you meet on the streets cringes away in fear."
I nodded slowly. "I used to want people to fear me, because it made me feel strong. But now." I let my voice trail off. I shook my head, and then turned to Arisel. "What would you do, if you didn't have to fight anymore?"
She ignored the abrupt change of subject and answered wholeheartedly. "I would travel. I mean, I know we travel now, but we spend, what, maybe two days max in a town. I want to travel the continent at my own pace, find odd jobs at my convenience." She grinned at me. "Taste all the food in every town and city. Probably go broke and have to work off my debts. But I wouldn't have to be answerable to anyone else. Just myself."
We both broke off our conversation to sit back and think about our lives in companionable silence.
A shout from one of the patrol alerted us to trouble, but too late. A hissing sound filled the air as arrows flew in a huge arc to strike the center of the camp. Which was unfortunately where we were. Arisel and I scrambled frantically to find cover, but there was little to hide under. We got up to run, and I heard a surprised grunt beside me. I looked back and saw Arisel fall to the ground with an arrow sticking out of her back. I stared in disbelief as blood soaked the back of her tunic and began to flow onto the ground beneath her. I was numb to the arrows hissing around me, just staring at my friend's body as life flowed from her.
Someone was yelling my name, but I didn't hear it until his body hit me and knocked me to the ground. "You idiot! What are you doing standing here?! She's dead, let's go!" He dragged me up off the dirt and pulled me along at a dead run. An arrow whizzed near my head and nicked my ear. The pain pulled me back into reality, and I began to consciously run, still holding tightly to my captain's hand.
We finally stopped out of range of the arrows, and the captain gave orders to a few of the mercenaries to go the long way around and seek out our attackers. "I want at least one alive!" he called as they trotted away. Then he turned to me and pulled a rag out of a pocket in his vest. "Your ear is bleeding. Hold still." I complied, too weary and shocked to protest as he wiped the blood from the side of my face and neck. I hissed between my teeth when he touched my ear, and he apologized. "You're lucky. The arrow could have killed you if it had been a little farther over. As it stands, you have a lovely notch out of your ear." He finished and smiled sadly at me. "There will be many others that must see the medics today. Come to my tent and we'll find some salve to put on that."
I nodded and followed him through the camp, trying not to see the bodies strewn about. His tent was inconspicuous, because it looked just like any other in the camp. He never flouted his station, but instead treated us as equals. His orders never seemed like orders, but instead suggestions. Sometimes very strong suggestions, but he was never lax in meting out discipline to those who deserved it. We all respected him, and we would have gladly died for him in battle.
He led me inside and began digging around in his pack for a jar of salve. I had been in his tent before, and as always everything was neatly in place, though there were few possession to throw about. He found what he was looking for, and I stood silently as he gently smeared it on my ear. It stung for a moment, but soon began to soothe away the pain. I sighed in relief and thanked him quietly.
He smiled. "I can't have my best assassin dying on me, can I?" I heard the jest behind his words, and knew he would have done the same for anyone else. I turned to walk out, but he stopped me. "I hate to ask this of you, but you and Bane are good organizers. Would you find people for burial duty?" I nodded slowly, blinking back the tears that finally began to flow. "It is my honor, sir." I stepped out of the tent and wiped my eyes carefully. There would be time for grieving later.
I found Bane, and we quickly recruited people to dig holes, arming them with shovels borrowed from a farmer. In any other mercenary camp, the scene would have been different. There would have been few if any tears shed, and instead coarse jokes would have been made over the dead bodies. But our band was different. Though many of us had seen countless battles and lost many comrades, we always kept the belief that life was precious, and its passing should be mourned. I think that it was because our captain felt this way, and because of our devotion to him, we mirrored his views. Our comrades were brothers and sisters, not competition. There were many tearstained faces that day, mine among them. Some grieved silently, some out loud, and some sought the solitude of their tents over the company of others. But our grief was not a hindrance. There was work to be done, and we all did our share. Everyone was there when we finally laid our fallen friends in the earth.
The dam broke on my tears as Bane and I put Arisel's body in the hole. As people around us began to shovel dirt on her grave, I knelt by the edge and wept. Bane put his arms around me and together we grieved for her and her dreams that would never be fulfilled.