To kill or recruit... (Turning to the Shadow RP)

Benella stretched her legs out in front of her, crossing them at the ankles. She’d been sitting here having this little staring contest for the last three hours and her legs were starting to cramp. Three hours was a dangerous amount of time to spend sitting in one place, but orders were orders. And her orders would take much longer than the last three hours to complete.

I’m an assassin, she muttered inwardly. I’m not a recruiter. Yet here she was, staring into the eyes of Lord Rayn, waiting on him to accept his fate. He was a tough one, she had to give him that. He’d held up longer than she would’ve guessed a foppish Cairhienin lord would’ve.

“Let’s try this again, shall we?” she dropped her legs and leaned forward again, the small blade in her fingers trailing up his thigh. “You’ve been chosen to serve the Dark Lord gain another foothold in this Light-forsaken city. I’m afraid I can’t offer you much of a choice, but it seems an easy enough decision. Accept the position or die. I’ve been ordered not to make it quick,” She flicked her wrist, drawing blood on the inside of his knee. “…or painless.”

His lips twitched, but he gave no other sign that he’d even heard her. After a moment, though, that changed. “Tell me why?” His voice held the note of curiosity she’d hoped to hear three hours ago. “Why was I chosen? Why should I accept this?”

“The Great Lord has much to offer, Lord Rayn. A steady income, a guarantee about your future…” she paused and titled her head to the side. “What’s more, you get to play The Game the way it should be played. High stakes and fast results.”

“Was that why you did it?” His eyes seemed hungry, as if she’d found his pressure point.

“You want my reasons? I’m afraid you will be disappointed in them. You see, it’s not the power that I am after. Never have been. It’s the freedom to do what I want with my life, instead of answering to those who have little stake in its outcome. I was nothing before being offered this chance; a scrawny kid with no future outside a brothel. I am invisible to men, so that future wouldn’t have lasted long, either. I have no great love of cleaning, either.  It’s not what I wanted out of my life. That fateful night when my hand snatched the purse of a tall man on the streets of Arafel, my choice was much the same as yours. I could lose my hand or I could be useful. Since it coincided with my need to be something more, I accepted it.” She shrugged. “I can tell you that it didn’t take me this long and I didn’t shed a single drop of blood. Is this carpet terribly expensive? I fear you’ve ruined it with your hesitation…”

“I’m not sure you appreciate my predicament, my dear,” Lord Rayn continued. “I am a Cairhienin Lord! I hold an office in the government. I oversee estates and businesses. If I make this decision, it’s not just me it will affect.”

Ben snorted and stood, stretching her back and walking to the window to look out at the inky black sky. “What good are you to them if you’re dead?”

“More than putting them all in danger joining the Dark One.” Ben looked over her shoulder at him as he spoke, her head shaking.

“Your soul will not rest. The Dark One will forever punish you for not accepting this wonderful gift. If you are lucky, he will grow bored and simply remove you from the pattern. How will that affect your precious dependents, Lord Rayn?” Ben shifted, resting her hip on the windowsill. “I can save you the answer, if you wish. You’ve already accepted the proposition, so we won’t have to find out. Why do you continue your useless questions?”

Lord Rayn smiled and Ben was struck with the beauty of it. Was this why the Great Lord had need of him? She had to admit he was charming. “I find the conversation intriguing,” he answered, not bothering to elaborate.

Ben rolled her eyes and began collecting her knives. “You shall be visited on the morrow by the one who shall be your Lord,” she said as she slid knives into the leather case. “I would recommend you not exercise this curiosity with him. You’ll find he’s not as conversant as I am.” She strapped the knives onto her wrist and turned back towards him, a single dagger bared in her fingers. “He’s much better with these, too.”

“Who was the man?” Lord Rayn asked as she drew closer. “…The man who gave you such an ultimatum?”

Ben leaned from the hip. It was her turn to smile. “Ask him yourself. He’ll be here by mid morning.” She flicked her wrist again, the dagger slipping easily from her fingers to slice through the rope binding his wrists. “Best of luck to you, Lord Rayn. I suspect we shall see each other again someday.”

She passed through the doorway, slipping silently into the hallway and into the shadows beyond. It took him only a few seconds to rid himself of the ropes and go after her, but the house was silent in her wake. The guard she’d killed on the way in lay slumped by the door, his blood soaking the carpet of the entryway. Lord Rayn shook his head, his lips still twitching in a smile. “That, my dear, I quite look forward to…”

~~~

Benella Morin, DF Initiate