Dance of Knives

Back on Earth, I used to provoke my own consequences and later treat them like uninvited guests. Although some of them I couldn’t behead like one of my victims, I eventually learned to predict doom in three moves. But now? This world would remind me what being two steps behind felt.

ㅤㅤAfter some time, I learnt how to overcome all messes I had started, or rather, endured it until it didn’t affect me anymore. Later, learnt how not to begin them in the first place, and in the end, anticipate every move my persecutors would take. Every decision. Every plan. Every route. I forgot why it became so important.

ㅤㅤ“For the memory of our excellency and beloved Lord Varten, we meet again today to condemn these criminals” croaked the crier, “amongst others, for tradition, insubordination, and rebellion.” His voice echoed on the square with arrogance and fake pain.

ㅤㅤThe multitude, quiet. The setting, humid of fear. The first prisoners on the line were barely standing. Their legs trembling, as if their souls had already left their bodies and an empty husk got left behind. Masses held off by guards with stony faces.

ㅤㅤMy presence, reduced to just another spectator on a barrel at the end of the square. My eyes, that could see everything, could not have imagined what was about to come next.

ㅤㅤThe crier raised a parchment, preparing to read the last words before giving his order.

ㅤㅤ“For these crimes, they will be hanged until their bodies meet death and…”

ㅤㅤTchak.

ㅤㅤNothing else than a whisper. Barely a murmur in the air.

ㅤㅤThe crier’s body arched suddenly. His voice, now reduced to gurgling. An arrow traversing his throat from an impossible angle. It came from a distance. From somewhere invisible.

ㅤㅤHe fell backwards with his arms open, as if expecting some grand scene on his death.

ㅤㅤThe plaza broke out into chaos.

ㅤㅤScreams. Shoving. Mothers protecting their kids. Some ran away, others didn’t even have the strength to.

ㅤㅤThe captain of the guard—a man built like a wardrobe, with half his face marked by old burns—drew his sword.

ㅤㅤ“Formation!” He commanded as soldiers around him made a wall of steel. “Don’t let them escape! Locate the archer and search the roo—”

ㅤㅤTchak.

ㅤㅤAnother arrow. Directly to his left eye. Didn’t scream. His knees ceded to his own weight and fell like an empty sack with a sword still in his hand.

ㅤㅤI saw it. A silhouette. A fleeting shadow over the roofs, like a marionette freed by the wind. Dark cloak, agile figure. Fast. Elegant. Precise.

ㅤㅤI couldn’t even allow myself to doubt. My legs had already moved before my mind.

ㅤㅤIt jumped to the next roof and the next after that, with the ease someone may have being born on them.

ㅤㅤI had to chase.

ㅤㅤThe old boots clashed on wood with rhythm. A jump. A cornice. A wall to climb. I couldn’t allow myself to lose it. That assassin… Was it an ally? A rival? What were his motives?

ㅤㅤThe figure turned abruptly on a narrow housetop. It jumped down to a balcony, and allowed itself to drop on the cobblestone floor with the grace of a feline.

ㅤㅤI barreled down two floors through a narrow staircase, slipping at the end. I had nearly lost its trail, turned around a corner… but no figure was to be seen.

ㅤㅤTime didn’t allow playing cat and mouse. Guards were coming my way, and if they saw me, I would have to tempt luck once again, this time, with slim chances. Without thinking about other options, forced a door open and closed it just before they could see me.

ㅤㅤThe air smelled of dust, olden wood and humidity. An introverted twinkle lighted up the end of the room: a solitary candle.

ㅤㅤBarrels, rusty tools, boxes… I had entered a basement. One that hadn’t been visited for a long time.

ㅤㅤShivers went down my spine.

ㅤㅤThen felt it.

ㅤㅤA blade touching my back. Right in between the ribs.

ㅤㅤ“Who are you?” A soft, yet firm voice asked. Feminine and threatening.

ㅤㅤ“I… We were playing hide and seek, so when I saw the door open…”

ㅤㅤ“The door was closed” She interrupted. “I don’t know who you are, but I can not take any risks. Sorry.”

ㅤㅤI turned in a fraction of a second.

ㅤㅤMoments like these don’t just end chapters, they ended biographies. I knew, because most of the time I was the one to deliver it. Just not this once. No face could be distinguished—then another blade coming my way.

ㅤㅤI dodged.

ㅤㅤThe blade came so close, the sliced air left a whistle.

ㅤㅤAnother strike.

ㅤㅤThen another.

ㅤㅤLike a needle through silk, each strike was precise and terrifying. Not to mention lethal.

ㅤㅤI had no choice but to concede her some steps as I fell back, clinging for my life. I had to use anything I could to not be sliced in half: an old bag of powder, a stool, a table to stop the next hit.

ㅤㅤEvery move had to be calculated, a dance between life and death.

ㅤㅤUntil I left an opening and forced her to misstep forward.

ㅤㅤI had a hidden dagger on myself, awaiting the right moment, and quickly pulled it out.

ㅤㅤShlick.

ㅤㅤHer exposed hand left in a position where my short arms could finally reach, cutting clean two fingers of her left-hand.

ㅤㅤI could now anticipate her next move. She tried to catch me off guard after my first strike. It wasn’t just any kind of surprise attack—it was the attack of someone who understood when an adversary gets too confident.

ㅤㅤI deflected the blade coming from her right hand. And went straight for the neck.

ㅤㅤThe pressure drew blood. A few drops tickled down her neck.

ㅤㅤThe fighting concluded.

ㅤㅤThe hood fell.

ㅤㅤAnd a young woman revealed.

ㅤㅤEarly twenties. Sharp face, firm jaw, pale skin. Eyes the color of drained blood. With long, fine and sleek hair, black like a moonless night.

ㅤㅤAn unadorned, silent beauty.

ㅤㅤExpressionless.

ㅤㅤ“Looks like someone hasn’t been sincere” she said, with her head lightly tilted backwards and her eyes glancing sidelong.

ㅤㅤ“Drop your weapons.” I commanded.

ㅤㅤThe blade still on her neck, leading a red thread down her throat.

ㅤㅤShe didn’t flinch. Impassive. No fear. No fury. Just an evaluative pause—calculating whether I was a wolf that she could tame… or one to get rid of before it could bite.

ㅤㅤ“Fine.” She finally answered.

ㅤㅤDropped the daggers with the same composure someone does when hanging a wet coat. The blades made a dry, metallic noise, dropping to the ground.

ㅤㅤA loud silence followed. Only the candle sparking interrupting the tension.

ㅤㅤ“Who are you?” I asked now with the same tone she did before. A question loaded not with curiosity, but with need.

ㅤㅤShe barely flinched. Her neck still blooding, yet, her expression still cold.

ㅤㅤ“Nobody.” She said.

ㅤㅤThat wouldn’t be enough. I hadn’t become famous for my patience on waiting for answers that weren’t poisoned with ambiguity.

ㅤㅤShe blinked. As if sweat had bothered her eyelashes.

ㅤㅤ“Who do you think I could be?” She added, almost making fun of me, answering on the game of deception. A game she clearly dominated.

ㅤㅤI answered with the same coin, not taking the provocation.

ㅤㅤ“An assassin” She finally said.

ㅤㅤThat word floated like the evident truth it was. I didn’t need her to confirm it. The silence that followed did.

ㅤㅤ“Who contracted you.”

ㅤㅤI hardened my jaw. My blade had barely moved in all this time. That threat had started to dissolve.

ㅤㅤShe sketched a slight smile. Almost unnoticeable.

ㅤㅤ“That is not your problem” she answered—then tried to take a step back—but didn’t let her. She kept staring at me with elegance and the insolence of someone who has met death. “But you don’t look just a curious.”

ㅤㅤOn that moment, without knowing, I was about to make a grave mistake—what could make someone not react in the slightest in the face of death? That porcelain face clearly hid something, but I couldn’t make it out from hatred, revenge or ambition. I tried to look behind her red silk eyes.

ㅤㅤIt was just a second.

ㅤㅤJust one.

ㅤㅤBut it was enough.

ㅤㅤHer hand moved mysteriously.

ㅤㅤMy vision dissolved. Sounds disappeared.

ㅤㅤThat place wading behind me, something else started surrounding me now.

ㅤㅤI slipped somewhere.

ㅤㅤIt had no resemblance with the new world that I had now lived in for years.

ㅤㅤIt became something else entirely.

ㅤㅤSomething else familiar. Somewhere I had already seen.

ㅤㅤSomewhere back in Earth.