Gravity

Chapter Two, Her Lord's Cruelty

Ja'far was never particularly fond of Reim. In his time living there, sure good things had happened, and the Sindria trading company building would always be a sort of home for him, but he found the country overall to be brutish and harsh. Coming here again felt something of how he used to feel coming to Reim on a mission, back in his Sham Lash days.

He was on a mission in fact, and it even had to do with the very past he was stuck musing about now.

Just a month before he'd received word from Vittel of the results of their team's thorough investigation of the Sham Lash home base and any other known dwelling of its leaders. They still had months of digging to do, but they'd discovered a letter that they'd decoded speaking of a project that Shaka had been doing.

"You'll never believe this!" Vittel had said, for a moment looking as though he didn't know whether to laugh or cry. He apparently decided on the former, chuckling a bit bitterly. "Shaka was sending the highest ranking assassins to protect the Reiman figures he knew would eventually be targeted during the war and during the cease-fire. Or at least, he was planning to...fucking traitor."

Ja'far listened carefully, pursing his lips. "That's...well that's to be expected I suppose." He looked to the ground a moment, the thought crossing him to just what might have happened to him had he not escaped when he did before he looked back up at his friend. "Do you have any leads? Names of the assassins or who they were being sent to?"

Vittel nodded. "We just have the one contact, there could be more, but so far it seems that he sent the first assassin about half a year before you killed him. Most likely it'll be a dead end but well..."

Ja'far knew how Vittel felt, and despite having buried his past, he still felt the tiniest bit of obligation as former chief, and as the one who made it out of that hell alive. "If there's even one survivor we haven't found yet that's willing to cooperate with us, then they're worth finding, right?"

Vittel nodded. "Yeah, of course! Definitely!"

In the end, it was decided that Ja'far would follow the lead to Reim, and attempt to get what information he could about the failed project, hoping that this might lead to new comrades. Nor was this hope one of naivety, as over the years they'd managed to round up seventeen young ex-assassins, all of which were surprisingly cooperative in creating an elite force in Sindria's spy network. Really, all it took to persuade most of them was the opportunity for a better life, one with more resource and stimulus. Something about reaching out to his own, and salvaging as many as the abused kids and lost lives as he could, was comforting to Ja'far; it was the next step in his recovery that he hadn't known he needed.

Now he was arriving in Reim, and though a day's journey from Napolia to the neighboring city in which he'd find his lead was bound to tire him out considerably, he was hopeful that he would soon find the answers he was looking for. This wasn't just an investigation anymore, it was a rescue mission. Either he would save this assassin from the life they led or he'd kill them trying.

...

"Look at the pathetic mess you're in!"

Naura knelt on the floor, keeping her gaze downwards and not daring to look up at Cassius. She'd been patched up thoroughly by the medics and was now covered in bandages. After resting a few hours, she'd been summoned by lord Lucretius, and suddenly she was feeling anxious again.

"I defeated all twenty-five of your warriors, my lord," she replied meekly. "In all my years by your side not once have I failed you, sir."

"You blacked out as soon as you finished," he stated coldly. "You're of no use to me unconscious! If it had been a real attack, I would have been killed the moment you were out of commission! Do you now understand your impertinence?!"

Feeling as though she might cry, Naura nodded and hung her head. "I'm sorry, my lord, it will not happen again." She whispered, and a few stray tears slid down her cheeks.

Cassius noted this with a sigh, beckoning to her. "Come here."

Shakily pulling herself up, she wiped her tears away and stood before where he sat, hanging her head and staring at the floor. She had knots in her stomach still from the rejection, trying so hard not to break down after exhausting herself so tremendously just to be scolded.

"Why are you crying?" His voice was steady, calculated, unaffected by her sadness.

"I..." Her voice cracked a moment, so she fell silent. "Since coming here I've tried my hardest to please you...a-and we used to feel so close. As of these past few years you've been demanding impossible things from me.

"You know my loyalty is secure, my lord," she continued, bringing a hand to her heart to further express the meaning of her words. "My heart, my soul, and my sword all belong to you...and yet I am only a human. I cannot defeat an entire army, that has never been and never will be my purpose, or even within the realms of human ability."

Cassius stood slowly, inching closer to her and staring at her with the same blank face, and she fell silent a moment. He wasn't the tallest of people, but Naura herself was quite short, and he much towered over her. He wasn't much of a fighter, but Naura would never lay a hand to harm him so it didn't much matter; when he stood above her, Naura felt her heart go cold with fear.

"What are you insinuating?"

Averting her gaze to the side, perspiration sliding down her face, she managed to find her voice again just barely. "W-well with all due respect sir, I don't think fighting in the arena is a proper use of my talents perhaps if you could allow me to-"

She fell silent when she noticed his breaths becoming more shallow, his face starting to turn red. Before she could apologize, he took a deep breath to calm himself, and then struck her across the face.

The slap, delivered by the back of his hand, was not lacking in strength either, managing to knock her off balance and send her falling to the ground. Tears welled up in her eyes as she curled in on herself, too tired to try and stand or do anything else. In the arena, she could take so much damage without a care, but somehow when he struck her, it was like it doubled all her injuries.

"What use are you to me if you cannot prove your strength?!" he demanded harshly.

Naura was sobbing too hard to reply, and when Cassius realized this he rolled his eyes. "You're pathetic, Naura. Guards! Escort Naura back to her quarters so she may finish her tantrum."

Two of his guards came and slipped their arms under her own, carefully helping her stand. One of them pursed his lips and rested a hand on her shoulder to comfort her, but the gesture, while kind enough, meant nothing to her.

Nothing meant anything to her, not when her entire reason for living amounted to nothing. She would never be able to prove herself to Cassius; of his love, she would never be worthy.