The Anari

by Adrianna J Tetnowski

  “Oh, will you brush my hair, Ana? You always do it so nicely.” Preeya begged.

  It did not take much convincing for the other young priestess to rush towards her personal chest of belongings and pull out a sturdy wooden brush. It was forbidden for Priestesses to keep any trinkets, or even items of silver or gold. That would be an offence to the gods, whom they owed everything they had to.

  Preeya swung her legs up onto her bed and tucked them close to her chest, holding herself like that as Ana ran the brush through her thick brown locks.

  “Ana?” the young girl began, whilst her dear friend continued to brush her hair. “Have you ever wondered what it’s like?”

  Ana paused her brushing for a moment to look over Preeya’s shoulder and at her face.

  “What what’s like?” she asked.

  Preeya raised a brow at her friend and Ana covered her mouth with a hand.

  “Oh!” she replied and ran the brush through Preeya’s hair again. “I imagine it’s exciting – liberating, even.”

  “So if you got to spend an entire day outside the Convent, what would you do with it?” Preeya continued to ask. Now that they were alone, they did not have to keep quiet about such a topic.

  “I would go to a bakery and buy the biggest cake there is. Then I’d eat it on the sand by the sea, with the cool breeze in my hair and the sun in my face.” Ana replied.

  Even though both girls had not been born at the Convent, city life did not offer much excitement, like visiting a beach or exploring forests. In fact, both Preeya and Ana had lived sheltered lives even before having been sent away to join the sisters when they were seven. Now, both at sixteen years of age, they felt they had missed out on a lot of what life could offer them.

  “I’ve heard people in the streets talking about how the sea smells like salt. How strange, don’t you think?” Ana said. After a moment, she placed the brush down and braided Preeya’s hair.

  Preeya shuddered at the feel of Ana’s fingers working through her hair. “I would visit one of those women in the pretty coloured silks; the ones who are always prancing around with men in the city. To learn how to be a confident woman just like them.” she said.

  Ana let loose a gasp. “But, Preeya! Don’t you know who those women are? They’re whores, women who sleep around with anyone willing to pay money for it.” she explained.

  Preeya turned to look back at Ana, yelping a little as she felt a sharp tug against her hair.

  “Sorry, Preeya.” the girl cooed.

  “Even – even other women?” Preeya could not help but ask. When Ana only covered her mouth again and giggled, Preeya felt her jaw drop a little as she smiled. Well, she had never expected society to accept such a thing. If people even accepted it that was.

  “We’re women now, Ana. We have already bled and now have the bodies of women too, so why can’t we experience the same things any other woman does? It isn’t fair.” Preeya said. She was desperate to tell Ana of the hooded woman she saw every time they went to the temple. Yet, at the same time she wanted to be selfish and keep the thought of the woman for herself.

  “I want to know what it feels like to love a man and be loved back. Sometimes I wonder why we even have to stay celibate; if perhaps the gods will get jealous if we loved both them and someone else.” Preeya added in all dreamily.

  “But sex is only for married couples, remember?” Ana argued.

  Preeya rolled onto her side and propped her head up with a fist.

  “No,” she began. “I think it should be between two people who love each other, regardless of their marital status.”

  Ana laid down onto her stomach and kicked her feet up in the air. Both girls continued to converse about the things they would do if they were not priestesses. It sounded wonderful, wonderful!

  It all made Preeya more determined to leave the Convent and soon. Before she risked the chance of losing out on anymore of life; or at least, the one she wished she had had from the start.

  12 –

  Ariadna

  Ariadna joined the men with their training late that morning. She had wanted to take her time reading through the contract Vinn had given her, to think of reasonable excuses why she could not assassinate Mallice Mara. His name not being on her list was not a good enough reason.

  The thought of being in a room with a dozen or more shirtless men would have had any other woman scrambling to the training ground. For Ariadna, she had far more important things to do than stand and gape at her comrades.

  Kai had offered to train with her, seeing as Ari did not enjoy the company of the other men. It had been a bad choice on his part. The young man gave his sword a quick swing around, loosening his shoulders and feeling the weight of his weapon. Ariadna rested her own blade flat against her shoulder as she waited. Placing her weight on one side, she ran a hand through her silver ponytail and let out a dramatic sigh.

  “I’m not getting any younger.” she called out to Kai with a smile.

  “No but, you are getting prettier.” he yelled back and charged her without warning.

  Ariadna stepped back and her blade sang as it met Kai’s. She evened her footing and dragged her sword against her opponent’s again, brushing past Kai on his right and ramming her elbow into his side as she danced by. Kai stumbled but, was quick to find his balance again. He sent the flat side of his blade towards Ari, striking her on the buttocks.

  Ariadna responded with a swift kick to his inner thigh, just missing his groin. When she had unbalanced him the slightest, Ari crashed her blade against Kai’s hard enough to disarm him. She tucked her sword beneath her arm and sent another quick sidekick towards Kai.

  The assassin went soaring. He landed on his back and flipped over once, rolling onto his feet before he hurt his neck. This time around, Kai found Ariadna charging towards him. Before Kai had the chance to regain himself, Ariadna leapt on him with her hands looped around his shoulders. Wrapping her legs around his waist, Ari arched herself back with full force until Kai lost his footing again and went flipping over with her. Kai landed on his back again, his head locked between Ariadna’s legs as she pinned him down. He choked on a laugh and pinched the girl on her ribs to get her to let go.

  Ariadna let out a tremendous laugh as Kai found his feet first and dragged her across the floor by her ankle. She writhed in his grasp, still laughing as she did.

  “What are you going to do about it?” Kai yelled at her, with tears in his eyes from having laughed so hard.

  Ariadna hooked her foot around Kai’s ankle and yanked it back hard, sending the man to join her on the floor. Both assassins earned a round of applause from Oberon, who approached them with care, should they decide to knock him over too. He helped Ari to her feet and waited for Kai to find his. Unsheathing his own sword from his side, he gave Ariadna a small shrug.

  “If I may?” he asked her.

  Ariadna gave Kai a shove as he passed her by and gathered her own weapon into her hand again. She was not cocky, so Ari kept any words which may jinx her luck to herself. The last thing she needed was to big herself up and then lose against Oberon; which seemed likely seeing as he was the best assassin here, next to Vinn.

  The other assassins and thieves gathered around, placing bets on both opponents. Yet Vinn did not join in as he leaned against the wall, away from the others, and he raised his chin a little as he watched.

  Ariadna served the first blow as she rammed her sword against Oberon’s, forcing him to take a few steps back. She earned a few cheers from the spectators. But Oberon stayed put after that.

  Obe moved like a river, twisting his way around the girl like she was a route well known. He calculated her movements before Ari even executed them, brushing her blade aside like it was nothing. Oberon praised the girl in silence for how well she was keeping up. Whilst she was an excellent fighter, Obe knew Ariadna still had a lot to learn, and he was always more than willing to help her.

  If there was one thing Ariadna was not afraid of
, it was other peoples’ opinions of her. She knew she was good at what she did but, Ari was also well aware that there were many gaps in her skills set which needed to be patched up. That was why she trained so hard daily, to make herself better than she was the day before. Not to mention, Ariadna was not stupid enough to brag about her supposed skills and then not be able to walk the walk afterwards. Another reason she did not say much to anyone – it was better to remain silent and deadly.

  So the dual continued.

  “Calm your breathing, it’s growing ragged.” Oberon instructed. A quick step to the left and a parry.

  Ariadna tried to do as she was told but, she was still angry about last night. She focused on her footing, two steps back and a powerful kick to Oberon’s right calf.

  That was when Oberon sheathed his sword, ducked as Ariadna swung out towards him and, just like that, he swooped his leg underneath Ari and sent her flying off her feet; her back meeting the stone as she fell hard.

  The air went whooshing out of Ariadna’s lungs and she did not bother to contain her cry of pain upon landing. For a moment she laid there, panting not because she was tired but, because she was angry. Pressing her palms flat on either side of her head, she rocked her legs back until her knees hovered above her face and then kicked her legs out again so she landed on her feet.

  Ariadna’s hand was around the pommel of her sword before Oberon could even notice and she charged him again. The assassin rammed her elbow into her opponent’s stomach, winding him before spinning around to meet him again.

  Her sword came flying up in time to meet Obe’s and she struggled to keep upright against his tremendous strength. Ariadna clenched her teeth as she pushed Oberon back far enough to knock his sword from his hand.

  “Good.” Oberon said as Ariadna lowered her sword and gave him a half smile. He sent his foot into her gut without hesitation and Ari went flying back again. “But you celebrated a little too early.”

  Ariadna found her feet for the last time and accepted Oberon’s outstretched hand, shaking it with a rough grip. She sheathed her sword and pulled the hair which had loosened out of her face.

  “I can always count on you to point out my stupid mistakes.” she said, now panting from exhaustion. It was not said with bitterness.

  Oberon shook his head at her response.

  “You’re too hard on yourself. Work on controlling that anger inside you, you’re already scary enough to fight against.”

  Ariadna did not have to sneak a glance in Vinn’s direction. She knew he had followed her out of the door when she left, like a lost puppy, whilst the men continued their training. She swayed her hips on purpose to make Vinn weak at the knees and it had worked as she heard him curse under his breath.

  The assassin threw her sword down onto her bed upon arriving to her room. Ariadna's body sagged with exhaustion. She was feeling bothered and Vinn’s presence alone was doing nothing to brighten her mood.

  “Shouldn’t you be training your men?” she asked as Vinn closed the door behind him.

  Vinn leaned against the frame of the door and folded his arms over; his usual stance. He stared hard at Ari’s back, the skin not covered by her sleeveless tunic. Vinn took in the now faded scars running across Ariadna’s shoulders – he had killed the dumb bastard who had inflicted those wounds on her.

  Silence settled upon them both for only a moment but, to Ari it felt like a lifetime had passed before she turned to look at Vinn.

  “What do you want? I have a contract I need to prepare for and things to handle before I leave soon.” Ariadna was growing impatient with her superior.

  Vinn brushed past her and into the bathroom where Ariadna heard him turn the tap of her bath and then the sound of water running. Vinn returned moments afterwards and took hold of Ariadna’s tunic.

  “It’s good to see after all these years your training has not made you arrogant. You took Oberon beating you well but, next time you won’t let him win. Will you?” he asked her. His voice turned harsh at his question, enough to make Ariadna blink hard at him.

  “Why so angry all of a sudden?” she said.

  Vinn pulled Ariadna’s tunic over her head and threw it aside. He took in her gleaming skin, her strong stomach and ample breasts.

  “I need you to knock Oberon on his arse the next time he dares to humiliate you in front of the other men. Are you not the best assassin within this institute?” Vinn continued, pressing Ariadna back against the frame of her bed as he spoke.

  “We were training! What did you expect to happen, for Oberon to let me win? How would that help me at all?” Ariadna snapped. “And I’m not the best assassin in the institute. I’m still learning, in all honesty I’m the least experienced assassin here – I’ve only turned twenty. But I’m not ashamed of that, I know I still have a way to go; more so if it weren’t because I train so God damn hard every day and hardly give myself time to rest.”

  Vinn moved his hand right up to Ari’s neck and he grabbed hold of her there, adding enough pressure around her throat to make the young assassin splutter.

  “Vinn, let go.” Ariadna warned him, her own hand wrapped tight around his wrist. Her superior did not comply.

  “If you want the men to respect you, because you know they still don’t, then you need to show them what you’re capable of. Fuck what Oberon had told you; release that anger inside of you and give your opponent hell.” Vinn hissed.

  Ari shoved his hand away and retreated to the bathroom to turn the tap off, only to find the bath was not yet full. She closed her eyes and dropped her head a little as Vinn followed her into the bathroom.

  “I’m not in the mood.” she began to him. “Can you not go an entire day without fucking someone?”

  Vinn said nothing for a moment, he was far too busy admiring the curve of Ariadna’s back as she leaned over and turned the tap off.

  “You’ll beat Oberon next time, or I’ll beat you. Five years in training is nothing compared to Obe’s experience, I’ll admit that but, I have high expectations of you. I took you in for a reason, so don’t waste my rare occurrence of kindness,” he waited until Ariadna turned to face him to approach and he took hold of Ari by the back of her neck, pulling her in for a kiss. “Don’t disappoint me.” Vinn said and left with only a glare at his beloved assassin; a warning for her should she disobey him.

  Ariadna could only stand in silence, her hands trembling as she steadied herself against the bath. When there came the sound of the door clicking shut, Ariadna dropped to her knees beside the tub and curled into herself as she let her tears flow free.

  You’re an assassin. You’re a killer, she told herself.

  But don’t forget, you’re human too.

  13 –

  Troian

  As he had expected, Kholo had not believed Troian that day when he had tried to explain to him what he had seen. Even now, as Troian stood in the Captain’s bedroom, he could not get Kholo’s stubbornness to shift.

  “I’m telling you as calmly as I can, Kholo. I saw Kanra sacrifice a girl down in the caves below the palace. He cut her open and removed her heart! When he threw it into the fire behind him, the flames turned blue – I think it meant something, like the sacrifice was, I don’t know… accepted by Distretia. The goddess of death, they mentioned her name whilst Kanra’s minions were dancing.”

  Kholo sat on a black velvet sofa at the far end, his brow raised, as he listened to his comrade’s story. He drummed his fingers against the arm of the sofa.

  “Oh? Were they singing too? You can’t have a dance without a good song.” his response was close to what Troian had expected. “Do you have any idea how stupid you sound right now?”

  Troian spluttered. “D-do you want to accompany me to one of these sacrifices next time? I’m sure there’ll be another tomorrow.”

  Kholo rolled his neck around, loosening a knot which had been bothering him since he had woken up. He was growing impatient. “Look, we need this contract. Once you find ou
t how much Kanra will pay us to complete it, then you won’t care about any of that.”

  Troian held his hands up at him. “What do you mean any of that?” he asked.

  Kholo’s jaw twitched. Jumping to his feet, he grabbed hold of Troian’s shoulders and pushed him towards his door.

  If it were not because the floor was dusty and the soles of his boots slipped across the stone, Troian would have stayed put in search of answers.

  “Kholo?” he began.

  “Kanra has summoned us for a meeting, so you’ll learn about the contract now. I need to go get the other men and have them follow me to the meeting hall.”

  Troian turned, despite his slippery feet, and he grabbed hold of Kholo by both shoulders. “Do you not think if I’m coming to you this afraid that I mean it? That there’s something wrong?” he almost yelled his question out. Only genuine fear had him lower his voice. “This man is a demon. I mean it, Kholo. It’s hard to believe, I know but, we aren’t safe here and I fear that whoever we may be sent after won’t just be murdered – they’ll be sacrificed just like the girl I saw this morning. Please! Please, we need to go!”

  Kholo brushed Troian’s hands off his shoulder as though he carried a disease and opened the door to his room. “Meeting hall. Now. I will gather the men.”

  Troian watched him leave. He clenched his fists to restrain himself from punching anything – a wall in particular. It would have broken his bones with the amount of power he wanted put into the blow – and instead he followed his leader. The corridor was already empty by the time he stepped out of the room.

  I’m not a boy anymore, Troian thought to himself as he trudged towards the meeting room. I’m a man full grown and still, no one listens to me - Troian felt his heart drop to his stomach as a powerful hand grabbed hold of the back of his tunic and pulled him into the shadows of a mighty staircase, winding its way up to the third layer of the palace. Troian’s head collided with stone but, before he could call out to anyone, he tasted silk as his attacker forced his arm against his mouth.