There were other rules for the Assassins' Guild besides the history. The teacher slept on a bed, the apprentice on the floor – which didn't bother Karuna, since he was used to it. The Guild provided the weapons, so Karuna spent one day in the armory, studying the shapes and weights of daggers, brass wheels, sabers, axes and pole-arms with different blades. He observed the bows and their arrows – and the silken noose.
And then the training started in the cloistered courtyard. First it was just physical exercises to build up muscles, then came the first blunt blades and the high leather collar to protect the neck while he acquired skill in the use his noose.
Karuna quickly learned to juggle with the brass wheels – a throwing weapon that could cut bones like butter. It took him longer to master the various daggers, swords and other blades as well as the bow and the noose.
After a year of training in the guild's building, Saif told him it was time they left the town to continue the training in the wild. So he followed his acharya outside of Godwalkar, up the hills and towards the mountains that loomed in the background. The Central Massif was covered in snow during the winter, but the forest at its base was temperate.
They had cloaks and axes, though, and the first thing they did was build a cabin in the woods. Then the training continued. They hunted for food and threw the brass wheels at the trees. They washed in a nearby stream and fought with daggers and sabers in the clearing in front of the small building. Karuna put on muscle, but still didn't need to shave.
He stared in dismay at his face reflected in a pond – the pale oval framed by shoulder-length black hair.
"Maybe you have Magical Races' blood," Saif said. "They don't have hair on their bodies."
"But you do have a beard – and Genn-green eyes!" Karuna protested.
"Mixed blood is not always the same." Saif grinned. "I have dark hair and no pointed ears, but I feel more... Human with the beard. I don't know which of my ancestors was Genn, and I don't care. I'm not a half-blood like Guisarme."
Karuna sighed.
"Not all women like bearded men," Saif told him.
"What?" He stared at his acharya, puzzled.
"Do you want to grow a beard to be more manly so when we go back to town you can seduce a woman and make her pregnant?"
"Oh no!" Karuna was horrified. Then he blushed. "I only want to be like you," he grumbled, averting his eyes.
Saif chuckled. "Being an assassin is a lone profession," he said. "You don't want to fall in love."
"I thought Francisca is having Nimdja's baby," Karuna retorted. "Although they aren't married."
"And their child will probably grow up with her sister." Saif sighed. "It's complicated, Karuna. Are you missing the company of people?"
Karuna backed away from the pond. "No," he said after a brief hesitation. "I'm fine here with you. How do you control your sexual urges?"
"Age helps." Saif grinned. "But I'll show you. You can't let your sex rule you. As an assassin, you need to learn control. You're much more controlled than Abhaya and are relentless, but you still need to teach your dick who's the master."
Karuna's face flushed again with shame. He wanted to be able to control himself, his urges, his feelings. Saif was always so calm and gentle...
"Teach me, Acharya Saif," he begged.
"There won't be just weapons from now on," Saif promised.
***
Mirabella started looking for Saif in her free time, but she had no idea of where he lived. She couldn't find either him or Abhaya, his apprentice – they both had vanished in the big town.
Six months later she gave birth to a boy with the same green eyes as his father. Since he was born in Godwalkar from a southern man, she decided to give him a southern name.
Ramya suggested her father's name, Hakeem, and the choice sweetened Suneeri who considered the baby her grandson. Mirabella thought he'd need a male figure at some point in his life, hence she'd stay in Godwalkar until she found Saif.
Ramya had confirmed that acharya meant Master or Teacher, and it was used in all trades, therefore she couldn't tell to which Guild Saif belonged to by the title alone.
Four months after the birth of Hakeem, Mirabella and Ramya helped a woman called Lalima to give birth to her daughter. Mirabella was only Ramya's assistant, but she noticed the woman had a bracelet very similar to Saif's.
And when the baby's father came into the room, he also had one.
"Thank you, Ramya, for bringing Sanjana to the world," the man said with a grin, paying the midwife.
Ramya nodded a thank you and left with Mirabella. In the street Ramya gave Mirabella her part, but since she was lost in thought, she almost didn't take it.
"What is it, Bella? It's not the first time you've assisted me with a birth."
"True, but... this is the strangest couple I've met so far," Mirabella said. "Did you notice they wore the same bracelet?"
"They're not married, so they might have chosen another way to show they're together," Ramya replied, amused.
"They're not married?" Mirabella asked, puzzled. "And he accepted the paternity?"
"They obviously both wanted that baby," Ramya answered. "You don't need to be married to start a family."
"I know, but..." Mirabella was baffled. Unconsciously, she kept gravitating towards Lalima's house. And since her son was only four months older, they slowly went beyond the relationship between a woman and her midwife's assistant.
Hakeem started to walk at the same time as Sanjana one day when their mothers had taken them to play in the garden of the former royal palace, now open to the population of the town, much like the building itself.
"They learned to walk together! I wonder if they'll spend their life together!" Lalima said with a chuckle.
"Maybe one day I'll go back home," Mirabella replied. "I miss the cold winters."
Lalima stared at her, curious. "Ramya says your education is complete. Why are you still here?"
"I'm trying to find Hakeem's father." Mirabella felt relieved Lalima had touched the subject. "I don't know where he lives or what he does, but he has a bracelet just like yours." Her chin pointed to the silken thread on Lalima's wrist.
Lalima's smile vanished. "How long have you been in Godwalkar, Mirabella?" she asked.
"A couple of years, why?" Mirabella answered, puzzled.
"You sound like a native when you speak, but what have you learned of our culture?" Lalima insisted.
"Whatever was useful for my education. But this town is big and there are so many guilds..."
Lalima scoffed and averted her eyes. "I will tell you only because you're a foreigner. This," she showed her wrist, "is a silken noose. I'm a noose-operator."
"A what?" Hakeem stumbled and fell in her arms while Lalima grabbed Sanjana by her dress collar and brought her to her lap.
"Noose-operator. Assassin. Both me and Aditya. That's why we didn't bother getting married. We never know when we'll get the assignment from which we won't return."
Mirabella gaped at Lalima. She had befriended an assassin! She'd had her son with an assassin! She'd saved from death someone who killed for a living!
I'm a healer, she thought, looking at Hakeem and hugging him. It doesn't matter who your father is.
"Hakeem's father is an assassin if he wears his noose around his wrist," Lalima continued. "What do you know about him?"
"His apprentice called him Acharya Saif," Mirabella grumbled with a lump in her throat.
Lalima nodded. "Saif is not in town at the moment. He's training a new apprentice. I commend him for taking another after failing with Abhaya."
"Yes, that's the name of the young man who lied about the nature of the wound!" Mirabella exclaimed.
"So you're the woman who saved Saif?" Lalima's smile blossomed again. "I thank you on behalf of the Assassins' Guild. I'll make sure to let him know where you live when I see him."
"I think it was the apprentice who wounded him," Mirabella said, frowning at the me
mory.
"Yes." Lalima nodded. "Abhaya was kicked out of the guild for what he did and he left the town."
"When will Saif come back?" Mirabella asked.
"I don't know," Lalima replied. "The training lasts three years. But maybe I'll be off on a mission when he comes back and I won't meet him before another year or two."
"Will you show me where the seat of your guild is?"
Lalima grinned. "That, I can do!"
***
Abhaya had reached Agharek a month earlier, but refused to enter a monastery to complete his training. He knew Zindagi was his father's favorite goddess, but he didn't care what her monks taught. He wanted to be an assassin, like his parents. And since the Assassins' Guild had been founded in Agharek, he hoped to be able to attend their school instead. Except he still hadn't found the seat of the local Assassins' Guild. The original organization seemed very keen on secrecy and Abhaya was getting nervous.
His father could let people know where his guild was, since Godwalkar's assassins were men of honor. It was obviously not so further south, where after the death of the founder the guild had become more a secret sect than a public service.
Abhaya sat on the river shore, brooding and ignoring the ships and barges passing by. He really hoped to find his true mentor in Agharek, but had no idea where to look. He didn't know anything about his parents' origins and didn't want to go back to Godwalkar without completing his education and earning his assassin's name. He certainly didn't want to be called Bhai Abhaya for the rest of his life!
He snorted, hugging his knees.
"What makes you so edgy, young man?" A man had stopped next to him and stared at him with charcoal eyes. He must be his father's age and dressed like a merchant. "I've seen you wandering in town for days, what are you looking for?"
"Nothing you could sell me," Abhaya muttered, averting his eyes.
The man chuckled. "I don't want to sell you anything. But I have another question for you. Where did you get your peculiar eye-color from?"
Startled, Abhaya looked at the man. True that there weren't many ice-blue eyes this down south, and he'd often wondered where his mother got the color from.
"None of your business," he grumbled. "Leave me alone."
The man sat next to him.
"So you come here from the north, start asking questions about an assassins' guild, but are unwilling to talk about yourself? Tsk. Won't get you far, you know."
"How do you know..." Abhaya protested. The man grinned, and it dawned on him. "You're one of them? An assassin?"
"When you answer my questions, I'll answer yours," the man replied.
"I got my eye-color from my mother. She was from Agharek, but I couldn't find her family. I never knew her real name, only her assassin's name."
The man stared at him, serious. "Where were you born?"
"Godwalkar. Are you an assassin or not?"
"Yes." The man averted his eyes and sighed. "So you're Khanda's son."
"Yes!" Abhaya's eyes widened in surprise. "Did you know her?"
The man nodded, thoughtful. "Last time I saw her was twenty-three years ago. She ran away with her lover and was never found. I guess we never considered looking beyond the desert."
"She was involved in the succession struggles and then stayed in town afterward. My father is also from Agharek and he's become Head of the Guild. Since he doesn't teach anymore, he assigned me to one of his men who proved completely worthless and had me kicked out of my own house," Abhaya said sourly.
"What's your father's name?"
"Talwar."
"Ah!" The man clenched his teeth and looked away. "And he kicked you out of the Assassins' Guild? Why?"
Abhaya pleaded his case again – and since the man didn't know Saif, he felt free to embellish his story to make himself look like a victim of Saif's perfidy and his father's haughtiness. He didn't mention that his father had sent him to Agharek to become a fighting monk, but that he refused to serve some goddess he knew very little about.
The man chuckled and looked him in the eyes.
"So your father listened to his man instead of his son? What a twisted leader he is! I like you, Abhaya the Fearless. Welcome to Agharek. I'm Khopesh, Head of the Guild."
Abhaya brightened. "Will you complete my training, Acharya Khopesh?" he asked, filling with hope.
"Agharek's guild is a few families' business. Strangers are not invited to join. But for the son of beautiful Khanda – who was a member of the extended family – yes, I will complete your training..."
***
The three years of training flew for Karuna. He learned the use of all the weapons and to control his body so he could look as cool as Saif. But inside him something grew unbeknownst until they went back to Godwalkar for the final exam and admission to the guild.
He realized his admiration for Saif had turned into something else when they went back to town and met the other guild members. Talwar, Nimdja, Francisca or any other of the senior members didn't stir him like Saif did. Guisarme and the younger members didn't impress him at all.
But when Saif gave him his assassin's name, Kilig, his heart jumped in his chest and butterflies fluttered in his belly. Saif's green eyes stared fondly at him and at that moment he knew. He was in love with his acharya. Karuna the Sorrowful was dead and Kilig the Sword was born – an assassin, not an apprentice. And Kilig had the same rights as Saif.
Becoming an assassin wasn't very glamorous. The teacher brought the apprentice to the guild's building and introduced him with his new name. The guild members welcomed him and for one meal wine was served in the guild's canteen, to celebrate the new member.
"You earned the right to your own room," Talwar said with a grin. "You don't need to share with Saif anymore, sleeping on the floor."
Kilig's heart sank and he looked at Saif. He hadn't considered that the end of the training meant he'd have to split from Saif.
"Of course you're free to live somewhere else," Nimdja said.
"Can I share a room with a guild's member?" Kilig asked, frowning.
"Of course, dear." Guisarme winked at him, her chin imperceptibly pointing at Nimdja and Francisca who sat side by side. So their daughter had been conceived in the building.
Kilig smiled and looked at Saif again. The acharya was thoughtful.
"Saif, will you resume active service or find a new apprentice?" Talwar asked.
Saif snapped back to reality. "I've been teaching for almost six years, Talwar, give me a break!"
Talwar nodded and chuckled. "Don't worry, Nimdja has already started training the latest young man who knocked at our door six months ago!"
Saif grinned at Nimdja who smiled back. Kilig glanced at the young man sitting at the nearby table with other apprentices and some junior members. As a newly named assassin, he'd have to sit with them from now on, until he earned his place at the other table – after his first job.
In the afternoon he sat again in the cloistered courtyard with Saif. He'd requested word with his acharya when they'd left the table and Saif had guided him outside so he could smoke his pipe while they talked.
Kilig tried to gather his thoughts in the now familiar scent of Saif and his pipe.
"What is it, Kilig? Your dream is fulfilled, you're an assassin now. What bothers you?"
"I wanted to become an assassin to be with you," Kilig answered. "I was wondering if you'd mind sharing your room with me."
Saif took a pipeful before answering.
"This is a lonely profession, Kilig. You will have to learn to work alone."
"And I will work alone if necessary," Kilig replied. "But like Nimdja and Francisca share the bed, I would like to sleep with you."
The green eyes stared at him and he gulped, feeling his cheeks burn. But he didn't avert his eyes, determined.
Saif sighed and looked away. "You're eighteen, Kilig..."
"So? I know what I want. I've known all along, but I realized it only when we came back. I want
you. Will you let me sleep in your bed?"
Saif tried to hide a smile. "Maybe."
Kilig leaned towards him. "And what should I do to earn the honor?" he whispered, flashing an impish smile at the other man. "Do you want me on my knees, Acharya Saif?"
"You've got your assassin's name, stop calling me acharya!" Saif snapped.
Kilig chuckled and pulled away. "Well, don't act surprised when I come knocking on your door tonight."
***
"So, where is Sanjana?" Saif asked both Nimdja and Francisca as they ate dinner in the canteen.
"She lives with my sister," Francisca answered. "We don't want her to turn into another Abhaya."
"She knows her parents travel a lot, hence she lives with her aunt," Nimdja added. "We see her as much as we can, but soon I'll be off into the wild to train my apprentice... Will you keep an eye on her for me, Rohit?" He stared worried at his childhood friend.
Francisca elbowed him. "Hey, you didn't have her with a common woman who can't be told what your job description is!" she chided.
"You're right." Nimdja briefly kissed her lips, since he didn't express his love in public. "But you know you can consider him like me, don't you?"
Francisca chuckled. "Except for the sex part, yes, you're as good as him." She looked at Saif. "Although apparently you've known women too."
Startled, Saif looked back at her. "What do you mean?" She knew as much as him where his preferences lay. Kilig's offer was very tempting, but he didn't feel comfortable with such a younger man. He felt he'd seduced an innocent who could be his son.
"I mean you had a son, Saif," Francisca said with a grin. "He has definitely your eyes!"
"It's impossible." Saif shrugged it off. "I never touched a woman in my life."
"And you should know, Lalima!" Nimdja teased. "Who knows who this woman slept with!"
Francisca glared at her partner and was about to object when Saif said," I don't care about anyone's claims. I have more urgent worries right now.
"You're lucky you don't have to deal with fatherhood." Nimdja winked.
"I don't want to know!" Saif held his palms up to stop Francisca. "I have another problem to deal with right now. He isn't my son, but he's young enough to be so. He's twenty-three years younger than me, but I definitely don't have parental urges when it comes to him, and that's not what he wants either."
Saif & Kilig Page 3
