Music for this chapter is:
By Birdy and Mumford & Sons
Raiden was pissed. He had spent the night chasing after that chestnut haired… freak! That was the only word he could think to call her. How she eluded him he had no clue. Every time he thought he was close to catching her, she would dance out of his grasp. She was good. Too good to just be a normal shadow that the guild picked up.
“What’s gotten you into a mood, little snake?”
He didn’t even bother to get annoyed at Layla’s name for him and simply continued to stare at nothing.
“…Alright. What did the new kid do?”
That got his attention and his eyes shot up to meet hers, “What?”
“Aithlyn. What did she do for you to be scowling this much?”
At his explanation at what happened last night, Layla could barely stand she was laughing that much, which caused his scowl to deepen.
“About time someone was able to keep up with you.”
“What do you mean by that?”
“Oh, come off it, Rai. The only reason you’re in a huff is because you actually have to put some effort into it. Something you haven’t done in a long time.”
Not wanting to admit it Raiden simply huffed in response.
“If you want to look for her, she’s in the stone quarter right about now.”
“Because unlike you, I used what she said yesterday and did my research. No way did she only arrive a few days ago.”
“She didn’t, she arrived a few weeks ago.”
Layla look briefly startled but the grin slowly blossoming on her face showed how delighted she was, “Fuck… She’s good.”
An hour later Raiden found himself hidden in the shadows of the Stone Quarter watching Aithlyn as she went about her business. He had initially been startled to see the differences from yesterday.
Her curly hair was unbound and settled around her features, she was clothed in a dress, and she was openly smiling at everyone. No wonder they didn’t realise it was her, she was not acting like a typical shadow. Try as he might, he couldn’t stop the smirk from forming on his face.
She was outside playing with the children during her “break”. It seemed like she was acting as an apothecary of sorts. From what he had seen, she had food available freely for the younglings in the area. Memories started appearing from the dark recesses of his mind, but he rapidly shook them away.
Raiden watched as a child slowly approached where he was hiding. The boy was looking around in confusion but was holding a bottle of sorts in his hand. Raiden stepped out to show himself, seeing if he could help the kid and was shocked to see a delighted smile form on the boy’s face once he was noticed.
Raiden quirked an eyebrow, “You were looking for me…?”
“Yep! Miss Aithlyn said that a man with white hair was standing here and that he’d need this,” indicating to the bottle.
“… And why would I need the bottle?”
“She said that you’d be very tired from playing chase all night and might need a pick me up.”
Raiden laughed and looked in the direction of where he had last seen her. She was tending to an elderly woman but as if she could feel his eyes on her, she looked up at him and gave him a cheeky wink.
Aithlyn focused on her work for the remainder of the afternoon. She had accidentally visited with Erik that morning when she had wandered into the area that he lived within in the wood. It had been a while since she sat on lush grass and simply talked. She had learned a little more about him and his situation, but once again, knew that now was not the time to pry too deeply. It also helped that Erik was very nice to look at. Shirtless… Sweaty… Shaking her head she pulled herself away from those thoughts.
Wandering out of the woods led her to bump into Roux at the bridge leading back into town. It was hard not to smile around them and now that she knew that they had a weakness for baked goods Aithlyn had a feeling that she’d be putting her alchemy skills to use later in the kitchen.
After Raiden left cackling to himself, Aithlyn was glad she had mixed up an energiser. Poor guy had been chasing after her all night, she was quite impressed by the amount of times he had come close to catching her. It was most likely a shock for him to see her like this, most shadows tended to stay back and observe, thus garnering information that way. Aithlyn however learned very quickly that by involving herself with the city folk that not only did she gain their trust, so if something happened, they’d never believe evil rumours about her, but she was able to gather a lot of information swiftly. And her five weeks here had definitely not been wasted.
The sun was setting so Aithlyn decided that it was time to get ready, after all she did promise Roux that she would look less shadowy for the festival. Pulling out a short green dress, Aithlyn examined it. The skirt stopped mid-thigh and the sleeves flowed loosely to the elbows. Nodding in approval she placed it on the bed before pulling out a brown corset. It was her favourite one as it had secret compartments that held throwing knives. She may have to look less shadowy, but she never promised to be defenceless. Next thing was finding her brown leggings and favourite boots which stopped just short of her knees. Once she bathed, dressed and fixed her hair Aithlyn went looking for her forest green cloak and skipped out the door intending to find Roux.
Aithlyn was internally seething as she glared at Azaril. The bastard had the nerve to order her to refill his drink. Cedric had stepped in, knowing that if he didn’t Azaril would give away information that should not be made public... Or she’d punch him. Aithlyn loved her cousin, but his immaturity still frustrated her at times, especially now which led her to question for the hundredth time why he had also been sent here.
Azaril was smirking at her from across the food table, and Aithlyn had to fight to stop her lips from twitching. It was Maja’s voice commenting on the baked tarts that turned her attention.
“They’re nice but they just settle in your stomach and I just can’t figure out which ingredients to use to stop that from happening.”
Aithlyn knew she was talking about the lemon pastries and chipped in, “It’s actually not the ingredients, you need to whisk the batter, trying to add as much air as possible. It makes them light and fluffy.”
Maja turned away from the noble she was talking to and quirked an eyebrow at Aithlyn. She had met the woman briefly last night but hadn’t yet formed an opinion about her.
“You seem to know a lot about this.”
Aithlyn shrugged, “my brother has a real sweet tooth and I found baking to be a lot like alchemy, so it just kind of came naturally.”
Maja surged forward and grabbed both of her hands in her own, “Me too!”
Maja’s face was flushed lightly in delight of this discovery but once she realised, she quickly corrected her behaviour and dropped Aithlyn’s hands causing the woman to lightly chuckle.
“It would seem you’re quite skilled in a few things, Aithlyn. Not many would know enough about alchemy to compare it to baking.”
“It was one of the few things my mother taught me.”
Maja narrowed her eyes as she looked at Aithlyn, “You’re very open for a…”
“Apothecary?” Aithlyn suggested with a grin on her lips.
Maja simply nodded. Aithlyn certainly wasn’t like any shadow she had met before. But then again, she had spent more time in Aithlyn’s company than most.
“It’s easier talking openly about most things without revealing information. Makes people a lot less suspicious. You know I bake and know alchemy that I learned from my mother, but then again don’t most daughters learn this from their mothers?”
Maja’s lips twitched, wanting to form a smile. This woman was smart. “Indeed-” she was about to say more but was cut off by another noble.
“Until next time my Lady.” Aithlyn curtsied.
Maja noticed how well she held herself and narrowed her eyes further, “Hmmm.”
Looking around Aithlyn noticed a woman leaning against a wall close by. The look on her face spoke volumes of how much she did not want to be there. Listing back the names and faces in her head Aithlyn realised that this was Livia the Knight Commander. Deciding that she obviously needed a friendly face who wasn’t afraid of her scowling one, Aithlyn plucked a drink from a roaming server and walked over to the woman.
“You look like you need one of these.”
Livia just scowled further at her.
“It’s not poison I swear,” taking a sip of the liquid, “see?” and held it back out to her.
Livia gingerly took the goblet in question and grunted her thanks. Aithlyn decided just to lean back against the wall beside her and watch the woman. Livia was conscious of being watched but decided to take a mouthful of the drink she was given.
“And now we’ve indirectly kissed!”
Livia’s eyes widened in shock as she spat out the liquid and coughed before turning towards the woman giggling beside her. Fixing her with a glare as a blush rose on her cheeks, she fought to decide what to say.
“Oh, come on! It was funny! You looked bored here all by yourself.” Livia’s eye twitched, “you’ve got to admit it has gotten more fun since I handed you that drink.”
“I’ll admit to no such thing.”
“But you’re not denying it either,” Aithlyn smirked.
“Lucien… Lucien!” Maja didn’t even bother looking at them as she tugged on their clothing.
“Maja, I can hear you and tugging at my clothes will not make a difference.”
Lucien looked over in the direction that Maja was pointing and was genuinely surprised to see the normally stoic Knight Commander smirking at a very familiar shadow.
“It would seem that a little shadow has managed to get more than a glare from a certain someone.”
“Lucien, she’s smiling!” he quirked an eyebrow at her, “ok she’s not smiling, but she’s not glaring and is actually talking!”
“Yes, I can see that my dear.”
“Lucien, you don’t understand. She doesn’t do that!”
Lucien looked over at Maja and merely chuckled at the bewilderment clearly showing on her face.
“It is not surprising that this shadow has a silver tongue. She has easily caught the attention of many people here.”
Deepening their chuckle, “isn’t this what you wanted when you asked her to accompany you? For her to interact with others?”
Maja sighed and looked at the glamoured demon beside her, “yes, but I didn’t actually think it would happen…”
Aithlyn barely got a chance to speak to Roux before they were distracted by someone behind her. Laughing lightly to herself she turned only for her face to hit against a pretty chiselled chest. Looking up she realised that she had bumped into Lucien.
Maja was also in their company and tipped her drink in her direction, lips upturned in a gentle smile, “I see you got along with Livia.”
“She’s enjoyable company.”
This elicited a chuckle from Lucien, “you’d have to get past the armour first,” and was nudged by Maja with a scowl on her face. She was about to say something but Aithlyn beat her to it.
“I don’t know, I’m pretty sure I got off a gauntlet, or a shoulder pad at least,” she smirked.
This drew a bigger chuckle from the pair in front of her. Lucien was the faster of the two to compose themselves though.
“So, is our mutual friend here? Or did you abandon him again?”
“Raiden? I don’t know, I haven’t seen him since earlier today.”
“From the grin on your face, I’m guessing you won the game?”
Maja turned to look quizzically at them, “game?”
“It would seem that this little shadow wanted to play chase last night and roped a snake into also playing.”
Aithlyn grumbled, “I’m not that little…”
Maja regarded her with astonished eyes, “Did he catch you?”
Aithlyn’s snort as she shook her head was all the answer Maja needed and caused her to laugh heartily, “oh, you’re one to watch out for!”
Grinning and wriggling her eyebrows, Aithlyn responded, “If you can catch me.”
Lucien was about to speak but quirked an eyebrow when they saw a child tugging at Aithlyn’s sleeve.
“Morenth! Is everything ok?”
“Yes, Lady Lyn!” the child smiled up at her, “Papa asked me to find you, he said he needed your help with something.”
Taking the child’s hand in her own as Aithlyn smiled down at her, before turning back to look at Maja and Lucien, “I believe that’s my cue to leave. Enjoy the rest of your evening!” waving slightly before walking off with the child.
“You know Lucien, I think I might like her.”
The demon chuckled, “indeed, she does seem to elicit those kinds of feelings from people.”
“What kinds of feelings?”
Maja and Lucien turned in the direction of the new voice. Raiden was standing there in casual clothing. Lucien had to admit that the deep red open shirt looked good on him. It was rare to see him in public without his usual leather armour on.
“We were just speaking about how a new shadow is able to easily cause those around her to like them.”
“Yea, she seems to be a bit of a people person. Strange that.”
“Says the man who is rarely quiet,” Maja chuckled.
“I don’t know… I suppose I could be quiet… if gagged…” Raiden winked at her.
Maja rolled her eyes. Even in the short time she had spent in his company because of Lucien, she was used to his antics by now.
“Why are you here little snake?”
Maja couldn’t help the evil smirk that spread across her lips as she watched the assassin blush at Lucien’s question.
Coughing behind his hand to hide the blush, “Roux said Aithlyn was here.”
“You just missed her. It seems to be a new habit of yours.”
Raiden glared at Lucien, which only caused their smirk to grow.
Maja watched the staring match between the two from over the edge of her wine goblet before deciding to break the tension, “a child came and led her off towards where the townsfolk are playing music, saying something about needing her help.”
Raiden tilted his head at her to wink, a grin in place. “Thanks! Better go find her before she disappears again.”
Turning Raiden waded through the crowd to the area that music was being played at. It was in one of the open areas of the town as it allowed for people to dance if they wanted. He could hear the music before he saw the band playing, it wasn’t a song he had heard before, but the singer sounded great.
Imagine his surprise when he saw that it was Aithlyn singing. She stood on the makeshift stage next to those playing instruments with a look of delight on her face. Townsfolk were either clapping in time with the music or dancing in large circles. He felt as if he had walked into another town, the atmosphere was so different. He watched as people laughed and smiled, not to say that they didn’t do this on other days, but they seemed much more relaxed.
It was at that moment that Raiden looked back up at the stage and realised that Aithlyn was looking at him as she sang. She had a mischievous smile on her face as she winked at him, causing him to laugh and shake his head.
“We will be who we are, and they’ll heal our scars.”
His breath caught in his throat and his eyes snapped back to her. Aithlyn’s gaze still lingered on him before she slowly moved it back to the crowd. Raiden didn’t even realise he was blushing until he heard the man beside him chuckle giving him a knowing look.
At the end of the song the crown cheered as Aithlyn hopped down from the stage and sauntered over to where Raiden was waiting. His eyes appreciatively ran over the curves of her body and he smirked as he looked down at her cleavage. Her being much shorter than him made it easier to get glimpses.
“You’re rather subtle at blending in it seems.”
Aithlyn grinned up at him, “they’ll never see it coming.”
This elicited a chuckle, “Come on, Layla’s waiting.”
Aithlyn practically skipped over to the other woman hidden away in one of the side streets nearby. Raiden wasn’t surprised to see her stance relax as she spoke to the smaller woman, “you seem cheerful.”
Aithlyn’s features suddenly turned sombre and the quick switch startled Layla slightly, “sorry, I forgot you had to be completely serious… All the time… Like Raiden…”
Layla sniggered at the exchange between the two of them.
“Anyway! We have to head to headquarters. Boss wants to meet our new recruit, here.”
Giving Raiden a quick once over, “You gonna change or what? Looking awfully casual there, Rai.”
Raiden presses his hands against the clothing covering his chest, “I don’t need armour, and I’m sure Aithlyn doesn’t either. Right?” He looks over and winks.
“Right… But I’m not the one with bounties on my head…”
Layla nods her head in agreement before stopping as if she remembered something, “Speaking of bounties, I’m taking the forest path. I’ve got a bounty to pick up along the way.”
Raiden sidles up against Aithlyn, “We’ll take the underground. It’s quicker.”
Aithlyn quirks an eyebrow as he makes the decision for her, “…I guess we’ll see you there…?”
“Underground kingdom my ass…” Aithlyn thought to herself.
The smell of the sewer was causing Aithlyn’s nose to twitch. There were downsides to her heightened half elf senses, and this was definitely one of them. Raiden was walking ahead of her. He was still sulking from when she had teased him about not being able to catch her last night. Teasing him was fun and seeing his back in front of her gave her a great idea.
Raiden hadn’t even heard her run up behind him, so he startled when Aithlyn jumped on his back and wrapped her arms around his neck. Unconsciously he hooked his hands under her knees and kept her tight to his body, while shooting a quizzical look at her over his shoulder. He could just make out the delight on her face.
Squeezing his waist with her thighs she continued as if he hadn’t interrupted her, “since I’m in such a generous mood today that even though you couldn’t catch me-” Raiden scoffed at her, “I’ll let you ask me one question.”
“Yes, and I’ll answer it honestly-”
Aithlyn didn’t even get to finish her sentence before Raiden had slipped his left hand across to grab her right leg and spin her so that her back was pressed against the wall as Raiden used his hips and eyes to pin her.
Gone was the man who enjoyed teasing and tormenting her. There was a seriousness on his face and a glint in his eye that made him look like the assassin he claimed to be. A shiver ran up her spine as he stared into her eyes, but not of fear, of anticipation.
“It can’t be a coincidence that at the same time there’s an assassination attempt on the royals, that three of your countrymen arrived in Novus. A knight, an ambassador and you.”
Raiden’s hands were still on her legs, holding her in place. Her hands were placed on his biceps to keep her steady. As he leaned closer, she could feel all his muscles coil and she sucked in her breath before biting her lip. His eyes briefly took in the movement and when he looked back up, his eyes were darker. Dangerous.
“Well because you brought me this route and decided to pin me against a wall…”
The growl he gave in response caused her pulse to quicken. What on earth was wrong with her? She normally had a lot more control over herself, but her body was betraying her by responding so deliciously to him.
“I was asked to come here. A request was made and the one person I trust more than anything wanted me to be the one to answer it.”
Time went by, it could have been seconds, minutes, hours, with Raiden staring into her eyes. She could almost make out the cogs working in his brain, but his features gave away nothing.
Aithlyn chuckled, “I pass?”
Raiden smirked, “you’re very welcome.”
Although his normal grin was back in place, he didn’t move. If anything, Aithlyn had to try not to gasp as his thumbs subconsciously started tracing designs on her thighs. Seconds ticked by and Aithlyn watched as his eyes darkened further as he looked at her.
Aithlyn decided to break the silence, “So… is this your idea of a date then?” She really hoped that she didn’t sound as breathless as she felt.
Brightness came back into his eyes as he registered what she just said, laughing he smirked, “Believe me, if we were on a date you’d know.”
“True, you are far from subtle,” her lips grew into a mischievous grin, “but then again you still have me pinned against the wall,” and as if to emphasise her point she deviously rolled her hips.
She’d never admit it, but she enjoyed hearing his gasp and watching his cheeks darken. He loosened his grip slightly and slowly slid her down so she could place her feet on the floor but didn’t back away.
“Maybe if you ask nicely.”
“Raiden…” she slid her hand up and across the available skin of his chest before gripping his chin and tilting his face down a little, “I never ask.”
The spark in her eyes caused another growl to want to erupt from his throat. Instead he took a step back and held out his hand for her to take it with a smirk growing larger on his face, “Good to know.”
Aithlyn placed her hand in his and let him pull her along in the darkness. He held her tight and close enough that it seemed like he was worried that she’d disappear into the darkness. She actually felt flattered and was glad of the shadows as it hid the blush on her face. Not wanting him to know that he got to her, she decided to joke with him.
“So, on our date you won’t try to woo me with smelling or sidestepping shit?”
Looking back at her with a grin, “for you? Anything.” He couldn’t hold back the laugh as he watched her eyes widen and caught a brief glimpse of her mouth parting in a simple “Oh”.
They continued on the path for a few minutes more. Raiden suddenly stopped when he noticed shadows moving ahead and the slight sound only confirmed his thoughts. There was someone hiding up ahead. He didn’t even respond when Aithlyn bumped into his back.
Turning, he backed her into the wall of a small tunnel opening nearby. He felt her body tense and looking down he could see she was looking in the direction of where he had previously noticed the assailant. Raiden couldn’t keep the smirk from his face.
“Stay here. Stay hidden and stay safe.”
Aithlyn frowned up at him, frustration clear and opened her mouth to speak but Raiden simply placed a finger on her lips.
“How else am I to show off on our non-date?”
Aithlyn simply rolled her eyes at him, but her features softened, “be careful.”
Raiden nodded as he stepped back and removed the daggers from where he had them hidden in his tunic before stealthily moving. In startling quick movements, he had the man pinned against the wall by his throat and had twisted his arm to cause enough pain that the man dropped his weapon and it landed in the running sewage water with a plop.
“Don’t you know assassins are meant to be silent…”
Raiden barely had time to register a second assailant as he moved away from the attack. Not fast enough though as the blade sliced into his side causing him to grunt in pain. Punching the first man in the ribs he turned to the second, just in time to duck a weak attempt at slicing his throat. Springing up he sunk his own weapon in an upward swing through the man’s ribs. Removing it just as quick he felt the spray of blood as it hit his face and hair. Raiden couldn’t stop the grin appearing on his face as he heard the man’s lungs bubble and drown in his own blood.
Movement to his right caught his attention and he turned to see Aithlyn approach, dagger in hand. He knew she was going to attack the other man who was slowly dragging himself away, but he still wanted to show off. Shaking his head, he grinned at her and while maintaining eye contact, he removed a blade from his boot and threw it behind him. The thud and gurgle were all the indications he needed to know that the blade had hit his mark. Standing, he wiped off some of the blood from his face with the back of his hand.
Aithlyn quirked her eyebrow, “Am I alright? Raiden, you’re bleeding to death!”
Raiden scoffed, but he couldn’t hide the wince as he walked over to her. Aithlyn caught him when he stumbled, and he wanted nothing more than to cling on to her.
“Come on, let me have a look at you.”
“We haven’t even gone on a date and already you want to get my shirt off!”
Raiden enjoyed watching her lips twitch as she tried to contain her smile.
“Well I have to compare you to Eric. He was very nice to look at this morning after all.”
Using the distraction Aithlyn lifted his tunic and gently prodded at the wound eliciting a hiss. Raiden roughly pulled it back down when he noticed her eyes tracing over the other scars that littered his body.
“Raiden I’ve seen your scars, you most certainly don’t “got it,” if anything you look like a pin cushion.”
He laughed but the movement provoked his wound, “Ow.”
“You know, for someone who looks like a pin cushion, you should learn how to sew.”
Raiden laughed before lifting his hand and tracing the scar that ran across his cheek to his jaw, “I can sew just fine thanks.”
“I’d agree with you if I believed you were the one to sew that up.”
“You’re right, I’d never let anyone mess up this handsome mug,” and he felt pretty smug that he elicited a laugh from her.
Aithlyn ripped a sleeve from her dress and opened the pouch that she had tied to her hip. Opening a small vial, she poured the liquid on to the material and looked up into his face as her hand went to the bottom of his tunic. His eyes held a bit of suspicion as she lifted his tunic again.
“This is going to sting.”
Raiden opened his mouth to retort but all that came out was an angry hiss. His blood quickly turned the material dark. She pressed harder to stem the blood flow but for Raiden the pain turned into pleasure and he couldn’t stifle the groan that came from his mouth.
Aithlyn took a quick intake of breath as she looked at him. He knew his cheeks were flushed, and he had to bite his lip as Aithlyn gave an experimental little push.
“I’m sorry… Did that… hurt…?”
The next push was a little harder and he couldn’t contain the groan. He watched as her eyes darkened and she bit her bottom lip. Suddenly he wanted nothing more than to tug it free with his own teeth. Placing his hand over hers he pushed a little harder and lifted his eyes from her lips to a darkening green pair of irises.
His thumb was on her wrist and he could feel her pulse quicken. If felt good to be able to elicit this type of response from her. Her eyes lowered once again to his lips and he couldn’t stop the snort of delight.
Startled eyes moved back up to his, “what?”
“You’re cute. If I haven’t said it before… You’re cute.”
Aithlyn smirked playfully, “That’s the blood loss talking.”
Shaking his head furiously, he started to respond “N-”
“What on Novus asshole happened?” Layla stormed angrily.
And just like that the bubble Aithlyn and Raiden had created was popped.
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