2.1 CHAPTER FIVE: THE WAY OUT

2.1 CHAPTER FIVE: THE WAY OUT

Aaryaa picked her coat up from her bed, where she laid it out. She swung it over her shoulder to wear. Patting it down into place, Aaryaa stared at herself in the full-body mirror in front of her. She looked exactly the same as Karme de Serin, yet felt different.

She sighed.

"Are you going through with it?"

She sighed once more as Celeste appeared behind her. She closed her eyes for a moment before she stepped away from the mirror. Aaryaa walked towards the table in the middle of the room. The younger woman poured two cups of hot tea. She gave one to Celeste as they both sat down.

"You know I am," she answered, holding her cup. "You, yourself, could not even go against the king. What makes you think I can?"

"For one, he is your uncle," Celeste answered as she raised her cup toward her lips and took a sip.

Which she spat as soon as she did. Aaryaa was quick. She immediately conjured up a small shield, so the liquid Celeste hurled toward her would not touch her. The older woman put her cup down and rubbed her lips with the back of her palm.

"I forgot your atrocious ability to brew tea!" she exclaimed, twirling a finger around, and a new set of tea appeared in front of them. Changing even the cup in Aaryaa's hands.

Aaryaa took a sip of the fresh tea. As she put the cup down, a sad smile graced her lips. "I knew a person whose tea is so delicious, she could have started her own tea shop,"

Celeste saw the faraway look from Aaryaa's eyes and knew she was thinking of her friend whom she'd never see once more. But the younger woman sucked in a deep breath and stood up without taking another sip of the tea.

"I must go," she announced. "This mission to Pliac. . ." she trailed off but then shook her head. "Nothing. Never you mind,"

"Aaryaa, if there is–" Celeste started, but Aaryaa cut her off.

"It's nothing," she pressed firmly. "See you when I get back,"

Celeste found herself unable to answer. There was something in Aaryaa's tone that made her stop. She sounded unusual. But before she could say anything, her companion faded from the room. She took a deep breath herself and set down her own cup. She stood up, and with a determined expression, she as well vanished from the room.

Celeste appeared right before the king, sipping a cup of tea. In shock, the king let go of his cup. Steaming liquid fell into his lap, and he jumped up in throbbing pain as he screamed. His guards, who were standing by t he door, barged into the arms–weapon at ready.

Celeste waved them down as she snapped a finger. The king's burnt was gone, and his pants were dried. Steam waffled up from his cup of tea on his desk as if nothing had happened. With a sigh, the king dismissed his guards, who saluted before closing the door behind them.

"Need I remind you to use the door, Celeste?" the king reprimanded with no conviction as he returned to his seat.

"This is not the time," Celeste replied. "This is about the Pliac mission,"

"We've talked about this, Celeste. We came to an agreement, and I made a decision. I stand by it,"

Celeste marched toward the king's desk and slammed her hands down it. The sound echoed in the closed room, and the king stared at her in shock. "We talked. I agreed. But Aaryaa never did. She follows orders. Nothing else,"

The king put down the book he had just picked up. "What are you saying?"

"I don't know," Celeste replied as she threw her hands up and paced around the room. "She seemed…Odd, just before she left. It was as if she was out of it, your highness. I cannot help but worry,"

"I am sure she will be fine, Celeste. This is Aaryaa we are talking about," the king answered, calming down his royal mage, whom he rarely sees panicked.

The great sorceress turned to him in a flash; her long curly hair danced behind her at the action. "Howbeit, that might be where our predicament started. We regard her as a Kifo–as the Sift. However, we do forget that Aaryaa is just a child. One who, two years ago, do not even know of this world. And yet, the first thing I've taught her is how to…kill,"

The king contemplated what his royal mage had said. Upon realizing what she said was true, he felt inadequate as a king and, more so, as her uncle. He cleared his throat, somehow finding his chest constricted with all the emotions swirling inside him.

"What do you propose we do?" he asked with a sigh. He put his head down on his hands. He felt like he had failed.

Celeste stopped her pacing as she walked back toward the front of the king's table. "I advise. . . To withdraw her from the Kifo,"

"An official discharge?" the king asked.

Celeste nodded. "Allow her to live a normal life,"

~oOo~

Aaryaa manifested just outside of the eyesight of the townspeople of Pliac. Her order was clear–to eliminate all of them. She was used to following orders. To not ask questions. But somehow, there was something.

She was hesitant.

The fact that the information came from her father was one thing. But the fact that she was staring at a place so normal was another.

Evidence would arise with time if a person was dabbling with black magic. But a whole town to be practicing it–proof should abound. But she was a Kifo. She was trained to kill and nothing else. The oath she took forced bounded her to the mission.

Magically.

With a sigh, Aarya closed her eyes. She teleported to the middle of the town. All bystanders stopped and stared.

"It's a Kifo!"

"A Kifo,"

Whispers and murmurs followed her presence. She let her eyes wander. It was an ordinary farming village.

"People of Pliac," Aaryaa started, raising a hand towards the sky. Blue lightning started forming in her palm. "In payment for all your sins against the throne, I hereby deliver your punishment,"

Screams and pleads filled the air as Aaryaa killed all of them one by one. She showed no remorse. No hesitation. As of the moment, she was a Kifo and nothing else. The magical bound ensured any Kifo on a mission would feel no guilt. No attachment.

It guaranteed success.

With guilt out of the way, nothing will stop a Kifo from performing their duties.

The ground Aaryaa was standing on was covered with a thick, crimson liquid that eerily reflected everything above it like some sinister mirror. The azure sky was foreboding if seen from the reflection of the blood that was blanketing everything.

The place was silent as she finished killing all of its habitants. Their bodies littered around the Kifo. They all added more blood to the ground as if some revolting faucet. The lake nearby was slowly turning into the color of the wine.

With a sigh, the blue lightning bow from her hand vanished as she looked up at the azure sky that was turning violent. Her face was covered with splatters of blood, as well as her hands. Her long hair glinted in the sun as if it was on fire.

And it danced majestically behind her.

The rain started as a drizzle, pelting her upturned face with one droplet after the other. As the water ran down the dried blood on her face, crimson liquid ran down the side of her eyes. As if her tears were made of blood.

But then. . .

Out of the deafening silence of the place, a child's cry pierced through the air. Aaryaa glanced behind her and saw a little girl clutching a dirty stuffed toy in her hand. The child's eyes were wide in apparent fear as she stared at her. And for the first time in two years, the huntress felt something pierce her chest. It was as if a sword had stabbed her.

With the magical bound slowly leaving her body, she felt herself steadily returning. As well as the feelings the bound spell was supposed to keep at bay.

She closed her eyes in utter sorrow as she realized the weight of what she had done. She knew there was no turning back. The crying of the child in front of her and the screams of her victims had finally caught up with her.

And they echoed in her ears.

Like a glass shattering inside of her, Aaryaa realized that she had become the very being she hunts.

And…

She wanted to run.

So, run, she did.