Behind Those Golden Eyes

Status
Not open for further replies.
"Hmm…" Tal propped his head on his hand, smiling absently across the space. "No, I have other plans for that period of time." He met the others eyes and the smile morphed into a smirk. He could be oblique but he preferred a more straightforward approach. Regardless of whether Archer picked up on it though there was no hurry, carriages weren't his preference for fun times. He would make things even more clear after they attempted to skewer each other when they stopped tonight. He fell into silence, watching the scenery pass by broodingly. He was partially trying not to think about his situation while at the same time letting possible solutions simmer in the back of his mind. He had an idea but it would require feeling his companion out more first. He spent the rest of the day mostly within himself, as if hibernating for the busy evening ahead.

Tal had the driver stop a while outside of the town he planned on them stopping in. He let himself out of the carriage and stretched nonchalantly. It was a total façade of course because as soon as he felt/heard/sensed Archer make his move Tal quite suddenly had his sword out and slipped smoothly to the side, turning to point his blade at the other man with an excited grin. "Well that was not very chivalrous." He had thought Archer might do that and he was not disappointed in the least. This was hardly going to be a sparring match with his father but in some ways it was more exciting because Archer was a new enemy and much rode upon his interactions with him. He also couldn't help a little childish desire to properly impress Archer either.

"Play time it is then." Tal's tone bordered on sing-song for a moment before he went faux serious and lunged for the attack. He was holding back quite a bit while he felt out his opponent but it probably would not be too long before Archer got to see about as close to Tal's true strength as anyone aside from his father and the people he's killed have.


~~~


Jensen stayed up all night outside her door, listening to her cries and sobbing. Despite what she might think he took no particular pleasure in this, he simply was devoted to the advancement of this family and had the sort of curiosity that burned with the need to answer this question. He had a few answers once morning came. One phrase that had broken through her dreams in particular interested him. It solidified his suspicion that there was indeed some history between the two, probably a long running history considering the strange mixed emotions he felt from them both. "Hmm…" He rubbed his chin musingly and stared up at the ceiling. So she was probably more important to him than they first estimated but at the same time the truth of some of her words made her perhaps not as useful information tool as he had hoped. He shrugged it off, they would find out one way or another.

He then motioned to the guards. "The ladies will want to see him at breakfast, do see our guest is prepared and taken there." He was going to find his bed and sleep until his next vigil.

The guards nodded and went about their preparations. They got a portable tub that was apparently for these kinds of situations and brought it into her. Servants proceeded to start filling it up while one maid brought Aisha a rather fine white suit that they must have had sitting around but would hit her surprisingly well. Once everything was set up, all the servants left and one guard stepped outside and locked the door. The other remained inside with her and gestured meaningfully towards the bath. "Don't mind me." He spoke for the first time in a deadpan tone, his expression as impassive as ever.
 
Archer didn't miss the hint, though except for a small grin, he didn't show much of a reaction. He rested for the rest of the journey and enjoyed the company of his own mind.

Once they stopped Tal walked out of the carriage first, showing his back to his companion. What happened next wasn't something Archer had planned earlier. He simply was a bit irritated that the man he looked up to turned his back towards someone he shouldn't trust, and on top of that seemed very relaxed about it. If Archers sword had pierced Tal, then he would know that it had been foolish to actually look up to someone like that. Someone that isn't on his guard even during the most peaceful of moments. But Tal didn't disappoint when Archer attacked him. As Tal turned to him with a drawn sword, Archer couldn't help but grin back at him.

"If you are the fool whom turn your back to an enemy, then you must be prepared for the consequences." Archer mused as he and Tal played in a deadly game. He knew that Tal wasn't using his full strength, otherwise he would already have been down. He had heard many stories, though many probably were a bit away from the truth, many stories spoke no lies.

Archer changed his choice of attack and defense all the time, and tried to never have a pattern in when he did what. The most important was to never let the enemy know what kind of attack you will do next, never use the same trick twice in a row, and if possible don't do it twice on the same enemy. Finish them off before the circle is completed, and always have one trick you save until there's no other option but to show it. Those techniques had always saved him before, but against such a strong opponent, it would probably not do much. It wouldn't matter if Tal could predict his actions or not, he would overpower Archer with or without that knowledge. And that thought only made Archer more excited, because he didn't plan on loosing that impossible fight.

___

A confused Aisha stared as the servants and guards came in with a tub and clothes. Still startled after her nightmares she could not get herself to ask what was going on, and as fast as they had showed up, they all disappeared. Well, all except one. She kind of started to understand what was going on, though she wasn't sure why that was going on.

She stared at the man, one of Jensens guards, as if his head was turned upside down. "I do mind... A lot." She said as she put her arms over her chest in a refusing pose. "I'm not going to change clothes, nor take a bath while someone is watching me, or when they are in the same room as me." She protested. If the same thing had happened a day earlier then she would have refused a change of clothes and a bath all together, but even she had her limits, and her clothes were drenched from her nightly adventures. It started to give her skin a pretty bad reaction.
 
"It's only foolish if you aren't prepared." Tal smirked back at him. Tal had of course been testing Archer, once again taking his measure to see what kind of man he was working with. He was not disappointed again. Considering Tal's nigh impeccable style of lightning fast slashes and dodging around like a ferret Archer was doing well to hold his own. Even with Tal holding back if there were faults in the other person's sword work they would find themselves quickly dead. In fact Tal found Archer's style of attack very intriguing as Tal himself was a mix of an obvious set of moves from a sword style that only he and his father practiced and an opportunist. Their methods were somehow complimentary.

Now that he had a feel for how Archer fought however, Tal decided to kick it up a notch. He unleashed more of his true strength and speed and shifted from semi-defensive to all-out attack. He intended to finish it off quickly now that he had the information he desired.

___

The guard looked positively bored at her refusal, he'd probably heard it all before and he was more than prepared to deal with it. "That was your warning. If you do not bath and change yourself I will knock on this door and then Pete and I will proceed to do it for you. It is of course your choice how this goes from here on out." He leaned against the wall and continued giving her that dull stare. There was no doubt that he was entirely prepared to do so if she continued to refuse.

It seemed not even she was that stubborn though so he held his position and watched with what to her was probably a disturbing intentness but for him was simply being diligent about doing his job. They wanted not shenanigans from her and it was not unheard of for hostages to try to kill themselves. He didn't leer or make any comments, he just watched her, and once she was done he knocked on the door and had a flood of servants come back and remove everything before motioning her to the door. He and Pete then sandwiched her between them, though they at least let her walk on her own, and led her to a medium sized dining room with all 3 of the siblings already sitting in their places. The guard motioned her to sit at the other end of the smaller oval table they were all sitting at to the side. Jeremy was at the opposite end of course with the twins on either side of him.

They all looked rather happy to see her too. Jeremy gave her a friendly, almost sweet, smile and went back to eating his porridge. Carla smiled bright and clapped her hands. "My my, now that is much better. All cleaned up you look like you actually belong in environs like these. Isn't he handsome sissy?"

Kaylie took another bite of her eggs and chuckled. "Well, it was to be expected was it not? I love the white touch, though I always prefer black." Strangely enough, it was almost visibly implied that she was talking about Tal.
 
After a little while, Tal changed his fighting style to a bit more aggressive. Archer knew that it would happen at some point, but somehow it was still able to take him by surprise. He was forced to become more passive as Tal attacked more frequently than before, not giving Archer much space for attacking himself. For a few minutes he were able to keep the tempo, but Tal's style, a style Archer had never seen before, strength and tempo did tear on his stamina, and very soon he did a mistake. With an opponent as Tal, a mistake would be deadly in a real match. Luckily for him, not because it mattered in this specific case, he would probably not be killed because of this mistake.

As he tried to push both himself and Tal backwards in an attempt to give a bit of space between them both and time to attack again, he lost his footing and stumbled backwards, not only did he loose time but when he tried to get back in the game he started too slow and weren't ready at all for once Tal came at him again.

___

Aisha stared at him as if he suddenly had grown a second head, had a tale and spoke German. There was no way she would win this fight however much she resisted. So she closed her eyes and sighed, forcing herself to calm down. Her temper would only get her into trouble. "Fine." She said with a raspy voice. No blush had yet colored her cheeks, but it probably would.

Taking a bath in front of a man was something she had never thought she would do again. The last time had been when she and her brother bathed together as children, though her brother could hardly have been counted as a man. She kept her eyes closed for most of the time, pretending she was at home, alone. Still she could feel his eyes burning in the back of her head. At that very moment she felt angry at pretty much the whole world except for her family. If only Tal could have been there so she could have screamed at him and let out her frustration on someone. Maybe it didn't make much sense to want him there just because she wanted to be angry at him, but that was where her mind was going.

She hurried up as much as she could, just so that she could get rid of that guard. But of course they would go somewhere right afterwards. She should have guessed it. No one in that mansion seemed to know what personal space was, neither guards nor leaders. She needed to get out of there soon. The lack of fresh air started to get to her head.

They, she and the guards, walked in to a dining room, and she was immediately motioned to sit down. At the moment she decided to just do as they said, as long as she didn't have to give them information. But what wouldn't she do for just five minutes of walking, outside, in the fresh air, beneath the clear blue sky. Instead she was stuck at the table with the rude kid and his two weird sisters. Luckily they couldn't read her mind, there were pretty unpleasant things thought about them in there.

Environs like that? Maybe she looked the part, but she surely did not belong at all. "Is that so? Too bad, I prefer not to look as if I come from the deepest parts of hell." And there her tongue betrayed her. Why couldn't she just shut up?
 
Being the opportunist that he was, Tal saw his moment and took it immediately. As Archer was starting to recover he found his sword knocked to the side and Tal's pressed against his chest. If he moved even a fraction of an inch forward he would feel the bite of its point. It was a lesson in just how much control Tal had because even if he hadn't been trying to kill him it would have been very easy to do so by accident at such a distance. "Not bad." He murmured with a sly smile. "You kept up even against me on the offensive for quite some time." Of course he also had demonic stamina to go with the speed and strength so it wasn't really fair, but that only made Archer's achievement all the more impressive.

For a moment, Tal's eyes started to glow and he saw himself sinking the blade in just enough to get the blood flowing and then licking it all away. He blinked it away though and stamped down the demon within, taking a step back just so he would be a little less tempted and sheathing his sword. He was breathing a bit heavy but it was not from the fight. He turned then, hiding a slight grimace and headed back towards the carriage. "Now then, do you have a preference on which inn we stay at?" He honestly didn't care since he expected it would be someplace comfortable, he just needed to distract himself.
___

Thankfully for Aisha, they all seemed to find her statement rather funny. Jeremy couldn't hold in a giggle and had to cover his mouth so he wouldn't spew porridge everywhere. Carla simply threw her head back and laughed. "Big words for someone who is in close company with the greatest assassin of this age."

Kaylie snickered and then cooed sweetly at Aisha. "Aww is the wittle hostage forgetting how he came here?" She popped a piece of strawberry in her mouth and delicately licked the juices off her finger. "Well daddy always said that he wanted to go to hell because heaven sounded boring." There was no doubt this was a group content with their crimes.

"Here, Here." Carla grinned and raised her glass before taking a sip of orange juice and pushing a plate of sweet rolls towards Aisha. "Come, you should eat something. You'll need your strength."
 
Archer was quite amazed over Tal's ability, and he was fairly certain that what he had been up against had only been a small percentage of what he was actually capable of. That was certainly not a man you would want to make into an enemy. Even so, Archer was more fascinated by his companion than scared.

"Don't care, as long as it has a bed." Archer replied as he picked up his sword. Not even a bed was necessary. He was used to sleeping in a barn, or in a forest, or anywhere at all. But for that particular night, he would prefer a bed for quite obvious reasons.

"Did you make a contract with the devil or something? I have never seen a sword style like that." He then asked as he walked up to the carriage. It wasn't just the style, it was his power, his stamina. It didn't seem like it was humanly possible to have such an ability.

___

Well, it was nice to see that someone was entertained by her misery. As one of the twins spoke, Aisha fast turned her eyes down to stare into the table. It was far too easy for her to forget that he was an assassin. Because in her mind he had always been Tal, her best friend. The guy she used to play with almost every day. But even if he were an assassin there must be some good reason behind it. He was better than all the people she had met since she came to the mansion. Well, at least he was acting better towards her. She didn't really know about how he were towards other people, nor how they were towards others. There was nothing to compare with except for her minimal experience.

Food was not something she wanted to think about. Especially not after that nightmare she had. She could still feel her gag-reflexes acting up after the scene where she vomited up big hairballs. But she couldn't just sit there and wait for Tal to save her, and escaping while starving wasn't the most optimal plan. If she had gone with her stomachs pleads then she would have refused, but luckily her brain could still make decisions, even with a horrible nights sleep. A bit hesitantly she reached for one of the sweet rolls, though for quite a while she only looked at it, wondering how she would be able to force her stomach to keep it down.

"It's not so much boring as an incredibly ridiculous concept, since the only way a place like heaven could exist and remain a paradise would be if you took away the free will of everyone that entered. Which would contradict the purpose of creating humans in the first place." She mumbled, though it was probably just barely loud enough to be heard. No human could exist forever without sinning, and if stuck in paradise for an eternity then they would eventually do something bad, and when they do paradise will no longer be sin free.

She finally took a bite on the food, and it was just as hard to actually swallow it as she thought it would be.
 
Tal pressed his lips together and tried not to snicker. His train of thought was much like Archer's, though he toughed it out a lot less than Archer did probably. At Archer's question he inwardly had a moment of panic, which he was far too skilled to let show. Instead he half turned to raise an eyebrow at the other man and chuckled. "Well, if you call spending 10 plus years of my childhood doing almost nothing but swordplay with my father a deal with the devil…well it certainly seemed like hell sometimes." He laughed softly. "My father created this style himself, he's the only other person in the world you'll ever see use it." Hopefully he would be able to divert such thought, he had managed to conceal the secret for this long he had no interest in it coming out now.

He turned back to the carriage and stepped inside, flopping down on his side on his back and propping his feet up on the wall with a deep sigh. The fight itself had not exhausted him but the emotional rollercoaster he had just gone through had certainly done so. Fighting his demonic instincts was hard enough but that scare was something he had not needed.

___

The siblings chatted in amongst themselves briefly, mostly involving the sisters cooing over their brother though everyone seemed to take notice of her again as she started talking. Kaylie raised an eyebrow and tilted her head, seeming to be slightly in shock before starting to laugh, almost falling off her chair. "Oh my gosh!" She wiped the tears from her eyes. "He would have gotten along great with father." She leaned across the table and pressed a kiss to Aisha's cheek. "We should definitely keep him too." And if that wasn't a statement with ominous implications nothing was.

Carla shook off her own surprise and beamed at her sister before looking at Aisha again and giving her a concerned look. "You look terribly tired my dear, did you not sleep well? Perhaps some eggs would be easier on your stomach." She served up a small plate, acting very much like a concerned mother.

Jeremy finally finished off his porridge and idly spun the spoon in the bowl, giving Aisha a creepy sweet smile. "He would make a lovely big brother yes?"Something about his expression indicated that he had some hidden knowledge that made that statement very funny to him.
 
That was interesting information, it was incredible that Tal just gave it to him like that. It seemed like that was something that shouldn't come out in the light that easily. Maybe there was something more there which he didn't want to talk about. A secret. Not too surprising, no one knew anything about the greatest assassin of all. If he hadn't kept everything about himself a secret towards everyone, then everything had been out by then.

Archer whistled impressed as he sat down on his own side in the carriage. "My family didn't even let me hold a knife as a child. Apparently I was too fragile. My training didn't start before I left home at the age of fourteen." He mentioned with a small chuckle. While most people with their profession probably spoke very little to nothing about their family, Archer didn't have the need to hide his past. Everyone from his past was already gone.

____

The sudden laughter did surprise Aisha, especially since she hadn't been aware that she had spoken out loud. There was so much wrong with the sisters words so Aisha didn't even know what to focus on. As if she would ever want to get along with their father, he was probably as crazy as them. The kiss was completely unwelcomed, and the last words about them keeping her almost made her jump out of her seat. If not the guards had been there, and three people whose strength she didn't know, then she would definitely have been running already. But she forced herself to calm down. If it hadn't been her brain, her exhausted body would probably have done it for her either way.

Then it was the next sisters turn. So they didn't know about her nightmare filled night. Even though she wasn't 100% certain of her theory, it still wasn't for from it. That old man had done something to make her get those nightmares. She wasn't sure how, but she didn't have any other explanation. She had never had nightmares that made her sweat, scream and feeling frightened even after waking up before. And the last time she had had nightmares was when she was ten. At least nightmares that had affected her body. Some nightmares had come after that, but never anything she couldn't laugh at once she woke up.

And lastly it was the brothers turn to speak. He was as cryptic as always. There was something in his words that didn't belong, something he didn't mean and something he did. But her brain wasn't in the right mindset to figure it out.

"It's kind of hard to sleep well when your friend is out doing God knows what while you sit locked up and are threatened or tied up every other hour." Aisha reminded the sister a bit grumpily. Even though she was certain that wasn't the reason for her nightmares, nor her sudden sleepiness, it would definitely have been a reason for bad sleep. How many times had she even been threatened or used to threaten Tal since she got there? The time in the carriage, when she sat in the chair, Jensen had definitely said something threatening during the interrogation the other night, though she barely could remember it, and the guard that morning. And that just in less than 24 hours. Must be a record.
 
Tal tilted his head and gave Archer a bemused sort of look. It was hard for him to conceive not touching a sword for so long and then to be as skilled as he was? Tal was quite impressed. "You're not too bad for someone who came into the art so late." He didn't bother to keep the surprise out of his voice either. He definitely intended to bring this man to his side and a little praise here and there would hardly go amiss. Somewhere along this trip a plan had formed in his mind and the sooner he could pull it off the better. He was somewhat worried about what the sisters would do with Aisha in their grasp and he was really worried about what the old man would do.

He had not seen the man in his time there before but he seemed terribly close to the family and of more import, he was sensitive as his father would call it. The old man was in fact the greatest complication in him getting Aisha back as well. Tal could feel the frustration building and deliberately pushed the thoughts away, pushed the feelings down. He could not let them get the better of him. He did not have time to take a 'destroy everything in the vicinity' break.

He let out another sigh and closed his eyes, just blocking out everything for a while and showing off his power napping skills until they were in the city. The sound of horse hooves on cobblestone was sufficient to wake him and he reluctantly sat up. "Hmmm…" He glanced out the window and wracked his memory for any inns in the area he might want to stay at. One finally came to mind, though he hated the name. "Driver! Take us to the Golden Cornucopia." That would be the one time he said that all night, but he couldn't deny they had some of the best food and most comfortable beds he had encountered. And he wanted tonight to be good.

____

Carla took on an offended look, though it was definitely 90 percent fake. "Hey now, you haven't been tied up since Tal was here I don't know what you're complaining about." She waved a hand dismissively. "And while your concern for Tal is touching, it's also laughable." The two sisters exchanged glances over Aisha's head, having noticed how she referred to Tal as her 'friend' in a very familiar way. The kind that did not happen over a short period of time. They said nothing about it though. "Talie has made it this far after having taken out equally dangerous personages, he will be quite fine. It's cute how you worry about him so though." Carla beamed at her.

"Besides." Kaylie added nonchalantly. "It could be much worse. Here you are with fine new clothes, eating a nice breakfast in good company. We could have you locked up starving in a dungeon or something." She tilted her head and raised an eyebrow. "Of course if you really want we could change that." She grinned suddenly and leaned closer to Aisha. "Or perhaps you find our hospitality lacking…" She slide a hand down Aisha's chest and if she noticed anything off said nothing. "We could always upgrade your accommodations…"
 
Being praised by one of the greatest assassins throughout history was something Archer hadn't even dreamed of, and once it happened he felt overly happy over it. Though on the outside he did keep his cool, as he always did.

He did close his eyes for the rest of the trip, but kept awake. Thus heard when Tal decided which inn they were going to. He was certain he had heard of it at some point, but he had never actually been to that specific inn. That whole day seemed to just be pouring down new experiences, things and places over him. He could tell immediately that his everyday life would become very dull once that mission would be over.

"Finally, I'm starving." Archer exclaimed slightly childishly just as the carriage stopped and he opened his eyes. Though the sentence mainly meant just what it implied, a small portion of it was implying something completely different than food. More of a desert á la Tal.

____

Aisha would almost prefer to be locked up in a dungeon, at least then she wouldn't have to have awkward conversations with people she didn't like. But then she would have no choice but to wait for Tal, since escaping from a locked dungeon probably was harder than escaping while being let out of the locked room a bit now and then. If she just could find the right moment, and the right distraction, then she might be able to get away. What she would do afterwards was still unknown, but probably search for the closest town and then see where to go from there. If she ever got out before Tal came back.

The closeness of the sister was very uncomfortable, and if the chair hand't been in the way Aisha would probably back all the way to the wall. The worst thing with it was the place she was touching her on. Aisha simply prayed to any God that would listen that she didn't notice anything odd with her chest. She didn't know if it mattered if she played the role of a guy or not anymore, but now when she had started the charade, she could as well go on with it.

"One, I am not concerned about him. I simply want him to come back unharmed so I can kill him for getting me into this.. situation." Aisha started, keeping her voice steady. "And two, a host that can't keep out of a persons personal space is definitely lacking hospitality." She didn't sound angry or irritated, more just matter of factly.
 
Tal opened his eyes and glanced over at his companion with a bit of surprise, the dichotomy of his childish expression with the more adult undertones did interesting things in his mind. He was feeling quite the same however and sat up with a sly grin. "I as well." He took this opportunity to lean forward and capture the other man's lips in a sensual but not-too-heated kiss.

He pulled away before either of them were too inconvenienced and flashed Archer a sly smile before moving over to the door and letting himself out. He led the way inside and took the second best suit in the place as the best was apparently taken by some bigwig. He also ordered their dinner to be brought up to them since he had no interest in running up the stairs like some ditzy pair of infatuated fools. Infatuation did not factor into his world.

Once in their room he set his few items on the table and flopped down in one of the chairs, all splayed out, and watched Archer with a sultry expression.

____

The twins threw their heads back and laughed in unison, Carla wiping the tears from her eyes and beaming. "Ah I can see how he might end up with Talie after all. He certainly has the mouth on him!"

Kaylie nodded and finally straightened up, giving Aisha her space but another quick peck on the cheek before sitting down. "In more than one way I bet." The twins exchanged another look, smirking at each other. "No appreciation though, he must only like dicks." There was definitely a slightly malevolent tone to her speech. "We'll have to remember that for later." No doubting the implication there.
 
Archer was taken by surprise as Tal decided to kiss him. It was a more than welcomed appetizer. An interested eyebrow rose as Tal parted their lips and gave him a sly smile. A low chuckle left Archer's throat as he rose from his seat to followed his companion into the inn. It was definitely going to be an interesting night.

Archer threw his things into the corner of the room, not caring much about being careful. Then he walked towards the table and sat down on the opposite side of Tal, with one leg laying on top of the other. A small smirk played on his lip as he watched the man in front of him.

"You know, most people consider it bad manners to start eating before the dinner has been served." He said, suddenly having quite an innocent smile while referring to the kiss earlier.

____

Even though their crude statement was true, it still upset her quite a bit. It wasn't as if she would be attracted or do it with anyone just because of their genitalia. But apparently it was crazy talk to want to find your one true love before you wanted physical interaction on a higher level. At least for the crowd she had been around for the past few days.

"Excuse me for rather spending time conversing with a great mind instead of indulging myself in lustful behavior. But I can understand how someone without a brain doesn't have a choice but to find other ways to entertain themselves." She regretted every word in her last sentence as fast as they had left her mouth. They were her kidnappers, they could kill her, torture her, or do whatever towards her, and she still thought it was a good idea to call them stupid? Even though they had laughed so far, there would come a time when she said something that would piss them off. But when she was upset it was impossible to keep her thoughts to herself. If she would keep arguing with a demon then she there was nothing stopping her from arguing with her kidnappers. Even though she wished it wasn't like that.
 
"Hmm." Tal made a soft musing sound of agreement before grinning darkly. "Thank goodness I was never one to care for manners." That was perhaps the most true statement he had said the entire time they had been together so far. He could play the proper noble's son but he honestly found even the most basic of manners to be somewhere between tiresome and a complete waste of time. "Besides." He chuckled softly and licked his lips suggestively. "There's nothing wrong with a little taste testing yes?" He stood up to open the door almost before the knock from the servant happened, sternly reminding himself to not seem too supernatural.

He carelessly tipped the servant before turning back into the room and carrying two large platters which he settled on the low table between them. His smirk was brimming with amusement as he once again sat down in that splayed out, almost provocative pose. "Well, now dinners served." There was definitely a hint of a challenge in his tone. He was really looking forward to seeing how this played out. Some lovers had enjoyed feeding him or vice versa, making it a bit of foreplay, or doing the same by the manner which they ate. Some decided food was for later and he honestly could not say what he expected of Archer in this situation. He of course, was fine with any or all of the above.
____

Despite the fact that she had been trying her best (figuratively speaking) to offend them since before she sat down at the table there was still several seconds of almost stunned silence before the girls pulled themselves together. The expressions on their faces made it clear that while the rest had been amusing she had finally found the right stupid thing to say. Kaylie stood up and without saying a word casually slapped Aisha. The guards had moved up in preparation to restrain Aisha if it turned into a fight but for the moment stayed out of it.

Carla leaned back and fixed Aisha with a cold sneering expression. "And so speaks a child without experience. I'm honestly surprised Taliesin didn't fix that for you but it seems it falls to us to pick up his slack hmm?" They may have played nice before, but she had certainly done it now. "We'll just see what you think of this 'entertainment'."

Jeremy actually stood up and came to whisper in Carla's ear. She listened intently for a moment before blinking and giving him a surprised expression that morphed into an amused grin. "Why of course sweetie you can take the first turn." She ruffled his hair and kissed his cheek. "We'll send her over once you're ready."

Jeremy nodded with another of those sickly sweet smiles and exited the room.

"I guess it's about time then." Kaylie chuckled and turned back to her seat. "You'd better enjoy the food you have now, it might be the last you see for a while."
 
Indeed, there were nothing wrong with it at all. Archer could barely wait for second tastings. In the back of his mind, Archer did probably notice that Tal stood up just half a second before it actually knocked on the door. But his conscious mind was busy thinking about... other things. At first he had thought of actually eating first, since he was quite hungry. But the thoughts of food disappeared fast in the presence of Taliesin, as one would expect.

Archer took a quick look at the plates and sighed, almost as if he had a troubling decision to make. "Sadly it doesn't seem that I have much manners either I'm afraid." He started before his eyes trailed back towards Tal. "I definitely prefer taking my desert first." He then finished seductively as he leaned forward over the table to give Tal a passionated kiss. A thought did enter his mind. If they started it where they were, would they even get to the bedroom? Another thought entered just as fast, he didn't care.

____

Aisha had pretty much seen it coming from the moment the words left her mouth. Even she understood that there were things she could and should not say. So when a hand hit her cheek she was not surprised. Even so she did have to hold on to the chair so that she wouldn't rise and give a slap in return. A fight would not ease her situation.

The sister's words did indeed terrify her, but the only thing that showed her worry was a small gulp. The rest of her was almost shaking in anger as she tried hard not to do something stupid. Maybe she should have begged and asked for forgiveness. It wasn't as if she were in a fight with her mother that ended with a slap before they stopped talking to each other for days. These were people that actually dared to seriously hurt her, knowing that there would be no consequences to it. But she doubted that apologizing would do any good. They had already made up their minds. And she weren't going to be pathetic and beg for forgiveness to people like that. As long as her life weren't in danger then she would keep her dignity. She were lucky, because at the moment they would need her alive. If she weren't there when Tal came back, he would probably kill them all.

As the boy left the room, a chill went down Aisha's spine. She wasn't sure what was worst, the twins that touched her way too much, or the guy that was impossible to figure out. Even though she had considered him her favorite person among the five people she had met since she got there, Jeremy, Jensen, the assassin whom left with Tal and the twins, now she started to reevaluate that list. He suddenly seemed much more frightening than the others combined.

Knowing somewhat what might happen to her in the upcoming hours, how would she be able to eat? Knowing that she might not have the chance to regain her energy for some time, how could she not take the chance?
Aisha glared one last time at Kaylie before slowly turning to look down into the table and silently ate. She just had to focus on getting through the next hours, or even days. Continuing to fight would only make it worse, and talking would only lead to fighting in this case. She had to shut them out, pretend that reality wasn't there. Maybe then she would get through easier. Hopefully.
 
Tal couldn't help a muffled chuckle into the kiss before he was far too involved in the current activity to care. He let out a sound reminiscent of a purr and deepened the kiss; pulling Archer closer in the process so there was just a bit of friction in the most important areas. Much like the way Tal's moods could change on a dime, his sexual proclivities were equally diverse. When he had first decided that he was going to have Archer he didn't have a plan in mind but considering who he was dealing with here, the whole 'sweet lover' method seemed both strange and boring. He intended to have a 'rough and ravaging' sort of night.

And so he put a plan into motion and worked Archer for all he was worth. Much like with their sparring before, he was pleasantly surprised by the other man's skill and endurance. By the end he had decided it was almost certainly worth keeping Archer around for more than the main reason he had been cultivating him so far. That was a thought for later though. Right now his greatest dilemma was that he did not want to move from his comfortable position still inside the other man and being quite hungry now. And rather tired but his stomach was making sleep a bit challenging.

He dropped his head back with a soft sigh and chuckle. If only that was his only problem these days. Tonight had felt a lot like how he had gone about things before Aisha had reappeared in his life. He wasn't even entirely sure what he was going to do once he freed her, because he was going to free her. And some people were going to die, his reasons for not doing so before long lost in history. He simply needed to hope that he was reading Archer right come morning and that he could come up with a good plan.
____

The twins seemed to have a similar idea about her. They mostly chatted between each other and seemed to have forgotten she was there. Once she was done with her food the guards took her by either arm and led her deep into the mansion, down to at least the first basement level. They came to a plain looking door that opened into a bit of a dichotomous room. The walls were painted a soft blue with a black cushy carpet. There was a comfortable looking bed in one corner, along with a few equally comfortable looking chairs dotted around the edges.

In the center of the room however was more of what she might have expected. There was a large metal table with straps for all of her limbs and then some as the center piece. Around that was a table with a bunch of whips and several other unpleasant looking contraptions. The other set pieces were even stranger and in the unlikely event she was familiar with BDSM tendencies, she might recognize them but probably not.

Jeremy was sitting on the edge of the bed, smiling at her cheerfully. He looked more alive than he had the entirety of the time she had been here so far. "Welcome." He said, waving his arm expansively. "To our 'fun' dungeon." He chuckled softly. "Probably not quite what you were expecting I'm sure." He stood up and strolled over to her, taking his time. "Jensen seems to think it's funny to keep your true sex a secret so I figured, why not take the first go and let the secret live on a bit longer?" His eyes narrowed and his smirked at her in a most unpleasant way. "Besides, you do prefer 'dicks' " He spat the word out, finding it uncouth and hating that his sisters tended to do so. "And it would be terrible for your first time to be with a woman hmm?"
 
Archer wasn't one to take it easy when it came to... Well, pretty much anything. And as expected, Tal didn't disappoint his expectations. If a human was capable to feel a little piece of heaven before death, then he was certain that he just did. It made him wonder if he ever would be able to go back to having sex with other people again. After all, they would just remind him that no one would be as good as Taliesin. Well, that was a dilemma he would have to deal with another time. His primitive instincts was way too busy to be able to give his brain any room to think of such trivial matters.

At some point, Archer did fall asleep. Or maybe he was so tired after the day he simply passed out when his body became overheated. Once he woke up he wasn't sure how long they had kept going the night before, but he did remember some tasty details. Hopefully it wouldn't be a once in a lifetime kind of thing, because that had been one of the most amazing nights in his life.

He lied there with his eyes closed for some minutes before his stomach finally forced him to move. That was when he remembered that he hadn't eaten dinner the day before. Maybe he shouldn't have started with the desert. It apparently upset his body quite a bit to be forced to go through such a rough night without any fuel in the tank. But it had been so worth it. Archer grinned at the thought as he sat up and stretched his arms. His long hair was almost etched to his sweaty body. Funny, he couldn't even remember that he let his hair out of the tail during any part of the evening. He hoped he hadn't forgotten any juicy parts of the evening.

_____

With every step they took, she felt more and more insecure. Trapped between the two guards, she had no chance of running away. She tried to surprise them by trying to jerk her arms free at one point, but they barely even noticed her futile attempt. Aisha could feel her stomach turn even before the door to her doom had been opened. She had grown up in a nice town, with nice people, or at least not insane people. She had never been exposed to people that wanted to hurt others before, so her imagination of what might happen beyond those doors was very poor. She knew the truth would be much more scary than anything she could imagine.

Once the door opened she could feel how the blood was rushing away from her head. Aisha didn't recognize much in that room, but just by looking at the unfamiliar items gave her a pretty good picture of what they might be used for. Nothing pleasant in her opinion.

Her feet automatically tried to move her backwards, but the guards held her in place. Shaking and pale she finally found Jeremy's eyes, and his happy expression did nothing else but worry her. She was frightened. Not just, my mom is angry at me I better stay away kind of frightened, but more like, can't you just kill me instead kind of frightened.

With a big gulp, she tried to speak, though it did came out kind of weak. "How.... long have you known?" She asked. Not because it interested her, but because she wanted to get as much time as possible so that maybe she could run. Even in such a moment, she continued to pretend to be braver than she actually were. If she had acted on her instincts she would have started crying at that point, but she couldn't allow herself to do that. Not in front of those people. She was quite certain that that was exactly what they wanted. Wouldn't that be amusing for them? Well, she wouldn't do it.
 
Tal eventually fell asleep despite the growling of his stomach, he was simply too content otherwise. He slept more deeply than he had in a long time and only reluctantly clawed his way to awareness when the warm body above him decided to move. He lazily cracked one eye open and grinned up at his companion. "Morning." He leaned up for a good morning kiss and a bit of a sharp nibble for good measure. He was feeling very good despite the troubling situation he was in, the activities with Archer (both fight and later) had done him good. He was ready to make the world quake in its boots once more.

First however, a shower was definitely in order. He playfully disentangled himself from Archer and headed to the bathroom, as usual assuming his new shadow would follow. He was all for frolicking in the bath normally but unfortunately he had business to attend to so if Archer did follow him there was some play and even fondling to be had but nothing more. He had to fight his desire to just play with that long long hair all day and instead force his way out of the bath and getting dressed for the day.

He gave the untouched dinner a mournful look as his stomach growled noticeably. He could smell something more appealing waiting for them out in the hall anyway. In that sort of psychic timing servants seem to have one was waiting at the door with a large breakfast. They gave him a rather curious look as he handed over their previous set of full plates but the man had far too good of manners to stay anything as he carted them off.

Tal then sat down in a chair at the table, not particularly interested in sitting where they had gotten quite messy last night and immediately started gobbling up the French toast, which was a favorite of his. Once he had finished with that he felt sated enough to at least slowdown in his munching. He took instead to taking a bite here and there while he watched his companion with a musing expression. His good mood was ailing as he considered how he was going to proceed from now on. At some point during their brief time together he had reached the point where Archer was apparently privy to seeing more of his emotions, if not any more actual information.

_____

Jeremy almost visible inhaled her evident fear but resisted doing anything undignified like that. "How long?" He tilted his head musing. "Well I wonder?" He giggled softly and then motioned around the room with a devilish smile. "So what do you think hmm? Shall we start simple or something more exciting?" He could already see her fainting away at the thought. "Ah yes perhaps something a bit simpler to start eh?" As if at a prearranged signal the guards carried her over to the table in the center and started strapping her in. For the moment it was only her hands and legs.

While she was getting set up Jeremy had unbuttoned his shirt, leaving it hanging loosely over his shoulders while he ran his hands over the collection of items on the table. "Simple hmm?" He picked up a scalpel with fancy engravings. "I think this will do nicely yes?"
 
Tal woke up just seconds after Archer had started to move around. He happily accepted the morning kiss, and almost felt the urge to push the man down and continue from the day before. But those urges could, and probably should wait. His body was already angry at him as it was. And they had a mission that he was certain his companion would want to get back to.

As expected, he did follow Tal into the shower. Not only because he wanted to for obvious reasons. But also because it would save time. Even in an euphoric state of mind, Ark could still be a practical thinker.

The food was gone from his plate in a matter of minutes, a speed that even surprised himself. Once he finished he gave all his attention to Tal, whom was in a completely different place at that moment. Tal seemed... ... A bit out of it was probably the best way of describing it. He couldn't pinpoint the exact emotions, but he guessed the man was getting slightly worried.

"Which planet have you drifted off to?" Archer asked his companion curiously as he leaned his head towards his palm.
____

It felt as if her body was in the middle of an earth quake, and quite frankly, Aisha couldn't tell if it was an earth quake or if her body shook on it's own. Why hadn't she just shut her mouth closed? She had known all along that these people were sadistic, it wasn't as if that fact had passed her by from the moment she met them. But even so, she had gone the stupid way and treated them as any other person that got on her nerves.

Her tongue was completely stuck as the guards started to carry her to the table. Desperation and instincts took over her body. She tried to push herself away from the guards, kicking, hitting, nothing worked, and she finally found herself stuck on the table. No escape was possible.

The fast and short breaths she took made her slightly dizzy, and she hoped she would just faint because of it. But she didn't. Actually she couldn't remember a single time in her life in which she had fainted. Was she even capable of fainting? "Stop, please!" She cried out, finally finding the ability to speak. "I won't be difficult, I'll do anything you want, just..." Her voice died. Her heartbeat was banging in her head, her tears were awfully close to coming out, and her body was desperately trying to get itself loose. Oh how she wished she could be home safely in her father's arms.
 
Tal blinked slowly a few times before his eyes focused on the man in front of him again. "Not too far." He took one final bite of the omelet he had been absently working on. He could eat a lot more honestly, he had expended a fair amount of energy yesterday, but for the moment this would do. "I am simply pondering the best way to horribly kill off your previous employers." He leaned back in his chair and gave Archer his brilliant trademark arrogant smile, his eyes showing just a hint of that glowing shimmer they were capable of.

Now at this point, Tal knew what Archer was probably thinking and the thought that Archer might assume he was playing the seduction card amused him greatly. No, he had already learned that such a tactic would be the foolish way to go. Thankfully, Tal had more material things to back up the allure of being his companion and lover. "You will help me out won't you?" From out of goodness knows where he pulled a golden coin and started flipping it with one hand. He was sure Archer was smart enough to get where he was going with this. Tal was a well-known, successful assassin who was known for setting ridiculous prices. And what naturally follows being that is that he was also a very wealthy assassin.

He saw no reason why Archer should turn down what should really be his dream deal. Tal liked him and Ark had his hero worship thing going on so he would happily take the man on as his companion and lover, along with out-paying those pesky twins.
____

Jeremy examined the scalpel for a few moments, just to draw out the tension as he thought before taking the two steps over to the table and peering down at her with a raised eyebrow. "Really? I haven't even touched you yet." He sighed dramatically before putting his elbow on the table and his head in his hand, looking down at her with a return of his unreadable expression. "Here is the thing however. You say pretty words but how am I to trust what you say? You've been lying and difficult since you arrived and Jensen gave you plenty of chances to speak up peacefully." He slipped the edge of the scalpel under the neck of her suit and slowly started cutting it open. "Perhaps I should continue for a while, just to make sure."
 
Archer raised an interested eyebrow. He wouldn't betray his employers just because he found Tal incredibly perfect in every way possible. And he was fairly certain that his companion understood that too. Sure enough, moments later Tal was playing around with a gold coin. There was no mistaking what that meant.

A grin formed on Archer's lips. Most people could only offer him money, as their company usually wasn't what Archer was seeking. But Tal was a completely different matter. He both had the money, the brain and even a body that interested Archer. The chances of him betraying that man was slim. Not only because very few would be able to top Tal's offer. But also because he probably would be killed immediately. Funnily enough, that thought only made him even more keen on doing it.

"Well if you put it like that then I can't see how I could refuse." He chuckled. "However, I do have a small request." He continued. "Don't touch Jeremy. I prefer taking care of him myself."
Archer did betray employers as fast as a better offer came, and usually those betrayals ended with him killing them. Thus he had started to think of it as a goodbye ritual, a way to disconnect from them. Not only did he stab them in the back figuratively, but also literally. At the same time he thanked them for their time together, and sometimes he also thanked them for introducing him to his next target that ended up being his employer. The ritual was not only for himself, but for his ex employer, as that was his way of teaching them to never trust anyone in this world.

___

Quite frankly, she didn't even trust herself with keeping that promise. After all, her mouth usually didn't go along with what her brain told her not to do. But only the thought of being cut open like a recently caught rabbit was enough for her to say anything to get out of the situation. She tried to free her legs by kicking them, but it didn't work. Of course it didn't. Her brain was trying to come up with something to say to convince him to stop, never had she thought up so many ideas in less than a minute, mostly bad ones but ideas non the less.

"I was upset, I didn't mean to.... I won't do it again." Her voice was trembling as she tried to come up with something to stop him. "Tal might try to kill you once he finds out I was hurt." She then warned, still with extremely shaky voice. Aisha wasn't one to take the 'this person will do this towards you if you do this to me' card. But at that instance, there really was nothing else she could do. He was the only one that could save her. For the first time in her life, she did reduce herself to the helpless little girl that waited for her prince. It wasn't something she would be proud of later, but in that moment of desperation, she didn't really care what she used.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Top Bottom
Back