Bound by Deception

29.2 Reflections of an Ex-Assassin

"No, no! Stay for as long as you'd like!" Nela protested. "The Master will be utterly delighted to see you! He's been saying your name in his sleep, you know, poor boy."

"Has he?" Her blush deepened. "Well, I'll see if I can talk him into eating. I..." she paused. "Nela?"

"Yes?"

"May I ask you a...personal question?"

"Of course. What is it?"

"Why...why have you stayed with Sterling?" Aria bit her lip. "I-I mean, he's not exactly rich; sure he makes money from Madame, but with the conditions that he lives in...why...?"

Nela smiled indulgently. "Sterling is a good man, Miss. I've known the boy since he was an infant. I see him as I see my own son. I cannot leave him, even if I needed the money. Besides, Sterling treats us well and gives us whatever we need. Yes, the house may not be in the best condition, but it's doable." She stopped to breathe. "The Master is a loyal man, Miss. No matter what, he stays with you till the end. He can be arrogant at times, but it's just his way of being charming. Of course, it gets him a smack in the head every now and then, but he's a good boy, you know?" She turned and walked away, murmuring to herself. "Yes, he's a good boy..."

Aria watched her go - a woman lost in pleasant memories. No matter how angry she had been with Sterling, Aria had to admit that Nela was right. Everything she had said about Sterling was true, and it only made Aria feel worse about how she had treated him.

She jogged up the steps and dashed down the hallway toward Sterling's bedroom. She neglected to knock and flung the door open, unsurprised when she saw the aforementioned assassin lounging on his bed and entertaining himself with a novel. He turned when he saw her, and his initial disconcert was replaced by a flash of shock the moment his eyes flickered over her drenched frame. Sterling jumped from the bed and rushed toward her, collecting her shivering body in his arms.

"Aria, what the fuck?!" He all but shouted, searching her for any physical wounds. "Where were you? What the hell did you do to yourself?"

Seeing him all worried for her made Aria feel even worse than she already did, and she couldn't manage a reply; instead, she sniffled and let out a choked sob, burying her face in his chest.

"Aria..." his voice became soft.

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry!" She murmured over and over again, digging her forehead into his hard muscles. "I shouldn't have said what I said to you - I was being so crass! I wasn't thinking...I...I'm so sorry."

"Hey, hey calm down." Sterling rubbed her arms, gathering her closer to the warmth his body emanated. He kissed the top of her head and sighed. "I'm sorry too. I shouldn't have yelled at you like that, and in public to add salt to the wound. I'm not upset, Aria, not anymore. It's okay...it's all okay..."

"Madame attacked my family," Aria confessed quietly. "She sent Rita and Vita to kill them. After I made them leave, my aunt kicked me out. She...she said I was a disgrace..."

"That's not true!"

"Don't try to make me feel better. She's right. I am a disgrace, no matter what my uncle and Noah say."

"Aria." Sterling grabbed her chin and forced her to look at him. "Don't bow down to Madame. You're strong, you know that. What happened to keep emotions away from work?"

"I can't keep them away anymore...I'm not strong, I'm weak. I just pretended that I was okay."

"You weren't pretending, Aria. You are strong. You have to tell yourself that. Even in the face of an adversary, you're the strongest. You've slain evil Princes and cunning Lords, Aria! Your work doesn't degrade you because you did it to protect the ones that you loved."

"And look what that got me," she bitterly replied.

Sterling clenched his jaw. "They'll come around, you'll see. It's a process. They'll understand soon that you weren't killing innocent people - at least not directly."

"But I did kill them."

"So did I. We're not innocent, I'll admit, but we did it all for our family and our country." Sterling closed his eyes, momentarily wondering if he should say what was on the tip of his tongue, and finally acquiesced. "I fought to protect Nela and Hudson. I fought to protect you. The moment I met you I fell in love with your fierceness. I thought to myself, That's the girl I'm going to marry. I won't have it any other way unless you feel otherwise." He brought her face up and kissed her lovingly on her mouth. "Your tears make you stronger. You've cleared your head, and you know what you have to do now, don't you? Otherwise, you wouldn't have come to me."

"You know me too well." Aria scoffed, sniffling the last bit of her tears away. She wiped her eyes, feeling them sparkle. "Sterling...I know I'm banned from Hades but I need answers. I need...I need to know what happened on the day of the attack at headquarters. Something isn't adding up with that. If Madame has cameras everywhere - literally everywhere - how did she not catch the culprit? She's hesitating; she's hiding something, Sterling, and I want to know what it is."

Sterling smiled, awestruck at the refreshed girl standing in his arms. "I'll help you," he said. "But first, you need to shower and change. I suppose Nela's bringing you some fresh clothes?"

"Oh, right." Aria's cheeks burned. "I...uh...I forgot. I guess I got caught up in my...speech I guess."

"You do tend to do that to yourself." Sterling grinned. He took the hem of her blouse and peeled it up, tossing it on his bed. "Come on. Let's go get you freshened up."

"With you?" She arched a questioning eyebrow.

"If you don't mind."

"Erm...no, I suppose not." Her palms tingled with girlish excitement that she fought to control. "I hear from Nela that you haven't been eating well?"

"Gosh, it's only been a day," Sterling groaned whilst pulling his pants off. "She's like a mother hen, I tell you."

"She cares for you."

"And I for her." He stood and fluidly slipped his shirt off. He strode toward her and bent, kissing her navel and dragging her skirt down to her ankles. "Fine. I'll eat after I'm done showering, okay?"

"Good. We need to be well refreshed before going to see Madame," Aria said with a small grin.

"Glad you have your wits about you again," Sterling teased. He lifted her sticky, naked body in his arms and brought her into his bathroom. The shower was small but big enough for two, and together they melted underneath the torrent of hot water. Their bodies pressed against each other also provided some heat, and they spent their time in the shower laughing and slathering each other with blobs of soap and prickly loofahs. Aria had heard that it was common for men and women to shower together to have sex, and she was glad that Sterling didn't initiate anything intimate with her. She wanted to keep her brain alive for their upcoming return and enjoyed the harmony and banter that filled the shower along with the smoke.

"I made a mistake in what I told you a day ago," Aria said, wiggling into the simple cotton gown that Nela had found for her.

"What did you make a mistake on?" Sterling asked.

Aria smiled, leaning over the bed and kissing his lips passionately, holding the back of his head as she did so. She pulled away from him and whispered:

"Falling in love with you was the best thing that ever happened to me."

----------------

Our assassins have confessed, but Sterling's putting himself in danger by protecting Aria. Will Margot turn on him too?

VOTE/COMMENT/ENJOY :D