Ashes to Ashes | ✓

50k Milestone Special (Pt. 2)

I know I said I wanted to do a bonus story for the second part of the special. However, as I was digging around in my files trying to come up with an idea, I remembered I had already written two oneshots that I think would be fun to share: one is a peek into the past with Felix's master, offering another snapshot of their relationship, while the other is written from Dinah's perspective and has some very fun insights into her character. So without further ado... :D

Fair warning though: both of these do contain MAJOR spoilers. If you haven't finished reading Ashes to Ashes, I would save these for after ;) (The second short story also contains some threads of information that are not revealed until the sequel, Dust to Dust, so... fair warning x2?)

Short Story 1 - "Stay Here"
~Young Felix grapples with a vague memory of the past~

Felix's eyes snapped open, landing on the wood paneled ceiling above his bed. Lungs aching, chest heaving, heart racing. He fought to catch his breath as he shoved up, throwing the blanket aside. Breathe. It was just a dream. The same dream he had seen over and over, haunted by the sharpened emerald gaze of the woman, drilling a hole straight through each time she looked his way. A shiver trailed down his spine. Breathe. It was just a dream.

"Felix, come down here and help me.

"Yes, master." Felix flung himself out of bed in a heartbeat, grabbing the linen shirt from his nightstand and tugging it over his head. No door separated his tiny bedroom from the hall that led to the master's study, but there were three creaky steps that he jumped over on his way out. Wood squeaked beneath his bare feet, old and loose in certain spots. He swung into the study, combing his fingers through his hair.

Leaning over the desk, shoulders already wrapped in a familiar gray cloak, stood his master. He busied himself with a basket of dried herbs, sorting them and setting them aside on the tabletop. He didn't look up as Felix entered, padding softly to his side, but Felix knew the master was aware of his presence. There was nothing that got past his master; it was why he was Furvus's best assassin.

"Pack these up, will you? Those dimrot weeds will need to be ground into powder as soon as I'm done with this." The master waved an absent hand at the pile of dried, brown roots. Their rotting stench had worn off as they had dried, but their poison would still be just as potent when ground.

Felix gathered the roots into a small box, laying them carefully inside. The pads of his fingers tingled at the contact with their prickly bodies, and he shut the weeds away as quickly as possible. He slid the wooden box back into its place on one of the shelves, amid rows and rows of other similar boxes, all painted with the symbol of the poisonous herbs they held inside.

"Is something bothering you? You're distracted this morning."

"I just woke up," Felix admitted, firm but not too much so—like his master had taught him to do when he was concealing the truth. The threads of his nightmare still clung to his mind, pinned in place beneath emerald eyes. Sighing, he returned to the desk at the master's side. "I'll focus. I promise."

"Promises mean nothing, Felix. I want action from you, not words." For once, the master stopped his work and turned to Felix. His silver gaze settled on Felix, as stern as the frown set on his lips, but it didn't reach his eyes. As always, they were cold and distant, like the emotion in his face was nothing but a mask, void of sincerity. "An assassin does not allow his mind to wander. He must always be focused on the task at hand. Am I clear?"

"Yes, master." Felix straightened, fingers curling against his palms so tightly that he felt his nails dig into his skin. "You have my attention. What must I do?"