Into the Heart of a Killer: Memoirs of an Assassin

Chapter Seven

Tane looked so happy that I agreed I forgot all about how angry Ceseth would be if he was to find out. Tane leaned forward and kissed my cheek, which left me stunned. Without missing a beat, he grabbed my hand and started to drag me off. It was an adventure I never thought I'd find myself in. Tane was so sweet... There was nothing wrong with him; he didn't have a single imperfection. He was a child any mother would be proud of, and he was so happy to show me off to his mother. What would she see in me? An angel? A monster? All I saw when I looked into the mirror was a monster. I hoped his mother wouldn't see the monstrosity that Ceseth was slowly but surely making me into.

"She's going to love you," Tane said, as if reading my thoughts. "She always wanted a little girl, you know? She told me that if she ever got married again, she would want to have a baby girl. Mother always tells me of her little sister. She said one day I'd get to meet her, but not until I was older."

"Your mother has a sister?" I asked.

"Yeah, she's my aunt."

"I don't have any aunts," I said.

"Doesn't your dad have siblings?" Tane asked, slowing his pace once we were both out of breath.

"I don't think so," I replied. I didn't know whether or not Ceseth had family. I wanted to say no – but he had never said anything about not having a family, so I didn't know. At the same time, Ceseth wanted me to completely forget about my family, so maybe he had done the same thing. Obviously he had had a mother and a father, but I didn't know whether or not he had brothers or sisters. If he did, he probably forgot about them long ago.

"Oh," Tane said. "Well that's okay. I don't have siblings, either."

Tane slowed down even more as a small cottage came into view. It was cute and small, made mostly of wood, with a brick chimney coming off the roof of the house. Billows of smoke puffed out of it lazily and dissipated into the afternoon sky. It wasn't very cold, and it wasn't even fall yet, so I couldn't help but wonder why anyone would need to use a fireplace.

"Mother's making lunch!" Tane exclaimed, and I looked at him in confusion. Ceseth didn't cook things. He didn't really cook things. He had something he heated eggs and meat on, but it didn't smoke like the chimney did.

"What's she making?" I asked.

"I dunno," Tane shrugged. "Let's go find out."

Tane took off without me, and I struggled to keep up with him. Tane was making me run more than Ceseth did. Tane burst through the front door and called out to his mother, but I stayed behind and tentatively peered through the doorway.

I heard Tane and his mother talking happily. She was laughing, and I peered further through the doorway until I could see them both. Tane was in the air, held close to his mother's chest. I couldn't see much of the woman, but she had rich, chocolatey hair that tumbled down her shoulders and back in voluminous curls. I could see Tane's face, and he waved me over. The mother, sensing his movements, turned and looked at me. My jaw dropped. Tane's mother was beautiful.

She had very pale skin, paler than I had ever seen on a woman, but it made her look like a porcelain doll. She had striking blue eyes and pearly white teeth. She was the image of pure perfection. Everything a mother should be. Everything I wanted a mother to be.

"Tane, darling, who is this?" the mother put Tane on the ground and he ran over to me.

"This is Jae!" Tane said, grabbing my hand and pulling me inside. His mother told him to close the door, which he swiftly did, before running back to my side.

"Hello, Jae," she said. "I'm Maresa."

"That's pretty..." I said softly, suddenly feeling very bashful.