ad astra:
to the stars
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THE ASSASSIN AND the interviewer both have something in common: their lives have been shaped entirely by the events of her story.
But where the assassin is irreparably damaged, the interviewer is unbroken. He should scorn her for everything she's done but he can't bring himself to blame her as he looks in his sister's dead eyes. The green reminds him of their father but even that pain has dimmed; he's had time to grieve and move on and she's been locked away with nothing but her guilty conscience.
"I'm not going to tell anyone about this," he says to her softly.
She looks at him curiously. "Then what's the point of this interview?"
"I just wanted to know what happened to my sister — well, both of my sisters."
He thinks he sees a spark of something in her eyes at that, a flicker of life, a brief moment of joy. "I'm hardly your sister."
"You are," he says, covering her hand with one of his own. "I forgive you."
She stares down at their connected hands, her brows furrowed in confusion. "Why? I killed our father, your mother. I can't forgive myself for that."
"Well then, I guess I'll have to do the forgiving for both of us."
And then it happens — slowly, her lips pull up into a soft smile and her entire face transforms. Gone are the mocking grins and sneering remarks and in their place, the person she should have been. Just a girl with kind green eyes, instead of the hardened assassin who refused to feel anything for anyone.
The door behind him suddenly creaks open and a man with a head of dark hair and hazel eyes pops in, raising an eyebrow at the scene in front of him. "Time's almost up."
"Okay Enzo," he replies with a sigh. Turning back to his sister, he squeezes her hand and stands up with a slight hint of reluctance. "I'm heading to Celaeno after this. The president there is pretty enthusiastic about our decision to become a democracy, and she has offered to help us in any way she can."
"That's good," she says, still smiling. "Are you going to be Antares' president?"
"Hell no." Just the thought has him cringing. "But as the former price, I think I have a duty to make sure the process is as smooth as possible."
"Well I hope you guys elect a woman. I didn't attend that stupid Flora and Fauna rally for nothing."
They both laugh, just two siblings now instead of an assassin and an interviewer, and he hopes he has helped relieve the burden forced upon her.
"Will you come visit me?" she asks nervously and he thinks that after being let down so many times, it's amazing she's still willing to believe in him.
"Of course I will."
And as he leaves, that little bit of light in her eyes stays, not exactly a massive change but a start nonetheless.
✦ ✦ ✦
