Ties That Bind

Heart's Blood pt. 1

In the summer of 1434, Ofelia walks the streets of Shasan. She is fourteen and she knows hundreds of ways to kill someone. She has several knives on her person, all hidden, and a lethal dose of poison in her left pocket. She has a target to kill, which is the main thing on her mind.

She listens to the crowd around her, glad to find that talk of her has diminished and that she has faded into the shadows. The townsfolk no longer speak of Princess Ofelia or King Rolfe or King Josten and Tormoira, not when there's newer information to gossip about. Delegan has split in two and everyone is talking about it. The news isn't all that surprising, considering the intel Shelagh has brought back to Winnara.

Marekat and her religion caused a rift the day they set foot in Delegan and it only got worse when Olsen married her, according to Shelagh. So, it's not surprising half the kingdom up and left, but it is startling. It means war. It'll mean war for sure between both halves of Delegan, but Winnara has expressed curiosity as to whether Vulre will take the opportunity to lay waste to another kingdom or whether Valdent will side with the rebels. Just last year, the throne was usurped in Noordi as well.

A bunch of storm clouds, Queen Tarina would call it, if she were alive.

At any rate, they're not talking about Ofelia anymore and she's happy not to have to listen to them say her name. They don't even pronounce her name correctly- they enunciate the wrong parts. Not that it matters- the only one who ever calls her by her name is Shelagh, and even then those occasions are few and far between. It's like a taunt.

Ofelia delivers the poison to the correct target and maneuvers her way through a back alley, only to find that the entrance she came through is no longer empty. She freezes for a moment, because this has never happened and she is unsure what to do. The woman smiles at her and immediately Ofelia is perturbed.

"Hey, little shadow," the woman says. "Finish a job?"

Ofelia does not know whether it is better or worse that the woman knows what she is. Shadows are well-known around Shasan, so it isn't a wild conclusion, but she's not thrilled about it.

"Oh, don't look at me like that. We're sisters."

That makes it worse. If Ofelia has learned anything, it's not to trust a Shadow. She thought there were only two graduated Shadows hanging around Tal Moori, but it's possible that this one is from here, too. Either that, or she's here for a job, maybe even the job that Ofelia got done before she could. That would be unfortunate, but if there's any issues with it, Winnara would take care of them.

"Why are you here?" Ofelia queries, refusing to call her 'sister'. The only one worthy of that title is Joxina, who is six years dead. She will never call anyone her sister again.

"On orders," the woman responds, smiling. She has a pretty smile that actually reaches her purple eyes, unlike most people Ofelia has spoken to. She knows better than to think it's not practiced to perfection.

The woman has light brown skin like her own and the same dark hair like her own, though it lacks curls. Her cheek sports a couple fading scars. Black ram's horns curl out from the woman's temples and her ears come to a subtle point. A half-demon, likely, though it's possible she's full demonic blood despite her more humanish features. A downside of being magic-less and human is it makes it difficult to figure out what one is. It's important to be able to size an opponent up and since she can't smell or sense like many others can, she has to rely on observation and intuition. She's practiced in it, but there's still too much room for error.

Ofelia has nothing else to say, so she nods like she cares and then cautiously slips out of the alleyway, making sure that the woman has little room to whip out a knife and stab her. From this angle, it's not the stabbing that would kill her. Shadows tend to keep their blades freshly poisoned.