“Where... am I?” Sinclain slurred as he awoke from a deep, drug induced sleep. Though he was unanswered. He sat alone in chains on a hard stone floor in a damp, dark dungeon filled with skeletal corpses of past captives “Homey” he said sarcastically “could do without the draft but it’s quite a cute little cell”

“Good to know you like it” growled a female voice “cause you’re never leaving” it was a rather rough looking female High Elf with an eyepatch over her right eye.

“You must be room service” Flood mocked “Have you come to fluff my pillow?” the woman pinned Sinclain’s shoulder to the wall roughly

“You’re gonna die here you murdering bastard” she growled

“Good for you, it’s always nice to have goals” he said, wincing at the pressure of her hand on his wounded shoulder

“Do you think this is some kind of joke!?” she yelled, slamming harder against the cell wall

“That depends, do you think it’s funny?” he laughed.

“You’re not gonna talk your way out of this one you murderer! The only reason you’re still alive is so I can have the satisfaction of making you suffer before you die”

“Have we met before? People don’t tend to hate me this much unless I’ve met them before” he said in response “Oh, wait, I remember you! It was a little tough placing you without your eye. How is that whole, ‘missing an eye’ thing going by the way?” he replied. The woman then kicked him across the face

“Insult me one more time you filthy assassin”

“Bitch”

She kicked him even harder across the face and continued to beat him while he was chained to the wall

“You’ve got quite the mouth on you, we can fix that though” she said retrieving a needle and some thread

 

“I’ve come with your food” called the voice of a young girl into Flood’s cage “Please come out, I mean you no harm, I just bring you your meals…” she said. Flood slowly approached the gate but was restricted due to the beating he received “Oh god… what in the world did she do to you?” she said in shock “And your mouth, they sewed it shut!” the girl unlocked the cell and entered, shutting the door behind her “Please come here” she said approaching Flood, though he showed reluctance “You very well can’t eat like that, please come here” she pulled him closer “I’m just gonna cut the threads” she said pulling out a small utility knife. She then carefully began to cut the thread and free his chapped bloodied mouth. “Okay now I’m gonna carefully pull out the” she began to say, but it was too late as Flood was already forcefully pulling the sutures out of his lips. He then heaved over and began coughing and vomiting up blood.

“Thank you miss” he said in a chapped voice

“You sound terribly thirsty, here, drink your water and eat your food” she said pushing a tray of gruel and bread towards him with a wooden cup of water. Sinclain looked at the food for a moment

“No”

“No? But you seem so weak and hungry and thirsty”

“They put sedatives in the food, muscle relaxers, make me easier to torture, less able to retaliate” he said, attempting to stand, but his chains were too short to allow that range of motion.

“Then here, drink some of my water, I drew it myself, no sedatives here!” she said eagerly. Sinclain quickly accepted and greedily guzzled down the pure, clean water. When he was finished he let out a satisfied sigh

“You are very kind mam… how old are you?” he asked, returning her canteen

“Sixteen”

“Awful young to be helping prisoners” he chuckled “You’re not a high elf though” he said “your elvish tattoo, the one of the rose on under your ear, you are Alderan born”

“Yes, very observant, I am a refugee, the king lets me work here”

“High elves are fools” Sinclain added “your king is a lowlife who seeks to subjugate everyone under the same tyranny that he claims to attack”

“Please do not speak so harshly of our king!”

“He’s not my king” Sinclain said “Tell me, have you ever been outside the city walls?”

“No, it’s dangerous out there”

“It’s dangerous everywhere” Sinclain replied “What are you a refugee from?” then suddenly Sinclain felt a slight tremor underneath him

“I don’t want to talk about that”

“Listen, you’re not a maid in his castle, you’re a slave. He is ingenuine, this crusade on the ‘chaotic Elven’ is just an excuse to wrest more power”

“You don’t know that!”

“But I do…” he said, silencing her “Why do you think I’m here?” they sat in the tense silence for a moment “I’ll ask once more. If you wanted to leave, could you even do that? If not you’re as much a prisoner as I am. Elven are born to be free, anything else is an injustice” he said

“I’ll help you… I’ll help you get out, but I don’t know if I’m ready to leave” she said reluctantly as she freed him from his restraints. “I never asked your name”

“Sinclain… Sinclain Flood” he said, massaging his sore wrists

“Allison Fairview” she replied with a slight curtsey. She was rather meek in appearance, with brown stringy hair and a thin frame, she was dressed as a maid and walked about with a weak, almost pained smile.

“Allison!” The rough elf from before called “How dare you! Do I need to punish you!?” she said entering the cell, locking the door behind her. Sinclain stood and placed himself between the elf and Allison. He was weak and injured, his only hope was to get the drop on her, he had to lunge close enough to snap her neck, though he risked a high chance of meeting the sharp end of her spear. “Thirty lashes across the arse for this treason, I’d ought to kill the both of you right now!”

“No!! Please!... Don’t hurt me! Sinclain I’m scared” she cried, hiding behind him. This was not looking good… he would have an extremely short window to kill this woman. Then suddenly something like a dark shadow darted past him and in the blink of an eye the one eyed elf had been torn completely in half as if momentarily mawled apart by a wild bear

“What the Hell!?”

“Oh no… It has happened again… We need to go, now!” Allison said with extreme concern and fear

“What the hell did you do to her!?” he said in disbelief, examining the body “I mean, I’m not complaining, but gods allmighty, you did a number!” he then searched the mangled body

“What are you doing we have to leave”

“Here we are!” he said retrieving a pocket ledger from the corpse “Property of Beatrice Lee. she was my target. Chief interrogator, torturer and advisor to the High Elf King. the only way to find her was to declare an attempt on the king’s life and get caught” he said pocketing the ledger “A lot easier than I thought”

“You don’t understand we need to go, you need to go” she said, pulling on his arm as the sound of an animal growling filled the room. Flood scanned the room but could find no trace of the unseen beast.

“I suppose you’re right” he said using the dead torturer’s keys to unlock the cell

“We have to find a way to sneak out of town, through the main gates” she said, stammering with her words

“No” he replied

“But it’s the only way out!”

“There’s some Ivy growing on the wall due east of here. It grows all the way to the top… we’ll climb over the city wall” he said as he searched for any kind of weapon for him to use

“You had this all planned”

“I planned to get caught and break the torturer’s neck. I did not anticipate you ripping her into pieces. But it works”

“I thought I had it under control… I thought…” she said sobbing

“Here we are!” Flood exclaimed “my stuff” he pulled from a chest in the corner a belt full of knives and blades as well as any number of gadgets and tool. “My swords, my crossbow, poisons, snares, and best of all” he said pulling out a pair of sharp, gruesome looking obsidian Ulaks. They were two identical blades that curved completely, almost into the shape of the number six. He kissed the flat of one blade and fastened them to his belt. “Let’s get out of here” he said as he walked over to the dungeon entrance and kicked in the door

 

The dungeon sanctum was where Sinclain had been held prisoner. Naturally it was the deepest point in the subterranean castle grounds. To make it to ground level they’d have to navigate an ungodly amount of twisting underground corridors.

“I never noticed before… but the Elven tattoo under your ear… it’s a wilted rose.” he said, further scrutinizing the girl

“S-so?”

“Who are you really?” he asked

“W-what are you t-talking about?!” she said, shaking in terror. Sinclain grabbed her wrist and felt her pulse… it was weak, her skin was cold and rough like a corpse… a sensation that Sinclain was too familiar with…

“You are not a normal Elven… what are you?” he asked again

“W-...What if… the body you were born in… wasn’t always yours?” she stammered. Sinclain stared at her in confusion.

“Wha-”

“You!” a new voice shouted “Sinclain has escaped! Sound the alarm!” a guard shouted from the end of the corridor

“Damn it all!” Sinclain cursed, sprinting at the guard. The guard moved to strike with his sword but Flood kicked the blade from his hand and kicked him to the ground. He dashed the guard’s head against the cobble floor, killing him instantly.

“What do we do now?!” Allison cried. Then the sound of bugles echoed up and down the corridors.

“We follow the horns. They’re trying to warn their king, it’ll lead us to ground level!”

“But there will be soldiers!”

“How unfortunate for them” he said coldly, brandishing throwing knives between each finger.

 

As Allison predicted, legions of armed soldiers had assembled to stop Flood. They charged with conviction and confidence but they quickly realized that this underground corridor would become their grave, as Sinclain precisely slaughtered the soldiers with skill and ease. With a single motion he flung a volley of throwing blades into the vital arteries of several warriors, leaving them on the cold stone floor, shivering in their own blood. Using his Ulaks Sinclain parried the swords of several soldiers with ease. He toyed with the scarred soldiers as he deflected their every strike with this curved knives. He eventually grew bored and slit two of their throats. Soon enough the corridor was littered with dead soldiers.

“I was hoping to get a workout today” he said as he drew a match and a cigar from his pocket. He lit it and took a deep drag before cleaning the cutting edges of his Ulaks.

“Y-you… you killed them…” Allison said in shock

“Huh? Didn’t think it’d bother you, they way you ripped apart that warden earlier…” he sighed and wrapped her head in his arm in a half hug, shielding her eyes from his handiwork “I guess it can’t be helped” he said outloud. He looked down at her. He could kill her… come to think of it he should. She’s obviously dangerous, if anything he’d be doing her a favor, she’d seen too much to live an innocent life, she had been blackened, by Sinclain, the High Elves, the whole world… all it would take is a swift twist, and her neck would snap right there in his arms, she wouldn’t even feel it…

…

…

But he couldn’t do it.

“It’s alright Allison… it’s going to be fine. I’m protecting you… I won’t let you die” he said softly, stroking the back of her head. But he had this nagging feeling in his head, like he was lying to her. “Next time just cover your eyes… alright?” she sucked back a sob

“Alright”

“C’mon, let’s keep moving” he said motivating her to continue. He couldn’t remember being innocent… for as long as he could remember he had been a monster, a doll built to kill. He just kept telling himself… over and over again ‘everyone’s just a villain in someone else’s story’. Everyone’s evil to someone else. But this… for some reason his go to phrase wasn’t working as well as it usually did. From the day that he became an assassin… if you can call killing for food assassin work. Innocence was something he never knew and mercy in his mind was simply a swift death.

Sinclain kicked down the door leading out of the underground corridors and took in the contrast of the bright red and gold palace halls compared to the grey stone walls.

“This way” he said motioning towards a broom closet.

“What are we doing in here?” Allison asked, not understanding the purpose of being crammed in a closet.

“Catching my breath” he replied “What were you saying… about your body not belonging to you?” for a moment there was a sad silence

“According to my parents… when I was ten I drowned in a pond while out playing… or so they thought… a year later I wandered into the cottage my mother and father lived in, not remembering who I was or who they were… I still don’t remember anything from before the day I found them… apparently, I changed… I was practically a different person from the girl that drowned that year prior. I didn’t like the same food, the same clothes, the same books. I had changed completely. After all these years I don’t know if I even am that girl who drowned six years ago. Like I was born, but I’m using a body that used to belong to someone else…”

“What happened to them… your parents?” Allison started to convulse and ache

“I can’t remember!” she groaned

“It’s okay, don’t push yourself.” Sinclain said, comforting her. He wanted to ask how she tore apart that guard but it seemed he had gotten as far as he could at the moment. “I’m ready, let’s go” he said as he slowly eased the door open “Stay silent and behind me” he whispered as he watched a guard walk by on patrol. Sinclain silently ran up behind him and leapt over his shoulder grabbing his face and neck in a hold. When he landed the guard was panicking and lifted onto Flood’s back. Flood tugged hard and broke the guard’s neck. He then heard the footsteps of another soldier round the corner. Quietly Sinclain ran to meet him and grabbed his mouth keeping him silent as he snapped his neck backwards. He then lifted the two bodies and threw them into the broom closet.

“Quick and quiet, just how I like’em” he said with pride in his efficiency

“How did you learn this stuff? Who taught you?” Allison asked in a whisper

“Practice makes the best tutor” he replied “I was orphaned at birth, grew up a street rat in the slums outside Cascade. I learned how to kill to feed myself. Eventually I got good at it”

“Oh, I’m sorry”

“Don’t be, you had nothing to do with it” he replied “When life deals you a bad hand you’ve gotta just take it and run, no matter what” then suddenly more guards started to approach “This one’s gonna get a little messy” he said scanning his environment. He saw a long sturdy set of red curtains leading all the way to the rafters. He scaled the curtain quietly as Allison ran to hide around the corner. There were four of them in a tight group. Sinclain had to be quick otherwise things would get messy fast. He dropped down onto them, driving his Ulaks into the necks of two soldiers, they died before they realised they were being attacked. Sinclain then pulled a crossbow from his belt and shot another in the head. The final guard attempted to attack while Flood’s back was turned but his strike was stopped by Flood who grabbed and broke his wrist, causing him to drop his blade. He then turn around and stabbed him in the ribs with a concealed dagger.

“Coast is clear” he called to Allison

“Do you think…” she began to say but stammered off

“Do I think what?” he said back to her, though was met with only silence. He grinned “Nothing you say could offend me Allison, out with it”

“Do you think you could teach me how to fight some time?” she asked. This shocked Sinclain, never had someone wanted to learn from him. Never had anyone trusted him “I’m sorry, it was a dumb question”

“No it wasn’t” he patted her head “As soon as we’re out of here I’ll teach you some of my best tricks” he said with an inviting grin. Allison smiled

“I can’t wait!” she smiled.

“Well…” Sinclain drolled “now that you are technically my pupil you should probably know…” he pulled out a small notebook from his pocket “That I have a second target in this castle”

“A second target?”

“Yup. one mister Darius Yinn, chief High Elf assassin” he said as he flipped through his notebook. “We assassins don’t like having competition. Technically he’s a personal score, I’m not getting paid to off him, but while we’re here we might as well, right?” Allison became concerned

“Is he anything like you?” she asked

“That’s what we’re here to find out” Sinclain replied as he stowed his little notebook. “Nothing that the wonder duo of Allison and Sinclain can’t handle” he smirked. Allison giggled at his remark.

 

The castle halls were strangely vacant, for nearly twenty minutes Sinclain saw nary a maid nor a soldier. The whole place reeked of a trap. and to his own dismay he was right. The hallway widened into a massive foyer, complete with fountains, chandelier, and marble staircases. Standing in the landing of the staircase was a young Elven man with long blonde hair.

“Sinclain Flood, I must say, your handiwork is impressive” he said in a patronizing tone. His eyes were a murky brown, his long Elven ears riddled with scars, his face lacking any kind of elvish tattoo. He was tall, with broad shoulders and wore expensive clothes, like that of a nobleman

“Am I supposed to be flattered?”

“I suppose not” he replied “You are a fool though, wandering so aimlessly into a killer’s den. You’ve made the task of killing you far too easy” he smirked

“Okay Darius, why don’t you come down here and I’ll show you exactly how ‘easy’ I am to kill!”

“You know, I would love to” Darius said, snapping his fingers as legions of archers and armored foot soldiers filled the room, surrounding them “But I know you too well to fight fair. Besides, it’s ill form for the host to entertain his guest too early in the party” darius laughed “Well then, entertain them”

Sinclain sighed “dammit” he groaned. There was no way for him to escape and he was far too outnumbered for his own liking. “Psst… Allison” he whispered “I need you to do your thing”

“What?! I can’t, no, I-I” she shouted becoming extremely flustered.

“There are too many of them, I can’t do this alone I’m not asking you Allison, Im telling you that if you don’t do something we will die” he affirmed

“Archers ready” one high elf called

“Allison…”

“Aim”

“Any time now…”

“Prepare to…”

“Allison!”

“Fire!” the elf order as the archers lining the room. The arrows ripped through the air and came whizzing towards them, but suddenly the air became thick and rancid, and the arrows stopped mid flight…

…

The room was silent… the lights, dimmed and tinted red. In mere seconds a tick of dread had nestled into the chest of every man in the room. And the longer the room stayed quiet, the greater the panic in their hearts grew. The silence slowly surrendered to a low hum, which in turn grew into a thick, syrupy, menacing growl, like an animal so massive that its call was like a forest of creaking oaks, low and all surrounding. A red mist hung on the floor like a blight, and clings to everyone like the smell of ash and decay.

“Allison…?” Sinclain said, though his words fell on deaf ears for she paid him no mind.

 

An apparition began to appear, gradually bringing its incomprehensible form into existence. The creature was shaped like a tall, lean bear; but stood on two feet. Despite having the body of a feral beast it had no fur on its form. Its skin, smooth and seamless like bone. Its arms were long and powerful, the knuckles of its massive claws resting on the ground like a crouched ape. Its claws were something ferocious, massive and sharp. As if every aspect was meticulously designed to rip human flesh with gruesome efficiency, with thin bone like fingers and bulbous knuckles. It’s limbs however were disembodied, detached from its torso, floating in mid air.

And its head… its hellish face. The head was definitively that of a canine skull, devoid of skin and fur entirely; mostly just bone like smoothness, with red muscles strewn about, for instance in the crook of its mouth. The left side of its face however, was completely engulfed in a dark red fire, so dense that Sinclain could not discern whether the “left side of its face” even existed. Its massive jaws were filled with horrifically sharp and jagged teeth, with a forked devil’s tongue in its maw. And its eye… piercing and overflowing with an unshakable sense of anger. The monster stirred, its hateful ruby eye darting from elf to elf. It lumbered about the room, sizing up the High Elves.

“What the hell…” Sinclain said with shock and horror. The monster made the first strike, moving with incredible speed, biting a guard in half in its wolf like jaws. Its cumbersome arms slamming into guard after guard, ripping some of them apart and bludgeoning many of them to death; all while Allison stood there in a trance. The soldiers began to retreat as quickly as possible while the monster ripped apart their allies viciously.

 

“Allison!” Sinclain called “Allison, it’s over! They’re gone!” he said, grabbing her shoulder. At his touch the monster spun its head around to stare hatefully at Sinclain. “Allison, I need you to wake up now…” he said as the Monster approached “Allison call it off” he said again “Allison!” then with a start she awoke and the monster vanished from sight. Sinclain hadn’t felt so terrified in years. Just goes to show that there’s always something out there to scare you. “What was that?!”

“Its name is Malice” she said somberly “A beast that came from my mind”

“Your mind?”

“Everyone has darkness in some quarter of our souls… this is the purest form of that blight in corporeal form” she replied

“Why… why do you have this thing?”  

“I don’t know… It tries to hurt me sometimes… but it’s a part of me, a fraction of my soul.” she began to cry

“Shhh, come here, don’t cry” he said, holding her in a hug

“I’m scared Sinclain” she cried

“Everyone is… But I’ll protect you… I’ll keep you safe” he said, a tear of his own sneaked out of the corner of his eye. He had never cried before and he was taken aback by the sudden wet droplet on his cheek. He felt this strange, alien sort of warmth deep in his chest, something cutting away at the melancholy he felt his whole life. But never did he anticipate it making him even sadder. “C’mon, we have to keep moving” he said, grabbing her hand in his.

“What about Darius?” She asked

“Forget him, I can always come back” he grinned. It was urgent that he keep her safe, Darius could wait.

 

“Damned assassin” Darius cursed “Couldn’t have planned a worse time to killed me. And what the hell is that girl!?” he grunted

“What of the attack sir” one of his lackeys asked

“We’ll stage our coup later, Sinclain flood is a dangerous variable that we cannot overlook, he is to not leave this city alive!” he slammed his fist against the wall. Today of all days, the day when Darius kills the elf king and becomes the ruler of Tasmar. Why today? The coup will wait, the coming Flood would not. Darius composed himself and straightened his attire. “You die today Flood” he proclaimed as he stormed down the staircase.

 

“Everyone convene in the main foyer, no one leaves or enters this castle until Sinclain Flood is dead! Secure the first floor, kill any unregistered servants who may be Sinclain in disguise!” an officer ordered as soldiers rushed to the first floor

“Damn” Sinclain said, as he listened through the wall of the adjacent room “They have guards at every chokepoint thus far. Darius’s doing no doubt”

“Can you fight them all?”

“Hundreds of prepared soldiers? No chance”

“Maybe I could…”

“No” Sinclain said, shutting her down

“I can keep better control of it, I swear!” she pleaded

“I’m not going to use you like a tool!” he exclaimed. She turned quiet “You’re not some weapon for me to use. You seemed so vulnerable and in pain last time… I’m not forcing you into that again” he said softly. “There must be another way”

“Do you have any grappling apparatuses?” she asked

“Ummm, yeah I do…” he said producing a small rope and gadget

“The throne room directly faces the wall we need to climb. If we break the window we can swing to the wall and cling onto the ivy”

“Now you’re thinking like an assassin” Sinclain said, rubbing her head. “To the throne room”

“Sinclain…” Allison muttered

“Yeah?”

“My parents… the way they died…” allison began to choke up. Sinclain sighed

“You don’t have to tell me Ally” he patted her head

“They were having an argument with some of the king’s men… they started fighting with them… I was so upset… I...I…”

“Malice hurt them” Sinclain muttered

“Malice killed them… I don’t want to hurt you Sinclain.”

“You won’t. I’m tougher than I look. And so are you” he affirmed “Don’t give in so soon. We’ve still got a whole lot of living to do” he smiled at her, and she smiled back. She wrapped a hug around his neck.

“You’re a good person Sinclain” she whispered. Sinclain’s eyes gave way to tears. Even he didn’t think himself good. A monster like him, good… he cried ever so slightly

“Is something wrong Sinclain?”

“No… no” he wiped his tears aside “Just not used to playing the good guy” he held her hand. “Come on. Let’s go home”

 

The throne room was decorated in gold and ivory, with crystal chandeliers and a golden throne shaped like a huddle of humans struggling to support the sitter. The room was vacant, all spare for the man sitting in the throne. The Elf King.

“How nice of you to join us Sinc-” he began to say before a single throwing knife was lodged in his neck. He gurgled for a moment, choking on his own blood and then fell limp. His crimson blood streaked across the golden statues below him.

“Too easy” he groaned

“I’d agree” another voice echoed. It was Darius. He strolled to the throne and pushed the king’s body to the ground forcefully with his foot. He sat regally in the chair and picked up the kings fallen crown and placed it on his own brow. “You know what the funny thing is? I was going to kill him today.” he chuckled “I had an elaborate coup prepared and everything. And what do you do? You stroll in and put a knife in his throat” he sighed “Though it works better for me. After being brutally murdered by an Elven assassin the trusted advisor that I am, takes the burden of ruler”

“So I get to kill two kings in one day” Sinclain mocked. Darius stood from his seat

“I’ve killed legions of people to get to this point. There isn’t a vacant pit in hell deep enough for my sins. I’ve spilled enough blood to drown a city! You think that I will die easily?! You’d have better luck bringing back the old king” he walked towards Sinclain, drawing twin gladius’ from his belt.

“Talk is cheap Darius” Sinclain drew his Ulaks “Kill me and then I’ll believe you” he grinned. The two crashed against one another, their display of bladesmanship and martial arts filling the room with excitement and blood lust.

“Why keep the girl?” Darius asked as their blades met, sweat percolating on their brows.

“The hell are you talking about?”

“If you planned on using her power you’d have done it already. And she’d be a poor human shield, I’d order the both of you slain in an instant” he shouted “What’s your angle?” the stepped away from each other

“Who says I have an angle?” Sinclain said, taking offense. Darius simply laughed

“You are an assassin! A cold blooded sack of meat designed to slit throats without a moment’s hesitation! Creatures like us always have an angle”

“I guess that means I’m not like you”

“Regardless you are not going to stop me”

“I was going to just leave you know” Sinclain grunted as he caught one of the swords in the curve of his blade. “You could have just let me leave and kept your stupid kingdom!”

“You don’t think I know this?” Darius punched Sinclain in his wounded lip “You are a random factor, an unpredictable adversary, a threat. Unlike you I do not take chances.”

“Risk and reward Darius. Living safe isn’t living at all”  Sinclain grunted, rubbing the blood from his lips

“That is where we differ. I only take risks I know I will win.” he walked towards Sinclain menacingly. Then suddenly the room filled with archers and crossbow wielding soldiers. “I come prepared”

“You’re a goddamn coward!” Sinclain cursed

“I’m a realist, and a winner” Darius smirked “Give my regards to the old king. Tell him his crown is in good hands”

“I’m sorry Sinclain” Alison whispered

“Wha?” he began to say before Malice manifested behind her. The beast scooped her up in one hand and grabbed Sinclain in the other.

“Hold on!” she yelled as the beast barrelled towards Darius. The elf leapt out of the way as archers unloaded bolt after bolt into the beast’s back. Malice crashed through the window and leapt towards the city wall. It dug its claws into the stone and proceeded to climb. Darius then produced a crossbow and fired a single arrow into Alison’s shoulder. Malice cried in pain as it leapt over the stone wall and into the dense forest beyond it before dissipating into nothingness.

 

“Allison?” Sinclain said, jarred from the sudden movements “Allison!” He shouted as he ran to her. She was convulsing on the ground, her eyes wide in agony. “Oh god, no! Allison!” he cradled her.

“It hurts Sinclain…” he grunted. He pulled the arrow from her back and notice the black liquid on its tip.

“Basilisk venom…” he groaned “Don’t worry, I’ll carry you to a doctor, you’ll be fine”

“No Sinclain” she said in complete pain “I can feel myself dying… please… It hurts too much” she cried. Tears ran down Sinclain’s cheeks like an open faucet.

“Don’t talk like that! I can save you… please!”

“I wont make it… It hurts so much. Please Sinclain… show me mercy…” she said. His tears flowed faster. She wanted him to put her down

“No...no”

“Sinclain it hurts too much! I want to die Sinclain! Don’t let this agony grow any worse! Please!” she cried. He held her head in a tender hug, just as he did before, his tears splashing against her scalp like rain.

“You’re a good person Sinclain” she said with a sob… he didn’t believe her.

…this is how some else’s story ended… and another began…