Sub Rosa

Stepping off of the gangplank, Lucy was pleasantly surprised to find that West Harbor was far more attractive a city than she had originally pictured. That’s not to say it was as charming or quaint as her hometown was, it rather wasn’t, but the neon lights and large billboards had an indescribable appeal to them. It reminded her starkly of the red light district in the Dathines, which, by the way, was in no way similar to the red light district in Citadel. West Harbor, much like the red light district in the Dathines, was full of outlet clothing stores and fast food joints. Casinos were littered all around the area, and with them, card sharks, gamblers, ladies of the night, and anyone else just looking for a good time.
Pierce, once again, placed his hand at the small of Lucy’s back as he escorted her through the mean streets of Capanahel. They really weren’t all that mean, but, if there was a time Lucy was glad to have an assassin by her side, this was probably one of them. It didn’t take long for Pierce and Lucy to reach a seaside resort and casino, one of the more lavish looking ones, in fact, by the name of Vita Sub Rosa. A bellhop approached them, smiling brightly.
“If I may, miss?” The young man asked. Lucy thought he couldn’t have been older than eighteen.
“Oh, I’m alright,” She smiled gratefully at the boy. “Thank you, though.”
Lucy noticed a small blush crest the bellhop’s face and began to feel a touch embarrassed on his behalf.
“Now you’ve done it.” She heard the assassin say as soon as they were out of the boy’s earshot.
“What have I done?” Lucy looked curiously up at Pierce. Her eyes drifted towards his jaw, where the startings of a beard prickled his skin. She couldn’t help but notice that the stubble was awfully attractive on the man. Now that’s not to say Pierce was attractive, he wasn’t, because attractive men were gentlemen and gentlemen always slept on the floor when a lady needed the bed. So, things could be attractive on Pierce, but that didn’t mean Pierce was attractive. He wasn’t.
“You’ve given him hope.” Pierce practically snorted a laugh. “A smile like that? He’ll never get over you now.”
“I think you’re over-exaggerating.” The mage dismissed his comment.
“We’ll see who’s right when he presents you with a rose and begs you to take his virginity.”
“Ugh.” Lucy looked back at the kid, who was helping a family of five with their belongings. “You’re so crude.”
The mage couldn’t help but think that if the boy was just a few years older, around twenty-one, he would be just her type. Tall, lean, dazzling eyes…
“Don’t tell me you’re considering it?” Pierce asked with a slightly disgusted expression.
“Of course not!” The mage responded quickly. “But, well, were he a few years older...”
“He’s probably not that many years your younger than I am your senior.”
Whipping her head back at the assassin, Lucy gave him a scrutinizing look.
“How old are you?” She wondered aloud.
“How old do you think?” He asked curiously.
To be perfectly honest, Lucy hadn’t thought about it.
“Twenty-four?” She ventured a guess.
“Twenty-five.” He corrected. “And you’re what, nineteen?”
“Nineteen?” Lucy was shocked. “I don’t seriously look nineteen, do I?”
Pierce shrugged. “I’m not the one attracting fifteen year olds.”
Huffing, Lucy corrected the assassin. “I’m twenty-two, thank you very much.”
The assassin waved off her comment before leaving her with one final request while he turned to the check-in table. “Watch the bags, will you?”
Lucy sat down on a couch in the lobby, with the suitcases, taking a moment to consider how young she actually looked. It was true, she did have a cute heart-shaped face and those wide brown eyes that made most men think of innocence, but generally the blonde felt that her demeanor was too, well, old to belong to a nineteen year old. Then again, she had been in a pillow fight the previous night.
She watched the assassin negotiate with the front desk and began to wonder what other assumptions he had made about her. Part of the reason she had been so successful the past three months is because she truly did look the part of a secretary. Pierce likely thought she was the cookie-cutter, husband-seeking young lady she appeared to be. This was, in almost every situation she could think of, a good thing, but she couldn’t help but wonder how his opinion would change if he discovered who she really was. Would he be impressed? Would he respect her more? Or would he just hate her, because of a silly family feud?
A rough voice interrupted her thoughts.
“Let’s go.” The assassin said as he picked up a suitcase and headed for the elevators.
Lucy followed behind, rushing to catch up with the man who took such long strides.
As the duo entered the elevator, Lucy noticed Pierce was carrying a case of poker chips.
“Figures you would be a gambler.” She muttered.
“Veronica bought these for us.” He added with a smirk, “It would be rude not to use them.”
“You could just cash them in.” She offered.
The assassin laughed. “And where’s the fun in that?”
“It’s better than losing all of it.” She frowned disapprovingly.
“Please.” Pierce pretended to look offended. “I would never. I’ll have you know I’m a respectable gambler.”
“There’s nothing respectable about it.” Lucy retorted. “I bet, sooner or later, some asshole you owe money to, because you aren’t a good gambler, will come around and steal the little you do earn.”
“Just because I wasn’t a good gambler long ago doesn’t mean I’m not good anymore.” He argued. “Besides, the fellas I owe money to are long gone.”
“You killed them?” She asked, shocked. But, considering his profession, it was not all that surprising.
“Or scared them off. Most of them leave me alone.” He answered casually.
“What do you mean most of them?”
“There’s one or two I haven’t seen in awhile, haven’t had the chance to talk sense into.”
“Oh so you’d rather kill them than pay them what you owe?” She raised an eyebrow.
The assassin just smirked. “Of course.”
“See, this is why I don’t gamble. I’ll probably shop or something.”
“With what money?”
She glared at him solemnly. Sure, she carried fifteen silver in a concealed pouch in her bra (neath thing, that), but those fifteen silver were specifically for emergencies, not shopping.
“I guess you’ll have to gamble too.” The assassin added with a laugh.
Lucy frowned, not much soothed by his comment as the elevator ground to a halt on the 10th floor. The duo stepped out and Pierce led the way to their suite.
Upon entrance, Lucy was duly impressed by the suite Veronica had booked for them. At the south end there was a little kitchenette and an island counter. Directly across from the door was a balcony, closed and shielded by gossamer curtains. A loveseat was placed against the north wall, and next to it, a sliding door marked the entrance to what Lucy could only assume was the bedroom.
Lucy walked over to the door and pushed it open to reveal a plushly decorated bed. On the east side of the chamber she saw yet another door, this one open, that led to a bathroom containing one furnishing Lucy was in great need of at that moment: A jacuzzi tub.
Sighing contently, Lucy returned to the main room to announce her plans for the day to the assassin.
“I’m going to take a bath.” She said decidedly.
The assassin raised an eyebrow.
“A bubble bath?” He asked with a knowing smirk.
“I would like a room key, Pierce.” She returned fire. After catching the key he tossed her, she added, “And no, you may not join me.”
“A shame.” He commented. “But I wasn’t planning to anyway. The poker hall calls to me.”
Waving him off, she muttered. “Delinquent.”

After a soothing bath, Lucy spent the better part of two hours turning over every inch of the hotel room in search of the mysterious book Pierce had lifted two nights earlier. The assassin, smart man that he proved to be, had not given her so much as a single hint to what the book might be named, what it might have been about, or who might have written it. Had she known any one of those things, finding the tome would have been as simple as casting a spell.
But he hadn’t given her a single clue, and so, after two hours, Lucy allowed herself a break. She had ten days to find the tome, there was no need to rush things. Until about six in the evening, when Lucy began to grow hungry, she had her nose stuck in one of the books Veronica had left in the suitcase. In fact, she’d read it during the morning too, riveting as it proved to be. The book was a curious one, a story about a duchess and a mage who saved the world from the loss of magic. Apparently it was based on a true story, which Lucy found amazing, because who could imagine it, a world without magic? Without magic there would be no elevators, and without elevators Lucy would have to climb down ten flights of stairs to go bother Pierce in the poker hall.
Nonetheless, around six in the evening, as Lucy was beginning to get hungry and thought she might trouble Pierce for food money, a thought struck her. It was so obvious, her new plan, that she was embarrassed she hadn’t thought of it earlier.
Stumbling into the poker hall wearing a sleek purple dress that the mage wouldn’t dare to have worn in the Dathines (it cut off at the knee), Lucy scanned the room for Pierce. It took a minute, but she found him sitting at the Hotseat, probably scamming some poor lad. Though, to be fair, the Hotseat was solely about scamming people. It would suit her needs just fine.
“Stop!” The young lad blurted as she came into earshot. “Back of that card!” He added, pointing to the card in Pierce’s hand. The assassin showed him, smirk playing at his lips.
The young man seemed defeated, and let Pierce play through the trick. At the end, the assassin said, “That was your last call, buddy. Time to pay up.”
Snorting, the lad slammed a gold piece down on the table, stood up, and walked away in a huff. Lucy looking curiously at the man before sitting in his place, crossing her arms, and sizing up Pierce with a wary brow.
“I only play for paying customers.” The assassin smiled.
“I can pay.” She replied easily.
“Oh?” He questioned. “With what?”
She stared at him blankly for a moment, knowing exactly what was running through that perverted head of his. “I will pay you in truths.”
The assassin scratched his chin pensively before replying, “Very well, I accept. You know the rules to this game?”
“Of course.” Who didn’t? It was a simple game of fool or get fooled. She just had to catch
him before he finished the trick.
“Excellent.” He shuffled the cards easily. “We’ll start off easy, eh, Jenn?”
“By all means.”
Cool blue eyes regarding her intently, he stated, “The way this trick works is I’m going to
show you the top card of my deck and place it face down on the table. Then, when I snap my fingers, it will have been replaced with a new card. Simple enough?”
It took all the willpower she had not to smirk. Took her for a novice, did he?
As soon as Pierce lifted the card, she said, “Pause.”
The assassin smiled.
His double lift was impressive, Lucy had to say. If she didn’t know what to look for, she wouldn’t have noticed it. Unfortunately for the assassin, she knew the game too well. The default of three guesses to detect the trick was too much, really. If Pierce wanted any chance of winning, he’d have to limit her to only one.
“You’ve got two cards there, Pierce.”
He chuckled, setting the deck down. “I underestimated you. What do I owe you then, a truth?”
“One truth.” She affirmed. Then, after pausing a moment, she requested, “Name one thing you’re scared to death of.”
What she really wanted to ask was ‘what’s the name of that book you lifted’, but she had to start out easy. Coax him out. Butter him up. Then she could hit him with the hard questions.
“I’m afraid of snakes.”
Lucy couldn’t help but laugh. Pierce, afraid of snakes? Ridiculous.
“I don’t let it stop me but, you know.” He shot her a disgusted look. “Those beasts are terrifying.”
“Oh, I don’t disagree.” She responded with a taunting look. “Completely horrible.”
Shuffling the cards, Pierce added, “I’ll not be going easy on you anymore, Jenn the Secretary.”
It was Lucy’s time to smirk in reply. “Ready when you are.”
“Hmm, yeah, I’m still thinking…” He trailed off, as if momentarily distracted by something behind her. Then, in what came as something of a shock to Lucy, he reached forward, hand ducking past her ear, pulling the moonwater card out from thin air and putting it on display. Surprised, she blushed as she met Pierce’s smiling eyes.
“Better hold on to this.” He commented, tucking the card in the strap of her dress, knuckles brushing across her skin in a way that generated unwanted goosebumps. “Might come in handy later.”
“Pick a card, any card, and don’t show it to me.” Passing the deck forward, he added, “You can shuffle too, if you like.”
She did, just to be sure. Once she was satisfied, she selected sunwell, and set it aside, face down.
Pierce picked up her card and began to shuffle it into the deck. “Right well, here’s how this is going to work. I’m going to isolate your card to the top half of the deck, then into a little packet.”
She watched, eyes mesmerized by how his hands worked. They were all dexterity and agility, rumoring of years of experience in lockpicking and thieving. Peeling off the top five cards of the top half of the deck, he shuffled them, face up, in front of her, and it was then Lucy knew she’d already messed up. Her card, were he shuffling genuinely, should have been lost in the deck. But there it was, on display in the five card packet.
Casually, Pierce cast the top five cards face down on the table and collected the remaining cards in a near-full deck. “Now, Jenn, which pile is your card in? The five card packet, right? You did have sunwell, didn’t you?”
Jaw going slack, she stared at him.
“Oh but there’s only four cards in this pile.” He commented, fanning out the smaller pile. Then in a sweeping motion, he spread the other stack of cards out which displayed the sunwell, face up, in the middle of them all. “There it is.”
Lucy couldn’t help but glare at him. She hated being bested. The worst part was that she could have probably detected the trick, too, if she hadn’t been so caught off-guard by the whole moonwater business.
“Very clever.”
“I thought so.” That man was too smug for his own good. “So, Jenn, for the truth you owe me… What I want to know is which nobleman you caught the eye of. Was it really Blair? Or perhaps Warren? He seems like your kind of man.”
“If you must know, Pierce,” She crossed her arms coolly. “I’m not involved with any noblemen.”
“I’d say you’re a little bit involved with me right now.” He smirked. “Next trick, or do you give up?”
“Hardly.”
If the look on the assassin’s expression was any indication, she’d given the right reply.
Shuffling the cards, he started, “I’m going to hand you the deck. Cut it and you can choose any card in one of the halves. Set it face down on the table when you’re done.”
Nodding, she cut the deck in half and selected the bottom portion. Sorting through the cards, Lucy searched for one appropriate to her mood. Duskknife seemed the best choice. She set it down along with the remainder of her deck, and folded her arms.
Pierce, for his part, had also selected a card of his own from the other half, which was placed face down on the table.
“Now, I’m going to take your card and stick it in the middle of my deck.” He explained, losing duskknife in a pile of cards. “And, do me a favor, put my card in the middle of your deck.”
She did as he asked.
“Cut your deck in half and flip each portion right side up, so the face shows.”
He took one half from her and said, “So I’m going to put this face up half on top of my face down deck.” Then he reached for her other half. “And I’m going to put this one on the bottom of my face down deck. What we have is, a bunch of face up cards, then a bunch of face down cards, then a bunch of face up cards, right?”
“Sure.” She nodded.
“Right, now, here, take the deck from me, and spread them out across the table.”
She took the deck, eyeing him strangely. Where had the sleight of hand been? Or perhaps none had happened yet?
Splaying the cards on the table, she watched, stunned, as all the cards revealed to be face up, with the exception of two.
“Care to inspect those cards, Jenn?” He smirked slyly. “Oh, and, you should know, my card was sunwater.”
That his card was sunwater was no accident, she decided, given the fact that sunwater was the soulmate to the card tucked under her strap.
Selecting the first card, she turned it over to reveal sunwater. How shocking.
“And the second card is mine, then?” She asked with a raised an eyebrow.
“Is it?” He wanted to know.
Flipping it over, she uncovered moonwater.
“What?” She asked, more to herself than anything.
“You’re wondering where duskknife went, aren’t you?” The assassin’s grin was pure sin as she began to reach for the card tucked in the strap of her dress. Sure enough, right next to her heart had been duskknife.
“But how…?” She trailed off, confused. Previously she’d failed to catch his tricks because she’d been flustered, but this display was something else entirely. She didn’t even see the sleight of hand, much less have a chance to be oblivious to it.
“Assassin’s secret.”
“Seems more like a magician’s secret to me.”
He chuckled coolly. “Ah, that shows just how little you know of assassinry, Jenn.”
Lucy frowned as Pierce began to stand. “I’m not done yet, Pierce.”
“Yeah, but I need a break.” He commented, offering her a hand. She took it gently. “Let’s get some food. More besides, it’ll give me time to consider which truth I wish to extract from you.”
“Think wisely, Pierce.” She advised, taking his arm as they sauntered out of the poker hall. “You’ve won your last.”
“You talk a big game for so small a girl.” The assassin chuckled. “Hard to imagine you’re the same person who couldn’t even climb over a wrought iron fence.”
Lucy tried hard to feign indignance, but that was difficult, on account of how proud she was of herself for having pulled off the incompetent spy act so well. “Manual labor is beneath me. See, Pierce, you perform simple tricks, but what I do, well, that’s actually magic.”
“Yes, conjuring mattresses out of thin air is a very impressive skill.” He taunted. “Is that how you seduced Blair? I wonder…”
“I thought I just admitted that I didn’t actually have an affair with him.”
He shot her a skeptical look. “As if I’d trust you.”
Lucy frowned. “It was a game of truths, Pierce. I told you the truth. Were you lying about being afraid of snakes?”
“No.” He replied casually, leading her up to a fancy sit-down restaurant. “But I didn’t assume you’d return the favor. After all, if it’s bad enough that Archie wants you in jail, why would you dish the dirty details to me?”
His reasoning there was spot on. There was no way Lucy would tell him the general’s real reasons (or what she suspected his reasons were) for wanting her in jail. So, if he happened to think she was lying about not being involved with Blair, it was probably for the best.
She just smiled in reply. Fortunately, the hostess beckoning them to a booth prevented her from having to conjure a proper response. Slowly, she slid into the small half-circular booth, and Pierce ducked in after her.
Normally, she might have been bothered by the fact that Pierce sat closer to her than was respectable, but this was Capanahel, hardly the most respectable of places, and, well, she was trying to get something from him. A small part of her, a part she tried to ignore, was charged, thrilled even, but the idea of flirting covertly with a man as dangerous as Pierce Lindsey. She wasn’t sure if what she felt was power, about being able to pull one over the most infamous assassin in all of Channery, or if she was attracted to the peril of the situation itself. Either way, that niggling feeling was small and fleeting, and it meant nothing because, in a few days, she’d be on her way back to the Dathines, never to see Pierce Lindsey again.
“So, Pierce,” She started, tilting her head to the side and back some, so she gazed up at him with those wide brown eyes she knew charmed men. Lucy had never expected Pierce Lindsey to be the type to get charmed by them, and maybe he wasn’t, but, if the way he leaned forward was any indication, he took interest in her advances. “What do you do when you’re not… I dunno, being an assassin?”
“I’m always being an assassin, Jenn.” He smiled devilishly at her. Were Lucy trying to lay it on thick, she’d giggle playfully and slap him on his knee. He’d see through that in an instant. Flames, he was probably already too suspicious for his own good.
“C’mon.” She urged. “You know what I mean.”
“What do you do when you’re not being a secretary?” He returned fire.
“I’ll have you know, Pierce, I’m an avid reader.” She replied conversationally. “See, it’s not so difficult to answer a simple question like that. How’s about you give it a try?”
“Alright, alright.” His eyes drifted off into space, pondering. “I play the flute.”
“The flute?!” She balked.
The assassin frowned in feigned indignation. “What, I don’t seem like a capable player?”
“No, it’s just…” She trailed off, unsure of how not to offend him. “The flute’s a bit… Tempered for you, don’t you think?”
“Oh, so assassin’s can’t have a soft side, eh?” He wanted to know.
“No, nobody’s--” She was interrupted by the waitress coming by.
An embarrassed flushed decorating Lucy’s pale cheeks, she tried to withdraw from Pierce, but somehow the sneaky rogue had snaked his arm around her waist, keeping her in place.
“Evening, lovebirds.” The waitress smiled warmly at them, not a tad bothered by their blatant display of public affection. She probably saw far worse on a regular basis. “What’ll it be to drink for you tonight?”
“I’ll have a glass of your finest Honhelas.” Pierce smiled charmingly at the woman. “And whatever my lovely wife wants.”
Lucy restrained herself from rolling her eyes at his blatant use of their obsolete cover. “I’ll have a Sunginier.”
“They’ll be right out for you.” She smiled before striding away to another table.
“Sunginier?” The assassin quirked an eyebrow. “That’s a morning wine.”
Where the notion that sweet, fruity wines were to be had in the morning and dark, rich wines like Honhelas were to be had at night had come from, Lucy didn’t know, but she thought the standard was ridiculous.
“And?” She shot him a knowing look. “Like you don’t break the rules, Pierce.”
“Oh, I break rules all the time.” He admitted freelly. “But Jenn, you don’t really strike me as the rule-breaking type.”
“I’m not.” Flames, being there, flirting with Pierce Lindsey like that, it wasn’t even breaking rules and she still felt guilty as all hell. “Except for when it comes to wine.”
“Hmm,” He hummed lowly. “Maybe I can help extend that rebellious streak to other areas.”
“You want to corrupt me that bad, Pierce?” She couldn’t help but laugh. If only he knew the deeper irony.
His sly smile replied with a definite yes.
“Well, you know, if you were to successfully corrupt me, do you know how you’d do it?”
“Enlighten me.”
“Curiosity.” She commented easily. “I’ve got so many questions, you know.”
He hummed again, contemplating her suggestion. “I have some answers.”
It was her turn to smirk. “I know you do.”
The assassin exhaled, rough and ragged, smiling all the same. “Flames, if you really are a spy like Veronica thought, you’re the best yet.”
“Does that mean you’re going to answer some of my questions?” She wanted to know, almost unable to hide her giddiness.
Pierce rolled his eyes. “Come back tomorrow to the Hotseat, we’ll play for truths.”
“Alright.” She smiled, contented enough with that answer. It was a safer way to get information out of him anyway. He’d be less suspicious about her questioning. “So, then, what’s left for tonight?”
The assassin let silence hang in the air, but the smile he shot in her direction did nothing but tie knots in her stomach. Lucy told herself it was the proximity making her think silly, that it was the scent of woodsmoke that lingered on him, that it was the feel of his voice rumbling lazily to her ears whenever he hummed or spoke, but in truth, Lucy wasn’t sure what was going on. All night she tried to conjure a reasonable explanation for her sudden and inexplicable attraction to Pierce, but night bled into morning and merciful sleep came before she managed to find one.

By the time Lucy had won enough hands at the Hotseat to feel comfortable asking the assassin about the book, she and Pierce had already finished two bottles of wine and at least three plates of fried chanha. A warm flush was ever present on the mage’s cheeks as the straps of her sleek sapphire dress kept slipping off the curves of her shoulders. Pierce was all eyes, watching her like a vulture watches a dying mouse, up until the moment she, in a fit of drunken stupor, suggested they go dancing.
Then Pierce was all hands.
A slender knuckle came up to her shoulder to right the near wardrobe malfunction and Lucy, bless her soul, was tipsy enough to respond by smiling flirtatiously up at the man.
“Remind me to ply you with drinks more often, Jenn.” The assassin smiled, escorting her, hand at her back, to the dancing hall where a fantastic assortment of brass could be heard playing the sweet tones of jazz music. Lucy almost danced her way there.
“And how can you be sure I’m not plying you with drinks?” She quirked an eyebrow, giggling all the same.
“If you are, I dare say it’s working.” A crook in his smile betrayed his attraction. For the life of her, Lucy didn’t understand neither why the assassin had such an interest in her, nor why knowing he did sent such a rush of butterflies to her stomach. She chalked it up to the summer heat, although the interior of Vita Sub Rosa was very well air-conditioned.
“Hmm, let’s see how much.” She continued, taking him by the hand and dragging him onto the dance floor. “You still owe me a truth.”
That his hands settled on her hips in a more than familiar manner didn’t unsettle her when it should have. At least, it didn’t unsettle her in the right way. Like a moth drawn to the flame, Lucy stepped closer to the man.
“What do you want to know, Jenn?” He asked, voice low and husky, a register reserved for romancing women.
“What’s the book about?” She shot out there, not so worried about seeming obvious. Not that she wasn’t being obvious, she was, but perhaps she’d had one too many glasses of Sunginier. Hooking her arms around his neck as she swayed her hips, Lucy gazed up at the man curiously.
She tried to tell herself what she was doing was seduction, that she’d will the truth out of him with her feminine charms, and while it was true that the involvement of alcohol had come from a desire to loosen his lips, her overt flirtation was not sourced from a yearning to collect more information.
The assassin chuckled, looking to the ground for an amused second before settling his cool blue eyes back onto her. “What book?”
The mage swatted his shoulder playfully. “You know which one! We had this conversation on the ship, I remember.”
“And do you remember how that conversation went?”
“Yes, but you owe me a truth, this time.” In a serious tone, she added. “There’s no dodging this one, Pierce.”
“Fine, fine.” He conceded. Then, in a low tone, he added, “It’s a book of spells. You might find it interesting, in fact.”
Lucy frowned. “What use do you have for a book of spells?”
“I only owed you one truth, Lucy. Not two.” He smirked, as if he’d won the battle. “Can’t we just dance? No questions?”
“That’s boring.” She commented, moving about to the tune of a lively trumpet.
“What do you suggest, then?” He took her hands, moving playfully, almost childishly, with them. She giggled softly. “To remedy boringness?”
“You can ask me for a truth.” She offered. “Or perhaps a dare?”
“A dare?”
Lucy bit her tongue. She’d almost suggested the name of a game commonly played by the youths of the Dathines, but knowing about a game like that would have raised unwanted questions.
“Sure.” She shrugged. “Or a challenge.”
“Alright, alright.” The assassin seemed a little too smug for his own good. “Sounds like this game they play in the northern parts of Channery, Truth or Dare.”
“Haven’t heard of it.” She lied easily.
“Hm, from what I know, it’s simple. You ask for a truth or a dare, and depending on which you select, I give you a challenge or a question.”
“Sounds like a game to get teenagers into trouble.”
“Or tipsy twenty-somethings.”
She shot him a knowing smile. “Or tipsy twenty-somethings. Truth.”
Sly smirk tugging at the corner of his lips, Pierce asked, “What’s the color of your underwear?”
“Pierce!” She swatted his shoulder in feigned abhorrence. “That’s highly inappropriate… They’re pink.”
“Pink?” He shook his head, still smiling. “I should have known.”
“What, I seem like the type of girl to wear pink?”
He shrugged. “You’re the type of girl who drinks Sunginiers at night, you tell me.”
The mage waved his comment off. “Truth or dare, Pierce.”
Eyes sinister, he challenged, “Dare.”
Picking an appropriately dangerous and yet flirtatious task for Pierce turned out to be somewhat tougher than Lucy had expected. At first she’d considered making him remove an article of clothing, but they were in public and, really, even tipsy Lucy had standards. Of course there was also making him interact with a stranger, but the mage found herself wanting for the assassin’s company. Then another dangerous thought struck her, but she shooed that one right out the door before she even had the chance to consider what kissing Pierce Lindsey might be like.
“I dare you to steal something of mine without me noticing by the end of the night.” She commanded. “And you must tell me what you stole tomorrow, and return it.”
Pierce smirked. “You know thievery and general roguishness is something of an area of expertise for me?”
“I’m aware.”
“Well, it’s not much of a challenge, Jenn.”
The mage frowned. “Dare me then, see if you can do any better.”
“Kiss me.”
She almost didn’t hear him at first. “What?”
“You know what I said, Jenn.” His smile was pure sin as he tugged on her hips, pulling her close. She could feel the heat emanating from him like a fire.
“We’re in public.” She said in a hushed tone, face inching closer to his all the same.
“And?”
“And people are looking.”
Her eyes began to flutter shut.
“And?” His voice egged her on.
“And that’s embarrassing.” She whispered, her lips brushing gently against his. “I don’t even know you, Pierce Lindsey.”
“And I don’t know you, Jenn the Secretary.” He conceded, hand twining through her hair. How it had gotten there, she didn’t know. Then, in a tone that was less of a command and more of a request, he added, “Kiss me.”
She didn’t need to be told thrice. Pressing her lips gently into his, she urged him in a shy and also particularly clumsy way. Lucy almost stumbled over her own feet as she inched closer, and ended up tugging on the collar of his button down just to stay standing. Pierce, for his part, held the mage firmly by the waist, proving to be far more coordinated in his intoxicated state than Lucy was, even when she was sober.
A low chuckle rumbled through his lips as he returned her bashful kiss playfully, keen lips playing against her pliant ones in a way that could only be described as impish. Lucy hadn’t been having very coherent thoughts to begin with, but all hope for the mage was lost when a sly tongue darted out to flick against the corner of her mouth. She sighed softly, melting into the kiss like an icicle on a warm day, forgetting her surroundings completely.
Or, at least, she would have liked to, but just as Pierce hooked an arm around her shoulders and tilted his head to allow himself better leverage, an unwelcome visitor interrupted their activities.
“Pierce Lindsey.” An eastern accent could barely be heard on the dance floor, the man piping up just as the assassin was leaning in to steal another kiss from the mages giving lips.
The assassin’s lids flicked slowly up to Lucy’s eyes, cool blue orbs staring at her sinisterly for a moment before he turned to face the newcomer.
“Fuck off, Wade.” He said simply, then returned his attentions to the mage.
It was at that point Lucy was wondering if perhaps she hadn’t had enough alcohol. Because, right then, she was just sober enough to place the name “Wade” and match it with an eastern accent. Perhaps if she hadn’t glanced over to see if this Wade was really the Wade she’d met years ago when the Check Raise Ring had entertained her and her friends on a wild night out in the Red Light District in the Dathines, what happened next would have never transpired. Perhaps if she hadn’t inspected, if she had just continued to gaze at Pierce with the lustful gleam in her eyes, Wade wouldn’t have noticed her, and she could have gone back to kissing the assassin without trouble. Perhaps a lot of things.
Lucy looked over at the newcomer all the same. In the moment their eyes met, she knew she was in deep trouble.
The gangster frowned a second as he tried to place her countenance, but the moment he did, he barked a cold laugh. “Well, this I never thought I’d see.”
Pierce returned his glare to the intruder. “I thought I told you to fuck off.”
“Come on, Lindsey.” The twinkle in Wade’s eye did little to ease Lucy’s nerves. Anxiously, she began to fumble her way through an internal listing of her spells, trying to find one she could cast in an intoxicated state, and also get off before he revealed her identity. The mage tried her best to slow her breathing and focus on a sleeping spell, but the magic didn’t build in her breath like it should. It rather just fizzled out lifelessly as she watched the men interact, as helpless as a cat caught by a mouse. “Can you blame me? I never thought I’d see you kissing the likes of her.”
It was then that Lucy learned what it was like to be on the receiving end of Pierce Lindsey’s murderous glare. She wished she’d never known.
The assassin unwound his arm from around her shoulders and ground out, eyes not leaving hers once, “What do you mean by that, Wade?”
He barked another harsh laugh. “You don’t know, do you? Flames, this is priceless.”
“What don’t I know?” Pierce asked, though, truth be told, Lucy didn’t know who he was asking.
The mage opened her mouth to speak, but could conjure no sound. Wade answered in her stead, “That’s Lucy Rosemond. Did you know you were kissing a Rosemond?”
A hot blush crested the mages cheek as she tried to extract herself from Pierce’s grasp, but he had a firm grip on her wrist that would not budge.
“I did not.” His voice was colder than ice.
“Hah!” The card shark laughed again. “And here I’d thought I’d get you to fess up those three gold you owe me, but this is so much better.”
“Fuck off, Wade.” The assassin commanded.
“Wha--”
But the card shark never got to finish his question. Instead, Pierce shot him a glare that drained all the color form the poor guy’s cheeks, and that look alone sent the gangster packing. He left without a second word, abandoning Lucy, leaving her alone with murderous eyes and a particular skill set she’d never want attached to such intentions.
“Rosemond.” Pierce repeated in a dusky tone that sent shivers down Lucy’s spine.
She stood there, feeling the heat of his stare, wondering how long it would take a trained killer to deal with her. A second? Five, maybe? Or, perhaps, days, weeks. Who knew how sadistic the Lindsey was when faced with his family’s oldest rival. She blanched at the thought.
With no regard for her life, Lucy chanced a look upwards, figuring if death was coming for her, she might as well look it in the eye. Where she had expected to see eyes rumoring of fury and bloodthirst beyond comprehension, she instead found something stronger, something far more cryptic, something that the mage couldn’t quite make sense of.
It took Lucy two seconds to set searing steam to the hand that held hers. When she recognized the confusion, the indecisiveness in his eyes, it had been like a bucket of cold water, a flash of sober to wash over her. She knew what she had to do. This wasn’t about romance and a book anymore, it was about getting out alive. In the back of her mind, she recognized that searing steam would leave scars on Pierce’s hand, but, she figured that was better than setting his flesh on fire. In that, she felt she was being merciful.
When the assassin retracted his hand with a sharp hiss, Lucy took off like the northern wind. Despite her gorgeous heels, trapping straps hugging her ankles, it did not take the blonde long to make it out of the casino. All that was on her mind was trying to get lost, so she could take a moment to conjure a proper disguising spell. She rounded the first corner after coming out of the casino, heading towards the wharf, aiming to disappear in the crowd. A moment of panic shot through the mage as her high heel slipped against the slick pavement, slippery from the evening rain. She recovered gracefully, keeping her momentum, but her heart threatened to beat out of her ribcage.
Droplets pounded against her skin as she ran. The mage threw a glance over her shoulder to see if Pierce was following. A wave of relief swept over her for the slightest of moments as she thought she’d lost him, but then her keen eyes spotted the Lindsey amongst the crowd of people, still making an effort to catch her.
The mage continued, heading towards South Side Bridge, where a whole host of people could be seen bustling about the multitude of shops and casinos. She tried her best to duck, weave, and trick Pierce as she moved through the crowds, but as she turned a corner down a dark alleyway, thinking she’d lost him, she knew she’d made a mistake. She could feel his eyes on her like wet on rain.
With the last bit of stamina she had, Lucy charged down the alleyway, hoping to make it to the other end before Pierce could gain. But, as fate would have it, Lucy, in all her hurry in the rainy streets of Capanahel, feet raw from running in pumps, tripped fatally in the dark alleyway. She hit the concrete hard, barely having enough time to brace herself with her hands. Frantically, she tried to lift herself up, some overly optimistic part of her thinking she could still escape the assassin.
Lucy didn’t have time to even process the situation as Pierce gripped her shoulders hard, roughly slamming her against the wall. A pocket knife shifted against her throat while a firm hand kept her shoulder pressed against the stone. She felt the assassin’s cool breath bouncing off her skin, and in a final moment of peace, Lucy said her goodbyes to the world.
But the death she had been expecting did not come. Instead, the assassin stared intensely down at her, eyes whispering of conflicting thoughts. His steel blue orbs drifted to her jaw, strands of wet blonde hair plastered to it, then to her chest, heaving from efforts to catch her breath, and finally settled on her lips, parted slightly as the air coursed through them.
The blonde opened her mouth to speak, but was silenced by the assassin as he finished what she started in the casino.
His second kiss was nothing like the first. Where he had been mischievous and spirited in the casino he was now rough and hungry. Lucy would have liked to think that the hunger stemmed from an insatiable desire, but the moment he bit her lip in a way that was too painful to be playful, she knew Pierce was still making up his mind about whether or not she’d leave the alleyway alive.
“Ow.” She breathed softly, flicking her tongue against her new wound. Sure enough, he’d drawn blood.
When Pierce sucked on her newly formed wound, Lucy wasn’t sure whether she should slap him or wind her arms amorously around his neck. She settled on gripping his vest firmly with her small hands.
“I have to kill you, Lucy.” He whispered against her lips, kisses now almost tender. Like he was ashamed of hurting her. What was going on in that head of his?
“No, no.” She protested, returning his affections. The mage would have leaned forward to murmur in his ear were it not for the knife still pressed against her neck. “You don’t have to.”
The low growl of a chuckle he produced after her statement drew shivering goosebumps from her skin. He nuzzled into the crook of her neck, hand with the knife withdrawing from throat, thumb brushing along her jaw gingerly.
Pushing her luck, Lucy wound a hand in his dark hair, fingers tracing along his scalp curiously. If she could just get him to shift that dagger a little further away from her face, she could make her move.
Humming as he came back up to her lips, placing small, loving kisses at the corner, he added, “I wish I could keep you.”
“It’d be a waste to kill me, Pierce.” She asserted, nipping at his bottom lip.
“Mm,” He snorted a laugh. “That’s such a Dathinian way of looking at things. Tell me, Lucy, were you always wondering how best you could put me to use? What you could get out of me?”
“No, I--”
“Even now, I bet, you’re thinking,” His free hand tilted her chin upwards, so she was forced to meet his steel blue eyes. The dagger, however, had withdrawn far enough away to grant Lucy some boldness. “What kind of price would a Lindsey fetch?”
“Pierce, please.” She pleaded.
A rough thumb rolled over her bottom lip as he inspected her, still trying to come to some sort of decision. His hesitation was Lucy’s advantage. She caught a glimpse the seared skin on the back of his hand, guilt lurching in her stomach. Lucy had never been a bloodthirsty woman. Not like Pierce, not like her brother, or her father. She didn’t like hurting people. Even when it meant saving her life.
Swiftly, the mage kneed the assassin in the gut in what Lucy felt was the least amount of damage she could cause the assassin and still have a chance at escaping alive. Pain constricted his eyebrows, his nose, his mouth, and he doubled over, agony sweeping across his features as he regarded Lucy as a loyal soldier regards a traitor.
The mage took off once again, but the moment she rounded the corner of the alleyway and stepped into the bustling streets, she improved upon her escape tactic. She took a few moments to calm herself, still her breathing as she drew upon the magic within her. Slowly, she altered her features. Blonde hair to brown, brown eyes to green, rosy lips now thin, young skin now aged. Not a second later, the assassin stepped furiously out of the alleyway, looking about his surroundings for the mage he’d let slip through his fingers. He looked past her as if she were invisible, and only in that moment did Lucy realize a small, wet tear had begun to trickle down her cheek.
Turning her back on the assassin, she stepped off into the cold, lonely night.