Slayers in Black

Deep breaths over the edge of the blade
One stroke will stain the floors a crimson shade,
Deep breaths before her new life fade,
A dying shriek shall be their serenade.

»»-----　★　-----««

Shards of lumber broke from the wooden ceiling, leaving a giant hole in its wake. The moonlight trickled its way inside the carriage as silhouettes of people descended. Like flightless ravens, they filled every inch and corner within seconds, and before Eva knew it, the masked assassins surrounded her.

Thick black fabrics concealed most of their faces, excluding the eyes. Through those little sockets, Eva unwillingly gazed into the abyss—coldness was all she felt.

The withdrawn, frigid fear made its way throughout her every muscle and nerve. The slayers of the night pulled out their daggers, pointy blades with a distinct smell. One of them stepped closer, mimicking the fluid motions of the tides.

The assassin raised its blade, aiming for her head. Like a gentle breeze, it plunged before she could react.

Death never smelled so close. The tough tang of poison covered their ink-black vesture that resembled the obscure sky.

All of a sudden, a thread stretched out and coiled around Eva's wrist. Realizing what was happening, she braced herself for impact as it pulled her to the other side of the carriage. Ferdinand had saved her once again.

She flew to the wall at an extreme speed until she crashed against the hard wooden door. A burning sting erupted in her head, which faded as she drowned in adrenaline.

Everything around her spun in vertigo. Her sight whirled like a merry-go-round tinted with red. She spread her arms apart, trying to locate the nearest wall until her vision cleared.

Rumbles and grunts sprouted in front of her, but she could not see anything except red. A thick viscous liquid flowed from her forehead down her cheeks and neck. To prevent it from gushing, she tore a fabric from the bottom of her dress, and she wrapped it around her head like a bandana.

Eva wiped away the blood that covered her sight. The loud and scary rackets faded into soft murmurs. Curious, she rubbed her face faster until the grueling scene became visible.

Her jaw trembled. A massacre had occurred.

Instead of feeling relief, her hands trembled. Her kneecaps kissed the floor, ignorant of the wooden shards that pricked her legs.

Scarlet waters flooded, dripping from the assassin's bodies. They hung on the ceiling by a thin thread, occasionally swaying with the dancing of the wind. They groaned, still alive, begging for death.

Their hoarse breathing blended with the ambiance.

"Ferdinand! Where the crap are you!" Eva yelled.

She kicked the door and stormed out of the carriage. A pack of trees stood at the sides of the narrow road as they cast shadows over the terrain. A few steps away was a forest filled with plants, looming in the strange vegetation.

Eva limped around the vehicle, still finding no one. A thick carpet of grass and moss tickled her bare feet. The carriage seemed to be an unusual one. There were no horses at the front, nor were there places for any. Instead, the face of the cart contained a circular glowing object that linked itself to the wheels.

"Sorcery?" she said to herself before turning away.

She continued to circle the vehicle until a faint shadow caught her eyes. A body squirmed below the branches of a tree. Upon looking closer, it appeared to be one of the assassins. The strings coiled around the man's ankles as he dangled a few meters above the floor.

After looking around, a few more bodies sprang up.

"Did Ferdinand do this?" she whispered to herself.

Goosebumps covered her skin as she followed the trail of bodies. She limped, stumbling away from the carriage.

Then, a swift thud fell behind her.

It was a meager sound that halted her movements. Without turning around, her nerves jolted, firing signals all over her body.

She slowly raised her hands and whispered, "You don't need to kill me —"

A sharp dagger coming from behind rested itself below her chin.

"Monsters. Monsters. You're all monsters," the assassin mumbled in Eva's ears. It was a stuttering, feminine sound, kindled with fear.

Eva could not even swallow, for the tip of the blade pressed hard against her throat. Her hands dangled still as the woman tugged her towards the light of the carriage.

"Calm down. Please, don't kill me—"

"SILENCE!" the slayer frightenedly yelled in her ears. "I know you're here. Show yourself," she bellowed.

The trees rustled without wind, and a shadow of a man dropped into the muddy ground. It was Ferdinand, covered with blood and dirt.

Thin wires extended from each of his ten fingers to the neighboring trees. He strolled towards the woman, carrying a stoic melancholic face. An expression she would not forget and not would want to see again.

"Let her go," he said.

"You, monster! Go near me, and I'll kill the princess."

Ferdinand raised his eyebrow, "I have the lives of your comrades in my fingertips, and you dare say that to me?"

"Her life is worth more than ours combined. You know that!"

Ferdinand ignored her and continued to step closer. "Who paid you to ambush us? How did you know the route we're taking? Where did you get your information?"

The woman raised her dagger to Eva's chin, and a bead of blood cascaded down the silver edge.

"Let me escape, and I'll let the princess free."

"Instead of killing her, you took her hostage. If you were to escape me, I am sure that your friends will punish you for abandoning your responsibility. Or are you perhaps trying to buy time until more of you arrive, hoping to save your comrades?"

"Shut it! I have two choices, die now or die later. I prefer the latter!"

Ferdinand grinned and raised his hands upwards, gesturing defeat. The masked woman pulled Eva to the edge of the woods with the blade barely gliding over her skin.

Certain death seemed scary, but not for her. For a maiden that died slow and with regret, passing away again with just a light slash would be better.

But it was not acceptable. Not for Eva, who endured all the cruelties of life. Not yet, she declared in her mind.

"Move faster," the assassin whispered.

In a desperate attempt, Eva shook her arms slightly. Not too long ago, she hid a poisoned arrow inside her sleeves that she wasn't able to use.

She flailed her wrist as her ears filled with the woman's heavy breaths. The little dart fell on Eva's palm gently, and she caught it between her fingers.

Eva planted her hooves on the dirt and resisted her pull.

"I said move fast—"

She inhaled, her eyesight becoming blank. She clenched on the arrow, expecting a voice from her deepest conscience to stop her. But not a part of Eva showed hesitation.

She turned around and stuck the needle at the side of the assassin's neck. Blood gushed out.

"You little bitch. I'm going to kill you!" the slayer cried.

The poison didn't kick in immediately, and so the woman began to chase her.

Eva did not dare to look back and fixed her eyes at the trees darting towards her direction. Wind clashed against her face as the rustling grass and cracking twigs seemed to follow her.

Her ankles started to hurt; her endurance began to run out. Her little legs skittered to the distance as she lifted her waving dress. Every rock and pebble that touched her bare feet brought intense pain, but she did not stop to rest.

Then, an inclined root caused her to tumble. She slipped on the mud and against a fallen log.

I'm dead. I'm dead. Not again.

I—I'm alive?

She lifted her eyes, and the assassin was already bound to a tree with Ferdinand's thin strings tightening and coiling around her.

Eva panted; a smile broke from her lips. "I did it."

Ferdinand loosened his mystical threads, and the woman's body fell on the mud. A blue bruising bulged in her neck, highlighting the veins beneath her skin with purple. The body remained unresponsive, dead.

"Are you alright?" Ferdinand lumbered towards Eva. He removed her bandana and placed her head over his lap. "Don't move. I'll fix your wound."

They sat against the giant wooden wheel of the carriage while the man stitched her injuries. The smell of blood lingered everywhere, no matter where she turned.

Blood-red puddles specked the ground, and the crimson liquid sprayed on the cart. Eva gulped, wondering why she wasn't feeling anything.

For the first time, she looked for the misery in her heart. Somehow, it was the only thing that made her feel human.

She looked at the man's eyes, and it wept with regret. It might be painful, but it was natural. And as she envisioned everything she did in her past, it gradually began to make sense.

Like the proverb that she once read in one of her mother's books, "It doesn't matter what you do with water, for it will forever remain as water. It may freeze or boil, but when it comes down to it, it's still the same."

Eva stared at the night sky. Someone with no empathy will forever remain without empathy. I might have been reincarnated, but when it comes down to it, I'm still the same heartless woman that burned my village.