CHAPTER FIFTEEN
AN ASSASSIN'S GUILT ( ii. )

The low murmuring of the royal court escalates in the air as Calliope fidgets with her thumbs. She awaits the King's arrival in the Throne Room, carrying out different scenarios in her head. Will the King storm in with anger and order Calliope out of the city because of his embarrassment? Will he simply tell her that even though she won the fights, she cannot help with the knight's training because he can't see past the fact that she's a woman? Or, in an unlikely turn of events, will he honor the deal? Calliope can only guess as her eyes dart to the doors every so often.

When the heavy, double doors are pulled open abruptly, Calliope straightens her back. Her gaze flickers to King Uther, walking in with his shoulders almost as high as his ego. Arthur comes in behind him, offering Calliope a nervous glance, and she knows without a doubt that the King isn't pleased.

Uther doesn't utter a word as he sits on his throne above everyone else. Calliope faces him with the same confident stare as always. Arthur stands to his right, and Calliope is unable to read his guarded expression. Finally, Uther raises his eyes to Calliope.

"You have proven that you are a skilled fighter, Calliope," he says, "but I will not allow you to have anything to do with the knight's training."

"Father-" Arthur steps forward, but Uther raises his hand.

"My decision is final. I will not have a woman involved with the Knights of Camelot."

Arthur shakes his head at his father, "Have you ever seen someone fight the way she does?" He points to Calliope. "She has a fighting style that I believe can be beneficial to our defenses." A disbelieving scoff filters from Uther's lips as Arthur continues, "I oversee all of the training, and I think having Calliope there as a sparring partner will help the knights increase their skills," his eyes fall to her. "I will do all of the training myself, and Calliope will simply be a challenging opponent to test them."

Uther brings his hand to his chin with his eyes on Calliope as he contemplates his son's suggestions, "Fine. She can be a sparring partner," he rises to his feet, "but if I find out she's overstepping, she'll be thrown in the dungeons for disobeying her King." His eyes meet hers. "Am I understood?"

Calliope nods surprised he even agreed to Arthur's suggestion, "Yes, Sire, of course. Thank you."

King Uther strides down from his Throne, leaving the room with obvious resentment on his face. Calliope exhales a breath of disbelief, relieved that she finally gets to do something besides mixing potions all day.

Her gaze rises to meet the intense blue of Arthur's eyes. She shakes her head, a smile overcoming her lips as she walks up to him and punches his arm lightly.

"Somehow, you managed to do the impossible," she says as he matches her smile with his own.

He shrugs, his eyes sparkling with fondness, "Well, you proved everyone wrong. You showed them what kind of fighter you really are," he leans closer to her, "and I think you might have terrified some of the guards."

Calliope quirks her eyebrows, "Really?" A playful glint overtakes her electric eyes. "Well, if you don't terrify people a little then what's the point?"

With a small laugh, Arthur's expression shifts, the look in his eyes penetrating the sharp defenses around Calliope's heart, "Every time I think I start to figure you out, Calliope, you just confuse me even more."

An honest flicker of sadness crosses her gaze, "Trust me, Arthur, you don't want to figure me out," she takes a small step back as scenes from her past haunt her thoughts. "Sometimes, the truth is more destructive than you realize."

5 YEARS AGO
MERCIA

John Arment.

Who was John Arment? Calliope's eyes followed each man that walked past her, not recognizing any of their faces as she sat across from the markets in the middle of the town. Soldiers marched by her, not even noticing her as she kept her hood pulled over her head.

The town of Kald was overly-crowded and bustling with life, the constant clanking of metal rising among the chatter as the local blacksmith crafted a breastplate a few paces away from Calliope. Her senses were keen and on alert, noticing every change of tone and expression of the townspeople around her. Her ears drifted from conversation to conversation; her eyes from market to market as people sold and bought goods, but nothing caught her gaze.

Then in the midst of the business of the day, a man exited a house close to the markets. Calliope felt a familiarity in his facial features as he offered a few silver pieces for a basket of vegetables. Her instincts were telling her to investigate this man, and as he started to stroll past her, she picked up the small wooden bowl sitting next to her.

"Can you spare some food for the poor?"

The man halted, turning his head down to look at her, "I'm not interested in charity, kid. Go beg somewhere else."

Calliope stood, motioning to the array of vegetables, "Surely a man like yourself has some food to offer. Please, sir, I haven't eaten in days," she mustered up a few tears, one cascading down her cheek as he glanced at her desperate expression.

"Fine. I'll see what scraps I can gather, but that's all I'm giving you. I don't want a starving little girl on my conscience," he motioned for Calliope to follow him as he headed back to his house.

Her heart threatened to pound in fear as she walked behind him on the dirt path. Calliope knew this man; she was sure of it. But from where?

He opened the wooden door that led into his small cottage only made up of two rooms- a bedroom and a kitchen. Calliope took in her surroundings as the man rummaged through his cabinets.

"I never caught your name, sir," she called out. "I must know who is showing me this kindness."

"John," her breath hitched. "John Arment."

This was the man Calliope needed to kill? How had he wronged her? She needed to find out.

As John turned to Calliope, holding out two pieces of bread, she met eyes with him and really looked at him for the first time, taking in his every feature.

Then, everything clicked.

The screams from her village arose in her mind as she recognized him as one of the men on horseback that was cutting down her neighbors. The blood that littered the ground; the smoke that infiltrated her lungs, taking away her breath as she sobbed for her losses... It all came rushing back in that one moment as she stared at John Arment.

Every muscle in her body tensed, but she hid her jolted realization as she offered him an innocent smile, taking the two pieces of bread. She immediately ate one, buying time for herself as she thought about how to kill him... and if she even could.

Calliope looked to the left, and then to the right, spotting a long sewing needle sitting on the kitchen table.

"Alright, get out of here," he turned back to his kitchen as he unpacked his basket of vegetables.

With cautious steps, Calliope went into the kitchen, "Thank you for the bread," she eyed the sewing needle a few feet away from her. "I wish there was some way I could repay you."

"You can," he glanced at her. "Leave me be, and beg someone else for food. This isn't a charity house."

"I understand. You have your own family to feed," she slowly inched towards the table.

He sighed, "No, it's just me, but I don't like beggers."

While John was preoccupied with filling his food cabinet, Calliope grabbed the sewing needle and tucked it into her sleeve.

She took a step closer to him, her heart pounding in her ears as she faced the reality that she was about to kill someone. Could she really do this?

"I feel like I've seen you somewhere before, John," she said as she mustered up her courage.

"No, I don't forget faces."

"I don't either," she said as her tone shifted into a darker one, catching his attention.

Calliope thought about all the reasons he should die.

He helped massacre her village. He killed some of her friends. He lit her house on fire. He was responsible for so many deaths.

And now, he had to face the consequences.

John sighed, "I don't know who you are. I just wish you would leave me alone."

Calliope nodded, "Okay," she motioned for him to come closer, "but I have to tell you something before I go," John stepped closer to her. She motioned for him to lean down, and with a reluctant huff, he obliged. "When I look into your eyes, I see so many faces," she said in a hushed tone. "Faces that still haunt my dreams," a confused look washed over his eyes. "Look into my eyes, John" Calliope shifted her sleeve, causing the needle to fall into her hand, "because my face is the last one you're ever going to see."

John gasped as the long needle harshly penetrated the side of his neck. Calliope yanked it out, his blood splattering all over the walls of his house as he stumbled around, trying to cover the spewing wound. She watched him fall to the ground as his crimson red blood flowed onto the rotted wooden floor.

Leaning over him --listening as he choked on his own blood-- Calliope watched the life fading from his eyes.

"Who..." he could barely speak.

"Who am I?" She asked. "I'm the only person you left alive five years ago when you helped slaughter my entire village," he coughed up more blood as Calliope sneered. "And now, you're paying the price for your actions."

John took his final breath, and Calliope turned around, dashing to the back window and jumping out of the house noticed. She let out several gasping breaths, the reality of her actions setting in as she leaned against the house.

But she felt no guilt.

Calliope walked away from John's house, passing by soldiers who were pushing two kids along in shackles. Bree and Brandon. They had been caught.

"You did it," Calliope's head snapped to the left where Sepharin leaned against a house.

She motioned to Bree and Brandon, "We have to help them."

"We can't," he pushed himself off the wall. "Their fate is sealed."

"So you're just going to let them get hanged?" Calliope asked with disbelief.

Sepharin nodded, "I warned them what would happen if they weren't cautious. They acted too quickly, taking out their targets with witnesses around. They're not worthy of joining the guild," he patted her shoulder, "but you have proven that you have what it takes."

Calliope moved away from him, "You don't even care that they're going to die, do you?"

"I don't care about anything," Sepharin replied, "Caring is weakness. It blinds you from your true purpose. This is a lesson you have to learn to become an assassin of the shadows."

And as Bree and Brandon were led to a noose, Sepharin turned the other way, not even watching as their necks were tied. Calliope closed her eyes when she heard the sound of the floor under them cave in, and when she opened them again, Bree and Brandon were swaying in the wind, their bodies lifeless as the soldiers left them to the crows.

CAMELOT
PRESENT DAY

Calliope shoves a few day's worth of supplies into her satchel as she prepares for her journey. She has sat back and tried to ignore her problems for too long. Now, she must travel to find some way to kill Sepharin before he comes to Camelot to kill and Arthur and who knows who else. There's only one place Calliope can think of that may have the answers she needs, and it's not a far ride. She should only be gone for three days.

Once her satchel is full, Calliope exhales a long sigh, thinking over the many life decisions that have brought her to where she is today; those pivotal moments of her past that altered her future into a cloak of darkness that tries to lull her back each day.

"And where are you off to?"

Gaius stands in her doorway with his arms crossed in suspicion as he looks at her satchel. Calliope throws the bag over her shoulder as she turns to him.

"Don't worry, Gaius. I won't be gone long," she strolls past him, grabbing a crisp apple from the kitchen. "I think a few days away from the city will be good for me."

Obviously not fooled with her excuse, Gaius gives her a pointed look, "You aren't getting yourself into any trouble, are you?"

"Of course not," Calliope pats his shoulder. "I'll be careful. I promise."

Worry overcomes his face as she walks out the door, and Calliope wishes she could tell him the truth, but she doesn't want to tell him anything before she can find a solution. She shouldn't drag anyone else into this. It's far too dangerous.

With her sword dangling from her belt in its sheath, Calliope saunters towards the stables in the cool morning air. The courtyard is filled with its usual buzz, knights and guards milling around on watch and joking with one another.

Arriving at the stables, Calliope finds the same horse she rode a few weeks ago to go save Merlin with Arthur. She strokes its mane gently, grabbing the saddle from the wall and tacking the horse up quickly. Calliope attaches her satchel to the saddle before pushing herself onto it, grabbing the reins with a loose grip as she urges the black horse forward.

She rides out of the courtyard, her horse's hooves thundering against the cobblestone. People jump out of her way as she moves through the low town, and then she exits the city with one goal burning into her mind.

It's all up to her to kill Sepharin; a man who has the gift of immortality. Calliope has no idea what lengths she will have to go to in order to kill him, but she's willing to pay the price, just as she paid a price to join him five years ago; a price far heavier than she ever knew.

But now, Calliope is smarter; she knows Sepharin's true self and that he has no care in the world for anyone but himself. She was a fool to ever think he had any fondness in his heart for her. She once thought of him as a father figure, and now...

Now, her truest desire is to run her sword through his cold, dead heart.

MERCIA
FIVE YEARS AGO

The deaths of Bree and Brandon hit the remaining four recruits hard as they realized exactly what they had gotten themselves into. Calliope never even liked them very much, but having to see them hung... The image of their dead bodies swaying with the wind would never leave her mind.

"He just let them die. He did nothing," Calliope shook her head as the other recruits listened to her late into the night.

"Bree and Brandon choose this just like the rest of us," The boy across from her, Samuel, responded. "They knew how dangerous this was."

"It wasn't really a choice though," Calliope responded in a hushed tone. "For me, it was slavery or Sepharin. For Bree, a drunk and abusive father or Sepharin," the others nodded as she continued. "And Brandon was begging on the streets with no family when Sepharin found him. Of course, we all chose this. Our lives were shit."

Darrian shook his head at Calliope, throwing a small stick into the fireplace beside him, "If I had a chance to go back to my master, I wouldn't. He was a fucking lunatic, and even though Sepharin is too, he's teaching us how to make better lives for ourselves."

But at what cost? Calliope thinks to herself as she stares into the fire, John Arment's dying face popping into her thoughts.

"Look, I think you guys know I don't like any of you," her stare focused on Darrian, "but we're in this together now --us four-- and Sepharin won't look out for any of us," she held out her hand in the small circle they sat in. "When we join the guild, we have to have each other's backs. Now, I'm willing to put the past aside. Are you?"

Samuel offered her a nod, putting his hand above hers. Then the boy beside him, Michael, followed, which only left Darrian staring at the center of the circle.

He sighed, "Fine, but I still hate you, midget."

"Well, the feeling is mutual. Trust me."

They were all in agreement; put their personal feelings away and stick together to survive. Calliope would always have a reminder of her hatred for Darrian on her ribs, but she knew very well that it's much easier to survive with allies instead of having to survive alone.

The echo of the door of Sepharin's cottage opening made them all jump to their feet. Calliope saw Sepharin entering. He glanced over all four of them slowly, then he motioned for them to follow him into the night.

"Come on. It's time for your final test."

Calliope looked to the others with confusion. Wasn't killing their target in Kald the final test?

She followed Sepharin as he carried a torch, walking down the dirt path towards the training arena. Why were they doing this in the middle of the night? The entire village, even the cattle, were snoozing peacefully. Her heart pounded in the uncertainty of her situation. She stopped outside the training arena as the others entered. Samuel shot her a worried look over his shoulder.

What was going on?

"Calliope," she turned her head to Sepharin, his face illuminated by the torchlight. "I want you to remember why you're here," he said barely above a whisper. "I want you to remember what you said to me when I asked you how far you were willing to go to avenge your father. Do you still feel the same?"

She remembered her words from that first night in his cottage.

The screams of her village flashed through the depths of her mind; the image of her father being stabbed and falling to the ground; her intense sobbing over his dead body while everything burned around her.

She looked back to Sepharin, echoing her words from the first night, "As far as it takes."

Entering the training arena, Calliope found it bare except for the three other recruits. Sepharin stood outside the gate with his torch, staring at them in silence. Calliope could see fear arising in the others' eyes.

The wind howled, blowing her braided blonde hair off her shoulders as she shivered in an attempt to gather some warmth. It was a dreary and cold night. Her fingers felt frozen as she stood, waiting for Sepharin to explain what was going on.

"I've brought you here for your final test," Sepharin started, walking along the gate to stand right across from them. Suddenly, out of the shadows, three figures appeared behind him. Their faces were hidden by cloaks, and none of them spoke. They just stood in the background, their features obscured by the blackness of the night. Calliope's eyes widened. Were these other assassin's from the guild? "My guild is the most secretive in all the five kingdoms. So secretive that no other man on the face of this earth knows of it," Sepharin draws his sword with his other hand. "And because of this... Only one of you will be able to join me."

"What?" Darrian exclaimed.

"The four of you must fight to the death until only one remains," Sepharin threw his sword into the arena. It landed at their feet as Calliope glanced between the weapon and the three other recruits.

Samuel stepped forward, "You've got to be joking."

"No, Samuel," Sepharin replied. "The guild only accepts one new member at a time in order to stay in the shadows, unknown by the world."

"You son of a bitch!" Michael yelled. "You knew this entire time that only one of us would make it, and you acted like we could all join! You're a sick, manipulative-"

His gasp carried in the air as Darrian shoved the tip of Sepharin's sword into his back. Calliope and Samuel jumped in shock as Michael hit the ground, his blood flowing into the dirt. Her wide gaze met Darrian's as the sword dripped with crimson red blood.

"Sorry, guys. I know we made a friendship pact or whatever, but I'm not dying here," He circled them with the sword swaying between the two of them. "So, which one of you should go first?"

Calliope and Samuel looked at each other for a split second, a silent agreement passing between them to disarm Darrian.

They both charged at him, dodging his quick swings as Calliope kicked him in the gut. He stumbled back as Samuel caught his jaw with a mean right hook. Darrian spat a tooth to the dirt, grinning as he glanced between Calliope and Samuel, blood trickling from his mouth, but he kept swinging his sword. Calliope felt the tip pierce her shoulder, and she hisses in pain as she grabbed the wound, warm blood falling onto her hand.

"Nice try, but I'm a better fighter than both of you."

"We'll see about that," Calliope replied, spinning around to kick him right in the nose, shattering the bones in a terrifyingly painful blow.

He hissed in pain as he clutched his shattered nose. Calliope took the opportunity to deliver her next kick to his groin, and then she twisted the arm he held the sword with at a painful angle behind his back, bringing her fist to elbow and listening to his arm snap.

He screamed in agony as the sword fell to the ground. Calliope grabbed it quickly, shoving it into his chest without hesitation. Darrian sunk to his knees as she yanked the sword away from his chest. He let out several dying gasps as he fell into the dirt.

Calliope turned her eyes to Samuel as he stood across from her. Blood continued to flow from her deep wound as tears rose to her eyes. Samuel shook his head at her, holding up his hands as he became aware that he was beaten.

"Calliope, please," he said in a desperate tone.

A tear fell onto her cheek.

Her village. Her father. Her mother.

More tears cascaded down her face. I have to avenge them. She gripped the handle of her sword. As far as it takes.

"I'm sorry," she said through a wall of tears as she shoved the sword into his heart.

Calliope closed her eyes as she heard his body hit the ground. She inhaled a sharp breath, holding herself together from falling apart as she dropped Sepharin's sword.

The sound of the gate opening snapped her back into reality. Calliope's gaze rose to Sepharin as he approached her with the three figures behind him. He stood above the three dead recruits on the ground, his eyes only on Calliope: the victor.

"Congratulations, Calliope," he said as he leaned down to grab his sword. "You've passed the final test." Sepharin motioned to the three figures behind him. "Do you know what these men are?" She shook her head. "They're called blood wraiths; creatures of magic that are tied to this world through assassins like me," he grinned at her. "They receive their power from the souls of the people I kill. I bound myself to them in blood, and in return, they granted me immortality to kill all my enemies."

Calliope furrowed her eyebrows, "So, that's what I get? Immortality?"

"Yes, eventually," he replied. "But, first you must serve them faithfully for ten years to prove your loyalty."

"And how long have you served them?"

Sepharin put his hand on her shoulder, "I've been on this earth for centuries, Calliope, and now, you can have the same power I have to avenge your family." he offered her his sword. "All you must do is draw your blood from your palm and shake their hands. That will seal the bond."

Calliope's hand gripped the hilt of his sword. She opened her other palm, her heart beating out of her chest as Sepharin watched her contemplation. The three blood wraiths came forward, their faces still cloaked in mystery as each one held out their white, wrinkled hands.

As far as it takes.

Calliope winced as she cut into her palm, watching the blood flow from the light wound. With a deep breath, she held out her bleeding hand.

And then, she bound herself in blood as an assassin of the blood wraiths.

THE TOWN OF GENTRICK
PRESENT DAY

Sitting on the floor of the largest library in the five kingdoms amongst tons of open books is not a fun past time. Calliope had spent two days in the library looking through every book she could find on blood magic, but each one said the same: a bond forged through blood magic is unbreakable. That doesn't help her at all.

And there's nothing, anywhere, on blood wraiths; probably because the only people that know of them are immortal assassins serving them. Calliope closes the book in her hands with a loud sigh as she rubs her temples in frustration. Will she ever be free of this?

Why did she do this to herself? Sepharin's manipulation was powerful, and he took advantage of her being young and desperate to find purpose in her life. She spent the years following her acceptance into the guild tracking down the thirty men in the raiding party, and she had killed twenty-nine of them. The only one that had evaded her was the man who murdered her father and rode away with her mother on horseback.

"Are you alright, child?"

Calliope's head turns to the head librarian, a short man who looks to be at least eighty.

She nods, "I'm just having trouble finding what I'm looking for."

"Well, maybe I could help."

"I doubt it," she begins gathering the scattered books and putting them back on the shelves they belong. "This thing I'm researching, it's very... unknown to most."

"I've been on this earth for over eight decades now. I may know more than you think."

Calliope turns to him, throwing up her arms, "Fine. I'm looking for anything on blood wraiths."

"Blood wraiths?" He raises his eyebrows. "Now, why would you be interested in such dark and vile things?"

She gives him a shocked look, "You know of them?"

"Well, of course. Blood wraiths are mentioned in myth as the embodiment of the devil himself, feeding on lost souls imprisoned for an eternity of misery and pain by dark knights that slay innocents at their command," The old man lets out a tired breath.

"Do the myths say how to kill them, or their dark knights?"

"I'm afraid not," the librarian holds up his hand. "Wait here. I'll fetch the book for you."

Calliope leans against the bookcase, waiting for several minutes before the librarian returns with a dusty book; the pages barely held together at the seam. He offers her the old book.

"Now, this book is one of the oldest in the entire library. It's missing several pages, but it does mention blood wraiths and their dark knights," his eyes fall to her face. "Tred carefully, these creatures are made of hell itself."

With that, the old man hobbles away, and Calliope delicately opens the book, flipping through the worn pages until she lands on a passage about blood wraiths. The words are faint, and some have faded away, but she skims over what she can discern:

And then, creatures from the pit of hell arose, only able to dwell on the earth through vessels; dark knights that pledged themselves to death and decay. Through each kill, the blood wraiths grew stronger, feeding off of the souls of the departed, which are unable to find peace as they tred through unending lands of fire and blood that consume them with an eternity of misery.

Wow, okay. Calliope tucks the book into her satchel. She must return to Camelot.

It's time to tell Gaius what's going on because even though she doesn't want to involve anyone else, Calliope has realized that she cannot do this alone anymore.

IMPORTANT NOTE:
this chapter takes
place during episode 6 of season one so calliope wasn't in camelot for the events of that episode.
it's honestly a filler episode and I just felt like calliope's backstory was more important.

so the next chapter will pick up with episode 7!! stay tuned and remember to vote and leave your thoughts in the comments <3