The Remains of Dawn

Chapter Two

Twenty-three years later...

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Oriel stretched her arms out as she opened her eyes. She sat up in her bed and rubbed the sleep from her eyes. Oriel's room wasn't much, but they weren't allowed to own more than they can carry. As one of the Queen's assassins, she had to be ready to move at any given moment. The only furniture in her room was her bed, a dark wood dresser, and dark wood vanity with her hairbrush and makeup laying on top of it.

A light showed through her window making the room light up. She yawned as she got out of bed and walked to her dresser. She got dressed in her usual tight black, long-sleeved shirt and black skinny pants before walking out the door as she grabbed her hairbrush on her way out.

Her bonded partner, Tassian, sat at the table eating his breakfast while looking at a new scroll laid out in front of him. He was dressed in the same attire as she was showing off more of his muscles than hers did. His black raven wings hung off his back in a relaxed manner. His normally kemp brown hair was disheveled. His emerald eyes met hers and she sat down at the table.

"Didn't brush your hair this morning?" Oriel asked as she continued to brush her hair back in a ponytail.

"Didn't feel like it," Tassian smirked at her before looking back down at the scroll. "Besides, I like it when you brush my hair. You do it better."

She knew she was blushing, but he wouldn't know; he wasn't looking. "Let me finish my hair and then I'll fix yours like I do every morning." She knew how to control herself around Tassian, but he still gave her butterflies when he said phrases as he did. His tanned skin was marked with tattoos underneath his shirt. His face was free of any hair - that's how he liked it. He shaved almost every morning. His emerald eyes rested underneath curved eyebrows. He had a perfectly angular nose and full lips that usually rested in a smirk whenever he was messing with her.

Ever since Oriel met Tassian twelve years ago, she's been infatuated with him. She knew, just like he did, that nothing could ever happen between them. The Queen had put them together for a variety of different reasons. They were both equally skilled and the top in their class. They both had the same design of wings - although, his are bigger. Oriel believes firmly that Queen Krathys noticed their friction and decided to torture them both. Seems to fit something that she would do.

Oriel finished tying her hair up and walked behind Tassian. She reached around and grabbed his chin forcing his head up earning a grunt of disapproval from him. "Oh hush," she shushed him. "You know your head needs to be up for me to do this." She started to run her hairbrush through his hair making sure to get all the tangles out before styling it the way that he likes it. Once she was done she nudged his wings and walked back towards her room. "Make sure you put the gel in it or it'll remain frizzy."

"Yes, dear," he mimicked her. "I'm going to make sure you eat this morning."

Oriel just waved him off as she walked into her room and sat down at her vanity. She looked at herself in the mirror. Her usual long red hair was up in a ponytail. Her bright blue eyes were small this morning and she noticed she had small dark circles under them. She sighed as she grabbed her concealer and lightly fixed her dark circles. She didn't like using makeup often. She was fond of her complexion and didn't mind the freckled the line across her nose. When she and Tassian had to go to court, however, the Queen liked makeup and made sure that she wore it. After finishing her under-eyes, she grabbed a little vaseline and rubbed it on her lips making sure they don't chap. The boys down at the bars always said that her lips were sultry looking, but she always looked at them as elegant.

A knock sounded at her door and she turned around to see Tassian standing in the doorway with a plate of sausage. "You need to eat." Oriel motioned him in and he set the plate down in front of her. "Where's your locket?" She pointed to her jewelry box and he rummaged through it.

The locket was something the Queen gave every female assassin the day they graduate. It was a silver jewel set with a protection spell. All it protected was your life, but a person can still be beaten senselessly. The men got a silver ring that they had to wear on their left middle finger. That ring held the same protection spell in it that the locket has.

"Found it." Tassian came up behind her and held up the locket. "May I?" Oriel nodded as she spread her wings to make room for him to get closer to her. He fastened the locket around her neck and rested his hands on her shoulders. "Now, eat. We'll leave in ten minutes. We've got a new assignment." He turned and walked out of her room.

She took a deep breath before eating. Sometimes she resented the Queen for what she's done to her and Tassian. Queen Krathys took both of them away from their homes when they were young children and raised them to be what they are. She took away their memories of home and performed painful experiments on them both. Oriel and Tassian were some of the few who developed wings through those experiments. No one remembers the real number of children who were taken from their homes twenty-three years ago, but only twenty women and twenty men survived. Queen Krathys paired each of them together in hopes that they would create children of their own for her to control. Her only rule was to only procreate. No love. When Oriel and Tassian were paired together three years ago, they both vowed to not procreate. They don't want any more children under her control.

She finished the sausage that was on her plate and walked back over to the dresser pulling out her black trench coat and her two swords. She sheathed the two swords on her hips and shouldered on her trench coat. She grabbed her plate on the way back to the kitchen and placed it in the sink.

Oriel walked over to the table a picked up the scroll. Their next target is an advisor for the Queen. "Guess this guy pissed Queen Krathys off, huh?"

Tassian came to stand next to her. "Yeah, I guess he did," he chuckled. He strapped on his two swords around his waist and already had on his black trench coat. "We should go." He gently took the scroll from her hands and rolled it back up. He stuffed it inside a pocket and looked at her deeply.

"What?" Oriel asked.

Tassian sighed and shook his head. "Nothing." He rubbed the back of his neck.

Oriel smiled at him before turning grim. "We need out of this, Tassian."

"I know, but how?"

Oriel shrugged. "I don't know, but we need out."

"Oriel," Tassian started, his voice low, "we'll be hunted if try to get out. Queen Krathys won't let us live." He reached out and tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear.

"We'll figure out a way," Oriel sighed. She turned and walked towards the door. "Now, let us do what we were made to do."

Author note: Thank you for reading this chapter! If you enjoyed it please leave and comment or a vote!