Rescued: A Nyssara Story

Chapter 34

NYSSA: I wake at dawn as I always do and dress myself for the mission ahead. I prepare breakfast and start to eat at the small table that usually only seats me, but I placed another chair this time. Ta-er al-Sahfer comes into the kitchen fully dressed (besides a face covering) and kneels to me.

"Stand. Eat," is all I say.

She sits across from me to the plate of food I left for her. She consumes it without hesitation.

"Are you prepared?" I ask.

"Yes, of course."

"Are you excited?"

She scrunches her eyebrows in confusion then releases them. I continue.

"I would not be surprised if you felt that way. I can see that training bores you."

"I'm perfectly content with training."

I know she lies to me. She desires so strongly to be perfect and unproblematic. Not only that, but I believe she strives to be the best, or at least better than her peers. Her competitive nature is a driving force that I can find comparable to my own. I know that she is bored. She learned Arabic faster than any new member, most likely from boredom and competition.

I glance at her often as she eats to search for any body language, though I find very little.

I reach for my table knife and go to cut my meat, but instead I suddenly strike the blade at Ta-er al-Sahfer's hand that rests on the table across from me. Her reflexes do not disappoint as she easily evaded the strike as it pierces through the table. I unhand the knife and leave it standing upright.

"Very good, Yellow Bird. Always remaining alert and on guard even the the presence of someone you trust."

She nods.

I continue. "That is to assume that you do indeed trust me. Do you trust me?"

She pulls the knife out of the table and places it gently in the center of the table.

"With my life, Heiress," she says blankly.

I retrieve the knife and use it to cut my meat. She continues eating her final portions in silence before we finally suit up for the mission ahead.

...

Upon our arrival to the small warehouse where the targets congregate, Ta-er al-Sahfer perches herself in the rafters in the ceiling, analyzing their every move. I observe her nearby, hoping that she is able to execute the targets without my help.

So far, I believe she is on the path to success. She has not just gone in without studying her surroundings. She is being patient, rather than falling victim to the impulsive behavior she used to exhibit.

She waits for a conversation to end, and for one to leave the main room they converse in. She then uses an aerial ribbon in a particularly dark corner and snaps one of the target's necks. She quietly disposes of the body behind some crates and awaits another, in which she does the same to him.

She does well so far. The longer she can avoid suspicion from the others, the easier this will be.

Two more exit together, so she quickly equips her bow, and fires two arrows in quick succession into each of their skulls. She adds the bodies to her pile in the corner, retrieves her arrows, and waits for more. One more exits and she fires another arrow without hesitation, but another target walks out and turns to her. He reaches for his gun, but he falls as a lifeless corpse before his hand reaches his holster. 

Three more come out to investigate, and she manages to hit two of them clean, but misses the third. The remaining target has time to yell for help before Ta-er al-Sahfer loads another arrow and hits him.