Bloodstains and Betrayal

February 11th, 1850: Kozhva, Russia

I knew he didn't belong, but maybe one day he would...

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We traveled in silence. Vlad had tried to get us to talk, but never succeeded. I would just look up, give a weak smile, then look away again. I felt so... Hurt.

I was drug out of my thoughts when I noticed something... Off. A tall boy, a little older than I was, walking towards us cautiously. His dark brown eyes were aimed at the ground, sleek black hair hanging messily in his face. But that wasn't what had me concerned... What concerned me was the dark purple cloak he had on. The cape was a lighter purple, flung over his arm as if he was hiding something. The trim was shiny black, little flecks of silver imbedded in it. It bothered me. He didn't belong in that outfit, I could sense it. Apparently Vlad had noticed him too, because as he walked by, Vlad gave him a death glare.

"Can I help you?" He said gruffly, as if he had somewhere to be.

"What are you doing in that cloak?" Vlad sneered, getting closer to him. He looked down, as if he had forgotten he had it on, but finally answered dully:

"I stole it."

"Are you saying you killed a fellow assassin?" Nikolai growled, talking for the first time in two days.

"I had to. He was killed this lady, I watched him do it. What's it to you?"

"What did that woman look like?" Nikolai asked, pushing Vlad out of the way and ramming the boy into a stone wall. I looked around to see if anyone was around, and luckily no one was. The boy kept his composure, even when Nikolai brought his hidden blade to his neck. "Tell me."

"Short brown hair, green eyes, about 5'4". Excuse me, but does this really matter? Because I have more important things to do."

I froze, realizing why Nikolai had asked that question. That lady was...

"Eva." I said aloud, causing Nikolai to freeze as well. He retracted his hidden blade, letting go of the boy's neck. He then crashed onto the ground, instantly passing out. The boy turned to run, but I grabbed him by his hood while Vlad attended to Nikolai.

"Wait. Who exactly are you?"

"Arkadi." He replied, turning away again. I yanked him back once more, forcing him to face me.

"You're not leaving just yet." I growled, going snowblind just to scare him.

"A-and why not?" He asked, stumbling over his words. I allowed my eyes to return to their usual state, pulling out one of my scythes.

"I don't trust you."

"You're one crazy сука aren't you?" (сука=bitch) he half-heartidly laughed, a nervous look growing in his eyes.

"Yes, yes I am." I said dully, throwing him to the ground. "Move and it'll be the biggest mistake of your life."

"Right."

I sighed, turning back to Vlad, who was trying to comfort a now-in-tears-Nikolai. I almost went over to them myself, but then I remembered what he had said to me. I felt a gush of wind behind me, knowing that Arkadi had ran. I also knew he was a liar. No normal person could move that fast. I went snowblind again, finding his energy source running east. Without a word, I followed him, leaving Vlad and my uncle behind. When he fully came into sight, I went out of snowblindness, and ran full speed toward him.

"I told you not to run." I hissed, now right behind him. He spun around, completely shocked. I put my scythe to his neck, breaking though his skin by a little."Now tell me the truth or you die. I'll know if you're lying."

"Не убивайте меня, пожалуйста!" (Don't kill me, please!) He begged, eyes now fully glazed with fear. "Alright, I was hired to kill that woman. They were going to kill my father if I didn't! I can take you to the man who made me, but please, don't tell your friends, they'd kill me..."

"Only if you lead us to that man." I sighed, pulling my scythe back.

"You have my word..."

"Madie." I finished turning to walk back to where Vlad and Nikolai were. "And it'll be our little secret."

-TIMESKIP

*as told by Vlad

"Mother of Russia, where were you!?" I sighed in relief, right as Madie came into view. She had disappeared along with that quiet guy when Nikolai went unconscious.

"Our little captive decided to run." She sighed, pulling the boy along by his hood. "Turns out there were some other henchmen there, and he's going to take us to them. Right?" She growled the last part, giving him the darkest glare I've ever seen.

"Right."

I sighed in frustration, helping Nikolai off of his feet. Just what we needed, another tag along. I knew it was for Nikolai though, so I pushed the thought out of my mind.

"I'm Vladimir." I grumbled, letting him shake my hand.

"I'm Arkadi. Can I call you Vlad?" He replied, brushing his hair to the side.

"No."

...Just because he's coming along doesn't mean I have to like him.

"Okayyy..." He sighed, backing off. "And you are?" He asked, turning to Nikolai.

"Nikolai Markovich. 45."

"Arkadi Filitov. 18."

I let out another sigh, pulling my hood over my head. Something tells me that Nikolai was going to worship this guy. Defeated, I walked over to Madie, whispering:

"Are you sure about this?"

She took a step back, as if nervous to be close to me. She had been acting this way for awhile, whenever I tried to walk by her or sit next to her

"I'm sure."

With that, she walked back to Nikolai and Arkadi, leaving me alone.

"Well, I'm not, and I'm not letting this happen. I'll make sure of that."