The Land: Anarchy

Chapter 12: The Red-Haired Assassin

"Wh---What...." Zuno was speechless. He fell to the ground. He was bleeding heavily. Gwen had cut his stomach, Zuno was dying.

"Why..." He cried.

"You left me to die. Ravenrock took me in and cared for me." She replied.

Zuno crawled as he leaned to a wall. Holding his bleeding stomach he said, "I thought they killed you. You fainted and I couldn't do anything much back then."

Tears started coming out of Gwen as she removed her hood. "You couldn't do much, I know that. They trained me to become an assassin. For me to pass their test and earn their trust, I have to kill my closest people." She replied as she wiped her tears off her face.

"You don't have to do th---" Zuno coughed out blood and continued "run away with me." He moaned.

"What is done cannot be undone. It is too late, I can't save you." Gwen said.

From the back, an arrow penetrated Gwen's chest. She fell. Arya came running in.

"Zuno! Stay with me!" She yelled. She immediately approached Zuno and began healing him.

"Pl---ease don't let her die." Zuno said with a faint voice. Then he fainted.

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Zuno opened his eyes, he was on his bed. He looked to his left, Arya was looking out of the window. He sees that Gwen was also still on bed, but she was tied up.

"I did what you asked. Do I always have to save your life?" She giggled.

"Thank you, I owe you again." Zuno said.

"Why save her though? She almost killed you, good thing I didn't kill her." Arya replied.

"I lost her once, I'm not planning to lose her again." Zuno made clear.

Arya felt pain in her chest, it was not a physical wound, but something else. "Do you plan to take her with us to Andeena?" She asked.

"I--- I don't know." Zuno was still shocked that Gwen was alive. "We'll ask her questions once she's awake."

"Good news from Andeena, you can enter and I'll be guiding you again, this time, I'm your guardian." Arya pointed out.

"Guardian? Why would I need a guardian?" Zuno asked.

"Ehm, if I hadn't been here to heal you, you would be dead by now, and don't even mention the past actions I did. You need me. Arya joked.

Zuno was speechless, "but I'm dangerous, you'll not be safe around me."

"Don't worry, now I got blessed with royal magic, I can protect myself and even you from yourself." Arya said.

Gwen's bed started to shake, she was struggling to untie herself.

"Gwen, calm down." Zuno said

"I can't be calm! I failed to kill you and now I definitely can't go back. What am I going to do?" She yelled.

Gwen, the one that Zuno thought was weak and extremely kind, was now someone unknown to him. She had completely changed since the last time they saw each other. She was now a trained assassin. He cried for days mourning her death, and now she shows up trying to kill him. But he knows, deep inside, Gwen was still the same person from back in the village.

"You can come with us." He said.

Arya poked Zuno and whispered. " If she comes with us, I don't think she can come to Andeena. They don't accept strangers, you know. Besides, I kind of hate her and do you really trust that she won't kill you along the way?"