The Forgotten

Chapter eighteen: Murderous Stories

Janus' story was a sad one... A boy raised by his aunt and uncle in a farm that was initially owned by his parents. They abuse Janus... He was a working slave to them. And like all slaves, Janus was beat. At age thirteen, Janus went inside the house after a long day out on the field to find his younger sister lying on the floor, blood piling around her.

She obviously was hit in the head with something. Janus runs over, pulling his sister into his lap, pleading out to god to let her live... To undo this wrongful doing. God heard the begs and his sister awoke immediately, pointing at the bloody pot beside her before grabbing his cheek with her bloody hand before falling limp again seconds later.

A force took over his body, one of hatred and revenge. He picked up the bloody pot, beating his aunt and uncle atop the head with it until they were unrecognizable. Janus was the end of his two caretakers.

God was angry and unforgiving.

Janus then ran away, unable to live with what he had done. He ran into Whitehill and everything fell into place from there. He met a girl eventually, but she broke his heart by marrying to wealth rather than love... So he killed her too. Eventually Enyo found him- The murderer- and brought him back to the Dark Guild and he became a Dea.

After his sentimental yet evil story, I just nod at him, not knowing what to say. I never would have thought... He seems so innocent and righteous...

"I think I get it now," Janus says finally, breaking the silence and clenches his jaw. He suddenly lunges at me, lifting me up by the throat. I kick at him, pulling as hard as I could at his arms pryed around my neck. "I gave you my heart and you broke it," he yells through his clenched teeth. I stop flailing and just stare at him. I knew what I had to do... But I didn't want to do it. I lower my hand and feel for the hilt of my sword.

"Stop... now..." I gasp as I feel a tear run down my cheek as he tightened his grip. I pull the sword out and shove it into his stomach. Janus drops me hesitantly and looks down at the sword lodged in his stomach. I land on the ground, gasping for air, coughing as I watched him fall backward. I swiftly crawl over to him, hovering above him. Blood spills out of his mouth as he stares up at me helplessly.

"I am... so sorry," I cry out as he raises his hand up to my cheek, rubbing it. I lower my head down and kiss him. We held the kiss for several seconds before he started coughing. Blood dripped down his cheek as I slowly pulled away from him, watching him wheeze.

"Princess. . . I-" Janus managed to say through the coughs. The coughing suddenly stops and his head falls to the side. I stand up slowly, tears rolling down my cheek as I pulled the sword out of his stomach. My first kill...

..

His death haunts me... Even two months later. Janus was my bestfriend and I killed him with little hesitation. I gave him his last wish; a kiss. I don't think it was nearly enough, however. His funeral was brief and Enyo read him a prayer in Latin. All the members of the guild had to attend... It's like that when anyone dies. Everyone blew off his death, as if he never even existed. A woman named Leto took over his place as horse trainer. She seemed to be jealous of me because I was such good friends with Enyo. Enyo now took me everywhere she went, and our training only got more intense. She was proud of me for killing Janus. Apollo hasn't said a word to me about Janus either.

Enyo was starting to get mad with King George because he wasn't following up on their agreement... or something like that. On a rare occasion, she would bring me Shakespeare home from the library. Enyo was like a big sister to me.

The Dark Guild taught me some Italian and English, but now I was fluent in Latin. Apparently this is how they communicate on the battlefield and in front of enemies. Apollo told me that Enyo was planning an attack on Whitehill. Although we had the best warriors throughout all of Europe, there was more of them than us.

I try to tell myself that Arthur still wants me to come home, but that most likely isn't the case. He probably found some girl that is actually normal. Arthur doesn't seem like the type of boy to want a girl like the ones from my old town... but maybe that's what best for him. He only deserves the best, and that obviously wasn't me... but I still loved him no matter what. I had no feelings for Janus like that. I only kissed him so he would die happy. Something was seriously wrong with him... But now he is at peace.

I remember running into the house with Janus cradled in my arms, crying. I didn't realize it, but blood covered my face. The room fell completely silent and no one moved. Everyone stared at me as I stood there crying. I remember Enyo's face as she ran down the steps to see me holding him. She clenched her jaw and ran up to me, taking him from my arms. 'super eum vivere' she said in a calm soothing voice as she slide her hand down his face, closing his brown eyes. The rest of the members repeated the phrase. At the time, I didn't know what is meant... but now I know. 'He will live on'.

Ever since I killed him, I can't get the vision of the sword lodged in his stomach out of my head... All of the blood. When I told Apollo what I felt, I could see under his helmet a big shadowed smile. Then we went to Basille Inn to collect pay and completely dropped the topic.

Today, Enyo offered to take me to Whitehill castle... But I was hesitant to accept the offer. Maybe it was because I was scared to see if Arthur had moved on since the last time I saw him (approximately 208 days ago). I skipped breakfast today since I didn't have enough time. Maybe we can stop and get something there.

Enyo clapped her hands in my face, "Hey, daydreamer... I was talking to you," I focus in on her narrowed eyes and clenched jaw.

"Apologies... What was it you were saying?" I pat the chestnut horses neck before I quickly throw the reins over his head. Enyo jumps up on the horse. Her black curly hair flows behind her as her brown eyes beam down at me.

"I asked if you were almost ready to go." Enyo asks as I check the tightness of the girth.

"Alright, let's head out," I finally pull myself onto the horse and follow Enyo out of the stable. She lead me through the woods. I was impressed how well she knew the forrest. Once we arrived at Whitehill, we pulled on our helmets and trotted down the stone path towards the Dark Mart. People knew who we were as we trotted into town. Everyone stepped out of our way. We had quite the... reputation. I feel like there is more to the story behind the Dea... People respected us, but we were just thieves who blackmail landowners... right? Was there more to the story than that?

Enyo suddenly pulled to a stop in front of an inn. "Breakfast?" She asked with a smirk and I smiled.