Blade in the Shadows

The blind assassin

A/N: So sorry for being MIA these last few weeks. Exams are around the corner and projects and large amounts of homework are being dished out so... yeah. This might be the last chapter I publish for the next 3-4 weeks. I don't know; maybe I'll be able to squeeze another one in before next week's exams. No promises.

Enjoy.

Several weeks passed before the priests allowed me to leave. Mother and father had visited me almost every day. As did Vizier, Fergus and Veezara when they were between jobs. Vizier was great company. One day I joked about nearly dying after he recounted a few of his travels. The priests must have taken me seriously because they kicked him out after hearing my words. Fergus was a bore as usual. He kept complaining about their "inadequate" healing abilities after many of the soldiers, who were also injured during the attack, were released a few days after they arrived. I understand, my wounds were more severe than theirs but it's been close onto three months. At least his five hour-long lectures easily put me to sleep. I mean, he's never even bothered to read about dragons and, of course, he hasn't seen any as they've been thought extinct until now. So what gave him the right to lecture me about safety?

A few weeks after all that, Mother, father, Vizier, Fergus and Veezara all came to the temple to witness my "ultimate return to glory", as Vizier called it. Everyone waited expectantly as the priestess unwrapped the multitude of bandages that covered my head. My pulse quickened as the last layer fell away and I heard everyone's breath hitch.

With my eyes still closed I said, "If that dragon has singed off my hair, I'm personally bringing it back from the Void and killing it myself... again."

"Uh, it's not that," Vizier said in a strained voice.

"Then what is it?" I asked and opened my eyes. Everyone, including me, gasped in fright. I was blind!

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[Audiomachine: An unfinished life]

I don't know how long I sat on the bed with my head in my hands, running them over the scars that adorned my face. A now constant reminder that I will never be the same. That nothing will go back to what it was before. I tried to wrap my thoughts around what had happened to me while mother and father did their best to comfort me. Mother rubbed my back in soothing circles but I barely even noticed. I could see the others standing a short distance away. Fergus was quietly arguing with Vizier. I could see the ants crawling pitifully around my feet and the rats scouring in the rooms beneath the ground. I squeezed my eyes shut but still saw everything.

It makes no sense, I know. It's hard to explain. I didn't see these things like you would. I saw hazy, ghostly apparitions of them.

I made an exasperated noise; Vizier and Fergus's bickering was starting to get on my nerves. Mother noticed and hugged me tighter. I leaned my head against her neck. I shuddered as I tried to stop the tears that had welled up in my eyes from falling. Veezara patted my leg comfortingly from where he was sitting on the floor.

"Shake off your worries, Black Crow," Mother whispered. "We'll figure this out." I didn't believe her but I nodded nonetheless. I hadn't told them about my unnatural ability. How could I explain what I didn't even understand myself?

A/N: I know. Too short a chapter for how long I was gone. Sorry!

But how was it? Constructive criticism is appreciative. And don't forget to vote. See you in 3-4 weeks.