Rise of Fire: Dragons Reborn [COMPLETED]

Chapter 41

Talia twisted her hair firmly between her fingers. This way, or that way? She thought to herself as she stared into the mirror. Her crimson locks were positively vibrant after several baths. No matter how much she cleaned herself she just couldn't seem to fit in her own skin. She felt wrong. So she was working towards mending that problem the only way she knew how.

Pulling another bead from a small velvet bag she twisted her hair some more before sliding it on. It was a simple bead, metal hand crafted and shaped by some distant smithy she could hardly remember. The work was fine, though it was only human. The designs were simplistic at best, hardly worthy of what it represented. But it hardly mattered, what it represented wasn't exactly her best attribute.

Talia had grown up far away from any giants or giant culture but thanks to Nico and his affinity for books she had learned one little tidbit about her kin. Giants signified their kills with beads. Of course they were highly selective of which kills they would honor in their hair, most often it was to symbolize the slaying of a rival or an enemy in honorable combat. Of course every single one of her beads marked a kill, though the honor behind many of them was questionable at best.

'There's not enough hair on your head for the amount of beads you could braid in if you're counting kills.' Reezara's voice was soft as always but there was a ring of truth behind it. Dark truth it may have been, but a truth nonetheless. Talia sighed as she prepared the next bead.

'I don't carry as many as you'd think. Each bead does signify a kill, but these are all... Special kills. Ones I remember clearly. They have meaning, more so than most of the others.' She was only going to wear eight, three on each side holding a smaller chunk of hair and the two biggest ones to hold her thick bangs out of her eyes. They would flow over the front of her shoulders to showcase her skill. She had dozens of small beads she could weave into her hair but she hardly had the time or the patience to do such a thing.

The fourth bead was the one she was currently working on. It signified Clarence Montagne, a man she had grown to despise throughout her stay within his hold. She had spent three months posing as a half-giant slave of his, always chained to his side like a dog to its master. She was meant to kill him slowly over time with miniscule doses of some of the most rare and potent poison known to mankind. And she had. He died a relatively painless death, slipping away in his sleep. Still her rage and hatred burned for him, she deeply wished she could have made him stare into her eyes as she slit his throat.

Each bead had its own little meaning, most of them signifying her regrets. Her regret for Montagne was that she hadn't been nearly violent enough, she had let him die like any other man would wish to die. But others marked her regret at being too violent, or too quick, or too late. Each was a lesson, a reminder that with perfection came forethought, patience, and diligence. There was a thinly maintained balance between satisfaction and seeing a job done.

'Is it wise to carry around your regrets like a talisman? I can sense the emotions deep within you and I am worried this is only another way to punish yourself.' Reezara had been trying to gently prod her for hours. Her worry and concern were palpable but Talia didn't know how else to explain what she was doing. It was difficult to look at herself in the mirror, that much was true, but there was a reason.

'This is not punishment. It's more of a reprimand. While each lesson was painful, and continues to be painful, they are still valuable. I can't face this... Whatever this is without remembering what makes me so good at what I do. This castle, these circumstances, they're all so new to me. I am a fish outside of my pond and casting about for familiarity is only leading me to drowning in my own despair. These are my familiarity, the part of myself that never changes no matter what face I put on. While my exterior can change to fit any situation asked of me, this is who I will always be. Even if this was never what I was meant to be.' She pulled the fifth bead into place with a swift and practiced motion.