Abattoir--by Revans Rubber Duckie, Chapter 4, Fantasy/Young Adult

(Click for full view if interested--it seems to of have cut off the side a little)
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Ethessa is a human experiment, along with hundreds of other children, given the ability to destroy and create her cells in exchange for sacrificing her memories. Put through brutal tests and unrelenting experiments, she has learned her only purpose in life is to kill and be the perfect soldier.

Her abilities and morals are put the test when she's put on an assignment--something that has never happened before with any child experiment. Tasked with escorting a noble girl, Ethessa soon finds that she is about to be thrust into the middle of a war that may very well bring everything she believes crashing down on her.
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Koir was bored. As promised, he had left immediately after the meeting, changing into a less formal attire, though still considerably well armoured, and a much more practical blade, and grabbing his most trusted steed. Not only was it the fastest and most agile, but also the most ferocious. Most decide to place their faith in horses and the likes, but not Koir. No, he preferred to place his faith in his raptor. Though it was more common to find such an animal in the more southern areas, it was still widely known as one of the superior mounts. Spiders and zigag, an animal native to the abandoned country of Gjin, were by far the most rare to find let alone most difficult to tame; anyone with a raptor in these parts of Shactha had to be of importance. Or just really damn lucky.

Koir felt nothing of the sort at the moment. Damned? Maybe. Lucky? Not at all. It was pouring rain, cold, and dark. Worse conditions could not be found for these parts. He would have been fine if he was not trying to figure out just where the hell he was and was not paranoid of every carriage that went by. Most people would not spare a second glance at such an hour, but the raptor sort of stood out.

So far, they had all been smart enough to avoid the creature, but Koir doubted his luck would go on for long. Especially when he was due for a guard checkpoint at any given moment. He could not claim to be the prince because he was not supposed to be out here anyways, not this close to his wedding day. Not only would that destroy his image, but it would put a permanent stain on his family's honour. The only way he would be able to get away with the raptor was to imitate a Southern accent and use what little bits and pieces he knew of the language while hoping no guards could speak it. Or knew males were not allowed to leave without a female in their presence.

The only problem was, he had not taken Southern Languages for well over three years. Even if he did manage to recall one of the several dialects, it would only be a few words that most likely would not even make sense when put together in a sentence.

Koir could make out the check point up ahead now, and he knew he was in trouble. He could just stay where he was and wait for the carriage to find him instead, but that could possibly cause some problems. Weighing out the pros and cons quickly, Koir nodded to himself and dismounted, patting his mount. It made a low screech-growl sound in response. He led it under some trees in case of some odd mischance someone recognized him.

“There's a good boy. I'll get you a deer. Later, though, alright?” he said patting him.

The raptor growled its approval, nudging its' neck, watching as carriages came by. Though it took at least an hour, much of that time spent trying to teach the raptor to play rock, paper, scissors, Koir finally found the carriage he wanted. He didn't know how he knew, he just did. Like when you know there is one cookie left in the cookie jar, despite everyone else's claims that there is indeed no cookie.

Ordering his mount to stay hidden, Koir jumped out into the middle of the road, forcing the driver to make the carriage come to a sudden skidding halt. Koir heard various curses and mutterings, along with some threats from inside, but no one came out to see who—or what—had stopped them.

“Move it, boy. I got important people in the back. Gotta get 'em to an important place,” the driver said. Koir couldn't make out the upper half of the face, there was an oversized tophat looming over his face, and the accent he had was odd; not one Koir had ever heard before.

“Is that so? Wouldn't happen to be some princess in there, would there?”

The driver let out a growl that faintly resembled an aggravated hedgehog, “Look, kid, move it before I run you over. We got a deadline.”

“'Kid'? I'm seventeen, a perfectly capable adult, thank you very much.”

“Oooh, really? That makes it better. I won't have to deal with the technicalities then,” the driver made a feint, the horses taking a dangerous step forward. Koir saw through it, or rather, the same instinct that told him before this was the correct carriage saw through it. His raptor on the other hand, did not.

Before Koir could stop it, the menacing beast leaped out, prepared to defend his master. The horses moved away nervously while the driver seemed completely oblivious to the acts, like he had seen this coming.

Koir quickly forced the animal to calm down, petting and soothing it's frantic mind. He hoped nobody else had heard it's screech, or seen it for that matter. Koir's attention however was quickly drawn to the carriage door being swung open. For a few painful seconds, nobody came out. Then a shadow seemed to jump out, but Koir guessed it was just a trick of the eye. It must be the light playing with the shadow of the man who was stepping out, completely calm and collected.

“And may I ask why you are blocking the way?” he asked, stopping about a metre away from Koir. He had a dark coloured cloak that covered his mouth, along with anything else below the neck. The other half of his face was covered by his hair, which was just as dark. Koir absentmindedly wondered if the man could even see.

Koir got himself back on track, “I believe you are carrying someone who belongs to me.”

The man continuously looked behind Koir, like Koir wasn't the real enemy here. He guessed it was because the man was being cautious of the raptor, and with good reason. It did not take much to rip open a human; not with those teeth and talons.

“Someone of yours? You're mistaken.”

“And how do you figure that? I know you're carrying a woman in there.”

“Oh, pervert powers?” the man snorted, “how pitiful. Taking into considering I have never met or seen you before, and my only reason for coming this far is to accompany my mistress's child, that is impossible. Ignorant brat. It's rude to mistake someone for someone else.”

Koir's heart skipped a beat, and his second-guessing didn't allow him to register the insults. What if he had been mistaken? What if this was not the right carriage? He had gone with gut instincts after all. It would be a small wonder if he was wrong. If he was wrong at all, this man did not look like someone to trifle with. There was no telling how many weapons could be stored under that coat.

On the other hand, though, it could be a cover story. Something to steer him off track. Koir decided to go with his gut once more.

“I don't believe you.”

The man made a subtle, almost unnoticeable nod, “Really?”

“Really,” Koir replied defiantly, “If your story is true, then prove it. Show me the girl.”

“I think she'll be able to show herself just fine.”

“What--?”

“Boo!” Koir grimaced in pain as something gripped him arm tightly, probably enough to break it if any more pressure was added. He turned his head sightly to the side to look over his shoulder, first noticing his raptor lying on it's side, seemingly dead. Shouldn't there of been some sort of thump? His gaze then lowered to a little girl. Well, not that little. She was probably only a head shorter than him.

From what Koir could see, her hair seemed to be deciding if it wanted to be pure black, or have a blue undertone to it. It was uncommon, but he had heard of Northerners having several different kinds of undertones to them, depending on their magic specialization. Was she a mage, then? That would explain how his raptor was put down so effortlessly. But, her blue eyes held no evidence of such. Mages supposedly lost their pupils eventually, the magic eventually making it's way through the user's body.

Was she the one that killed his raptor, though? It was no easy feat, that was for sure .If she managed to kill that without it screeching out, there was no telling how quickly she could kill him. He'd probably still think he was alive before realizing his mistake and falling into an empty abyss. She looked nothing like a mage, and that left him helpless as to who else exactly could take down the beast so effortlessly.

She grinned, looking nothing like a murderer, “Don't worry. It's not dead, just unconscious. I promise. He was too pretty to kill,” she piped in, silencing Koir's fears, “And I wouldn't move too much. There's a blade at your throat and a gun at your head and heart,” she added almost as an afterthought.

Koir turned to find she was speaking the truth. He knew the knife was hers, seeing as the man in the coat had a gun pointed at his chest. A small glance to the left proved the driver (how had he not noticed the driver was completely silent this whole time?) had one pointing at his head. He tried to jerk away, maybe manage to slash the driver and escape, but the grip was harder than iron. He absently wondered how a girl that size and age could have that strong of a grip. She was probably on steroids or something. Hell, he doubted she even felt his jerk.

“Well, this is rather odd, isn't it?” Koir grinned, trying his luck with his charms.

“Well--” the girl started, but the man in the coat cut her off, earning him a glare. He hadn't noticed, or if he did, he didn't care.

“Who are you, what do you think you are doing, and why would you happen to pick us over the numerous other carriages?”

“Koir Vesarm. I'm here to escort my fiance, and I don't really understand what you mean by the last question,” he replied honestly.

“We're pretty lucky, huh? Two nobles in the same week!”

“Idiot. Back in the carriage. Now.”

“But--”

“I said now.”

The girl glared harder before releasing Koir's arm and slowly removing the blade from his throat. Though Koir couldn't see it, she crossed her arms stubbornly, putting a pouting face on. The man was completely unfazed, keeping his gaze locked with Koir's.

“If he runs away, you're following him,” she finally said before storming off.

“He has two guns on him, a dead raptor, and nowhere to hide. Bullets also happen to be faster than people.”

“Sure, that's what they all say, but no one's managed to hit me yet,” she yelled out of the carriage.

“Ignore her. We we ordered to escort your fiance. You are lying,” the man walked closer, keeping h is gun level. Besides the fact his finger looked ready to shoot, Koir had no doubt t his man was ready to shoot him. That was probably his plan anyways. Shoot him, hide the body in one of the many ditches, and go on as though they had never met. Koir knew he would have to be completely honest now and hope the man could tell.

“It is true. My father sent me.”

The man seemed bored, his voice monotone, “Another lie? I have no tolerance for liars. I know you have a law forbidding you from leaving.” The man cocked the gun, and the driver followed suit.

Koir stared, wondering how an outsider could possibly know such a thing. It was a well fact within his country, but he could tell by the dark hair this man was not from his country. It was almost complete opposite with his white-blond, a common colour of royalty and higher class citizens. Even commoners shared it sometimes, but dark hair was definitely not common at all.

Koir sighed, licked his lips and yelled over the rain, “Look, I can explain inside. It's nothing special, and even if we don't manage to come to an agreement, we're heading the same direction. If my father doesn't vouch for me, then he would kill me anyways.”

“You're going to leave your raptor behind? I guess any idiot who does that isn't a threat at all. Get in, now.”

Koir was about to argue he was not an idiot, but the tone told him this was his only chance to get in without getting killed. He walked into the same girl from earlier reciting the events of his capture (glorifying herself of course) to another woman, who he decided was his fiance. Or he hoped it was, for between her and the girl, the woman won.

“...and then he said he was Koir—you know your fiance—but I didn't believe him so—oh hey! That's him right there,” the girl cut off pointing at the man in question. The woman turned to face the intruder.

“So I see. Greetings, I am Alida don Ikasa.”

Koir stared, eyeing the long white hair, piercing blue eyes, elegant dress, and the pale skin tone. This was the Ikasa girl he was promised? Koir was certain he was about to die on the spot. Just one look at her, and he knew there was no way he was wearing the pants in this relationship.

“You shouldn't stare, you know. It's kind of a turn off,” the girl whispered, pulling him out of his despair.

“I-I know that!” he whispered back before turning to Alida, “U-um, I'm Koir Vesarm.”

“So I've heard.”

Koir flushed, stuttering a few incoherent words before managing a “Pleased to--”

“Get moving, playboy. We have a deadline.”

“Don't be so mean, Xan!”

“I'll be mean if some hussy is blocking my way.”

“I'm not--!”

“Move.” the tone and growl was more than enough to convince anyone to move.

Koir did not argue, recalling this was the man who was ready to shoot him on sight, and probably force him to be the first to be eaten if by chance they were cannibals. He really hoped they were not. He did not want to be eaten, especially not by his fiance. He settled for a seat by the, hopefully, least likely cannibal. This left the two most likely cannibals to sit together, much to the little girl's delight, and the canni—older man's dismay.

The coach gave a light jerk, signifying the continuity of their journey. Unfortunately, it did nothing to ease the tension. Between Koir's fear of being eaten by the older man in the coat—Xan was it?--and the girl's constant staring, Koir was quite concerned for his life. He would have been concerned about his fiance, too, and some small part of him was, but there was also the chance she was part of the cannibal group.

Then the Ikasa girl spoke up, “ I believe he is who he says he is. Not only does he bear the royal symbol on his clothing, but his armour is of the Thlaka kind—one used for the royal families of Dra'schon.”

Koir looked genuinely surprised, “I-impressive. Did you study our culture?”

“Of course. After all, within a month I am to be staying with your people.”

Koir flushed and nodded, knowing he looked like an incompetent fool. Well, he probably was part fool, but he was not incompetent. He had, after all, managed to receive top honours in every class he had ever studied into (Yes, that included manly sewing). He had to be somewhat competent for that.

“Hey, do you guys really eat your enemies after battle?”

Koir suddenly started coughing, earning a few soothing pats on the back and a hand on his chest to stabilize him , from his fiance. Xan just looked annoyed, and somehow insulted, while the girl looked completely oblivious to the effects of her question.

“Th-thanks,” Koir said quietly, gently pushing Alida's hand away, allowing the other to move away from his back. The woman nodded her welcome, hiding the amusement from her facial features, though a smile was threatening to break through. She was glad Ethi managed to break most of the awkwardness.

“Well?” the girl pressed.

“N-no. W-we did, that is, a long time ago. Because of the old god practice. We believed that dying on a battle field was a great honour, and the spirit of a fallen warrior could be continued on through you if you ate them, sort of like carrying on their spirit I guess,” he paused frowning slightly, “Well, I guess it wouldn't really be that old. It's only been fifty years since the old gods were renounced.”

“So...that means, if we ate you, you'd be in us?” she questioned. He heard Alida trying to keep a laugh inside.

Koir's fear of cannibalism came back. Until Xan snorted.

“Please. There is no possible way I am eating a human, let alone something as idiotic as that.”

“Well, I'm not eating him either because I'm already better than all of you, and I think Alida would hate me if I hate her husband-to-be.”

Everyone paused, Koir staring at Ethi wondering how she go the delusion she better than him. Seriously, some little twit like that could not possibly be better than him. Except maybe at being short, but that was a battle he was quite willing to lose.

“Erm, that is thoughtful of you. Thank you,” Alida awkwardly tried to make sense of the girl's logic, but it was not working too well.

“Don't encourage her. She will never shut up if you do,” Xan cut in, bored.

“I will so! I can shut up when I need to!” Ethessa lightly punched Xan's arm, earning a growl from him.

“Hey, are you related to Xan?” her interest returned to Koir, “You guys almost have the same household name. Maybe the paper got smudged or something? You're Vesarm, right? Xan's Ves—mmf!”

Xan's hand was firmly placed of Ethi's mouth, keeping her quiet. She didn't understand why, tough. She was following the rules he had laid out prior to their departure. Besides, Koir was from royalty, so he was bound to remember something about their organization, anyways.

“Shut up,” Xan said quietly, just loud enough for her to hear. His hand tightened slightly to emphasize his point. Ethi nodded slowly, showing she understood.

“Hey, quit it. It's alright. I mean, it's not like you're from Vesak or anything, right?” Koir flashed his award winning smile.

At that moment, everything froze, with everyone either staring or glaring at Koir. Xan didn't seem to be affected, but Ethi seemed confused, about to ask why Xan being a Vesak was a bad thing, but she realized that Xan's hand was still over her mouth. Alida, if she had a cup of tea with her, would have probably continued drinking, ignoring the tension completely. Koir slowly came to the realization behind the sudden loss of sound.

“You're...?” he questioned, slightly afraid of the answer.

“Was. Vesak does not exist anymore. It was not even my real family by blood, so do not bother trying to spill it. Not that you could,” Xan gave the entire explanation in monotone. It was better this way, seeing as he wouldn't have to be pestered by questions. Or not as many, anyways. He knew he would have to give a huge explanation later to his little burden, but that was mostly because she did not know the history behind the blood feud.

Xan expected some kind of reaction from the noble boy, but the one he gave was definitely not what any of them had expected. Even Alida probably would have stopped her tea drinking.

“So that's it? Just because most of them were wiped out, you decide to renounce the name? Do you not care for family honour?” Koir seemed—no, was--extremely infuriated by the news, “Even after they took you in? After--”

“You stop there. You know absolutely nothing. Of course someone like you would not understand.”

Ethessa gave a small protesting sound when Xan's hand gripped a little too tightly, though he did not seem to notice. If anything, it only got tighter. A considerable amount tighter, resulting in the girl trying to bite his palm, but again he did not notice. He was far too concentrated upon making sure his glare bore right through Koir. Between his overly tightened jaw and clenched fist, if was impossible for Xan to notice anything other than the boyish face mirroring his own expression.

The idiot knew absolutely nothing. He had no right to go making assumptions like that. He had no idea what had happened for him to end up in that hell hole. He--

“Stop.” It was not commanding, but it was not loud, either. The voice was actually rather gentle, and somewhat quiet. Just loud enough to be heard over the pounding of the rain, yet it managed to snap both Xan and Koir's attention to the aristocrat. Sighing, looking like she thought she was the only real adult around, Alida looked exasperatedly at Xan.

“Honestly, you are no better than him. Let go of your partner. I do not think she enjoys having her facial structure rearranged because her handler can not control his temper,” she turned her head to Koir, not bothering to see Xan go through with the order, “And you will not run into conclusions like that without proper background evidence,” she finally turned to Ethessa, who was now rubbing her jawline, “And you will not just take that from Xanthos, either. No matter what he is to you, he has no right to abuse you in any way. He will apologize this very moment.”

Xan glared, ready to argue despite the finalizing tone, but something about her unwavering gaze told him to do otherwise. Grudgingly, he leaned over, turning Ethi's face slightly so he was facing her ear. She frowned, ready to question him on it, but he cut her off, with what the to nobles assumed was an apology. Judging from the nod and response, it was.

“It's alright. And don't be so quiet, it's scary. And why can't you apologize out loud? It's not--”

“Shut up,” Xan cut her off, nudging slightly, at her side. Alida did not bother with telling them to stop. It was obvious that was their way of showing they cared, somewhat. Instead, she turned to Koir, looking at him expectantly.

“What?” he asked, looking confused.

“Do not think you are getting out of apologizing.”

“But--!”

“Now.”

Koir pouted, crossing his arms and looking out the window. This really was not how it was supposed to be. He was the man; he should be telling her to apologize for even bringing up such a thought. Despite his inner thoughts, he still turned to Xan, looking sincere. He had to, for fear of being scolded again.

“Sorry. I overstepped my boundary. Forgive me.” even if his voice said otherwise, both men knew it was not sincere at all. It was only to please Alida, but she seemed to know it also was not quite what she wanted. She let it pass anyways.

“Whatever,” Xan shrugged and looked away.

Koir bit back a retort. Really? He went out of his way to make an apology, and Xan just shrugs it off like he's the prince here? But then Koir's fear of cannibalism came back, and he just gave a slight nod, moving a little closer to Alida, who he decided was most definitely not a cannibal, even if it was only because he needed someone to hide behind and convince Xan not to eat him if it ever came to that.

Alida made a nod of satisfaction before resuming her gaze to the outdoors.

“Why don't you guys like each other? It's just a last name, right? Not anything to get worked up about, right? You said yourself stuff like that is stupid,” Ethi pushed the subject further, directing her question to Xan. He growled in response, telling her it was a subject for later.

Then Koir jumped up, literally, hitting his head on the roof, before falling back down and rubbing his head, “Ow,” he muttered. He saw Alida's mouth twitch, showing she wanted to laugh. The other two did not bother hiding it. Xan let out a snort, while Ethi fell into a fit of giggles.

“Um...my raptor,” Koir didn't bother trying to save himself. He knew his status as a respectable male was long gone.

“Huh? Oh, don't worry 'bout it. They always go back to their home. That is, unless they don't like you. Then they let you think they're dead and you get a new one and hope it doesn't happen all over again,” Either grinned, proving she hoped he was on a bad basis with his raptor.

“No, we like each other. B-but not in a romantic way! I like girls, I swear! I-I-I mean women I mean you!” he tried to cover up, but in the end he only implied Alida was not a girl, and he had yet to deny he was not into men, too.

Koir groaned, ignoring his fiance's raised eyebrow, “N-never mind. But that was odd, how you got by me. You could've got out the other side of the carriage, but my raptor would've heard, probably even seen you if he hadn't smelled you. How'd you do it?”

Ethi looked down, biting her lip, and looked back up, deciding Xan would stop her if she said anything wrong, “Um, you've heard of Drek, right? Like, the orphanage?” she waited for his nod, “And you know what goes on there?”

His answer would decide if she would go with the experimentation explanation or not.

“Training with genetic modification, right?”

“Yeah. That modification allows kids--'cause for some reason it only works with them according to Papa—to exchange memory for abilities or assets. I got a message from our driver—he's Northern, you know—and exchanged a memory for speed. That's how you didn't see me jump out. Another of strength and...”

“And an unaware opponent is at your mercy. And 'Papa'?”

Ethi nodded, but it was Xan who answered, “Caz Ordane, head scientist. He acts as their father, but that is all just a play. Truth is, he abducts them and makes the modifications himself.

“Should you really say that in front of her?” her interest perked, Alida decided to join in the conversation.

“It doesn't matter,” he replied, “She knows it already. Only difference is--”

“Difference is, I don't think Papa's bad. He's giving us a chance to be useful. Plus we were slaves before—or most of us—so it has to be better.

“No it's not. You call living in that place life?”

“Well you live there too!”

“Yeah, I live there because of you. You think I'd willingly stay there otherwise?”

Ethi visibly recoiled at the statement. Because of her. Not for her. She was there only because Xan was ordered to have her. She scowled, trying to hide the pain from the statement from showing up. She knew Xan did not really like her, that she was a burden at times, but having it said and having imagined are two very different things. There was a comfort in imagining it, knowing it is just an illusion; a thought yet to be made real. Having it said made it become fact; made the illusion real.

Xan glared, the only thing showing he was angry at all. He hated this topic, not only because it dealt with Caz, but because it always ended this way. He hated saying things like this because they always came out wrong. He could tell it was the case here, too. Ethi could never mask her emotions, and when she did manage to keep a straight face, her eyes always betrayed her.

Sometimes he wished he was like that, like her, not being able to hide anything. That way, she would know he did not mean things as harshly as they sounded.

“Enough,” Alida took command again, “No one had to agree with anyone, but there should absolutely be no uncalled for statements.”

“Sorry, I didn't--” Koir tried, pulled out of his stupor.

“Hush. This matter will be left alone, and ignore what has happened. If those two decide to take it up later, then that is their decision. However, as long as I am within their presence, no such thing will happen, correct?” the way she said 'correct' left no room for argument, not even Xan was willing to try.

Alida sighed in exasperation, “Now, the matter of why you are here at all needs to be discussed.”

Koir looked hurt, his shoulders drooping, and his mouth curled down, looking at her with wounded eyes, “What? You don't want me here?”

“I would rather you be where I was told you would be, if that is what you are asking.”

Koir risked a glance at the two across from him, seeing if his play was working. He hid his grin at seeing Ethessa's smile and Xan's absence of glare. Good. They were enjoying themselves now. He guessed the aristocrat had figured out hat he was doing, and hoped she would play along.

“Are you implying you don't want to see my pretty face?”

The woman sighed, a little over dramatic, not enough to tell, but enough to see it was not meaningful, “Not anymore than I have to.”

Koir heard an 'ooooh' from the girl, and also managed to get another snort from Xan. He lifted his hand to his heart, “B-but...it's so pretty!!”

“And that implies I must indulge myself in it's presence?”

“Well, I think it's pretty. I mean--”

“Shh!” Xan intervened quickly. Something was not right.

Somewhere in between their banter and the aristocrat's display, the carriage had stopped moving.