(no subject)
The Duke caressed her cheek. “You are far too lovely to spend your life as a servant,” he said. “Come with me, and I shall make you a Queen.”
I can’t, she told her pair, you know Rule Three.
Yeah, of course, the other woman answered. I also know Rule One.
She simpered. “A Queen, my lord? That is more than a simple girl like me could ever ask.”
*
That night, after she had submitted to the Duke’s careless attentions, she drew a long knife from her clothes and turned, silhouetted over his sleeping form. He woke.
“What? You? What have I done?”
“You know what you’ve done,” she said, feeling rather foolish - did it matter what she said? - and brought the knife down.
It’s done? asked the pair.
It’s done. she said, with the feeling of relief and pride that always came when she finished a job. From its place next to the knife, she took the carved onyx rose and laid it on his chest. Quickly, she dressed and walked out past the guards, keeping her head lowered.
*
“It’s your turn to lecture, Emer, isn’t it?” asked her pair, Telen. “On the history of the Guild, Rule Two, and Calamir and Istel.”
“Yes, of course. I really don’t think they should let you lecture right after you’ve done a job. The students only want to talk about what you’ve just done.”
Telen shrugged.
*
As Emer walked into the classroom, the rustle of papers and the murmur of voices became absolutely silent. Twelve heads turned to look at a tall girl with russet hair, who’d obviously been chosen as their spokesman. She raised her hand.
“Yes, Olest? What is it?”
“Tell us about your last assignment,” the girl begged. “We all really want to know.”
“Well, if it’ll keep you quiet - and only because it touches on the Laws.”
Emer paced as she spoke.
“We have been at war with the neighboring duchy for twelve years; that’s more than half my lifetime, and most of yours. It’s too long; the crops don’t grow, and the people don’t get fed. Both duchies are devastated. You all know the consequences of war. What you don’t know, perhaps, is that the Duke of Olaria and our Duke’s daughter are entirely willing to make peace. Only Duke Relen stands in the way of concord. And so, I was engaged to remove that obstacle. He was killed ‘under the rose’ which means…?”
The students all looked around, unwilling to be the one to answer, though Emer was sure they all knew.
“Dlaris?”
He stood, putting his hands by his sides. “That the Guild wants everyone to know that it was us who did it.”
“Precisely. The Guild takes all responsibility for his death. This is a fiction that allows Lady Yvren to make peace with Olaria without having to engage in blood feud. But of course, we operate under the Second Law as well. What is the Second Law, Terian?”
“’Slay not, if there be no profit’.”
“Very good, Terian.” Terian had avoided the trap of giving the colloquial version, “Make money off it.” Emer continued: “In this case, the official ‘profit’ is the end of the war; but we are being paid both by the Duke of Olaria and by Lady Yvren herself. If you can get paid once, you can most likely be paid twice.” She paced slightly faster, considering whether or not she should tell them that she’d broken the Third Law. She decided against it; it was always best to keep the fully-fledged assassins aloof from the students. “In this case, we can perhaps lay some claim to virtue; we acted not only for our own good, but to save two war-torn lands. But this is not always the case. We do not always kill under the rose; sometimes we use deceit.
“Let us now consider a case, a famous case. A hundred years ago, there was a king named Istel and an assassin named Calamir. Calamir was in breech of the Third Law, which is, Alster?”
Alster, who was not destined for a diplomatic position, turned red and said “and don’t sleep with them!” There were titters throughout the room, quelled by Emer’s glare.
“Or, more formally, ‘Form no bond.’ But Calamir had not yet been sent to kill Istel; she had been sent to scout out his court. The message came from her pair only after she had fallen in love with the king. Calamir, however, was a true assassin, and had the First Law in her bones. What is the First Law, Ivelle?”
“Finish the work,” she said.
Emer nodded. “Calamir’s mission was not under the rose; it was to incite a war between Istel’s country and the neighboring one. And so she did. The point of this story is not Calamir’s unwavering devotion to our guild, in despite of love, though that too you should always remember. The reason we tell you this story is so that you remember that we are a knife’s blade - neither good nor evil, only a weapon. We are bound by no country’s laws, only by our own, the three you have told me of today.” She paused. “First, get it done; second; make money off it; and third, don’t sleep with them.”
There was a gasp. Everyone knew the unofficial wording of the three laws, but you never heard an assassin use it.
“The only reason to break the second two laws is in the service of the First and most important. Class is dismissed.”
*
Telen smiled. “How’d it go?” she asked.
“How does teaching ever go? It’s terrible and useless; the ones that are good at theory are good at it, the ones who are good at practice are terrible at it.”
“What about you?”
“Well, I’m amazing at both,” said Emer. “Let’s go fence or something.”
I can’t, she told her pair, you know Rule Three.
Yeah, of course, the other woman answered. I also know Rule One.
She simpered. “A Queen, my lord? That is more than a simple girl like me could ever ask.”
*
That night, after she had submitted to the Duke’s careless attentions, she drew a long knife from her clothes and turned, silhouetted over his sleeping form. He woke.
“What? You? What have I done?”
“You know what you’ve done,” she said, feeling rather foolish - did it matter what she said? - and brought the knife down.
It’s done? asked the pair.
It’s done. she said, with the feeling of relief and pride that always came when she finished a job. From its place next to the knife, she took the carved onyx rose and laid it on his chest. Quickly, she dressed and walked out past the guards, keeping her head lowered.
*
“It’s your turn to lecture, Emer, isn’t it?” asked her pair, Telen. “On the history of the Guild, Rule Two, and Calamir and Istel.”
“Yes, of course. I really don’t think they should let you lecture right after you’ve done a job. The students only want to talk about what you’ve just done.”
Telen shrugged.
*
As Emer walked into the classroom, the rustle of papers and the murmur of voices became absolutely silent. Twelve heads turned to look at a tall girl with russet hair, who’d obviously been chosen as their spokesman. She raised her hand.
“Yes, Olest? What is it?”
“Tell us about your last assignment,” the girl begged. “We all really want to know.”
“Well, if it’ll keep you quiet - and only because it touches on the Laws.”
Emer paced as she spoke.
“We have been at war with the neighboring duchy for twelve years; that’s more than half my lifetime, and most of yours. It’s too long; the crops don’t grow, and the people don’t get fed. Both duchies are devastated. You all know the consequences of war. What you don’t know, perhaps, is that the Duke of Olaria and our Duke’s daughter are entirely willing to make peace. Only Duke Relen stands in the way of concord. And so, I was engaged to remove that obstacle. He was killed ‘under the rose’ which means…?”
The students all looked around, unwilling to be the one to answer, though Emer was sure they all knew.
“Dlaris?”
He stood, putting his hands by his sides. “That the Guild wants everyone to know that it was us who did it.”
“Precisely. The Guild takes all responsibility for his death. This is a fiction that allows Lady Yvren to make peace with Olaria without having to engage in blood feud. But of course, we operate under the Second Law as well. What is the Second Law, Terian?”
“’Slay not, if there be no profit’.”
“Very good, Terian.” Terian had avoided the trap of giving the colloquial version, “Make money off it.” Emer continued: “In this case, the official ‘profit’ is the end of the war; but we are being paid both by the Duke of Olaria and by Lady Yvren herself. If you can get paid once, you can most likely be paid twice.” She paced slightly faster, considering whether or not she should tell them that she’d broken the Third Law. She decided against it; it was always best to keep the fully-fledged assassins aloof from the students. “In this case, we can perhaps lay some claim to virtue; we acted not only for our own good, but to save two war-torn lands. But this is not always the case. We do not always kill under the rose; sometimes we use deceit.
“Let us now consider a case, a famous case. A hundred years ago, there was a king named Istel and an assassin named Calamir. Calamir was in breech of the Third Law, which is, Alster?”
Alster, who was not destined for a diplomatic position, turned red and said “and don’t sleep with them!” There were titters throughout the room, quelled by Emer’s glare.
“Or, more formally, ‘Form no bond.’ But Calamir had not yet been sent to kill Istel; she had been sent to scout out his court. The message came from her pair only after she had fallen in love with the king. Calamir, however, was a true assassin, and had the First Law in her bones. What is the First Law, Ivelle?”
“Finish the work,” she said.
Emer nodded. “Calamir’s mission was not under the rose; it was to incite a war between Istel’s country and the neighboring one. And so she did. The point of this story is not Calamir’s unwavering devotion to our guild, in despite of love, though that too you should always remember. The reason we tell you this story is so that you remember that we are a knife’s blade - neither good nor evil, only a weapon. We are bound by no country’s laws, only by our own, the three you have told me of today.” She paused. “First, get it done; second; make money off it; and third, don’t sleep with them.”
There was a gasp. Everyone knew the unofficial wording of the three laws, but you never heard an assassin use it.
“The only reason to break the second two laws is in the service of the First and most important. Class is dismissed.”
*
Telen smiled. “How’d it go?” she asked.
“How does teaching ever go? It’s terrible and useless; the ones that are good at theory are good at it, the ones who are good at practice are terrible at it.”
“What about you?”
“Well, I’m amazing at both,” said Emer. “Let’s go fence or something.”