Vitkus Twins

Chapter Ten

Azuloas followed Hyacintha through the forest, she didn’t say anything as she slowly made her way through the trees, Hyacintha had been forced to slow down since the trees were closer to together this far into the forest. When she broke out into a clearing, a small female with dark brown looked at her with glowing blue eyes.

What made Azuloas pause for a second was when she blinked, her eyes were no glowing a glowing blue and were a deep purple instead. Her iris had changed colour and he had a feeling that he knew which clan she was from.

It was likely he had found Viktorija. But at the same time, she could also be another member of the Kazlauskas Clan.

“What are you?” she softly asked Hyacintha, his partner keeping her distance.

‘I don’t want to scare her,’ Hyacintha told him, not looking back as he slowly made his way over to them.

“A dragon, you’ve never seen one before now, huh?” Azuloas asked her, putting his hand just behind Hyacintha’s head. She was short; about the same height as an average eight-year-old. She was still looking at Hyacintha as if she was captivated by the colour and pattern of her scale’s. “This is Hyacintha, put your hand out.”

She just looked at him, her eyes wide and mouth in a small ‘o’ space, before she smiled and offered her hand to Hyacintha. Hyacintha who sniffed it before wrapping her body around her arm, resting her head on the girl’s shoulder.

“You’re from Sashan,” she told him, most likely without thinking. Since she used her free hand to slap her forehead. Aldona would’ve tried to stop her, maybe explain that she didn’t need to feel bad about asking which village they were from. But Azuloas didn’t want to scare her, since he seemed to have a bit of height on her.

“And you’re from Nestanha,” he told her, it might make her feel less bad about her statement; if he made a similar one back. At least, that’s what Jakoba would tell him and he guessed she’d know better about putting your foot in your mouth then he did.

“I’m Viktorija Kazlauskas,” she told him holding up her hand, the one she used to hit herself with, he looked at her before taking it. It was like shaking hands with a child, she was dainty all round by the looks of it.

“Azuloas Vitkus,” Azuloas told her. He wouldn’t lie to family, not when that family member had someone like Ismay in their life. More so, since he was sure that Viktorija didn’t have any family members in Nestanha; he was sure that Aldona would do the same thing.

‘She’s so sad,’ Hyacintha told him, which explained the reason she seemed to want to become one with Viktorija’s arm.

“Someone else is coming,” Viktorija told him, so she was a sensor then, that’ll explain why she wasn’t surprised at his and Hyacintha’s presence.

That fact made him think. Her skill could be useful for their mission, very useful. Could be useful for other things, if they could steal her away from Nestanha and that was something Azuloas would need to investigate when he got back home.

“That would be my twin,” Azuloas told her, Aldona would worry about him. Then again, Melanthe would tell her that she smelled two dead bodies and that she might worry that she had sent him to by himself to his own demise.

“They also have something like Hyacintha,” Viktorija admitted.

“That would be Melanthe.” Azuloas knew he was grinning as he turned around and spotted Aldona and Melanthe making their way over. Waving, he gave the signal that it was safe and neither him nor Hyacintha were in harm’s way. “We found her Dona.”

“Viktorija Kazlauskas?” Aldona asked looking at him, before looking at Viktorija whose attention had shifted to Hyacintha. If Aldona was surprised by Hyacintha being wrapped around Viktorija’s bare arm, she didn’t show it. Until she did. “Azu.”

Aldona was worried about the blood that had appeared underneath Hyacintha’s claws. Azuloas looked at her arm in alarm when he saw the blood, but Viktorija seemed more focused on the bleeding to the point that she might have missed Hyacintha lifting one of her front claws.

‘Azu? I hurt her,’ Hyacintha told him, her voice was on the edge of panicked.

“Hyacintha,” Azuloas softly told her, putting his arm underneath her lifted leg, she looked at him and Viktorija with regret before going up his arm. Making sure her claws only hit the metal plates on his sleeve. “Sorry about that.”

“No harm done,” Viktorija told him a small smile on face as she looked at Hyacintha without a hint of anger in her eyes.

“I’m Aldona Vitkus,” Aldona told her, before taking her harm into her hands and healing it. Healing cuts had been in one of her healing courses. It was easy enough to do and she could feel that Viktorija didn’t have the thick skin and Aldona was worried about that fact. Her skin seemed to be sort of fragile.

‘She’s not mad?’ Hyacintha asked.

“Doesn’t seem to be,” Azuloas whispered to her, watching as Aldona finished healing her arm; a concern look on her face. Now it looked like Aldona wanted to wrap her in blankets and never let her leave. Azuloas didn’t blame her; no one should be this surprised by someone healing cuts.

“Her skin is so thin,” Aldona whispered to him.

“Is she okay?” Azuloas whispered back.

“She’ll be fine, they would have healed even if I didn’t touch them,” Aldona whispered back and looked at her arm. “They were healing themselves as I was healing them. It’ll explain the lack of scar tissue.”

“You know Launcelot Atspoguļo?” Azuloas asked her, not only to take Aldona’s mind from the state of Viktorija’s skin. But to also make to make that this Viktorija was the one that Launcelot meant, if she was, then that information could be useful for them.

He didn’t think that Launcelot would be welcomed back in Nestanha, but he had to make sure, Hyacintha moved from his arm to his torso as Viktorija looked at him with narrowed eyes and a pout, like she didn’t trust him.

Which would be fair. Aldona and Azuloas knew that they shouldn’t trust her as quickly as they did, but they seemed to have more faith in things then Viktorija did.

“Why?” she asked him.

“He mentioned that you were his little sister, adopted little sister,” Azuloas admitted putting his arm around Aldona’s shoulders. If only to stop her from hugging Viktorija, when she looked like she was going to flee any second. That and Aldona had a weakness about hugging cute things, Azuloas wouldn’t be surprised if that was her downfall. “When he and Page attacked the Atspoguļo Clan in Sashan.”

Viktorija just looked at her, like she was thinking something over. Maybe, like them, she knew that there was something more behind both the attacks on the Atspoguļo Clan. She most likely knew something that they didn’t, maybe Launcelot had told her something and he never mentioned it to them.

She looked at them like she was defeated. Like she had remembered something that was unpleasant, now, Azuloas was glad that he was holding Aldona back. Viktorija looked like someone had kicked her puppy, before setting it on fire before her very eyes.

“I’m on a mission,” she told them after staring into space for five minutes. Aldona and Azuloas hadn’t said anything, since she looked like she needed to the time to put her thoughts in order.

“Escort,” Aldona and Azuloas told her. Azuloas would be happy if he never ran into Ismay again, that girl acted more like she was a princess trapped in a tower, then someone expected to protect a client from bandits.

Heikkinen would have never allowed the team to that mission, not with teamwork that shitty and Aldona was glad that she lived in Sashan. Then again, Aldona could guess that Ismay didn’t have a Sekti Meyer in her life; a grandfather making her doubt about her behaviour while she guessed over Etienne.

Jakoba had admitted that she had been rethinking her crush for a while, but it was Aldona’s words that finally pushed her over the edge. Making her realise, that no, she didn’t want Launce as her boyfriend or husband.

That she might not be into males at all.

“We ran into your team a few minutes ago,” Azuloas told her.

“We should thank you,” Aldona told her as she looked at the two dead bodies on the ground, it was two of the guards that Launcelot and Page had warned them about. They weren’t strong, but they were a pain for anyone trying to find the hideout.

That, along with the fact that neither Page nor Launcelot could do anything about them without tipping off the people in the group. Or it be tipping point in pointing out that they didn’t join to complete whatever end game they had in mind.

“You took out two of their guards, Launcelot warned us about them,” Aldona finished.

“Their? They had started following my client the moment we step foot into Labia,” Viktorija told them looking at their bodies herself, she didn’t seem to think much of them. Azuloas and Aldona guessed it was harder for them to kill Viktorija, since the twins had spotted seals around the clearing, none of them currently active. “If you want to see if they have anything on them, go for it.”

“Thank you,” Aldona told her, she hoped they were stupid enough to have information about the base’s security. Slowly going through their bags, she could tell that they didn’t have anything of value on them, but she did quickly scan anything she got her hands on.

“Do you think you can help us then?” Azuloas asked her; keeping eye an eye on his sister and the other half on his cousin. He didn’t know how to tell her that they weren’t after her client; but they were more than likely after her. “The Vitkus had a bit of information about your bloodline.”

“And I’m sure Launcelot would like to see you again,” Aldona chimed in, he had called her his baby sister and Aldona didn’t know if they would have another chance to see each other again. She knew she would be heartbroken, if Azuloas had to leave her behind for one reason or another; and she never saw him again.

“Why are you going after Launcelot?” Viktorija asked then, her hands behind her back and she was rocking on her heels. He didn’t think she knew she was going these things, but he was glad that she felt safe enough around them to act a bit childish in her wonder or worry.

“The Paslėpta liepsna is offering him a spot in out Sekti Unit,” Azuloas admitted, he didn’t see the point of lying to her about it. If they wanted her to help them, then they needed to tell her the truth and he doubted that Viktorija would tell anyone where Launcelot was, she was his baby sister and she most likely saw him as an older brother.

“I’ve got the bloodline,” she told them, but Azuloas already knew that. When he first saw her eyes change colour; he knew that she was part of the Kazlauskas Clan. Aldona looked at her before sealing away the files in an empty leather bracelet, along with the two dead bodies. Neither fitted what Viktorija was already wearing on her wrists.

But Aldona knew that metal wasn’t the best to wear on missions, they held too much heat in summer and could burn her skin if she wasn’t careful. It was the reason she and Azuloas used leather, but then, Aldona didn’t know if Viktorija could afford leather bracelets.

They were a bit pricy; they had been gifted with a bunch of them on their sixteenth birthday and so, they could give Viktorija two. They always carried around four spare ones; just in case they ran into any traditors on field.

Viktorija was their cousin, so Aldona was sure that Dvesma and Bellerophon would love her as much as they did.

“Come with us then and we’ll debrief you on the way,” Aldona promised her as she handed her the leather bracelet. They were her kills; these rewards were hers and not Aldona’s. Maybe she might make something of their writing then Aldona did. “Just follow us, I don’t think your teams going to miss you much.”

And that made Azuloas want to find them again, then beat Etienne and Ismay didn’t the ground; Aldona could have Emilek. Sashan was known for their teamwork, which was the reason many found them a pain to fight.

Nestanha didn’t have the same reputation. They weren’t known for teamwork, but they were known for their high training standards.

Aldona and Azuloas could see that wasn’t the case with Ismay.

“No,” Viktorija agreed, shaking her head as she looked at the bracelet in her hand. “They’re not.”