Crimson

The fullest...

After I had finally managed to shake Vita , I went about wandering around the city's market .

I had wanted to walk longer with him , but , the fact that I had just abandoned his horse to be found by guards remained on my mind .

If the guards that had found his horse decided to bring it to him or if they met up , I would have been painting my self red .

I did not a lot about how long it took a horse to snap from the effects of a possession spell .

I laughed at the image of the horse coming to stand by my side instead of greeting his owner that he had been separated from after almost a day .

The market had begun to fill up and like always people's eyes strayed away from me .

It had been an effect that I had mastered with Ali's help .

Cloaking in the midst of a crowd .

It was seemingly impossible not to be noticed if you were walking in a crowd but Ali hated the attention on his bleached eyes and pink skin .

So , he had taught himself to blend into the shadows and to intimidate to an extent he was ignored .

When he had perfected that skill , he had taught it to me .

It had been harder for me to grasp and use because even when I tried to reduce it , I was still almost glittery .

Jewelled anklets , waist accessories , Earrings , Bangles and brightly coloured clothes had been my addiction and it had been one that was very hard to mask .

Ali had made me cut down on the clothes and jewelleries for a lot of reasons .

That was a thing of the past now and I tried very hard to keep the jewellery I owned to a minimum to avoid temptations .

Thinking of jewellery reminded me of Ali and how he had left the night before .

I turned into the street that led to the bakery , I would get sweets and go to Ali .

He was always in a better mood after he ate something sweet .

When I arrived at the spot I had seen the bakery the last time , it was not there .

I turned around , I was very sure it was this place .

Had there been something that I was not told ?

Max , the owner of the bakery also worked at the shelter and was an old friend of Ali and I .

They had often made decisions without informing me like moving the location of the stall to serve as a front to watch the different happenings in Agrippa even after I had told them severally that I could handle all our reconnaissance works .

I sighed wondering why they had done it yet again .

Ali and I only had one source of differences and this was it .

I could get angry but the fact that I knew that he was doing this in an unnecessary attempt to protect me was also a self contradictory issue .

I would just ask him personally .

He hated me coming to The Haze especially during the day but he would have to deal with it .

I headed back towards the main road , walking was not my only option but getting a horse was out of it .

Ali had tried to get me horses several time , he was afraid that if I was attacked on the way I would be unable to escape .

We had eventually seen a horse that I could not pass on and I had taken it home .

It had been fun for the first couple of days until we had heard of a painting a councillor, Constantine had gotten recently.

It had been too good to pass up and so we had launched an impromptu heist .

In the midst of planning and executing the mission , I had totally forgotten that I had an actual living thing I was responsible for .

When I had remembered , the horse had been starved and was sick ,the fact that she had almost died just because she had belonged to me had scared me more than I let on .

Ever since , I had refused several offers of horses especially from the Outsourced merchants we dealt with but I had refused and would continue to refuse.

Strange enough , I almost never forgot any details about my jobs .

I had finally arrived at my destination .

The walls had once looked really high but each time I had come back here it somehow did not look as high as the first time.

The wall had no openings that would encourage wall climbers , usually.

I removed one of my blades and threw it as an anchor , it stopped midway on the wall .

Taking a step back , I leaped into the air and grabbed the blade , I couldn't wait long enough for the blade to realize the weight it was suddenly carrying .

I had my other blade ready , stuck it into the wall and transferred my weight there.

Making quick work of it I reached the top of the wall .

Up on the wall , I surveyed around the courtyard that was surprisingly full so early in the day .

I felt it before I saw him , I turned searching for where it was coming from and found him .

Ali stood under a shade , I couldn't see his expression but he had definitely noticed me .

There was no point pretending to be sleek ,so , I jumped down .

That was not as smooth as I had hoped . But , I couldn't show that it had actually hurt , so , I hid my limp and walked across the courtyard that was full of activities .

I would normally have been trying to participate in every one of the activities but I was going for an aloof look .

So , I marched across ignoring the activities .

He was wearing a white open robe and a white silk shirt and pants combination .

He had a blue drink in one hand and was watching the activities ahead .

He seemed almost as if he was not interested but he was keenly watching everything .

I sat on the chair next to him .

" You moved the bakery again?"

I tried to put alot of venom in my house but jumping down had released my anger and I was really thirsty .

" You didn't think to inform me that the brigadier had seen you at the bakery ".

He said it in a finalized tone .

I sighed ," It was for a short while and I didn't think it was important ".

He finally turned to me , his bleached eyes held more emotion than I had seen in a long while .

" You know nothing is ever completely hidden and the fact that the shelter was found just reduced our time ".

He narrowed his eyes , his lashes flickering .

" I'll try to trick time as much as possible even if it means erasing the traces of our existence ".

He looked away quietly , his lashes had completely flickered down , fanning lightly on his freckled face .

" You don't have to do this . I'll pull my weight if it ever comes to that ".

I was getting unstable with Ali's recent looks .

I wanted Ali's anger that used to wrap around him.

He turned back , his eye had taken on a fiery expression .

" What did I say about climbing my walls ?"

I gulped , too soon . I didn't want his anger right now , so ,I changed the topic .

" What is going on ?"

He smiled.

Not really a smile if I was being practical , more like a stretch of his lips .

" A fest ".

" I brought dancers from everywhere for this and I am considering it my last show at the haze ".

I was getting really sick of this talks of ends .

Agrippa was our place , we were comfortable here , why was it ending .

" Why ?"

I wanted to know .

" Why does it have to end? We only tried to help the people , we are not the bad guys ".

Ali turned back to me , his eyes were wide and warm.

" We could stay but then we would be caught and spend our lives in a tiny , dirty room where I have to give you all my food and you don't get to wear red clothes ".

I laughed quietly .

A man came forward holding a box , he left it by Ali's side and left.

" Is this because the brigadiers came to Agrippa or because I sent them to the shelter and used a spell on the horse?"

He thought for a moment .

" I told you already , we couldn't have done it forever and your spells last longer now ?"

I completely ignored the first part and nodded excitedly at the second part.

He did the stretch smile again...

He lifted the box and pushed it into my chest.

Another gift that I wasn't returning , I couldn't open it .

" I have nothing to give to you ".

He nodded .

" I know . You're broke ".

I looked up sharply , narrowing my eyes.

" I have more money than you do ".

He scoffed .

I opened the box and smiled despite my earlier inhibitions .

" I know you wear less jewellery because of everything , wear this tonight for the fest ".

I stood up and grabbed him , hugging him tightly . He stood as still as a rod .

" I'll wear it well ".

" I'll wear it like it's my last ".

I was pretending not to see it but I also felt it ,the impending end of our lives in Agrippa .

Tonight , I would live it to the fullest for me and for Ali .