The horse trotted down the puddle-spotted path toward Ravenshore. At its rear, it pulled a cart used to haul newly gathered recruits for the Black Rabbits.
Inle balanced a knife on his fingertip before spinning it into the air and catching it. He did this repeatedly when he was bored. Elucard had pointed this out on several occasions. Jetta took inventory of her herbs, medical supplies, and instruments. Elucard, taking hold of the reigns, smiled pleasantly on the cool spring day.
It was his turn to head into a village to recruit potential Rabbits. This was a task that a First Blade had to be familiar with. He was excited at the responsibility, but also at the prospect of returning to Ravenshore. It had been six years since he was a useless kid destined to be a fisherman. If it were not for the Black Rabbits, life as he knew it would have been drastically different and far more boring.
A large wooden wall with a pair of armored guards posted outside came into sight. Elucard, bewildered by this unfamiliar sight, halted the cart.
“Master, is this Ravenshore?” Inle asked, lifting his head just above the rim of the cart.
“Elucard, why is there a wall around our village? Who are those men? They don’t look like White Cloaks,” Jetta spoke with a mixture of curiosity and surprise in her tone.
Elucard scanned the perimeter. Several men in polished bronze armor adorned with the Dawnedge insignia marched back and forth along a tall wooden wall. This was very discomforting to the new First Blade.
“Inle, Jetta, throw on your traveler’s cloaks,” Elucard ordered. Jetta was right, these men were not White Cloaks. They were different.
“Are we still recruiting?” Inle asked as he pulled up his hood and removed his mask.
“No. We are on a new mission now.” Elucard’s eyes remained fixed on the armored sentinels as he spoke, “We’re investigating the changes made to Ravenshore. Find out who these men are, when they got here, and how long they are staying. Jetta, you and I are going to ask our families. Try to find out as much as you can. Meet up at the local tavern called the Rusty Hook.”
The two teammates nodded with understanding.
***
The old docks creaked under the Elucard’s feet as the salted air pelted his eyes and nostrils. Spotting the rickety old fishing vessel, Elucard watched motionless as he saw his father tying a heavy rope onto a post. The grizzled elf hadn’t changed one bit. His crimson beard covered his sea worn features. A heavy woolen coat hung on his body as he hopped past Elucard.
His father didn’t bat an eye at the man staring at him, but he ordered him around nonetheless, “You going to stand around looking useless all day, or are you going to grab that batch of fish? Your mother is making a stew and she’s going to need something to put in it.”
Elucard snapped out of his nostalgic daze, “Pa?”
“You better hurry it up. I ain’t going to wait all day,” his father said, gruffly.
Elucard, still confused, shouldered a string of fish and followed the old man to his former home.
***
Elucard followed River into the small cottage. The familiar smell of his mother’s cooking floated through the air and a fog of memories clouded Elucard’s head.
“It’s been awhile, hasn’t it, Elucard?” River asked in a low voice before calling to his wife, “Salene, set a third plate, we have a visitor.”
A sing-song voice chimed from the kitchen, “Is Lyra Breezelark paying us another visit?” Salene walked around the corner, cleaning her hands with a dish towel. When her eyes locked onto him she dropped the towel and stood frozen in the doorway.
Elucard was similarly afflicted. He slowly lowered his hood and attempted to find the words to say. In a moment such as this, they did not come easily, “…Ma…I’m home,” he managed.
Tears bubbled in Salene’s eyes as she ran to her lost son and embraced him in a tight hug, “Elucard, you’re here! You’re really here!”
River put a rough and heavy hand on Elucard’s shoulder, hiding his emotional urge to never let go of his only son again, “Welcome back home, Elucard.”
Elucard, careful not to get too attached to this moment, spoke quickly, “Ma, Pa, I’m not here because I’m on leave. I need information on Ravenshore.”
River tried not to rush the fleeting time that Elucard had, “First we eat, then we’ll discuss your Black Rabbit business.”
***
Dinner was quiet for a time. The only sounds in the air were of spoons clanking on wooden bowls and teeth chewing the potato and fish stew. Finally River had to ask the question that burned in him since he heard the rumors, “Were you responsible for the assassination of Jaelyn, Son?”
Salene thrust him an ice cold stare, “River, we promised we wouldn’t talk about that,” she turned and smiled at Elucard, “We’re just happy you came back home.”
Elucard shot him a glance. How could he tell his parents that he was the one that killed their king? He was celebrated among his peers, but reviled by the rest of the world.
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River egged on further, “It’s true though, isn’t it?” River searched his son’s dark eyes for an answer, but what he found sunk his heart, “More than that. You killed him, didn’t you?”
“What if I had?” Elucard blurted, dropping his silverware onto the table.
“How can someone from Ravenshore—our son—become the most infamous criminal in all of Long Whisper?”
Elucard stopped chewing. He glared at the man that used to be his father, before Legion came into his life. It was in another lifetime in the distant past that he had lived in this household. Now he was one of the most notorious assassins to ever bear the name “Black Rabbit.” He was the First Blade now. He was the monster every child feared was hiding under their bed. He relished in it all.
“Criminals break the law, Rabbits don’t live by the same law that civilians do. Our code allows us to carry on the work of Alanna; to balance the scales when they tip over. We are the wildfire that purges the overgrown forest. Father, my assassination was a necessity.”
River was irked by the statement, “So you are an outlaw? And do you really believe everything you just said? Not even Alanna herself would stand for such blatant madness.”
Elucard turned to face away from his father, “I would never expect a fisherman to understand my duties. It takes an evolved individual to become a Black Rabbit. Not like those other three that came from Raven…” Elucard let his voice trail off before finishing.
River stood up, “What of them? The blacksmith’s apprentice, the stable boy? What happened to them?”
A darkness shrouded Elucard’s mind as he thought about his past actions, “They didn’t evolve,” he said coldly.
River moved around the table and lifted Elucard up by the cowl to face him “No remorse. What happened to you Elucard? Do you see what you’ve become?”
“I’ve become a Rabbit,” though, he wasn’t completely sure what he’d become. He spoke the words he was trained to say, but they became hollow. They were just words that no longer carried the weight they once had. He had everything that every Black Rabbit dreamed about, that he dreamed about. But now that he had it all in his grasp, he was unsure if he was happy with it at all.
Salene rocked the table by slamming her hand on top of it, “Enough! Both of you! We’re together. Maybe not for long, maybe not for the right reasons, but isn’t being together enough?” She began to weep in her hands, “I’ve wanted this more than anything, and now that I have it, I don’t want it anymore.”
River went to comfort his wife, “I’m sorry Salene, I really am.” He turned to Elucard, “Aren’t you happy you’re home? Tell your mother how much you missed her.”
Elucard sat motionless. The cold realization dawned on him there. He hadn’t missed either of them. He had to get out now. It was not fair or right to stay and lead them to a false hope that he knew was as hollow as he had become, “I have to go,” he said, coldly.
River snapped a growl at him, “Leave then! Go back to your Black Rabbits. I hope you find happiness in your pitiful life, because there’s nothing left for you here!”
“You’re right,” Elucard said before walking out the door.
***
The Rusty Hook was formerly a bar for the fisherman and traveling merchants that docked their ships in Ravenshore’s port. However, with the influx of soldiers, it had became the hangout of guards looking to get a drink and a bite to eat after a long day of keeping the fishing village safe.
Inle, Jetta, and Elucard sat at a corner table, their hoods shadowing their faces as they spoke in secretive whispers too low for anyone but them to hear.
“The wall was raised a month ago when the guards were assigned to Ravenshore and its neighboring villages,” Inle recounted his information.
“The new king, Koda of the Dawnedge, has raised an army. They are being trained by the former Long Whisper division of White Cloaks,” Jetta added.
“They are attempting to block us from recruiting. We must tell Legion at once,” Elucard said, sneering at the sight of the guards walking about the bar.
“Ungrateful fools,” Inle spat, “It’s an honor to be recruited by the Rabbits! We do good work for this nation”
“This is what the people want. For years the Black Rabbits have kidnapped the children of these villages and turned them loose against their own country. How can you blame them for standing up for themselves?” Jetta retorted, leering at Inle.
Inle scowled at her, “You never believed in our cause. You would betray us the first chance you got. Now’s your chance, Jetta. Turn us in! Save your own cowardly skin. Forsake the Black Rabbits. Forsake Alanna!”
“Enough, Inle!” The argument with his father had almost completely eroded his patience. A fresh outburst from the everlasting feud between the two teammates was the last thing he needed.
Inle drove a knife into the table, turning some of the guards’ heads, “Elucard, why do you protect her? She brings nothing but venom to our clan. I’ve seen her medallion, a mark of Alue, not Alanna. She wears a mask to hide her two faces. She needs to be dealt with, as any traitor to the clan would be!”
Jetta stood fast, clenching her teeth in anger. She hated the clan, but was fiercely loyal to Elucard. Nonetheless, she could hold back her fury no longer, “Betray the clan? The clan is a blight on this land. You speak of purging and reaping the weeds that keep the world from flourishing. The Black Rabbits are the real weeds in the garden!”
Inle crashed the table away from him, shaking with unquenchable rage. He grabbed Jetta’s collar and slammed her against the wall. A knife gripped tightly in his fist, pressed against Jetta’s neck, “You bitch! I will gut you right here in front of everyone, and we’ll see that you bleed black like the color of your heart. All you do is twist Elucard’s mind! No more, I won’t let you do anymore harm to him or my clan!”
Jetta spat a slimy wad of mucus into Inle’s face, “Water for your garden!”
Inle’s silver eyes widened with animosity, unleashing a backhanded blow to Jetta’s cheek. Without hesitation Elucard pulled his student off of her and caught him in the gut with a heavy punch. Inle fell to his knees groaning in pain. Elucard’s blade sheened under his student’s neck.
“I said enough, Inle.”
Inle sneered at Jetta, trying to calm himself in the shadow of his master, “Master,” he lowered his voice, fury still under his breath, “You can’t protect her. She speaks blasphemy.”
Elucard tensely looked around at the growing crowd of soldiers and sailors edging closer to their incident. He sheathed his sword and dragged Inle to his feet, whispering in his ear, “Our enemies are too close to be dealing with your feud against Jetta.”
“But Master–” Inle whispered back.
“Drop it, Inle. This is not your call!” Elucard hissed.
Jetta gathered her composure and addressed the gathering crowd, “My friend has just had one too many beers. Excuse us, we were just leaving.”
Elucard slapped a few gold trit onto the counter, “Sorry to sour the mood. Drinks are on me.”
A wave of gleeful cheers erupted from the patrons of the tavern. Elucard put a sincere arm around Jetta, comforting her. Inle shot them both an irritated glare. Elucard, I will save you from the witch’s clutches.