The hour had grown late, and even though she wasn't tired, Assassin had excused herself from further construction work for the night. The thought of going back to that cramped little one-story house her master called 'home' churned her stomach, but she couldn't stand to lay another brick or to set another ward, knowing that her sister had been summoned as her enemy. "That bitch," Assassin hissed to herself. "My sister is summoned, and nobody thinks to inform me until earlier today?" Her grip clenched as she reached for the handle of her master's front door. It's the fault of that stupid master of mine;, isn't it? That's the only way she can get her rocks off. Hasn't she done enough, summoning me into a class I'm completely useless in?
For just a moment, Assassin's hand softened, her fingers relaxing their death grip as she turned the handle and pushed the door in. Well, all things considered, there has to be worse masters out there. That woman might be nothing but a callous sadist, but at least she provides me with adequate mana. Assassin snorted; that was more than some other masters she knew were capable of.
"Working hard?"
Almost immediately upon hearing the sound of her master's voice, any growing acceptance of her master was extinguished. "Hardly working, more like," Assassin replied. "I could have finished that stupid mansion by myself had you summoned me as a Caster, but no~" Assassin rolled her eyes, allowing her elegant purple robe to melt into something more casual as she entered the living room, not bothering to remove her shoes as she did so. Maybe her master spared an annoyed glance at her, maybe not; Assassin didn't care to pay attention. "You just had to go and stick me in this worthless body, didn't you?"
"I would have much preferred to summon you as a Caster, actually," Caren said. "Unfortunately, Tomoe beat me to it."
"Then why even waste the effort to summon me in the first place, if you knew you would be forced to summon me into an improper class vessel?"
Caren shrugged. "Who knows? Maybe I just have a preference for evil-aligned servants. My last sexual partner was All the World's Evils, after all."
"Yeah? Well maybe you should have summoned him instead. A romp in the hay might do you some good." Assassin kicked her shoes off as she fell down backwards into the plush recliner beside the television. "What's for dinner?"
"Well, we've got..." Caren stuck her head into the fridge, saying "Frozen mapo tofu, or... Deluxe frozen mapo tofu."
"What's the difference?"
"One of them is extra-spicy."
Assassin sighed, groaning as she forced herself up out of the recliner, pushing her way past her master into the kitchen. "You're hopeless," she said. "Not everyone enjoys setting their mouths on fire like you do, you stupid sadist." Caren stood off to the side as Assassin tore through the fridge. "Here, I'll make us some real food."
"You know how to cook?" Caren asked. There wasn't a biting remark waiting behind Caren's question; her curiosity was earnest.
"Better than you, evidently." Assassin turned around, staring at Caren who watched as she made a mess of the fridge. "Now go somewhere out of my sight, stay put, and let me worry about making sure your sorry ass is alive so you can keep giving me mana." With a snort, Assassin added "Maybe go flick your bean to thoughts of that gross little Avenger of yours. Anything, I don't care, as long as it keeps you out of the kitchen."
It wasn't much, but there was some - thing resembling - fresh fish in the fridge, along with enough vegetables to make a simple salad. But what Assassin was really interested in - "Ah-ha!" - was the stash of wine her master kept in the cupboard. "Finally, something goes right for me!" Assassin gave a whistle as she threw dinner onto a pair of plates, calling out "Hey master! Get your ass in here if you want to eat!" A few minutes later, after Assassin had already served herself and was seated at the kitchen table, Caren shuffled into the kitchen, her face dusted with red and her eyes half-lidded. "Oh, for the love of- I was kidding, you stupid wench!"
"I'm tired, Assassin; I've had a long day, and this is a later dinner than I was expecting to have. So stop yelling. Do not make me use a Command Seal." As if it would help, Caren attempted to smile, forcing through a fake "Please?" as she served herself dinner. As unexpected as it was, Assassin obliged, remaining silent but for the sound of her chewing as Caren took a seat at the table across from her servant. She bowed her head, muttering over her food, before asking "Aren't you going to say grace?"
"Grace?" Assassin scoffed. "Your people invade my homeland, destroy our ancient traditions, and turned mighty gods into mortals in the name of your religion. I would sooner make amends with that bastard Sétanta than say your stupid grace."
"Do you really hate him that much?"
"Hate?" Assassin sneered. "Hate isn't strong enough a word for what I feel towards that worthless cur. He interrupts me in the middle of battling my sister. He disgraces and humiliates me. He rapes me and forces me to bear him a child; his own son, whom he then kills himself!" Assassin shook her head, saying "No, hate isn't nearly strong enough to describe my feelings towards him. Two thousand years may have gone by since either of us were alive, but I still can never forgive him for the shame he visited on me."
Caren thought long and hard about her next question. "If you could only pick one of them to kill, who would you choose? Him, or your sister?"
"How is that even a question? Of course I'd kill my-!" Assassin's eyes blazed as she opened her mouth, as if the answer were so obvious, but all her fury was lost the second she found herself unable to answer. "I would kill him," she said, sighing after much deliberation. "My sister... I may hate her, but at least I can remember a time when I didn't hate her." Assassin stared at the wine bottle in her hands. Somehow, without even noticing, she and her master had already downed most of the bottle. She shook her head, pouring more out for her master at no more provocation than an offered glass, before finishing off the last drops herself. "I have to see her," she said. "I don't care what happens to me if I break my Geis; I have to see my sister. Seeing her dead, without that bastard cur there to get in my way, is the only way I can feel some sense of satisfaction for what's happened."
"Oh, don't you dare," Caren said, nudging up just the slightest bit of sleeve to reveal her Command Seals to Assassin. "I'll use all ten of these if I have to keep you in check."
"Then I'll go fight her eleven times! She's my sister! I'm the only one allowed to kill her!"
Across the table from Assassin, Caren sat in silence, only speaking up to ask "Could you share one of your positive memories of your sister with me? All I ever see in your dreams are the times you two fought."
Assassin smiled, saying as she thought back on a fond memory "I remember once, she and I snuck off into the forest when father had forbade us. We got lost, and stumbled across some members of a rival tribe who were pillaging an empty Roman camp." Assassin let out a single chuckle. "We must have been... Ten, or maybe twelve at the time, but we thrashed them all without breaking a sweat. Father scolded us when he learned what we had done, of course, but you'd never have known it from the look on his face when we showed him all the coins and linens we brought back!"
"But then, we just... Drifted apart. She went off into the woods one day, and when she came back she said one of the fae folk had blessed her. Father was so proud, but I..." Assassin shook her head. "Magic I had spent years studying, she could do without ever picking up a book. Where I had to keep up my training if I wanted to beat her in a fight, she could beat anyone without putting in a single minute's worth of effort. She became a hero to our tribe, and a teacher to the heroes that followed, while I just... If I hadn't become her enemy, would anyone have even remembered my name when I died?" Assassin had to force herself to stop; she hadn't meant to tell her master that much; "And why am I telling you all of this to begin with? Why do you care?"
Caren shrugged. "I could ask you the same question," she said. "Why did you care enough about me to make dinner?"
"Who even knows," Assassin said. "Besides, what does the reason matter when we're just going to go back to hating each other tomorrow?"
"I don't hate you," Caren said, matter-of-factly. "I never have. Your sour attitude may grate on me, but at the same time I know I've brought it all on myself for summoning you like this."
Assassin stared at Caren. Was that something not meant to antagonise she had just heard leave her master's mouth? "You must be just as out of it as I am, or I'm more out of it than I thought. Where's this coming from all of a sudden?"
"I'm not actually as callous as I come across," Caren said. I just have some... Difficulties, expressing myself positively. A bad habit I inherited from my father, I guess you could say."
"Does it always take half a bottle of wine before your softer side emerges, or am I just an extra-special case?"
This time, it was Caren's turn to laugh. "If that's what you want to believe."
Assassin nodded her head. Her dinner had gotten cold, but at least the wine kept her feeling warm. "You know something, master? Maybe I don't hate you as much as I thought. You're still a worthless, gutless wench for summoning me like this, but maybe..." Assassin sighed. "Thanks for listening, master."
"Any time."
