Shock fills Eira's veins. She laughs in denial. "You're lying to me."
The man shakes his head, his green eyes filled with sorrow. "I'm not trust me."
He spreads his hands. "Eira when have I ever lied to you."
Eira inhales sharply, as she hangs her head. "Never. . ."
She holds her head in her hands, as she begins to shake.
Noticing her shaking shoulders, those wonderful emerald eyes flash with grief.
"I'm sorry," he says. "I'm sorry."
Eira punches him in the shoulder, but he doesn't budge. She punches him again and again. But, like a rock facing the roaring sea, he remains still.
"Why," she sobs her voice breaking. "You are the one person I can trust in this world, and you're leaving me? When I went with you to the doctor last month, they said you were perfectly fine."
"Eira-" He begins.
"No." She whispers, cutting him off mid sentence. "You are going to let me finish. How long have you known about this? How long were you planning on keeping me in the dark? Why does it have to be me that takes over the guild? And why just why do you have to leave Rence?"
Rence sighs, his eyes looking anywhere, but at Eira.
"Rence," Eira hisses.
"Alright. Alright. I'll tell you everything," Rence agrees reluctantly. "We should probably sit down first. It's a long story. . ."
Eira and Rence quietly sit at the table in the middle of her room, both of their eyes downcast.
Rence takes a deep, shaky breath.
"It first started," His emerald eyes meeting hers, "When I brought you into the guild."
"That was-"
Rence silences her with an emerald eyed stare.
"When I first brought you here, you were four and I was twenty. I remember how excited you were to have a home. The smiles you gave me when I was taking you here, and the questions you asked with that lovely and cheerful voice of yours brightened my world. But, I didn't know that I would pay for bringing a child into the guild. That night. . . The old Poseidon punished me heavily for bringing a child into the guild. He shouted at me, screamed, and yelled, repeatedly saying, 'The guild is no place for a child.' I imagine that night that some of the other assassins whom were jealous of my rank and skills, decided to slip a poison into my food. Although I'm known for my skills with poison, I still don't know why or how I didn't notice a poison in my food. The effects of the poison weren't noticeable after weeks or months. Even after a couple years, but I-I" He says his voice breaking.
"I think what caused the poison to stop being dormant was when I got into a car crash a month or two ago. I believe the poison is a dormant one which does not start to act unless the one whose poisoned has undergone a serious injury. That's when I realized. . . I can't hold a competition to see who will be the next Amphitrite or Poseidon. I realized that I wouldn't have enough time to accomplish many things, and that making you the Amphitrite would be the best possible decision I could make for the guild. Out of all the current assassins, who has the highest rank other than me?"
"Me," Eira whispers.
"Who can get the guild in order when we need a group gathering?"
"Me. ."
"Who is everyone scared of in the guild?"
"Me. . ."
"See, you were the most logical choice. And, even if I held a competition I knew you would win."
[If you had a competition,] Eira says to herself, [I would've lost on purpose. I have no desire to lead the guild.]
Rence sighs, "I don't want to leave either Eira, but this poison has no cure. I could probably have treatments to continue to slow the poison, but there's little hope. I've tried so many things myself, but I don't even know what poison this could be. . ."
Eira zones out. She flashes through her photographic memory of every poison she's ever seen in a book, or any poison she's ever dealt with.
She snaps her fingers.
"Redbane."