It has been 202 years today since that night when I was first taken by my mate, and still I dream of it as if it all occurred yesterday. It has been four years since I escaped. I still look over my shoulder in search of my mate and his goons, smelling the air deeply to ensure I do not smell him. I know he is not going to be there, neither will his goons, or his final mate. I will never see any of them again, aside from in my dreams, I made sure of that before I fled their grove.
I no longer feel pain the way I once did, and I think that is part of why I have progressed so quickly and efficiently with my assassin training. My parents and brothers have all commented that I came back better than before I had been taken. The sympathy I once held for my targets is no longer there. I know we only dispatch those who are deserving. We never dispatch children, but there are some that are more innocent than those that employ us, and sign the contracts, but this is our job. We are silent, deadly, lethal weapons that work solely for the Royals of the Empire. Specifically speaking, for the King and Queen. My family are what is known as the Silent Assassins, and our jobs and swords belong to those of the King and Queen.
The other assassins in our guild can be contracted by most any who come in with the right incentive and proper amount of coin. I also no longer struggle with my shifts. Going months, and even years, in one environment made it impossible for me to stay in between one or the other creature, causing me to stay fully of the sea or fully of the land. I will say, this is a benefit to what I endured while in my mate's care, but it was very painful. Especially at the loss of one of my kits.
My beautiful little twins, a boy and girl. Despite what he put me through, I named our son for him, Mahlihk, but he ripped them from my womb at his final mate's request. Nanih was the only one to survive, and I love her more than anything. She is four years now, beautiful, strong, and very curious. While she does not have the abilities of the sea since she took more after her father, she is a strong little kit, and learns fast.
"Myr Myr! Come look what I've done to your little outfit!" Opal calls out excitedly while running up to me as I surface from the sea, my scales disappearing into fur as my toes sink into the sand on the beach. Groaning, I look skyward, hiding a small smile that insists on betraying me as I realize what Opal has just said. "What did you do to my suit, Opal Lee?" I curse inwardly for allowing Opal to convince me that it was a good idea for me to leave my precious suit in her care overnight while I went to visit my brother and mother. The suit is my absolute favorite, mainly because it is the most adaptable for when I am shifting, but that does not mean I want it prettied up by my precious gem of a dragon, Opal Lee.
Despite being older than me, Opal Lee has always seemed more like a younger sister than anything. We took her in when I was 16, and she was 18, Mother and I found her while out hunting, near Dead Man's Rock on a human merchant ship. She has been with the family since, even Father and Eldest Brother have come to love her as if she were a part of the family from birth.
Walking towards my best friend, and sister I never got to have, I wrap an arm around her waist as we both walk towards her prized gem, the seamstress shop that she began building shortly after we took her in. Opal has always had an eye for colors and an exotic taste for gems and fabrics. She receives orders from all three Empires, and often makes a fortune from each design. Yet she still lives humbly, preferring to give away to those in need, or those who had been stranded. Even helping those disgusting humans that are not even worth eating, much less tending to. I suppose they could make useful pets though. She does utilize them in her shop too, granted she will not allow them to ship her goods, no, she knows the waters surrounding Orlah too well, she's been stranded in them herself after all. If she had been human like the rest of those that were on that ship, she would have been dead, but, instead, she was a fleeing drakaina from the North, seeking refuge on a human trade ship.
Opal led us excitedly to her shop closer to town center, tucked off in a corner of its own. The shop itself was quite modest, nothing super fancy or flashy, the exact opposite of my dear friend. Walking inside, Opal led me to the back where Nanih and Rahuhl stood, looking at my suit displaying magnificently on a mannequin, looking iridescent, almost transparent. I love the way it blends in with the environment, and almost seems ethereal while in the sea. It's the main reason I had Opal craft it the way she did. Flowy, but also fitted in certain places. The suit moves fluidly with my body during my missions, especially when I must shift from land to sea and back. The material of the suit itself is a combination of fey spider silk and iridescent ice dragon scales and hide. I collected the materials painstakingly for three years on various missions while I was but a kit, gathering enough of the rare material that I had extra after the suit was crafted. A good thing too, or it would not have fit me when I finally broke free of my imprisonment from my mate.
Walking around the mannequin, I look my suit over, locking eyes with Opal as I do so. She lowered the neckline a bit, making it more fitted to my chest and back, in fact, the entire suit is no longer flared as it was before, and seems to be more fitted, like a second skin. Lowering my eyes, I look at Opal with raised brows, "why?" Opal claps her hands with a huge grin on her face, "Just put it on! You'll see in a bit," she exclaims excitedly while darting to the front of her shop to grab an elegant gown. Sighing, I begin to strip my thin dress off, tossing it to the side on the floor, I'll hang it later to dry in the sun. Easing my suit off the mannequin, I admire the shimmery effect it has as it moves in the light, smiling softly as the soft material caresses my skin when I slip it on. My smile grows as I look down at myself, twirling in front of the mirror as I watch the suit move with my muscles, clinging to my skin for dear life. "You look so pretty mother" Nanih whispers as she reaches her arms out to me, squirming out of her uncles arms, "Ah, Nanih, you are too sweet," I purr to her, caressing her cheek gently as I take her into my arms, inhaling her scent deeply as her little legs wrap around my waist. "Have you been good for uncle Rahuhl?" I ask with a raised brow, stroking her hair back.
Opal appears beside me as I hold Nanih, smiling, she hands me a delicate evening gown. Its bright, leafy green coloration makes me smile as I give Nanih back to Rahuhl to slip the dress on over my suit, reveling at how my suit stays perfectly hidden under the beautiful gown. "Ah, Opa, you never cease to amaze." I say with a bright smile gracing my lips, locking eyes with my best friend in the mirror. "I think the alterations are perfect, albeit I will miss the flowy edging it once had." We both giggle before Opal puts on an evening gown of her own. There's an event tonight at the palace that the King requested us both to attend, myself as the ambassador, and Opa as their favored seamstress. Running through the streets to the palace, Opal and I laugh gleefully, relishing in our small bit of freedom before the event tonight.