Taris stretched out in the chair in front of his mirror. For some reason he felt relieved that Aera wasn’t having Kentaro’s child. Too relieved for him to just be glad he no longer needed to kill her. Taris pushed that thought away. His master needed to be informed of the change of information. He pulled the cover from the mirror and called through it. Once more his master’s grim face swam into view, “Taris. You have a new report.” It was not a question.

The elf nodded, “Princess Aera isn’t pregnant. It seems the Queen coerced the Royal Physician into declaring she was. I’m removing her from the list of targets.”
His master’s face went cold, “You grow more arrogant with every contract, it seems. [i]You[/i] don’t get to dictate the terms of the contract. You kill who you are told to kill. You are an assassin. [i]You do your job[/i].”
Taris’ eyes flashed a warning. He leaned back and started rolling a dagger over his knuckles, “The contract is mine, and up to me whether to accept new stipulations beyond the initial terms when I accepted the first time. I have determined that she is no threat to the current contract, and will continue to regard her as a secondary target.”

His master glared back out of the mirror. “You are infatuated with her,” he stated coolly. He continued when Taris stilled, “Your judgment is clouded, Taris. You are one of the best at what we do, but you are making mistakes that will end you. If you refuse to kill her now, fine, I will discuss this with the client. But stay away from her Taris. That is an order.”

The mirror went inert once more, a mere second before a second a thin blade of darkness sliced through the glass. Taris’ eyes faintly glowed, as the shadow dissolved in his hand. That pretentious bastard…

A ray of sun lit his shoulder, the sun was already setting, and Taris was regretting walking out on Aera so quickly in the tunnels. The kiss they shared a few days before flashed through his mind and he sighed. He suddenly wondered if she would still cover for him after today. With another sigh, scryed through a shadow, finding her just as she returned to her room. He wanted to go talk to her, but perhaps it was a better idea to judge her mood first. Else he may find himself with another scar.