𝟐𝟖
Y/n and Yor were left to stand in the cabin together in silence, simply staring at one another. Yor was covered in blood, and there was no excuse for her to use this time... but, oddly enough, y/n didn't seem bothered in the slightest.
She simply held Yor's gaze, quietly awaiting an answer. Scrutinizing, cold, and guarded.
Nothing like the warm e/c eyes belonging to the woman the assassin had come to love and adore just as much as she did her younger brother.
For a moment, Yor hardly recognized y/n.
"Well? Why did you do it?" y/n asked again, tone cold yet riddled with something bitter. Uncertainty? Grief?
"Why did I do it?" Yor echoed, her expression becoming nervous, "Do... what? I'm not sure what you're talking about..." 'Oh no... she most definitely knows! I'm sure I can find a way to keep it a secret—!'
Y/n raised a brow before sighing.
"Thorn Princess."
"H-Huh?"
"Thorn Princess." y/n repeated, "A Garden assassin. You take care of the filth in this country, all for the sake of making it a better... safer place. Isn't that right, Yor?"
The assassin blinked, an immediately her expression became one of disbelief, 'Oh no, she knows! What's she going to do now? Tell Yuri? Ohhh... what if Loid finds out? What will happen then?'
Yor's internal panic swiftly came to an end, cut off by y/n's next few words, "Your job is an honorable one. Difficult, but definitely for the betterment of Ostania. But..." the assassin watched her sister in law's brows furrow, "Why my brother?"
Brother? What did she mean?
Yor knew y/n had once had a brother.
She didn't speak of him often, but Yor did know that he'd died three years ago some time after y/n and Yuri had begun dating. Y/n was careful about what she said about her brother, she was always very secretive about her family, but it was clear that her brother's death was always lingering in her mind.
"What about your brother? I don't..." Yor's voice trailed off, 'Was her brother one of my clients? But I don't remember killing anyone who looks like y/n, but what if they didn't look similar? Ohh... please don't tell me I killed my sister in law's brother!'
"Achille Leone. Does that name ring any bells?" y/n demanded, "The man you poisoned and left to die right in front of his own son!"
See now Yor couldn't say she hadn't poisoned anyone because she'd most definitely done so before. The name Achille Leone did ring bells, but she hadn't killed him!
Despite the less than favorable path he'd walked, he was someone the Garden assassins were instructed to never lay hands on. So, naturally, there was no way she could've killed him *directly*.
And she didn't kill him. Directly or indirectly.
She was certain that she hadn't killed him!
Absolutely certain! A hundred percent!
"Y/n, I didn't kill that man!"
"Oh? And what reason do I have to believe you?"
"I do recognize the name Achille Leone because it belonged to one of the people which Garden assassins were ordered to never bring harm to!" Yor protested, "I know it may be difficult to believe a word I'm saying, especially with how I look right now and the fact that I haven't told you I'm an assassin, but I'd never kill someone who didn't deserve it!"
Y/n's brows furrowed, clearly conflicted as she processed this information. But Laurence... all the evidence pointed towards—
The young woman recalled Serafina's words, and the energy seemed to leave her body as she heaved a sigh.
"Damn it... my head hurts..." she mumbled, pressing a hand against her forehead, "Idiot... you're such an idiot. Impulsive and stupid and... ugh."
Yor took a hesitant step forward, "Y/n..."
Y/n jolted a bit and flinched away from her with a panicked, "D-Don't come near me, stay back!"
Yor raised her hands to show that she meant no harm but didn't make any other attempts to approach. Her expression was wary, but she was internally sobbing, 'Darn it, I must've scared her! Nice job, Yor, now your sister in law is terrified of you!'
On the other hand, y/n was collecting her thoughts and trying to think rationally. She'd been letting her emotions autopilot her actions, and she'd already gone and done something rash as a result.
She inhaled deeply, then exhaled.
"I'm... sorry, Yor." she murmured.
Yor's overthinking came to a screeching halt as she processed the quiet words that left her sister in law. She focused on y/n and found that the young woman looked almost defeated, exhausted.
"Ahh... this is awkward. Uhm..." y/n's gaze flitted around the room, almost as though she were doing her best not to look at Yor only for her to give in and lock gazes with the assassin once more, "No simple apology is gonna cut it, and I have a ton of explaining to do. However, we don't exactly have time for that right now."
"Huh?" Yor blinked curiously before it finally hit her, "Oh! Olka! Are her and Gram okay?!"
"Heh, yes, they're both fine." y/n assured her sister in law with a small smile, "During the chaos, I had them escorted to my cabin. They'll be safe there."
"Ah... what a relief..." the ebony haired woman murmured before both of them let out a simultaneous sigh.
Yor gave y/n a smile of her own.
"I guess we have a lot to talk about, huh?"
"I suppose we do. But... let's save that for when we reach our destination." y/n hummed before her smile faded, replaced by a frown as her eyes trailed to the door to the cabin.
Elena stood there with Kilian tucked under her arm, the boy smiling nervously at his two Aunts.
"Kilian." y/n's voice wasn't happy.
The little boy laughed awkwardly, "Ehe... hey."
Yor and Y/n parted ways, promising to discuss the things they left unsaid when the ship reached its destination.
Yor went off somewhere, likely to reconvene with her co workers, while Kilian found himself awkwardly sitting on a bed in the VIP cabin while y/n paced back and forth in front of him.
The silence was so loud...
How long was she going to pace?
Was she angry?
Oh no... Kilian was definitely in trouble!
"Do you realize how dangerous it was for you to run off from Zain like that?" y/n suddenly questioned, causing her young nephew to flinch slightly.
"Uhm, yes..?" he mumbled meekly.
"Well? Why did you do it?"
"I saw you and I wanted to go to you... I was so excited that you were here, I didn't think... m'sorry." 'Urgh... it's not even a full lie but it still hurts...!'
Y/n scrutinized her nephew in silence while he sat there with his head down, appearing ashamed but actually cringing in agony.
It was a long moment before she embraced him, resting her head on top of his with a sigh, "Oh, forget it! I'm just glad you're safe and well!"
Kilian blinked owlishly, and all of a sudden the pain from lying to y/n disappeared, '...so worth it.'
His eyes wandered to Elena who was regarding her nails in the corner where she sat. His brows furrowed and his eyes narrowed as he regarded the assassin.
She spotted him staring, and sent him a smile to which he returned it with a polite little nod of his own before burying his face into his Aunt's clothing.
'Feels like I'm seeing a scary side of everyone...'
✄ - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Kilian was pretty much grounded to the cabin for the rest of the ride, but his Grandfather bailed him out a day before they arrived at the island.
He got to enjoy a bunch of activities with his Grandpa without a care in the world up until they finally reached land.
"Take a look at this."
"What is it?"
"A sea urchin."
Alessandro and Kilian had spent some time diving, more like Alessandro dove while Elena and Kilian stayed up on the yacht to collect the things he brought up with him.
They lingered on the mini deck, Kilian eagerly observing the little sea urchin in his grandfather's palm.
He pondered poking the creature, but decided better of it as he took a look at the seashells his grandfather had collected, "Mm... can we make a necklace for Auntie with these?"
"Possibly, do you want to give it a try?"
As Alessandro helped his grandson sort through the shells, Kilian was acutely aware of Elena. The woman wasn't acting strange anymore.
Where she'd been all scary and ominous back on the cruise, she was now friendly and sweet again. Usually, it wouldn't bother Kilian. She was an assassin, of course she got a little scary after battling it out with other assassins, but Kilian couldn't shake the constant chill he got when he thought back to that night.
"Like father like son, huh?"
'Uh-oh, time to go.'
Kilian began to turn and hurry away only for Elena grab him by his arm, "Oh no you don't, it's too dangerous for you to be wandering about right now."
Kilian flailed frantically, trying and failing to wrench his arm out of the assassin's grasp while she merely held onto him. After a few moments of struggling, the boy stopped to catch his breath.
"What's all the panic for, hm? I'm not gonna hurt you, y'know." Elena remarked as she crouched to the boy's level and dusted him off, "That's the last thing we want, actually."
The boy froze, 'We? What's that supposed to mean?'
"Don't worry, Kilian, I'll make sure nothing else happens to you." Elena hummed as she gave him a little pat on the head, "You're the hope for the new generation and us old people, you know? We'll make sure you grow up big and strong, so we'll have a new Golden Age."
A new... what?!
"What's that supposed to mean."
"Don't worry about it."
Kilian let out a quiet groan, drawing his grandfather'a attention. The old man frowned, "Everything alright?"
"Yeah... but where's Auntie?"
"She had an appointment, she'll be back soon."
Kilian pouted a bit, his gaze solemn, "I wanted to spend time with her today, though..."
"And not your grandfather, huh?"
"Of course I wanna spend time with you, how could you even suggest such a thing?!" Kilian cried to which Alessandro began to laugh.
"I'm only playing around, don't worry. We'll see your Aunt later, so enjoy yourself! Don't worry about her." the old man assured his grandson, "Tell you what, let's head into town and get something good to eat. Afterwards, we can go find y/n and spend time together, okay?"
Kilian immediately perked up, "Okay!"
His excitement was quickly extinguished when him and his grandfather stumbled across Loid and Anya.
"Ian!" Anya exclaimed with delight, rushing over to the boy and hugging him, much to his dismay, "Oh! And Grandpa too!"
"Hm? Hello again, Little Miss Anya!" Alessandro greeted her with a warm smile, all sunshine and rainbows even as he turned his attention to Loid, "I'm not sure who you are, though..."
"He's Anya's Dad, and Auntie's sister-in-law's husband." Kilian explained, 'And also a spy.'
Alessandro's brain quickly got to work. If this man was Anya's father, and the brother in law of y/n's husband, then...
'He must know Yuri!'
Due to the circumstances of their situation, y/n had been very insistent on Alessandro and Yuri not meeting. She knew her father would be easily recognizable as a former mobster, and didn't want any conflict between him and her husband, so she was extra careful to ensure they never spoke to each other in person.
Of course, Alessandro was horribly devastated by this. He wanted to meet the man his daughter had fallen for, thank him for protecting her, and make sure he never caused her any pain whatsoever.
Y/n wouldn't even let him get close.
However, now that Loid was in the picture...
'I can use this as an opportunity to gather intel!'
"Kilian, Anya. How would you two like to go on an adventure?" Alessandro hummed with a smile.
"An adventure?" Anya breathed while Kilian grimaced, already feeling nervous about the suggestion.
"A friend of mine here owns a lovely plane. If you want, he can take us flying and show us other islands nearby. We can even swing by some nearby ruins of an ancient civilization." Alessandro told them with a grin, "It'll be quite the experience I'm sure your friends would love to hear about at school! How about it?"
'Ancient civilization... maybe we can find treasure!' Anya thought with delight, bouncing up and down before glancing at Kilian, wondering what he was thinking.
Just static. White noise.
What was up with him?
'...maybe I can find something pretty for Auntie. I dunno if Becky would be interested in anything from some ruins, but I wouldn't mind looking around.'
Anya gasped and Kilian flinched, realizing his mistake. Before she could interrogate him, Kilian frantically looked up at Loid, "W-We can't go if Mister Loid isn't alright with it! We should ask him first!"
"Loid is welcome to join us if he wants! The more the merrier!" Alessandro exclaimed, not noticing the mortification upon his grandson's face.
Anya gave Loid puppy eyes, "Please?"
Kilian gave him a distressed look, 'No...!'
Loid couldn't ignore the look of desperation on Anya's face. This was a vacation, and Yor had said she may be busy for a while... besides, Anya seemed to really want to go.
"I... don't see why not."
"Yes!"
'No!!!'
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