A Meeting Of Those Who Know

Cairo tried to keep his face straight before he smiled lightly. "Believe me, I've tried." he teased. "But not thorns as big as the sharp thing concealed against your thigh." he said his eyes still moving over the crowd. "It's possible." he said before he allowed her to spin out.

He pulled her back in. "Those eyes are holding something other than lust." he said as he looked the man dead in the face. He hadn't noticed his return stair as his eyes were still obviously glued to Larina.

"If he's not an assassin, he's still a killer."

"You'd never leave me," she said knowingly looking directly at him, before she laughed lightly. "Yes, it is," she smirked bemused, her eyes looking down to where her leg was then back up to him once more as she stepped along with the dance, her voice dipping quiet once more. She kept a brilliant smile on her face as if she were talking about something pleasant.

"Other than lust?" she questioned, stepping side to side as they moved. "So he's interested in me, but not in that sense," she smiled and nodded a little. "We'll see how much of a killer he is. Or he's a stalker," she joked, stepping back a little, she purposely directed their dancing closer to him.

"What makes you so sure?" he asked quietly. He kept leading her around the dance floor with surprising grace. "Mhm, every other man that's staring at you, their eyes are filled with lust and wanting.." he said through slightly gritted teeth. "Indeed." he allowed her to move them closer to him, before turning them around so she could see him over his shoulder.

"Bare in mind there's been a few butchering's of women in Benedictus lately. Noble and peasent alike." he said with slightly raised eyebrows.

Larina sighed under her breath softly. "I just know," she said lightly, looking away a touch almost as if she was ashamed, then back to him once more. Her head turned over her shoulder just a little subtle as she smiled lightly to those who looked at her in return, before ahead back to her Father figure once more.

"There's always something going on like that, no matter which Kingdom you're in. Seems he could be the predator people are after. However, it isn't our job to get rid of him unless he attacks me or you. Anyone else, it isn't our problem," she said plainly, raising an eyebrow at him a touch.

Cairo smiled lightly, "Of course." he said as his eyes met various people. There were a lot of widowed or divorced women that were trying to lure him to traps these days. Since word of his various business ventures. Something that he blamed Larina for entirely.

"I've taught you well." he laughed under his breath. "If or when he does attack you, in public, make it look as if your fighting back was a new thing. If you kill him, make it an accident." he said calmly. "Keep the reputation in tact." he smirked.

Larina eyed him curiously, stepping along with him. "Many women are interested in you, you know. To them, you're rich and successful, not to mention charming and good looking," she grinned idly, tilting her head to the side as she spun along to the music. She continued to glance over his shoulder every now and again, before realising. If it was an assassin, they obviously thought she was the weaker of the two and easier to pick off.

She smiled idly and nodded at Cairo. "If he attacks me in public, I guess I'll have to use hand techniques. I can't exactly bring a blade out in the open. Won't people wonder why I have it on me?" she sighed, but then she nodded.

"It'll be a complete accident, plus it's my good reputation against a murderer," she shrugged, checking over her shoulder for the man again with a smile.

Cairo looked to her with a raised eyebrow. "Mostly widows." he said with a light shrug. "And in most cases, I'm the one who made them that way." he laughed under his breath. "Indeed, they'll wonder exactly where you pulled it from.." he said raising his other eyebrow to meet the first.

He stopped dancing with her as the music came to an end. "You go and investigate it." he said simply. "I'll be amongst the crowd, finding out what I can." he said before leaning down and kissing her forehead. He moved from her and into the crowd of people stood around the dance floor.

Larina eyed up the man infront of her but smiled anyway, cocking her head to the side. "Your fault entirely they lust after you then," she teased, straightening her body as she sighed with a nod. "Eh, hm. I have to stay inconspicuous," she muttered. As the danced stopped, she stepped back from him, took the corner of her dress and curtly bowed to her Father, before straightening.

When he kissed her forehead, she flashed him a grin before turning around. She had to get to the man with refusing dances from other people as the music signaled that it was going to go for a faster dance, one women held their dresses up for.

She crossed the floor elegantly, her dress sweeping along with her. She rested her hands on the stomach of her corset when she met the mans eyes squarely.

Cairo shrugged slightly. "Who doesn't want this?" he said idly with a raised eyebrow. He nodded his head slightly "Of course my dear." he said with a light snigger. As he moved into the crowd, he brushed his way through lightly. Making his way to the bar. "Rum please." he said to the barkeep as he took a seat on one of the stools.

He looked over to Larina and the man lightly out of the corner of his eye. The man looked to her with a smirk forming over his lips. "Evenin' m'lady." he said bowing slightly. He then reached forward, taking one of her hands as he kissed it. "A pleasure to meet ya'." he said in a slightly raspy, familiar voice.

Larina crossed over towards the man who took her hand. She blinked a little, keeping to her reputation, smiling slowly so that the red on her lips etched up with her lips. She cocked her head to the side as she looked down when he bowed, laughing gently at the way he spoke to her.

"Ah it is?" she smiled, speaking in a very gentle Benedictian accent. Not blunt and harsh like she used with assassins. She tilted her head slowly to the left, the curls from the front of her hair moving with her face. "And I assure a pleasure to meet you to... Mister..." she lingered, looking for him to answer her.

In the crowd, a woman who seemed in her mid twenties stood what could have been next to her husband. He looked a good ten to fifteen years older than she did. Her eyes flickered to Cairo once, blinked in surprise, then away again. She wasn't dressed as fancy as the other women, but still wonderfully.

She eyed him at the bar and made an excuse to her husband to move away. She knew who Cairo was, his name at least. She leant forwards to the bar, speaking quietly. "Just a wine," she smiled, her accent being that of Essentia.

Cairo took the glass of rum as it was placed onto the bar, taking a swig of it. His eyes still drawn to Larina and the man. His attention was then drawn to the woman as she ordered a wine. He lifted his glass to her with a nod of his head, before his attention went back to his daughter.

There was something about that man that seemed oh too familiar. The man looked her square in the eyes, the smirk still on his face. "You have no idea." he said lightly. He tilted his head to the side. "..Smith." he said suddenly, clearly a fake name.

His eyes moved over her face before he gestured to the dance floor. "Shall we?" he asked politely but there was a slight hint of menace in his tone.

Larina laughed lightly, hearing the name Smith, she didn't let anything play on her face as she nodded. "Blacksmith perhaps?" she teased as she stepped towards him softly, her fingers brushing the golden bracelets on her wrist, her bright blue grey eyes looking up to him under thick lashes. She studied his face, every inch of it, listened to his voice with every note.

Hearing about the dance floor, she reached up to touch her lips as she laughed a little. "It's a fast dance, can you keep up, Mr.Smith?" she asked playfully, stepping back but inviting him forward with a taunting tilt of her head.

The woman, who was blonde, stood near Cairo's side. She was wearing a thin lilac dress and her hair was down the middle of her back, wavy. Her eyes were a sea blue, quite deep but hinted with the lightest speckles of ice.

She leant forwards suddenly, a rather beautiful smile on her face. "Are you worried about her, Lord Vastel?"

Cairo watched as the man kissed her hand. He shook his head almost instinctively. There was definitely something about that man that made him stand out in this regal crowd. But he knew that he'd trained Larina well enough to be able to take care of herself. But the fatherly feelings that he had, seemed to emerge every so often without warning.

His head then turned as he heard the voice beside him. His eyebrows rose slightly as a smile formed over his face. "Of course." he said calmly before taking another drink. "What father doesn't worry about his young daughter?" he laughed lightly. "No man will ever be good enough for her, it's a father's right to decide that." he chuckled lightly. He looked over his shoulder to where she had come from before back to her. "Forgive my rudeness, and you are?" he asked.

The man gave a throaty laugh. "Oh, I think I can manage." he said softly before taking her arm. He lead her onto the dance floor. He placed his hand on the lowest part of her back, almost touching her back side, whilst his other hand held hers. He then began to move with the music, faster than the dance before.

Larina rose an eyebrow curiously to him. "We'll see if you can put your moves where your mouth is," she teased lightly, allowing him to take her to the dance floor. Her eyes hardened a little when his hand touched the small of her back, but she smiled at him anyway. Not only because she was an assassin, but because she was trained to be regal, could she easily keep up with the dance.

To see the Rose and the man dance together, was a sight to make people stop and stare. Larina smiled at him the entire time, her body moving fast to the music and close to his, not once looking in Cairos direction but at the man the entire time.

The long blonde haired woman leant against the bar gently, her eyes alight gently. She laughed softly, leaning her head into her hands as she watched him softly. "You seem a very kind father then," she spoke gently, each word sounding musical; as it was for the Essentians. Her skin was snow white, causing her hair to look almost golden against her.

"No man? Aren't you going to marry her to someone?" she questioned, taking her wine and letting a little slide down her throat. She then looked to him over the glass and smiled softly.

"Mis-" she began. "Mrs Amelia Lee."

Cairo moved his eyes with them as they stepped onto the dance floor. He could see people sparing a gaze towards him, managing to tear their eyes away from the pair dancing. He smiled, with a quiet laugh. "I have my faults." he said as he looked to her. "I've not been around much, what with being away on business more often than not.." he said tilting his head to the side.

He laughed once more. "Oh there are plenty suitors. I'm being pushed to make a decision for her." he shook his head slowly. "It's not like I need her to marry into a wealthy family." he said seriously. "So non of them are suitable, yet." he told her.

"Ah." he said as she told him her name. His eyes moving to her husband who tried to no make it obvious that he was watching her. "Well, Mrs Lee, it is a pleasure to make your acquittance." he said bowing his head slightly.

The man smirked back to her in response to her smile. His hand on her lower back moved around her body seemingly unnoticed as they moved to the fast music. He then turned her around so her back was against his body. His hands moving down until they reached her thigh. His hand pressing onto the blade slightly that was hidden there. He whispered in her ear softly. "Hello poppet."

Amelia leant forward almost excited to talk to Cairo. She tilted her head to the side, suddenly blurting out. "Don't you have a wife?" she asked, before looking to him almost bewildered that she'd asked that. "O-oh, forgive me that was too bold," she quickly commented, obviously having got used to the few hits from her husband.

She made a slight glance in his direction, then back to Cairo once more, almost ashamed, before she forced a pretty smile onto her face once more. "The pressure is on for one of Benedictus' most famous and wealthy families," she smiled.

"Many people speculate about yours and your daughters bond, with you being away so often," she murmured, leaning her hands to her glass as she took a sip again then set it down. She then almost blushed a little and grinned back at him.

"And you too, Mr.Vastel."

Meanwhile, Larina spun back into the mans body, and she could feel the shape of him against her. Her eyes narrowed ever so slightly as his hands moved down and then onto her blade. She kept relaxed until he whispered in her ear, causing her eyebrows to shoot up in sudden dismay.

Keeping as cool as she could, she looked over her shoulder to him. "E-excuse me, poppet?" she laughed, her voice keeping soft and steady, but inside, her brain was screaming all the things she wanted to do.

Cairo's eyebrow raised slowly at her question, a smile forming on his lips. "Not at all." he said gesturing a hand. "I'm widowed." he said simply. "Since Larina was a little girl." he said, his eyes glancing to her before back to Amelia. "Indeed it is." he said lightly. "But no-one can rush me." he laughed slightly. "I do things when I'm ready and no a moment sooner." he said with a nod.

"Do they now?" he said as he leaned his side into the bar. "And what is it that they speculate exactly?" he asked, his eyebrows drawing together as he tilted his head to the side.

The man's smirk turned slightly sadistic, concealing it from the crowd however. His fingers tapped lightly on the cold steel of her sword. "You don't remember me poppet?" he said, still whispering into her ear. "Let me refresh your memory." he wheezed. "No! Please don't hurt my little girl! Mummy! Daddy!" he said in a hushed tone, mimicking the voices of both her and her parents.

Amelia blinked softly and she frowned. "Oh? I'm sorry to hear that. It seems though, that even without a Mother she's grown up wonderfully," she complimented, pushing a wave of blonde hair behind her ear gently. She smiled softly at his comments and nodded. "You always know when someone catches your eye, right?" she laughed, pulling herself on one of the stools and crossing a leg over the other.

Essentian men and women were both very tall, and this woman stood at 6"0 exactly. A lot of something to look at indeed. She lay her arm over her lap, the other keeping a hold of her wine glass. "Oh. They wonder how Larina fares without a father to keep her in check. But many believe she's of gentle nature and does well on her own," she smiled.

"It's a good thing to see your bond," she muttered.

On the dancefloor, Larina turned her head to the side, so she was looking away from him. She bit her tongue so harshly that she almost caused it to bleed. Then, in a very low voice she murmured back to him. "You're soon going to be repeating your last words," she whispered, feeling his hand still on the top of her thigh where her trusty dagger was strapped on.

Her eyes went to the side of her once more, blinking lightly at the crowd dancing fast, before her eyes narrowed ever so slightly.

Cairo smiled to her lightly. "Well I did my best." he said with a shrug. "I can't do anymore than that." he chuckled. His eyebrow rose then. "Oh, I think I do." he said with a light smile. "Do you know when someone catches your eye?" he asked with a suggestive tone, tilting his head. His eyes moved over her form them slowly. Not pervertedly so, but in an observational way and the eye did not go wanting.

He laughed softly. His hand moving onto the bar, slightly closer to her than himself. "It's difficult to keep her in check even when I am there." he joked. "I've taught her well, she knows how to contact me should she need me, but she does well on her own most of the time." he looked to her then with a lighter smile.

The man chuckled under his breath. "If it hadn't been for the assassin, you'd have been dead a long time now." he said slowly. "I would have had a lot of fun with you." he said as he slowly undid the straps on her thigh, so not to draw attention.

"What's it going to be 'rose'? Are you going to strike me down where I stand, reveal what you are to the whole of magna?" his lips then moved down to her neck. His tongue flicked out, licking it slowly. "Or are you going to be the frightened little girl that you were all those years ago?"

Amelia beamed to him brilliantly, brushing her hair over her shoulder gently. "You did brilliantly," she applauded, brushing down the front of her lilac dress before hearing his question, her eyes flickered back up to him once more and she grinned, her expression going playful. "Eh, of course I do! I'm a woman of course," she smiled.

"When we know what we want, sometimes we manage to get it. Other times, unfortunately, it might be out of our reach," she frowned, tilting her head to the side a little before hearing him again, her head turned to Larina and the man, noticing how close they were. She looked away immediately and right back to Cairo. "You seem to make her proud."

Larina leaned her head back a little, her teeth grinding together a touch. "Thank God for him then," she hissed,her eyes narrowing. "Fun with me?" she laughed under her breath, before feeling the strap on her thigh being undone, her eyebrows came together and she bit the side of her tongue.

"You have no right to address me as a Rose," she snapped, her eyes moving to the crowd, then back to him behind her once more. As she felt his lips and tongue on her neck, she cringed a little. "I'm not frightened of a simple scavenger," she mocked.

"Thank you." Cairo said with a nod of his head. He returned her smile with one of his own. "Of course." he watched her as she spoke then, his hand moved ever so slightly closer to her again. "Nothing is ever out of reach, if your willing to reach and take it." he said as his hand reached hers, brushing it lightly.

He smiled lightly to her. "She makes me proud." he said before he rolled his neck slightly. "A father couldn't ask for a better daughter." he said as he glanced over to her. The smile faded slightly as he saw how close they were getting. His assassin instincts told him that she could handle it, but his fatherly ones said different. He ripped his eyes away from them and back to Amelia with a smile.

Mr. Smith laughed darkly under his breath. "God had nothing to do with it." he breathed against the nape of her neck. "It was the assassin's remptor's that gave the order. Came straight from the top." he smirked, his tongue tracing her neck once more as he hand undid the final strap, keeping it against her thigh however.

"If it weren't for them, I wouldn't have got the vampires to carry it out." he said after his tongue had slithered back into his toxic mouth. "I would have had more fun, the torture had even vegan for you when he showed up." he smirked. "I'll address you as assassin then shall I? Shall I inform everyone else to do the same?" he asked before inhaling her scent through her hair.

He shuddered slightly, a dark loo entered his eyes. "You may not be now, but do you remember how you begged and pleaded with me?" he asked. "Poor little girl, all alone now mummy and daddy were dead infront of her. No-one there to save her." his lips found her neck once more.

"If the assassin had shown himself like a true man, he'd be dead as well." he added with a slight snarl. "But instead he kept to the shadows, picking them off, like the spineless coward that he is." he hissed against her neck.

Amelia smiled at him softly, her head dipped a touch. She noticed his hand moving closer to hers before finally brushing it. Her eyebrows shot up and a blush appeared on her face, but she forced herself to keep cool as she looked back up towards him. "O-oh she does?" she questioned gently, tilting her head to the side.

She leaned forwards just a little, her upper body bending just a little as she laughed. "Something tells me she's proud of how courteous and fatherly you are to her," she complimented, before tilting her head, her own hand near his. "And how wonderfully spoken you are with strangers," she grinned, referring to herself.

Larina felt the strap undo on her thigh and her eyes narrowed a little. "What?" she snapped to him over her shoulder, feeling his breath on her neck, his tongue, his mouth and she felt slightly ill. She kept her composed outer exterior however, her fingers clenching on her dress.

"Straight from the top eh," she mocked, her eyes narrowing. "The torture was nothing compared to the training I've been through to get here," she smiled, her head tilting to the side and her body close against his, her eyes narrowed a little. "No one will believe you. My reputation exceeds a man of a false name," she snapped. She felt him breath in her scent and her jaw tightened, looking ahead of herself.

"I remember that night more than any other, Mr.Smith," she smiled, looking ahead. "But then again, only cowards like you would attack a family of traders and torture their daughter who couldn't defend herself, wouldn't you?" she taunted, her eyes narrowing, feeling his lips on her neck.

"Oh but you know assassins. We are beings of shadow, with the utter potential to become darkness itself," she snapped. "And you're dipping your hands in it," she smiled, looking to the side once more. Her body was stiff against his and it no longer looked like such a flowing dance anymore.

Cairo smiled at her as she blushed. "She does." he said as he watched her hand move closer to his. "You flatter me." he said smiled to her, his little finger brushing across her hand ever so gently. "Well, I am only spoken with strangers that catch my eye." he said smoothly as he looked into her eyes.

He looked to her husband out of the corner of his eyes. Who seemed to be beside himself, not daring to come over, obviously knowing how powerful Cairo was. His eyes then moved back to the woman infront of him. "And may I see, what the eye has caught, has definitely not left it wanting."

The man chuckled to her. "Like I said, It had barely begun." he smirked against her perfect skin. "Oh no? So if I brandished a dagger from your thigh, holding it against your throat. You wouldn't fight me? Proving me right?" he asked before his hand moved the dagger up even higher on her thigh.

"Cowards?" he tutted under his breath. "We fulfilled a contract, to the letter. Just as you do." he said with a tilt of his head. He inhaled her scent once more. Moving their bodies to music. "I'll take my chances, little girl."

Amelias smile brightened to him a little. She glanced down to her hand then back up to him once more, a slight blush on her face as she laughed lightly. "It's such a pleasure to be talking with you, I can't help but perhaps compliment you every so often, Lord Vastel," she commented, not taking notice of her husband. She'd completely forgotten about him whilst being wrapped up in Cairo.

Hearing what he said, her eyebrows shot up and her blush reddened before she smiled a little. "What is it your eyes want?" she questioned, tilting her head softly. Her hair was almost as long as Larinas, but blonde and wavy, whereas Larinas was jet black and straight.

Larina looked ahead of herself and rose an eyebrow lightly. "You failed to make yourself inconspicuous, Smith," she taunted. "The way you stared at me was enough," she laughed, feeling her dagger being moved up her thigh, her eyes narrowed to its path.

"If you make a move to harm me, I assure you, it would not be your wisest decision. Did my face leave a lingering in your mind from that night, Smith? Or have you seen me out before and never had the chance to approach me? Or were you too frightened, so waited till we were in a room full of people, so one might have your back," she snapped.

She heard his words and she smiled amused, her eyes rolling a touch. "Torture techniques. You must be part of the Tenebrae, if you are an assassin. There is a reason Umbra is above you. Know your place, vermin," she spat.

Cairo grinned slightly as she blushed once more. "Please, call me Cairo." he said softly. His eyes then moved over her form, before returning to her face once more. "Need I say?" he said in a seductive tone, the smile still on his face as his hand was centimmeter's away from hers. "But the question is, what do your eyes want?"

Mr. Smith smirked. "I wasn't trying to. How else was I supposed to draw your attention?" he said as he continued to move the dagger. "Ridding the world of another filthy Umbra Assassin? I'd say it's very wise." he jeered to her. "Your face will be doing a lot more when I've finished with you, I may even cut it off and keep it as a souvenir." he laughed slightly.

"Very good little girl." he said before licking her neck once more. "It's a pity really." he said shaking his head. "If you hadn't been in Umbra, I could have been the one who trained you." he shook his head slowly. "How ironic, the man who killed your parents, training their daughter to do the same thing to someone else's parents." he tutted under his breath.

"That's enough to boggle the mind." he said, the top of the dagger no digging into the flesh at the very top of her thigh.