The Eternal Assassin

Asher yawned, squinting at the early morning sunlight streaming in through the cabin window. Evidently it didn't matter which side of the bed he ended up sleeping on, the vengeance of the sun's first rays was impossible to be avoided.

"Finally up, then?"

Turning onto his side, Asher took in Samantha's slender form lying in bed beside him. Covered in nothing more than a thin sheet, the hunter looked like a renaissance sculpture brought to life as she returned his gaze, her trademark toothy grin on full display. Asher wanted nothing more than to lie in bed and bask in the beauty of the female form for the next twenty-four hours, but he knew he was on a time limit.

"Give me a break, two weeks ago I was working night shifts," he said, groaning and stretching out in bed. He didn't miss the hungry look in Samantha's eyes as she took in his own freshly healed body, her gaze sweeping across him as he stretched. "Not to mention you didn't exactly let me go to bed early last night."

"I'd say it's your own fault for doing so much for me," she giggled, wriggling closer and wrapping her arms around him. "I had so much thanks to give and not a lot of time."

"Normally when I'm thanked for something it comes with either a firm handshake or a fairly small gift card," Asher chuckled. "I gotta say, I think I prefer your method."

Laughing together, the two of them laid there in bed for a few minutes, each content just enjoying the other's company as they silently listened to the sounds of nature waking up outside. But despite how much Asher was enjoying the serene morning, he knew it couldn't last forever.

"So after last night…" he began, feeling Samantha tense against him for a moment before she forced herself to relax. "…what happens now?"

"Well that depends… are you talking about us sleeping together, or you murdering Trellis?"

"I mean, both I guess," he said, earning a snort from the hunter. "I suppose there's not much point to me not just admitting it at this point, huh?"

"I won't pretend to know how truthseekers do what they do, but if avoiding their skills was as easy as not admitting to a crime, I don't think they would be quite so effective," Samantha said, rolling her eyes.

"How do they work, actually? If I'm now on the run from the law, I feel like I should probably know how this world's law enforcement works."

"Well the first thing to understand is that truthseekers aren't hired. They're created," Samantha said, sending shivers down Asher's spine as she aimlessly trailed a finger along his chest while she talked. "Wards of the kingdom, orphans with nowhere else to go. Any children that have no better options are welcome to join the truthseeker program. I don't know how they do it, but somehow, they've devised a fairly reliable way to awaken certain rare origin elements in their future truthseekers. Elements like Truth, Guilt, Confession, things like that. Combine that with heavy indoctrination, and the kingdom has quite the powerful force of elite crime combatants."

Damn, and I thought my elements were scary.

"How does crime even exist with people like that wandering around?"

"For starters, not every member of the program is able to awaken a useful origin element. It seems everyone has a distant cousin who knows someone who's aware of someone that flunked out of the truthseeker program. Because of that, and the intense amount of time and money that goes into training each and every one of them, the actual number of truthseekers within the kingdom is supposedly rather small. While each of the eleven cities have at least one on the payroll at any given time, you'd never see one out in a smaller town or village unless they were investigating something deemed important."

"And let me guess," Asher sighed, knowing the answer he was about to receive. "Trellis is someone important?"

"As horrible as that man was, even I have to admit he was an excellent merchant," Samantha scowled. "Trellis had a lot of ongoing deals with a number of powerful nobles. And now that I know the darker side of his dealings, how he managed to get those deals finally makes sense. I'd be shocked if a truthseeker isn't sent out to investigate his death."

"But if the nobles are doing such shady things, wouldn't they want to keep the truthseekers far from their own actions?" That's like calling the cops because somebody broke into your own personal meth lab.

"Sure, if the nobles didn't have ways of protecting themselves," Samantha snorted. "You know how you mentioned Trellis' protections he had on his wagon? Imagine that, but on a far larger scale. Granted, I'm just repeating rumors and gossip that you'd hear in any tavern, it's not like I've seen any of it myself."

Though Trellis all but admitted he supplied people and drugs to his clients, so I suppose there's some truth to the rumors. Who knows how many others like Trellis are out there.

"So to sum things up, there will most likely be a truthseeker coming to the village, and soon. What should I do then?"

Samantha started to say something before hesitating and letting out a weary sigh. The hunter sunk down under the covers to wrap her arms around him once more, squeezing and pulling him close.

"As much as I hate to say it… You should probably leave town. At least until this all blows over. I have no idea what a truthseeker investigation looks like, but I doubt putting some distance between yourself and the scene of the crime could hurt."

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

"You're probably right…" Asher said, pulling his arms free and returning the hug. The two of them sat in silence, each lost in their own thoughts as they enjoyed the feeling of the other's warmth pressed against them.

Gently running his hand along Samantha's bare back and enjoying the sensation of her smooth skin under his no longer frostbitten fingers, Asher thought about what he wanted. He'd been thrust into this world of magic and danger against his will, there was no doubt about that. And while there was still plenty he didn't know about it, he felt fairly confident about one thing at least.

"So about us then," he began, feeling Samantha tense up once more against him. "I don't want to presume anything… and I know we barely know each other, all things considered… but was this a one time show of appreciation, or were you hoping for something more?"

Samantha was silent for a few seconds as she thought. Finally, she let out a pent-up sigh, sitting up in bed and putting her head in her hands. "Curse the realms, I hunt bears for a living for crying out loud, and yet the thought of talking about something like this freaks me the hell out."

Taking a deep breath, she looked up, fixing him with a determined stare.

"I like you, Asher." The moment the words left her lips, Samantha's body seemed to relax a bit as the hunter gave him a weary grin. "If the events of last night weren't enough of an indication for you. And like you said, while we haven't known each other long, we've definitely been through a lot together in a short time. When we first met, when you saved me in the wizard's tower by giving me a potion of Restoration, I was terrified. I put on a brave face for Brian, but my only thought even as we escaped was that I'd now accrued a second debt that I had no way of paying off.

"But then I got to know you," she continued, reaching out and taking his hand in her own. "Seeing how well you interact with Brian. Chatting with you on our hunting trips into the forest. Watching you adapt to this new world like a fish to water as you plowed your way forward, never faltering for a moment no matter what was thrown your way. I mean, you went and took down an awakened beast for my sake, Asher. That's crazy! And when that slime ball tried to renege on your deal, you actually managed to do what I've spent the last eight years dreaming of doing."

Taking a deep breath, Samantha held it for a moment before letting it out slowly. Looking deep into his eyes, her expression turned serious.

"I don't just like you, Asher, I admire you. I know you have some powerful healing skills, but even so, you continue to put your life on the line time and time again to do what you think is right. It's commendable what you do, and while a part of me hates seeing you hurt yourself so badly, another part wants me to stay close to you to make sure I don't miss the waves you're going to send through this world."

Samantha finally looked away, seeming to withdraw slightly into herself as her voice grew quiet. Her long hair blocked her face as she looked down, but Asher could imagine the scared look on her face as the deadly hunter bared her soul to him.

"I guess what I'm trying to say is that I don't want this to be a one time thing. I don't exactly have a ton of relationship experience. I never wanted to bring just any random guy back to meet Brian after all. But even so, I'd like to try. If you'd be willing…"

Not able to stand seeing the giggly, confident hunter looking so vulnerable, Asher leaned over, gently lifting her head and giving her a light kiss before pulling back to look at her.

"You know I admire you just as much, right?" he said, chuckling at the surprised look on her face. "Samantha, you took on such an incredible burden when you were still all but a kid. And while that happens to people in my world more often than it should, none of them have to put their lives on the line hunting in a forest filled with monsters and magical creatures capable of killing you in an instant just to take care of their siblings.

"Watching you transform between deadly hunter trekking through the dangerous woods and bubbly sister happy to hear about Brian's day and take care of him…" Asher shook his head, blowing out his cheeks. "It's remarkable. To think that you kept it up for the last eight years… I honestly can't even fathom how much effort that must have taken."

Shifting his position on the bed, Asher leaned over and took both her hands in his own.

"So… I don't exactly have a lot of dating experience either. One of the downsides to working with corpses all day long after all… But I would also like to try… having an actual relationship, I mean."

Asher sighed, grinning sheepishly as he let go of her hands and rubbed the back of his neck. "Wow, this is way more awkward than it is in movies."

"What's a movie?" Samantha asked, scooting closer to him and leaning her head on his shoulder.

"Man, have I got a lot to teach you about my world," Asher laughed, running his hand through her long hair. With how much trekking through the forest she did on a daily basis, it was amazing that she somehow kept her hair in such good condition. He would have expected her hair to be riddled with twigs and leaves after a single hunt.

"So… I guess we're dating now?"

"Seems that way," Samantha said, turning her head to grin up at him. "You're not having second thoughts already, are you?"

"About going out with the dangerous, sexy hunter that likes to teach me things about this insane world I ended up in? No, no second thoughts here."

Giggling, Samantha leaned her head toward his, returning his earlier kiss. Before he knew it, she'd gotten on top of him once more, her beautiful body on full display as the sheet that had been covering her slid off her back.

"That's good," she said, her toothy grin somehow both cute and alluring all at the same time. "Because we probably only have a couple more minutes before Brian wakes up, and I'd like to spend a few more minutes of quality alone time with my new boyfriend before that happens."

Grinning, Asher reached up and pulled Samantha into a hungry embrace, their lips meeting in a sudden rush of passion as if they hadn't already spent hours last night exploring each other's bodies. As they finally became one and Asher was forced to focus on more important matters, his last random thought was on his skills.

Guess we're power leveling Eternal Regeneration today, huh?