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Castiel Novak couldn't believe his luck. The market place was crowded, a sea of orcs and elves, dwarf and humans, even the occasional mage. Although there was a mage's market specifically for them, so not many were wandering around. Booths were strung together with small strips and squares of fabric in different colours.
How the hell was he supposed to find one person in here? Scratch that - how was he supposed to kill someone?
Castiel was part of an assassin's guild, called the Fallen Angels, a small group that met every fourth sundown. Their goal was to rid the land of Astria of Darkened Souls, people who's souls had been marked for Hell.
His target was a Darkened Soul by the name of the Righteous Man. Several members of the Fallen Angels had already attempted to kill him, but the Righteous Man remained elusive. It wasn't surprising, really, that Castiel had gotten him as a target. It was only a matter of time. In fact, the Righteous Man was so well versed in the knowledge of hiding, that no one in the Fallen Angels even knew what he looked like.
Which is why Castiel had a friend who was supposed to be meeting him tonight. Both of them were full, pure humans. Something like that happened not too often. His name was Benny Lafitte. The Vampire.
Almost everyone in this particular market had a second, earned name. Castiel's was the Angel of Thursday. Benny's came from a particularly gruesome encounter with man who had tried to steal away his girlfriend.
Castiel shook the thoughts from his head and kept an eye out for the man. He passed a small unassuming market booth and caught a glimpse of the Vampire. Finally. He thought he was going to suffocate in a crowd this large.
The Vampire was in hidden in the corner of the booth, angled so that you had to pass by and glance in the right place to see him and the man sitting across from him. Castiel slipped in under a small square of purple fabric - a prearranged entrance. The young Novak was standing perfectly at an angle so that the man sitting across from Benny would have to crane his neck awkwardly to even notice him.
Benny glanced up at Castiel quickly, and then turned his gaze back to the man, continuing the quiet conversation that Castiel was too far away to hear. And that is when Castiel got his first glimpse of the Righteous Man.
He was slightly taller than Castiel, with a bigger build that indicated Orc lineage. He was slightly tan, with a small constellation of freckles dappling across his nose and cheeks. But neither that, nor the fact the man was wearing a leather jacket in the middle of summer caught Castiel's attention the most. It was the Righteous Man's eyes.
They were apple green, the colour of dew covered grass hit by the sun at a perfect angle. They were vibrant, like the brightest beacon Castiel had ever seen. How was this man a Darkened Soul?
The Righteous Man continued his conversation, oblivious to the man hidden in the shadows, gaping obscenely.
"Thank you very much Vampire." When the Righteous Man spoke it wasn't near as gravelly or deep as Castiel's, but just as commanding. "But I must decline. And, as a souvenir of the time you wasted, I'll be taking your assassin."
It took seconds for Castiel's brain to catch up with him, but when he did it was too late.
Arms were on the assassin, pulling him back as thick arms held Benny in place. The Righteous Man took a step forward, and brought out a silver blade. He twirled it in his fingers and smirked, and without a single second of hesitation, sliced Benny's head cleanly off with it.
Castiel threw himself forward, growling, when a voice whispered in his ear, tutting. "Now, now Feathers, be polite."
Castiel didn't get a chance to speak when darkness overtook him.
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The water was ice cold. It dragged at Castiel's clothing, his eyes, his ears, alighting goosebumps on every patch of skin. His lungs begged for air, and breath pushed at his lips, begging to to be let out. The assassin struggled vainly, trying to fight the hands that were manhandling his arms behind his back. Just when he felt his vision start to go dark and everything start to go fuzzy, he was dragged up by his hair, gasping and sputtering.
His blue eyes alighted on the man in front of him.
He was plump, and held himself with a regal air. He had a small amount of dark facial hair, accented by his dark clothes. On the dwarf's face was a small grin.
"Well boys, look who's finally awake." The dwarf leaned forward, allowing Castiel to smell the overwhelming odor of tobacco. "Feathers has decided to join the party."
The dwarf was sitting atop a step, three away from the bottom where Castiel was. At the top of the steps was a small tree, surrounded by gras and stone steps all around. Castiel was sitting in front of a large tin tub filled with water, which held a reflection of the moon, still rippling from when Castiel's head had disturbed the peaceful layer of water on top.
"Why." Castiel coughed out water, “do you keep calling me that?” Yeah, cause that's the thing to ask, he mentally berated himself.
“You're with the Angels.” The dwarf growled in disgust, snapping his fingers at whomever was behind Castiel. In a split second Castiel was face down in the tub again, his struggles useless against the strong arms holding him under.
When Castiel was pulled up a second time there was another presence in the room. He crane his neck to see the Righteous Man striding towards them, the moonlight casting off his jacket.
"That's enough Crowley." The Righteous Man growled, and Castiel managed to breath enough air into his lungs to put two and two together. Crowley had earned his second name as the King of Hell. That had to be a title hard to live up to. Which meant Castiel was utterly and irrevocably screwed. Just perfect.
The Righteous Man grinned at Castiel, who had the sense that this wasn't very good for him. Unfortunately, the assassin was right.
"We don't want our guest here to pass out before the real fun begins, now do we?" His teeth were bright, a stark contrast to everything else in the scenery. Castiel let out a pitiful whimper as the Righteous Man gripped his black hair and pulled till they were inches apart.
When he spoke again his voice was a growl. "You Angels, think you know everything. So, what did they tell you about me Cassie?" Castiel's eyes widened in shock at the fact the Righteous Man knew his name. "That I was a big bad man, who deserves to go to hell? Huh?" With the last word he gave a sharp tug to Castiel's hair, but he obviously wasn't finished with his speech. "Well, you have it all wrong. Take a look why don't you?"
The Righteous Man grabbed Castiel's arm from behind his back and dragged it to his chest, opposite where his heart was. Castiel gasped and suddenly there was bright.
It was only bright and warmth, happiness and love. And then a wave of sadness, like a dam had broke and waves of grief had struck through. The warmth was broken into pieces. Pieces. Pieces.
Castiel gasped as suddenly he was plunged back into reality, his bright blue eyes wide and staring up at the Righteous Man. His Soul had grief sure but it wasn't dark. How-
"You see? And yet I have to deal with you Angels running around like dogs in a kitchen. I'm sorry to tell you, Cassie, but I've been saved." The Righteous Man dropped Castiel's hand and turned as the assassin was plunged into cold water.
The last words on his lips, "The Righteous Man is saved."