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Midnight.
That was the time Vil had to get this job done and be out of there.
The time when he would have to do what he had already done many times over.
On the surface, it seemed a simple enough job, get in, kill a noble, get out, but it never was that easy, Vil knew that all too well. There would be guards, there would be bystanders, there would be obstacles. All Vil knew about his target was a name and a photograph of them. Vaine Surette. He took a look at the photo again, making sure to memorize the appearance as to make locating his target easier.
Pink eyes, Brown hair with a purple strip, beauty mark on the left cheek, by the eye. Those were the defining features to look for amongst the sea of people when he arrived. Glasses were also a possibility, but there was a chance they wouldn’t be worn.
He sat in his car, going over the plan in his head once more. Once he found Vaine, he would try and stay close to her for the entire night, gaining her trust. Then, as midnight drew near, he would bring him out elsewhere, away from prying eyes, and carry out his job. Quickly and without fuss. He had the dagger stowed away in his suit; a dagger made specifically for the purpose of this type of job. It was coated in a poison, as to keep the death clean and quicker than a normal stab.
Soon enough, the car stopped, as they had arrived at the venue. The driver got out, opening the door for Vil to leave. He bid the driver goodbye and walked to the entrance, showing the guard his invitation to get in. It was a fake, of course, but it was an exact match to the rest of the invitations, so no one would have batted an eye at it.
Once inside, he started his search for his target. Vaine was a complete stranger to him, as most of his victims were, and he only had a photograph of their face to go off of in order to find them. Many people blocked his view, and the expensive dresses made it somewhat hard for him to navigate around, so he opted to look for Vaine from above on the balcony floor.
He made his way to the staircase, looking out upon the sea of people and scanning for what could be his target, but he couldn’t find him. Either Vaine wasn’t yet here, or they were but not on the main floor with everyone else. If it were the latter, it certainly would make his job somewhat easier, as she would already be out of the public eye.
Once he reached the top of the stairs, he looked around for the guests on the floor. There were much less here than below, so the spotting would be much easier.
He scanned around, looking for the key traits.
‘No, that’s a blonde; that’s not them either… Is that? No, she has blue eyes, not Vaine. Where are you… Show yourself already!’
Vil knew he had to be patient; being patient was one of the most important parts of his job. If he were too hasty then he could fail his job completely. He just had to wait for Vaine to appear… It’ll have to be sooner or later that she comes out. He would prefer sooner, but he had 4 hours, as it was only 8.
Elsewhere, Vaine was hiding by themself; one of the private rooms. Vaine didn’t want to be here, but she was here out of obligation. They only said she had to be there, they never said Vaine had to actually show their face.
“Can I just leave… this party is boring...“ Vaine looks at the clock on the wall, “8:09… Too slow, why isn’t it 8AM already so I can go home and do better things with my time.”
They spoke to no one; they were simply thinking out loud as a way to fill the room’s silence. The only other noise was the faintly muzzled sounds of the music from the main hall and the voices of the attendees, which might as well have amalgamated all into one sound. It was annoying.
8:11
8:12
8:13
8:14
The clock ticked the minutes, each one feeling longer than the last. Vaine hated it. Vaine wanted to do something, but she couldn’t. Not with so many people there. People… pompous, egotistical, self-centered, snobbish pigs. Vaine didn’t want to deal with that. Almost all nobles are like that in their mind, they’re all money-hungry and willing to throw you under the bus for a chance to get ahead… Was it a major generalization? Maybe, but Vaine didn’t care.
8:15
8:16
8:1-
Vaine got up, the ticking minutes now louder to them than the sounds of the party outside. She had to get out, distract themself. Going towards the door, Vaine made sure that the dress they wore didn’t get messed up. As much as she didn’t want to be here, Vaine still liked the dress, it was pretty; a pale blue dress that faded to a white near the bottom of it. The design on it was nice and Vaine liked the fabric, so it would be a shame for it to be ruined due to carelessness.
Leaving the room, Vaine walked towards the main room, but turned away from it to go to a balcony overlooking the outside gardens. She didn’t pay attention to anyone there, not long enough to remember any features at least. Vaine had passed by some couples, some lone guests, people Vaine didn’t care about.
Vaine leaned on the railing of the balcony, looking out. They were the only one out there, much to Vaine’s enjoyment. Being alone meant not having to deal with what other people thought. The only thing that mattered was you. Crickets chirped as the sun set. It was calming, much more welcoming than the commotion within the hall behind the door.
This calmness was interrupted when the door behind opened. Vaine groaned silently, looking behind to see who this intruder was.
Blond hair that looked to be dyed purple at the ends, purple eyes, fair skin. The man had an air of elegance to him. He seemed confident, too confident.
“Do you need something?” Vaine made her annoyance apparent, hoping to get this guest to leave, but it didn’t work.
“Are you by any chance Vaine Surette?” His voice was… relaxing, in a way. He was definitely young, but older than Vaine.
“Who’s asking?”
The man sighed, taking a moment to think.
“Vil, last name is unimportant for now.”
Odd. It was unusual, in Vaine’s experience at least, for a noble to not disclose their family name or title. What was he trying to gain, he surely knew nothing about Vaine, so what was his goal? Vaine pondered on this question while thinking about a reply.
He could be trusted, for now at least.
“You’re speaking to Vaine, what do you need with them?”
The man, Vil, smiled as he spoke.
“I thought so, I’ve been looking for you. I was asked to keep you company.”
“By whom, Father?” Vaine was being sarcastic, but to her surprise, Vil nodded.
“Yes, by your father. He wanted you to not spend the entire evening alone and doing nothing, so he asked me to accompany you.”
‘Well, that isn’t exactly out of character for him…’ Vaine thought to herself. Vil’s words certainly seemed legitimate, Vaine would have to talk to their father when she returned home; she didn’t appreciate being given a chaperone to keep her company.
“Then he’s fine with Vaine spending the entire evening with someone else and still doing nothing?”
“I’d assume so, as long as you aren’t alone, he said.”
“Well… just stay out of the way, then.”
Vil nodded. He seemed like he’d comply with Vaine’s wishes, which was good enough for Vaine. They didn’t want to be here, let alone with a man Vaine had never met before now. Was this a way of Vaine’s father trying to get her a suitor? Vaine hoped not, but if it was… This guy seemed much better than any other options Vaine knew about.
“So, would you like to dance?”
The question came from nowhere. Vil held a hand out, urging Vaine to take it.
“Uh… I…” Vaine didn’t know how to respond to the offer. Could Vaine dance? Yes, but it was a matter of does Vaine want to rather than can.
“It doesn’t have to be where people can watch, come on.” He kept his hand outstretched, waiting for Vaine to take it. After a few seconds of contemplation, Vaine nodded, taking Vil’s hand.
Vil smiled, leading Vaine through the door inside and to a place that was hidden from the crowd of guests, an extra room often used for smaller scale and secret parties. Why Vil knew of it, Vaine didn’t know, but Vaine didn’t really care either. The room itself was beautiful, and the only noises that could be heard were the sounds of the orchestra in the main hall, as well as their own steps and the fabric of Vaine’s dress lightly sweeping across the floor.
“Now, that dance?” Vil took initiative with it, taking Vaine and leading in their slow dance to the faint music from outside. “So, Vaine. Why is it that you prefer to be alone rather than with everyone else?”
“Huh? Oh...“ Vaine cast a glance to the side before speaking again, “I don’t like those people. All they care about is status and who they know. They don’t care about people, or about what they hurt. As long as they can get themselves higher, they’ll be content. I hate it.”
Vil listened, waiting for Vaine to finish speaking.
“I see… I understand your sentiment, nobles can be… insufferable at times, I know this for a fact. Though there are a few who aren’t like that, like you, for example.” A small wink accompanied his words, causing Vaine to roll her eyes.
“Flattery won’t work on me, but the compliment is taken.”
The rest of their dance was spent with playful banter between the two, Vaine obviously enjoying the whole thing. But they couldn’t dance forever, and after they sat down in a pair of chairs within the room near the wall.
The clock across the room ticked and tocked, the minute hand nearing 12.
8:58
It had been about an hour since Vil arrived, and he had already gotten to be on good terms with his target. He had 3 hours left, then his time was up. He could kill Vaine here and now, but he didn’t want to. He was enjoying Vaine’s company, and he didn’t want to cut it this short. He had enough time to have more fun without compromising his mission.
He looked at Vaine and smiled.
“So, how was that?”
“Much better than other men Vaine has danced with.”
That small speech quirk… every so often Vaine would speak in 3rd person, and for some reason that even he didn’t understand, Vil found it endearing. He didn’t know why Vaine did it; he never questioned it; he didn’t want to potentially hit a sore spot with them.
“Fufu... I’m glad you enjoyed it then…” He thought for a moment, “Do you want anything to eat? I can go get something from the main room if so, you don’t need to come if you don’t want to.”
“Uh... yeah, sure. Vaine will come with you.” Vaine stood up, waiting for Vil.
He nodded and got out of his chair, extending a hand to Vaine and leading her to the main hall. The pair did their best to avoid bumping into anyone once they got to the busy main hall. The voices of everyone speaking in addition to the music from the band was loud, which caused Vaine to look somewhat pained. Vil noticed this and pulled them closer to him to try and make Vaine feel more comfortable. It seemed to work, but Vil couldn’t truly tell. His time with Vaine so far has shown Vaine to be somewhat hard to read on the outside, and that stood true now.
‘What is your deal… and why do they want you dead? You seem perfectly harmless, and if anything, you’re more aligned with what the lower class believe… Unless it was one of your own who wanted you gone.’
This thought stayed in the back of his mind. Why did they want Vaine dead? Who sent in the job? Vil knew nothing of the requester, he just knew that he had a job that he had to do, he didn’t question it at first, but now…
“Vil, we’re here...?” Vaine’s voice snapped Vil back to attention. He had let himself get lost in thought. He looked down at Vaine, letting go of them so she could get whatever things they wanted from the food table.
“Get what you want, I’m not hungry.” He smiled. His biggest rule was to not eat when on a job like this, not unless he was actually hungry.
Vaine cocked their head slightly at Vil, but went on to grab a cup and fill it with punch, going back and handing it to Vil.
“Drink it.”
Was she concerned for him, or did Vaine just want Vil to drink it before they did? Vil took the glass, sighing and drinking it. It was good. Vil tried to give it back to Vaine, but they had already scurried off to get more things from the table. When they came back, they had a decent collection of food and snacks with her.
“We’re sharing these, hold some and come on, we’re going back to the room.” Vaine handed some plates to Vil and started making her way back to the room they were in before. Vil followed, chuckling. Vaine was an interesting character… Vil liked them.
When they were back in the room, Vil placed the plates on a table and then went back to the door, making sure it was locked as to ensure privacy. Vaine was busy by the table, making it so they both had about an equal amount of food between the two of them. It seemed as if Vaine didn’t care that Vil said he wasn’t hungry, she’d make him eat anyways.
When Vil sat down, Vaine smiled, seeming proud of themself for this. Vil didn’t understand why, but whatever made Vaine happy he’d go along with. This was all in the name of getting his job done, and that’s it.
They ate their food, the pair silent as they did. The clock ticked on.
9:42
Vil had lost track of time, but it didn’t matter, he still had enough time to do what he had to.
Why didn’t he just kill her now? Vaine was defenseless, the room was locked, no one could see them, it was the perfect time to do it. He could take them out now and be done with it, he could leave the party and go home. It would be easy. For some reason though, he couldn’t. He didn’t want to do it. Not at the moment, at least. As Vil thought on it though… would he want to do it within the next few hours? Would he want to kill Vaine? He wasn’t sure.
He couldn’t have gone soft, not now. He can’t go soft after having killed so many before this point. He had only known Vaine for an hour and a half and yet… he felt close to them. Why did he feel like this? He shouldn’t feel like this. He can’t feel like this. Not towards his target, not towards anyone.
“Are you ok? You’re spacing a bit...” Once more, Vaine dragged him back out of his thoughts. He had to get rid of them before this went on any longer, but he couldn’t bring himself to take the dagger out.
“Oh, I’m fine, just thinking about something.”
“What are you thinking about?”
He had to come up with a lie, something believable, quickly.
“Uh… about how the flowers in the hall were extremely well kept. Whoever the gardener and decorator for this place is has done an amazing job.” Please be believable enough. He was a good actor, but sometimes this type of improv wasn’t his best work.
“The flowers… They were nice, you’re right, but I can tell you weren’t thinking about that.”
How perceptive.
“How would you know what I’m thinking about?”
“I don’t, but I know it’s not about that… actually, I’ve been hearing rumors around… You know how there have been nobles seemingly disappearing only to be found dead? There has been word around that it’ll happen again here, I heard some guests talking about it in the hall. It was loud, but I could still hear it… It’s a skill of mine, I guess.”
Rumors about him being here? Well, they were true. He was there, and Vaine was his target, only it seems they don’t know that. No one knows who the target could be but him. There was no pattern in the murders, the only similarity was that they were nobles, so it would make sense that people suspected another may happen at this party, where many nobles were gathered in one place.
“I see… I have heard of the murders occurring, but don’t worry, I won’t allow anyone to harm you.” Anyone who wasn’t him, at least.
Vaine smiled.
“Thank you, Vil. You make me feel calm, and I wish we could have met sooner. If you were a suitor, I’d actually consider you.” A laugh came at that last part. She had no guard, Vaine was all open, it would be so easy to just… No. He wouldn’t. Not now.
‘The heavens are cruel… Why must I have to kill you, you did nothing deserving of death. You’re younger than I, you deserve a chance to live… Why does someone else get to decide who lives and who dies?’
He was feeling regret. Regret for what he had to do. Regret for the crime that he had to commit again after countless times doing it before. He was no saint, he was human, just like anyone else, but at times like these, he wished he weren’t. He wished he were incapable of feeling what he did, incapable of sympathy or love. This would be the hardest job of his career… His job would never be easy.
Tick. Tock. Tick.
The sound of the clock was deafening to Vil. He wanted out.
9:56
To Vaine, Vil looked like he was going through something mentally. It perplexed them. This was the 3rd time he seemed like this tonight. Was he ok? Vaine felt worried for him. He was the first noble that Vaine ever felt concern over… Was he even a noble? Did Vaine’s father actually send him? Vaine thought on it, the realization soon hitting her after putting everything together. It was all their, Vaine just didn’t realize it until now.
“Vil, would you like to dance?”
The clock struck 10.
2 more hours.
Whatever Vil was in, he snapped out of it, looking towards Vaine. There was something in his eyes, an emotion. What could it be…?
“...Of course,” Vil smiled. His tone sounded somewhat forced, but Vaine didn’t mind. Vaine had accepted everything before they offered the dance.
They both stood, getting in the correct position. Vaine looked into Vil’s eyes, and he looked back. Without any words, they danced.
Vaine had figured out that Vil was an assassin, and that his target was most likely… herself. Normally, this would distress someone. Death should scare people; it should make people quiver when thinking about it. But not Vaine. Vaine had no attachments to anyone, nor did Vaine care to have any. They accepted that she would die that night. Vaine would die by Vil’s hand… and she had no quarrels with that.
The clock ticked on, the pairs’ steps mixing with them.
Time would never stop for them, but deep down they wished it would.
They both understood the fate in store for Vaine. They understood that by the time that clock hit 12, Vaine would be dead. Vaine had to be.
To err is to be human. Could this job have been a mistake? Could Vil have avoided these feelings if he hadn’t accepted it? Or was this going to happen no matter what. Vaine would die even if he didn’t take it, but what if there was a way Vaine never would…
Vil knew that if he didn’t do his job and kill Vaine, someone else would, but what if…
No. He didn’t want Vaine to have to live a life of running. He didn’t want them to have to run from death for the rest of her life. Vil would kill Vaine. He had to. It would be more humane than making Vaine have to live a life without a true home.
They danced for what felt like hours. Their legs moved on their own, the both of them lost in their own heads.
The clock read 10:32
Vaine’s feet hurt. Was it the heels or the non-stop dancing? Probably both, but she didn’t stop. Vaine had decided that she’d spend what time she had with Vil doing something fun. Vil seemed to be unbothered, he was probably used to dancing for long periods of time- that or he didn’t notice any pain or fatigue. Vaine didn’t know which it was, but they really didn’t care.
Eventually, Vaine’s feet couldn’t handle dancing anymore. She fell into Vil, feeling a sharp pain in her chest.
A stab wound.
The clock had struck 11.
Vil had been waiting for Vaine’s legs to give. He hated what he had to do, but it was a mercy compared to the alternative. He let out a small whisper.
“I’m sorry, Vaine. You have been a lovely partner these past hours…”
Vaine’s eyes looked to be tearing, but a smile was on their face… why?
A weak voice came from her.
“If anything, I’m glad it was you… Stay with me, please. I don’t want to be alone.”
“As you wish, Vaine…”
Vil took Vaine into his arms, moving to a chair and sitting her down in it. He wanted her last moments to at least be comfortable.
“That blade had poison on it, so you should die soon… it should be painless if you stay still.”
Vaine nodded. Did she realize before then that he was here for her death? She seemed content with death, as if Vaine had been expecting it…
I’m glad it was you
Those words would stay with Vil.
Watching Vaine die, he finally realized just what he had been feeling towards them.
He loved Vaine.
The short time they had spent was enough to make him feel like that, what spell could Vaine have cast? Was she a witch?
No, no making excuses as to why his emotions were like this. He knew why.
“Maybe in some other time, it wouldn’t have turned out like this. Somewhere in the future, possibly in some other world, let’s be happy, Vaine, together.”
He left a kiss on Vaine’s cheek.
“I’d... love that, Vil… I love you.”
“I love you too.”
Vaine smiled as they died, and all Vil could do was hide his own tears as he left Vaine.
Job Completed.