Chapter Text
Enea stepped into the quiet, dark room at the end of the hallway. The sign on front seemed to repel many, but he no longer cared about the empty threats it spewed. 'Authorized Personal Only' it said, 'Those who disobey will be terminated'.
Now, Enea knew, he was one of them. Or, he would be, once his initiation process began. The Clessidra Rossa took things very seriously. Even a slight misstep out of line, and termination was likely. Some even got what many saw was worse: an entire life of exile and torment. Enea had no interest in being an exiled. While he did not see eye to eye with the Clessidra Rossa's insanely dogmatic code, he knew better than to go against it.
He'd seen what happened to those who did. He'd watched his own parents look their closest friends in the eyes and shoot them in the head, all for a tiny mistake, as simple as following an order too late.
He'd had his own moments of mercy. When his mother told him to ditch his best friend and he refused, she hadn't hurt him. Enea was her son, after all. She had, however, made Enea watch as his best friend was tortured and eventually killed.
It was nobody's fault but his own, really. He should have known better than to disobey his own mother.
She'd taken him aside that day, peeling her hood off of her head and looking him in the eyes.
"If you're to lead this clan one day, you must do a better job of obeying," she'd been harsh. No more acceptions. "Your father and I can't keep bending the rules for you. The Elders will be very unhappy if they find out what we've done."
He loved his family, and would do anything to protect them. Even if it meant throwing away things that meant a lot to him, like sneaking out with friends, or taking big bounties that weren't assigned to him.
"Yes, Mamma," he had nodded. Yet the darkness in his mother's eyes told him that she didn't quite believe he was capable of such things. "I will not fail you again." He swore an oath by it, slashed his palm with a knife. He was tied to it by blood. The scar that traced from his index finger to his wrist would be a permanent reminder of what he had promised.
"I know you won't." Her maple brown eyes told Enea what he didn't need to hear- I don't believe you. It hurt, knowing his own mother had lost faith in him.
From that day on, he'd done as promised- no more lies, no more hiding. He followed orders as quickly as they were given out.
Because Enea knew that if one day he were meant to lead the clan, he needed to change. He needed to finally show the Elders what he was capable of. He had to. His entire bloodline depended on it.
The change had been evident to his parents. He pretended not to notice their silent praise under his nose, when they thought he wasn't in the room, but he was on the other side of the wall, ear pressed against it, listening to every word that left their mouths. Every sentence that formed on their tongues.
Finally, when he was 15, he'd heard them say it.
"I think he's ready," his mother whispered. Enea raised his eyebrows as he pressed harder against the wall. His father seemed to be thinking.
"Is now really the time? Are you sure?" He heard the hesitancy laced through the words, like thorns hidden behind the pretty petals on a rose. Yet his mother persisted, pushing his initiation.
"If you really believe the time is right," Enea's father paused, sighing deeply. "I shall trust in you, mia stella."
He'd almost tripped over his own shoelaces the way he began jumping in excitement. He would finally be one of them, able to take in the highest rewarding bounties, sometimes go under cover, and as an extra perk, he'd get his own robe with the clan's symbol.
Aurora had come running into his room, face serious. She had their mother's hair- long, brown, flowy. Enea pretended that he hadn't been celebrating two seconds earlier. He crossed his arms and looked at his sister. "What do you want?"
Truthfully, he'd felt like he could hug her forever with how happy he was. But admitting that would have been awkward, so he took the more easily approachable route- sibling rivalry.
She had mirrored him, arms crossed and glare on her face. "Mamma wanted me to get you for your initiation," she announced, voice uptight.
Internally, he was glowing brighter than the stars in the night sky. Externally, he tried to remain calm and composed.
"Okay," he replied with a shrug, pushing past Aurora and leaving his room. He heard his sister growl behind him, a smirk appearing onto his face.
Nerves began to take over. The initiation was more than just giving a title and a pat on the back. It was when Enea would be tested, sometimes on things that he'd never even thought about.
So, standing in the Initiation Room, he began rethinking ever single decision that had lead him to the moment. Every bad and good deed he'd even made. It was as if searching the past would give him answers for the present.
Three Elders sat in front of him. He bowed as a sign of respect, rising only when told to.
"Enea Davide Guarino," the first called his name. His piercing blue eyes met their darker ones. The hoods of their red robes were drawn over their faces, barely showing the hoods of their eyes.
"We've been told you are promising. Perhaps the future of the Clessidra Rossa," a woman's voice came from the second Elder. "Is this true?"
"I intend to prove it is the truth each day that I serve this clan," he swore, hardly keeping the nerves from making his voice sound too shaky. He'd tucked his hands behind his back so the Elders didn't see his shaking hands.
"Love to hear it," the third smirked. "Now, let's see what you've got."
The first test had been easy for Enea. Shoot ten moving targets, right on the bullseye. He could miss as many as 3, yet growing up, Enea had handled a bow much more than anyone else in the clan. He lined up every shot perfectly, missing no targets at all. His smirk grew more visible with each bullseye hit.
The Elders clapped slowly, as if being sarcastic. Enea stopped himself from growling at them.
"Hardly impressive," the first said. "It is expected of you, Guarino." Enea drew a deep breath, hands finding each other behind his back. He closed his eyes and nodded, breathing a bit harder than he should have.
The second test had been more difficult- tracking a target with very little clues. He had 5 minutes to do so, and with every second that ticked by, his heart pumped a little faster.
He'd finished with merely 10 seconds to spare.
"Mildly disappointing," the second Elder tsked. "Your mother completed this task in under a minute. Quite a smart one, she is."
Enea failed to keep a straight face, glaring at the Elder. He hated being compared to family.
The third task had been the worst by far. Questions about to proceed in certain situations when hunting. If Enea missed a single question, his initiation would be suspended.
"First," one of the Elders said loudly. "You are following a high level bounty through a crowd. You're almost sure you have an eye on the target, but they slip behind an alleyway. You follow, uncertain if it were really them. You find someone who looks quite similar to the target, yet you can't be sure if it is them. Do you capture them, or not?"
Enea bit his cheek in thought, eyes roaming the room. They landed on the clan symbol engraved into the wall behind the Elders.
This is what he was here for. This is what he needed.
"Are there people watching me?" Enea finally asked. One Elder raised their eyebrows. "No," they answered.
"Then yes. I proceed to the target, and capture them. If I have captured the wrong person, I eliminate them. No eye witnesses," Enea said confidently. The silence that followed made him wonder if he had answered correctly.
"Correct," the first Elder huffed. "Question 2," they continued. "In what circumstance is it acceptable to harm a fellow clan member?"
Too easy, Enea thought. "When they have crossed the boundaries of the code put in place."
"Correct."
When Enea had finally answered all of the questions, narrowly getting the last one correct, he'd been lead to an alter in the center of the dark room. A knife sat on the stone top. The oldest Elder stopped forward, taking Enea's unmarked palm and placing the blade in the center.
"Recite the opening to the code, please," the Elder commanded.
"I, Enea Davide Guarino, swear to follow and abide by the Code of the Clessidra Rossa for as long as I am under command of the Elders. I understand that if I step out of line, I am able to be eliminated, exiled, or worse, if it is commanded by the Highest Elder. I will protect my clan with my life. I will chase down every target under my name, and I will bring them back," he swore. The Elder slashed his palm, and he squeezed his blood onto the alter.
"Let it be set in stone," the Elder paused. "Enea Davide Guarino is now one of us." The three Elders all bowed at once, showing respect for their newly turned companion.
"I shall not let you down," he announced.
Thinking back on that day, Enea wondered if all promises were truly meant to be kept. He was 20 now, and yet nothing exciting had happened. He'd taken 2 high risk bounties in his years, bringing them back within 24 hours of accepting them, which had set records. Yet he still hadn't been seen as worthy.
Now, angrily shooting at targets with his bow, Enea couldn't help but be angry with his past self. Why had he been so eager to please those Elders anyway? It'd been 5 years and they still saw him as a child who didn't know what he was doing.
He grunted as he pulled another arrow from his back. The slow approaching footsteps behind didn't bother him. His ears had trained him to recognize footsteps anyway.
Aurora stood behind him. He hadn't even turned to see her.
"What?" He grumbled. "I'm busy."
"The Elders wish to speak with you," she replied calmly.
Enea sighed and dropped his bow. He turned to her, acknowledging her new robe. She'd undergone initiation earlier that day. He said nothing as he pushed past his sister.
The room hadn't changed, yet pushing past that wooden door, Enea felt different than the last time he'd entered. He felt more- aware, somehow.
He bowed in front of the Elders.
"Enea," they acknowledged him with a nod, a sign to stop bowing. "We have a very important mission for you. It could potentially take months, maybe even years."
This piqued his interests. He looked at them, as if their faces would give hints of his objective.
"I accept," he said, ready to hear the ground rules.
"As you know," one said, "our highest bounties are contenders in the Apex Games."
Enea nodded.
"A new bounty has come in. Xenia Contreras." The name sounded familiar, though Enea wasn't sure why.
"Xenia has been a bounty before. But she's recently escaped prison, and is now on the list again. Her daughter, Xiomara, is believed to have released her."
Enea knew where this was going. He tried not to show the excitement on his face. He was finally going to go on a real mission.
"We want you to capture them all. Alexander Nox, Tae Joon Park, Xenia and Xiomara Contreras."
Enea nodded. "How exactly will I do this?" He already knew the answer, and was only awaiting confirmation.
"We pretend you've been exiled. You capture the attention of Kuben Blisk, and then, Enea," the Elder paused dramatically.
"You join the Apex Games."