A humorless chuckle escaped his lips at her challenge, he had seen Ashe fight during the assault of Northhaven. The small raven haired girl was no slouch, especially not with those magic powers of hers. Still, Kaladin was no slouch when it came to a fight either. He had been a soldier during the war, had killed men twice the size of the woman before him. Plus they didn't just make anyone a royal....
He could feel himself getting pulled away from where he sat before he had finished the thought. Physically he was still there, watching the dancing of the flames against the dark backdrop. Yet his eyes had suddenly gotten that look in them, wide eyed and glazed over. The man wasn't there anymore, not really anyway.
He saw a long dining hall, table buckling under the trays and platters of food on its surface. Violet sat prim and perfect at one end. Three young children were sitting at the table with her and she was laughing with them, radiant smile and golden tresses bouncing as her chest heaved. Kaladin knew that these had all been her children and yet the young boy that sat across from the princess seemed to glow especially bright. Kaladin had spent very little time with his son and only when he was an infant yet he knew the dark haired boy giggling up as his mother made silly faces at them was his own. Kaladin attempted to join them, he ran down the length of the table yelling their names yet no matter how hard he ran, no matter the pain as he forced another breath full of air down his lungs, was he able to make it to them. It was as if the table grew in length to keep him away. When he couldn't run any faster he dropped to his knees, chest heaving. Every muscle in his legs were ablaze with pain yet no sooner had he stopped did he force himself back up to begin running again. When he fell the second time he did not get up, instead he dragged himself across the ground, inch by agonizing inch. He cried himself hoarse, attempting to somehow reach them and yet they were oblivious to his presence. When he could move no more the scene shifted.
He was back on his feet, the pain and blood from a thousand cuts and scratches gone. He was looking out a window into a meadow. The sun was shinning brightly and he heard the songs of a hundred different birds, all unique yet somehow all in harmony with one another. Two figures danced in the meadow. The taller one dressed in a white dress, made of simple cotton, a crown a wildflowers gracing the wildfire of her hair. She was barefoot, and from her voice came the sweetest sound of them all, her song pure and light and full of hope. The smaller girl could have passed off as a twin, she wore a similar cotton dress and on her mane of red hair sat a smaller crown of flowers. Freckles dotted across the bridge of her nose. Cailain and Kala were all smiles as mother sang while daughter mimicked. Tears began to well in Kaladin's eyes as he banged against the glass that seemed to separate them. Yet it would not break, his remaining human hand becoming bloody and broken against the unyielding wall.
It was only the voice of Ashe that brought him back to reality, at one moment his own blood was splattering against his face as he attempted to break through the glass, the next he was back in the dark forest, fire crackling and the girl with the one piercing blue eyes sat across from him, legs curled up in front of him in probably the most vulnerable position he had ever seen her in. He coughed in a poor attempt at hiding his momentary disassociation with reality. What was it that she had said? Something about an Assassin? It took a moment to process the information, he tried not to remember much anymore, it was too painful and so it took him awhile to match previous knowledge with the new information she had just given him. "I'm sorry, did you just say you were the fucking Assassin in Blue?" he asked with a derisive snort. Then, pieces started to fall into place. Reports on what the infamous killer of Northwind might have looked like, accounts on how they fought. Kaladin had always assumed it to be a man, his unintended bias manifesting. "Holy shit...you're the fucking Assassin in Blue. All this time, one of the most notorious murderers in all of Northwind's history was a pretty little dark haired commoner." Even the gruff persona Kal had adopted since his families deaths couldn't help but be a little impressed at the revelation. "Why bother telling me?" he asked, watching her stare into the flames. "And if you were the Assassin then you didn't just become her. So that still doesn't explain why you look like shit, slumming it out in the woods like me."
He could feel himself getting pulled away from where he sat before he had finished the thought. Physically he was still there, watching the dancing of the flames against the dark backdrop. Yet his eyes had suddenly gotten that look in them, wide eyed and glazed over. The man wasn't there anymore, not really anyway.
He saw a long dining hall, table buckling under the trays and platters of food on its surface. Violet sat prim and perfect at one end. Three young children were sitting at the table with her and she was laughing with them, radiant smile and golden tresses bouncing as her chest heaved. Kaladin knew that these had all been her children and yet the young boy that sat across from the princess seemed to glow especially bright. Kaladin had spent very little time with his son and only when he was an infant yet he knew the dark haired boy giggling up as his mother made silly faces at them was his own. Kaladin attempted to join them, he ran down the length of the table yelling their names yet no matter how hard he ran, no matter the pain as he forced another breath full of air down his lungs, was he able to make it to them. It was as if the table grew in length to keep him away. When he couldn't run any faster he dropped to his knees, chest heaving. Every muscle in his legs were ablaze with pain yet no sooner had he stopped did he force himself back up to begin running again. When he fell the second time he did not get up, instead he dragged himself across the ground, inch by agonizing inch. He cried himself hoarse, attempting to somehow reach them and yet they were oblivious to his presence. When he could move no more the scene shifted.
He was back on his feet, the pain and blood from a thousand cuts and scratches gone. He was looking out a window into a meadow. The sun was shinning brightly and he heard the songs of a hundred different birds, all unique yet somehow all in harmony with one another. Two figures danced in the meadow. The taller one dressed in a white dress, made of simple cotton, a crown a wildflowers gracing the wildfire of her hair. She was barefoot, and from her voice came the sweetest sound of them all, her song pure and light and full of hope. The smaller girl could have passed off as a twin, she wore a similar cotton dress and on her mane of red hair sat a smaller crown of flowers. Freckles dotted across the bridge of her nose. Cailain and Kala were all smiles as mother sang while daughter mimicked. Tears began to well in Kaladin's eyes as he banged against the glass that seemed to separate them. Yet it would not break, his remaining human hand becoming bloody and broken against the unyielding wall.
It was only the voice of Ashe that brought him back to reality, at one moment his own blood was splattering against his face as he attempted to break through the glass, the next he was back in the dark forest, fire crackling and the girl with the one piercing blue eyes sat across from him, legs curled up in front of him in probably the most vulnerable position he had ever seen her in. He coughed in a poor attempt at hiding his momentary disassociation with reality. What was it that she had said? Something about an Assassin? It took a moment to process the information, he tried not to remember much anymore, it was too painful and so it took him awhile to match previous knowledge with the new information she had just given him. "I'm sorry, did you just say you were the fucking Assassin in Blue?" he asked with a derisive snort. Then, pieces started to fall into place. Reports on what the infamous killer of Northwind might have looked like, accounts on how they fought. Kaladin had always assumed it to be a man, his unintended bias manifesting. "Holy shit...you're the fucking Assassin in Blue. All this time, one of the most notorious murderers in all of Northwind's history was a pretty little dark haired commoner." Even the gruff persona Kal had adopted since his families deaths couldn't help but be a little impressed at the revelation. "Why bother telling me?" he asked, watching her stare into the flames. "And if you were the Assassin then you didn't just become her. So that still doesn't explain why you look like shit, slumming it out in the woods like me."
