The night is cold and dark. The sun has set, although it hardly matters since it has been snowing all week causing day and night to run together as the sky barely changes. On Monday it started snowing slowly, softly, beautifully you might say. Now it is Friday and the snow is falling so fast and hard that the young man would barely see the smothered world if he deigned to look out his frozen carriage window.
This young man is just past a decade and a half, yet he never glances at the snowy world too wrapped up in his work to notice beauty. Michale McBride is his name though, not many know him by this. Poor Michale is much too old for the few years he has been alive. Already he wears the weight of the world upon his shoulders, not that he cares so long as he gets paid what he considers to be fair.
As Michale's carriage reaches his destination every instinct screams at him to leave, run, escape. Something is most definitely wrong the Edmund's Winter Solstice Ball is a bad meeting place. Two young men standing in the corner spurning all companionship is sure to draw unwanted attention. But just as Michale takes a step back to leave, he remembers his conversation with Boss earlier that day
"Why are you sending me I am an Assassin NOT a simple courier!" Michale had exclaimed impatiently, "Unless Delaney is a target send someone else."
"Michale this is not an option!" Boss shouted forcefully, "You are the only one with an alias and connections that will get you into that Ball. We are paying you more than enough to retrieve one simple package! So go meet Delaney. NOW!! MARCH!!!"
Michale had wanted to point out that he is no longer some dumb kid that Boss can push around, or perhaps remind Boss how many extra assassinations of annoying Others are on his dossier, but he hadn't. Now it is too late to decline this mission, so Michale ignores his instincts and steps through the door transforming from scary, sixteen-year-old Michale into genteel, twenty-three-year-old Aldwyn as he goes.
Aldwyn smiles and flirts with a young lady, or "other" as Michale calls those who are not contacts or targets, as a maid takes his coat. The Other giggles and smiles at every word that comes out of his mouth as if he is a god. Michale retreats from the heat of the Other soaking his arm as Aldwyn escorts her into the ballroom.
Whenever Michale finds himself in a situation where he can feel the heat of the Others, contacts, or targets he wonders what they feel when he nears them. Is he warm with the heat of life flowing off of him? Or is his body as cold as his mind and his heat as absent as his heart?
That is neither here nor there though as it has no pertinence to tonight's mission and so is quickly silenced in his ever-clinical mind.
Mere moments after they enter the ballroom Aldwyn's Other is whisked away by a giggling gaggle of Others. Aldwyn begins circling the room chatting and flirting, acting the perfect aristocrat. Michale simultaneously begins searching for his Contact among the elite, Aldwyn deigns to mingle with.
Both are blind to the beauty of tonight. High above their head arches the vaulted ceilings embossed in gold filigree. Between the guests and the celling hang the crystal chandeliers sparkling in their own candlelight. Outside the floor to ceiling windows the snow glistens while inside on the dance floor the ladies outshine both the snow and the chandeliers. As they spin to the music the colors of their dresses blur, and their jewelry catches the light sparkling as if alive. The scene creates a beautiful visual orchestrated by the rhythm of the music. Quickly the dancers change between dances and partners from a slow waltz with a duke to a faster branle with a sweetheart. The music weaves the night together in a beautiful harmony.
Poor Michale is too busy to notice and even the part of him that is Aldwyn is too focused on the mission to notice or appreciate the beauty.
Half-way through the long night Michale notices a girl who doesn't quite fit standing in the corner. As Aldwyn draws closer to where the girl stands flirting with young ladies clustered around; Michale attempts to concentrate on finding Delaney among the young men but struggles too distracted by the strange girl on the other side of the group. With all the other ladies clustered around preening in the young suitors' attentions, it is hard to see much more of the girls than glimpses of her deep blood red dress through people. However, as a new song begins and the crowd pairs of for the next dance, she is left standing alone fidgeting with a golden pocket watch. It is this watch that draws Michale to her even as he is whisked away across the dance floor by an Other whose heat he cannot escape. Even as Michale is spun around the dance floor his eyes follow this out of place child. When he looks at her, she holds his gaze as no Other would while continuing to fidget with the pocket watch pinned at her waist. Nothing about her should catch his eye, which causes him to wonder why she disturbs him. Michale feels desperate he must get to her and find out who she is; instead Aldwyn is whisked into the next dance by an Other whose heat is smothering and whose shrill voice is deafening. Finally, after too many dances Michale finds himself in the same group as the girl just as the clock strikes two signaling the last dance of the evening is about to start.
Michale walks up to her having forgotten all about finding Delaney and introduces himself,
"Aldwyn Blaxton at your service Ma'am," he smiles bowing low and kissing her hand
"Nice to make your acquaintance, call me Delaney."
"Would you care to dance Ms. Delaney?" Aldwyn requests as Michale is reminded of his mission and once again suppresses his instinct to run because something is very wrong. Why didn't Boss say that Delaney is a woman he wonders, Boss should have said.
"I would indeed like to dance Mr. McBride." Delaney quietly replies breaking into Michale's thoughts by confirming that she is his Contact by uttering his true name.
Something nags at Michale's instincts again was his contact supposed to know his name. How would she have been told if the only access to her was at this ball? There is no option to back out now though. Michale takes her hand leading her to the dance floor and is surprised to find that she is as cold as ice.
"So, Delaney, what information do you have for me?" Michale questions once the circling dance begins knowing he must ask quickly before the change of partners begins. As she opens her blood red lips to answer Michale though it is time for the first change. With four partners now between Michale and Delaney he cringes internally as the coolness of her palm is replaced by the heat of an Other's palm pressed to his own. With quick glances Michale keeps track of Delaney's spinning form as they are pulled farther apart feeling annoyed, he must now wait until the dance reunites them to get the information.
Four changes left but something is off, not just instinctively anymore, now something is wrong. Michale's heart is beating too fast and so hard that for the first time he remembers he can feel the beating in his chest without checking. As he spins towards his next partner the room suddenly feels stifling as if there isn't enough air.
Three changes left before he can collect Delaney's information and leave but now the room is spinning from more than the dance and his partner's face is starting to blur. Michale is beginning to struggle to follow the circling steps of the dance as his head becomes lighter, and the walls become blurry.
Two changes left before he is reunited with Delaney, but he already knows it is too late. Just as sure as Michale knows he is dying he knows how he is dying.
"Justice" Michale supposes unable to believe he didn't feel Delaney injecting him with his own poisonous invention. He was so distracted by her ice-cold hand he failed to notice the prick of her needle in his side, a side which now feels like a thousand fire ants. As the fire spreads through him he can feel the strength of his muscles burn away and knows soon there will be nothing left.
Only one change left to go if he were able Delaney would meet him on the next rotation but now that doesn't matter as he is slipping, falling from this current Other's hand, and crashing to the floor halting the dance with the Other's screams.
"Justice," he figures, "dying as I have killed. No one will know, no one will care. Ironic I will be blamed for my own death." For the first time in eleven long years a tear rolls down his cheek as he breaths his last.
Sure, enough the only report of Michale's death, a small footnote at the bottom of a now forgotten list of the dead, read only
Aldwyn Blaxton
Mr. Aldwyn Blaxton met an unfortunate fate on Sunday December twenty-second while attending the Edmund's Winter Solstice Ball. At twenty-three years of age Mr. Aldwyn Blaxton was killed by Michale McBride who is still at large.
No one will ever know poor Michael's fate, buried under a false name by people who knew him not and who will quickly forget this tragedy. Well, I suppose Boss and Delaney will always know the truth, but they will not mourn. For Boss was his betrayer and Delaney his executioner.