Destiny 2

If before she had stayed awake because of the chronic insomnia she suffered, now it was because of the sharp pain that spread through every inch of her skin behind the hot iron that marked her. Flooding the room with the smell of burned skin that mixed with the nauseating smell of blood. Despite wanting to scream to try to vent her efforts were useless, a dirty cloth had been introduced into her mouth filling her taste buds with a metallic taste that made her nauseous.

Amid the nebula of her suffering she heard the laughter of her tattoo artist, who seemed to enjoy his work like an artist writhing in his pleasure. Jade wanted to lose consciousness, but it was impossible, she wanted to die, everything would be better than that unlimited suffering.

Only when the customary night rain came hours later did her body find a modicum of relief. Now, alone in the dark, surrounded by corpses and her skin itching and burning, her eyes closed and she just waited for her soul to leave her body and accompany her family.

***

She did not know how long she was unconscious, unfortunately she was still in the terrene world and the surface below her was not the hard stone of the garden. She opened her eyes to be blinded by the light coming from the window. She raised her hand to cover herself and groaned in pain. Every part of her was covered by thick bandages soaked in some viscous liquid and surely underneath, was the burns that were caused.

With much will, he sat up in bed with each grinding of his bones that added another discomfort. With more effort than he thought he removed the bandage from one of his arms to find an intricate pattern of burns that he could not decipher and was already beginning to heal.

The sound of footsteps alarmed her and she tried to move quickly, but the sheet only tangled between her feet and fell back onto the bed. A very old man appeared and was also startled to see her, but regained his composure. He was limping noticeably, one hand was missing and the right side of his head was bandaged with small drops of blood.

-Jade- he exclaimed with a smile and approached slowly, as much as his leg allowed. The girl narrowed her eyes and recognized him.

He was one of the many servants in the house, not that he related to her, she usually did not have time for that, so if he had seen him more than three times it was a lot.

Her father, her family. Reality hit her. All the memories of the night of the incident came to her making her dizzy. She touched her head and her eyes suddenly filled with tears. One of them escaped and ran down his cheek and felt an immense burning that made him clench her teeth. She brought his fingers there and felt the skin rough and uneven.

-Give me a mirror- she screamed in alarm. His hands were shaking imagining the worst.

The man looked sideways and when he did not find such an object, he changed it for a tray that, despite being rusty, he could see something of his reflection. Jade dubiously drew him closer and looked at herself. What she saw alarmed her so much that she froze.

Not only had he lost his family, his home, his body had been marked by what would later be thousands of strokes along the length, only his losses escaping from the middle of the thigh, and his face had a mark with a delicate irregular pattern, specifically underneath. of his right eye moving to the ear. From the front it was not so visible but there was evidence that it was there.

He touched it again and despite biting him, he continued to run through it. Not even his face had escaped from it.

-It'll be fine when it heals- the man tried to comfort her. She just smiled putting the tray aside.

-There is nothing you can do, we will have to leave it like that- he turned his head to one side resigned himself so as not to panic- How did you survive? –

The man walked to the makeshift kitchen on the side of the little battered hut they were in and began making some simple foods.

-I wouldn't mind if you called me a coward, but I hid, even so, I suffered some damage from burning everything. Before leaving the mansion I found you delirious in the rain in the courtyard, I took you out of there when I realized that you were also a survivor- he pointed to his body and she understood that the man already knew he was not a man as many years had led them to believe- I'm sorry if I was indiscreet and if I had to touch her to cover her wounds-

-This was my way of surviving- Jade justified herself without much importance. Her mother had always wanted to call her that. She was grateful that at least her name in those days was used the same by men and women, although her brothers constantly made fun of her that she looked like a woman. If they knew.

-You don't need to excuse me, I'm just a simple servant- He approached the bed with a bowl of fresh water and handed it to her along with a crumpled paper.

-This is the only thing his father left in my hands before he died-

Jade doubtfully opened the paper to find a few words. They told him not to seek revenge and to take refuge under the protection of a certain friend of his by the name of Vladek. Below he left the possible addresses of where he could find it.

-Why would my father give me this?- She asked, intrigued by the level of detail in the letter.

-Each of the servants closest to him had an equal letter for any situation that occurred with his family and there is also something that I have not told you yet-

Jade tensed, it smelled like something good wasn't coming.

-You were unconscious for a whole week, in those days a rumor has spread and has overshadowed the whole of the destruction of your family. The marks on your skin are a map and were made by Yino, the most wanted assassin in the whole country-

-And?- Her voice came out shaky.

-The news that the girl who has a mark on her face owns the complete map and has spread especially among the bandits who want a reward for his head-

It was now that she understood the reason for the mark on her face.

-If I were you, I would look for Vladek as soon as possible, I was able to meet him once and he will surely protect you, take the letter with you, he will not refuse to welcome you-

-It would not be easier to stay here hidden- It was a wiser solution than to go out into the city to look for a person I did not even know.

-We are not as hidden as you imagine, several people have already passed through here and I have been able to keep it hidden, but I do not know how long it will be safe, please pay attention to your father who rests in a better life- the man seemed nervous and somewhat anxious for her to leave, surely taking care of her had caused him more than one problem.

Jade folded the paper in her hands and thoughtfully, sighed and nodded. Although she would have to wait a few more days first before she could move easily and her skin wouldn't pull every time she forced it.

Four days later, covered with some old clothes that the servant had managed to get her and a tulle cloth that covered the lower part of his face, she started her way to the city. The news had circulated to such an extent that they said that she was a young man, that she was a young woman, that she was an old man, a child, the good thing about the rumors was that they were twisted like water, even so, she had to be careful. Even in disguise, the mask would attract attention, whether it was a man or a woman and surely at any moment she could be attacked, it had to find her target as soon as possible.

She did not know what the world was preparing for her, living most of the time within the walls of the mansion, the exterior was too big.