NoGift

Chapter 18: a date to remember... or not

ARGENT looked at her sleeping sister. Andromeda was already docked on the port of the city of Ver two hours earlier. Her mother and Felicia already got off the ship to do some shopping. She and Aurum were supposed to go with them. But she feigned sickness the night before just so she couldn't go with them today. Then her sister refused to go as well without her. She had to use some kind of special incense to force Aurum to fall asleep. So she could sneak out and do what she needed to do.

She was about to open the door when she heard a knock. She sighed because she already knew who it was. She opened it and there standing outside was a young man with curly brown hair, murky brown eyes, and a face she would readily forget once she passed it by the street.

"Ready to go?" the young man asked in that annoyingly familiar voice.

She raised one eyebrow. "Well, at least you're not dressed as a girl anymore."

Viper pouted. "It's not as if I wanted to dress that way. Her identity was the most convenient one to use at the moment, so I did."

And because the real one was getting off the ship today, he has to use another identity. "You didn't kill the owner of this new identity, right?"

"I told you, I don't kill without a contract. He's happily sleeping in his cabin just like your sister back there."

She looked back again at her sleeping sister. "Those incense don't have any negative after-effects, do they?" she asked, because she got it from Viper.

"No. Have you already forgotten the vow I made? I can't exactly hurt any of your family members. Though I've been tempted this past week to poison your sister to death for being such a brat," he said, as if he didn't just tell her he's tempted to kill her sister. "She's too attach to you. That's not healthy, you know."

She scoffed. This coming from a guy who's not entirely mentally stable. "Let's just go."

Argent picked the hat on the bedside table and put it on her head. Just to be on the safe side, in case she accidentally met her mother in town. She could immediately hide her face using the hat. She went outside the cabin and closed the door, carefully making sure it was locked.

Argent started walking towards the deck. Viper immediately walked beside her.

"Just a reminder, I have to be back here before lunch. So you better have a plan prepared because I don't want to go wandering around town aimlessly for the next four hours."

"What, I thought this would be an all-day event," Viper complained.

"If you want this to be an all-day event, then we could just stay here on the ship," she smiled sweetly at him, not the least bit sincere.

"No! How could it be a date when we're just going to stay here anyway?"

"Then you have four hours for this date."

"Maybe I'll just take you away and never let you return," he grumbled.

She narrowed her eyes at Viper. "Just try. I won't make it easy for you. And if you succeed, remember that I will hate you."

Viper sighed. "You're such a stubborn little minx. You keep fighting me when we both know you'll just end up with me anyway," he said as if ending up with him was already a sure thing.

"Whatever," she just said. She's already tired of telling him that that wouldn't ever happen. Doing that for the past week could have that effect.

When they reached the deck, one of the crew mate put a stamp on their wrist before they got off the ship. Every passenger that got off the ship and planned to return the same day would get the stamp. It would separate the old passengers from the new passengers. It was quite a useful system.

"So, where to?" Argent asked when they reached the pavement.

"Let me surprise you." Viper smiled down at her and held her hand before pulling her.

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Argent was certainly surprised when Viper pulled her to the first alley they saw. "Is there something amazing in this alley?" she couldn't help but ask.

"Yes. My face," he said proudly. "I'm going to remove the human skin so you could stare at my glorious face all you want."

No thanks - she almost told him. But then she's curious enough to know what he really looked like. So she didn't say anything and just observed what he's about to do. He first took a small vial from his pocket and then put a drop on each of his eyes. After that, he removed the curly brown hair and then slowly peeled off the skin on his face. It was quite a... fascinating procedure.

When he was done, he turned to look at her. "What do you think?"

Argent stared at him. His hair was now the palest platinum blond that it almost looked like silvery white. He has a tall nose and thin lips. But his most catching feature were his eyes. It was in different colors. One in forest green and the other sky blue. It was the first time she saw someone with heterochromatic eyes. She almost wanted to splice his gene and look for the mutation that caused it.

"Hmm... you look better."

"I know, right?" he said with a cheeky grin. "Come, let's go wander the streets of Ver." He reached for her hand and pulled her again.

Once they're out of the alley, Argent had the time to observe the streets of Ver. It was quite busy, considering that it's early morning. There were countless shops line in the streets, carriages passing by, and people with over the top frocks and dresses.

"I told you I don't want to wander aimlessly," she said.

"But where's the surprise if we already know where we're going?"

She just shook her head. "Just don't pull me too far away."

"Oh, there's my favorite cafe here in Ver. They have the most amazing pomegranate tart. You'll love it. It's not too sweet. Just the way you like it."

She was quite surprised that he noticed that about her. "You've been here quite a lot, then?"

"I've been around the world quite a lot. Perks of the job."

"No doubt."

He pulled her inside the cafe called 'Sweet Escape'. Inside, he chose a booth isolated from other tables. Once they're seated, a waitress immediately went to their booth to ask for their orders.

"Two pomegranate tart, a mocha latte, and green tea," Viper told the waitress, not even bothering asking her. Again, she's surprised to find he knew her preference on her food and drink. Quite observant of him. But she figured he needed to be observant to be a good assassin.

The waitress left and after a few minutes she returned with their orders.

Argent took a small bite from the tart and her eyes widen a bit at her first taste.

"Good, right?" Viper said smiling.

"Actually, yeah." She doesn't really like sweet stuff overly much. So the citrusy taste of the tart was just right for her.

"I knew you would like it," he said, grinning like a proud cat.

Argent noticed that he was already wearing his gloves. Probably because he couldn't hold a spoon using his bare hands. It would probably melt with his poison ridden skin. "Are you sure it's okay for you to show me your real face?" she thought asking.

"It's fine. You're not the type to run around and tell everyone you meet that you know the real face of the infamous Viper from Dreich Gallere. You'd find it too troublesome."

"True." So he doesn't only know her food preference, he also figured out her personality. Or at least some part of it. "So you're quite a famous assassin, huh?"

"I'm the best one in our group. Though other annoying members would definitely argue the truth of that."

She took another bite of the tart. "You must have a lot of kills under your belt."

"Hundreds. Or maybe thousands? I don't know, I already lost count," he didn't even hesitate to admit.

"You don't feel guilty at all, do you?" she asked curiously.

"About killing people? Not at all. It's my job. Just like other people with jobs, I'm just doing it." He shrugged, finishing his tart.

"Hmm."

"Wait- you won't start hating me because of my job, right? Because that would be unfair."

"No. I don't really care what you do. As long as it doesn't affect me, that is," she said honestly. That would probably make her apathetic. But she really couldn't make herself care about people she doesn't know. She just doesn't have that emotional capacity.

He grinned widely. "Which just makes me like you more and more."

She just snorted and finished her food. "So, where to next?"

He reached out to her and wiped the corner of her mouth - probably for crumbs. "Just let me surprise you."

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Viper pulled her from one place to another. A magical shop, a jewelry store, a dress shop. By the end of their third hour together, Argent felt like she'd ran a marathon. That's how tired she was. She just kept telling herself that after this day, she'd be rid of him. And hopefully, she wouldn't see him again.

"I'm tired. Let's rest for a bit," she said, sitting on a nearby bench on the plaza where they're in.

Viper sat beside her. "I forgot you have short legs."

"Quite obvious, considering my age."

"Don't worry, you'll definitely grow into them," he said, confidently. "So, you and your family are going to Amexem? Is it for vacation?"

Argent shouldn't be surprised that he knew about that. He probably didn't have problems accessing that information. She thought of lying, but then she thought it didn't really matter if she did or not. He will certainly find the truth one way or another. "No. We're going to stay there for awhile."

"Great. I'll make sure to drop by from time to time."

"You talk as if you already know where we're going to stay."

"It won't be a problem for me to find out."

She sighed. She just knew she wouldn't be able to get rid of this guy that easily. "What if I told you I could make something that could allow you to touch other people? Would you stop stalking me?" With the right amount of time and research, she has no doubt that she could make a device like that.

Viper stared at her intently, as if memorizing every features of her face. "You're a special existence for me. Even if you manage to make something like that, it would only be artificial. You will still remain that one special person that I could touch with or without any kind of device. So, no. I will remain a constant fixture in your life for as long as the both of us live." He kneeled in front of her. "That's a promise."

Then he leaned in and kissed the tip of her nose.

And somehow, Argent has no doubt that he will indeed remain a constant fixture in her life.

*****

Mini-theater:

Viper: I kissed Argent!!! ()/

Argent: -shaking her head- (I hope I won't see this guy for a dozen chapters.)