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[Kaylor]

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Kaylor watched Eclyse for a long moment of careful consideration. It seemed a betrayal of their love to continue hiding the truth from her sight. The time of witness was upon them. He took a step forward, his eyes intense, his voice acrid. "I ride tonight. Accompany me if you wish Knight of Virtue.
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*Even if you be otherwise perfect, you fail without humility. ~ The Talmud*

[Eclyse Christian]

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One swing. Then it was done. The broad, dark edge of Kaylor's axe was buried deep, splintering sternum and ribs, and cleaving the heart in two. Eclyse steadied her steed silently in the shadows as the figure of the fallen, fell. A heavy booted foot pressed the lifeless corpse against the ground as he freed his axe with a solid tug. The sickly sucking sound of the wound releasing the blade evoked a wave of nausea as Eclyse watched, otherwise unaffected.

Kaylor cast a furtive glance back toward the shadows where he knew she waited. His eyes were dark and tumultuous, his expression searching. He knew she was there, but he could not see her, and she much preferred it that way.

A light, shuffling step hastily emerged from a gloomy doorway in the alley. Eclyse's gaze shifted only slightly to watch the woman. Her attire painted her a plain woman. Lower class. She carried a basket of linens befitting a finer lifestyle. Someone else's laundry, no doubt. Her work was meticulous - the linens starched and white. In the split second it took Eclyse to make her own observations, the black knight's axe found its mark again. Blood sprayed across the strewn linens, the basket overturned upon the feet of the fallen. A single drowning breath gurgled hopelessly, bespattering the horrified face with blood. And then, thankfully, it was over.

A wrenching cry tore Eclyse's gaze from the woman's sightless eyes staring heavenward. Kaylor uttered a gutteral groan and fell to his knees. He grasped at his chest frantically, his eyes wide with pain. Eclyse's mount instinctively lurched forward knowing Eclyse as well as he knew himself. But Eclyse's steady hand stayed him, reigning him still as her knight grappled with the pain of death. She knew too well that this was a scene which had played out more times than she cared to count.

Eclyse did not wonder what had changed, what kept her to the shadows - prevented her from hastening to his side even as he fell. Her demeanour was stern and determined as she watched him writhe. "By faith, Husband," her voice little more than a silent whisper, "you die that you may live."