"Bastinu"
The one with the face of Haydith ir'Wynarn stirred in their cell. They weren't sure how long they'd been there, they'd been blindfolded since they were attacked in their hideout. Their hands were bound, not just at the wrists but also their fingers, to prevent them from casting spells. A gag had been placed in her mouth, more than the rag that had been used to prevent her from speaking before, for the same reason. She wasn't sure she'd actually heard what she thought she had, that the weight of her failure had finally started to manifest as hallucinations.
She silently chastised herself. She was a soldier of the first age, an immortal being, as perfect as she was dangerous. She should not be hallucinating from boredom, even if she was deprived of her sight and much of her ability to move.
"Bastinu"
That name, again. She had definitely heard it this time, and she recognised the voice that was saying it. Husky, deep but still feminine. What was she doing here? Was this a rescue mission?
"Good, you are awake. I'm going to remove the gag now, don't make a sound."
The owner of the voice did as they said, though they were rougher expected. As soon as the gag was out of her mouth, she went to speak and then her mind filled with the sharp sensation of pain as something hit her across the face.
"Bad kitty. I said don't make a sound."
The one with the face of Haydith felt something that she wasn't sure she had ever felt before, was it fear?
"I suppose you're considering your options. I wouldn't shout, if I were you, it would draw the guards and then I would have to kill them. As much as I would love to do that, it would disappoint the Shadowsword even more than they already are, and you don't want to do that. You're in hot water as it is."
Something touched her face, gently, sliding along her cheekbone and then down her jawline. She fought to suppress the all too human reaction to shudder.
"What are you doing here? You don't even work for us" the one with the face of Haydith ir'Wynarn asked, trying to keep the tremor from their voice. The finger brushed up from her chin to rest gently over her lips, shushing her.
"I work for whoever interests me at the time, kitten. I didn't even ask for payment for this job, I wanted to do it."
Another sharp pain, this one much worse than the strike across the face. The Red Owl's head jerked as the blindfold was ripped from her face, and she gazed into the eyes of her assassin, glancing over the pointed ears and the thin frame. The pain flared again as the elf twisted the knife that she was slowly pushing into the Red Owl's sternum.
"Why?" she gasped.
"Easier than trying to get you out of here. You'll reform, eventually, and maybe you'll even retain some of your memories. I suppose even immortals can experience a kind of death, isn't that funny?" the elf chuckled, something which the Red Owl found to be very much Not Funny. The assassin was taking her time, savouring every moment of agony as she slowly rotated the knife.
Blood filling her mouth, the one with the face of Haydith ir'Wynarn looked to the shadows in the corner of the cell and teleported. She wasn't going to die chained to the wall like an animal. She appeared on the other side of the room, and tried to push her advantage on the dreaded elf that had come for her, but her momentum was arrested by another sharp stabbing pain in her neck.
The elf had thrown the dagger, and it had hit her directly in the throat. The last thing that the one with the face of Haydith ir'Wynarn saw as she lost her grip on the material plane was the fuming, dissatisfied face of her elven killer. She dearly hoped she would remember this betrayal.