Stargazer

Chapter 12

Almost time! Let's get moving!" Nova and Pierce lifted their hoods, the darkness swallowed their features as I did the same, wrapping up the uneaten bread and throwing it into my waist pouch.

Nova led in a hunched sprint across the backyard Manor lawn, pausing between objects to hide behind.

The front, massive lawn spanned out from the street, complete with layers of fresh cut topiary bushes. They made it simple enough for us to remain hidden in the shadows around the perimeter as we made our way to the back of the palace.

It was a large, white building complete with three sized parts and connected by grandeur arches and pillars. The West side building was made of large paned windows, like that of an aviary, the East, white clay with few windows. This is where the sleeping quarters were, including the Prince's private suite.

We made our way to that side of the building and found where a balcony opened from the Prince’s quarters. There, a guard stood, fully uniformed in a daunting amount of metal armour and looked to take his job very seriously. Each step we had taken was with delicate care, not making a hint of noise as I felt my boots crunch into the soil below.

Nova clicked open her watch and nodded at me, “Get ready,” she mouthed. I wasn’t ready, but I moved my body into position, anyway, in a stance poised for attack. We watched as the guard pulled out a similar watch, clicked it open with focused eyes, then began to pack up for his end of shift. He lugged his big body of armor through the set of doors from the balcony and disappeared as they were sealed behind him.

After a few moments, Nova gave me the nod and I bolted. The wall was too smooth to climb, but I easily found one of the pillars close enough to grab hold of and shimmied my way up to the balcony.

As silent as a hunting prey, I stood in the shadow of the balcony and peered into a gap through a window curtain.

There he was, a surprisingly tall figure in expensive looking slacks and shoes and had his back turned, standing near a fireplace. His head was bent, inspecting a book balanced upon his palms. No one else was in the room, I was sure. There on the table lay the decanter.

Prince Drudo turned and I quickly pulled my head back into the shadows. He walked over to his sleeping area where a four poster bed layered in silks and a dressing partition were, and disappeared, to dress into night clothes, I assumed.

Silently, I opened one of the doors, snuck in and quickly shut it behind me. I walked over to the decanter and, without much more thought, dumped the vial of the black Canton into it. I watched as it quickly dissolved in the Prince's drink. Then, close by, was a set of maroon curtains I went behind, waiting to watch it all be over.

I was happy to get it over with, I didn’t see any other way then to follow what was bid of me by the guild, regardless of the reasonings. The way I saw it, I hardly would have a hand in his death anyhow. The only part I played was carrying a vial of liquid from one place, and putting it into another. If that happened to kill someone, then perhaps it was meant to be. I’m sure the stress of the situation had given me delusions and caused me to black out for a moment, but it was nothing more than a bizarre dream, I had reassured myself.

The Prince came back in light cotton pants and a light overshirt that revealed his bare chest. I almost let out a gasp at the perfection of his muscles. It was obvious he did more than just sit and sign documents all day. He was very fit and it was apparent that he’d worked hard for it.

I found myself wondering if he could fight, and swallowed nervously at the thought of his size. He went through the motions just as predicted, grabbed his glass cup from the table and poured the amber liquid, filling it to the brim. My heart raced as he brought it to his lips.

Just as he was about to take a sip, he pulled the cup away, distracted, walked over to the couch where he’d left his open book and sat, continuing to read with the drink in his other hand. My mind swirled as the words of the dove haunted me. How can I live with myself knowing all that I knew, if by some rare chance, the hallucination I’d experienced was real? Prince Drudo once again began to bring the glass to his lips.

I couldn’t take it any longer. I jumped out from the curtains, pulled them closed over the window panes in one swift motion, and pointed my sabre at him. “Stop now! Unless you wish to die!” The Prince was so startled, the book fell from his hand as the drink teetered in the other. He then composed himself, as if people were in his room all the time, threatening him.

“So, you're here to kill me then, right? Can I at least finish my drink first?” His sarcasm took me by surprise and I had to point my sword at his arm to stop the drink from being raised to his lips.

"Not unless you were looking to die from that drink." I expertly moved the sword tip to the glass cup bottom and sent it flying across the room allowing it to shatter. My mind was made up.

"Oh, ho, ho! So the coward's route of poison is how you would've done it, now, eh?"

"Not how I would've done, it's how they demanded to have it done," I clenched my teeth, "and you should be worried about who they are." I nervously eyed the curtains aware Nova or Pierce could swing in at any moment for backup and kill him. He saw me eyeing the windows and his face finally grew serious. His large brown eyes widened from their squints and twinkled.

"Okay, who are they, if you would so kindly share."

I felt thrown into a whirlwind of minutes counting down before me and I had to decide what to say or do before whatever next would happen. I decided he was no threat at that moment and left him unguarded as I ran around the room dimming all the oil lamps until we were plunged into darkness. Next, I ran to the doors and set the wooden beam into its holder at the back near the hall and the metal clasp over the handles for the glass French doors at the patio.

The Prince hadn't moved from his spot on the couch, so I violently ran back to him and put the edge of my Sabre to his throat feeling the pinch into his flesh.

"LIsten up!" I yelled at him in a violent, maddening whisper as spittle flew from my lips. "You have been ordered to be killed by a group of assassins. The very fact that I chose to not kill you, means I have officially become a traitor," the stress running through my head made it feel as if it were going to explode under the pressure. "If someone doesn't break in any minute to try to finish you off, then they'll be here for me as well!"

Suddenly, in the darkness, the thin metal of a rapier threw the blade of my sabre around and a hand pushed me down to the couch. I blinked in confusion and realized the Prince had been hiding a long, thin sword and he did, indeed, know how to fight.

I pushed my sabre back into his rapier, now blade to blade, as I stood back up against him. “Sounds like I’ll be doing them a favor then, by killing you first.” He went for my low left side with his rapier and I immediately blocked him, then countered as our swords met in a passionate fury of action.

Our bodies danced around the room in a frenzy, knocking over expensive vases and tables in our path.

“Won’t matter, they’ll kill you with me, and at any second!” I now shouted at him. “We have to go, you’ll need to come with me, it’s the only way!” I pleaded with him, desperately, and he looked at me decisively.

“How do I know I can trust you? And you’re not just going to bring me out there to kill me?”

Our swords blade to blade, I got up real close to his face, our eyes meeting both in wide ruthlessness. “Because,” his eyes were an entrancing deep brown opposite to my honey lit irises, “if I wanted to kill you, I would’ve done it already.” And with that, I cut his cheek. A flash of a move to prove my point.

He touched the blood on his cheek in surprise and a bang came at that door, not unexpectedly.

“Prince Drudo? Open up! Now! By order of the King’s Guards!” A deep voice shouted from the hallway.

“You need to trust me, please!” What else could I say to keep us both alive and get him to come with me? “I saw a vision! I'm here to save you. I can't let you die tonight!” Oh great, if he hadn’t trusted me before, he most certainly wasn’t going to trust a crazy woman who sees visions. But, then, he looked earnest and nodded just as a crash resounded taking out the glass panes of the french doors.

It was Nova who jumped inside, sword in hand, trying to assess the situation, wrongly, I was sure. Simultaneously the backdoor bulged with the bodies of the guards until the barricade splintered and fell to the floor. The guards came crashing in and we were surrounded.