The Assassin

Tent-mates

Queen Ruth could not see he got hurt, what would she say? He let the princess stab him and let her go? Speaking of the princess...well, he knew her name now.

 Luella. 

Vernon wasn't lying when he said it was a pretty name, it was more than pretty. It was beautiful, like her. Romance probably shouldn't be the thing on his mind right now but he couldn't help it, she was...she was...he couldn't think of anything to compare her to. What an embarrassment for anything on this planet to be compared to her, she was otherworldly. Probably something you wouldn't call someone who just stabbed you but he liked her zest, helpless wasn't his type. The hyper athletic path he took down the side of the palace wall made his side hurt with unfathomable pain and it didn't seem like it was planning to fade anytime soon. These long trips were beginning to get tiresome and tedious. 

An unpleasant burst was felt in the wound, Vernon was almost certain one of his stitches snapped due to his reckless movements but he didn't want to go through the palace again, not that hopping the garden fence would be any better. The thick, clinging, wet substance on his clothes concerned him since he couldn't tell if the wetness was caused by the old blood or new blood. All he wanted to do was get to The Dens quickly and rest.

Vernon planned to tell Ruth about Luella's trip tomorrow, he hoped she would give him more time. Maybe he'll be able to think of something then?

Oh, who was he kidding! He was just prolonging the inevitable, he's discarded his assignment and he wasn't going to change his mind. Vernon was going to have to find another way to get supplies for his community and pray to the Lord that Queen Ruth wouldn't have him hunted for aborting his mission.

 The surrounding area began to feel familiar as he started recognizing askew trees and peculiar rocks he used for navigating the forest, thank goodness. He stood as straight as he could and tried his best to walk normally and not like he was in excruciating pain, The Dens came into view. For the most part people seemed not to mind him and if they did they would just greet him and continue walking. Vernon's guise was working quite well, he kept his steady pace not wanting to stand out but the second he took sight of Jasper sitting in a circle gabbing with his equally as idiosyncratic friends he ditched the languid stride and made a beeline to his tent. 

The tent flaps slowly rode the breeze to a close, Vernon doubled over on his cot and started stripping immediately tossing his upper garments aside and checking on his wound. 

As he suspected, the threads looped through his skin had broken. Not all of them, thankfully. The injury dripped gore steadily, at least it was drying already, he's sure it would begin to scab soon. He grabbed the white shirt and wrapped it around his waist, tying a knot over the injury. It hurt of course but what didn't? Vernon collapsed on his bed, it reminded him of the princess' bed, it definitely wasn't as comfortable or as big as hers but the memory of her porcelain-like hands putting their weight on his upper-right abdomen made him almost miss the panicky feeling of being trapped in a foreign kingdom's palace. The cold water that ran over his side as she wiped away the clotting blood and her skillful fashion of stitching him up seemed almost romantic in his mind.

Vernon propped up his head with one arm while his other laid on his stomach, the aching pain he was feeling finally started to subside just a tad and the annoying dizziness that was plaguing his head gradually went away along with it. Heavy eyelids drooped, the now warm wind made the man even more sleepy.

Vernon was exceedingly close to drifting off to a dream land but the horrified scream of a man jolted him awake. 

"Vernon, are you okay?!" Gavin said more as a plead instead of a question. The innocent man was kneeled beside Vernon holding onto his shoulder. 

"Yes, I'm fine, no need to worry." He said yawning trying to go back to sleep. 

"But you're hurt, why are you bleeding?" The frightened tone didn't leave the man. 

"Get off of the floor, sit on your bed and I'll tell you." Vernon said covering his eyes with the hand that used to be under his head. 

The sun-kissed man quickly jumped on his bed and leaned in close to listen to Vernon's story. The rugged man was pretty sure Gavin was going to fall off the bed. Vernon gave him a perplexed look.

"Good enough, I guess." He murmured as he shifted his weight getting comfortable.

"I had the princess again. This time though she had a dagger and she stabbed right in the side." Gavin made and 'O' with his mouth. Vernon continued.

"I managed to hold her down afterward and I pulled out my knife and held it against her neck...I really thought I was going to be able to kill her but all I did was leave a little mark before I put my weapon down and let her go." The man sighed. 

"Well, what did she do." Gavin asked.

"She helped me."

"She did?!" 

"Yes, she cleaned and stitched up my wound after I had told her I didn't want to kill her but I ended up accidentally breaking some of the threads on my way over here." Vernon said.

"I can go get more from Cassandra, she can help fix you back up-"

"No." Vernon shut down the idea quickly. Gavin looked confused.

"No? Why not."

"Did you not just hear me? I let the princess stab me then I let her go, again. She can't find out." He expressed.

"I can just tell her you were hurt by a guard and you came back right away." Gavin suggested, Vernon shook his head.

"I don't want to lie to Cassandra." He said. There was an air of silence.

"Are you going to try again tomorrow, killing the princess I mean." He asked the injured man.

"...No...I can't." 

"You do know you're going to have to tell Cassandra eventually when you don't bring any food or bedding." Gavin said softly.

"I know...are you mad? Vernon asked lifting his arm from over his eyes, looking at his tent-mate.

"Of course not." He grinned. Gavin began to stand up, his buckled boots clicking as they hit the dirt floor.

"Where are you off to?" Vernon asked. 

"I'm going to get you stitches." He said matter-of-factly. Vernon gave him a confused look.

"I just said-"

"Trust me, I won't lie to Cassandra." He pointed to a miniscule hole in his peach colored pants. "I need stitches to fix my trousers." He smiled mischievously.

"Gavin, It'll heal on its own." Vernon called to the man already halfway out of the tent.

"Can't hear you." Gavin yelled back. 

Vernon smiled at his antics, he presumes he should be grateful for someone who cares for him as much as his tent-mate. He took the time to close his dry eyes.

If you happened to walk in on him you would think he was having a peaceful rest, aside from the bloodied garment wrapped around his waist, but in reality his mind was in turmoil. The Dens were lucky if everyone had at least one meal to eat a day. More and more people are beginning to join but if he wanted this community stay afloat, if he wanted somewhere to stay, if he wanted a place where other people in need could stay then he needed to find a way to help them. Gavin and the other hunters already set traps daily to catch prey, Cassandra tried her best to keep everyone content even when some of the residents were easily riled up. 

Vernon couldn't help but feel as if he were liable for all those sleeping on the ground or on logs that looked quite uncomfortable. 

As for Queen Ruth, she seems like an understanding breed of person but with all the stress on her shoulders as well, he perceived her as more of a ticking time bomb. The thought of her storming The Dens out of anger was stuck in his head, if that were to happen he didn't think he would ever be able to forgive himself. 

Before Vernon fell into an abyss of guilt Gavin walked in with a travel bag and an ear to ear smile. Right on time.

"I've got it!" He beamed. The giddy man sat down on his matress and searched through the bag, Soon enough he pulled out a case of needles and a spool of thread. Carefully, he pinched a needle and took it out of the hazardous box. Vernon watched the man struggle putting the thin, stubborn thread into the microscopic hole of the needle. 

"Need help?" Vernon asked going to sit up.

"No, no, no you continue to rest, I've got it." Gavin urged.

"Really? Cause I've been watching you 'got it' for the past five minutes." He teased.

"I've got it!" Gavin said hunching over trying to find the perfect angle to slip the thread in. Vernon exhaled and let the man do as he wanted.

After about ten more minutes the man excitedly showed the knotted thread to Vernon.

"I did it! I told you I had it." He said.

"Never doubted you for a second." Vernon retorted sarcastically. Gavin ignored the man and stepped outside for a moment to bring in a nearby crate, he placed it next to his tent-mate's bed and sat down.

"Alright let me see the wound." Gavin said.

Vernon slowly untied the shirt and revealed a small but deep gash. It was astonishing the amount blood it had produced, dyeing most of the shirt scarlet. Half of the threads were broken and the rest looked as if they were about to slice through his skin. It appeared almost mangled and the build up of dried blood didn't help its situation.

"I'll remove the old stitches." Gavin told Vernon. For some reason that idea was unappealing, he liked the feeling of the threads Luella wove into his side. He didn't want them replaced. 

"It isn't possible for you to just continue the stitches? Just replace the ones that are broken?" Vernon asked. 

"Not if you want the stitches to actually assist your wound in healing, the other stitches seem strained anyway." Gavin criticized, gingerly touching the tightly stitched threads. The rugged man sighed.

"Okay." He said.

Gavin set down the needle on his lap and began to delicately pull out the dark-blue string. He took it out much faster and painless than expected. There wasn't anything he could clean the stab wound with so he settled with lightly dusting off crystallized pieces of hardened blood with Vernon's shirt so he could work better. 

"I'm going to start stitching now, okay?" Gavin warned Vernon with an earnest expression on his face and patient hazel eyes.

He simply nodded back. Unlike Luella, Gavin stitched much slower but it was significantly less painful. His hands weren't as petite nor graceful but they were tender and caring. 

"So, how was your day today?" Vernon asked.

"Slow." Gavin said, his face was concentrated on the task in front of him. "We managed to catch three bunnies." He said. 

"Did you eat?" 

"No, it's okay though, I ate dinner last night. Have you eaten?" 

"No." Vernon said, he abruptly jostled from an unexpected prick of pain.

"Sorry, sorry!" Gavin apologized profusely. 

"It's fine." He said slinking back into his laid position letting out a prolonged breath. Gavin cut the thread once he was finished and knotted the end with a satisfied feeling.

"Done." He said eleated, his cheeks dimpling. 

"Thanks." Vernon said, he went to slip on his shirt but turned down that notion quickly once he took sight of the damp and dirty garment. 

"If you'd like you can borrow one of my shirts." Gavin said already digging through his brown backpack. He pulled out a black and white striped blouse with a ruffled collar and loose cuffs. 

"Oh." Vernon said, it was a really nice blouse. 

"You can have it." Gavin said with a smile.

"Are you sure? That looks expensive."  

"It really isn't, I have plenty of other shirts. We wouldn't want you walking around in only a vest and jacket would we?"

He was right, it's not like he had anything else to wear. 

"Thank you." Vernon said as Gavin handed him the attractive garment. He sat up and slipped it on finding out that not only was in nice looking, it was comfortable. 

"Wow." Vernon murmured to himself. 

Gavin was now working on patching the tiny hole in his trousers as he said he would.

"Vernon?" He asked getting the other man's attention. 

"Hm?"

"I was just wondering, what will you tell the queen, Queen Ruth." He specified. 

Vernon has been asking himself that very same question as well and the answer to that at the moment was:

"I don't know." He deflated. "I was planning on telling her the princess had gone on a trip so maybe she'd give me a longer span of time to complete the job. I was going to use that time to think." 

"Has the princess actually gone on a trip?" Gavin asked.

"I overheard she'll be going in a few days." He responded. The busy tent-mate nodded.

"The problem is..." Vernon went silent. Gavin waited patiently for him to continue speaking. "I can't rid my head of this idea..that the queen will go mad...and attack The Dens."  

Gavin thought about this for a long while. 

"That is a worrying idea, but the thing is, that's all it is. An idea. A thought. I have dreadful thoughts all the time." Gavin confessed. Vernon was shocked, dreadful thoughts? Gavin?

"It's okay to have dreadful thoughts, just like every other idea that pops into your head and like every other thought you can either acknowledge it and let it go or store it. Does Queen Ruth attacking The Dens worry you?" Gavin asked looking into Vernon's pupils.

"Yes." 

"So you've acknowledged it, are you going to let it go or are you going to keep it and let it consume you?" 

"..Let it go." Vernon said hesitantly. Gavin stood holding Cassandra's travel bag. 

"Good! And if Ruth does decide to come here, what else to do than to fight her with every fiber in our being, hm?" He said with a grin, playfully punching the pondering man. 

Vernon huffed out a laugh. 

"I guess so." 

"Oh, and thank you for the extra blanket this morning." Gavin remembered while handing him back his covering.

"No problem." Vernon replied. The other man exited the tent to return the supply bag back to Cassandra.

He was lucky he had such an astute friend as Gavin, what a crippling mess he would have already turned into without him. He laid back down and closed his eyes and this time he was actually enjoying a peaceful sleep.