The Assassin

Questions

Was a kingdom usually supposed to be this quiet? The occasional guard or maid was seen but where was everyone else? You would almost be quite certain this palace was abandoned. Aches could be felt in the man's joints from being crouched in the same position for such a long time, slowly, he lifted himself off of the floor quietly hissing from the pain. It was probably the worst time for Vernon to be hit with the urge to urinate as well, at least it was empty enough for him to move around the palace comfortably.

 Very soon he found a restroom and slipped in. It would be a shame for him to put so much effort into coming in stealthily just to be found for making too much noise, wouldn't it? He made sure the stream hit the bowl of the toilet instead of the threatening water pooled at the bottom, it was one of the most stressful experiences he had while being in a restroom. Vernon finished up and stared at the toilet bowl wondering if he should flush it or not, sure, he just spent the last two minutes being extra careful not to be noisy but he wasn't sure what would happen if someone found a bowl full of piss.

Given the emptiness he's experienced for the past few hours he felt it was alright to flush. His hand reached for the chain and it wrapped around the cold metal, just as he was about to pull.

"Oliver, I'm not sure if I'm ready." A muffled sentence could be heard outside the bathroom door. It sounded like a young girl, it sounded like a princess.

"What do mean?" And that was definitely the voice of a grown man. Vernon pressed his ear against the wooden door to eavesdrop on their conversation.

"The trip to Nostar, I was excited at first but now I'm becoming anxious." He could hear the girl say.

"Trip to Nostar? What are you speaking about?" Vernon would say the man sounded angry but he sounded more worried than anything.

"What are you speaking about? That's why you're teaching me to sword fight, so I can go with my father to Nostar and stop them from building defenses and attacking us."

"I thought he asked me to teach you so you could defend yourself in case that low-life housebreaker returned." 

"Ouch." Vernon thought. He was thinking about bursting out of the bathroom and killing the princess right then and there but the venom the man on the other side of the door spoke with lead him to think that wouldn't be such a good idea. 

"No, that wasn't why-" The princess insisted.

"Who thought it was a good idea to bring you on a quest! You could get hurt! When does he plan on going to Nostar." What a juicy conversation Vernon just happened to be at the perfect place to hear. 

"I'm not sure, they said in a few days!" The girl's voice got higher. 

"A few days? They expect a few days of sword fighting to be enough for you to protect yourself during a war."

"I wouldn't call it a "war"-"

"Stay in your room, I'm going to speak to your father about this."

"Oliver."

"Stay in your room."

There was a brief silence before a small voice of compliance could be heard and the sound of a door closing and shutting shortly after. Stern footsteps slowly faded away. 

This is perfect.

 He slid out of the bathroom and stood outside the one door on the right side of the hall. Once he opens this door he'll be right where he was the night before and this time he was going to actually do it, he going to kill the princess. His hand wrapped around the door knob and he took in a deep breath as he went in, careful not to slam the door and sprinted towards the princess.

The girl whipped around and looked like she was going to scream for help but he reached the girl's mouth before she could and held her against the wall, suddenly he felt his side being puncture by something sharp, it took him a second to register the princess was jabbing a serrated dagger into his skin. He recoiled giving the princess a chance to attempt to call for help, large hands overtook hers as the man apprehended her limbs and covered her mouth. 

Blood was soaking into his clothes but he did his best to ignore the burning sensation stinging at his side. The handle of the dagger sticking out of him was not something he wanted at the moment, it'll be harder for him to move. He released her mouth and unsheathed his own dagger and held it to her neck.

"Don't scream." Vernon warned. He saw her jaw flexing, he couldn't begin to imagine what was going through her mind, he could see her studying his face. Though faced with death Luella couldn't help but think the bumpy man was quite handsome, what a difference between her taste in men. Phillip was a baby-faced, nervous man with the tendency to stumble over his words. She was quite sure if he were stabbed with a knife he'd start crying. 

The man before her on the other hand had a scruffy stubble, sharp eyes, and a long face. Whenever he spoke, though few words, his words were clear and menacing. 

His hand pressed onto her flesh with the knife cutting into it very slightly making the princess wince in pain and fear. Dots of blood swelled on her throat.

She stared up at him with wide fretful eyes. He could feel his hand becoming hot with humidity due to her heavy breathing. 

Don't think about it to much. 

But thoughts were all that surged in his mind, he kept telling himself to press just a bit further and it would be over, his limb wouldn't listen.

Her raven hair scooped up messily into a bun, tightly wound lips, and glossy eyes pierced his heart and told him he couldn't do this. 

He closed his eyes and cringed lowering his weapon, damn him. His forehead pressed against the hard wall that the princess was being held on. His movement only served to make the princess confused as she stared into the man's chest while he cursed himself in his mind wondering why it was so difficult to kill her. 

"I was sent by Queen Ruth to kill you but..I can't." Vernon confessed.

Luella was stunned, why would someone want to kill her? The man lifted himself off of the princess and drifted his tired eyes to look at the girl who's wide fretful look was replaced with a wide curious one. His shadow that she managed to see the night before quite accurately depicted the man's stature and appearance. 

"A queen sent you to kill me? Why?" She asked cautiously. Vernon ran his hands through his greasy straight hair and sighed causing a sharp pain to jolt through his hip reminding him of the dagger lodged in his side. The princess looked a tad guilty and looked as if she wanted to help but all her arms could do was hover over his injured area. He ignored the feeling and answered her question. 

"Your father attacked her kingdom a few years ago and even though she was able to keep her land their economy is suffering greatly. Her husband was killed during the attack as well and it's been difficult for her to run her dying kingdom alone, she wanted revenge on your father so she sent me to kill you." The way confidential information poured out his mouth for the princess confirmed this mission was never going to be completed.

Luella on the other hand was taking in this new knowledge, obviously she knew her father attacked other kingdoms quite frequently but she oddly had never thought of the damage he's been doing. What grief the queen must be going through. She looked up at the man.

"And...who are you?" She asked.

Vernon swallowed thickly, should he tell her? He wanted to tell her though it wasn't the wisest idea. 

"My name is Vernon." Was all he said. His mind still pondered on whether or not it was an intelligent choice to reveal his identity to the princess, not like he could change it now. An i***t he was.

"And why couldn't you kill me, Vernon?" He didn't know much about the princess but if anything he now knows she asks a lot of inquiries. 

"I don't know." He replied, and he didn't. It was most frustrating. Once more he felt pricks of pain around his wounded area. 

"Oh! I'm sorry about that." She crinkled her face as if she were the one who was injured. 

"It's fine, I was attacking you, you were just defending yourself." Vernon assured her. Suddenly the princess rushed over to a chest near her bed and opened it, she took out a small box and brought it over to him, he watched the princess with interest but was struck with panic when she headed for the bedroom door.

"Where are you going?" He asked.

"I'm going to get a towel from the lavatory." She said. Vernon shrunk his posture in embarrassment and hoped she wouldn't see the unflushed bowl.To try and take his mind off the awkward thought he inspected the considerably large room, it was decorated to death. He noticed the window in the nook that he snuck through the night before. It was odd to be standing in the princess' room waiting around when just a few minutes ago he was so sure he was going to end her life. How well that went, huh? 

The princess returned with a long towel draped over her shoulder along with a smaller one over it and a bowl filled with water in her hands, he heeded the droplets of blood that were on her neck had been wiped clean. She laid the towel down on her bed and patted it.

"Lay down." She commanded. 

"No, I wouldn't want to stain your bed."

"That's what the towel is for, just sit." She insisted.

"I can fix it up myself, I just need to get back to..." He stumbled a bit, a disorienting dizziness hit him suddenly. He felt hands hold on to him and lead him to a cushiony surface. Fingers wrapped around the dagger, she took in a deep breath and pulled it out ripping the flesh as it took some pieces of meat with it, a guttural sound left from the man's mouth as he suppressed the urged to screech curses.

"I know, I know it hurts but you need to be quiet." The princess said softly.

Carefully but quickly, she removed his jacket, vest and unbuttoned the white shirt underneath and held the wound closed as blood attempted to rush out. Horror began to fill her heart as her hand was slowly becoming covered with the red liquid. She dipped the smaller towel in the bowl and placed it over the wound hoping it help stop the blood and clean it simultaneously.  

Vernon was breathing heavily trying to keep as quiet as possible. His eyes drifted up towards the dismayed princess as her eyes locked with his. 

"What's..your name." He asked.

"..Luella.." 

"Luella. That's a pretty name." He said. The princess was the first to look away and continued to try and tend to his wound. She kept one hand over the injury and used the other to open the small box she pulled out from the chest earlier. A needle twinkled against the sunlight that poured into the room, luckily it already had a thread through it. Pulling back the towel covering the gash tentatively the bleeding had subsided a bit. Luella dipped the towel once more into the crisp water and cleaned the wound before hesitantly bringing the sewing needle close to the man's skin. 

"Is it alright if I begin-"

"Yes, it's quite alright, go ahead." Vernon said strained. Shaky breaths made it difficult for the princess to feel confident enough to begin poking the man with a sharp needle. She had to begin sooner or later, the acute edge slid into his flesh, Vernon didn't flinch but she could hear him suck in sharply through gritted teeth. 

Luella waited for him to calm down.

"It's fine, just keep going." He said.

Luella wasn't sure if she should give him breaks or just sew like he said but she remembered her staid guard might be returning soon and decided to listen to the wounded man. She quickly started closing up the gash and ignored the unnatural feeling of piercing flesh rather than cloth. Once Vernon was stitched up she wiped up any remaining blood and stood back satisfied. 

"Thank you," Vernon said wincing as he sat up. He buttoned back up his bloodied shirt and put on his vest and jacket. Gently pulling on his clothes, usually painless, was quite painful at the moment.

 "I suppose I should be going now." 

"Where are you going?" Luella asked. 

"Home." Was all he said walking over to her window and unlocking it. 

"Will you come back?" The princess asked.

"You want me to...come back?" He asked, a bit taken aback. She nodded.

"Why?"

"I don't know."

He laughed. 

Even with the recent injury he made jumping from a third-story window look incredibly easy. Luella was in disbelief, did that actually happen? She replayed the encounter in her head over and over until she realized she should clean up the mess on her bed before Oliver sees it. She shoved the bloodied towels into her hamper, put away her sewing materials, and went to the bathroom to dump the opaque water into the toilet bowl. She flushed it down happy to see nothing left behind as it swirled down into the abyss. Luella went back into her room to pick up the dirty dagger and cleaned it under the rushing water of the sink, putting it back into the small scabbard Oliver gave her to keep her weapon on her person at all times. He told Luella it was one of his first weapons he had when he was training to be guard.

When he handed her the detailed sterling silver dagger she wasn't expecting to use it so quickly, not that she really needed to use it but it was just a thought. It made her feel a little better that if she were in real danger, she would actually be able to use the weapon for defense instead of freezing up as she had feared.

Walking past the washroom mirror she checked her clothing, nothing was bloodied, perfect. 

Except there was a noticeable pink swollen line across her neck. She wiped at it with water hoping it would somehow help it seem less dilated, it didn't work. Luella huffed and prayed Oliver wouldn't see it.

She exited the washroom and aimed to look unbothered. Sitting on her bed felt wrong, like she was doing something she wasn't supposed to. Could you forget how to breathe? Luella was quite sure she just forgot how to.

A knock on the door startled the young woman. 

"Come in." She yelled. Oliver opened the door and stood at the entrance.

"Oh, hello Oliver." Luella said, she mentally scolded herself, why did she say that like that? Luckily, he didn't seem to notice her strange pronunciation which was surprising and unlike him. In fact, he didn't seem to be himself at all. Oliver's usually inflicting eyes were distant and wandering. 

"I've talked with the king and he's decided you're going to Nostar tomorrow." 

"Tomorrow?!" Luella squeaked standing up from her bed.

"I'm sorry, I'm almost certain he only decided to go so quickly because I meddled." Oliver said. The princess began to pace.

"Do you think I'm ready? Have I practiced enough?" She asked her guard. Oliver decided not to be nervous in front of the tense girl. Against his own rule he walked into her room and over to Luella placing a hand on her shoulder. 

"I'm sure you'll be alright, I was overreacting. You're father is a very skilled fighter and I doubt he'd let you get hurt." Oliver tried to console her.

"Then why were so concerned before?" Luella asked with furrowed eyebrows.

"The thing was, I thought you'd be stuck in between a war of two kingdoms but it's just a group of survivors that have put together a village. I trust you'll make it back safe and sound. Okay?" He asked. 

Luella nodded trying to convince herself Oliver was right. His face abruptly changed as he removed his hand from her shoulder and lifted the princess' chin. 

"What's that?" He asked in his usual strict tone.

Great.

"What's what." Luella said trying not to gulp.

"There's a welt on your neck." Oliver said gliding his thumb over it. 

"Oh, that? I was itching and I scratched myself too hard. I didn't know it was so noticeable." Luella said proud of herself she was able to think up a lie so swiftly. 

Oliver looked at Luella and back at the swollen cut with uncertainty. Thankfully, he accepted her response. 

"Be more careful next time." He said retracting his hand. Luella nodded.

"If you'd like you can continue your training." Oliver told her.

"Yes, I would like that," The princess said. "I would like that very much.