The Assassin

The Dens

A loud clang rang through out the room as Luella's sword flew out of her hand for the twenty-sixth time that day. 

"Weak grip. How many times must I show you how to hold a sword properly." Oliver reprimanded. His black shoes walked off of the padded area of the room, picking up the fallen weapon and placing it back in Luella's hand. 

"You said not to hold it so tight." She bickered.

"I said not to to strangle the hilt, not to hold it like an old maiden on her death bed." He protested. Luella hid her face not wanting Oliver to see her smile at his comment. She held in her laughter as the guard faced her again.

"Left foot forward, right foot back and keep your weight even." He reminded her. She nodded and held up her sword. He scrutinized her stance, fixing anything he deemed imprecise. Once everything was to his liking he stood in front of the trainee and clashed his sword against hers. Luella flinched but her sword stayed in her hand this time. 

"Congratulations. It took you almost an hour to learn how to hold a sword." Oliver said. Luella let her arms drop to her sides, groaning and rolling her eyes to the top of her head. His strict demeanor returned causing the princess to fix her manner.

"Sorry." She said quietly. "But I would appreciate it if you were a bit more positive, please." 

"I would appreciate it if you tried harder." Oliver said, surprising himself with the calmness of his voice. Smoldering remains of anger was still smoking inside of him. 

"I am trying!" She insisted. 

"Then let's continue trying. Assume your stance." The man waited for Luella to put up her sword, instead she kept it firmly at her side. 

"No." She said daringly.

"No?" Where has this rebellion come from? Sure, sometimes she's cheeky and wants to do somethings that annoy her mother but to Oliver? This was staggering.

"..No.." Luella re-stated. 

The guardsman slowly lowered his weapon.

"It seems like you forgot that your father requested I teach you sword fighting. You wouldn't disobey the king would you?" He asked.

"I will learn how to sword fight but not when you're acting like this." 

"When I'm acting like this? Like how, Luella?" He waited patiently for a response. 

"You are being incredibly passive-aggressive towards me even though I apologized and I had asked you earlier why you were mad. If you're still upset then just tell me why! " Luella voiced. 

"I'm more than just upset-" 

"Then say it! Say why you're mad."

That was all he needed to hear for his words to flood the space in the room. It was as if a cat pulled on the thinning thread that held his composure together, a burning light bulb that had too many water drops fall on its balmy surface, a rickety porch that couldn't hold up the weight of people constantly walking back and forth on it and finally caved in. 

"You could've died!" Oliver bellowed. Luella took a step back astonished, he's never yelled at her like this. A silence settled in the room before he spoke again, his voice much more subdued. 

"I've been taking care of you since you've been born and I have been having an incredibly wonderful and difficult time watching you grow into an adult." He let out a somber laugh. "I find it quite ironic since I always thought it was ridiculous when smothering parents would baby their adult children but...here I am."

Luella listened with interest. It was rare to see him in such a vulnerable state, Oliver continued.

"Last night, when you told me about the man in your room all I saw was scarlet. I was searching every corner of the palace and screaming at the other guards to find him. The whole time I couldn't stop thinking what would have happened if I...found you...dead." The man's voiced cracked on the last word. He dropped his sword and placed his gloved hand over his eyes, Luella wasn't sure but was he...crying? She took careful steps toward the usually stoic man and gently removed his hand to reveal Oliver's wet face, fresh tears building up in his eyes ready to fall. He looked at the ground embarrassed that she had to see him like this. 

Drops of the salty liquid plummeted onto the mat.

Luella's heart pounded, anxious because of her inexperience with this kind of situation. She did the only think she could think of and stood on her tip-toes to hug the lamentable man. His arms instantly wrapped around her as he cried into her shoulder. She rubbed soothing circles onto his back and laid her head against his.

Luella whispered a compassionate "I'm sorry."

It was foolish of her to wander the town after such a frightening event but it was her way of dealing with the situation. 

Oliver pulled away from the hug, his face slightly red and his nose sniffling from time to time. 

"You shouldn't have to deal with this." He said wiping his face and turning away. 

"Nonsense, you've dealt with me many times when I've cried." Luella said. 

"I suppose." Oliver gave a breathy laugh. It's only been a few hours since she's seen him smile but to her it felt like a few millennia. 

"I suggest we take a rest before continuing." He sighed, Luella nodded. 

*   *   *

Vernon walked through the thick forest. Greenery licked at his feet and shoulders and occasionally, his face. His hands swatted the lengthy leaves away until he reached a clearing, the ground mostly brown with dirt as the many shoes that stepped on the ground buried the grass. He's home.

 The Dens. Most of the shelters were make-shift tents that were just blankets held up by sticks. Some of them were more developed and resembled a cabin, Vernon lived in one of the tents with his roommate, Gavin, or rather tent-mate. He was paired up with the bubbly man the first day he found this place.

A woman with puffy, long, brown hair draped over her shoulders and extremely freckled face, approached him with a welcoming smile. 

"Glad, to see you're back unharmed." She said. 

"Thanks, I'm glad to see you unharmed as well, Cassandra." He returned. 

"What took you so long?" Jeered the large gaffer limping over to Vernon. He eyeballed the tired man.

Here it comes.

"Where's the food!?" The old man yelled, his calloused hands pounded on his rotund stomach over the giant coat the engulfed him. 

"Jasper, please calm down, where's your cane? Cassandra attempted to placate the man. He continued to complain shoving his reddened face into Vernon's as he pokes at the man's chest.

"You promised to bring us food and blankets you foozler!" Jasper insulted. He stared at the veteran unfazed, it wasn't unusual for the old geezer to make a scene. Cassandra continued to try and calm him down. Don't ask Vernon how he was allowed to stay here because he wouldn't know, he knew this place was for outcasts, criminals, and for people who simply had no where else to go but if he started this place Jasper would've thrown out by now. 

Vernon could see two little girls watching the yapping elder with extreme caution, come to think of it he didn't recognize them. 

"Who are they?" Vernon asked Cassandra motioning to the children sitting on a rock near a cabin, she turned her head quickly to see who he was talking about as she held on to Jasper's arm trying to keep him from flailing.

"Oh, those two? Poor girls, their village was attacked and both of their parents died. Fortunately, the older one, Catherine, escaped with her sister Emily. I know this job you're doing must be difficult but we really need the extra resources. " She explained. 

"See! Not only are you starving your elders, you're starving children too!" Jasper accused. 

"Okay, that's enough." Cassandra said leading the man away from Vernon. "Take your time, don't be reckless. As long as it gets here it's okay, alright?" She said to the rugged man. 

Vernon nodded. He was lucky she was so understanding. He tread to his tent exhausted, falling down onto the cot that was rather close to the ground. 

"Vernon!" He could hear Gavin whoop. "How was it?" He asked. The man's words were muffled due to his face being buried in the mattress. 

"Interesting." Gavin said sarcastically. Vernon turned his head just enough to speak clearly.

"I let her go." 

A stunned silence entered the cramped tent.

"You...let her go?" His tent-mate questioned. 

"The princess who was my target, I let her go like an idiot." Her mumbled. "I could have already gotten this over with but now I must return again tomorrow. Everyone's famished and I can't do anything about it."

"You are doing something about it. You're going back again tomorrow." Gavin said. The curly-haired, dirty blonde man could always see the bright side of situations. Vernon couldn't decide if it was helpful or annoying at the moment. 

"I guess you're right but I just...I wish I didn't have to go back tomorrow." He explained a little better.

"I get it, I'm sure you can do it though." 

Vernon just took in a deep breath and let it out. What a talent to be so positive, sometimes he wondered about the man. Was he really as okay as he acted? Gavin was falsely accused for theft and was about to be hanged but he escaped before they could. Vernon wasn't sure how anyone could accuse Gavin of any crime but he tends to leave the subject untouched. His tent-mate doesn't like to talk about it so neither does he. 

"Thanks." Vernon finally said.

*   *   *

Cold winds from the early hours of the morning easily penetrated the tent as the cranky man pulled on his black coat and boots. He prepared himself for long hours of waiting, combing his hands through his hair then swung his satchel over his shoulder. Quickly, he threw his blanket over Gavin to help with the chilly air swirling through their home before exiting the shelter to make his way back to the towering Hillington Palace. 

The rising sun creeped over the land, casting it's warm light over the frosty shadows of the night. The sounds of nature began to pick up with birds chirping and bugs whizzing past, all while his boots made consistent thud on the forest ground. The grand palace looked as if it were floating into view and Vernon began looking for the perfect place to watch the kingdom from afar. He effortlessly climbed a tree and pulled out his telescope from inside his breast pocket studying the brick building through the viewfinder. 

Guards stood out in front, thankfully, they stood still at a post and watched the citizens stroll by and go on about their day. 

"I can get past this." Vernon murmured to himself. A slight stinging sensation tickled the soles of his feet as the precipitous man jumped out of the rather tall tree but kept on going. Hidden in the trees he got closer to the structure and edged his way toward the back of the palace to the high black Triad Speared fence that surrounded the garden. If he could just hop the fence it would be easy to get in but he had to be weary of the public eye, he crouched in the greenery and waited for the streets to be empty enough for him to rush to the fence and jump over but every time he thought he could go, another vehicle or passerby would come into his line of vision. 

He bit his lip preventing curses to escape his mouth, why does everyone have somewhere to be today? Minutes turned into an hour and almost into one more when Vernon noticed a moment of favor. The man surreptitiously creeped to the edged of the garden and climbed over, he scanned the area, once concluding no one was there he slinked through the hedges of flowers to find the door leading inside the palace. 

The glass, prodigious, double garden doors were easily found. He peered into the building, mercifully, no one was to be seen. No sound came from the smoothly opening entrance but he still needed to be careful with the unfavorable click noise that came with shutting the door. The second both doors were touching each other, he prowled around the palace being careful to notice guards before they noticed him. For now, he was simply watching. Seeing if there were any chances through out the day he could snatch so he can finally kill the princess, no need to start killing guards and alarm everyone with missing personnel if he didn't even know where she was. 

Careful and silent steps were taken up the side staircases to the second floor, he continued to the third. Goodness, how long were these stairs? The ceiling of the third floor could be seen as he reached the end of the steps, he looked over the railing and watched the first floor from there. Now, to play the waiting game again.