The King's affection

Shadows in the trees

In a forest not too far from the pleasure district, Anderson sat staring at a blazing fire in front of him. He looked over at Malik who sat across from him, as he gobbled up his food.

“I’m telling you man, no one beats my mom’s cooking,” he said with a mouthful, causing Anderson to chuckle.

“You do realize I’m your superior now, right? You can’t keep talking to me casually. Especially in front of other soldiers.”

“You said you didn’t want any special treatment. I’m just obliging my friend. Besides, you’re only one rank above me and they,” Malik pointed at a tent set up away from they sat, “can’t hear us.”

Anderson merely laughed at his antics and continued eating his food.

A while later, everyone was fast asleep. Anderson got woken up by the slight rustle of the leaves as a breeze blew past. He looked around and saw that everyone was peacefully asleep, oblivious to their surroundings.

He got up and took a stroll away from the campsite. Lost in his thoughts as he did. Him and his company were returning from a mission and were set to arrive back at the base tomorrow afternoon, after which he would be returning home.

He thought about his father and Killian and wondered how they were doing. He hadn’t seen them in so long and he’d missed them dearly. As for his mother, he was not angry at her anymore. He was just indifferent to her.

As he was about to head back to the campsite, he heard a branch snap, and he stopped in his tracks, slightly turning his face so he could listen for more sounds.

He decided to take a different path, which would lead him farther away from the campsite. He then took off running, at which he heard the thundering footsteps behind him very clearly – he was being followed.

“Make sure he doesn’t leave this forest alive!” one of the people following him shouted into the moonlit night.

“Sir!” The others responded in unison.

When he was sure he had run far enough away from the campsite, he hid behind a tree to catch his breath. The men following him slowed down when they realized they no longer had eyes on him – taking steady steps as they whipped their heads from side to side hoping to spot him.

A man passed the tree Anderson hid behind and didn’t see him in time. Anderson quickly drew the man’s sword and held it against his neck. “Who sent you?” he whispered.

Instead of answering, the assassin attempted to slowly pull out a secret dagger. But Anderson was quick and sliced his neck before he could reach it.

All the other assassins were alerted of his position by the man’s gurgling sounds, and they tried to charge at him.

“Let’s just end this quickly so I can get some shuteye,” Anderson said in a bored tone.

The two assassins that were closest to him got taken out using secret daggers of his own. He then took a sword to all the others. Their bodies dropped one-by-one as he made his way through the group.

The clang of swords and grunts of pain could be heard in the otherwise quiet forest as Anderson took them out. He fought them all off until he reached the man who had given the command to kill him earlier. He delivered a painful blow that disarmed the man but didn’t quite kill him yet.

Sword to his neck, he tisked, “You lot are amateurs. Whoever sent you only wasted their money, honestly.” He then got to his knees so that he was eyelevel with the assassin before asking once again, “Who sent you?”

The assassin simply smirked before thrusting a dagger into Anderson’s side, “Just die, will you!”

Anderson winced at the pain before he sliced the assassin’s neck. The man’s blood sprayed out, some of it landing on Anderson’s face.

He fell back on to his ass, looking down at where the dagger was lodged into his side. Blood was pooling as it got soaked up by the fabric of his clothes surrounding the wound. The pulled it out, hissing and cursing in pain as he did.

“Bastard!” he directed at the assassin’s limp body as he used his hands to put pressure on the gash.

No sooner did he say that, that he heard footsteps and whispered over here’s. The people that were coming were not shouting his name, so he knew for a fact those were not his soldiers, and he needed to get out of there.

So, he did.

With the thunderous footsteps hot on his trail, he kept running until he came to a manor just on the forest edge. There seemed to be a function there as he noticed there was a lot of human activity.

So, he skillfully climbed the high wall surrounding the manor and fell into the yard. Off to the distance, he saw partygoers watching a performance while they drank, ate and chatted about with courtesans.

Taking advantage of the chaos, he used a back door and ran into the house.

The assassins had seen what he wore, so he grabbed a haori belonging to one of the guests that he spotted on a rack and covered himself with it. He then walked the hallway as he undid his manbun so his hair could cover his face.

He spotted a courtesan walking down the hallway, alone.

He heard the commotion outside – probably the assassins looking for him. And he made a quick last-ditch effort. He grabbed the courtesan, earning a squeal from her and ducked into an empty entertainment room on that same hallway.

“What are you doing? Unhand me right this instant!” Esmerelda shrieked.

Anderson placed a hand over her mouth, “Shh!” he hissed. “I’m not a bad guy. I just need your help. I’ll pay you handsomely for it. Just pretend we’re here together.”

Before Esmerelda could respond, voices filled the hallway, “He’s not in here!”

Anderson quickly pulled Esmerelda to the futon in the room despite her protests. He sat down and pulled her onto his lap so that she was straddling him. Just when, the assassins pushed the door open, Anderson crashed his lips against Esmerelda’s through her mask and pulled out the ornament from her hair that held it up – causing it to fall down her back and shield their faces.

The assassins felt a bit shy walking in on such a moment and quickly closed the door back up, “He’s not in here either!” they called as they moved to the next rooms. As soon they closed the door, Anderson pulled away from Esmerelda but still held her close as he listened to the assassins move about outside.

Meanwhile, Esmerelda was flustered by the sudden kiss – so much so, that she was speechless and not protesting anymore. They remained in that position for a while, until Anderson lightly cleared his throat.

Esmerelda snapped out her trance and abruptly got up from Anderson’s lap. Her movements were so quick that she jabbed Anderson’s side with her knee, causing him to wince and hiss in pain. She looked down at him in the dimly lit room and saw the unmistakable darkness of blood as it soaked the borrowed haori.

“You’re hurt.” She pointed out.

“Yes. Your knee is quite sharp, you know,” Anderson said, causing Esmerelda to press her lips together, unimpressed.

“You know, considering I just saved you; I’d be a little more grateful if I were you.” She sassed.

“You didn’t save me. I used you as a distraction. Don’t get cocky.” Anderson responded. “Besides, I’m still bleeding profusely and if I don’t find a way to stop this soon, I may as well die.”

Esmerelda huffed and left the room.

Anderson remained on the futon – too tired to move as he looked around for anything he could use to stop the bleeding. He sat there a while, catching his breath, when Esmerelda returned with cotton balls, a bottle of alcohol and gauze.

She knelt next to him, moving the haori out of the way and then lifting his shirt. She was met with hardened abs, and she swallowed.

“What are you doing?” Anderson asked.

“Saving your life. You’ll pay me handsomely for it, remember?” she answered. She then took a cotton ball, poured alcohol onto it and started dabbing away at his wound. When Anderson hissed and flinched at the sting, Esmerelda leaned in, lifted her mask and blew cool air onto it, catching Anderson by surprise.

“You know how to do that?” He asked, incredulous – his pain forgotten.

She ignored his condescension and continued to work. Soon, she was done cleaning up and dressing the wound. She looked down at his bandaged torso, proud of her handiwork.

“Remember to compensate me handsomely.” She smiled at him, although he could barely see it through her mask.

“I don’t have money on me. Tell me your name and which house you’re from and I’ll make sure you get it.”

“I’m Rae of The Midnight Muse. I will be waiting on my handsome reward.” Esmerelda gave a slight bow and smirked before leaving the room leaving behind a confused Anderson.

He wondered if he knew her from somewhere because something about her was familiar.