Logan Kelly
Creative Writing
1-8-09
Unsanctioned Lovers
"One wrong step meant a broken neck. Or worse." This was the lesson that Jasper had beaten into him throughout his training as an arcane assassin.
"That certainly seems to apply now." Jasper says as he takes another step along the narrow stone gutter. Pauses for a moment to adjust his cloak, the most important item he carries. It is enchanted to hide his shape when he becomes still. As well as the cloak he is carrying two small blades strapped to his forearm and concealed by large flowing sleeves in a light, dark black material. Several throwing knives are hidden throughout his clothing and his most renowned weapon, the Reapers Bane, which consists of a small sickle attached to a chain with a weighted ball on the opposite end.
Reaching up with a slender arm, defined by wiry muscle, he pulls himself up into the window of one of the castle's numerous towers. Quickly and deftly he pulls off his cloak revealing a black tunic with wide sleeves embroidered with glowing silver thread over tight black leather pants with knee high molded leather boots.
After picking the lock on the door, he descends the tower stairs into a large hall adorned with granite statues shot through with veins of beaten and polished gold or silver. As he walks through the hall he reviews the description of his target.
Tall with refined elegant features, frost blue eyes, and hair white as salt.
"Or in other words," Jasper murmurs to himself, "she's beautiful." He pauses for a moment at the door before opening it into a large elegant banquet hall with high vaulted ceilings and filled with beautifully dressed royalty and aristocrats.
Moving into the mass of bodies he begins to scan the room for the woman. Immediately he locates five persons with white hair and eliminates four of them as male. Quickly he makes his way through the room to the remaining woman, but as he nears her he discovers that she isn't the assigned target. This woman had to be at least fifty years of age. Her eyes were the color of shallow mud puddles and her features were rounded and very childlike.
"The information was wrong!" Jasper mutters under his breath. "I'm going to kill that informant."
Suddenly the small band, surreptitiously placed in a corner out of the way, began to play and intricate lilting fanfare. As if some sign were given every body in the room turned toward the large gilded staircase on the south wall of the room. Following suit Jasper turns with the others and nearly cries out at what he sees.
Descending the staircase was the most beautiful woman he had ever seen. Her features were chiseled and fine with wide heavy lashed eyes as pale as arctic ice. Her skin was as white as cream, smooth as porcelain, and seemed to glow. Her hair was a deep red and was in such contrast to her skin that it hypnotized the instant he set eyes on her. As she moved it shifted colors adding to its mesmerizing effect.
Her dress was a pure white with delicate gold designs running in an intricate knot across the bodice. It was conservatively cut but still showed a well-developed body. The skirt fell in waves to the floor and trailed slightly as she walked.
As he watches, her lips part in a delicate smile showing a slice of pure white teeth. The she began to speak.
"Thank you all for attending my party." Her voice was like water sliding over smooth glass. It was soft yet commanding, and it resonated throughout the room despite the low volume at which it was spoken.
Jasper didn't know how but somehow he knew this was the woman he was supposed to kill. There was just one complication. This woman was the king's only daughter, and the sole heir to the throne. Skillfully he worked his way toward the south end of the room. While he was standing twenty feet away he spots the woman's two escorts and stops dead in his tracks.
"I cannot believe this!" He exclaims under his breath. "They employed Nafrids as her guardians."
As soon as their collective name had left his lips their heads slowly turn and their gazes lock with his own. Their eyes were solid black excluding small dots of white where the pupil would have been in a normal human's eye. Their skin was a chalky white and their fingers ended in nails that looked more like claws from an ancient carnivorous beast.
Suddenly the pair began to advance on Jasper, seeming to glide forward rather than walk. They opened their mouths to reveal perfect white teeth that Jasper knew excreted a poison that would kill a grown man in a matter of moments.
Moving quickly he loops around back toward the crowd trying to lose his pursuers, but this proves to be a futile effort due to the fact that Nafrids have the ability to communicate telepathically making them perfect strategists. This ability also allows them to act as a single entity in combat giving them fighting capabilities to rival that of the gods.
Moving quickly he loops around back towards the princess. "If I can just get close enough to her," He thinks, "I can lose those two."
Walking as quickly as he can manage he closes the gap between himself and the princess in a matter of seconds.
"Excuse me princess. I believe that your escorts have targeted me as a threat." Jasper says in a voice as smooth as Japanese silk, bowing low enough to touch his lips to her hand. At the same moment these words leave his lips the two Nefri grab him under the arms and slam him against the table with enough force to leave him breathless.
"Release him at once!!" The princess cries, her voice transforming from its hypnotic tone to a harsh command that makes the two creatures flinch away from Jasper. "What grounds do you have to assume that you can capture this man?"
"WE HEARD HIM SPEAK OUR NAME. HE IS OURS BY THE RIGHTS OF OUR PEOPLE." Their voices rang out as a single drone but the words appeared inside the skulls of anyone surrounding them at such a tremendous volume that only Jasper and the Princess did not flinch from them. "IF WE CAN NOT HAVE HIM THEN..." They seemed to pause for a moment to consider their options. "THEN WE WILL TAKE YOUR BLOOD IN HIS PLACE."
Lunging forward the pair grab the princess by her upper arms and simultaneously lean down to bite into her throat. But as their jaws open Jasper sets a hand on either one of their shoulders.
"Saca Roc Narat!"he mutters. Suddenly the floor underneath the two creatures becomes soft and they sink into it. "Hiree Nara Dancht" Now the floor solidifies, encasing the gruesome pair to their knees in solid marble.
"What did you do?" sputters the princess.
Leaning down to her ear Jaspers whispers, "I believe that it would be best if we could have a chat in private."
Taking her by the arm he leads her towards the southern stair and while they ascend he instructs the guards to allow no one to enter the room beyond. Looking to the princess for approval the guards receive only a nod of consent.
After closing the door behind him Jasper turns to the princess to examine her more closely. She was showing the usual signs of fright and fatigue but other then that she didn't seem to be about to drop dead.
"That may soon change." He thinks ruefully.
Suddenly regaining her composure the princess straightens up and begins to interrogate Jasper.
"Who are you and how did you pull that trick in the ballroom?" She practically screams at him.
Deciding that the best plan of action would be to answer truthfully Jasper says, "My name is Jasper Coranova, and I am one of the few remaining trained arcane assassins in the kingdom. I was sent here to kill you but it seems that now I must protect you."
"And why should I believe you now?" she asks.
"Because in about thirty-seven seconds those two creatures," Jasper says stressing the word, "are going to escape and they're going to kill those two guards outside. And to top it all off if we don't hurry up we'll be the desert."
