Snow drifted down from the night sky, but after passing through the tension that hung in the air, very few flakes survived long enough to reach the ground.
Though a muzzle covered my mouth and chains shackled my appendages, my eyes weren't restrained. The full extent of my glare for the last ten minutes had been directed at the damned Metsudanian king, and his gaze, while subdued a bit, replicated the emotion in my own. How did he recognize me just by hearing my name? It'd been seven years since that day—he had to have only been twenty at the most back then! And he wasn't even there until after I'd escaped! Well...attempted to, anyway. Was he there the second time? Fog interfered with my memory. That and the smoke arising from the fires of anger currently burning across my mentality. If I wouldn't be cut down or shot down instantly, I'd knock his skull in as far in as it could go.
This shouldn't be happening; none of this should've been happening. Fucking Kurokawa...he'd be the next to go after the king. Tomoe would be upset, but he'd get over it eventually. He'd find out sooner or later that this...disgusting traitor was nothing more than that—a disgusting traitor.
And then there was him.
Though they weren't necessarily close to one another, out of the corner of my eye I could catch at least part of the Prince Tetsuhiro Morinaga, who I'd been keeping locked away for the past two months or so after capturing him. His features and disposition—especially right now—appeared innocent, but upon encountering a few experiences with him in those two or so months, I'd learned that those qualities were intensely deceptive. His mind was a dark mess of sickness and lust—or 'love.' as he'd lied. But even if that was true, his countenance now was one of genuine surprise.
"He's...the Silver Assassin?"
Silver Assassin? Why silver? My hair was light blonde, and I'd killed the former king with an arrow, not a knife. And why such a lavish name? I wasn't something out of a kid's legend. Was 'the king's assassin' not good enough? Gods, people were stupid.
Morinaga's older brother nodded. "I'm surprised you didn't recognize him sooner. Weren't you there whenever we visited him?"
All the King of Bastardom received in return was a stare. "I don't...I don't remember…" His gaze shifted to me. "I don't think I've seen him before…"
"Of course you don't remember," the king muttered. "Odd, since you're usually attentive at minor things." He stepped toward me, and though it just came out as garbled nonsense, I proceeded to insult him as I'd done before.
A kick to my back silenced me for at least a moment. "Stop that," someone spat.
"Fuck you!" I yelled, though he just kicked me again. Fucking muzzle…
"This is definitely him. Though he does look just a bit different, there's no mistaking it." His eyes shifted, and presumably he directed his orders to someone behind me. "Restrain him a little more before you move him. Even if he seems secure now, and though he doesn't look it, he's explosive and dangerous."
Damn right, I was. But I wasn't stupid. Besides, if anymore chains were added, I wouldn't be able to walk, and I doubted they'd carry me. Not that I wanted them to, but, again, people were stupid. Did it run in Morinaga's family?
He turned to the one who I'd drawn that question from. "You'll travel with me." This time, to the entire clearing, "Unless you're a member of my personal guard, vacate this area immediately. Who knows what could be lurking in these woods?"
He put far too much faith in my men. He wasn't stupid at this point—no, he'd graduated to a downright imbecile at this point. But in this situation, he was an imbecile that had complete control over how my life played out. Though already I knew exactly how it would play out, I wouldn't show him any fear. Even if that was all that resided in my heart as someone pulled me up from behind and forced me to walk.