Chokers

Chapter Thirteen

Disclaimer: Magi does not belong to me.

Warnings:

Slavery (sort of), foul language, romantic relationships between males (though not for quite some time or maybe not at all), potential OOC, blood, gore, death…please tell me if there's something I forgot…

"Are you ready?"

"Yes."

"Start now."

The soldiers on the walls were standing on guard, eyes roving the area in front of them watchfully, searching for any kind of invading force. They were so focused on their duty they never thought to consider that one of their own could be a traitor.

Garbed in the uniform of one of the maids of the Reim nobles, an utterly average looking woman walked from soldier to soldier on the wall, handing out water skins to replace their empty ones and thanking them for their hard work in a whisper.

She had brown hair and dull brown eyes, with features that were not particularly beautiful, nor particularly ugly. Her only special feature was how completely average she was.

The soldiers never thought of not accepting the water she gave them, nor did they really pinpoint her as the cause of their gradual sleepiness, which lulled them into a state of complacency. The previously alert and battle-ready guards never noticed the brief shadows flashing over the wall, drugged as they were.

Her job done, the maid walked sedately back into the castle, her pace unhurried, and walked into the public baths, mussing her hair a bit and splashing water on her face. When she re-entered the maid's quarters, another woman looked up and smiled at her.

"Finished with your bath?"

"Yes, thank you. I'll be going to sleep now."

"That's right, we have a long day of work tomorrow."

"Good night, miss."

"Good night."

.0.0

The bedroom was dark and quiet, with the only sounds being that of the wind outside and the soft breathing of the three occupants slumbering away. The moon outside was full, shining brightly, with pale light peeking through the gaps in the thick silk coverings on the window.

Kouen woke up.

There was something wrong, something very wrong. His instincts were screaming at him, but he couldn't tell why. Falling back on training and prior experience, he kept his eyes closed and his breathing steady, even as his other senses strained to discover what was causing the element of wrongness in the room.

He knew his hammock was up against a wall, with the bed Sinbad was in planted firmly in the middle of the room. Kougyoku was on the other side, her breathing deep and even as she slept peacefully.

He could hear no footsteps, and there was no telltale rustle of cloth that usually came when a person moved. Only two sets of breathing aside from his own from what he could tell, those belonging to Sinbad and Kougyoku.

What was wrong then? He inhaled a little more deeply with his next breath and immediately got his answer.

Blood.

He could smell the coppery, metallic stench spreading across the room, but from where he didn't know. There was an assassin here with them, and he had killed at least one other person before entering.

Shit. He really wished he had a sword right now. No, not a sword. Any blade would do.

Kouen quickly considered his options. In his current state, with no magoi or even a weapon, there was little chance he would be able to overpower or intercept the killer if they went for himself or Kougyoku. His only other choice was to wake Sinbad, and hope he could Djinn Equip quickly.

There was a vase on the shelf next to the hammock, a heavy glass thing patterned with an ornamental dragon. Kouen remembered its position quite clearly. From where he was, he could probably…No. He could.

In a single fluid movement, the first imperial prince flung his arm out, sending the vase crashing to the floor where it shattered loudly in a high-pitched rain of glassy shards, and threw himself off the bed.

It was lucky he did that, as a second later a rain of throwing knives pierced through the exact areas his neck, chest and arm had been. The one that had been aimed for his chest caught his arm instead, tearing through the cloth of his sleeve and cutting almost to the bone.

"Fuck!" Kouen swore, gripping his injured arm and rolling away again.

Sinbad jerked to wakefulness in an instant, the sudden crash and the burst of murderous intent flooding the room causing him to call upon his djinn equip. Baal's lighting crackled through the air, lighting the room in shades of blue.

The hooded assassin almost completely ignored Sinbad other than to dodge the blast of electricity that the king sent at him – for he was distinctly male, instead going for Kouen again, the already bloodied blade in the man's hand sending a spray of crimson droplets onto the floor as he swung and missed, turning the failed attempt into a rolling dodge that ended with the assassin straddling Kouen, dagger raised high in an attempt to finish him off that way.

Sinbad lunged, but Kougyoku got there first, surprisingly quiet until the moment she exploded into motion.

"I won't let you!"

The heavy mahogany shelf that had borne the vase until only moments ago was a deadly weapon in her hands as it smashed violently into the assassin's torso with surprising strength, sending the man flying into the wall.

Kouen caught the falling dagger with his good hand before it hit him and sat up, about to warn his sister the fight wasn't over until Sinbad strode past both of them and knocked the dazed assassin out with a solid hit to the head.

They all stayed tensed and ready for a second longer before relaxing as Sinbad lit the lanterns, revealing there was no one else in the room with them. It didn't last.

The door didn't so much open as it was ripped to shreds, unable to withstand the force of Masrur running right through it, having seemingly forgotten it was even there.

"Seven high ranking nobles of the Kou Empire have been killed in their sleep – it looks like the culprit is travelling your way," he informed them, and was about to continue before noticing the unconscious, bloodied man lying on the floor. "Oh."

"Sound the alarm, Masrur," Sinbad ordered immediately, his expression serious. "We have assassins in the palace."

A/N:

:D I did something with Kouen. Still can't really get the hang of his character though ^^; How do you feel about the switch between humorous and serious? Is it too abrupt?

FireLark