Here's another Cunning Challenge prompt. The prompt was "Someone with knowledge of the maidens is hunted down by one of the factions (Salem, Ozluminati, WF, etc) to be interrogated or eliminated." submitted to me by AStereotypicalGamer.

Adrian sat in front of the fire that his men had built at the center of camp. He scraped his spoon against the bottom of his bowl to get the last of the chili that was his dinner. Anyone would agree that this was gruel compared to what he normally ate, but there was something Adrian enjoyed about eating slightly more common fare.

Finishing his meal, Adrian glanced around the camp to find some his servants sitting around eating and talking, though many had already retired to their tents. They had finished making camp and gathering firewood some time ago, and everyone was tired from the long trip. Tomorrow they would reach the port where their ship was docked. They'd be home in Vale the next day after that.

The trip to Vacuo had been a success on all fronts. While his kingdom and theirs didn't have a proper alliance like Mistral and Mantle, it was clear that what passed for a government in Vacuo trusted him. With Mistral continuing to expand into Sanus and tensions rising, that could soon be significant.

Perhaps even more importantly, he had located the girl and ensured her safety. He'd also obtained a certain item that he'd been looking for…

Adrian stood and handed his dishes to the cook. He began walking towards the largest tent in camp, ready to turn in for the night, when he saw something move out in the trees.

Adrian.

"Yes, I saw it too," he whispered under his breath.

Adrian checked his sword for a moment before walking to the edge of camp. Before he had taken a step past the furthest tent, two men appeared in front of him. Both were large and muscular and wore the uniform of the Valish Royal Guard. They carried halberds with rifles built into the shafts, the latest technology. One had dark hair and a moustache, while the other was blond and clean shaven.

"Edward, Daniel," Adrian greeted his bodyguards. "I thought I saw a Grimm outside the camp."

"We'll take care of it, Your Highness," answered Daniel, the blond.

"I will come with you," Adrian insisted. He wanted to tell them to let him go alone, but he knew that was the one order they would never follow.

The trio left the camp with the two guards carefully scanning their surroundings for any sign of danger. The forest north of Vacuo was sparser than the Emerald or Forever Fall Forests in Vale, but even so they were soon out of sight of the camp.

Adrian glanced at his bodyguards. He knew that neither of them would ever breathe a word of what they saw here, but it still felt strange to reveal this to them.

"Be ready," he said aloud, drawing his sword. Instantly, Edward and Daniel had their weapons raised. Adrian turned back to face into the darkness. "I know you're out-"

Before he could finish his sentence, he heard a whistling sound coming from his left. All three men jerked their heads to the side to see several tiny lights flying towards them. They circled each other strangely as they rushed towards their targets.

Bolos infused with Lightning Dust. Cut the cord between them.

Adrian heeded the warning and slashed between the lights as they spun towards him, severing the cord and leaving the weights to fall harmlessly to the ground. However, Edward and Daniel tried to block the weights themselves and ended up tangled in the bolos. They cried out in pain and collapsed as electricity arced through their bodies.

Adrian rushed to help them at the same time that a figure came running out of the trees. In the light of the moon, Adrian saw that the figure was a man in all black with a strange black and white mask over his face. He carried a knife in each hand and had several more blades holstered on his legs and back.

The attacker hurled a knife at each of the fallen bodyguards. Adrian hurled himself forward and lashed out with his sword to block the two knives. As he did so, the man closed the distance between them and attacked with another knife. Caught out of position, Adrian had to take the first blow with his Aura before bringing his sword around to block the second. The attacker pulled back and darted a few steps away before hurling his knife at Daniel.

He's trying to distract you.

"I don't care," growled Adrian. He lunged to the side to block the knife, only to see another arcing towards Edward. Adrian sprinted towards the path of the blade and raised his sword to stop it.

He was an instant too slow. The knife flew past him and hit Edward in the neck. With the bodyguard's Aura weakened by the electricity, it sunk deep into his throat.

"NO!" screamed Adrian, coming to a stop before the gruesome sight. He heard the assassin approaching him from behind and swung his sword around with a savage roar of anger.

If he hadn't just seen his lifelong protector killed, Adrian might have noticed the blue glow of his enemy's weapon in time to check his swing. But he didn't notice until he'd already made contact with the Dust-infused machete. He cried out as electricity shot through his body, causing him to drop his sword.

In that instant of pain, the assassin had knocked him from his feet. He leapt on top of Adrian and pressed the machete against his throat.

"You're a difficult man to get an appointment with, little prince," whispered the masked man with the hint of a chuckle.

Adrian growled in rage, but didn't move. He didn't trust his Aura to take a lightning-infused blade across the throat, and he couldn't die before he'd made this man pay for killing Edward.

"I see you understand the situation," hissed the assassin. "But don't worry; I won't kill you or your other bodyguard as long as you answer one question."

"What's that?" demanded Adrian, his hand slowly inching towards his waist.

"My master understands that you've made some new friends, little prince. One of them sent you to Vacuo to find a certain young woman. Where is she now?"

"Somewhere your master will never reach her," the prince spat.

"You're certain of that?" whispered the assassin. He reached back for another knife with his off hand.

And as he did so, Adrian snatched the item he'd retrieved in Vacuo from his belt. He pressed the lever on the silver handle, and a black staff extended from it, knocking the machete away from his throat. Adrian immediately followed this up by smashing his forehead into his attacker's nose.

The man recoiled in pain, and as he did so Adrian shoved him away, leaping to his feet as soon as he was free. With lightning-quick speed he jabbed the staff at the assassin's head, hitting him with it again and again until he felt the man's Aura break. He brought it down one final time to shatter the man's wrist before backing off a step.

Keeping one eye on the masked man, he retrieved his sword and then rushed over to Daniel to cut him free from the bolo. He turned to check on Edward when he heard the assassin speak.

"You're him." Adrian froze when he heard that. "We thought you were working for him, but we were wrong. You're his new host."

Adrian pointed his sword at the masked man, who was still lying on his side.

"I am me. And your master is going to find me a bigger thorn in her side than this voice in my head has ever been."

"Such fire," chuckled the assassin, lifting his head from the ground. "But you're wrong. Soon you'll be nothing but his puppet, just like all the others before."

Before Adrian could respond, the assassin slammed his head into the ground with a sickening crunch. The prince rushed over to the man and tore off his mask to find him foaming at the mouth.

Cyanide in a tooth. I've seen this before from Salem's agents.

"Dammit," whispered Adrian as the assassin stopped moving.

The Prince of Vale walked over to kneel beside Edward's body. He held a finger to the bodyguard's neck before removing the knife and closing his protector's eyes. He whispered a prayer to the Brothers before standing.

I'm sorry, Adrian.

"He swore he would give his life for me," whispered Adrian. "Not for you."

I know. But Salem-

"Could you just be quiet for a minute?" snarled the prince. He stood in silence for a while before going to check on Daniel.

Author's Note: Once again, a prompt like this demanded that I take it in a completely unexpected direction. I don't have much else to say except that you deserve a cookie if you can figure out why I named the prince Adrian. After all, if he's Ozpin's host, shouldn't his name start with an O...