Chapter Four- Encounters
~*~
Kit watched the two young men walk out of the common room of the inn, swaggering slightly and joking with each other. They had probably only been in the inn for a short time before she entered and was attacked. Smiling faintly, she said to herself, "I owe him a debt of a sort. I don't wish to leave any tracks, no matter how scarce they are. 'Tis a good thing I didn't have to use my daggers yet."
The young woman glanced down at the sleeves of her shirt, and her eyes focused on the glint of metal peeking out from under the sleeve. "Yet," she repeated.
She finished her meal without any more interruptions, left another gold piece for the bartender, and turned towards the innkeeper. He was standing behind another desk in a nearby room, and perked up when she neared him.
"May I help you my lady?" he asked with a nod.
"Yes. I want a room for tonight only."
"That will be ten gold, then," the innkeeper said. He held out his hand.
Kit pulled out ten more gold pieces and handed them to him. He checked each one to make sure they were real gold pieces before placing them in a small safe.
"Sorry for seeming so suspicious tonight, my lady, but there've been some tricksters out lately. Only a week ago I was given twenty fake pieces and barely had enough t' pay my taxes and keep food on the table."
"No, I perfectly understand," Kit replied.
"You're a better sort than most, then. Have a good night's rest. Here's a key in case you want more privacy," the innkeeper said, holding it out to her.
She nodded, took the key, and headed up the stairs.
The room was very simple, but decent. It held a bed meant for two people, a window, and a washbasin. Kit nodded in approval as she turned to lock the door; she could leave later out the window when her business was to be taken care of.
"Never leave a hint as to what you've done," she murmured to herself. She was quoting one of her former masters. "If the door remains locked, the inn will assume I was in here all night. Not knowing if I have weapons will also help to let me leave unnoticed in the morning."
Now for the preparations.
Kit slipped out of her outfit and shoved it into her traveling pouch, and pulled out a different outfit. She pulled on black leggings and a shirt whose sleeves covered even her hands. Then she pulled her hair up and bound it into a bun. Finally, she pulled out a little container of soot and smeared it all over her face and neck; this would help her tonight for keeping from being seen.
She glanced at the basin, which was filled with water, and nodded in satisfaction. Instead of a young woman, she looked almost like a shadow.
The young woman checked her daggers. They were all perfectly plain, with nothing on them to give away where she'd bought them or even made them. If the need arose, she could leave the dagger with the victim and still not have to worry quite as much as others would in such a situation.
/Poor Greon, always told me to stay out of the shadow,/ she thought, remembering the knight who'd given her this task. /If only he knew how much I already was a shadow in my childhood years.../ Then she shook her head, and glanced out the window. /When the moon rises, I'll head out. The sooner this is over, the sooner I can move on with my gold./
~*~
Arend headed into his father's study with a smile on his face, still laughing at the last joke Ranin had made before they had entered the castle. There, he spotted his father and mother talking to a man wearing blood red armor.
King Albert glanced up as his son and Ranin approached. "We were beginning to wonder if you were going to join us for dinner or not," he said. His voice was somewhat amused, but also stern.
"Ran and I headed to the inn for something to eat a while ago," Arend said.
Emille glanced up at her son with no amusement apparent on her face. "And a drink, I presume?"
He sighed. "Yes, mother, but only one." Arend glanced at the red-clad man and smiled. "Lord Dart, it's good to see you again."
"Must we be so formal?" Dart asked, grinning back. He stood and they clasped hands. "Good to see you too. How's your training?"
"It's going well, as far as I know," Arend replied.
"And who is this? Friend of yours?" Dart asked, nodding at Ranin.
"He's my friend Ranin. Ran, this is Dart. He's the Divine Dragoon."
Ranin shook hands with the Dragoon with some awe on his face. "A pleasure, my lord. We've never really met before."
"I remember speaking to you once, I think..." Dart scratched the back of his head. "It was some years ago, though. When Arend was beginning his training..."
"Yes, I remember as well," Ranin said. "It was an honor to talk to you then."
"Please, it's really not," Dart said laughing. "Just ask anyone in my village if you don't believe me."
Arend grinned as well, then took a step towards the Dragoon. "By the way, Dart, how's Jim?"
"He's learned Double Slash pretty well, but we're having problems on Volcano," Dart said.
"Ah. I remember I had a little problem with my second attack as well."
"Because you'd discovered the joys of the innkeep," Emille said, sniffing.
"Mother," Arend began.
"Let it go, Emily," Albert told his wife. "He hasn't made a fool of himself for years. Have you, Arend?"
Arend blushed deeply. "No, father."
Dart grinned. "A fool? What sort of fool?"
Ran grinned as well. "Oh yes, do tell, Your Majesty."
"A fool who went around half dressed in the streets proclaiming his love to every woman that he saw," Emille stated. "And declaring that he thought that pink was a nice color."
"O-oh, I remember that," Ranin said, nudging his friend. "Fun night, eh, Arend? Got lots of ladies to talk to you that night."
"Mother, let it go, please?" Arend muttered.
"As you wish, son." Emille smiled faintly. "You know I only worry about the rougher types that you can run across in an inn. No matter how well the knights keep people in line, one or two always sneak in."
"Too true," Albert agreed. "Thankfully, not too many have appeared this year."
"There were three tonight," Arend said. "Well, rather, there were three who drank too much and tried to take a woman against her will. We dealt with them easily enough."
Albert turned to face him, an eyebrow raised.
"Worry not, Your Majesty. We only knocked them out and threw them out of the inn," Ranin said.
King Albert nodded. "Just be careful, you two. They may have had friends about." He turned to the others. "How about we head down to the dining room and have dinner?"
"Sounds good," Dart said, stretching. "I'm already starting to feel sleepy. I'd hate to wake you all up in the middle of the night with my stomach growling."
Albert chuckled, and the others smiled.
~*~
Kit suppressed a snort when she saw the castle. Either the royal family was extremely naïve, or it had an entire regiment of knights hidden somewhere inside the castle. There wasn't a soul moving around the castle walls. She stretched a little from her cramped hiding spot behind a nearby tree; she'd been there at least twenty minutes. Then she sprinted for the castle wall.
When she reached the wall itself, she pressed herself behind another tree, and peered around it. Good. No one was out tonight; apparently, everyone was either at home or at the inn.
No. Wait.
Kit readied one of her daggers in her left hand and tensed, listening. Footfalls sounded. Someone was leaving the castle. But who...?
She dared a quick peek from around her hiding spot. A young man, either a knight or someone in the knight's training, was wandering away from the castle. He had his jacket thrown casually over one shoulder, whistling cheerfully. Kit relaxed; it wasn't the crown prince. It was his friend from the inn.
The young assassin waited for a few more moments as the knight disappeared around a street corner, and all trace of him went with him. Finally, she turned towards the castle and peered up at it thoughtfully.
"Now, how are we going to do this?" she asked the wall looming before her.
The wall didn't reply, but a small breeze lifted a free strand of hair from her face for a moment.
~*~
Arend stretched lazily as he closed the door to his room and slipped out of his shirt, unbuckled his sword from his waist, and took off his boots. He then flopped onto his bed, staring at the ceiling. A candle flickered on a nearby nightstand, casting oddly shaped shadows across the room.
He amused himself by watching those flickering shapes for a while, picking out animals and people they reminded him of. Finally, however, he felt his eyes begin to droop. He leaned over to blow out the candle before settling into a comfortable position. Arend slowly obeyed his eyes, enjoying the feeling of drifting...
Crrreeeaaak.
Arend tensed. Someone else was in his room.
From the window, though? Impossible. The window was at least three stories from the ground, straight up. No one could get in there. And yet... he opened an eye and peered at the door. It was closed.
Quickly he closed his eye again and pretended to be asleep. He'd wait and see if this was just his imagination acting up, or someone actually coming in through his window. Then he'd see what, exactly, they wanted with him.
~*~
Kit cursed mentally at herself when she stepped on an old, creaking floorboard. /Why can't the whole damned castle be made of stone?/ she wondered. /Well, no help for it now./ She made herself perfectly still for a moment, hoping that she wasn't going to be caught.
Again, she cursed when she spotted the bed and the person in it. /Damn it, I climbed right into someone's bedroom. What if they wake up?/ She slipped her daggers into her hands and carefully made her way over to the person on the bed, trying not to make any more noise.
She successfully made it to the bed and looked down at the person, squinting in the dim light of the stars and moon through the window. The person was still asleep, thankfully. His breathing was even and slow.
Now who was he...?
The young woman risked peering at him more closely, and nearly fell over in her surprise. The crown prince of Serdio!
/What luck to end up right in his room! I must be gaining magical abilities now,/ she thought somewhat wryly as she stared at the sleeping form beneath her. /I can deal with this and slip off without a peep. Now.../ She tightened her grip on her daggers. /How shall we do this?/
~*~
Arend was getting more and more confused. The person, whoever it was, was definitely real, and had definitely come from the window. He could hear them breathing in the otherwise quiet room. He forced his breathing to remain calm and paced, as though he was still asleep. Fortunately, the person seemed to believe that he was sleeping, so his acting was working. He opened an eye again to spot his sword. Typically, it was just out of his reach.
He mentally cursed as he felt the figure lean over him, and gasped. Arend quickly closed his eye, wondering if the person had noticed he was awake or not. In any case, it was about time he went for a weapon. If this person meant harm, which was most likely, then it was more than time for him to be able to defend himself.
/On the count of three... one, two, three.../
"HYAA!" he shouted and rolled off the bed towards his sword. He grabbed it and leaped up to block just as the person attacked him with two daggers. They were then locking their weapons together, trying to force the other to lose their grip or their will to survive.
Arend first kept his focus on keeping this person away from him. Then he managed to shove them onto the ground beside him and pounced on top, aiming the sword at their neck. He squinted at the figure for a long moment as they struggled, cursing at him and reaching for their daggers, which he'd knocked across the room. After a moment, his eyes widened in recognition.
"You?" he blurted.
~*~
~*~
Kit watched the two young men walk out of the common room of the inn, swaggering slightly and joking with each other. They had probably only been in the inn for a short time before she entered and was attacked. Smiling faintly, she said to herself, "I owe him a debt of a sort. I don't wish to leave any tracks, no matter how scarce they are. 'Tis a good thing I didn't have to use my daggers yet."
The young woman glanced down at the sleeves of her shirt, and her eyes focused on the glint of metal peeking out from under the sleeve. "Yet," she repeated.
She finished her meal without any more interruptions, left another gold piece for the bartender, and turned towards the innkeeper. He was standing behind another desk in a nearby room, and perked up when she neared him.
"May I help you my lady?" he asked with a nod.
"Yes. I want a room for tonight only."
"That will be ten gold, then," the innkeeper said. He held out his hand.
Kit pulled out ten more gold pieces and handed them to him. He checked each one to make sure they were real gold pieces before placing them in a small safe.
"Sorry for seeming so suspicious tonight, my lady, but there've been some tricksters out lately. Only a week ago I was given twenty fake pieces and barely had enough t' pay my taxes and keep food on the table."
"No, I perfectly understand," Kit replied.
"You're a better sort than most, then. Have a good night's rest. Here's a key in case you want more privacy," the innkeeper said, holding it out to her.
She nodded, took the key, and headed up the stairs.
The room was very simple, but decent. It held a bed meant for two people, a window, and a washbasin. Kit nodded in approval as she turned to lock the door; she could leave later out the window when her business was to be taken care of.
"Never leave a hint as to what you've done," she murmured to herself. She was quoting one of her former masters. "If the door remains locked, the inn will assume I was in here all night. Not knowing if I have weapons will also help to let me leave unnoticed in the morning."
Now for the preparations.
Kit slipped out of her outfit and shoved it into her traveling pouch, and pulled out a different outfit. She pulled on black leggings and a shirt whose sleeves covered even her hands. Then she pulled her hair up and bound it into a bun. Finally, she pulled out a little container of soot and smeared it all over her face and neck; this would help her tonight for keeping from being seen.
She glanced at the basin, which was filled with water, and nodded in satisfaction. Instead of a young woman, she looked almost like a shadow.
The young woman checked her daggers. They were all perfectly plain, with nothing on them to give away where she'd bought them or even made them. If the need arose, she could leave the dagger with the victim and still not have to worry quite as much as others would in such a situation.
/Poor Greon, always told me to stay out of the shadow,/ she thought, remembering the knight who'd given her this task. /If only he knew how much I already was a shadow in my childhood years.../ Then she shook her head, and glanced out the window. /When the moon rises, I'll head out. The sooner this is over, the sooner I can move on with my gold./
~*~
Arend headed into his father's study with a smile on his face, still laughing at the last joke Ranin had made before they had entered the castle. There, he spotted his father and mother talking to a man wearing blood red armor.
King Albert glanced up as his son and Ranin approached. "We were beginning to wonder if you were going to join us for dinner or not," he said. His voice was somewhat amused, but also stern.
"Ran and I headed to the inn for something to eat a while ago," Arend said.
Emille glanced up at her son with no amusement apparent on her face. "And a drink, I presume?"
He sighed. "Yes, mother, but only one." Arend glanced at the red-clad man and smiled. "Lord Dart, it's good to see you again."
"Must we be so formal?" Dart asked, grinning back. He stood and they clasped hands. "Good to see you too. How's your training?"
"It's going well, as far as I know," Arend replied.
"And who is this? Friend of yours?" Dart asked, nodding at Ranin.
"He's my friend Ranin. Ran, this is Dart. He's the Divine Dragoon."
Ranin shook hands with the Dragoon with some awe on his face. "A pleasure, my lord. We've never really met before."
"I remember speaking to you once, I think..." Dart scratched the back of his head. "It was some years ago, though. When Arend was beginning his training..."
"Yes, I remember as well," Ranin said. "It was an honor to talk to you then."
"Please, it's really not," Dart said laughing. "Just ask anyone in my village if you don't believe me."
Arend grinned as well, then took a step towards the Dragoon. "By the way, Dart, how's Jim?"
"He's learned Double Slash pretty well, but we're having problems on Volcano," Dart said.
"Ah. I remember I had a little problem with my second attack as well."
"Because you'd discovered the joys of the innkeep," Emille said, sniffing.
"Mother," Arend began.
"Let it go, Emily," Albert told his wife. "He hasn't made a fool of himself for years. Have you, Arend?"
Arend blushed deeply. "No, father."
Dart grinned. "A fool? What sort of fool?"
Ran grinned as well. "Oh yes, do tell, Your Majesty."
"A fool who went around half dressed in the streets proclaiming his love to every woman that he saw," Emille stated. "And declaring that he thought that pink was a nice color."
"O-oh, I remember that," Ranin said, nudging his friend. "Fun night, eh, Arend? Got lots of ladies to talk to you that night."
"Mother, let it go, please?" Arend muttered.
"As you wish, son." Emille smiled faintly. "You know I only worry about the rougher types that you can run across in an inn. No matter how well the knights keep people in line, one or two always sneak in."
"Too true," Albert agreed. "Thankfully, not too many have appeared this year."
"There were three tonight," Arend said. "Well, rather, there were three who drank too much and tried to take a woman against her will. We dealt with them easily enough."
Albert turned to face him, an eyebrow raised.
"Worry not, Your Majesty. We only knocked them out and threw them out of the inn," Ranin said.
King Albert nodded. "Just be careful, you two. They may have had friends about." He turned to the others. "How about we head down to the dining room and have dinner?"
"Sounds good," Dart said, stretching. "I'm already starting to feel sleepy. I'd hate to wake you all up in the middle of the night with my stomach growling."
Albert chuckled, and the others smiled.
~*~
Kit suppressed a snort when she saw the castle. Either the royal family was extremely naïve, or it had an entire regiment of knights hidden somewhere inside the castle. There wasn't a soul moving around the castle walls. She stretched a little from her cramped hiding spot behind a nearby tree; she'd been there at least twenty minutes. Then she sprinted for the castle wall.
When she reached the wall itself, she pressed herself behind another tree, and peered around it. Good. No one was out tonight; apparently, everyone was either at home or at the inn.
No. Wait.
Kit readied one of her daggers in her left hand and tensed, listening. Footfalls sounded. Someone was leaving the castle. But who...?
She dared a quick peek from around her hiding spot. A young man, either a knight or someone in the knight's training, was wandering away from the castle. He had his jacket thrown casually over one shoulder, whistling cheerfully. Kit relaxed; it wasn't the crown prince. It was his friend from the inn.
The young assassin waited for a few more moments as the knight disappeared around a street corner, and all trace of him went with him. Finally, she turned towards the castle and peered up at it thoughtfully.
"Now, how are we going to do this?" she asked the wall looming before her.
The wall didn't reply, but a small breeze lifted a free strand of hair from her face for a moment.
~*~
Arend stretched lazily as he closed the door to his room and slipped out of his shirt, unbuckled his sword from his waist, and took off his boots. He then flopped onto his bed, staring at the ceiling. A candle flickered on a nearby nightstand, casting oddly shaped shadows across the room.
He amused himself by watching those flickering shapes for a while, picking out animals and people they reminded him of. Finally, however, he felt his eyes begin to droop. He leaned over to blow out the candle before settling into a comfortable position. Arend slowly obeyed his eyes, enjoying the feeling of drifting...
Crrreeeaaak.
Arend tensed. Someone else was in his room.
From the window, though? Impossible. The window was at least three stories from the ground, straight up. No one could get in there. And yet... he opened an eye and peered at the door. It was closed.
Quickly he closed his eye again and pretended to be asleep. He'd wait and see if this was just his imagination acting up, or someone actually coming in through his window. Then he'd see what, exactly, they wanted with him.
~*~
Kit cursed mentally at herself when she stepped on an old, creaking floorboard. /Why can't the whole damned castle be made of stone?/ she wondered. /Well, no help for it now./ She made herself perfectly still for a moment, hoping that she wasn't going to be caught.
Again, she cursed when she spotted the bed and the person in it. /Damn it, I climbed right into someone's bedroom. What if they wake up?/ She slipped her daggers into her hands and carefully made her way over to the person on the bed, trying not to make any more noise.
She successfully made it to the bed and looked down at the person, squinting in the dim light of the stars and moon through the window. The person was still asleep, thankfully. His breathing was even and slow.
Now who was he...?
The young woman risked peering at him more closely, and nearly fell over in her surprise. The crown prince of Serdio!
/What luck to end up right in his room! I must be gaining magical abilities now,/ she thought somewhat wryly as she stared at the sleeping form beneath her. /I can deal with this and slip off without a peep. Now.../ She tightened her grip on her daggers. /How shall we do this?/
~*~
Arend was getting more and more confused. The person, whoever it was, was definitely real, and had definitely come from the window. He could hear them breathing in the otherwise quiet room. He forced his breathing to remain calm and paced, as though he was still asleep. Fortunately, the person seemed to believe that he was sleeping, so his acting was working. He opened an eye again to spot his sword. Typically, it was just out of his reach.
He mentally cursed as he felt the figure lean over him, and gasped. Arend quickly closed his eye, wondering if the person had noticed he was awake or not. In any case, it was about time he went for a weapon. If this person meant harm, which was most likely, then it was more than time for him to be able to defend himself.
/On the count of three... one, two, three.../
"HYAA!" he shouted and rolled off the bed towards his sword. He grabbed it and leaped up to block just as the person attacked him with two daggers. They were then locking their weapons together, trying to force the other to lose their grip or their will to survive.
Arend first kept his focus on keeping this person away from him. Then he managed to shove them onto the ground beside him and pounced on top, aiming the sword at their neck. He squinted at the figure for a long moment as they struggled, cursing at him and reaching for their daggers, which he'd knocked across the room. After a moment, his eyes widened in recognition.
"You?" he blurted.
~*~