Chapter 14
Nathan stirred as he felt something peck at his ear. He opened one eye and looked around; trying to see what poked him. He saw a little bird not too far away from him. He smiled softly and watched as the bird pecked at the ground and flew away. He moved his hand to cover a yawn, and then looked down at Setsuna who was sleeping peacefully on his chest. He planted a soft kiss on her hair "Its morning, love."
Setsuna's eyes fluttered open at the sound of his voice and she stretched "Already?"
He nodded "I know. Time is no friend for a lover."
She kissed his cheek and stood up, brushing her dress to get rid of any grass that stuck on it. "Since when did you become a poet, love?"
"Any artist is inspired by the beauty that surrounds them. In my case, the beauty that inspires me is you."
She smiled and walked up to him. He took a step closer and caressed her face "I love you."
"I love you too." She planted a soft kiss on his lips
Nathan put his arm around her shoulder "We should go inside."
Setsuna nodded and wrapped her arm around his waist. They started walking toward a side entrance. He caressed her shoulder as she pulled him closer "I'm so lucky."
Nathan smiled as they walked up to the door. He opened the door and stood beside it "Ladies first."
"Charmer." She walked through the door,
"Only for you." Nathan walked through the door and closed it. He took her hand and they walked down the hallway. Setsuna intertwined their fingers and smiled when his arm went around her shoulder. They continued walking down the hallway, make small talk once in a while, but otherwise enjoying their company.
James was waiting at the other end of the hallway. When they approached him, he bowed before Setsuna. "How was your evening, princess?"
"It was wonderful."
"Good." He turned to Nathan "The royal tailor is waiting for you, Nathan."
He nodded "Where is he?"
"He is in the parlour room." He bowed and walked away.
Nathan nodded and kissed Setsuna's cheek "I must be going, then."
"I will see you later, then."
"Bye." He kissed her hand and walked away
Nathan walked up to the parlour room. He turned the knob "Hmm…locked." He knocked on the door.
A muffled voice was heard from behind the door "Who is it?"
"It's Nathan, you wanted to see me?"
"Yes I did, please give me a minute." There was some rustling behind the door. The door was opened and the tailor stood in the doorway.
"Oh no….." He backed up and walked away. "Not you."
"What's the matter?"
"You bumped into me over a month ago. I'm not letting a prick like you take my measurements."
"Listen, Nathan. I maybe a prick, but I'm also the best. Now you have a choice: let me take your measurements, or explain to the queen why you made advances on me."
Nathan's eyes went dark "You wouldn't."
"Believe me, I can and I will if you don't co-operate."
'Well, I'm not going to win this, might as well.' "Fine, you win." He walked through the door and inside the room.
The tailor walked over to a box and pulled out some measuring tape. He also pulled out something else and put in his pocket. He turned around "Please take off your clothes save for your underwear."
Nathan nodded and proceeded to take off his shirt. He took off his undershirt and mumbled under his breath "Why couldn't she have asked my size instead?"
"She wanted this to be special, one of a kind. Also, I can hear you."
He cursed under his breath, continuing to undress. Soon he was in underwear and shivering "Does it have to be cold?"
He didn't respond and walked toward him. He stretched out the tape "Stretch your arms as far as you can."
Nathan complied and stretched his arms. The tailor stretched the tape and measured his arms and shoulders. He wrote down something on a piece of paper. He bent down and measured his side from his armpit down to his ankle. Writing something down quickly, he stood up and measured his waist.
Nathan looked at him "Almost done?"
"Yes, I am. Don't worry." He measured his chest. Afterwards, he rolled up the measurement tape and moved away from him "Now, was that so hard?"
"No." He turned his back toward him and started to put on his clothes.
"Good." He put the tape away and pulled out some wire. He stretched it out and started to walk toward Nathan.
Nathan finished putting on his pants and stood up when he saw a straight line in front of him "What the…"
The tailor pulled the wire around his neck and started to choke him. Nathan clawed frantically around his neck. The pressure increased and he started to choke, slowing down his hand movement. He turned around and kicked him in his stomach.
The tailor doubled over, moving away from him. Nathan removed the wire from around his neck "I was right." He walked toward him and kicked him in the face. The tailor fell down and landed on his back. He put his foot on his chest "Who sent you?"
He panted and tried to move his foot from his chest.
He moved his foot to his neck "Answer me! Who sent you?"
He started choking, scratching his leg hard. It started to bleed, but Nathan didn't care. He increased the pressure and he started to turn blue. He took off his foot and picked him up and held him in the air "You fucking coward." He threw him on the ground "Get out! If you come here again, I'll kill you."
He got up and scrambled toward the door. He opened and closed it in a rush.
A man was sitting behind the desk, his legs propped up on a desk. He held a drink in his hand and sipped it from time to time. He heard a knock on the door "Enter."
A man stumbled into the door and closed it. He looked at him "Is it done?"
"No, he was too strong."
He bolted up in his seat. Eyes were filled with rage "What?"
He looked down "He was too strong."
The man got up from his seat and walked over to him "You had an advantage and you wasted it."
"It wasn't my fault. I---"
He grabbed his throat "You had all this information about him. You couldn't complete a simple task. I'm very disappointed in you." He started to choke him, increasing the pressure.
The other man clawed at his hands, trying to loosing the grip, but it continued to get tighter "I'm sorry."
"I can't accept failure. That was your only chance." He snapped his neck and let go of the body. It fell to the ground in a heap. He opened the door and pointed to someone "Can you please show him out?" He walked to his desk and picked up his glass and sighed "If you want something done, you have to do it yourself."
End Chapter 14