The night before, Amali had failed to realize that all the clothes she'd brought with her, which admittedly wasn't a lot, were unwearable. Between being dirty, accidently stepping on the hem of one and ruining the dress, and the one she'd spilled her drink on that morning. But she had somewhere very important to go.

This was the not so long-awaited day, the day Nasira would be going on her first date with Kaaf, and she had to help the older woman prepare. Then she would need something presentable enough to go out in. While she didn't necessarily need to watch them the entire time, she at least wanted to see them when they met up. To see that sweet first date look. Amali might have read a few to many romance novels, but seeing her new friend find love was something she relished in.

Amali knew Nasira wouldn't mind, so she grabbed one of Nasira's older dresses. It had a couple of scarcely visible stains on it, assumedly from being worn in a kitchen, but it fit her purposes just fine. Now she just needed to wait until Nasira would return, then she would dress her up as much as she would allow.

All day her stomach had been bothering her, nothing serious, just the slight, uncomfortable feeling of something being… off. Almost as if she were forgetting something, yet she knew she wasn't. Nasira had trouble eating her lunch as well, of the already small portion she'd grabbed, she had barely eaten half. She hoped it was just her exhaustion. As she'd barely had time to breath all week.

Without warning, the assassin's away missions had all coincidentally ended at such a time that nearly all of them were in the castle for once, which only meant the staff had extra mouths to feed and rooms to clean. Normally Nasira didn't meddle in the cleaning, but, besides the extra work, a couple of the maids had just quit. So, she had her already busy schedule, along with being asked to temporarily assist with other tasks. All week she had been running here, there, and seemingly everywhere, delivering things, dusting those, changing sheets. The work droned on until her head spun.

Out of the corner of her eye, she would occasionally spot Altair's imposing figure. Even if she'd had the time, she certainly wouldn't have had the energy to get nervous at the sight of him. Besides, as soon as she'd see him, she would be called away or remember she was in the middle of something time sensitive and have to run off. She could have sworn that a couple of times he'd been looking right at her, his brow wrinkling as though he wanted to say something. At that point, she might have welcomed a conversation with him, at least it would have been a good excuse to pause and rest a few moments.

With the workload she was facing, it looked like another long day of running around, doing the jobs of three people. Getting home late wouldn't normally be a problem, but Nasira was meeting Kaaf that night. For some reason she couldn't fathom, thinking about it made her stomach twist. It must have been the fear of being late. After all, there was no reason meeting her friend should perturb her.

Thankfully, while still later than her usual time, she was told to go home early enough that she could clean up and relax a few minutes. Though as she ambled home, she could feel a bubble of anxiety building in the pit of her stomach. Her many tasks could distract her somewhat from her feelings, but whenever she had even a moment to think, it would creep up on her again.

As soon as she arrived home, Amali was there, almost forcing her to sit down so she could try to put makeup on her face, but Nasira immediately refused. It might have been a date, technically, but she would feel strange if she were to decorate her face for him. She was meeting Kaaf, he wouldn't care if she was covered in dirt and wearing rags, as long as she was there. Instead, she took a quick bath, put on one of her nicer dresses, and for once, she thought to leave her hair down. It wasn't often she chose to keep it loose, but today was special, and Amali was goading her into it anyway.

Not wanting to wait by herself too long, Nasira quelled her desire to go as soon as she was ready and instead stayed home, trying, and failing, to relax. Amali had left after helping her, vaguely gesturing and saying something about meeting someone. But Nasira was too preoccupied with feeling like a swarm of insects was in her gut to pay her much mind.

Getting lost in thought while waiting, Nasira found herself running a few minutes late. She doubted Kaaf would mind though, it wouldn't be more than a few minutes. Arriving at the place they'd agreed upon, Nasira found it relatively empty. By that time most everyone had gone home. Glancing around, her friend was nowhere in sight. So, he wouldn't need to know that she had also arrived late…

Waiting several more minutes, Nasira started to wonder if maybe she'd mistaken the time or place, but she clearly remembered that conversation. It had been repeating itself in her mind all week. As she stood there, she noticed a bouquet lying on the ground. Strange, why would someone just leave that there? A few minutes more and she assumed he'd been held up. Maybe Zaina had asked him to do something, or someone had stopped him on the street.

After about half an hour, Nasira was truly worrying. Had something happened to him? He had been so excited about their date, she couldn't imagine, after all the time he'd spent trying to get her to agree to it, that he would allow anything to keep him away. He could be hurt for all she knew… ten more minutes. She would wait ten more minutes, then she would go to his house to look for him.

Trying to be patient, she had stretched the ten minutes into fifteen before she scurried off to find him. Leaving the area, a passing thought occurred to her, that bouquet was made up of only her favorite flowers…

Upon arriving at their house, she found only Zaina, calmly reading her book and sipping her tea. "What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be having a romantic dinner with Kaaf right now?" There was only a tinge of concern in her voice as she noticed Nasira. But her friend's presence could only have meant one of a few things, and none of them were good. By the look on Nasira's face, she knew her assumption was correct. "…Where is Kaaf?" Not many would have noticed the change in her voice, but Nasira knew her well enough to understand, Zaina was afraid of the answer.

Kaaf had been preparing himself for this day since he'd met Nasira, though his plans had changed drastically whenever he'd learned something new about her. He simply couldn't contain his excitement. He'd bought flowers days too early, forgetting that they would wilt before the date and he would have to buy them again. Knowing he wasn't a very good cook himself, he had been practicing the simple recipes he was going to make every day, to the point Zaina thought she would be sick if she had to eat them even one more time.

His coworkers had been staring at him all week, they weren't used to him smiling so much, but the constant grin was making them too nervous to ask. Kaaf wasn't an unhappy person, but he certainly wasn't this… cheerful. Everyone was worried he was about to commit a crime, or perhaps he'd already gotten away with one.

Finishing setting up the picnic in a secluded, pretty spot that he knew Nasira loved to relax in when she wanted to be outside, he started heading towards the meeting area. Sure, he would be a bit early, but maybe she would also get there early. Then they could get started just that much sooner.

Arriving at the spot, a popular place for the younger villagers to meet and talk, he scanned the area for that familiar braid. He loved the way her hair looked, no matter the state, when it was freshly put up and neat, or when she'd been working all day and several strands had escaped and wisped around her face. Her hair had rarely been seen down, she preferred it out of the way, but he liked it that way too. Not that it mattered how her hair was done, all that mattered was that it was hers, on her head, attached to the person he adored.

In the middle of the path stood one of the assassins, it wasn't uncommon for them to hang around town, though this one looked rather arrogant with his stance. Chin up, shoulders back, and a purpose shining in his eyes. But he wasn't the person Kaaf wanted to see, no, he had no interest in the man, so he continued casually scanning the area.

Not much later he heard the thuds of rushed footsteps and leaves rustling. From the side of the path, between some bushes, came a small woman, wearing a familiar dress and that recognizable braid swaying with each step. But rather than running up to Kaaf, she didn't even look his way, she merely barreled straight toward the assassin.

Kaaf was dumbfounded. For a moment he stood there, he could do no more than gawk as the girl of his dreams ran directly into the arms of another man, on the very night he was supposed to win her heart. With more enthusiasm than he had ever seen in her, she embraced the man as if they'd been lovers for years.

This wasn't happening was it? How could it be? No, this was all just a dream, a nightmare. The nerves were getting to him, this was all he'd thought about all week, his mind was just making up a scenario. Soon he would wake up to find himself at home, lying in bed, his blanket in the usual state of disarray. He would go to work, buy the flowers and make the dishes again, and set up for the picnic before going to meet Nasira.

Nasira, lovely Nasira, she would rush towards him and greet him, he would offer her the flowers, her favorites, as he'd discovered from Zaina. She would smile at him, the sweet smile she always gave when given gifts. He would lead her to the picnic, and they would laugh about nothing in particular till late into the night. That's what he'd planned, he had prepared so thoroughly for this night, it couldn't possibly be ruined… right?

There was silence on all parts for several moments, before the soft rustling of flowers falling to the ground and the hard pounding of rushing feet. But no one heard the steps retreating into the distance.