Okay so I'm finally back with an update after, oh I dunno 2 MONTHS.

fortunately, school is coming to and end for me which means I will have more time to actually finish this story. That is if anyone is still interested in this XD

The witch, Ulkina, possessed maroon attire with a stereotypical red, pointy hat with gold highlights and a light blue gem for decoration. Over her left shoulder was a purse containing god-knows what, and in her right hand she carried a wand, which glowed a faint orange. The broom itself was designed like a dragon, with a black head carrying a glowing lantern at the front and black wings at the back. She glared at the two of us with her dark purple eyes.

"Well, well, well." she cackled, slowly drifting down to my level. "If it isn't the ten-time assassination failure. Oh and who is this? You're harem girl." She taunted, gesturing at Orna

Orna seemed unfazed by the Fire Goddess' comment and instead stood between her and me, taking out her whip in the process.

"You will not lay your hands on him, foul sorceress." She growled. "The Glorious prince Ruben belongs to m- I mean Sienna!"

I facepalmed. Ulkina burst out laughing.

"R-ruben?" she giggled "Is that your real name or is that just what she calls you when you two have-"

"ENOUGH! What is your business with e?" I yelled shoving Orna to the side of landed in a nearby bush with an "Oof".

Ulkina let out a few more giggles before finally gazing upon me with a stern look. "Maxwell is getting tired of waiting Kuda, she wants her new ally and she wants her now."

"And how do you propose I recruit the damn thing when I'm nowhere near the destroyed Cathedral, let alone the Egor Mountains!"

"I don't give a damn about that." She retorted sharply "Maxwell said that she wants Skaramya by the end of tomorrow or she'll unleash hell upon you."

Ulkina was never one to lie, but I was certainly hoping she was at this moment for my sake.

"She doesn't really…" I started.

Ulkina held up her hand. "Yes. She does. She was furious after waiting a week with no progress or anything from you and-"

I shook my head "Unbelievable. I'm way to far away to make it there in one day…"

"That's not my problem." Ulkina said firmly.

"Oh gods" I groaned. "What am I supposed to do? Grow wings and-" My eyes lit up and I gazed over at Ulkina. She met my gaze and her eyes widened as she realized my plan.

"No."

"Why not?"

"Because I won't be seen helping a failure like you."

"That's a little harsh, even for you."

"I don't care how harsh that came out. I will not let you ride on my broomstick."

I smiled. "Pity. I suppose I'll have to be careful then."

I never considered what my punishment would be for assaulting a fellow loyalist, but desperate times called for desperate measures.

In a flash I drew my blade and charged at Ulkina. She reacted instantly, flying up and out of my reach while laughing maniacally.

"A failure and a traitor. This will be fun."

The dragonhead on the front of her broom opened its mouth and spewed a line of fire at my location. I quickly dove out of the way and behind a tree as the flames scorched the green pathway.

Ulkina laughed again. "I won't leave this spot Kuda, and if you try to run I'll just chase you down and murder you. The gods' army has no room for a failure like you.

I remained behind my tree for cover. What was I thinking? There's no way in hell I could beat her on her broom! If only there was a way to- an idea came to mind as Orna came crawling into view, muttering something about a fireplace.

"Oh hello Ruben! I-" I put my hand over her mouth and pulled her against me.

"Listen Orna. Prince Ruben needs your help. Do you want to help me get rid of that evil witch?"

"Mph!" came her reply

"Very well. Now listen closely…" I began whispering her my plan.

…

I took a deep breath and stepped out from behind the tree.

"Ulkina! Come down here!"

She scoffed. "With what may I ask? I'm useless without my broom and you're useless while I'm up here."

She seemed too proud to listen to direct speech, so I decided to try another tactic, a tactic that worked surprisingly well on a certain peppy whip-user.

"But Ulkina…" I said, taking off my blade-whip and dropping it on the ground, "I only wish to talk to you."

This seemed to surprise her. "T-talk? What do you mean?"

"I have something to tell you, something…I've spent a long time thinking about."

The look in her eyes told me that she had an idea of where this could be going.

"That so? Well I suppose I could…but! Make any movement towards me and I'll burn you to a crisp! Understand?"

"Yes, yes whatever"

She floated down to my level and slowly got off her broom.

"Alright, what do you want?"

"There's…something I need to tell you…"

"I know that already, so spit it out."

"I've been thinking about this ever since you joined the loyalists."

"That so?"

"Yes" I stared at the ground nervously. All right, you can do this. Just tell her.

"The truth is, that despite the way I usually act around you I find you rather…"

"Rather what?" Ulkina asked, a hint of anxiousness in her voice.

"Rather…uh…." I glanced up at the trees, hoping to find Orna somewhere in the foliage. My eyes caught a flash of yellow from her attire and I soon met her gaze. I raised my eyebrows to signal her, but she seemed to miss it in her inebriated (for lack of a better term) state and continued hiding amongst the branches.

"Well?" Asked Ulkina, rather impatiently.

With no sign of movement from Orna among the tree branches, I decided the only logical thing to do was to make her come out. And with one swift movement, I closed the distance between Ulkina and before she had a chance to react, pulled her into a kiss.

"YAAAAAARGH!" Came a scream from the trees as Orna leapt from her hiding place, gliding through the air and landing on Ulkina with a crunch. She looked up at me quickly before turning to the unmoving witch below her.

"BAD WITCH! YOU WILL NOT TAKE PRINCE RUBEN FROM M- I MEAN FROM HIS DUTIES! HIS COUNTRY IS AT WAR AND THEY NEED HIM TO LEAD THEM, NOT BE SOME SEX SLAVE TO SOME DIRTY-"

"Alright! I think she gets it" I interrupted, pulling her away from the barely moving Ulkina below her.

Orna nodded with a "hmph!" before turning to me with a sympathetic look. "Are you okay my prince? I don't know what kind of spell she cast on you but-"

"I'm fine. Now quit talking and get on this broom with me."

…

Flying the broom was not all that difficult. I had stolen it for a joyride several times from Ulkina's quarters once she had fallen asleep. It was just a lot more difficult when I had someone clinging to my waist and screaming at everything that passed by. But zooming over the waters of Breeze Beach made it worth the occasional screams of "Look out!" Or "What was that?" from my rather shaken passenger. The sun was setting, creating a flamboyant orange pigment in the sky around us. Orna had fallen asleep, most likely from exhaustion from the day's events. Her head rested against my back and I could make out the faint sounds of her breathing over the wind around us. I sighed, despite my current situation and the possibility of being hunted down by quite possibility the most dangerous of the four fallen gods, I felt happy.

Eventually, I could see the tips of the Egor Mountains in the distance and began to guide the broom in that direction. Suddenly the broom came to a halt and fire began to spew from the dragon's head on the front of it. Ulkina's voice came booming from its mouth,

"So you're a failure, a traitor, and a liar."

"What the hell? How are you even..?"

"I possess the power to control my broom at any time and over any distance. Just incase some low-life traitor decides to play with my soft spot, knock me out, and then PROCEED TO LEAVE ME FOR DEAD IN THE MIDDLE OF THE GOD DAMN-"

"Alright so you can communicate through the broom so what?"

"Well" came her reply, all ager in her voice subsiding. "I would just like to give you a piece of advice."

"I don't need any help from some desperate-"

"You better learn how to fly…right NOW" She interrupted. Suddenly the broom bucked upward, throwing Orna and me up in the air before zooming off back towards the direction of its master, Ulkina's laughter echoing from the dragon's maw.

The good news was that we were fairly high up over an ocean so the landing would be soft. But the bad news was that I had no idea how to swim. Orna had awoken from her slumber and was now screaming as the two of us plummeted towards the water with incredible speed. She remained relatively close to me, so I was able to "swim" over to her and grab onto her, only to have the air squeezed out of me as she clutched onto me. The water was coming up fast and my life began to flash before me.

So this is out it ends huh? Drowning in the middle of Breeze Ocean along with little miss Ruben-fanatic over here? What a fate for the Master Assassin of the Gods!

The only way out of this was the possibility that the person squeezing the lift out of me not only knew how to swim, but could carry me as well. It was a difficult bargain to make, but Orna was quite the unpredictable girl. I quickly repositioned myself in the air such that I was below her, ensuring that I would take the impact of the fall. Orna continued to scream and her grip around me tightened, forcing even more breath out of my lungs. She actually seems quite adorable when she's afraid. I almost want to…oh what the hell. With only several seconds to impact, I slapped her. This seemed to get her attention as she shut up and stared at me, tears in her eyes.

"Wha..? What was that for you-"

And there, somewhere between the sky and sea of Mistral, I kissed her. It wasn't like the way I tricked Ulkina, or so I would tell myself afterward. It felt special, well as special as anything coming from a heartless assassin could be.

I broke the kiss seconds before we hit the water. Her eyes shined with a special happiness I had never seen before. It was the same happiness she showed after I had agreed to take her to the winter festival.

"Oh Kuda…" She smiled, staring into my eyes.

And then the water decided to ruin the moment by knocking me unconscious.

Funny thing is, I have all the chapters outlined on a word document, and all I need to do is actually complete all of them. Oh well, with summer will come free time and with free time will come new chapters! Until next time