TRYST // Philza X Reader

23

The next few things happened in very quick succession.

Phil wrapped a hand around your wrist and tugged you to him sharply, his other arm wrapping around your waist. In one strong flag of this wings, you were both launched up into the rafters of the room, away from any of the immediate danger. Phil kept a hold on you as he perched on one of the ledges around the top of the room, the arm that had snatched you away from harm protectively curled around your stomach.

Etienne - who had still been sprawled on the floor - scrambled to his feet, half buckled armor clanging around him as he tried to haul himself up off the floor using the bedposts nearby. It didn't work too well though, and he was dragged back down to the floor by the plate armor he was half-wearing.

The woman in the door stepped into the room fully, still gripping the obsidian knife in her hand. Though she had definitely seen you and Phil in the room as well, she didn't seem to care, stalking toward the king with long easy strides, flipping the knife in her palm. Upon closer look, you could see an engraving in the blade - common for weapons specifically designed to kill a certain someone. This knife bore a crown.

"Please." The king gasped, obviously winded from his fall. His eyes were completely focused on the knife, barely even straying to the woman who held it. "Please - you're human! You're not one of them! You don't have to do this!"

The woman's voice was smooth and deep when she spoke. "I'm afraid I do." She said. "An eye for an eye, and all."

Your own eyes widened. She wasn't just here because of the war then no - this was revenge of some kind. No wonder she had just brushed past the fact that you and Phil were also in the room. She wasn't here for you. She was here for blood - specifically Etienne's.

"An eye for an eye...?" Etienne repeated, still trying to scramble up to his feet. "I'm sure whatever wrong was committed against you can be righted-"

The woman, laughed, cold and mirthless as she looked down on the king. Seemingly having enough of his squirming, she slammed one of her boots into his chest, knocking him to the ground and keeping him there, pinned under her foot. "You probably don't even know what you've done, and you're still saying you can fix it." She said. "I didn't know you could bring back the dead, Etienne."

Etienne heaved a breath as the woman dug her heel into his chest, and one of his hands came up to claw around her ankle. "Please..." He pleaded again. "I may not be able to bring back the dead, but we can provide compensation for those lost-"

"Stop." The woman cut him off, digging her heel in even more. "Stop. You're just grasping for anything and it's pathetic." Her voice thickened a bit, like she was fighting back tears. "You probably don't even remember them... they died for you and your egg, you foolish man. Your damn egg that didn't even stop the war from brewing."

The king's eyes widened as the woman spoke, finally putting two and two together as to who this woman was. "Arlow of Audunbast..." He said.

"Don't say their name." The woman hissed. "It's not yours to say."

The king coughed as she pressed down harder on his chest, and the hand that he had wound around her ankle in an attempt to get her to stop tightened. "Please." He exhaled heavily. "I understand what it's like to lose a lover, believe me. My wife-"

"You will never understand." The woman growled. "You will never understand what it is like to have the one person you cherish above everything else in the world taken away by the crown that they served - the crown that was supposed to protect you." She paused, taking a shaky breath. "I pity you, Etienne, I really do."

And with that, she knelt down, driving the assassins blade directly into the king's chest, right over where his heart would be. You gasped, choking on air as you watched the king wail in pain, tears streaming out of the corners of his eyes and down onto the floor. The woman made to pull the knife out and stab him again, but before you could see it come to fruition, your vision was obscured by crow's feathers.

Phil's hand came up to cradle your cheek, turning your head away from the violence happening down on the floor. You could still hear it though - the cries of the king as the knife went in over and over again, until he suddenly fell silent. You didn't realize the tears leaking out of your eyes until Phil was brushing them away with the pads of his thumbs.

He said nothing, but you could see the pain clear in his face. As much as he hadn't agreed with Etienne in the end, that was still one of his old friends - now dead on the floor. Shakily, you reached up to pull one of Phil's hands from your face, lacing your fingers together instead and leaning into him as you pulled the hand to your chest.

Phil inhaled shakily, opening the feathers of his wings just so that you could peer through.

Down on the floor, the king lay still, his mouth slack open in a silent scream, his eyes dead and locked onto where you and Phil were sitting. The woman still stood over him, trousers splattered with blood. She tossed the knife down, letting it clatter to the floor, and reached down to pluck the crown from the king's head, twirling it in her hand.

When she turned to stalk out the door, her eyes caught on your and Phil. For a moment, she just looked at you, and you thought she might pick the knife back up as to not have any witnesses - but she just continued on her way out the door, leaving you and Phil alone in the now deceased king's room.