Noble Assassin

Chapter 3.3 (Slip of the Eye)

"Wake up!"

Rizelle groaned, but didn't wake up. The tug of sleep could not be denied.

A hand shook her shoulder roughly. "Virese!"

She shot up. Nemma crouched beside her. She pressed a finger to her lips. "You need to go. Rayren's sold you out."

"What?" Rizelle whisper-screamed. That damned... A train of unruly insults flowed through her thoughts. She couldn't say she was surprised, though. So we were wrong about him wanting revenge, after all. "Are you certain?" A part of her wondered why she asked.

"I saw him go, and followed. You have to go before they come!"

Rizelle was burning with questions. How much time did she have? Was her Bane already on his way? Only time can tell. As silently as possible, gathered her few possessions. Finally, she turned to Nemma. The two gripped each other in a tight hug.

"You know what to do," Nemma whispered in her ear.

It wasn't a question, but Rizelle nodded. "Thanks for everything. I can't thank you enough."

Nemma leaned back. "You needn't try. It's what friends do for each other." She began to push Rizelle to the trapdoor. "Now, there's no more time to waste."

Rizelle stepped onto the first rung of the ladder. "Goodbye...not forever, I hope." And then she was gone, creeping carefully down and to the back door in the kitchen.

Outside, the night was crisp and cool, the stars shining down upon the tiny courtyard, which was surrounded by a wooden fence that reached up almost to her shoulders.

And the moonlight glinted on the swords and knives of the men standing before it, blocking her escape.

Rizelle's heart hammered against her ribcage, as if wanting to escape her chest as much as she needed to escape these men. She wouldn't let them take her, but how could she get away?

Buy some time. Stick to the plan. She leaned casually on the doorframe and drew her chin up, exuding a calm and confidence she didn't feel. She surveyed the line of thugs. One of them stepped forward when her gaze fell on him, the leader, presumably.

He was colossal, brawny, and dressed with more ridiculous extravagance than a vain king. She had never seen him before. A part of her was relieved - it was possible that these men didn't work for her Bane. But if so, then who are they?

He seemed the type to expect the world to cower before him - the type who would be angry when someone doesn't. Anger clouds the judgement, she knew.

So, she stifled all signs of her fear. "Well, will you deign to introduce yourself?" she said, hoping to push his buttons. Her heart quivered with uneasiness. "Or may I take the liberty to call you whatever I wish?"

Instead, she was surprised by his reaction to this; he laughed. She had misjudged him, and he'd seen straight through her act. His looks might say otherwise, but he is cunning, she realised.

"Is your mind so vacant that you cannot recognise a king?" he taunted.

Rizelle was understandably sceptical. A king? He's deluded. Even though he dresses like one.

He took another step forward. "Ohjunn, the mighty Assassin King, no less," he continued, drawing himself up, almost bursting with self-importance.

Rizelle took an imperceptible step backward. She didn't think it beyond her Bane to hire an assassin to kill her, but she hadn't anticipated it; all the moves he'd made against her so far were to capture her, not end her life. But if this Ohjunn has come to kill me, if he's an assassin, why bring all these men? Too much didn't add up. She carefully devised her next question with the purpose of finding out if Ohjunn was there to kill her. "So, do you introduce yourself to all your targets? I'm no assassin, but my senses tell me that's a waste of time, not a convenient way to advertise your skills."