An Assassin's Secret

Chapter 1

            A young girl dressed in princes clothing walked around the palace, searching for something to do. She was bored; Lucian had absolutely nothing to do. Grimacing sadly she made her way across the halls unaware of the danger and damage that had just befell the Palace. The Shadows seemed to cover every inch of the darkness only being fought off for a moment by the candles and light of the full moon. Lucian looked at the giant columns that surrounded the inside courtyard of her house, her father’s kingdom. The tiled floors seemed to spread out endlessly in front of her. She breathed in deeply. The next morn would be her twelfth birthday and she would be eligible to take the throne. A sigh escaped through her lips. She didn’t want to be king, she wanted to be queen. Dress how princesses dressed, not this façade of a man. She despised pretending to be a man, a prince, someone who was in power. A chill came over her body making her shudder. The night was a dark and mysterious place and the air was thick. Her breath came to her in short breaths and her hair stood on end. Something was not right. A sound of footsteps running toward her made Lucian quickly turn in that direction with her knife pointed out. One of her servants ran toward her and stopped when she saw the knife. Her face was pale, she was out of breath and she was sweating as if she had run a mile. Lucian put her knife away and motioned for the servant to come closer. Lucian changed her voice to that of a male so that she may stay unrecognized. It was a trick her father had drilled into her. The servant looked weary.

“What on Earth are you running like a bat out of Hades for?”

Lucian kept her voice even and calm. She did not want to alarm the servant anymore than she already was.

“Lucian! Your Father...the King...”

The servant girl fell to her knees before finishing the statement. Lucian sat down with the girl and put her hand on the girls shoulder.

“What about my father?”

Lucian’s face showed concern and worry. The poor servant looked as if she had seen a ghost..

“He...He’s dead...”

The servant stammered over her words. Lucian’s eyes widened with shock. The servant continued.

“We were ordered to open his will...You Brother Dominick....He’s king now...You father left everything to him! Someone.....Someone came in and killed him... We believe he’s still here!”

The servant girl burst into tears. Lucian calmly rubbed her back. The poor girl, she shouldn’t have to deal with something like this.

“Did anyone see the assassin?”

The servant shook her head. Lucian slightly cursed under her breath.

“You’ve done well, go rest and take a hot bath. I will deal with the rest,”

The servant nodded and ran off to keep herself safe. Lucian moved over to the fountain in the courtyard and buried her face in the water. She yelled into it to quell the anger deep within her heart. The courtyard was littered with trees, streams and statues. The fountain that sat in the center had four tiers. Lucian screamed into the fountain.

“I’m just ill-legitimate to my family!”

She was more than angry; her father could have kept her as a princess. No, no she wouldn’t have liked that. Lucian thought hard. She would have hated trying to find a prince who wasn’t after her status. She grimaced, she would never be able to marry or have children. Her brother walked into the courtyard.

“Oh Darling Brother...”

Lucian’s brother Dominick said in a sing- song voice. Lucian cringed. He was horribly off tune.

“What is it Dominick?”

Dominick still had no idea Lucian was a girl. Who could tell? She never gave away that secret to anyone. She smirked at the thought of the kingdom finding out. Dominick stood with his hands on his hips looking egotistical as ever.

“Well Lucian, since I’m king now, I have chosen you to be my personal advisor. A council so to speak.”

Lucian blinked.

“What?”

She was confused. Her other older brother should have gotten that role. Tristan was the middle child in the family. He was just as cocky as Dominick.

“What about Tristan?”

Dominick smiled at her.

“I need someone with a level head. Someone who I know would never betray the reign of our father. Our kingdom’s people are important. No one gets left behind!”

Dominick mimicked what our father used to say. I smiled and nodded. He grinned like the Cheshire cat.

“Good! You must be up at dawn, we have many announcements to make!”

Lucian watched Dominick leave and continued with her workout. A shadow moved behind her and a cloth covered her mouth. Lucian thrashed about trying to break free from her attackers grasp. Her fights were useless as her vision wavered and she fell into unconsciousness.