Death's Favorite Child

41. A few days in the city (2)

"Master, why is Prince Alan like this?" Alis looked at the prince. The boy was catatonic and behaved like a robot. He would follow anything they told him and clinch to Alis.

"Sometimes, people break... He has lost so much in these three years that his will to live is shuttered."

Daniel had seen many people like this in his previous life. People that had lost their will to live.

Alis looked at the little boy sitting silently on the bed. His eyes were lifeless. She clenched her fists.

"It's not right!" she declared.

"No, it's not. For now, we can only offer him peace and safety. He never had time to grieve, for his mother, for himself..." Daniel said and stood up,

"I'll take care of the guests tonight. Get him showered and fed."

When Daniel finished talking, dark smoke surrounded him, and he disappeared outside the open window.

Around the hotel, several masked people were hidden. They were assassins that flocked to this place in great numbers. This was a rare opportunity for the assassins guild in Alaiza! They had received an order to kill the youngest Prince of the kingdom. Usually, royals were off-limits. Killing a royal would mean the destruction of the whole guild. So, when the City Lord issued the order, they were taken aback. However, when they received news that the Crown Prince had sanctioned the attack, they were overjoyed. Killing a royal would be a highlight in an assassin's career! Soon the team of 10 medium-rank assassins became a team of 50 high-rank ones! The strongest and most experienced of the guild strong-armed their way onto this assignment.

Of course, they received information from a waiter at the inn. Only two people stayed to guard the prince. Not only that, but all the knights went to sleep! Only two Rank E adventurers remained with the prince -- what a joke! So, five assassins infiltrated the inn while the rest simply chatted away in the nearby alleys. The monetary reward split by 50 was not a lot, but the actual award was the fame.

While the assassins were chatting and being happy about their excellent luck, they didn't notice the fog surrounding the alleys around the inn. On the inn rooftop, a young man dressed in black was looking at the assassins with his pitch-black eyes. The assassins were so brazen that they didn't even try to conceal themselves.

Some of the most experienced assassins suddenly realized some was wrong. They hadn't seen anyone passing through the road for the last 5 minutes, and the fog was so thick they couldn't see anything past a few meters. However, at this point, it was already too late for them. When the fog dissipated, there was no sign of the assassins or that anything took place in those alleys. The people living in the area had to admit that it was the quietest night they had had for a long time -- not even footsteps were heard that night.

Later in the night, Daniel flew in through the window and was welcomed by the sight of the young prince sleeping on one of the beds while Alis was sleeping on a chair next to him. She had left the second bed for him.

He went to the bathroom and found that a bath was drawn for him, although the water had gone cold by now. He quickly washed up and changed clothes. He walked into the bedroom and stood next to Alis. Dark fog came out of his had and surrounded Alis. The young woman floated on the dark cloud and landed on the second bed. He put a blanket over her, took a chair, and sat next to the window. He started at the two sleeping people, and memories flooded his mind once again. Memories from foreign lands and people he didn't know -- yet, all so familiar in his mind.

In the morning, the Assassin Guild master woke up in a good mood. Yesterday was the big day -- killing a prince. Since nobody disturbed him at night, it meant everything went fine. The guild's rule was, no news, good news. He would have to report to the City Lord right after breakfast and receive the award. He smiled and quickly got dressed.