Don't Fear The Reaper *Izana x OC x OC* (COMPLETE)

A Battle of Wits

Izana--

I'm not sure how well things will go from here but it is rather strange to see my brother shaking hands with Reza. It doesn't help that she is practically oozing smug pleasure at how angry she is making Obi. He is trapped though. With our wording and mine and Zen's agreement, Obi is stuck helping us. Reza turns to me and Zen before nodding.

"Thank you both for your cooperation, I look forward to our next endeavor."

"Reza, I'm coming with you." I tell her and she and Roman both turn to me.

"No."

"Not happening. I just got rid of you." Roman growls.

"Let's face it, despite what Kirini said about everyone being sent out, you two have no idea what you'd be walking in to. Reza is injured so at this point you can use all the help you can get."

"I'm coming too." Zen speaks up and Reza curses.

"Definitely not." Reza sighs.

"Master, respectfully, no."

"Not happening either."

"I know this isn't my place, but I don't recommend that, Sir." Kirini says quietly.

"We're dealing with matters of the kingdom and using one of my men. I have made the deal so I am coming to help."

"Shouldn't someone stay here to watch over the castle?"

"The guards can handle things." Zen shrugs and I chuckle.

"The Points will be able to handle perimeter shifts and the guards will... do the best they can." I sigh. "Zen, we must schedule more training for the guards when we return."

"What do you mean Lord Brother?"

"The first night I came onto the grounds, I was in the room with Izana and two of your men came in the room without noticing me." Reza cuts in.

"That's so disappointing..."

"Alright, we need to get going soon. I will allow the princes to come but if you die while beyond the castle walls, it is not my responsibility. As payment for allowing you to come, I demand food for all of us."

After providing Reza, Roman, Kirini, and I with a plate of food each from the kitchens courtesy of Zen and Obi, we sneak out over the castle walls again while Zen and Obi leave through the gates so no one panics that they're gone. I'm sure that Kiki and Mitsuhide will throw a fit and panic regardless but that will be something for my brother to deal with upon our return. When we come back and get settled in, I need to speak with him privately about everything that's happened over the past week and the future of the kingdom.

Reza and Roman lead the way toward the compound with Kirini and I in the middle and Obi and Zen behind us. I'm surprised at how timid Kirini is considering how cold and fearless Roman and Reza can be. She's been quietly humming a tune under her breath that sounds sweet from the slightly high pitch tone of her voice but the song itself is coming across creepy. With how short and dainty she is it still comes off adorable.

"We will be traveling for roughly four and a half hours, just so you know what to expect." She tells me. "It will be close to sunrise."

"Thank you for telling me. So what are you humming? It sounds nice but creepy."

"It's a song my grandmother used to sing called Raindrops on Roses. The words are rather cheerful but it sounds much better how I sing it." She grins.

"You Mitzkos are a rather strange family." I muse.

"Says the man of the ruling familiy of Clarines who has left his castle in the middle of the night with his brother to accompany a group of assassins who have spent a week trying to murder you so you can kill the mother of one of the said criminals."

"It appears I have been bested. I appreciate your wit."

"Perhaps you will be better prepared next time."

"I'm looking forward to it."

We stop after two hours of traveling so Reza can rest and we can learn more about what we're walking in to. Roman doesn't seem overly thrilled about sharing information but we're all working off the assumption that we'll all keep our word about what will happen once we're done. Reza reminds him that it would be stupid to let us go in completely blind and he sighs and leans against the tree while she sits.

"Kirini, any changes beyond the order you told me about?" She asks.

Kirini looks up from weaving pieces of grass into a crown beside me and shakes her head.

"The gates are still under heavy guard and The Head's attendants have been glued to her side since your attack. There shouldn't be many people at the compound thanks to her order, but that doesn't mean much."

"I have a question for the castle idiots. How did no one ever notice the large compound this close to your castle?" Roman asks.

"This is another example of why the guards need more training. This is in the direction of one of the minor forts."

"I am slowly losing faith in the people that protect our kingdom." Zen sighs.

"Anyway... the gates are usually guarded by two people on either side of the walls. The rest of the compound is walled in by eight foot high stone walls..." Reza trails off as she begins to draw in the dirt.

"We could storm the gates. There's six against four."

"We don't know how many are in the compound. If there are a lot of people we will be outnumbered."

"Then we could sneak over?" Obi suggests.

"That is a possibility but there are no good access points without manually scaling the wall."

"I am still actively loyal to the family in their eyes," Kirini speaks up while absently placing yet another small grass ring on my knee so she can start another. "I could bring either Reza or Roman to the gate under the guise that I was bringing you in to The Head as a proof of kill. We could take down the gate guards on the outside and draw the other two out and take them down quietly. The rest of you could make your way in through the gates afterward or scale the wall in the meantime."