Rohakiloe - The Assassin And The Prince

Return

Catherine turned to face the Vrazei, “Charvi didn’t tell me about this one.”

“You’re not his favorite.”

The Vrazei pulled off her mask to reveal a mane of curly red hair that was instantly recognizable. Zahra. Ugh.

Zahra pulled a satchel off her shoulder and tossed it to Catherine. “I was told to bring clothes for you.”

Catherine flipped open the satchel and pulled out soft black pants and a shirt. They’d allow much more ease of movement than her poofy wedding dress ever could.

“Turn around.” She said. Zahra turned and Catherine began removing her dress and all it’s accessories. The petticoats and jewelry were no issue at all, but the dress itself was held to her by a zipper on its back. It didn’t seem to matter how she contorted herself, she couldn’t get ahold of the zipper.

She glanced up a Zahra. “I can’t get the zipper.”

Zahra cackled, “Can’t even undress on your own, poor baby.”

She turned around, revealing the cruel smirk playing across Zahra's lips. She stalked over to Catherine and unzipped the dress with one hard yank, then turned back around as Catherine finished undressing and changing.

Once she finished she stuffed the mound of jewels and silk into the satchel and slung it over her shoulder.

“I’m done.” Catherine told Zahra.

Catherine climbed down into the tunnel. She patted the walls to get a feel for where they were, then began moving forward. She heard Zahra follow a moment later, shutting the trap door behind her and plunging the tunnel into total darkness.

They walked along in silence. Catherine couldn’t help being salty that Zahra had had to save her, both from the royal guards, and from the wedding dress.. She had no doubt that Zahra was salty that she’d had to.

Charvi could’ve sent anyone else, but no, he had to send Zahra, the most insufferable Vrazei there was. She’d almost rather spend time with one of the Rohakiloe than with her.

The tunnel changed beneath Catherine’s feet and began sloping upward. A minute later she banged her head hard against a wooden ceiling. Zahra snickered as she rubbed her throbbing head.

She reached up and felt around. She found the lock, unlatched it, and pushed the trap door open. It took some effort due to it being covered by bags of potatoes, but she managed to lift it and climbed out.

She slowly turned in a circle, taking in her surroundings. She was in some sort of pantry, it seemed secure enough, for now. She felt like she’d traveled fairly far from the palace, and there were no windows. For the moment she was safe.

Zahra climbed out of the tunnel and kicked the door shut. “I’ll meet you upstairs.” Zahra was up the stairs before Catherine could say a word.

Typical. Leaving her to do all the work.

She huffed and turned back to the trapdoor. She locked it and put the bags of potatoes back in place, concealing the door from view.

With that taken care of she stomped up the stairs and found Zahra sitting on the couch, smirking. It was clear she wanted a fight, and Catherine was just about ready to give it to her.

She balled up her fists and fought to control herself. She couldn’t afford to fight with a fellow Vrazei when so many of the Rohakiloe still lived, even if certain Vrazei were insufferable.

She got her temper under control and relaxed her hands.

“I assume we’ll be returning to headquarters now.”

“Of course. Charvi needs to debrief you, and probably berate you for being so stupid.”

She took another deep breath and glanced out the window. The street outside was empty and unfamiliar. She could probably get my bearings if she walked around a bit, but being out in the open for any longer than necessary was needlessly risky. She'd d just have to ask Zahra for directions.

“Which way to headquarters?”

Zahra raised an eyebrow, “Wasn’t it just last Tuesday that you were bragging about how well you know the town? Can’t you find your way?”

Catherine balled my hands into fists and tried not to think about how satisfying punching the smirk right off her face would be. “I can find my way around just fine, but considering that the entire kingdom is probably hunting me right now I’d rather not spend extra time in the open.”

Zahra’s smirk widened, “I guess you don’t know the town as well as you thought you did.”

“I do, I just don’t know exactly where I am right now. Now, if you’ll point me in the right direction."

“Admit you don’t know the town as well as you claimed.”

“Just give me the directions.”

“Admit you were wrong.”

Out of the corner of her eye she caught sight of a group of guards marching down the street. She threw herself to the ground and pressed herself against the wall to keep from being seen from the windows.

The longer she was outside of headquarters the more danger she was in. If she hadn’t seen those guards before they’d seen her she’d either be dead or would have more innocent blood on her hands.

She took a deep breath and turned to Zahra, “I admit, there are certain parts of the town I’m more unfamiliar with than I claimed. Happy?"

“Very. Head east until you intersect with the main road. I’m sure you can find your way from there.”

Catherine nodded, checked to make sure the guards had passed and climbed to her feet. She tosseed Zahra a glare before she slipped out the door.

As she traveled up the street she was careful to keep to the shadows. She kept her head down and avoided getting too close to anyone.

It became harder and harder to stay hidden as she neared the main road. The closer she got the more people there were out and about. She couldn’t keep her distance from all of them, but she was careful not to meet their eyes, and did her best to keep her face turned away from as many of them as possible.

She made it to the main road without incident, got her bearings, and slipped off into less-traveled side streets for the rest of her journey.

She reached Charvi’s estate in a little less than ten minutes. It was quite the sight after having been away for so long. It was only about half the size of the palace, but much more tastefully built. Where the palace was all stone walls and iron bars Charvi’s estate featured columns wound with live honeysuckle vines, massive stained glass windows, and the best-maintained gardens in the country.

Catherine allowed a moment herself to enjoy the heady scent of the flowers before refocusing. The estate was swarming with gardeners, messengers, and delivery boys. Mostly they were moving with purpose, clearly having a job to do, but there were the odd few that were sitting around, eyes alert. She wasn’t sure if they’d heard about her attempt on the prince’s life, but figured it was better to play it safe.

She made her way to the back of the estate where the gates were lined with rosebushes and up to the fourth bush on the left. She pulled up the trapdoor beneath it and slipped inside.

She had no need to feel out this passageway, it’d become familiar to her over the last few years as she’d worked with Charvi and the other Vrazei to exterminate the Rohakiloe.

She crossed the length of the tunnel in a matter of minutes and emerged into the Vrazei’s headquarters. Thanks to her use of the tunnel she’d emerged directly into the underground headquarters. She hadn’t had to try to use one of the estate’s passageways without being seen.

Now that she was here it was as though a weight had been lifted from her chest. Everyone here knew of her mission. She was safe here within these familiar walls with her fellow Vrazei. She could finally drop the act of being an imposter’s bride-to-be.

Within these walls she wasn’t a murderer or a fraud, she was a warrior fighting to save the kingdom.

She gently ran her fingers across the marble walls. It was good to be home, though even here she had business to attend to.