Rohakiloe - The Assassin And The Prince

Sleeps Like A Log

She climbed the rest of the wall as quickly as she could and perched on the windowsill of the fifteenth window.

A quick glance inside showed that it was nothing more than a maintenance closet.

She climbed to the sixteenth window and peered inside. It was very clearly Arabella's room, she could see her sleeping inside, but so was another factor she'd forgotten to account for.

Arabella's husband was in the room too.

She cursed herself for being so stupid. She'd known Arabella was married, so of course her husband would be in her room with her.

Well, she'd just have to work around him.There had to be a way to get Arabella alone.

She became aware of shouting in the distance. That would undoubtedly be the gardeners. She only had a couple minutes, if that.

She couldn't come up with anything that would work fast enough to avoid being caught by the guards who were surely on their way at this very moment.

She'd just have to let Arabella's husband see her. She didn't know how sympathetic he was to the Vrazei, but that was a risk she'd have to take.

She leaned forward and tried to pull open the window, but encountered yet another problem. The window was locked, and there were voices approaching down below.

She considered her options, then banged on the window. The sound would eerily loud after the near silence of the night. She half worried everyone in Arabella's waste heard.

Arabella sat up in bed and stared at her with wide eyes.

"Arabella, it's Catherine, can I come in?"

Arabella rubbed her eyes. She stared for a moment before crossing the room, unlatching the window, and opening it.

Catherine climbed inside and sat down on the floor, enjoying its fluffiness in contrast to her throbbing muscles.

Arabella stared down at her, clearly baffled.
"What are you doing here at this hour? Not that I mind your company, but your method of entry and your hour of visitation are both a bit unorthodox, don't you think?"

Catherine nodded in agreement, "Sorry for all that. I didn't know where else to go."

Arabella's eyes widened, "But your headquarters! Has something happened? Is Charvi well? He was such a dear the last time I saw him. That boy is a perfect gentleman"

"Everyone's fine, Charvi just decided I should take a vacation after my last mission, but I have Rohakiloe to kill, so I came here."

Arabella glanced over at her husband, who was somehow still sleeping.

"Perhaps we should discuss this elsewhere. Graham despises being woken for anything less than the world's end."

"Sounds good, but I should mention that your gardeners saw me when I was climbing up the wall, and I'm pretty sure they went and told the guards, so I'd like if we could try to avoid bumping into them. After my last mission, it's best if I keep a low profile"

"I see." She led Catherine out of her bedroom and into a small sitting with with several extremely cushy chairs.

Catherine and Arabella sat in chorus facing each other.

"I don't mean to be rude, but what do you hope to gain from coming here? I'm nowhere near as well equipped as your headquarters. Sure I'm good at plans and gowns, but I'm no help in supplying weapons or helping to destroy the Rohakiloe."

Catherine shrugged, "I really just need somewhere I can keep a low profile for a while while I gather information and find Rohakiloe to kill."

Arabella's eyes widened, "That kind of reconnaissance would send you out into the kingdom. Surely you don't intend to risk yourself like that."

"I'td not a risk, because I won't be caught. I'll be careful."

"The entire kingdom is searching for you. There's a price on your head. Every bounty hunter's dream is to catch you. You can't possibly hide from them all."

"It doesn't matter. I have a job to do. If they spot me I'll deal with it, but they won't, because I intend to be careful."

Arabella sighed, considered for a moment, then perked up.

"I have records of several potential Rohakiloe, use them instead."

"Why didn't you tell me sooner? That'll be so much easier than going out and finding the Rohakiloe myself."

Arabella bit her lip and looked down at the floor, "I borrowed the papers from Charvi. I wanted to know what to look out for in case someone near me was possessed by a Rohakiloe, but the papers were as addicting as court gossip. All that information about so many people...by the time Charvi returned to collect the papers I'd copied them all."

She met Catherine's eyes, "You won't tell him, will you. He's such a gentleman, and I'd rather he don't find out."

"I won't tell him a thing, now let's see these papers."