Sin: Path of Poison

Chapter 16 Part 2

Everything was spotless, except for the soon to be dead bodies and blood running across the ground. The decorations were simple but expensive. The room was heavily decorated in blue and gold. Nomi's room was to the side, I found a simple bed with the same bedding as we had in the shared rooms. A curtain could be drawn across the entryway, the fabric was thick and heavy, leaving no room to peak inside. There was a simple table with a few jewels out in the open. Her extra robes were stacked neatly on a shelf.

I walked back to the main room and noticed an area off to the side, behind a screen. A fresh basin of water was drawn for a bath. The water was lukewarm. I scooped up a small bit of water to further scrutinize it. There were no perfumes added so it wouldn't give me away if I bathed here. Removing my robes and carefully setting aside the small vial I'd taken from my hideout with Lei, I climbed into the bath. The blood clung to me, only letting go as I scrubbed it off with my fingers.

Downstairs I could hear Lei rushing in. I sighed to myself as I pondered if he had any desire to live. Rushing into this mess alone without even gathering some soldiers for backup, overconfident or too loyal. Dunking my head under the water, I made sure the blood was fully washed clean. I grabbed a nearby towel and started patting myself off. The tub of used water beside me was dirtied pink in color. Lei ran in so quickly he almost tripped over the bodies of the now dead assassins. Pools of blood surrounded them.

Standing over the Crown Prince, he dropped to his knees and ever so carefully reached out for his wrist to check for a pulse. Realizing the Crown Prince was alive, Lei moved onto Nomi. A sigh of relief came out as he looked down at them both.

"Ryn?" He called out in a shaky voice, suddenly turning to look around the room.

"Mm?" I stepped out from behind the screen with only a towel covering my body.

"You.." His head swiveled to look at me. The words froze in his mouth as he took in what I was wearing. His head quickly turned away again. "You.. you .. took a bath?" He asked.

"Mm." I agreed. "I was careless, too much blood on me. It wouldn't have been convenient to bathe in the wash house with the other girls."

Lei was standing still and trying to figure out where to look. He didn't want to look at the bodies on the ground or the Crown Prince as he lay unconscious yet it wasn't proper to look in my direction either.

"What happened here?" He asked.

"Eight assassins were disguised as patrol guards, they knew the correct formations but when it was time to split they came inside, killing off the guards after they poisoned them. I killed them along the way, arriving just as the Crown Prince lost consciousness. It wouldn't have been convenient for me to arrive earlier, my cover would have been over. He caught a glimpse of me, but he shouldn't be able to clearly remember any details other than seeing a guard enter." I explained.

"You're not hurt are you?" He asked, trying to be polite.

"I'm fine, just a bruise from earlier today." I disappeared behind the screen. Noticing the movement, he looked back towards the direction I'd gone. Slowly picking up the small vial of medicine, I came back out. He immediately averted his eyes again.

"Is there something you can change into?" He asked.

"If I take anything else it will be hard to get rid of and hard to explain." I shrugged.

"Hard to explain?" He asked.

"If I take one of Nomi's robes they'll think I'm a girl. If I take one of the Crown Prince's robes it will be hard to get rid of easily." I added.

"So you're returning in a towel?" He asked.

"Not exactly." I left it at that, mostly just toying with him.

With a measured step over the Crown Prince, I walked to Lei and stopped directly in front of him. This close together, he didn't have many options to avoid looking at me. Carefully holding the vial, I gently channeled some energy to break the seal. I prepared the medicine long ago, it took nearly three months of waiting before the batch was complete. Each batch made twelve doses. The smell of the blended poisons and herbs dissipated during the process, leaving an unnoticeable scent. At the time I had no reason to create it, yet my instincts told me to.

"Drink it." I said, holding it out in front of him. He looked at me, his expression held a hint of curiosity. He looked deeply into my eyes before swaying as he fell into them. His hands went out instinctively, holding onto my shoulders to steady himself. I stood still. His gaze became less intense, rather than searching for answers he just watched.

"Who are you?" He asked, sounding defeated. He glanced at his hands, which touched my bar skin. His balance hadn't fully returned yet, he swallowed and held on for a moment longer.

"Does it matter?" I asked.

"I guess not." He replied. His neck and ears were pink as his hands retreated back to his side.

"Will you disappear again?" He asked. I shook my head. He looked worried, his eyes never stopped searching my face.

"I still need to find the person behind this." I answered. He looked down again, focusing on the vial in my hand. His eyes moved back to mine, their gaze was soft like a fleeting breeze. He closed his eyes for a brief moment, so quickly I nearly missed it.

"Promise you won't leave the palace after I drink it." He looked sad. Why?

"I won't leave the palace after you drink it." I agreed. His shoulders relaxed slightly.

He took the vial and drank it completely. The tint of the empty glass container caught his attention. It had a red sheen rather than the black he likely imagined. I took the vial from his hand and grabbed his arms. His began to slump as the ingredients flowed through his body, I gently helped lower him to the ground. He looked up at me, his eyes looked complacent and scared at the same time.

"Don't leave." He trailed off, his voice was hardly intelligible. He seemed unconcerned with his own symptoms and more focused on my actions. Irrational.

"I'll leave a note for your father. You'll wake up this time tomorrow, you won't notice any side effects. Tell them when you walked into the room you ran to the Crown Prince. When you were checking on him you suddenly passed out, unable to remember anything." I spoke quickly, his pupils were already dilating. Within moments he'd temporarily lose his hearing. The sudden loss of sound was almost as deafening as a thunderous roar. "I'll see you when you wake up." I finished. Gently running my hand across his eyelids, I closed them for him.