Beyond the Darkness

Chapter 11

Hope you are liking it so far. This is actually my favorite chapter so far just because of the person that comes in so I hope you guys like it as much as I do. Please keep reading! Vote, comment, fan, and enjoy!

Chapter 11

               Amaya swept through the halls as silent and unnoticed as a wraith. Her mental map of the castle came back to her as if she had just left yesterday and guided her down the darkened hallways. She passed no one, always able to hear them coming before they encountered her. She would either hide behind curtains or drift down connecting hallways before she was caught. Not many people were awake at this hour anyway, except for the occasional guard or pair of lovers, the latter always earning a disgusted look from her. She had snuck in through an unguarded servant's entrance that she had encountered during her last stay here.

Amaya couldn't really figure out why she was here. The smartest thing to do would be to run and find a new place to stay instead of coming here and making herself vulnerable for an attack. Amaya never really had someone that she felt the need to take care of. She kept telling herself that he was her friend, one of her first friends in fact, and that's what drew her here. He may not look at her as a friend anymore after he had figured out the kind of monster she truly was, but that didn't matter to her. He would always hold a special place in her heart, as one of the first people that actually seemed to care about her, well he used to at least. The whole kidnapping incident probably didn't earn her too many points.

Disregarding that thought she kept going, winding through the winding mazelike castle, heading for Aiden's room. She hoped he was still there and hadn't switched rooms; a lot can happen in a nine months, so it was possible.

Amaya was sleep deprived and starving, because of her rush to get here. It wouldn't be enough to bother her during her fight though. She only hoped that she had made it in time. It was Wednesday night and the assassin could have already been in and out by now. With that thought Amaya began running even faster down the halls. She had her old black cloth covering her face and her hood pulled up to hide her identity. Old habits die hard.

As she rounded the corner and into the hall that held Aiden's room, she saw the guard at his door crumpled into an unconscious, maybe even dead, heap. Amaya felt her heart beating faster - a rhythmic pound, pound, pound. Had she come too late? She sped up and could hear the quiet clang of metal, that sounded like someone fighting, through the door. Her hopes rose. If there was fighting, Aiden had to still be alive, meaning it wasn't too late. She could still save him.

Amaya pulled her knives from their sheaths, their weight felt reassuring in her hands. It had been so long since she had held them with the intent to kill and she was worried she would be rusty. She stepped over the guard, sparing him a moment's glance and was surprised to see the rise and fall of his chest. This assassin seemed to be more merciful than her, that or just stupid. If this was her mission she would never have left him alive for fear that he would wake up and call for help. She was tempted to finish the job for the assassin, but remembered she was not here to kill innocents, not unless she had to. Amaya expected this to be quick anyways, not many people were a better fighter than her and she hoped she could take him out with a single throw of her knife. It should be that easy.

Amaya burst through the door knowing she couldn't waste any more time. Her calculating eyes took in the scene. Aiden was backed to the wall at sword point. His own sword was on the ground a couple feet away. The person with the sword, about to kill him, was tall and dressed in a black cloak like her. That was all she was able to make out. Both of them turned and looked at her as she pushed into the room and before she even registered what she was doing, she threw her knife, aiming for the attacker's neck.