The Assassin and the Murderer

Chapter 3

Captain Charles Torrin had noticed the change in Gavin the most. Sure, taking the place of his father as king was bound to change a person, but this was more than that. They hadn't spoken more than a few words in a month.

That was why he wasn't sure wether it was a good thing or a bad thing that he was the only guard present in the throne room that evening.

"Gavin." Charles said, mustering up the courage to at least try to talk this whole thing out.

"Mmhmm." Gavin acknowledged, not taking his eyes off of his work.

"Gavin, you can't keep avoiding this. You know we need to talk."

"I'm too busy for this, Charles. We can speak another time." Gavin said.

"Too busy? Your father had enough time to do all of that and have affairs with women other than your mother. I think you can spare a moment to discuss your reasoning for pushing me away." Charles said sternly.

Gavin looked up now.

"I am not my father. And there is nothing to discuss. You already know what I will say." Gavin said quietly.

"That the people wouldn't like to find out that their new king is in love with his male Captain of the Guard?" Charles repeated coldly. "You don't know what they'll think. You haven't even told your own mother!"

"Charles, I do know that people are unforgiving. And that my father has implanted thoughts into their heads." Gavin said. "My suggestion to pass the law to make women have the same rights as men caused an uproar. I still have yet to convince enough people to make it happen. What do you think will happen if the public finds out about this?"

"I think that you are their king, and in the end, they have no choice but to agree with you."

~

For the whole first day, the route that Spencer and Laurel mapped out took them along the streets of Aylasan. Once they reached the edge of the next town over, they would have to travel by foot through a forrest. That was why they traveled as far as they could that day, and called it quits right before the forrest so they could get one last night of rest in a real bed, and they stopped in a small tavern at the edge of the town.

They rented out three rooms for the night. Spencer and Laurel would take one, Gabriel and Oletha in another, and Denzel would sleep on the couch in Jemma and Sam's room.

"We're going North." Spencer noted when they were in their rooms later that day.

"Yeah. We are." Laurel said, unbraiding her hair to let it fall loosely around her shoulders.

"Laurel, we're going North. Back towards Erilan. We got this far away, are you sure you're alright with this?"

"Are you?"

"I'm fine, Laurel, but we have to realize that this could very well be a trap." Spencer said.

"We can't think like that. Not with all that's happened." Laurel said.

"Alright. But if I die–"


"Don't think like that. You are not going to die." Laurel cut in.

"Laurel, even if this isn't a trap, we are dealing with a murderer. Sam and Denzel's father goes missing after nearly figuring out who their mother's murderer is? That can't be a coincidence." Spencer said realistically.

"You are not going to die. No one is going to die." Laurel said.

"Fine. I'm not going to die. But either way, I want you to know that I love you." Spencer said.

"I love you, too." She said, and kissed him. "And you are not going to die."

So she kissed him again, this time for longer, and then somehow found herself underneath him on the bed, softly tracing the scars on his chest with her fingers.

"Are you sure about this?" He asked.

"Yes."

~

Oletha and Gabriel left the tavern room with their bags all packed and ready to find Sam, Denzel and Jemma already ready as well.

"Where are Spencer and Laurel?" Jemma asked, slinging a pack around her back.

"They must be deep sleepers to still be asleep now." Sam said.

Oletha snorted at this, since that was definitely not the case, but she handed her bag to Gabriel anyway.

"Take the stuff downstairs. I'll wake them up." She said, and watched the others clear away.

She then stepped up to the door and knocked a few times.

"Alright, you two, let's go!" She called into the room.

"One minute, Letha!" She heard Laurel say from inside the room.

"What happened to the whole 'Spence and I have been up for hours' thing? You know, I thought you were against this whole tardiness thing." Oletha said knowingly.

"That is not the same." Laurel said, opening the door.

"Right. That's why you're wearing the wrong shirt." Oletha said.

Laurel's eyes widened, and then she slammed the door shut again.

Oletha waited for a minute, trying, and failing, to not laugh.

"I knew that." Laurel lied, coming back out of the room, and running her fingers through her hair to start a braid.

Spencer followed, shaking his head and laughing.

"Gabe is gonna kill you." Oletha sniggered, smiling at Spencer.

"No he's not." Spencer said, laughing. But then his expression changed. "He'll be okay with this, right?"

Oletha just smirked and ran down the tavern stairs.

"Right?"

~

The group of travelers started their trek through the forest. Day one was not so hard. It would be the later days when they would have to find their own food that would be more difficult, but for now, they were able to survive on what they had packed. It also helped that they had a huntress with them as well.

But Spencer was still worried about this whole situation. He knew that one way or another, something bad would happen.