The Night Watch | The Nocturnal Chronicles {Book One}

x. the orphan

"If you live enough days alone in the world, you learn that all people are only of two kinds. Some are selfish and care for only themselves. Others survive only by the skin of their teeth."

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The Activity. It had died down slightly from before, but only slightly. People were still all out and about working on a ceremony Erudessa couldn't even attend because the Council hated her. She felt so betrayed like everyone she'd know would always turn their backs on her just because she killed so many. Maybe they were right and she was a monster. Honestly, she wouldn't blame them for thinking so. She was like the Grim Reaper in the eyes of the Council. It was her own fault they had banned her from the castle grounds.

     People turned away as Erudessa rode past. She shot them harsh glares and rode faster. All she wanted to do was lay underneath the autumn sun, letting all her trouble sink into the ground beneath her. She needed to go to a place where birds sang as water babbled in a brook. This was her secret haven, her happy place. She slowed to a stopped deep in the forest outside the city. A brook cut through the forest, and she stopped in front of it. She let her horse graze as she sat by the water's edge. Her reflection rippled as the water ran over the stones deep beneath the surface.

     She just needed to be alone. No Grimm, no Rowe, no Council, no worries. Her life was just getting to be a bit much lately. It seemed like everyone had a vendetta against her. She was happy for the sweet relief of time alone in her secret haven. No one could find her here, and even if they did, she couldn't be bothered to listen to them. This was the one place where no one could get to her. She could tune out their voices and focus on the birds or the brook. She was in control here.

     Life had been good for sixteen years. As good as it could get being the king's Assassin. Now, everything was crumbling beneath her. She lost the love of her life, the man who treated her like his granddaughter, the comfort of a home, and all the friendship she had made along the way. Luck was not on her side these past two weeks. It all started with those stupid scrolls. She should have known they meant trouble.

     Erudessa picked up a stone and chucked it into the water. It made a loud splash, and she got hit with a sprinkling of water. The water was colder than the air that bit at her cheeks. For some reason, she couldn't wait until the forest finished shedding their leaves and winter started. She loved to see snow. It was just so pure and white. Not to mention simple. A ton of little ice particles stuck together. It just fell from the sky. She wished her life was that simple sometimes.

     One year she had to go on assignments every time it snowed so she only saw the city when the snow had already fallen, and while that was nice, it wasn't as great as watching the snow fall. The king just seemed to want so many people killed at that time. Sometimes, she couldn't keep track of who she was supposed to kill first on large assignments. She wasn't just an Assassin sometimes. She would fetch things like scrolls and weird plants for him. No matter what the task, she wasn't allowed to refuse because if she did, she wouldn't get fed.

     That was life for six years. This year though, she was in a totally different situation. She had been on strange assignments and now she had no assignments nor would she ever again. King Eben was dead and Rowe didn't require her services. She was in service of the Night Watch, and she doubted Grimm would send her on her trail mission anytime soon. She wasn't in the right mind to do such a thing.

     She just needed a few days to get her life together. Hopefully, after the Coronation, she would be able to settle things with everyone. That would be her main focus, to understand the circumstances under which people had been doing things. It would be a lot of talking and emotions, and she wasn't totally used to that kind of thing. Hopefully, she would get used to it. She had no doubt that was how she would be dealing with things as a Watcher.