Bound To Kill

XXIII: Bound To Welcome

Sebastian

"Thank you so much for helping on the decorations, Mary."

Mary turns around to face me after finishing on grouping three roses of different colors- bright pink, solid yellow, and dark red- in a porcelain vase. She smiles, "you're welcome. Evie is also my friend, so throwing her a birthday party is one of my friendship priorities I suppose."

We both laugh at the joke. I'm happy that my butterflies from Mary in my stomach have left and were replaced by blades from Evie, which means what I feel for Evie is so much more than what I had felt for Mary once.

"It's a good idea to pick the garden as the venue." I say. "But I'm afraid whether she would like it or not..."

"What do you mean?" Mary's eyebrows creased.

"Well, we know she's an Assassin and she seems to look like the kind of person that dislikes everything that screams festivity."

"Nonsense! I mean, who knows? Maybe there's a good spot in her heart that likes festivities and parties, other than blood and assassinations from the back." Mary says with one brow raised cockily.

I sigh deeply. Opening my palms, I accidentally eject my blade and almost cut my ring finger off. Mary gasps, but laughs aimlessly after. "Is that Evie's?"

"Yes, it is." I say, breathing heavily as the blade hides in one millisecond back to my sleeve.

"Hmm, it doesn't seem to suit you." She says. "Nor if you wish to join the Assassins and wear their uniform."

"As long as I promise to serve the people right, it will."

"Evangeline is here, Your Majesties!" A maid informs from the garden's front entrance.

Everyone shuffles to their positions, some hiding and some immediately finishing their tasks.

Mary and Francis hides behind a wall of bush, along with the other servants. I approach Evie just as she appears grandly in the dress I've given her. Her auburn reddish hair is freely hanging on her back with daisies popping from its curls.

"My, you look as beautiful as ever." I say, out of breath that I felt my heart stopped beating.

"What in tarnation?" Covering her mouth, she looks around the garden full of flowers and tables. She walks toward a tall three-layered cake on the grand table, stealing one inch-sized icing of white chocolate. She faces me again. "What's all this, Bash?"

"It's for your birthday." I couldn't help but grin. "Sorry if it's too soon."

"How did you knew my birthday was coming?"

"Nostradamus. He told me everything."

Suddenly her eyes sparkling with light disappears into blankness. "What?" She frowns. "So you knew about the hallucinations? About the hauntings of my parents and Alexander?"

"Yes, I do." She takes a step backward, eyes welling up with tears. Nostradamus told me everything, but what seems to upset her? Her parents? Her cousin? "What's wrong?"

"I-I have to go!" She almost shouts, lifting up a pinch of her skirt as she runs away to the back entrance.

"Evie, wait!" I tend to chase her, but stopped when she stopped as well as a group of Templar Knights riding in silver horses halted a few square feet away from her.

"What the..." Francis and Mary stood by me, also wearing the same expression as I am. "Are those-"

"Templars." I cut him off, not removing my gaze from the Templar nearest to Evie. "The Assassins' archenemy."

-

Julius

As a Templar seeking order in Europe, for years I have landed yet again in the Court of godforsaken France. I've been watching the castle from afar for some hours now, and it seems that my hunger for killing the Queen who once threatened to have me beheaded grows like a beloved parasite in a woman's womb.

And as for my curiosity as to why my beloved sentimental of a twin brother is still missing, I have high hopes to leave the castle without wreaking arson.

I have heard my Assassin cousin have recently just left after succeeding on her mission to kill the late King Henry. Although as a Templar, I should hate her, I believe that blood is thicker than water and that her assassination of the King is the best thing the Assassin Brotherhood has ever done in our years of being rivals.

Maxim, my silver horse and the only rare breed who has a black mane walks on the silent quad of the castle as though no one is home.

"Where could they be, Sire?" Asks my bodyguard, John.

"Having a tea party, I bet." I joke, not cracking a laugh with them. I've only brought three of my best men with me and left the rest of our army back at the camp. "Come along now." I say. We walked around the castle for a path to enter since the gate was downed. On our way, a redheaded fair lady in a beautiful dress sprints across the quad, heading towards us.

She stops and almost trips the moment she sees my group. It was then I realized she wasn't just another redhead, she was Evie, my cousin.

She backs away with a fearless scowl. I take my helmet off to let her know who I was. Her eyes glimmer for a moment but changed after realizing I wasn't Alexander. She says my name roughly. "Julius."

I run my hand on my medium-length brunet hair before hopping off of my horse. "How'd you knew it was me, eh? I thought you'd mistook me for Alex." She looks away briefly after I'm just three meters away from her. "About him, have you seen the bastard? He hasn't wrote a letter back in a while and I heard his last visit was right here in the Court of France."

My eyes wander off beyond Evie's poor height, seeing people hiding behind a fenced garden jampacked with festive decorations. I see two familiar fellows and my eyes narrow back at my cousin. "I thought you left after you succeeded on your mission. Also, what's with the dress? You ran away from marrying a King or something?"

"Not you too." She groans. I eye her, puzzled. "Anyways, what're you doing here?"

"None of your business. Now if you please kindly, show me who this kingdom belongs to. I'd like to negotiate with them with some sorts."

Bravely she blocks my way. "Can't let a Templar get inside unless you're a friend."

"Oh? And what would happen if I tell you I am a friend of Queen Katherine?"

"Liar, you always were."

"Evangeline!" The recognizable face of Francis walks forward. "He's a friend, let him through."

Evie watches me furiously. "I'm watching you, cous."

I smirk. "Aren't you?" I walk past her proudly and greet Francis immediately with a curt handshake. "It's a pleasure meeting you, Francis, again."

"As to you as well."

"Call me Julius."

"Julius, please come in."

"Thank you."

Walking forward, Evie stays beside me, muttering, "if you do something wrong, I'll be forced to kill you."

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