I Am Death

Chapter 5: Stop And Think

I sneak out of the small cottage.

It's almost midnight, the Smiths are heavy sleepers and were thankfully oblivious to my exit.

I start running through Smith's field towards the marketplace. After a few feet I stop. What am I doing? I'm here alone in the night, on a mission to kill. Is that me? Is that the man you love? I look at my armour, really look at it. The chestplate is thin enough that it doesn't weigh me down. The gauntlets are a malevolent kind of beautiful, with wolf heads near the wrist and the wolf eyes were stained with something that looked like blood. The blood. How had I not noticed that?! The gauntlets had flecks of stained blood everywhere, on the teeth of the wolf and the eyes. It made it look like the gauntlets were a creature on their own, a killer's pets... I take off my mask. This mask is the mask my father wore when the whole kingdom knew of him as the Wolf, the cruel killer who attacked in the night, whom you could never escape from, who dealt in blood. A lone man who was feared by the most powerful knights. He left me and my mother alone years ago, but it is still his blood that courses in my veins. My mother died when I was 15, 4 years ago. I've always lived alone, until I met you, barely, 8 months ago. I knew I was a killer, I've killed the jackals and foxes that attacked me. Never wolves though, my friend made sure I never had to fight them. But I've never killed a man.

I'm being brash. But I need to think, I need to run. I take off my armour and put it in the cloth bag and take out a robe. I put it on and set off for the marketplace with the bag slung over my shoulder.

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I reach the market square. Since its so late, there is nobody there to glare at me as if I'm a stray dog. Everyone is asleep, it is peaceful. But this is not enough. I need to get higher. I notice a building with lower ledges and crevices that I can climb. I run towards it, I jump up, grab the ledge and I keep climbing the ledges until I reach the roof. I pull myself up and walk to the edge. I lie down on the roof with the bag nearby. I stare up at the stars. My mother taught me to interpret them. "Follow the brightest the star, it always leads North, it always leads to home" she'd say. I stare at them with nostalgia. Just as I knew they would, my thoughts turn to you. Your face, your smile. It hurts! It hurts so much! I want to be with you, I miss you. I want to break into Duncan's castle and rescue you, but I can't, I'm not helping anyone if I just charge in alone with no idea what I'm up against.

"Come here, bitch!" a drunken yell breaks my thoughts. I glance down and see a group of guards laughing, clearly drunk, standing just outside the brothel. Their leader, the one who yelled, is manhandling a young woman, probably a year younger than me. I look closer and realise the leader is the captain of the guard in this village, Keith. "Ah, she's too skinny." he says and shoves her away. She falls on the ground. "Looks like no fun for me today, lads, I'm too tired to look for another whore. You go and have fun, remember, not too be too hard." he tells his lackeys with a maniacal laugh. His guards leave him and he starts to drunkenly walk towards his home. He's the captain of the guard and a loyal dog of Duncan, maybe I can get some information about where they're holding you out of him.

I keep the robe on but put on the mask and the chestplate. The hood of my robe will hide my face, and the wolf mask will surely help if somebody does get a glance. The chestplate can be hidden by the robe and won't slow me down. I can't put on the gauntlets though, the moon light will give them away. I take out my throwing knives and get them ready. If I'm successful I won't need the gladius and I leave it along with my gauntlets and the bag on the rooftop.

I jump off the roof onto the top of the brothel. Keith is stumbling towards his way as I follow atop the rooftops.

Hidden by the shadows...