The Assassin

Cassia felt deeply unsettled as she stared into his cold grey eyes. He himself she had never met, but those eyes were so utterly familiar and disconcerting. And from the searching way he examined her, she could tell he knew her too.

She stepped back from the imprisoning bars that separated the two, crossing her arms. The moment was over, any connection between them forgotten. The prisoner sighed (from disappointment? Frustration?) and looked to the wall. Away from her.

"Cyprian Dallyn," she spoke to him shortly and harshly, letting the boy with the unruly dirty blonde hair know that there would be no pity for him. It was a bluff, concealing the ache she'd begun to feel the moment his eyes met hers. "That's your name, correct?"

"Yes."

Her heart skipped a beat. It was the first time she had heard him speak. He couldn't have been much older than her, with his youthful face and the way his voice held a rough, boyish charm. Cassia took note of the fact that he had a Lyvian accent, lilting and melodic.

"How'd you know?" He gave her a lopsided grin.

"It's the name your crossbow was registered to." She raised an eyebrow at him, letting him hear the venom in her voice. "You know, the one you were pointing at my mother's head."

"Aw, crap," Cyprian sighed deeply, placing a palm to his forehead. "Y'all think I was tryin to hit her? I love our lovely, fair Queen as much as anyone!"

"Do you think I'm stupid?" She narrowed her eyes angrily. She had SEEN the boy with the crossbow try to assassinate her mother, the Queen of Aveni. "I was there! I saw you!"

"Do you think I'M stupid?" Cyprian stepped right up to the bars, shortening the distance between the two. "Think back, Princess. Was I really doing something so awful?"

His words filled her with uncertainty. What if the young boy before her really WAS innocent?

"Are you supposed to be down here, Princess?" Cyprian yawned, shooting her a wink. "If not, you'd better get going."

Cassia glanced sideways at the passage. He was right. She wasn't actually allowed to be down there. But Cassia knew the secrets of the castle better than anyone, and as the footsteps approached, she ducked back down the hallway and knocked on the wall to reveal the secret passage. It would be like she was never there.

But as she disappeared from the dungeon and slipped through the castle up to her quarters, Cyprian's words echoed through her mind.

Cassia remembered the incident extremely well. It had just been that day, after all. That morning had just so happened to be the day of her Coming-of-Age Ceremony. A very special occasion she'd waited for all 18 years of her life. Even when she'd been too young to really understand what it was, there was always a feeling of excitement when people would talk about it. It involved many ancient rituals and traditions, to show that the new adult the Ceremony was for was finally of age, and send them on a wonderful path in life. The Coming-of-Age Ceremony was sacred, and to disrupt it was a serious crime, which made what Cyprian had done even more vile.

The Ceremony had just been beginning. She was standing by her mother's side at the head of the grand Great Hall, which was where her Ceremony was being held. For her protection, the captain of the guard stood behind her and slightly to the left. She looked over her shoulder and grinned at him excitedly, as she'd grown up knowing him and there was a great fondness between them. He returned her smile, but gestured for her to turn around. She had to face the audience.

Cassia leaned slightly forwards, past the Queen, to watch the Ceremony Performer walk up the aisle to stand directly before her mother. In his grand robes he looked so very regal and official. He glanced at Cassia, who quickly stood up straight with embarrassment. She was just so excited by it all! She could hardly believe today was happening. She fought the urge to jump up and down as the Ceremony Performer turned to the audience, speaking to the array of citizens gathered in the Great Hall.