The Crown Prince Thinks I'm a Guy

An Assassin's Mission

Unwittingly, I had fallen into a light sleep, and Eleina had to gently prod me awake. Sitting up slowly and rubbing at my eyes, I realized that what happened had really happened, and I might just have killed the seeds of friendship that had just started growing.

"I'm sorry to disturb your rest, princess," Eleina said softly, as though worried I might be too bothered by the noise. "But, Sir Elmar is waiting for you."

"I understand," I said, standing up to stretch. I looked at the assassin woman as I did so. Her hair was a lighter brown than mine and I would think that if exposed to sunlight, it would appear blonde. I murmured, "I would like to ask something before we leave, though..."

She looked at me quizzically. "Of course."

"Have you seen that white-haired girl around? I think her name was Zepherin," I asked, trying to keep my expression stoic.

At first, Eleina looked like she didn't understand what I had just said, but then her face suddenly turned into one of recognition, and finally into amusement. "Ah, the High Monk's new apprentice. However, I haven't seen the child... Have you, perhaps, made a friend in your brief visits, princess?"

"... I probably made her despise me, instead," I muttered lowly.

"Hmm... It might just be a hunch, but must it have been because of something you have said?" Eleina smiled at me gently, looking not much like the serious faced assassin I have always seen her as.

I promptly nodded at her guess.

"Was it something about her peculiar looks?" she asked.

I shook my head.

"Or a guess about her place of origin?" she asked after a thought.

I shook my head again, although now I became more curious about that too.

"... Then, did you somehow insult the Order?"

I flinched.

I wouldn't exactly call my words as insulting, but I suppose that was how Zepherin had taken them. Looking apprehensively at the woman, I fidgeted on my feet. "I didn't mean it as an insult at all. However, as an outsider of your organization, I had probably phrased a few words quite brashly in a bout of frustration..."

"Well, I did hear some... rumors about the High Monk somehow inviting you to become one of us. Even I would have felt troubled if that's the last thing I heard before losing consciousness," Eleina said. Knowing that Eleina was right there beside us when Eva had quite loudly invited me to become an assassin, I knew she was only sugarcoating her words to save her leader's face.

A particularly high pitched quack resounded in the room, rapidly breaking the depressing atmosphere.

"Ahh..." I let out a small sound, staring at the restless creature.

I had forgotten about the bird...

Should I just leave it here?

~~

"Farseer," I greeted him. However, he seemed to be busily reading at a pile of papers, and only glanced for barely a second at me before looking back down.

I looked back at Eleina, who still stood there by the room's door. She had indeed led me to my mentor, but it didn't look like we were leaving any time now. So, I came back to Eleina's side and offered her a seat inside the room. We sat facing each other on some softly padded seats placed farther away from my busy mentor's study table.

Looking round, it didn't look like much. It was designed much like the countless rooms inside the Order and only looked like a slightly more furnished room than the waiting room, which only had a table and some chairs. At least this chamber had a hanged mirror and some shelves filled with numerous, albeit dusty books.