~*~

Daniel sat, his torso bandaged, atop the bed he'd slept on the night before. He had been stripped of his cloak and the various weapons he'd hid inside its sachets. The knight sat on the bed across from him, sword held at the ready. As if he posed any threat with a hole in his side.

Matthew sat, stabbed leg out and straight his head on his other knee. He had a bandage running around his thigh. The princess stood next to him, straight and unyielding. A put-upon bravery on her very terrified face.

"Who are you?" The knight queried.

"Is it not enough that I am on your side?" He raised his brow in mock humor.

"Your kind do not have a side!"

"I apologize. Humor is the only thing between me and the insanity of this world."

"Neither it, nor sweetly spun philosophies, will save you from my blade if you do not speak. Who sent you? And for what purpose?"

Daniel sat back and leaned against the wall. He exhaled a weary sigh and looked up at his companions. He seemed to resign himself to an inevitable realization and nodded.

"You are welcome to believe me or throw whatever nonsense I'm about to spill straight out the window." He began.

When no one said anything, he continued,

"I used to be one of them. But I... resigned-"

"You cannot simply resign from... them."

"The Dead Men are a complicated family." Daniel answered. The group winced at the name. Matthew's head peeked up, his eyes burning with newfound curiosity.

"You are a Dead Man? As in the guild of assassins? They are real?"

Nadia shot Matthew a chastising look and he shrugged in response.

"Oh, a fan, are you, feline?" Daniel asked, each phrased laced with heavy sarcasm.

"I was." Matthew responded honestly. "Did not think you were... real."

"As it should be, according to the elders." He looked past everyone, and as if speaking to himself, he added, "The elders want to preserve what they believe is a sacred culture. A life outside the Divine alliance. Much like the elves, they don't want to be part of the humans.

"Humanity has grown corrupt. You practice and preach divine wisdom and magics but live to feed your own selves and fill your own bellies. It was no wonder the elves secluded themselves, no wonder Dalni fled with the dwarves. Any sensible god would choose to forsake such weak and ignorant creatures."

"If I wanted a lesson on your politics and history, I would have asked it." The knight broke in.

"I didn't much agree with the elders," Daniel continued, as if he hadn't heard Charles' threat. I, and several others of us who found themselves Dead Men not by choice, but simply because we were born into the guild."

"Wait, people are born into the guild?" Charles asked.

"I thought you didn't want a history lesson," the assassin joked. "But yes, there is a whole society of us. Thriving with women and children, farmers and bakers, such as any other sustainable society. But as you said, I shall save you the boring lecture on how we live and explain how I found myself in the position I am in as we speak.

"So as one of the younglings not too keen on living such a secluded lifestyle, with the world never knowing of your existence. I decided it best to leave the guild. But as you said, one does not simply resign as a Dead Man. To do that, one would have to die, as we are already supposed to be. We are after all, already dead to the world.

"Instead of outright just leaving the hideout, which would have ended with me conveniently falling off a cliff or getting myself bit by a desert snake. I took a self-sacrificing mission that would have me named as a hero among the Dead people. I would infiltrate the royal ranks of the Divine alliance and monitor them from within, making sure word of our existence remained... silent."

"Yet you still take assassination requests." Nadia put in. When the knight gave her a skeptical look she continued," I overheard a conversation I was not supposed to once, in the castle."

"And you lived to tell the tale, must be nice to be royalty." Daniel jested.

"I feel you are beginning to lose awareness of your situation here young Fawsley, if that is even your real name."

"It became real," Daniel spoke, once again, seemingly ignoring the knight. "I took it up as an alias at twelve, when I left for my mission. At twelve, I was a fully-fledged, and fully trained assassin. I took to Bravaldor and worked as courier, a street boy taking messages to and fro for spare change.

"It was easy to earn favor with the minor families. I quickly gained a reputation for not fearing to dive into dangerous places for the sake of delivering a message. It was only a matter of time before I started delivering for the Royal family. And that was when I began to have access to a lot more of the important stuff. Some secrets your families have there, your highness. " He winked at Nadia.

"And so I spied, and from those I was connected to, I collected contracts. Nothing had changed. I was still living in the shadows. With no identity to call my own. So I decided to simply stop being a Dead Man. I killed all my contacts, within and without, so no one who knew who I really was remained.

And as such, I had claimed my life, and continued living as me. Daniel."

"Until now." Matthew added, knowing the pain of losing an entire life.

"Until now." Daniel agreed.

The knight sheathed his sword.

"And let's say I believe this sad tale of yours. Let's say I'm foolish enough to allow an assassin to remain in her highness' company. Then what of what just happened now? If you killed everyone who knew of your existence, then who was he?"

A dark shadow wove itself across Daniel's face and he looked down at his hands, as if he could taste their bitterness.

"When I was still a kid. I believed my plan to have worked. I learnt recently that I had gotten away with what I did simply because they had had no time to spare on me. There were events taking place, events far more important than keeping ourselves secret. My actions were but a nuisance to the Elders. The assassins I've killed, well, you can't mourn a man who died when he was born. We are disposable, lifeless pawns as far as they are concerned. As of what happened today, I assume I may be important once more..."

The knight took the information in. As he stood there, pondering what his next action should be, a knock came at their door.

Mellinda walked in with a tray of food, young Rose tailing her with plates and silverware.

"None of you had breakfast," She said, before setting everything up on a newly brought table and carefully dishing out. It was as if she feared she might break the silence that had ensued upon her entry.

When she finished, she turned to her customers and asked,

"How are your wounds?"

"Daniel and Matthew will not be going anywhere for a couple of days," The knight answered in their stead. "But they should live."

"I apologize, again." Mellinda offered. "had I known..."

"You were doing your job ma'am. I would not fault you."

She relaxed at the words.

"However, I would still ask a favor of you." He added.

"Anything,"

"The horses in the stable. Could you sell them? I fear the assassin will no longer need his."

"I'll only have you pay for the ones I own, the other, you may have. I would not sell you that which is not mine."

The knight nodded in acknowledgement and the woman left the room, her daughter following her silently behind. She did not even raise her head to eye them with the curiosity of a child.

"A child like that should not see such things." The knight said to himself.

"I wonder how they survive out here, on their own like that." Matthew put in.

Nadia walked over to the table and pulled it to their midst. She selected a plate with the smallest portion of food and a fork. Without much courtesy for manners, she started probing at the lavishly placed foods. Meat, rice and various colorful sides and vegetables. Everyone else followed suite.

The knight fished two more plates from the table. He handed one to the feline and the other to Daniel. He paused as the assassin raised his hands to accept it and asked,

"I know you are not here to kill us, as you had ample time to do so before this. I am not happy that you brought danger to this mission, and neither can I fault you for it, seeing as you had no choice in the matter. But I hope, for your sake boy, that you have no other ulterior motive."

Daniel took the plate and nodded in understanding, yet again, brushing off the threat.

Matthew took a spoonful of his dish and looked up.

"This is good," he commented. "So now that we've established that we are on the same side, are we going to talk about what happened in the pass?"

"Last I checked; you were our prisoner." Daniel laughed.

"Last I checked, I was stupidly saving your arm with my life." Matthew shot back.

"Stupid indeed."

They all laughed. A hysterical laughter such as they had shared when they met the hermit.

"I guess, I will go first then, seeing as I am already talking." Matthew said, as he lifted his trousers' leg to reveal his glowing tattoo.

~*~