Red

Ivar fell asleep not long after Zeke left. I inevitably crawled into his stable and laid down in the corner. I didn't sleep though, instead, I laid out my plan for tomorrow.

Tonight I would scout. And tomorrow I would kill.

I usually preferred to take a couple of weeks to scout but due to the time crunch of this errand, I would have to act fast.

Killing the king, was big. But Zeke gave me my task and I had to complete it.

I tilted my head, looking through the window, I spotted the sun and figured it to be around two in the afternoon.

Open grounds would end around five. So I had three hours to doll myself up and explore as much of the castle as I could.

Then once darkness falls I study the King's night routine. Hopefully, he follows the same routine tomorrow night.

Ivar snorted and pulled me from planning. He was still asleep.

Now or Never. I silently snuck out of his stall and went to the manor.

Unlike this morning, the manor was full of life. Lower assassins, or tenderfoots, slumped around, hissing at servants and grumbling about politics. I rolled my eyes as one tenderfoot leered at me with their bloodthirsty gaze.

One flick of my wrist and I could spill your intestines on the pristine wood floor. I half debated it, but realized I had no time to waste cleaning up the mess. Which Zeke would surely make me do.

I continued up the stairs until reaching the third floor. Which only the most adept assassins were allowed up here.

Which included Zeke, Fenris, Blade, and I.

Though Fenris and Blade were rarely in and Zeke was always doing something around the manor, so it was usually just me padding around the top floor.

Once in my room, I started searching my closet for a dress. A beautiful red dress caught my eye. Gold lined the sleeves, contrasting the red fabric. Its modest cut and low back seemed perfect for castle attire. I never remember purchasing this dress. I squinted softly at the beautiful designs. It was my mom's. A pang of sadness caught me off guard.

I quickly pushed off my emotions and started getting ready. Makeup, hair, the whole works.

In under thirty minutes, I went from dark assassin to noblewoman. I cast a longing look at my usual attire, dreading going through the Shadowed Manor dressed like this.

After checking the placement of all my weapons, I took a steadying breath and began my steady trek through the manor.

I noticed that some tenderfoots didn't recognize me. Their whispering gossip questioning if I was Zeke's plaything.

Two tenderfoots even had the audacity to call me a whore. I paused in my descending of the staircase and backtracked to the second floor, where they lounged against a wall.

I slowly walked towards them, putting some swing in my hips and giving them the completely wrong idea.

The two Nimrods even reached out to me. With three quick movements, I unfolded my hands, grabbed two daggers that were strapped to my forearms, and threw the daggers at their outstretched hands.

Their hands were pinned to the wall and both males cried out in pain. I smirked at their pain and debated talking to them.

"I think what Red means to say is you best study up on your famous assassins before you go bad-mouthing anyone in this place." A deep voice rumbled from behind me.

At the mention of Red, both tenderfoots gasped and cried out apologies.

I felt a huge body step close to behind me and heard a deep chuckle. "You're lucky she doesn't kill you. I've seen her do worse for less. Now scatter." The two stared at the man behind me in shock.

"But our hands-"

"I said scatter." The male spoke with such power the men trembled and without second thought ripped the daggers out of their hands themselves.

I held my hands out for the daggers as the two tenderfoots raced past us.

Once I cleaned the daggers and slid them back in their place, I turned to face the male behind me.

Dark hair and dark eyes greeted me along with a bright smile.

"Hi Red," Fenris said with a boyish smile. "I'd ask how you're doing, but judging by the two men you just impaled, I'd assume you're having a great day." His deep voice teased me.

I returned his smile. His dark eyes ran down me. A look of appreciation pulled at his perfect features. "You look really beautiful." Confusion then crossed his face. "Might I ask why?"

His midnight dark eyes met my teal eyes. I swear I saw stars twinkle in the dark color of his iris's.

I vaguely heard footsteps from the third floor then a body dropped right next to me. Judging by the smoothness of it, I automatically knew it was Zeke.

"She's on an errand." Zeke's straightened beside me and I had a feeling he was glaring at Fenris.

Fenris's dark eyes narrowed in challenge, seeming unpleased with how close Zeke was to me. Until he realized what Zeke had said. Fenris glanced back at me, something almost like worry in his eyes. "Another errand? She just got back from one?"

"Yes, it'd seem her other errand has developed into a larger one. Now if you don't mind, we're both currently distracting her. It'd be best if we let her leave." Zeke spoke to Fenris.

Let me leave. I scoffed. I can leave whenever I please.

Dark and green eyes focused on me. "Something you'd like to say to the group?" Fenris smirked at the sound I had made.

I shook my head and rolled my eyes at the constant dominance fight between Zeke and Fenris.

They really were complete opposites.

Zeke, The master assassin, though his light features completely contrasted Fenris. Who, with his black hair and midnight black eyes, was the opposite of Zeke's blonde hair and green eyes.

Light and dark. Though their personalities were switched. Where Zeke is cold, bipolar, and extremely confusing, Fenris is warm, jovial, and straightforward.

Though this is just when they're around me. We each, of course, have our own assassin mask that we wear around the public. The cool, nonchalant, and uninterested mask that we've spent years perfecting.

I'm pretty sure they launched into an argument as I walked away, but I kept going.

It took me another thirty minutes to find a carriage and ride to the castle.

Another ten found me inside the castle, studying every nook and cranny, though I realized quite weirdly that I still remembered everything from this place.

The hallways, the rooms, and even the pictures that lined every wall. Just like when I was young... Not a thing has changed.

I eventually looped back to the throne room where I knew the king was holding open grounds.

Open grounds being a period of time that the castle is open for the public, where you can explore the garden and meet the beloved king. It also happened to be the time that the King used to pick out his new plaything for the day. Disgusting.

Standing in line, I decided I should shake the king's hand, just to get close enough so I could fully study his face. In case, they try to pull a switcheroo.

The line moved swiftly. Noble families and peasants patiently waited their turn to shake the hands of the king.

I soon found myself face to face with the King of Illyra.

I first noticed his peppered grey hair and the aging on his face and hands. I also noticed the two guards that stood on each side of him, making four guards total just for a meet and greet. Paranoid Bastard. Just like he was years ago.

"Welcome to the Castle. It's a-" His hand reached out to mine as he spoke on autopilot and his cold brown eyes slid to mine. I watched as many emotions flickered across his face. Boredom, lust, but most importantly, Ignorance. "My, My, you're pretty." His voice dropped.

Perfect.

He doesn't recognize me.

I tightened the handshake before smiling a dark smile. And before he could decipher it, I dropped his hand and quickly left the line.

Now to get out of this place.

I turned down a familiar hallway and froze in my steps as a figure nearly crashed into me.

Ingrid adjusted the tower of books she currently carried as she spoke, "Oh my. I'm so sorry. I'm such a clu-" The princess's familiar voice halted as her brown eyes met mine. She gasped and dropped the books she was carrying. "Z?" A tear rolled down her cheeks as recognition flashed in her eyes.

Oh no.

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Thank you for reading Chapter Four. I do hope you enjoyed this chapter. This Christmas break has been crazy(in a good way), so I apologize for not updating as much as I wanted. Anyways, feedback and comments really brighten my day!