Red

I watched as the sun started to set. Many colors danced on the horizon, teasing the ocean. Nightfall, finally.

I continued to perch on my ledge. Waiting just a few hours past dark. The surrounding darkness brought silence. Peace even. What a shame I have to destroy that peace.

With equal silence, I jumped off my perch and onto the ledge below. Thanks to a well-placed unlocked window, I easily slipped into the castle.

I turned back to the window I just came in through and with a mastered skill, climbed up the window seal, and made my way to the rafters.

The castle was still while I stepped from rafter to rafter down the hallways, the occasional servants passing below me the only exception.

From my walk around yesterday and memory, I found the royal wing effortlessly.

Some guards were drifting off to sleep while others were playing cards outside of the king's suite. Perfect.

Six guards. Two asleep, one staring off into the distance, and three distracted by their cards.

Six royal guards in one spot. Must be my birthdate.

My ears picked up on slow footsteps in the hallway behind me.

Female.

Sure enough, a female servant rounded the corner and smirked at the two guards who had previously been dozing.

Ooh.

I sat down on the rafter I had been standing on and let my legs swing slightly as I watched the scene below me.

Theater and Royal guards to kill, it must be my birthdate.

Two guards approached the woman and accepted her outstretched hands. She led them away from the Kings Suite and to a nearby supply closet.

Bummer, only four royal guards for me to take care of.

Gauging the jump, I figured the walls in the castle stood about 15 feet tall. Just boarding on dangerous. I smirked.

I pushed off from the rafter, collected my limbs, and gracefully landed.

Knees bent and one hand on the floor, my body jolted as I landed. I ignored the pain and straightened, my hands immediately finding my hidden blades.

The guards looked up in shock.

"What the fu-" I literally cut the guard off before he could finish his sentence. His head lulled to the ground and the other three gaped.

Idiots.

It took me seconds to finish the other guards.

Too easy. I cleaned my blades and strutted to the King's giant double doors that led to his suite.

The king choose a bad night to leave the door to his bedroom open, I smirked as I quickly found his room in the suite.

To be honest, I was surprised to see his bed was empty.

He slept soundly. Unaware of the dead guards outside of his suite and the assassin in his room.

What a bad day to be the King of Illyra.

I crossed his room in silent and quick strides. Till I reached his bed and placed my favorite dagger against his throat. With a quick-

Cold brown eyes shot open. Panic seized the king as he immediately met my glare.

"Please." He managed to choke out despite my blade pressed against his throat. "Do it."

Confusion made me hesitate.

His brown eyes studied my teal eyes and he gasped slightly.

"Earlier. You were here." He gasped but was smart enough not to move an inch.

Suddenly recognition flickered in those cold, soon-to-be-dead, brown eyes.

"You?.." His head tilted slightly. "You're Red? But you should be dead."

Why the fuck is he still alive?

He must've seen it flash in my eyes because he suddenly shuddered a breath. "Please."

Please? He wants me to kill him?

"Please kill me." My determination suddenly faltered as honesty shone in his eyes.

"Why?" I watched his every movement. One wrong move and his silk sheets will be stained red.

"She-She is.." He gasped. Suddenly he found it hard to get words apparently. "The bad coming for Illyra is already here. It has been for a while. Don't. Don't trust. Her."

"Who?" I growled. My blade pressing hard enough against his throat to kill him.

He gasped and I heard distant footsteps and doors open.

Shit.

Understanding flashes in his eyes. Not fear. So unlike the coward king, I've heard so much about.

As the footsteps got dreadfully close I pressed and dragged the blade.

Choking and thrashing followed me out of the window as I jumped. A ledge, that I had scouted earlier, caught me as screams rang out the window.

"The kings dead!". "Lockdown the castle." "Gather all the guards." "Protect the Princess."

Shouts continued to follow me until I managed to find a good building to perch on top of.

The king of Illyra-dead at last. But what about his last words? Who was he talking about? What evil plagued Dunkev, the capital city of Illyra?

Did I make a mistake in killing him?

My thoughts continued to scramble as I slowly made my way back to The Shadowed Manor.

By the time I swung into Zeke's office, word had already reached the town and everybody was awake and buzzing with the news.

Zeke leaned back in his chair and grinned. "Well well well. It seems that Red Riding Hood has managed to pull off the greatest assassination that this city has ever heard of."

With a predator's grace, I sat in the seat opposite of him. Once seated, I held my palm out, wordlessly waiting for my payment.

Zeke frowned slightly. His green eyes focusing on my outstretched hand. "Straight to the point." He grumbled as he reached into his desk and pulled out a pouch. It clanged as he set it in my palm.

It was my turn to frown as I felt the weight of the coin pouch.

"Don't worry. More will be coming. I didn't want to risk pulling too much money from the bank at once." Zeke ran a hand through his hair and sighed. The most human action I've seen from him in a while.

"I received word that the prince of Urrey is within two days of travel. It should be interesting when he arrives here, only to be greeted by a dead king and chaos." Zeke half chuckled at the thought, I too couldn't resist a smirk. His green eyes focused on my upturned lips. "I want you to keep an eye on him and any of his court that he brought with. Supposedly he is Fae. So try not to anger him."

Fae?! We haven't had any Fae around here in close to a hundred years.

I simply nodded at Zeke. Which clearly displeased him. What did he want from me? Males and their drama.

"Yes sir. Alright, sir." Zeke mocked a feminine voice and went back to staring at some paperwork on his desk. "Dismissed." He kept his eyes on the paper as I got up and left.

Before I shut the door I mumbled ever so slightly, ensuring he didn't hear me, "Whatever you say.. Sir."

I could've sworn I heard a gasp as the door to his office shut behind me. But no human could've heard my mumbled whisper. Right?

I shook off my thoughts and changed out of my Errand outfit, once inside the safety of my own room. I crept into my bed, tossing and turning at the millions of thoughts stirring through my head.

Another long night for Red Riding Hood, the assassin of King Rother. Wonderful...

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Thank you for reading Chapter 6. I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Comments and Feedback make my day!