Chapter 23

No one knew she was there; poised and ready to pounce.

She was like an animal on the prowl; her footsteps were silent against the brick as she approached the private courtyard which opened up into the town square and her movements were swift.

Stalking the balcony that ran around the square courtyard, she stared down at her prey.

He didn't even know she was there and Izzie felt a smile tugging at her lips but she pulled it back.

She wouldn't be smiling until she had his heart in her hand.

The approaching daylight gave her little cover as the shadows started to rescind but with the little that was left, she hopped up onto the ledge and pressed her back to the wall as a guard lifted his head to inspect the walkway.

His eyes glazed past her before he turned back to the prince and helped secure a horse as the prince prepared to mount his stead.

Swivelling back around on her boots until she was crouched on the ledge, she gripped her sword in her hand and jumped.

If he got onto the horse then he would escape before Izzie could get to him.

Her coat flapped out behind her as the air rushed through her clothes and she leapt to the ground.

Moving too quickly for the guards, she had already slit one guard's throat and imbedded her dagger in the other soldier's thick skull before she moved onto the prince.

Prince Asher saw her briefly before she gripped him by his long golden cape and threw him to the floor.

He tried to move but she just pressed the tip of her sword against his throat, her foot planted on his chest to keep him there.

"Only two guards?" Izzie chuckled, pointing out his stupidity. If he knew she was coming and planted the guard in his room then why would he only have two guards here to protect him?

A smirk formed on his lips as the realisation lashed back and hit Izzie in the face as it dawned on her that she had been pulled into a trap.

The soft hiss of a bow string being released caused Izzie to lift her gaze and see an arrow shooting right for her head.

Dodging out of the way, she pulled Prince Asher to his feet and planted him in front of her, using him as a shield against the archer.

"Move and I'll kill him," Izzie growled, mentally kicking herself for being so stupid as her eyes fell upon Dawn.

Dawn; the mysterious archer she had found in the woods and had never trusted. Dawn; the woman that had tried to steal Drystan.

Izzie growled.

There was a craziness that lingered in her eyes and Izzie felt like she would shoot the prince just to get to Izzie; what had happened to her?

Gone were the rosy lips and toned skin and in its place was skin as white as ashen and dark hair that stuck out on ends.

For a moment they just remained staring at each other across the courtyard, Dawn's bow already loaded for a shot at her head, when Izzie's gaze was pulled to her left.

The repetitive sound of marching armoured footsteps sounded in her ears as swords were drawn and bows strung.

Archers occupied the upper balcony, aiming for her back, as guards surrounded the courtyard from the level. Izzie calculated the numbers as fifty to one.

Izzie liked those odds.

Keeping the Prince between her and Dawn, Izzie could sense she was the real danger, as a smile formed on Dawn's lips, making her look waxy in her complexion and unnatural.

The sun had now risen to its natural height in the sky, drowning her in sunshine and brisk air.

Izzie waited for the sun to dazzle Dawn so she could make her move when there was an almighty roar above her.

The shock of hearing such a sound in the quietness of the courtyard shocked Izzie but she did not need to turn to see who it was.

Whilst Dawn and the other's attentions were turned up towards the balcony to see what ungodly creature was gunning for them, Izzie made her move.

Bending the prince over at the waist with a kick to his gut, Izzie rolled across his back until she was stood in front of him, her fingers still clasped around his wrist as she pulled him up and twisted his arm behind his back so he couldn't move.

Lifting her leg, she kicked Dawn across the face hard and watched her fall to the floor, her bow and arrows scattering across the cobblestones.

Looking above her just in time she was able to move both her and the prince out of the way as Iagan threw archers off the balcony and into the spot where they had just been standing.

"Are you insane!?" Izzie shouted at Iagan, "You could have hit me,"

Iagan lifted a shoulder before he was drawn back into the fight, deflecting arrows as he went.

Letting out an annoyed sigh, she twirled her sword in her free hand as she fought off the approaching guards, keeping the Prince in hand and sometimes using him as a weapon against his own men.

* * *

As Drystan and the others ran through the castle towards the sound of battle, they passed no more than nearly two dozen soldiers running in the opposite direction.

Jarred and Dermott shared a look, "At least we know we're going in the right direction,"

Dermott chuckled but Drystan didn't have the time to laugh; he needed to reach Izzie before she did anything drastic.

What was he talking about!? She always the walking epitome of drastic!

As they drew nearer to the courtyard; memories of when they first met flooding Drystan's mind as he remembered the way she had swung down from the balcony eating an apple, they started to hear raised voices among the clashes of swords.

"Left, Iagan!" Isadora's annoyed voice hit his strained ears with ecstasy because if she was annoyed then she wasn't injured, "I said left, you idiot!"

"You say a lot of things!" Iagan's voice seemed to shake the very core of the castle, "In sooth, thy dank cavernous hole consumes all truth and reason!"

Drystan's eyes grew wide as Iagan called Izzie a liar; he was so mad he had reverted back to the formal tongue of their people.

"You idle-headed mangled lout!" Izzie growled in frustration, her voice hitting Drystan's ears directly as they broke out of the hallway and gazed down at the courtyard through the many arches in the wall.

What they saw shocked each of them.

They had thought Izzie and Drystan in danger but they were slicing through the guards like they were nothing but feathers.

Izzie was pulling the Prince in circles as she fought one of the last few guards that remained; she swiftly knocked him in the face with the hilt of her sword before turning her wrist and running her sword down his throat, his blood spurting out as his body fell to the floor in a heap a top the other bodies.

And still she and Iagan were arguing as Izzie hit the Prince and rolled over his back to stop a sword that would have connected with Iagan's head.

"Open your eyes, you surly rump-fed bigot!" Izzie shook her head in exasperation, "I'm surprised you haven't been killed already!"

"You're welcome to make your best shot," Iagan turned and faced her off.

Drystan opened his mouth to warn Iagan of the guard approaching behind him but he simply fisted his hand and punched the man behind him without even looking.

The guard wobbled for a second before his feet slid out from beneath him and he slid to the floor, unconscious.

"I don't think we're needed," Dermott chuckled as he rested his boot against the ledge and leaned forward on his knee, watching the two with humour.

But it seemed Izzie wasn't amused as she dug her dagger out of a man's chest and threw it at them.

The dagger sailed dangerously close to Dermott's ear, cutting off a blade of his hair before it dug itself into the tapestry that hung down behind them.

Drystan felt his lips tugging into a smile as he saw the outraged expression on Dermott's face, his fingers holding his golden locks with envy.

But his eyes were drawn back to the courtyard as he beheld Isadora; stood there with triumph in her eyes as she got her hands on the Prince and survived his guard.

But he could tell that she was surprised to see them.

* * *

What were they doing here!? Izzie gazed up at her friends, the prince whimpering behind her, as they swung themselves over the edge and clattered to the floor.

Thomas took the stairs, appearing a few minutes later, red in the face and the cuts across his skin looking angrier than ever.

She knew he would tell them but she didn't think he would tell them so soon.

Although Izzie had to admit that it felt good to see Drystan again, to let her eyes fall upon his beauty once more, it did not outweigh the possible consequences; that he would die alongside her.

He did not deserve her fate. He was good to the very core; but she was rotten.

And if he died because of her then she might as well have a plot reserved for her in the deepest levels of hell.

"I see you two are getting along," Jarred tried to laugh as he motioned between her and Iagan.

They shared a look of mutual annoyance; he did not like that she had lied to him about where to find the Prince.

"You should not have come," Izzie clashed eyes with Drystan, the smile instantly disappearing from his face, "You don't belong here."