Just a little something...
Assassin
Stabilizing her sniper rifle on the open ledge, she peered through her scope and into the royal’s personal room. For weeks, she had followed the man that was now in the middle of her cross hairs. Prince Teran was easy to keep track of. During the day his schedule fluctuated, but at night it was the same. Every night, he brought home a new mistress around the same general time. They would do what lovers do, he’d escort the lady out, and then off to bed he would go. All the women knew his play-boy tendencies and yet they were more than willing to accept his offer. Clearly, they didn’t know the man underneath; the one who had done enough to be on her employ list.
She had picked this building due to the ease of access and escape. Prince Teran had a militia for a security team but they were more bronze then brain. Only the Captain had bothered to check on the abandoned construction in the time that she had been watching Teran and that only happened once. She had sat on a bench, reading a book, in front of the mansion, when the Prince and the lucky lady arrived right on time. She remained for another 10 minutes waiting for the bedroom light to blink out and then walked lazily out of sight. Now, sitting at her post, she waited for the driver to whisk away the innocent. She would never scar someone else’s life if she could avoid it.
Sitting in a chair facing his bed, she had the Prince’s profile. She couldn’t blame all the women. He was a very handsome man that was sure to have charm but the rot on the inside demolished any interest she would ever have. Taking a deep breath, she finalized her aim. As if sensing she was there, the Prince turned his head in her direction. Exhaling, she pulled the trigger.
A single gunshot rang out and echoed off the quiet streets below. She heard the Captain start yelling orders and yet she was frozen to the spot. The Prince and she were locked in a gaze of total bewilderment. How did that just happen? She never missed a target.
Realizing the guards would be on her any minute, she knew she had to get out of there and quickly. Throwing her rifle over her shoulder, she used her gloved hands to grab a hold of the rusty ladder she had set up, and dropped. She could hear the Prince start yelling for her to stop. He was directing his men this way but it would be too late. They would never catch her. She was one with the darkness, the shadows. Men of light would not be able to find her.
Running toward the alley that would lead in the opposite direction of the mansion, she kept wondering what could have gone wrong. Did the wind pick up at the last second? Did he move? Did she flinch? No, she had checked the wind and neither had moved. The scene replayed in her mind- she must be going crazy. The bullet dodged him. Literally, went around him. ‘I’ve gone mad’ she thought. The shout of commands reminded her she wasnt out of harms way yet. Hide, her instincts whispered. She leaped over the concrete wall that lead to another alley way just in time. She heard them heading up into the building, searching for someone who would not be there. Calming her breathing, she walked the rest of the way back to her keep. ‘What in the hell just happened?’.
Prince Teran
‘What in the hell just happened?’ Teran was making ruts in the floor with his insistent pacing. His father’s immersive library was usually his place of solace. Tonight, it was his cage. The library was carved deep into the ground; dark rocks with small flecks of gold were the walls. Looming above him were the many bookshelves that stood guard shoulder to shoulder, stacked with knowledge. Some are from his ancestors, depicting his ancestor’s history, but those were harder to find now a days.
It had been a second, at the most that, he had gotten to look at his assassin but it had felt like an eternity. She was an average height with a lean build. In typical assassin style, she had been dressed head to toe in black. Although he couldn’t tell any other facial features, he could see her eyes. She had the most mesmerizing moss green eyes. They were like the grass by the Bay; full of light and life. Yet, she was there to take a life. The bullet had been coming straight at him and then it just, moved. It was as if there was a clear bubble that had been protecting him. Excitement and adrenaline buzzed through his veins as he thought of that moment. The moment he had been waiting so long for.
“Are you alright?” his sister huffed as she rushed into the room. Dressed in her sweat pants and a worn out ‘Living Low’ shirt, she came to him. He knew his sister must have been woken up because her black shoulder length hair which usually framed her oval face was wrapped in a band on the top of her head.
“Of course, I am!” He answered, tugging his sister into a huge hug. “Why wouldn’t I be?” Anashta pulled back, checking his face for signs of shock. Teran couldn’t blame her. He probably seemed erratic. “Oh, I don’t know, maybe because you were almost assassinated?” His sister said nonchalantly while stepping back to examine his entire body.
“Yes, my sister!” Teran laughed, the joy clear in his tone. “A new chapter of my life is coming!” Nash stopped her fussing and really let what had happened sink in.
“It was her?”