Royal Pains

Chapter 2 

The princess whirled around fast as the wind and gasped as she caught a glimpse of the large burly man before her. She kept silent but slowly inched her way backwards and closer to the more familiar assassin. The tall man removed the hood of his ragged cloak to reveal a dark scarred smirk. This only intimidated the girl more. This man made her assassin look like an angel.

"I see that your plans have failed, Altair." He spoke, his voice deep and rumbled through his throat. The princess shivered under her thin robes before turning to the assassin. He pushed himself up and stood tall to face the much larger man. He was leaner and less muscly but they were about the same height. The girl felt midgeted and simply slid across the ground on her backside to hide behind the assassin's figure.

"Will you ever shut up?" He rolled his eyes, arms still crossed and expression blank. The other man laughed heartily as if he had just been told a hilarious joke, "Still the same old Altair, I see." 

"Didn't manage to retrieve the thing, am I right?" He continued in a mocking tone before his eyes finally noticed the quivering princess, "But you abducted his daughter instead? Very clever. We could use a pretty servant girl." She cringed at his disgusting smile, but obviously did not show it.

"She will not be used for slavery, Ash," Altair's red orbs glared at him with much displeasure, "I promised to return her to her home soon and I shall." This only made the other man laugh harder, and the princess wanted to sock him in the ugly face. "You? Promise? What have you become?" He spat between chuckles. 

"I have no time for this, Ash," he sighed before turning to face the princess. He extended out his arm for her, motioning for her to stand up. "Let's go, Princess. We'll find a safe place to spend the night." She quickly nodded and scrambled to get up. She grabbed his calloused hand with her own small ones and pulled herself upwards. This sent tingles down the assassin's spine - it wasn't everyday he got to feel such soft skin; and oh how he marveled over them.

Although she still did not trust the assassin, let alone know anything about him, she was desperate to escape the judgmental stare of his (perhaps) ally. She could tell that his thoughts weren't good. "I've never seen such useless compassion in you, Altair," he called out to them as they walked away. Altair hadn't even bothered to look back at him. He didn't even stop his feet. His large hand enveloped the princess's tiny one and dragged her along. 

"Don't waste to much of your energy tonight," the man added, now in a more flirty tone. Colour filled the princess's cheeks immediately and she could have sworn he had winked. "Don't even bother. He's a real asshole," Altair spoke quietly as if reading her mind. She nodded vigorously in embarrassment and simply allowed herself to be dragged along to an unknown destination by a man she had just met.

"What do you mean she has been kidnapped?!" The King barked as he immediately stood from his throne. He stared hard at his guards in disbelief. How hard is it to track down a mere infidel? And how hard is it to keep the Princess out of harm's way? The man was simply furious.

"We are very sorry, Your High-" "PATHETIC." The King boomed, cutting him off and making the rest of them shuffle backwards in fear. The King was already feared on normal occasions, but when he was angry, he was absolutely terrifying. "SET OUT ACROSS THE LANDS. DON'T STOP SEARCHING UNTIL SHE IS FOUND." 

Upon his fierce command, the guards stomped their feet before leaving the chamber in an orderly manner. After the very last one of them had left, the King sat back down on his throne, sinking miserably into the cushion. His beloved daughter had been captured; and he would not be at peace until she is found. 

"Two rooms please," Altair spoke as he violently flung a bag of coins onto the counter. The innkeeper furrowed his eyebrows before shaking his head at the taller man, "I'm afraid there is only one room left, sir." He said bluntly, causing both the boy and girl to widen their eyes. The princess opened her mouth to protest but Altair quickly interrupted and accepted the man's offer. 

"Why did you accept?" She asked softly while climbing up the staircase to their room on the floor above, slightly annoyed. "The more time we spend down there, the higher the risk of you getting found out." Altair replied shortly, turning to look at her, "And while we're together, I beg of you to at least try to keep on low profile." 

She heaved a sigh before nodding, "Of course, stupid. I don't want to get caught as well." He sighed in relief as well as they entered their tiny room. The princess quietly sat on the edge of the narrow bed while watching Altair remove his thick hooded cloak, revealing messy hazelnut hair and a dress shirt with oak-colored pants. He proceeded to remove his leather boots and threw them aside without a care. 

He sat on the bed beside her, causing the mattress to sink slightly. "Got a good look?" He asked her, snapping her out of her trance. She blushed much to her bewilderment. "Don't say stupid things." She said softly, almost in a whisper, "And I would be thankful for an explanation, if you don't mind." 

"Well," he began, not very sure what he wanted to say as well, "How about we begin by telling me your name?" She cocked an eyebrow and slowly, almost reluctantly, replied, "Arwen." "Pretty name." 

"Thanks." 

"But not a very pretty attitude." 

The girl scowled, fidgeting in her current position. She was stupid for thinking he was charming. She sighed while squeezing her fists in her lap. "So what are we going to do now? When will I be able to go home? Who are you exactly and why were you in the palace?" She bombarded him with questions, making his head spin.

Sucking in a deep breath, he replied reluctantly, "When the royal guards stop hunting me down, I will quietly return you to the palace. But you're stuck with me for now," he stood up, crossing his arms, caught between feeling guilty and irritated, "So you better behave yourself or I won't be such a gentleman next time." 

The girl flinched slightly but nodded with pursed lips. Altair stretched his arm out to rub the top of her head gently in an attempt to comfort her. She simply shook it off and scooted further away, indicating that she did not want to close to his presence. He sighed deeply and walked towards the door. "I'll go get some food for us now. Get some rest." And with that, he disappeared behind the creaking wooden door. 

Arwen let her shoulders sag and relaxed a little bit. The atmosphere just seemed to be really tensed whenever he was around. She looked down at her hands once more, wondering what she had ever done to deserve this. She knew she had to get used to it. 

Royal Pains

Chapter 1

The hooded figure dropped from an enormous oak tree onto one of the guards. Blood splattered messily against cold concrete. He landed gracefully in a crouch before standing up and walking through the castle gates; abandoning his gleaming dagger in the guard's throat. 

"Your Highness! The castle has been infiltrated!" A royal guard burst into the King's chambers, crying out in alarm. The powerful man on the throne raised his head slightly to take in the sight of the slave looking completely disheveled. 

"Send the guards to guard every corner of the castle." He ordered in a loud bellow, making some of the guards flinch, "The infiltrator won't stand a chance against the best knights in the kingdom." 

"Right away, Your Highness." The guard spoke firmly before dismissing himself. Just as the tall chamber doors closed behind him, a petite figure appeared from behind the curtains. "What's going on, Father?" 

The King turned to face his daughter. A sweet young girl with flowy ash hair and a petite build. Her face was the perfect shape of a peach. "It's nothing important, my dear," He heaved a sigh as he slowly massaged his temples, "Just be careful when you wander around the castle, okay?" 

The girl cocked her head to the side, slightly puzzled but obediently nodding her head nevertheless, "Of course, Father," before leaving the chambers silently. She hated when her father kept things from her, as if she were too young to meddle in his affairs. 

The infiltrator quickened his pace as he heard footsteps shuffling from every bend of the narrow hallway. His cover had been blown. Just as he reached a dead end, a armored guard popped out from a door and came face to face with him. 

Without thinking, the assassin skillfully threw himself towards him, shocking the man. He howled for help but was cut off shortly after by a sock in the face. The hooded man leapt back onto the ground and regained his composure just as the guard's still body crumpled to the ground. He was not dead, but no longer a hindrance. 

He sprinted back in the direction he came from. The thumping sound of footsteps surrounded him. A drop of sweat rolled off his forehead and down his cheek. This mission had been a failure and now all he had to do was escape unscathed. 

Just as he went round a corner, he bumped hard against another body and the both of them fell backwards. He let out an exasperated growl before quickly propping himself up. He dusted his pants in disgust and looked down at the person before him, his hand already at the hilt of his sword for caution.

He raised an eyebrow when the image of the tiny girl registered in his brain. By the looks of it, she was probably a duke's daughter or something of that sort. She groaned softly before slowly pulling herself up into a sitting position. Her light hair spilling everywhere. She lifted her chin to meet a foreign face. 

Was this the infiltrator Father was talking about earlier? She opened her mouth to scream but the assassin was quick and swiftly snaked an arm around her waist and forced her against a wall, his other free hand cupping her mouth to keep her silent. 

"A word out of you and I will kill you, alright?" He leaned forward and said into her ear lowly. The girl whimpered but nodded vigorously. Probably scared out of her wits. "Good girl." He sighed, slightly relieved and exhausted at the same time. He rested his head against her bare shoulder, making her shiver slightly. 

A minute or two passed before she wiggled in his grasp and motioned for him to remove his hand from her mouth. He shot her his most intimidating warning look as he slowly brought his hand back to his side. "W-Why are you doing this? Who are you? What do you want from me? Why are we-" 

"Shut up, will you?" He hissed in annoyance, his grip around her tightening. She winced and immediately went quiet. "I just- I'm just trying to escape. So stay still until I'm very sure there aren't any guards around." He explained plainly, earning another nod from her. 

"Okay, just please don't hurt me I have nothing to do with this," she whispered as he gave her his word. Before they could converse any further, a guard appeared right in front of them, followed by another. Both parties stared at each other for a split second, both caught off guard. 

The assassin's eyes widened as he whizzed the girl away from the wall and held her against his body; one arm still secure around her waist and the other now holding a sharp dagger against her neck. She started whimpering once again and he could feel her tremble when he accidentally added a bit too much pressure to his blade, grazing her soft pale skin. 

He immediately loosened his grip on it and she went as still as a wooden plank. "Any movement from the lot of you and this girl here dies." He warned in a deep voice, sounding more intimidating than he had intended. To his surprise, it had worked and the guards indeed did not take a single step forward.

He hasn't expected them to care about the life of a petty palace woman. One of the guards whispered to another, his hands up in the air above his head, "Tell His Highness that his daughter is being kept hostage." The other nodded and slowly backed away, hands also in the air to indicate that he meant no harm. 

"You're the Princess?" The assassin asked in surprise, softly so that he wouldn't be heard by the guards but loud enough for the girl in front of him. She nodded nervously as she brought her slender arms up to lightly grab his armed one. "Please put the blade away. It's hurting me." She whispered pitiably. 

Feeling a tad bit sympathetic, he started to remove the blade, but was once again agitated when another legion of guards joined in, yelling profanities and charging towards them without care. He grunted before throwing the princess over his broad shoulder and leaping high in the air and over the rest. 

They gasped and watched as he landed steadily on the other side and sprinted towards the exit. "W-What are you doing?!" The girl gasped out loud, gripping tightly onto his shirt to keep from falling off. He had no time for explanations and pulled a smoke bomb from out of his pants pocket. Obviously there would be guards assigned at the exits. 

He pulled the trigger and tossed it towards the group of fools. They looked around in confusion before getting bombarded by thick smoke. The princess held her breath as her kidnapper glided through the air and knocked the door of the exit down. They were finally out in open air and he paced as fast as he could towards the gates. 

In a few hours, they found themselves in an alley in the kingdom village. The assassin set her down gently on the ground before sinking to his knees, panting wildly. The girl stared at him, horrified and unsure of what to do. She had just been kidnapped by a charming young man who was probably going to use her as hostage or kill her. 

After a short while, he caught his breath and looked up at her, taking in her pretty features. "You said you wouldn't do anything to me." She started in a rather demanding tone but regretted it soon after. He furrowed his eyebrows and made her shrink back. 

"And I didn't." He retorted, examining himself for any unnecessary injuries. "You brought me out of the castle and what are you going to do now? Murder me in a back alley?" She asked a little bit more boldly. If she was going to die, she would die a brave woman. 

"Are you stupid? Why would I want to murder a little girl?" He cried out in exasperation. "I'm not a little girl!" She shouted back, irritated by his rude judgments. "I simply infiltrated your home because I wanted to retrieve something; not kill anyone." He added. 

She went quiet for a second before lowering her voice, her gaze fixed on her small hands on her lap. "Will you let me go home?" She said softly, almost pleadingly. He leaned closer to examine her face. Her sad round eyes still fixated on nothing in particular. "I-" he started, struggling to find the correct words to say, "-will definitely bring you home, but just not now. I wouldn't risk going back there right now."

She looked almost as if she were going to cry. "What do I do now? You're basically kidnapping me." She pestered, in the hopes that she would be allowed to return right away. "And you suppose I'll allow a girl- let alone a princess find her way back alone. From a faraway village." He snorted, averting his gaze from the girl. 

"Yeah, this coming from a ruthless assassin." She flailed her arms in the air, looking flabbergasted, "Concerned about me? Why don't you just run along and pretend this never happened." He shook his head persistently. He brought his arms up to cross them against his chest. 

The now annoyed princess opened her mouth to yell back at him when a tall shadow loomed over them, blocking out the bright sunlight. Both of them slowly turned around and looked up.