Rehny knelt in a pool of blood. Only a fraction of the blood was his, seeping from the crevices between chunks of his armor while most of it belonged to the bodies sprawled around him. Seventeen Black Guards lay dead with many more injured, a feat that would have been higher if he had the body from his youth. There was no need to meet the eyes of the Royal Black Guards who surrounded him with their broad swords trained on him. They'd abandoned their quest to halt the Telinete beast, now they wanted to exact vengeance on him for the deaths of their comrades. Rehny smiled. "Cunts," he said. "Finish the job or allow me to do it myself." He gestured at the black sword that lay inches out of his reach. Suddenly, the Black Guard parted after one of them was shoved out of the way and the Princess Dahli emerged at their head.

"Hello, former Rank One." Masutap mouthed the words for Orgeeg to read. The battle noise had toned down and he was certain she did not want their conversation heard by those engulfing them. He still held on to the wrist of her hand wielding the blade that had been unmistakably aimed at Dahli. If it wasn't for him the Princess would be dead but the thing that shocked him the most was that it was Masutap's hand that would have sent the Princess to the grave.

Did she also kill Desan? They'd found the Rank Thirty Four dead and naked on the Southwing rooftop.

They'd assumed that the assassin had stripped him of his clothes to gain easy access into the late Prince's chambers under their camouflage but that theory hadn't sat well with Orgeeg for the Guard's clothes had been found beneath his corpse. Why would the assassin wear them then return them beneath the corpse? There was a sexual element to the whole thing and a part of him had wondered whether the assassin had been female.

"You were going to kill Dahli." It was a statement he mouthed back. Orgeeg did not want to sound his words and draw attention to himself. Masutap could easily flip her superior Rank on him in the midst of the surrounding Black Guards. "Who put you up to this? I can help you." He mouthed the words and her grey eyes watched his lips. Orgeeg decided that somebody must have put Masutap in her current position that had led her to act against her duty.

Masutap gave Orgeeg a smile that didn't touch her eyes, she titled her head to the side as if observing a toddler too young to understand the workings of the realm. Masutap dropped her knife from her right hand and before it dropped past her waist she reached out with her left hand and grabbed its hilt before driving the blade at Orgeeg's midriff. She's good, knows how to hide her intent. Orgeeg thought. But there was a reason he'd been the Rank one despite his lack of eloquence. With his free hand he grabbed her wrist just before the blade pierced him.

Silence had enveloped the hallway they were crammed in and Orgeeg could make out Dahli's voice from the front. "You killed Desan." He mouthed. They were locked with his hands on either of her boney wrists. Masutap lashed out a kick at his shin but he brought his foot up and caught her leg at her boot's lace. He pinned her foot to the ground with his own leg and glared at her. "Why Masutap?" He demanded. "Who put you to this?"

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"Duty." Masutap said instead of mouthed and let go of the knife in her left hand. At the same time she moved her free leg and Orgeeg moved in anticipation of her using her leg somehow with the tumbling knife but instead Masutap brought her head down on his chin. It stung and several Guards turned to them from the grunt he gave.

"Let go of the Rank One." A blade dug between Orgeeg's ribs. Another blade was placed on his shoulder and a third at the small of his back. Masutap was known as the Rank One for she'd spoken for the Black Guard and pleaded for their lives when he'd stuttered and flailed like undergarments in the wind before the King. He had the lower ground, what could he do? If he told them that she had tried to kill Dahli and might have been the one who'd killed Desan they'd have laughed at him while skinning him alive for insulting the honor of the woman who'd bought them a second chance. Orgeeg let go of Masutap.

"Is there a problem, Rank One?" The one with the flat blade on Orgeeg's shoulder asked Masutap while inclining his head slightly at her.

"Not at all, not at all. Just a misunderstanding between the First Rank and the Three hundredth." Masutap's tone emphasized the last two words and Orgeeg swallowed his rage.

"Go back to your station." The one holding the blade to his ribs said and shoved him back where more Black Guards pushed him further back to the entrance of the hallway after hearing of his Rank. Orgeeg kept his eye on Masutap as he got shoved further away from her, she smiled at him in the dim lighting before turning her back on him.

"This is insubordination of the highest order Commander..." Dahli said while pointing at the bodies beside Rehny. The Commander of the Legions still remained kneeling with Black Guard blades on him. The Princess had been scolding him for over five minutes and it brought a faint memory of Lamical doing the same when he'd come home late and drunk or when he'd forgotten some special occasion. Weird how I think of her even at the end of the line. "... you have openly defied father's order and the Kolotian has not only escaped but several Royal Black Guards have lost their lives by your hand too..." On and on Dahli went. Rehny almost expected her to pull at his ear and cuff his head as one did a disobedient child. "....you're the Commander of the Legions, who best knows the importance of following command than you?..." She was obviously trying to make a line clear in order to separate the mess her command had brought from herself.

"Are you going to lecture me or are you going to kill me? Get on with it if you may, Tabrimas awaits." Rehny said and smiled at the Princess through blood stained teeth. He didn't really care about Tabrimas. Part of him hoped the place didn't exist and what came next after death was an endless void where he'd cease to be. That sounded better than being reincarnated as an insect or worse a human until the time you're judged valiant enough to dine with legends.

"You have forsaken your duty." The Rank One said while emerging from the thrall of Black Guards to stand next to the Princess. "You have brought death to allies and disobeyed your King."

"My King," Rehny replied while turning to face the bald woman, "agreed to let the prisoners go if they survived the Nula Anyl." A shout sounded from the entrance of the hallway and word carried forth, passed from Black Guard to Black Guard until one leaned down to whisper into The Rank One's ear.

"It appears the King has awoken and will determine your fate." The Rank One said.