Jasmine sat up, waking herself from the nightmare. Her back was sticky with sweat, and her hair was matted to her skull. She slipped off the bed, slid on her loafers, and walked to the main room of her suite. The sun hadn't risen yet, and the moon was still lightly shining on the snow-capped roofs of the castle. Helen would still be asleep, and Jasmine didn't feel like bothering her, so she moved to the bathroom and prepared the bath for herself.
She slipped off her nightgown, and as she passed the mirror, she saw it. The scar that snaked across her body had small streaks of dirt and what looked like blood surrounding the edges. It was nowhere else on her body, only on her scar. She quickly sunk in the bath, ignoring the scalding heat, and viciously began scrubbing off the remanents that had somehow been left on her from that dream. The grime wiped off almost immediately, but the weight and feeling still felt heavy on her skin, like an imaginable compress, sticking to her like glue.
After finishing her morning routine, she sat and read for a bit before Helen came in to dress her. They decided, together, on a white gown with a black cloak to wear down to breakfast. Again, today, only Sir Darius accompanied them towards the hall. The hall itself was a large chamber, not the main one used for feasts, but the nobles visiting or the one Jasmine and her family used if they weren't eating in their rooms. The doors opened up to a large cylindrical domed ceiling with two tables laid out horizontally and one laid out vertically at the back of the room. The Head table seated 6, one for each of Jasmine's family, and the two horizontal tables had room for about twenty at each table but were only set with cutlery when people were eating there.
She moved to the head table with Helen, with a few nobles casting a one-off glance at her before returning to their meals. She was alone today, save for Helen, at the head table. When her brothers returned, she hoped they would eat together in the mornings like they used to before they had to leave for the war.
Breakfast was a large spread of fruits, cheeses, bread, and smoked meats. Not having much appetite, Jasmine got a servant to bring her a large cup of coffee and fruits. She tried to get Helen to eat with her, but she refused to deem it improper for her as a servant. She chewed the fruit slowly, savouring each bite. The fruits had to be imported from Lorencio, a southern country. For the past three years, the war stopped most trades and imports because of Tzitanu, Lorencio, and Nynniaw. With the truce ending the war three months ago, the business industry was back to how it used to be, if not better.
After breakfast, she walked down to the gardens with her usual entourage, including Helen and Sir Darius. She didn't change after breakfast, and the winds were billowing her cloak and sending chills down her body. They walked along the stone paths with a layer of snow, despite having been shovelled this morning.
She was brushing a hand along one of the infamous Verglass roses that bloomed only in the north when she heard the clanging of steel coming from the training grounds. Her family's sigil was the Verglass rose, a bud of pure white and pale blue stems, on a banner of pure black. She pulled her hand back, nearly nipping her finger on the thorns of the bluestems of the Veglass flower, and walked through the gardens towards the sound of the clashing.
Despite the cold, the knights only donned light clothing and grieves on their shins and elbows. The purpose of the training today was duelling. Soldiers sat or stood in a large pit with stone benches in rows surrounding. Racks of new swords and spears and whatever other weapons they used to spar were lined along the edge of the hole.
A duel was beginning between a tall heavier man with massive hands both wrapped around the hilt of an enormous broadsword. His opponent was a younger stout man that wielded a large ash staff with blades protruding from each end.
Jasmine called back softly, as not to be heard by the men below, turning her head only slightly towards Helen and Sir Darius standing behind her. "If you had to guess, who would win the duel?"
He answered back softly, copying Jasmine, "Sir Beron Ostantine, the taller man, is the better choice, but if I were to put money on the fight, I would bet on the smaller man, Sir Julius Kailan, My Lady." He finished as the two men began to circle each other below.
"Why?" Jasmine asked. He stopped a second before answering, pausing as the steel of the two knight's blades met.
"Sir Beron was injured in a hunt nigh on four months ago but being the stubborn old goat, he is, and he refuses to retire. If you look closely, you'll see that he favours his right leg and often leaves his left side unprotected. Sir Julius knows this as well as almost all of the remaining knights at the castle." He answered with a hint of bitterness in his voice regarding Sir Beron.
Jasmine looked down at the ring, and sure enough, Sir Beron was favouring his right leg, but she wasn't done just yet. "30 gold pieces says Sir Beron wins," she calls back, still watching the fight. Darius coughed a little bit at the amount and looked towards Helen to make sure it was okay. Helen gave him a look that told him she had been through this before, rolling her eyes. "I accept."
The fight was speeding up. Despite Sir Berom heavily favouring his right leg, he still swung his sword viciously. The swords were catching the rays of the afternoon sun, making the swords appear to be flashing arcs of light. Every clash of their blades sent small showers of sparks floating through the air. Sir Beron tried an overhand slash but overextended his arms. Sir Julius sensing his mistake, ducked under his slash and moved in close, aiming to smash the end of the shaft of his spear into Beron. But it was all a faint. Sir Beron twisted his grip on his sword and struck the flat of his blade into Sir Julius's shoulder, slamming him into the ground face first.
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With a smug look on her face, Jasmine turned and held her hand out expectantly. With a grunt, he pulled out his purse and jangled some coins around. He pulled out three ten-mark gold coins and dropped them lightly into her open palm. They started to walk away along the edge of the stands weaving around the cloaks and tiny armour pieces that belonged to the Knights. Sir Darius was in front of her, now leading the way, and Helen was walking beside and slightly behind her. They were about to exit and walk back towards the gardens when Matt appeared in the ring swaggering across the floor with his swords rested on his shoulder.
He was shirtless and wearing tight leggings that stopped at his mid-calf. He was facing Jasmine but did not acknowledge or notice her standing there. Instead, he stopped in front of the Knight that, from what she could tell, was the leader or at least had some seniority. They exchanged a few words, and then he turned away to walk towards someone else. That's when she saw his back. From the bottom of his neck, all the way down his spine, was a dragon tattoo that wrapped around some foreign letters along his spine. The dragon's mouth opened up, making his head appear to sprout from the dragon's maw.
He stopped a few feet short of a large bear-like man wielding another massive two-handed Broadsword. The man gave a slight nod of his head before they both moved to the center of the ring and dropped into fighting stances.
"Sir Darius." Jasmine's attention was entirely on the ring. "Who is are those men?" she asked innocently.
"Ah. That would be Sir Bron Vilior, the acting head of the guard while your brother is away, and one of the Assasins Brood. The assassin asked the guards earlier today if he could train or spar anywhere. All of the knights are excited to get a shot at him. Not many get the chance to fight with someone of his calibre and leave with their life. This sparring is the perfect chance." He finished.
Matt was an assassin! "What does the dragon tattoo mean on his back?" She asked, still peering at them, preparing to fight.
He squinted his eyes like he wasn't paying attention before or didn't notice it. It took a moment before he answered. "Did your parents or anyone ever tell you of the 6 God Beasts of old?" he asked, not letting her respond before he continued. "Before we humans conquered this continent, there roamed beasts of all shapes and sizes. Ruling over these beasts were the God Beasts. There were 6 of them, and one of those God Beasts was a Dragon. That tattoo on his back could mean many things, but it most likely has something to do with the Assains Brood having faith in the dragon god beast." He answered softly.
Before she could ask more questions, Matt and Sir Bron moved towards each other. Matt held his black sword limply at his side as he closed the distance walking straight towards Sir Bron. Sir Bron was trying to circle Matt and figure out his footing, but matt just kept walking straight at him. They were about five paces apart when Matt brought up his sword. He held it with one hand and was slightly waving in front of him when Sir Bron lunged at him. He swiftly jumped backward and deftly swiped his sword to block the jab. Sir Bron didn't give him a chance to rest. He continued pushing forward with a combo of moves almost too fast for Jasmine to see. Matt just danced around them, leaping from side to side, dodging and blocking attacks, never letting Sir Brons stikes catch him.
After his barrage of attacks, Sir Bron was visibly tired. He backed away, panting heavily and brought up his sword in a defensive position. Despite the intensity of the battle, Matt had a broad grin stretched across his face from ear to ear. Unfortunately, the glee in his expression did not reach his eyes. Instead, he took his sword and plunged it tip first into the dirt floor and then ducked into a braced position extending one arm forward. He pointed his finger at Sir Bron and gestured for him to attack.
With a bellow, Sir Bron lept towards Matt again and began a flurry of attacks. Matt kept dodging and moving until he finally stopped running away. He pivoted his body around his foot and ducked underneath a slash of Sir Brons sword. He quickly blocked one of Sir Darius's arms with a chop and then slammed his other hand, palm facing outwards, into Sir Bron's sternum. He was sent sprawling on his backside and was gasping for air.
Matt stood up, slowly straightening his body and looking back at the guard's head, but he was not smiling anymore. "What happens now?" I ask Sir Darius.
"I assume that all of the other knights will either want to fight him or now want to run away, so most likely more duels," he said flatly.
"My lady, I think we should go back inside. We must prepare for your father's return," said Helen. We still had hours, if not a whole day, before they would arrive, but Jasmine knew Helen was giving her an excuse to leave the arena. She didn't even bother responding only giving a brief nod of her head towards the general direction of her rooms.
They walked back to her rooms, Helen and Sir Darius in tow, swiftly, yet it felt like forever to Jasmine. Her mind was racing thinking about how Matt was an assassin, and likely a good one at that. Finally, they arrived at her rooms, and Jasmine dismissed Sir Darius for the rest of the night and ordered Helen to bring her lunch to her chambers. She was deep in thought when Helen returned with a tray of food. Jasmine eagerly ate the small meal and then told Helen everything she knew about the Assasins Brood. Her explanation was a whole lot of nothing. Most of what she knew were little details of things Jasmine had already guessed at, like how he killed for money. If her father or mother knew that she was hanging around with an assassin, they would flip and likely look her in a tower somewhere far away from everyone else.
Helen cleaned up her meal, and then Jasmine dismissed her for the night as well, only after she helped her change and bathe. She also had her bring food, so she didn't have to go down to the main hall to eat.
Jasmine picked up the book that Matt had brought her and snuggled under her covers and read. She read for a long while. Long enough to make her eyes hurt. The light outside her windows was fading, so she got up, stretched, and then got a candle so she could read longer, ignoring the ache in her eyes. She also grabbed some of the food Helen had brought her and munched on it while she lit the Candle. She had just gotten past the halfway point of her book when her Candle burnt out. She grabbed her bookmark and placed the book on her nightstand. She pulled her covers up high, wrapping them around herself, trying to shelter herself from the nightmares she had been having.