The capital was eerily quiet tonight. Apart from the occasional maniacal burst of laughter, a heavy, depressing silence filled the city, the setting sun a reflection of the people’s hearts. Though the King’s speech had inspired the citizens and raised morale, as their passion settled down for the night, they started to calmly think with their brains and ask the big questions. Who or what were they fighting? How did the princess even get kidnapped? How many of them were going to die? Would their family still be safe with them gone? And to all these unanswered questions, no official answer was ever given, leaving nothing but rumours; all too often incorrect.
In a certain inn, groups of merchants and travellers were exchanging such rumours and thoughts in low whispers while finishing their evening meal. “It’s because they don’t want us to know.” The man wore a hood over his head, yet he still looked furtively around as if worried about being found out. Assured that no one apart from his dining neighbours could hear him, he continued, “I heard rumours that we are going to get sieged from every country surrounding us. And that-“
“WE’RE ALL GOING TO DIE! IT’S FUTILE! THE DEMONIC GODS ARE AFTER US-“
THWACK!!
The screaming man collapsed, a broken cup smashed on his head. The rest of the diners continued with their meal with a sour look on their faces. It had barely been half a day, but crazy cults and pressured pessimists were already raving left and right. Their madness was also hard to deny with the lack of information, leaving everyone with a bitter aftertaste.
Two hooded figures, one bulky, and the other lean, sat in the furthest corner of the inn watching this spectacle. Their cloaks were a dull brown and seemed to blend in a bit with the wooden wall behind them.
“Bah! This beer is so pungent. No finesse.” The lean figure muttered to her companion.
“It would seem we would need to release some facts and try to find out where these rumours are coming from.” The bulkier man muttered back.
“Information that we don’t have or is strictly confidential? And there’s no point tracing these rumours; most of them are probably made up by the mentally addled members of our country like that guy lying over there.”
“True. Well, we will deal with that later. It’s time, follow my lead.”
The pair quietly got up and proceeded to slip up the stairs. Upon reaching the second floor, they left the stair well and proceeded to head down the corridor. An open window at the end of the corridor let the cool night breeze refreshingly breathe into their cloaks. The pair continued towards the window, passing several doors on both sides before finally stoping at the last door.
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KONK! KONK!
“Who’s there?” A muffled voice came through the wall.
“The white moon and the blue moon.” The man replied.
The door’s internal lock unclicked and it abruptly opened as a short hooded figure dived with outstretched hands towards them shouting, “Father!” The man in response suddenly raised his hand before several things happened simultaneously. His stomach growled as an intense pain hit him in the stomach. Reflexively bending over from the pain, an arrow that shot out from his outstretched arm jerked upward hitting the empty hood and lifting it. The lady with him not recognizing the girl standing before them proceeded to draw her sword and rapidly thrust the tip at her. The girl realising that she had been exposed suddenly jerked her arms, drawing out two daggers before crossing them to block the lethal jab. Bouncing back into the room from the recoil, the pair outside finally noticed something amiss- a mass of rapidly approaching magical energy. Flying through the night sky like a shooting star, the magic attack shot through the window as the man grabbed his partner and dived into the room as the corridor exploded, becoming a blazing inferno. The girl wasted no time as she quickly rushed at the two who had been knocked off their feet.
KACHING!
The window in the back of the room shattered as a long thin icicle appeared in the girl’s right shoulder causing her to stumble forward. The man drew his blade and attempted to slice off her other arm but the girl nimbly jumped back on top of the bed in the corner. Noticing the torn curtain, she positioned herself to be out of sight from the attacker outside- little did she know that the two attackers outside were already engaged in a long-range battle…
“That was close. You okay Sophia?”
“I’m fine sir.” Their cloaks had all fallen off during the fight so their identities were all out in the open. While the girl was just another unknown assassin, the pair were both famous figures; the King and his secretary. “Still, it seems your guess really was right. Shall we finish this?”
The two moved so that they had the little girl cornered in the room. They had taken many pains in preparing to fall for this trap and so they wanted to take their attackers alive if possible. The little girl was barely over a meter tall and her right arm seemed to have been immobilized by the ice crystal piercing her shoulder.
The pair simultaneously swung at her. She sprung up from the bed and dodging Sophia’s initial attack, she attempted to also dodge the King’s diagonal swing. Realising there was no room to manoeuvre; she brought down her dagger in a final attempt to end his life by trading her own. As the dagger came down, a third blade appeared piercing the girl’s arm and pinning her against the wall. The blade had come from Sophia’s left hand.
“Thanks.”
“Sir, I suggest that you should be more careful when fighting an assassin. Your life is worth many of theirs.”
The King started to smile at her when he suddenly detected a large mass of mana approaching the building. Sharing a brief look with each other, the two proceeded to run at the girl and smash her along with the weakened wall behind her open, falling down on top of her.
KABOOOOOOOOOMM!!!!