Guinevere and Mordred sat down in his tent; her handmaidens hadn’t been happy to be ordered to stay outside but Guinevere had been adamant. Kalin stood guard at the tent flap. Mordred held Guinevere’s hands in his as he struggled internally with how to break the news.
“There isn’t a good way to say this,” Mordred said his voice somber. “The assassins were sent by your father.”
Guinevere didn’t protest or nay say him she just sat in silence. “It makes sense,” she said finally. “My marriage to Arthur was working against his interests. He was the one who assigned my party to me…. I just… I can’t believe he would go that far.”
Mordred drew a red crystal from his storage pouch and laid it on the table.
Living Crystal of an Assassin: Type: Magical Stone, Rarity: Epic (unique), Hardness: 16; A crystal made from the living essence of a Gifted assassin. Trapped forever in an escape ability that should have ended long ago his own mana regeneration now keeps him in perpetual agony and suspension as he can no longer even die. This crystal’s use in crafting are unknown and no other crystal like it can be crafted due to the unique circumstances of its creation.
Quantity:
1
Weight:
250 lbs.
“How did you…” Guinevere started to ask then stopped remembering when I had destroyed an Artifact and then created Clarent out of its remains. “That ability seems a bit overpowered.”
“It’s not the ability itself,” I said. “It’s the energy I can push into it, my Ethereal energy lets me push past what limits the System tries to put on my abilities.”
“Why don’t you do that with all your abilities than?” Guinevere asked.
“It has a very low regeneration rate in comparison to my stamina and mana,” I said. “I even got an upgrade to an ability that increases it with every humanoid I kill but its still not enough. After the battle when I was…incapacitated,” I said phrasing my words carefully as I saw the fear in Guinevere’s eyes as I reminded her of when she thought I had died. “The spirits inside me had to cycle Ethereal energy through my passive abilities to keep me alive. I got something called mana burn and it’s effected my passive abilities where they constantly need Ethereal energy to function now.”
“You have to kill humanoids to raise its regen rate?” Guinevere asked and I could tell it made her uncomfortable.
I sighed. “You know I’m not like the Warlord’s of the past,” I told her. “I don’t enjoy slaughter; I’ve never killed anyone who didn’t have it coming or wasn’t trying to kill me. I’m not going to butcher a city just to increase my abilities strength or raise my quest progress.”
“I know you don’t want to do that,” Guinevere said. “But your being pushed down that path more and more, promise me that whatever happens you won’t go down that path.”
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“No,” I said my voice hardening.
“No?” Guinevere asked, trying to pull her hand back from mine, but I held her fast.
“I won’t do it unless I have to,” I said. “But if it comes down to choosing you or destroying some city, I will choose you.”
“I don’t want you to lose yourself just to try and save me,” Guinevere said.
“If I don’t have you, I am lost; you’re my compass in this storm,” I told her and laid my hand on her stomach. “And it’s not just you and me anymore, there is nothing that will stand in-between me and our child.”
“You know this isn’t a hypothetical,” Guinevere said. “Arthur and his father will do almost anything to kill you and make this marriage happen. My father is probably the third most powerful man in the world appeasing him and ensuring his support is worth more than the lives of thousands to them.”
“Even the prince?” I asked. “I thought him a bit more driven by his self-righteousness to go that far.”
“Arthur is still his father’s son and will do as his father directs him,” Guinevere said her voice cold. “I thought more of him once too, but he is blinded by ambition and driven by his appetite for adoration and the need to be seen as hero more than actually being one.”
“I’m going to have to kill him,” I said. “For real not like in the Event, I will probably have to kill others too, your father among them.”
Guinevere shook and a tear rolled down her face. Her hands squeezed mine with strength that would bend steel, but I didn’t flinch just held her as the emotions ran through her. Her hand ran over her stomach and her eyes met mine.
“You do whatever must be done to protect our child,” she said firmly the tremor gone from her voice.
There was a commotion at the tent entrance. Guinevere and I stood, and she stepped forward pressing her lips against mine in a quick desperate kiss. We both wanted more but she stepped away as the tent flap opened and one of her hand maidens stepped into the tent.
“My lady this is most improper,” she said looking between me and Guinevere.
“I was just leaving,” Guinevere said gathering her skirts and sweeping towards the door. “Remember what I said Sir Ismael, I’m trusting you to do whatever is required to win.”
“Yes, my lady,” I said bowing.
---
I deflected a swing of Vone’s glaive.
“I heard you went on a hunt with Lady Guinevere,” she said casually stepping forward the polearm a blur in her hands as the attacked me seemingly from every direction.
“I got thrown off my horse and missed most of it,” I said. “A shame I heard Sir Lancelot handled himself well.”
“You’ve been seen a lot with her lately,” Vone said, and I could hear the jealousy in her voice.
“You know my goal,” I said with a shrug. “It hardly surprising I would want to spend time with her, also you’ve seen her right.”
“I have,” Vone said more of the jealousy in her voice. “It’s unfair how beautiful she is, but the real question is why does she want to spend time with you?”
“That seems like a question you should ask her,” I said blocking her glaive and pushing her increasingly aggressive advance back.
“Maybe I will,” Vone said her voice possessing a viciousness that said the conversation between her and Guinevere wouldn’t be pleasant.
“Be careful how you interact with Guinevere,” I warned her.
“Why because of her?” Vone asked circling around me. “Or because of you?”
I surged forwards in burst of speed and aggression I hadn’t shown Vone before. I blocked the swing of her glaive with my sword and my left hand shot out grabbing her by the throat as I slammed her against the wall pinning her there. She gasped for air pulling against my wrist as her legs kicked under her.
My voice didn’t have any of the anger or maliciousness of my actions in it when I spoke to her. “I like you Vone, not the way you want me too, but I admire your drive and desire to improve the lives of others” I said my voice calm and pleasant as a sunny day. “But do not mistake me for someone I am not, you’re used to people doing what you want because you’re a champion but that’s just a title. The world is full of people not chosen by any god who are just as if not more dangerous than you. Guinevere is one of those people; if you try to impose your will on hers or get into a fight with her well…fuck around….” I left the implication hanging as I dropped her and walked away.