Red

The princess stood in shock. I took in her familiar brown eyes and brunette hair.

Ingrid, the sweetheart of the kingdom, is still as beautiful as she was when we were eight years old and running around the castle with zero cares in the world.

I started my assassin training at six years old but I hadn't officially moved out of the castle until eight years old when my mom died. Those eight years running around the castle with Ingrid were the most carefree and wonderful years of my life.

"I thought you were dead." Ingrid's sweet voice brought a smile to my face.

Her warm brown eyes softened when she noticed my lack of response. "Still haven't talked?"

I smirked and she smiled. "You damn assassins and your weird ways."

I shrugged and she laughed. "I know, I know," She lifted her fingers and quoted, "There's no point and it just wastes air." She seemed unable to resist anymore as she rushed forward and wrapped her tiny arms around me. A hug. How foreign.

Ingrid and I chuckled as she pulled back. Her eyes ran down my attire and a curious look pulled at her beautiful features. "What is an assassin doing wandering around the castle in a dress."

My face hardened and I reached into my top, pulling out the letter I collected from the warehouse a couple of days ago. Ingrid chuckled at where I had hidden the letter but accepted it as I handed it to her.

I watched as her usual smile dropped while she read the letter.

"This is from the king of Urrey." She smiled resignedly. "He accepted the secret marriage proposal."

I got the distinct feeling that Ingrid was not happy about this. Why would she not be happy about the secret marriage? Why else would she be marrying the prince of Urrey?

"You're here to make sure the king doesn't stop us." Ingrid realized as she looked up at me.

I simply nodded my head. She always was smarter than she let off.

"Are you going to.." Ingrid let the sentence hang on purpose.

Once again I nodded my head. Ingrid let out a shaky breath. "I suppose I can't stop you."

Her eyes dropped to the floor, sadness her only emotion.

She wasn't sad about me having to assassinate her father. No, she might even be happy about that. She was sad about something else. The secret marriage.

I cleared my throat and spoke. "Why?"

Shock quickly took over the sadness as her brown eyes flickered up to me. She knew exactly what I meant though. "I don't know him. I don't love him. Hell, I don't even like him. But the marriage would take me away from here. Away from my father." She said father with such hatred, I was almost shocked. She went on, "It would mean that I could help Urrey put together a plan and hopefully protect my people."

Why would she need to protect her people?

Ingrid knew the question I hadn't spoken. "There's something coming. Something that my father is scared of. Something that he isn't going to protect his people from, in fact, he is completely ignoring the threat." She straightened her shoulders. "But I won't. These are my people. And I'll be damned if I let my coward of a father condemn them all."

That's the princess I knew and grew up with.

Realization crossed the princess's face. "If you kill him, I won't have to marry the prince." She gasped and a bright smile crossed her face. "This could change everything." She whispered. She looked down and just remembered that her books were laying on the ground. Bending down, she started carefully stacking the books and lifted them up.

"I suppose I should let you get back to doing what you do best." Her smile was warm and comforting, just like when we were young. "Goodbye Z"

"Goodbye, Ingrid," I whispered. She watched as I turned to the nearest window, and with a mastered precision, jumped out of it.

My dress billowed around me and my shoes thudded on the cement as I landed.

I decided to forgo the carriage, instead, I took to the roofs of the buildings. The dress only slightly getting in my way as I jumped from roof to roof.

The sun started to set on the horizon. Coloring the ocean with beautiful purples, oranges, and reds. I paused in my jumping of the roofs, adsorbing the beautiful sight of the setting sun.

Ingrid said something terrible is coming. What could possibly be bad enough that she would sell herself to another kingdom?

Whatever it is, I will be right beside her. Helping to destroy whatever threat was coming to Illyra.

Soon, I found myself swooping through the manor's kitchen, grabbing a meal that Rye and Sye always set aside for me.

"Evening Red." Rye and Sye said at the same time, smiling as I passed through their kitchen.

I nodded, quickly jogging up the staircase and closing myself in my room.

Setting the meal aside, I quickly changed out of my mother's old dress and slid on a silk nightgown. I cleaned my face and braided my hair.

I sat criss-cross on my bed while I ate my amazing meal.

Ten minutes later I found myself under my covers, laying on my back, and staring at the ceiling.

My mind raced and plotted my kill tomorrow.

I eventually drifted off to sleep. Only to wake up an hour or so later to the sound of my door creaking open.

Footsteps lightly crossed my room and I heard Zeke exhale. I knew he was standing over my bed, watching.

Almost on autopilot, I pulled back the covers and lifted my right arm. My signal for him to crawl in next to me.

I kept my eyes closed as Zeke crawled into my bed. His arms wrapped around my waist as he pulled me into his chest.

Comfort. Not for me, but for him.

His chin rested on top of my head as he tightly squeezed me against him.

"I'm so sorry for hurting you," his voice was below a whisper and I could've sworn a shiver ran through his body.

It wasn't long before his breathing evened out and he was asleep.

Nightmares. We all have him. But his, his were horrible. They often left him paralyzed and left him shaking in his bed. A couple of years ago, I caught him in one of his horrible nightmares. I was unsure what to do, so I just crawled into bed next to him. I suppose once I knew his secret, he felt no reason to hide it. One night he came into my room and laid next to me. That one night soon happened more frequently. And for the past three years, periodically, he has come into my room and clutched me to his chest while he slept peacefully. Of course, we have never once talked about it, but it was normal. And fuck if I knew what any of this meant, but I too slept some of my best nights in his arms.

And just like usual I slipped off to sleep. No thoughts of tomorrow, no plotting or worrying about the future of Illyra. Just sleep.

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Thank you for reading Chapter five. I hope you enjoyed this chapter. I'm seriously loving writing this story. Feedback and comments really make me happy!