Red

I was glad that most people in the Capital had common sense. It meant that when they saw a cloaked stranger strolling through on a black steed, they kept a wide berth.

Ivar's hooves clopped on the stone pavement below, his ears twitching in every direction as he absorbed his surroundings and kept an eye out for dangers. He was tense below me, just like every time we strolled through the capital - or any populated village for that matter. Many people averted their gaze, watching in awe of the beautiful stallion strutting down the street but then nearly crying in fear when they saw the cloaked rider.

Although I didn't mean to, I had that effect on people. Something about my red cloak and hooded face gave off bad vibes apparently.

With my heels, I guided Ivar to our destination. It had been a long day of stalking around the castle. Although yesterday I had chosen to blend in, I had stuck to the rafters and observed everything today. The past two days have felt like a complete waste. The Princess and the Prince seemed to detest each other and made it a point to barely cross paths.

Though I had noticed that despite the recent murder that had happened in the castle, there were no extra guards assigned to the prince. The princess seemed to have at least three on her at all times and the Queens varied throughout the day but never was seen without at least five. However, I often spotted the prince walking around with zero guards.

I was unsure how many men he had brought with him, but I had rarely seen guards wearing the black and purple colors of Urrey. For that reason alone, I suspected that they were hiding amongst the throng of people that consistently filled the castle.

For the first time in many years, the castle appeared to be filled with life. In fact, the Queen had even brought back the weekly balls. Not to mention the masquerade she was planning for her upcoming birthdate. New alliances were being formed and old ones strengthened. It was a sight to behold as Dunkev once again became a bustling coastal Capital.

All of a sudden, a child came running up to Ivar, causing him to halt to a stop and snort down at the little goblin.

"May I pet him?" The brave child asked in a hesitant voice.

I couldn't help the smile that crossed my face as I gave the child a soft nod.

His face bloomed into a smile as he reached a little paw out. Ivar recognized the action and lowered his head, allowing the child to gently stroke his nose.

"Quincy?!" A panicked voice cried out as a disheveled woman came flying out of a nearby store.

His mother - I guessed - froze as she saw the massive stallion towering over her son. Her body trembled as she met my gaze and cried out for her son again.

I looked down to the little child in question as he shot me a blinding smile. "Thank you, madam," he politely said before bumbling back to his mother. She leaned down and cradled the child to her chest before pulling him back and scolding him.

My head shook at the strange behavior she displayed before giving Ivar a light kick, signaling for him to keep moving.

I was never able to understand the stronger emotions that mothers seemed to show for their children, whether it be fear, anger, or even love. Even the worry that I have felt for Ivar's strange behavior lately couldn't compare to the fear that the mother just felt as her son petted my horse.

Moving my legs to Ivar's chest, I signaled for him to stop as we approached the financial building. The big Errands I've been doing lately have led to even larger payouts and I found myself holding on to more money than I was comfortable with. Instead of spending it at the local brothels like many of the Tenderfoots in the manor have a habit of doing, I instead split mine up. One-third of it was stored with a bank, one-third was kept in my room in case I needed it, and the last chunk was hidden in a secret spot in the middle of the forest.

Most of what I stored in the bank went into investments as that was a profitable way to make passive income, whereas I had a habit of hoarding my money. After all, I had all I needed to live comfortably in the manor. However, I was fully aware that someday I would want to live on my own - where I wasn't eye-fucked every time I walked down the stairs. So I saved most of my income so that someday Ivar and I could live on our own. In the middle of the countryside. On an estate that no stranger dared to enter.

After handing my pouch of money to the teller, I walked back outside and mounted back up. Normally, I would've just walked to the bank, but Ivar and I had yet to go for our daily run in the countryside. And with his strange behavior lately, I didn't dare to take that moment of joy away from him.

I directed Ivar off the main street and through the outskirts of the capital. There was a significantly less amount of people this way and it was also a faster way to get to our path out of town.

The sun was almost an hour from setting which meant that we were most likely walking back home in the dark, something I loved and hated.

After all, an assassin's favorite time of day was night.

Ivar's head suddenly lifted high and he snorted. His snorts often meant one of two things. One, he was being a brat and was actually grateful for the attention he was receiving. Or two, someone or something had him on edge and he was very upset.

As if we were walking through the capital again, his ears were twitching in every direction and he was once again tense underneath me. I would think his behavior ridiculous if not for the tickling feeling that I was being watched.

I heard no footsteps behind me and saw no figures on the roofs above. It was truly strange.

Deciding to push my luck, I kicked Ivar into a soft gallop in hopes of getting to the forest faster. If someone was following us, they would have a hard time keeping up. Ivar's head did not lower until we reached the covers of the towering, ancient trees that made up the forest surrounding Dunkev. I slowed him to a walk and he let out a deep sigh. His body relaxed and one of his ears pointed back towards me while the other pointed straight - a sign that he was alert but also waiting for my next command.

He remained relaxed until we stepped out of the forest. As he had earlier, he tensed and was on high alert. Also, like earlier, I got that nagging feeling that we weren't alone.

Who would be stupid enough to trail me?

Or what was stupid enough?...

I pulled my hood down and risked a glance behind us, pretending as if I was scratching Ivar's hind while also scanning the treeline for any sign of life.

Irritation prickled at me when my search came up empty. There was nothing around us, and yet both Ivar and I shared the same thoughts.

Something was stalking us.

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Thank you for reading Chapter 10. I hope you enjoyed this Chapter. :) I have really been feeling the creativity for this story lately so I'm hoping to get as many chapters out there as I can before the creativity dies. Also, I have gone through and changed the titles of each chapter, I hope you enjoy my sense of humor. And in case you hadn't noticed, I also changed the cover. (If any of y'all are good digit artists, pls hit me up as you can see that I'm clearly no artist and I don't want to steal from someone else.) Comments and Feedback make me happy!