The Slash of Pain

" My lady, this is not a safe area for a beautiful lady like you. " a young-looking guard told me, smiling widely.

He looked around sixteen - seventeen years old, with a persona of ' hi, you can easily manipulate me if you want. ' I relaxed my shoulders taking in a deep breath. His smile turned into a frown after observing me.

" My lady, you look like you were running away from something. Is everything alright? "

I widened my eyes and filled them with a few tears, and gave him the most helpless damsel in distress look possible.

" N-no I was lost and it was so dark down here. I am so glad you saved me. "

He expanded his chest and stood straighter.

"You need not worry My Lady, I am here to protect you. "

It was so difficult to control my urge to laugh. But I maintained my façade.

" Will you kindly accompany me to the exit, sir," I said batting my eyelashes and pouting slightly.

This was enough to fill him with the need of being my ' Knight in shining amour'. His chest expanded even further, if that was even possible, as he bowed in front of me.

" It will be my pleasure to accompany such a beautiful lady. " He stood up, smiled, and started moving. I was surprised to get away with it so easily especially considering my clothes, they were like a replica of that prison cell. I am sure I even matched the fragrance and added the beauty of sweat too.

The walls were plain except for the paintings of some old men near the ballroom. I suppose they do have a lot of old men. The floor was covered with red carpet.

It would be so easy to hide bloodstains on this carpet.

There were several guards and knights in the palace. And it would have been difficult to surpass them if it weren't for Michael, as I found was the guard's name. He was such a darling answering anyone who would be suspicious of me, like any other normal human.

" Should I call a carriage for you? "

" N-no no. Thank you so much, Michael. I don't know what I would have done without you. " I said holding his hand, still nailing my pretence.

" Oh no. It was my pleasure. " He blushed like a red tomato.

I hadn't envisioned the escape plan to be so easy, but I am glad it was. I was really tired and hungry. Going further away from the palace I walked into the dense forest.

It must be here somewhere.

Looking around the bushes I heard some rustling before I saw him, my chestnut. His fur shined even in the night. My most trustworthy companion. He neighed after he saw me. I smiled and patted him. He was my sidekick, my companion for as far as I can remember. He was the only male that I trusted.

Climbing on his back, I started riding towards the town. The town was very different from what one would expect. There were so many things that needed to be changed, politically, economically as well as socially. But the weirdest part was that many people viewed criminals and law-breaking as heroic and courageous. It was perhaps due to the oppressive behaviour of the lawmakers. It was obviously beneficial to me yet I knew it was not right in any sense. People had started looking at me with awe after my successful assassinations. It was a major achievement for me considering how I was chastised for being a women assassin when I had just begun.

Just on the outskirts of the forest and a mile away from the town was a pub. All sorts of illegal stuff illegal activities are done there. And so it was the best place for me to gather information as well as provide with a safe hideout for the time being.

I took a turn towards a jumble-gut lane. The hustle and bustle of the pub could be heard from here even though it was still half a mile away. It must be after midnight, perhaps around three in the morning. I sped up my riding, feeling the rush of air on my face. My gown creating some obvious discomfort while riding but the lash mark on my back was creating more discomfort than the gown. Yet it hurt far less than I had anticipated.

I stopped my horse near the barn and after tying his rein on the nearby poll up I moved towards the entrance of the pub. The smell of alcohol was strong and the music was loud. I was as rich as a beggar, just a little bit of advance payment that I had received for the assassination of the Viceroy. A lot of that was spent on the expensive gown that I had to buy. What a waste of money honestly, especially since it was a big fail.

I need to attempt the assassination again. I will have to leave the kingdom for a few days or find solace in the forest. The local magistrate wouldn't be a problem, he was just an unpaid wealthy ranked man who could be easily swayed by some bribe. The crux of the matter was Dominic. He will surely send his knights behind me and will probably execute me publicly while having that sick smile if he finds me this time. To be real with you all, execution is somewhat fine but not that smile.

To be able to hide, I need to get some money. Hopefully, no one knows about my failed assassination attempt. Or else people would lose trust in me.

All that I have earned with so much hard work and struggle. It wasn't easy doing a job as a woman, let alone a job where men were stereotyped to be the best. There would be talks again, talks of how a woman like me needs to stay at home and take care of the children.

I pushed through the crowd, the expensive gown catching the attention of more people than necessary. My guess would have been that its disintegrated and dirty condition was the reason for people's aroused curiosity, not to mention how enticing I smelled. But these people were used to these things, dirty clothes with blood on them, scarred faces, prisoners on run and it didn't matter to them. They knew how to keep their nose to themselves.

My eyes scanned the room, it was so neat and cleaned up that it could even outshine a swine's habitat. The crowd was it's usual. The place was filled with goons, thugs, and all other kinds of criminals. The only females in the pub were the dancers who would do anything to entertain you other than dance. And it was quite understandable, after all how many of these criminals would be willing to pay for just a dance. Anyways I was so not going to judge a woman who was feeding herself independently. Just wished for them to have better options.

I started moving forward towards the counter. I was hoping to find the man who paid me for the Viceroy's assassination. Either that or I need someone else to hire me for assassination. It would be a lot more dangerous, to kill two people in a short period but it's not like I had any other choice.

Reaching the bar counter I took a seat, the bartender seemed to be taken aback but then realized it was me. A hooded man was seating beside me, his hood was making it impossible for me to see his face. Seems like he was an on-run prisoner a well.

" Oh so Lady Azriel decided to grace us with her presence. " came a voice from behind the bartender. It was Ron, the owner of this pub. He was a big bulky man with a scar running down his chest, he was proud of it and preferred not to wear a shirt to show it off. He was as close to macho and handsome as any common man could get. He was no match for the royals born with a silver spoon but managed to make many ladies swoon over him. He was also somewhat my friend, the closest to being a friend anyways.

" Shut up Ron. I got caught up with work. Get me a glass of water, will you? "

I felt a hand crept onto my thighs, slowly moving up. I whipped my head only to find an old hag with crooked teeth smirking at me. " Hello, princess. " His teeth were either black or yellow and oh dear did he smelled good? But on a serious note what the hell was wrong with the men, you teach one a lesson and the other one is already waiting in the line.

But what can I say I am a generous teacher, I shall teach the lesson to all my disciples. I took the empty glass, smashed it on the counter, and slashed his hand that was comfortably put on my thigh. He shrieked and stumbled back, holding his left hand in his right. The pub turned quiet only for it to go back to normal after realizing what would have happened. It wasn't the first time this has happened. After all, there was a reason that I was among the best assassins of this kingdom.

I turned back towards the counter chugging down my glass of water in a go.

" Now now if this ain't you. "

I turned towards the hooded man, confusion masking my face. Not many people talked to each other without reason, the environment wasn't much of a friendly one you could say. Nevertheless, it wasn't just how things worked here. If you got money and work then and only then do you reach out to people. Maybe he wanted me for assassination, this could be a chance.

" Who are –

Voice left my throat as he turned slightly, hid hood covering only half of his face.

DOMINIC !?

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Priscilla Woods