Chapter Seven: Keep Your Friends Close But Your Enemies Closer

[Webnovel ©Lynnifer Ice]

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"What-? No!" Azariah shouted, shooting up from her spot despite being a bit wobbly, "I have to go! If someone fails their mission in the guild, they lose their life. You either die on your mission or come back successfully; those are my only options! That's the way my guild works. I can't go back, and I can't stay here."

"Perhaps, I was not clear enough, Princess…," the bags hissed. "Those mutts will kill you without hesitation if they know your identity. Now that I have found you after all these years, I am obligated to tell the rest of the council. Therefore, I should see guardianship over you. You belong on a throne, ruling a kingdom-."

"I don't want to rule ANYTHING, and stop calling me Princess! I don't care about what you're telling me about my past. The past should stay in the past! I don't want anything to do with the crown," Azariah shouted, quickly running out of breath.

"You don't want anything to do with the crown?" The naga mockingly asked. "Well, that's too bad. It's your birthright, and whether you like it or not, you have the blood of royalty running through your veins," he raised his voice, getting in her face. His tall frame hovered over hers as he glared down at her, daring her to challenge him.

"I told you, I DON'T CARE!" She stood her ground, clenching her jaw. Perhaps that was the wrong thing to do…

The naga snatched Azariah's head with his large hand, his palm over her mouth, with his fingers reaching to the sides of her head. He bared his fangs in anger. Her hands flew to his wrist, connected to the hand that held her captive. She tried to pull him off, but his strength was beyond a human's capabilities. When that did not work, she tried scratching his arm, but it only infuriated him more. His eyes narrowed into slits as he tightened his grip; Azariah whimpered. How was she supposed to get out of this? She did not have her weapon; it was on the other side of the room, and he was much stronger…possibly immortal. Aren't most deities immortal these days?

"You are to sit back down and not mention another word about the werewolf territory," the naga ordered, forcing her to sit back down in the chair. Azariah could do nothing against his strength, even though her muscles had tried to resist. Once she was seated, he let go of her. "Don't you dare glare at me like that. Avert your eyes, Princess."

Azariah sharply turned her head to the side without a word. She felt livid. There was no way she was staying here. She needed a way out. Calling for help was out of the question… Perhaps, she could sneak out in the middle of the night once the naga fell asleep?

"If you are thinking about sneaking out, erase it from your mind. You may not have noticed, Princess, but there is no door."

Now that he mentioned it… There really was no door. Azariah's chance of escape just diminished to almost zero. How did they get in this tree then?

"The only way in and out of the tree is with my talisman that I shall not tell you the location of it. I told you that I couldn't let you leave, and I meant it."

Azariah sulked, but then a thought occurred to her. There was light coming from somewhere outside of the tree. That meant there had to be a window! Her eyes quickly scanned the bark until her eyes locked onto the tiny little window. Her heart sank into her stomach; she would not even be able to fit her head through that small space. She doubted that begging would change his mind, but if she had no other options… What's the harm?

"Please?" Azariah quietly asked with her gaze toward the floor.

"No," the naga replied without an ounce of hesitation.

Well, she tried. She sighed, turning her gaze to the table. When the naga did not say anything more, Azariah decided to rest her head on the table after pushing the teacup aside.

"I don't like you," she said curtly. "Thank you for saving me and everything, but I still don't like you. I don't like this tree either." Azariah refused to look at him.

"Tch. Can you be any more child-like?" The naga huffed, "I'm doing this for your own good. Don't forget you're still a female traveling alone. What of those mutts try to take advantage of you the moment they see you?"

"I can handle myself," Azariah stubbornly pouted.

"Just like how you handled that leopard?" The naga mocked.

Azariah's body froze, her muscles tightening. At first, a chill ran down her spine just remembering the encounter. Then, she felt anger course through her. She was the best S-class assassin in her guild, but she could not fend off just one wild beast by herself. Pathetic.

"I-…," she hesitated, lifting her head before snapping, "I was just caught off guard!"

"Right… Sure you were," the naga rolled his eyes.

"Just shut up!" Azariah boomed, slamming her hand on the table. "Let me out of this place! I don't care what you have to say."

That's when Azariah saw something shimmer out of the corner of her eye. It was her dagger! Its sheath was hanging on a peg, attached to the wall. It was maybe three strides from where she sat. That was her answer; that was how she was getting out of here.

"Oh? Is that so?" He turned away from her.

The moment he turned away, she flew out of her chair. She took two fast strides and leaped for the sheathed dagger. The naga turned toward her just as she grabbed the sheath off of the peg. His tail wrapped around one of her ankles, pulling her back, but it was too late. She grinned wildly as she looked back at him, pointing the tip of the dagger toward herself.

"Two can play at this game, you know. I have no intention of being a princess, and I have no intention of going back to my guild empty-handed. So, either you let me go, or I will die right here on this floor," Azariah cornered him, being careful not to press the poisoned tip against her skin.

"You're bluffing," the naga looked at her in disbelief as its grip on her ankle tightened.

"You want to try me? My blade is poisoned so, not even you could cure me," Azariah threatened, steadying her grip on the handle.

"Don't be preposterous! I can cure any poison in this world. There is a known treatment for every single-."

"This is not a natural poison. It's manmade, and it is made only by my guild. There is no antidote for it. We made it this way so that our enemies would die, no matter what. I seem to be so special to you and this council you keep mentioning, so… Let me out of here, or I'll poison myself," Azariah used herself as her bargaining chip.

"You're playing a dangerous game, Princess," the naga hissed. "You wouldn't dare," his eyes thinned into slits, pulling her body closer across the floor toward him.

"Oh, I wouldn't?" She held the dagger dangerously closer to her throat, "You want to try me?"

The naga snarled as it finally uncoiled its tail from her ankle. The snake shape-shifter slid back a few feet to give her space as she slowly got to her feet, never taking the dagger away from herself. He clenched his jaw before magically retrieving his talisman from within his body. He held the talisman against the tree's bark; Azariah watched as that part, about the size of a small archway, became transparent. That was just plain creepy, she thought…

"You will regret this, Princess. Mark my words…," the naga spat out.

"No, I don't think I will," she bit back as she moved to the transparent bark, carefully keeping the dagger in place with one hand while the other gripped her sheath. "…-and I'm not your princess," she added as she went through the transparent space.

As soon as she was outside the tree, the bark was solid again. Just for good measure, she carefully held the dagger in the same position as she slowly backed up from the tree. She waited until she was at least fifty yards away before she sheathed her dagger and sprinted down the mountainside. The sun was gone, but the moon had already gotten low in the sky. How long had she been unconscious? By the looks of the sky, it would be dawn within the next three hours.

As she hurried down the mountainside, she reattached her sheath at her hip. She had just secured it when the soil beneath her left foot gave out. She held in a scream as she slid down about a hundred yards before grabbing a nearby tree branch to halt her descent. She let out a sigh of relief, but that relief was short-lived. She immediately closed her mouth, holding her breath when she saw the same leopard from earlier, laying on the branch; it was only a few inches from her fingers. Something was off, though; the leopard's breaths were haggard. Oh, wait… That's right. She forgot that her dagger had knicked the leopard's jaw in their fight. That meant it was poisoned.

Azariah gulped as she dropped from the branch, nearly losing her footing again. Perhaps, she should not have been smiling to herself at that moment because the minute she looked away, she heard a snarl. Her eyes shot back up to the leopard. Its eyes were open. The leopard may have been poisoned, but it still had enough strength to kill her.

It amazed Azariah how the leopard had the strength to stand when it hopped down from the branch. The leopard bared its teeth. Azariah decided it was a really dumb idea, but she did it anyway; she started running down the rest of the mountain. The leopard was not far behind. Then she lost her footing for a second time, sliding down the mountain. At least, this time, the mountain base was within sight. She thought she could make it if she could just get to even ground.

Things never go as one plans, though… Always expect the unexpected, right? Perhaps, within ten yards of the base of the mountain, a dark figure stepped out from the trees. She gasped but did not scream even when her body slammed into the shadowed stranger. It tossed her to the side, and in one fell swoop…beheaded the leopard chasing her.

- End of Chapter Seven -