Status: This is my first story that I am uploading onto here. I am only uploading the first chapter for now because I do not want anyone stealing it but I might put up the second chapter is enough people like it. Comments and tips are very welcome and appreciated.
The Dagger and the Crown
Chapter I: The Dawning At Midnight
It was the middle of the night. The full moon was high and the shadows were everywhere. A guard is patrolling his post on the walls of the large castle when he hears a noise behind him. Sword drawn and shield up, the guard turns to face the source of the sound but doesn’t see anything. He scratches his head in confusion as a shadowy figure races across the top of the wall on silent feet and into the courtyard before the guard resumes his patrol. The figure, now inside the courtyard, takes refuge underneath a large tree and looks up at the castle before whistling quietly to him, admiring the sheer size of the building. The figure is a young man in his late teens, early twenties. He is wearing almost all black save for his red hood and a black half mask covering his face and his sleeves are red as well. On his shoulder is a image of a snake wrapped around a dagger, the symbol of the most infamous and most deadly assassins on the continent, if not the whole world; The Hidden Blades. The assassin looks around; making sure nobody heard him whistling while cursing himself for being somewhat careless.
“Dominus would be so disappointed with me right not if he knew I almost gave myself away,” He thinks to himself. “Have to be more careful.”
After being sure no one heard him, he then reaches into his pouch and pulls out a pair of gloves with small spikes on the palms and puts then on. Next, he kicks the back of both of his heels hard against the tree and a larger spike comes out of both of the fronts of his shoes. He first looks up at the castle tower, then around himself to make sure that no one is around and when it is relatively safe, he dashes across the courtyard and leaps onto the castle wall, the hooks and spikes digging into the wall and into any crevice or crack they could grab ahold of. He then begins scaling the castle walls, trying to not only stay in the shadows but also trying to keep a good grip as he makes his way to the top of the tower and through the window. As soon as his feet hit the floor, he felt something was not right. He turns around and realizes something. He’s in the wrong room. Instead, he’s in some room that has things a young woman would have instead of what the steward would have in his.
“Damn it!” the assassin seethes. “I’m in the wrong damn room. Perhaps I can sneak out without waking…” But before he could finish his train of thought, he hears the lock turn. “Oh, my luck can not be that bad.”
The door opens and a middle aged man walks into the room and looks at the spot where the assassin was, seeing nothing, not knowing that the assassin has climbed up onto the rafters and is hiding in the shadows, blending almost seamlessly into them. The man shrugs and closes the door behind him, locking it.
“Well,” the assassin begins to think. “That’s my target. But why is he in here? It would be strange to see a grown man sleeping in a room made for girls.”
Little does the assassin know, his answer is about to come sooner than he thinks as the older man turns towards the bed and calls out, “Oh Princess? Wake up now. It’s me.”
The assassin looks at the bed and thinks, “‘Princess’? Why is he in the princesses room?”
The princess stirs from her sleep and, upon recognizing whom it is, immediately becomes angry and yells out, “Malcolm, what are you doing in here? You are not allowed! Be gone from my room or else I will call for the guards!”
Malcolm simply grins as he begins moving closer towards the princess, saying, “Oh, I don’t think that is going to happen Princess. You see, I ordered all of the guards to patrol elsewhere, so no matter how much you scream or call out, no one will hear you.”
And before the princess could get up, Malcolm jumps at her and holds her against the bed while she is screaming, “Somebody, help me! HELP!”
“Go ahead, squirm and beg,” Malcolm says with a look of lust in his eyes. “It just makes it more fun for me when I take away your innocence.”
And while all of this is happening, the assassin, who is witnessing the whole ordeal, is currently conflicting with himself. “Damn it all, I want to help her but doing so will expose myself, which is against our rules. But if I wait for him to leave, he’ll take away her innocence. What should I do?” The princess screaming is what makes the assassin decide what he is going to do. “Screw this.”
The young assassin then drops from the rafters and onto the floor, startling the Malcolm and the princess. “Who the hell are you?!” Malcolm demands. When the assassin stands up and the light from the full moon is shining on his shoulder, the symbol is made clear and Malcolm becomes fearful. “No,” he stutters. “This can not be! The Hidden Blades!” He then runs to the door and, forgetting that he locked it, tries pulling on the door handle. Failing that, he then begins pounding on the door, screaming, “Guards! Guards! Help!”
The assassin pulls out his foot long dagger whose hilt looks like a snake’s head with it’s mouth open and begins walking towards Malcolm, saying, “Oh, I don’t think that’s going to happen Malcolm. You see, you ordered all of the guards to patrol elsewhere, remember? So no matter how much you scream or who you call out to, no one will hear you.”
“Please,” Malcolm begins to beg. “Don’t kill me. I-I’ll make you rich. Yeah, richer than your wildest dreams. Just let me live. Please!”
The assassin then stops within arms reach of the steward, pulls down his mask, and his unusual purple eyes seemingly glow in the moonlight and he flashes a evil, blood-curdling grin as he says, “ Go ahead Malcolm, beg for your life and fight back. It just makes it for fun for me to take your life.” He then takes his dagger, while clutching his throat, cutting off his airway, and rams it into the steward’s chest, piercing his heart and causing him to slowly bleed out. “I hope you suffer in the pits of the Shadow Realm for attempting to take this girl’s innocence.” The assassin then drops the steward. He then bends down and begins rummaging through the stewards pockets.
The princess, having gotten up from her bed and carefully walked over to the young assassin, asks him, “What are you doing?”
The assassin pulls his mask back up and answers, without looking up, “I am looking for something of his to use as proof of his death.”
“Why?”
“It is our way.”
“Well, in that case.” The princess then bends down next to Malcolm and pulls a golden watch out of his pocket. She then stands back up and says, “Here, you can take this. He always keeps this on his person.”
The assassin looks up at her, smiles underneath his mask, stands up, and says, “Thank you.”
“No, I should be the one who is thanking you. You saved me from that wretched old man. I always knew he had bad intentions for me every time he looked at me. So, thank you.”
The young assassin then performs a bow and says, “You are quite welcome, milady.”
The princess lets out the sweetest giggle the assassin has ever heard as she says, “Are all assassins this charming and sweet?”
“Only certain ones. Now then, I’ll be taking that watch and be on my way.”
“Really?” The princess asks with a small hint of sadness. “You can not stay a little while longer?”
“Milady, you have no idea how many rules I am breaking just by letting myself be seen, not to mention talking to you.”
“Oh, I see.”
“But perhaps we may see each other another time.”
That put a smile on the already beautiful princess as the moon sets just enough for the assassin to see her more clearly. Long blonde hair that reaches the middle of her back, dark blue eyes the color of blueberries, petite slim body which is shorter than he is, and her smile just adds to her beauty. The assassin then shakes his head and reaches for the watch. As soon as their hands touch, both of them feels a spark jump between as love begins to blossom like a rose at the beginning of spring. They both gulp and the assassin puts the watch in his pocket.
As the assassin is beginning to leave, the princess, trying to get him to stay a little longer, says to him, “By the way, my name is Lillian. Princess Lillian. What is yours?”
The assassin stops in his tracks, contemplating whether or not he should tell her his name. Finally, when he decides, he turns around and says to her, “Azazel. Azazel of the Hidden Blades.”
“Well then Azazel, as my hero, I would like to give you a reward before you leave.”
“Reward?” Azazel thinks to himself. “What kind of reward is she…”? But before he could finish his thought process, Lillian pulls down his mask and kisses him firmly on the lips.
After kissing him for a few seconds, Lillian pulls up Azazel’s mask, gives him a sweet smile, and says,
“Shouldn’t you be going somewhere, Mr. Assassin?”
“Y-yeah.” Azazel then grins sheepishly, pulls up his mask, and begins climbing down the tower wall as Lillian looks over the edge and waves to him. After he is down and over the castle wall, she then unlocks her door and runs to her parent’s room to let them know what happened, leaving out the part that she talked to the assassin and that she is starting to fall in love with him.
“Dominus would be so disappointed with me right not if he knew I almost gave myself away,” He thinks to himself. “Have to be more careful.”
After being sure no one heard him, he then reaches into his pouch and pulls out a pair of gloves with small spikes on the palms and puts then on. Next, he kicks the back of both of his heels hard against the tree and a larger spike comes out of both of the fronts of his shoes. He first looks up at the castle tower, then around himself to make sure that no one is around and when it is relatively safe, he dashes across the courtyard and leaps onto the castle wall, the hooks and spikes digging into the wall and into any crevice or crack they could grab ahold of. He then begins scaling the castle walls, trying to not only stay in the shadows but also trying to keep a good grip as he makes his way to the top of the tower and through the window. As soon as his feet hit the floor, he felt something was not right. He turns around and realizes something. He’s in the wrong room. Instead, he’s in some room that has things a young woman would have instead of what the steward would have in his.
“Damn it!” the assassin seethes. “I’m in the wrong damn room. Perhaps I can sneak out without waking…” But before he could finish his train of thought, he hears the lock turn. “Oh, my luck can not be that bad.”
The door opens and a middle aged man walks into the room and looks at the spot where the assassin was, seeing nothing, not knowing that the assassin has climbed up onto the rafters and is hiding in the shadows, blending almost seamlessly into them. The man shrugs and closes the door behind him, locking it.
“Well,” the assassin begins to think. “That’s my target. But why is he in here? It would be strange to see a grown man sleeping in a room made for girls.”
Little does the assassin know, his answer is about to come sooner than he thinks as the older man turns towards the bed and calls out, “Oh Princess? Wake up now. It’s me.”
The assassin looks at the bed and thinks, “‘Princess’? Why is he in the princesses room?”
The princess stirs from her sleep and, upon recognizing whom it is, immediately becomes angry and yells out, “Malcolm, what are you doing in here? You are not allowed! Be gone from my room or else I will call for the guards!”
Malcolm simply grins as he begins moving closer towards the princess, saying, “Oh, I don’t think that is going to happen Princess. You see, I ordered all of the guards to patrol elsewhere, so no matter how much you scream or call out, no one will hear you.”
And before the princess could get up, Malcolm jumps at her and holds her against the bed while she is screaming, “Somebody, help me! HELP!”
“Go ahead, squirm and beg,” Malcolm says with a look of lust in his eyes. “It just makes it more fun for me when I take away your innocence.”
And while all of this is happening, the assassin, who is witnessing the whole ordeal, is currently conflicting with himself. “Damn it all, I want to help her but doing so will expose myself, which is against our rules. But if I wait for him to leave, he’ll take away her innocence. What should I do?” The princess screaming is what makes the assassin decide what he is going to do. “Screw this.”
The young assassin then drops from the rafters and onto the floor, startling the Malcolm and the princess. “Who the hell are you?!” Malcolm demands. When the assassin stands up and the light from the full moon is shining on his shoulder, the symbol is made clear and Malcolm becomes fearful. “No,” he stutters. “This can not be! The Hidden Blades!” He then runs to the door and, forgetting that he locked it, tries pulling on the door handle. Failing that, he then begins pounding on the door, screaming, “Guards! Guards! Help!”
The assassin pulls out his foot long dagger whose hilt looks like a snake’s head with it’s mouth open and begins walking towards Malcolm, saying, “Oh, I don’t think that’s going to happen Malcolm. You see, you ordered all of the guards to patrol elsewhere, remember? So no matter how much you scream or who you call out to, no one will hear you.”
“Please,” Malcolm begins to beg. “Don’t kill me. I-I’ll make you rich. Yeah, richer than your wildest dreams. Just let me live. Please!”
The assassin then stops within arms reach of the steward, pulls down his mask, and his unusual purple eyes seemingly glow in the moonlight and he flashes a evil, blood-curdling grin as he says, “ Go ahead Malcolm, beg for your life and fight back. It just makes it for fun for me to take your life.” He then takes his dagger, while clutching his throat, cutting off his airway, and rams it into the steward’s chest, piercing his heart and causing him to slowly bleed out. “I hope you suffer in the pits of the Shadow Realm for attempting to take this girl’s innocence.” The assassin then drops the steward. He then bends down and begins rummaging through the stewards pockets.
The princess, having gotten up from her bed and carefully walked over to the young assassin, asks him, “What are you doing?”
The assassin pulls his mask back up and answers, without looking up, “I am looking for something of his to use as proof of his death.”
“Why?”
“It is our way.”
“Well, in that case.” The princess then bends down next to Malcolm and pulls a golden watch out of his pocket. She then stands back up and says, “Here, you can take this. He always keeps this on his person.”
The assassin looks up at her, smiles underneath his mask, stands up, and says, “Thank you.”
“No, I should be the one who is thanking you. You saved me from that wretched old man. I always knew he had bad intentions for me every time he looked at me. So, thank you.”
The young assassin then performs a bow and says, “You are quite welcome, milady.”
The princess lets out the sweetest giggle the assassin has ever heard as she says, “Are all assassins this charming and sweet?”
“Only certain ones. Now then, I’ll be taking that watch and be on my way.”
“Really?” The princess asks with a small hint of sadness. “You can not stay a little while longer?”
“Milady, you have no idea how many rules I am breaking just by letting myself be seen, not to mention talking to you.”
“Oh, I see.”
“But perhaps we may see each other another time.”
That put a smile on the already beautiful princess as the moon sets just enough for the assassin to see her more clearly. Long blonde hair that reaches the middle of her back, dark blue eyes the color of blueberries, petite slim body which is shorter than he is, and her smile just adds to her beauty. The assassin then shakes his head and reaches for the watch. As soon as their hands touch, both of them feels a spark jump between as love begins to blossom like a rose at the beginning of spring. They both gulp and the assassin puts the watch in his pocket.
As the assassin is beginning to leave, the princess, trying to get him to stay a little longer, says to him, “By the way, my name is Lillian. Princess Lillian. What is yours?”
The assassin stops in his tracks, contemplating whether or not he should tell her his name. Finally, when he decides, he turns around and says to her, “Azazel. Azazel of the Hidden Blades.”
“Well then Azazel, as my hero, I would like to give you a reward before you leave.”
“Reward?” Azazel thinks to himself. “What kind of reward is she…”? But before he could finish his thought process, Lillian pulls down his mask and kisses him firmly on the lips.
After kissing him for a few seconds, Lillian pulls up Azazel’s mask, gives him a sweet smile, and says,
“Shouldn’t you be going somewhere, Mr. Assassin?”
“Y-yeah.” Azazel then grins sheepishly, pulls up his mask, and begins climbing down the tower wall as Lillian looks over the edge and waves to him. After he is down and over the castle wall, she then unlocks her door and runs to her parent’s room to let them know what happened, leaving out the part that she talked to the assassin and that she is starting to fall in love with him.
♠ ♠ ♠
Again, this is my first story I have ever written. I want complete honesty and any tips you can give would be very much appreciated. I hope you enjoy the story. :)