Sub Rosa

It was a well known fact among the Rosemond family that little miss Lucy could not sleep on just anything. In fact, the mage had earned herself a reputation for conjuring plush mattresses to replace rock hard hotel ones simply because she hated poor sleeping surfaces so much. So it is no surprise that when Lucy Rosemond was forced to sleep on the couch in a little tavern in Citadel, without the help of any magic, on account of two Lindsey witnesses being present, she hardly slept at all.
As the sun peeked through the blinds, Lucy sat up after perhaps two hours of solid sleep, glaring at Pierce, who was strolling contently out of the bathroom. The assassin was even humming, which vexed the mage to a great extent. He hadn’t specifically relegated her to the couch. In fact, he’d said she was more than welcome to share the bed with him. To Lucy, that was pretty much the same as taking the bed and throwing it out the window.
“Morning, Jenn.” Pierce offered her casually as he began to fumble through a suitcase sitting on the chest at the end of the bed. Apparently, Veronica had collected some things for him.
“Morning.” Lucy grumbled in response, looking around for the other Lindsey, who was nowhere to be found.
“Veronica is out getting us boat tickets.” When Lucy turned to resume glaring at Pierce, she was shocked to find the assassin shirtless. A genuine blush welled in her cheeks and she averted her eyes promptly. Catching the younger Lindsey in the middle of changing after a pitiful night’s sleep was perhaps the last thing she needed.
“Can’t you, uh, do that in the bathroom?”
She didn’t have to meet his eyes to know that the assassin was smirking at her. A low chuckle rumbled as he replied, “Sure.”
When Lucy thought she’d heard him shuffle away, she peeked up, relieved to find the room devoid of shirtless men. She also noticed a second suitcase, next to the one Pierce had been digging through.
“Is this second suitcase for me?” She asked.
“Yeah, Veronica picked out some of her older clothes to send with you. You two are about the same size, should fit well enough.”
Sizing wasn’t really what the mage was concerned about. Veronica was one of the more… progressive women when it came to fashion. If Lucy wasn’t mistaken, the elder Lindsey had been wearing a skirt last night that cut off above her knees. While she had no issue with other women donning that sort of fashion, Lucy certainly didn’t intend on following suit.
Pierce stepped out of the bathroom looking far more aristocratic than he had the previous night. Thief-wear was, more or less, defined to be black slacks, black shoes, and a black turtleneck. Not a particularly attractive look on anyone, really. The utilitarian style was exactly what she’d expected from the notorious assassin, not this vest-and-bow-tie ensemble he now sported. He was, dare she say it, presentable. With his hair combed back, he might almost fit in at an upper class dinner party.
She raised an eyebrow in suspicion.
“What?” The assassin asked, noticing her expression.
“Nothing.” Lucy shook her head, standing up to rummage through the suitcase Veronica had packed for. What with Pierce looking so dapper, she had to at least wear some color aside from black.
“So Veronica and I worked out most of the details this morning while you were sleeping.” Pierce continued, sitting down on the bed casually. How early had he awoken? Lucy was already up earlier than she’d rather be.
Lucy hummed in acknowledgement, pulling dresses out of the suitcase one by one, checking to see if any of them had a hem below the knee. So far she’d found three dresses that were barely a step up from lingerie and, strangely enough, two leather bound books, but no respectable clothing.
“We’re going to have to travel in disguise, you know.”
That was expected. Pierce couldn’t very well go around checking into hotels as “Mr. Lindsey” when the General of Citadel had a warrant for his arrest.
“Of course.” Lucy agreed, examining a peach colored dress of unprecedented modesty. Why, the hem on this one went all the way down to the middle of her shin.
“We’ll be travelling as Mr. and Mrs. Abbott.” He stated casually.
“Mr. and Mrs.?” Lucy asked, clarifying, sure that she’d heard wrong.
A satisfied smile tugged at the corner of Pierce’s lips when she looked up with a confused
expression. “Mr. Blair Abbott and Mrs. Ella Abbott, newlyweds, to be precise.”
Her eyes went wide at his statement. “You couldn’t think of any other reasonable cover?!”
“Well, Jenn, we are two young adults of the opposite sex. Travelling alone. What other cover would there be?” The hints of his smile had transformed into a full blown smirk. When Lucy had met Pierce the previous night, he’d been so cold, so business-like. That had been exactly the sort of personality she expected from the notorious assassin, not this scheming, impish rogue.
“I don’t know, how about brother and sister, hmm?” Lucy suggested, crossing her arms in annoyance.
“Oh, and where’s the fun in that?” He chuckled. “Besides, what kind of man my age shares a room with his sister? As generous as I am, Jenn, I won’t be paying for a second hotel room, either.”
“I swear if you so much as try any funny business--”
Pierce put his hand over his heart, mocking a vow, “On my honor, Lady Proudmoore, I will not so much as touch a single hair on thine head.”
Lucy rolled her eyes, picking up the peach dress and heading to the bathroom.
“You know, Jenn,” The assassin called out to her as she approached the water closet. Turning her head, she met his easy smirk with a wary brow. “Just because I changed in the bathroom doesn’t mean you have to.”
She spun around, stepped inside, and slammed the door shut in response.

Lucy had anticipated that Veronica’s return would put a stop to Pierce’s antics. She was wrong.
Pierce’s had was resting all too casually about the small of Lucy’s back as they walked along the docks, suitcase in her hand rolling along behind her, on their way to their “honeymoon cruise.” There wasn’t much she could do about it either, not at least with raising alarm. It didn’t help that having the assassin in such close proximity brought an unprecedented amount of color to her cheeks. Looking at the mage, you’d think she was wearing rouge.
“So you’ll have to check in with Ezra when you get there.” Veronica instructed as the approached an impressive naval vessel. Its stature was almost enough to make her forget the fact that she was sandwiched between her family’s two greatest enemies. “He runs the casino, and, more importantly, he’s going to be our point of contact.”
“You trust Ezra?” Pierce wanted to know.
“Yeah, as much as I trust anyone these days.” The elder Lindsey shrugged. “Just encode your messages and we’ll be alright. Also, don’t tell him who Jenn is. It’ll make him curious.”
“Wasn’t gonna.” He paused a second before asking, “Out of curiosity, which casino does Ezra run?”
“Vita Sub Rosa.” Veronica said with a sinister smile. Lucy supposed the casino meant something to the assassin.
“Seriously, Veronica?” Pierce massaged his forehead with a thumb and forefinger. “Why do you do this to me?”
“Time to pay your debts, little brother.” She chuckled.
“Pay them? Pfft.” He waved off her comment. “If the Check Raise Ring is still around, the last thing I will be doing is paying them.”
While Lucy had never heard of a Vita Sub Rosa or a man name Ezra who happened to be a casino owner, she was, in her own way, familiar with the Check Raise Ring. Half gang, half card circus, the Check Raise Ring made a living going around hustling rich nobles. Lucy had never, of course, been hustled herself, but she did run into a couple of gang members once. It really wasn’t as scary as it sounded, either. She found the men of the Check Raise Ring to be quite agreeable, in fact.
“Yeah well it’d be better if you didn’t kill them.” Veronica reminded him.
Pierce shot his sister a look of disbelief, as if he would never kill a man just because he owed some money. “You don’t have to kill them to get the point across.”
His sister rolled her eyes. “You’re not going to be Pierce Lindsey out in Capanahel, or did you forget? You’ll be Mr. Blair Abbott. Now, would Mr. Blair Abbott, who is a lawyer, lest you forget, beat up a man to avoid paying his debts?”
Pierce shrugged. “Like you said, he is a lawyer.”
Lucy snickered softly at that, but put an end to it as soon as Veronica’s cool gaze settled on her.
“Nevermind the fact that you have a wife to take care of.” She commented. “You can’t go around beating up men, because then you’ll get thrown in jail and our poor little secretary will be left to her own devices.”
“Well, we wouldn’t want that would we?” The assassin asked, raising an eyebrow as he looked down at Lucy.
“I’m not as incompetent as you two seem to think.” She stated matter-of-factly.
“No one incompetent would be Archie’s secretary.” Veronica reasoned. “I’m sure you’re a very competent assistant. This, however, is spywork.”
“Don’t worry, darling,” Pierce smiled down at her impishly. “Your dashing husband will take good care of you.”
Grumbling, Lucy added, “I can’t believe this was the best plan you two could come up with.”
“Believe it or not,” Veronica started as they stopped in front of a massive cruise ship. “It’s the plan you get.”
“Well, this is where we say our goodbyes, dearest sister.” Pierce smiled at the elder Lindsey. “Do get this sorted out soon.”
Veronica rolled her eyes. “Always relying on me to bail you out of trouble. You owe me one, I hope you know. While you’re throwing away cash on mindless casino games, I’ll be arguing day and night with our dearest friend Archie.”
“Thanks, sis.” He let go of his suitcase to pat her on the shoulder. “Sometimes you’re alright, you know that?”
“Uh huh.” She responded in a bland tone. It struck Lucy then that Veronica was rather how she’d expected Pierce to be; utilitarian and severe. “Have fun.”
And with that, the elder Lindsey walked away, leaving the mage to deal with an impish assassin all by her lonesome.
Much to her surprise, he didn’t immediately start teasing her. Instead, he lead her to the gangplank where they had their tickets punched, received their room keys, and checked their luggage. In fact, Pierce didn’t say anything at all. It was Lucy who broke the silence, asking a question that was driving her nuts when they reached the main deck.
“Pierce…” She started, trailing off as she looked around all the other passengers. All young, and all couples.
“Blair, darling.” He reminded her.
“Blair, dearest,” She corrected. “When you said this was a honeymoon cruise, did you mean this a cruise that is our honeymoon, or is this a cruise only for honeymooners?”
“Why, Ella,” He smirked, leaning against the railing, finally removing his hand from her back. Still, the devilish expression he sported did little to extinguish her blush. “This is a cruise for honeymooners. I thought you knew.”
“I did not, in fact.” She smiled tightly at him. Being on a honeymooner exclusive cruise would make it significantly harder to pretend like he was her brother instead of husband.
“I thought it was an excellent idea, you see. On account of Archie not likely having plants
on a honeymooner’s cruise and all.”
“Very clever.” She admitted through gritted teeth.
“Thanks for the praise, darling.” Lucy followed Pierce’s gaze as it settled on a bar. “Want
something to drink?”
“Quite.”
The assassin stalked off to the bar without a second word, leaving Lucy alone for a rare moment of peace. Turning around to gaze off into the sea, Lucy sighed, wondering what she’d signed herself up for. It was going to be perhaps the most stressful vacation she’d ever taken, but did she have a choice, really? Posters of her face were probably being plastered all over Citadel at that very moment.
“Lucy?” A voice colored by a strong Bruman accent asked cautiously. She’d recognize that pronunciation of her name anywhere.
Whipping her head around faster than lightning, the mage came face to face with a familiar face. Before her stood Callum MacIntyre, an old flame from her spying days back in Newcastle Landing. His was a countenance she hadn’t seen in at least four years, and, if the captain’s uniform he wore was any indication, it was also a very welcome one.
“Callum!” She exclaimed, eyes bugging out of her head in surprise. “Oh, call me Jenn, please. And don’t ask--”
“Don’t ask questions, yeah…” He trailed off, smiling weakly at her. Things between her and Callum hadn’t exactly ended on the best of terms. Looking around, he added, “I wasn’t aware that you got married.”
Lucy checked behind her to make sure that Pierce was still at the bar before she said, “I haven’t.”
Callum raised an eyebrow.
“I’m here on business, Cal. I can tell you about it later, but it’ll have to be discrete.”
“Sure.” His sea blue eyes flitted across her face. “Are you in trouble, Luce, er, Jenn?”
“A bit, yeah.”
“Come see me at the captain’s quarters later tonight.” He offered. “We can get things squared away…”
The Bruman trailed off, eyes focusing on someone behind her. Within seconds, Lucy felt a hand settle around her waist.
“You didn’t tell me you knew the captain, darling.” Pierce commented. Looking up, she noticed the assassin was intently focused on Callum.
“Old friends.” She smiled at him. “I haven’t seen him in, what’s it been, four years now?”
“Going on five, Jenn.” Callum said, straight-faced. His eyes scanned Pierce, as if he recognized the Lindsey, but couldn’t quite place him. Extending a hand towards Pierce, he added, “Captain Callum MacIntyre.”
The assassin took it and shoot it politely. “Blair Abbott.” Then, with a glint in his eye Lucy couldn’t read, Pierce added, “Curious, I must say. A Bruman man captaining a leisure ship outbound from Channery to Lokvah.”
It was curious, if you didn’t know Callum. Call him the breeze, he kept on blowing all over the northern hemisphere. When Lucy had first met him, he’d been working on a fishing rig, dreaming of the day he’d be able to captain a ship. Any ship. She knew he’d get to be one eventually, even if she’d have guessed he’d be captain of a pirate ship sooner than captain of a cruise.
He shrugged. “Sailing’s sailing, I’m always happy aboard a ship. If it takes me to Capanahel on the way, who’s to complain?”
Pierce laughed heartily, though Lucy suspected it was faked. “My man.”
“Well, I ought to be getting back to post.” Callum said, stepping away from the duo. “We’ve got to haul out of here sometime, you hear?”
“Goodbye, Cal.” Lucy smiled at him, waving as he left.
He nodded at her in return before stalking off.
Pierce was silent for a few seconds before asking, “Cal, huh?”
“Old friend.” She repeated, turning back to gaze out at the sea.
“And what manner of friend would that be, I wonder?” She could practically hear the smirk in his voice.
“The sort of friend a young woman entertains when she finds a man particularly handsome.” Lucy clarified, shooting him a triumphant look. Wasn’t expecting her to own up to it, was he now?
“Secretaries always are the promiscuous type, aren’t they?” He commented, impish grin not making her feel the least bit satisfied with her rebuttal.
“And what do you know of secretaries, exactly?”
“Let’s just say I’ve had a few…” He trailed off, dark eyes flitting across her face. “Friends who were secretaries.”
Lucy snorted. “What, in the “if I kiss you, I’m going to have to kill you” sort of way?”
Leaning forward, the assassin whispered in a low tone, “I don’t kiss and tell.”
That she found his self-satisfied smirk attractive made stomaching his comeback even more difficult to handle. For a moment, she was confused, stunned even, to find that she thought of Pierce as alluring. When she’d met him not even a day ago, she’d considered Pierce barely a step up from a pirate. After a shower and a change of clothes, however, the rogue was considerably more agreeable. The fact that she’d also seen him shirtless wasn’t helping things, either.
She considered her recent spike in libido a direct result of having seen Callum for the first time in many years. Pierce might be a prince among pirates, but Callum, he was truly an exceptional man. What with his flaming red hair and sparkling eyes, there was really no comparing the two. Where Pierce was dark and scruffy, Callum was bright and charming. Granted, Pierce might have a smirk that made her cheeks flame, but that was nothing really when you considered the fact that Callum’s smiles made hearts sing.
“So…” Lucy trailed off, watching as she ship lurched forward and set sail. “What now?”
“Relax, enjoy the trip.” Pierce replied easily. “It’ll only be a day before we dock in Capanahel. Then the real fun begins.”
“Hm.” Watching the water, Lucy began to wonder exactly how she would occupy her time on the boat. If she wasn’t mistaken, Veronica had left two books in her suitcase. She wasn’t quite sure what the subject of those books were, but… Her thoughts trailed off as she begin to ponder a far more interesting possibility than reading whatever leisure text Veronica had left in her luggage.
“Say, Pierce, I have a question.” After seeing him nod, she continued, “Where’s the book you stole last night?”
“Book, what book?” He asked, looking down at her curiously.
“Last night.” She clarified. “We went to a mansion. You tried to walk out of the room with a book. An alarm went off. We narrowly escaped and now here you are, avoiding my questions.”
He smiled at her with a satisfied air, as if he were charmed by her summation of the past fourteen hours. “Best you forget about that book, Jenn.”
That was probably the last thing she’d be doing. Before she could continue to ask more questions, the assassin added in, “You know, Jenn, you’ve calmed considerably from last night. Frightened little thing you were then. Now here you are, all… saucy.”
The explanation for this was simply that Lucy had dropped the act. She’d more or less forgotten when she’d awoken with so little sleep, and, somewhere around ten in the morning, had decided it wasn’t worth trying to pick up again. There was no way she could be Jenn the timid Secretary for a whole month.
“Call it discontent at having had a poor night’s sleep.” She reasoned. “Besides, you owe me one, like you said. Perhaps I’m foolish, but I guess I trust you when you say you aren’t going to harm me.”
“I never said I wouldn’t harm you.” He stated, smile fading.
“But, I thought--”
“Let’s get one thing straight, Jenn the Secretary,” The assassin started, cold behavior from the previous night back in action. “I still don’t trust you. I might find you entertaining, I might owe you one, but don’t for a second think that I trust you. Give me one reason to act on that distrust, and you better bet I will.”
“Is Callum a reason?” She asked, knowing she might very well be pushing her luck. Despite the fact that his recent change in attitude might have caused chills to run down her spine, a crazy part of her was thrilled by the danger. And wanted to test it.
He smiled snakishly, calculating eyes boring into hers. Where his other smirks were playful and teasing, this one was pure sin. “Not yet.”
“Who do you think I really am?” She asked, feeling goosebumps starting to prickle at her skin.
“I think you’re really a secretary, but...” Pierce exhaled deeply, inspecting her with that sly look of his. “That’s not the whole story, is it?”
“I think you’re really an assassin.” She countered. “But that’s not your whole story either.”
“No, you see, I’m not just any assassin.” Then, with an unparalleled confidence dwelling in his eyes, he added, “I’m a Lindsey.”

Finding a proper time to sneak away and seek out Callum had been more of a hassle than Lucy had been hoping for. Impatiently she had waited for Pierce to leave the room for an extended period of time, but the assassin had had his nose stuck in that mysterious book, only departing the cabin to take bathroom breaks. The sole time he had been out for more than an hour had been at dinner, and, unfortunately, Lucy decided it would have been suspicious if she didn’t join him. Just like how it would have been suspicious if she’d disappeared for an hour or so after dinner to go and “read on the main deck” or whatever excuse she gave.
So Callum would have to forgive her for waking him up close to midnight, because close to midnight was when the assassin had finally fallen asleep and Lucy was able to sneak out unnoticed.
A tired Bruman opened the door warily after perhaps the fifth nock. Yawning, he gestured for Lucy to come on in.
“Couldn’t have picked an earlier time to show up?” He wanted to know, sulking over to the kitchenette in his cabin and pouring himself a glass of water. “Something to drink?”
“No to both, Cal.” She sighed, shutting the door behind her and flopping tiredly on his couch. “I could really use your help right about now, you know.”
“Yeah, you don’t say.” He commented, sitting down in a recliner across from her. “It took me a second to place his face but, once I did, you can imagine how concerned I was. Pierce Lindsey, Lucy? Are you out of your mind?”
“Look it’s not as bad as it seems.” She explained pleading eyes meeting his cool blue ones. He really was such a handsome man. “He doesn’t know who I am. I was working undercover as General Blackwell’s secretary just yesterday, but I got set up. Now the fuzz in Citadel are probably sweeping the streets for me. Blackwell wants Pierce too, but I can’t say why yet. Anyway, long story short, I bailed him out of trouble early on and now he’s returning the favor by getting me out of Citadel unapprehended.”
“So he thinks you’re this… Jenn person?”
“Yeah, Jennifer the Secretary.” She continued. “Seems to think the reason I’m wanted by Blackwell is because I’m involved with some nobleman I shouldn’t be. Doesn’t have a clue I’m a spy, but I think he might be suspicious I’m not all I say I am.”
“Really got yourself mixed up good, haven’t you, Luce?” He asked, smiling gently at her.
Laughing softly, she admitted, “Suppose I have. Think you can help me out?”
“Of course.” He said with a noble gaze. “I’m always here to lend a hand. What do you need?”
Sighing contentedly, she said, “Thanks Cal, you really don’t know how much trouble you’re saving me. I need to get back to the Dathines, really, but anywhere on the east side of Channery will do.”
“How’s Carderby for you?” Callum offered. “We’re actually headed there from Capanahel about ten days after we dock tomorrow.”
“Carderby is great, Cal.”
“Good, well, how’s about you come find me around five in the evening tomorrow, just before we dock, and I’ll make sure Pierce gets off this boat and you don’t. Make sure you got everything you need with you before you come, though.”
Frowning, Lucy thought about this plan. Clearly Callum meant for her to stay with him until they made for Carderby, thereby keeping her from having to trek along with a Lindsey for an unnecessary amount of time. If Lucy were a wise girl, she’d have jumped at the chance to extract herself from the precarious situation with relative ease. But all she could think about right then was the book Pierce had stolen and how he’d been oh-so-secretive about it.
“There’s something I’m trying to lift off of him, Cal.” She explained. “I don’t know I’ll be able to get it before tomorrow afternoon.”
After setting his glass of water on a side table, Callum crossed his arms, clearly displeased with her reply.
“I know, I know…” She could tell what he was thinking without hearing him say it. “Too reckless.”
“He’s a Lindsey, Lucy.” He stated simply. “Surely you don’t need me to remind you what would happen if he found out who you really were. The sooner you leave his presence, the better. I’d tell you to stay here for all of tomorrow if I didn’t think it would make him too suspicious.”
“I’m aware, Cal, it’s just...” Lucy trailed off. The sailor had never liked Lucy’s curious streak. All he’d wanted was for her to settle down, to be content with exploring the world with her. Callum had such an adventurous personality, one that matched Lucy incredibly well, but sometimes he just wasn’t adventurous in the right ways. “I’m a spy, Cal. This is what I do.”
She could tell he was displeased with her reply, but he didn’t try to fight her on it. “Alright. Well, let me give you the address of the Sailor’s Hostel in Capanahel.”
Standing up, Callum wandered over to his desk and rummaged around for a few seconds before withdrawing a ticket, a scrap of paper, and a pen. After a few seconds, he handed her both the ticket and the paper.
“Paper has the address. Oscar is the name of the man who runs the bunk. Show him the ticket and tell him I sent you, he’ll let you in. You can stay with him until I get back, which will be ten days from today. And remember, Lucy, we leave ten days from tomorrow, so please try to meet up with me before then.”
Lucy took the two pieces of paper and rose to drape her arms around Callum’s neck, giving him a warm hug. He seemed reluctant to wrap his arms around her waist, but she knew the moment that he did, he’d been longing to hold her for quite some time. “Thank you, Cal. I will meet up with you ten days from now, regardless of whether or not I can steal what I’m trying to.”
“Be safe, Lucy.” He replied, voice hushed by her ear. “You know I worry about you.”
She knew it wasn’t right, but Lucy couldn’t help but give in to indulgence. With the familiarity only a former lover could conjure, she tucked her forehead against the crook of his neck, nose brushing along his adam’s apple.
“I’ve missed you, Cal.”
“Now you’re just pulling on my heartstrings, Luce.” He murmured, vocal cords vibrating against her.
Feeling guilty, Lucy withdrew, peering up at him with nostalgic eyes. “I mean it, Cal.”
When he didn’t respond, instead choosing to regard her with sad, wistful eyes that betrayed disbelief at her words, she concluded the conversation by saying, “I’ll be back in ten days.”

Opening the cabin door soundlessly, Lucy snuck inside her dwellings with the expertise only a highly-trained spy could have. Rolling her feet, she crept across the dark room to her suitcase, hoping to extract proper sleeping clothes without too much noise. Just as she bent down to pull out the nightgown she’d left laying on top, a light turned on beside the bed and a dark voice called out in the newly lit room.
“Igniting old flames, Jenn?” It taunted smugly. “And here I thought you were so… proper.”
Spinning around, Lucy saw Pierce lounging casually on the bed, arms folded in satisfaction. Her pulse beat faster than light could travel.
“I must say,” The assassin continued, sly smirk inspecting her curiously. “You managed to sneak in here awful quiet-like.”
Glaring at him, the mage picked up the book of Veronica’s she’d been reading, stepped up to the bedstead and slammed the down on it. It made a loud clap to her, but given her sphere of silence, Pierce wouldn’t have heard anything.
“Ah.” He said, understanding her demonstration. “Figures you’d cheat.”
Dispelling her magic, she retorted, “You can’t cheat at sneaking anymore than you can cheat at sailing or drawing.”
Waving off her comment he said, “One of these days you’ll be stuck in a situation where you can’t rely on your magic and you’ll be the worse for it.”
That had already happened, actually. The truth of magic was that it took a second to cast, sometimes longer depending on the spell, and if you happened to be in a time crunch, that could be something of a problem. In fact, Lucy distinctly remembered falling flat on top of Pierce because she hadn’t had enough time to cast a spell before she’d climbed down a rope.
But all those sort of circumstances requiring fast magic were circumstances secretaries hoped not to be inserted in ever again.
“And what sort of situation would that be?” She fired back.
“Let me set the scene for you.” He smiled, enjoying this conversation too much for his own good. Ignoring him, Lucy bent down to collect her night going, but the assassin continued on anyway. “It’s night time. You’ve a loving husband waiting for you at home. But you, the unfaithful wife, were out with another man! Shameful. Stealthily, you return, only to find your husband up and suspicious of your actions. When he finally determines that you’re guilty of adultery, he is sent flying into a murderous rage, and you, unable to function without your beloved magic, are incapable of making the dashing escape that would save your life.”
“Hm, sounds fanciful to me. For one, I wouldn’t cheat on my husband.”
“Oh?” He cocked an eyebrow. “And here I was, thinking you were making a cuckold out of me. So, if you weren’t having at it with the captain, what were you doing?”
Lucy couldn’t help but let the corner of her mouth twitch towards a smile at his comment, but she shot him a cool glare all the same as she stepped into the bathroom.
“If you must know, Pierce,” She called out as she began to undress. “We were just catching up. I haven’t seen him in five years, and I’m pretty sure you scared him away earlier today.”
“A bit late at night to be ‘catching up’ don’t you think?” The assassin pointed out.
“He’s the captain, Pierce. He’s busy.” Pulling on the nightgown, she added, “It was the only time he could meet.”
“You know, Jenn,” He started, teasing tone dissipated, “If you want to travel with the Callum guy instead I won’t take offense.”
She met his cool, dark eyes with a sincere look as she stepped out of the bathroom, and she was surprised to find that what she said next wasn’t a lie. “I don’t mind traveling with you, Pierce.” After a sigh, she added, “Besides, Callum doesn’t have the time or resources to entertain me for a month.”
“And here I was thinking I drive you batty. I guess I have to step up my game.”
“Oh, you drive me plenty batty.” Lucy clarified. “No need to step anything up.”
Sly eyes shot back at her as he commented, “I’ll be the judge of that.”
Crossing her arms, Lucy stood at the end of the king-sized bed, noting that there were, unfortunately, no couches to force the assassin upon.
“I’m not going to sleep on the floor.” She stated, matter-of-factly, holding Pierce’s gaze.
“By all means.” He swept his hand across the empty portion of the mattress beside him.
“You got the bed last night.” Lucy reasoned. She debated mentioning the next part, but decided it was her best shot at getting the bed to herself. “I can conjure you a temporary mattress to sleep on, but I think it’s only fair I get to sleep on the bed tonight.”
With laughing eyes, the assassin commented, “They teach you some interesting things at university, don’t they?”
“I’ve forgotten almost all the other conjuration spells.” She said, deadpan. “With the exception of how to summon a good mattress. Let’s just say I’m a bit picky when it comes to my sleeping arrangements.”
“Well, if you can summon a good mattress, how’s about you use it then?”
“Like I said, you got the bed last night.” Walking over to ‘her’ side of the bed, she began to slip between the covers. “It’s only fair you relinquish tonight.”
Pierce planted his hand on the mattress and leaned forward slightly, smirking as he said, “I’m an assassin, Jenn. I don’t do ‘fair.’”
Scoffing, Lucy countered. “You were literally just getting mad at me for cheating at sneaking!”
“I wouldn’t expect you to understand an assassin’s code.”
She raised a skeptical eyebrow. “Assassin’s have a code of conduct? I find that hard to believe.”
“Oh yes.” He continued, “We have very strict rules about sneaking and fairness. And about not intervening in someone else’s grudge kill, but that’s just common courtesy, really.”
Leaning back into the pillow, Lucy snorted, “Where do you learn this stuff?”
“Assassin university. Did you just snort at me?”
She glared at him.
“Cute.” He added with a smirk. Whether his comment was in regards to her snort or her glare, she wasn’t sure.
“Get off the bed, Pierce.”
His eyes were full of nothing but arrogance and challenge as he said, “Make me.”
She could have done that without much effort at all, really, but, if there was one thing that would undoubtedly make Pierce suspicious, it would probably be levitating a fully grown male ten feet into the air and letting him drop pitifully onto the ground.
Instead, Lucy settled for jabbing him softly in the calf with her foot.
“Oh, come on.” He shot her an incredulous look. “I know you’ve got more in you than that.”
Was she really going to let a clearly immature assassin from a disreputable family egg her on that easy? Was she really going to fall for his obvious taunt to engage in hand to hand combat, just so he could kick her in the butt and laugh at her for being so incompetent? Was she really going to fall for something so juvenile?
Lucy answered her own question by swiping the pillow out from behind her and whacking Pierce on the head with it. It made a satisfying “thwump” sound.
She let loose a contented giggle.
Unfortunately for the mage, the laughter didn’t last long. She felt the pillow before she saw it, cotton-contained feathers ramming into the side of her head with enough force to knock her off-balance. Fumbling at the edge of the bed, she felt her palm slip and, slowly and pathetically, she tumbled out of the bed, pillow still winding up on top of her face.
She was on her feet within seconds, face flushed with anger as she glared down the obnoxious man in her bed.
Smirking, he added insult to injury. “Looks like I get to stay in the bed.”
Lucy glared at him, but tempered her breath. The assassin chuckled as she continued to stare at him, thinking she was just so overcome with fury. Pity for him that she was instead conjuring a mattress to fall directly onto that infuriating smirk.
When the twin-sized mattress did materialize above him and crush into his body, the mage couldn’t help but double over in laughter.
“Clever.” Pierce noted, standing as he lifted the mattress off of him.
He hefted the mattress for a second, and Lucy knew what was coming even before he did it. She flopped on the bed, trying to take up as much space as she could, while Pierce attempted to throw a mattress back at her. It flew over her head a short time before she exhaled, dispelling the conjuration.
“Too bad you threw away your mattress.” She commented, taking her turn to smirk. “You’ll just have to sleep on the floor, I guess.”
“Oh, I’m not sleeping on the floor, Jenn.” He clarified, smiling coolly at her.
“But I just--”
“Didn’t we just discuss that bit where assassins don’t fight fair?” He wondered. “Because I feel like we covered that.”
She glared at him. “Well I’m not moving.”
And really, she should have known that was the wrong thing to say. Just looking at the man it was obvious he’d have absolutely no problem relocating her if he wanted to, and if his unscrupulous behaviour was any indication, he probably wanted to. A devilish smirk and a “You don’t have to” was all he offered her before bending forward, grabbing hold of her waist, and heaving her upwards like she weighed little more than a knapsack.
She found herself standing on the hardwood floor of the cabin not a second later, less than six inches away from the aggravating assassin.
“You’re horrible.” Lucy stated, glaring coldly at Pierce.
The assassin just smiled, leaning forward in a way that made hear heartbeat quicken. Hot breath washed across her cheek and the tip of his nose brushed lightly against her skin. She could already feel the blush flaming on her face. Just when she thought the assassin might… Well she wasn’t sure what she thought me might do, but it didn’t matter because instead he leant even more forward, reaching behind her to set a relocated pillow back to its original position.
Following that, Pierce withdrew, skin once again brushing against hers before he shot her a quick smirk, stepped away, and slipped in between the covers lithely.
“Goodnight, Jenn.” Was all he said before turning off the light and casting the cabin back into the state she had originally found it in when she’d returned from her meeting with Callum.
It took Lucy longer than she would have liked to admit before she was able to overcome her paralysis and, begrudgingly, walk around to the other side of the bed and tuck herself inside the covers, beside the assassin that put her in such a situation to begin with.