They came for me as I knew they eventually would. As I slept before the upcoming battle I saw visions in my head. They were of my father as he traveled through a forest with a small amount of guards. He was hunting through our forests when the trees parted as a dart flew through the trees and headed straight for his eyes. He screamed as he used his sword to knock the dart out of the air.
He screamed my name.
My eyes shot open and I slashed with the dagger I kept hidden in the sheets of my bed. Blood sprayed my body and I leapt at my attacker as he dropped a blade of his own. For the slightest moment I was relieved that I hadn't killed a servant or Leslie or Siobhan. It was a Raja who came for me, just as they had come for my father years before. I screamed for the guards and kept my dagger in one hand and picked up the Raja assassin's blade in the other. All around me there were shadows and the pale light from the moon cast the room in a strange blue. The eye's played tricks and the shadows moved. Two guards burst through the front door and one immediately lost his head. Red eye's followed my movement from the shadows by the door as the other guards kept charging towards me.
I realized the threat just in time as I rolled forward and heard metal bounce off the marble floor. I didn't turn to see where the next thrust would come from as I charged the red eyes by the door. The Raja by the door crept forward with lethal intent as two more guards entered the room and sirens and shouts could be heard throughout the palace. I pressed my advantage and used an aggressive stance as I stalked my hunter who was now caught between three men. With a flick of the wrist the Raja sliced the throat of one of my guards, spilling his blood as his body fell limp to the ground. His sacrifice was not in vain as me and the other guard seized upon the opening and sliced the Raja to pieces. I turned to face the last Raja just in time to see him decapitate my other guard. The Raja threw a dagger aimed directly at my throat and if it weren't for my last guard jumping in front of the dagger I wouldn't be writing in my journal anymore.
The two of us stared for a moment before the last Raja approached like a tiger stalking a prey who could no longer outrun the hunter. I readied my guard that had improved so much over the last few days as I knew these could be my moments. A loud crash came from my bathroom and both hunter and prey glanced to look but by the time we turned O'Har's ax was already flying through the air and the last thing the Raja saw was a massive blade chopping into him. The Raja flew back several feet from the force of the blow. O'Har drew a blade as more guards came in the main door and Dittroth stormed in with them.
"King Tritus, are you ok?" Dittroth looked around at the carnage of my bedroom. He looked at O'Har who was also taking in the scene. "How did you get here before us?"
"I came through the bathroom wall, it was soft at the point where the brick meets the mortar" O'Har strode across the room as he spoke. He picked up his ax and shook off the body that was still stuck to it. "I hate assassins."
"As do I," I had to fight back a smile of my minotaur guardian crashing through a wall. "They always attack in three's."
"It's how they were created by the Demon King," Sethral said as he entered the room with Faye and Jounas in tow. "The Demon King needed assassins who could kill with weapons or their hands, and he knew they would have to work in teams to get into heavily guarded fortresses such as this. Three seemed the ideal number to slip in undetected and make a kill. Glad to see you're ok." He smiled and embraced me and it felt good to have so many around me that I could count on. Last to enter was Siobhan who couldn't look me in the eyes and was playing with her hat.
"I'm sorry I didn't stay the night with you, Leslie wanted to talk with someone so I said I'd make sure she didn't go too far on the first date," Siobhan played with the hat and glanced over at O'Har and things came together pretty quickly. "Now everyone out our king needs his rest and I intend on making sure he gets it."
As the guards carried the bodies out and the rest of my inner circle left O'Har and I looked at each other and shrugged. There was a time I was going to ask Siobhan if she knew of Leslie and vice versa but I think I'll leave that one alone for the time being. I stared at my room for a moment as a few servants made some makeshift cleaning arrangements before being ushered out by Siobhan and I wondered how long I would have to live under the sword. Siobhan came to my side and kissed me on my cheek, bringing me back to reality.
"Rest now. Come, I will help," Siobhan said as she led me to my bed and laid me down. She kissed me on my cheek and neck and looked me in the eyes with such a softness that I felt my body slipping deeper into a relaxed state. I almost didn't notice her disrobe.
Almost.
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