IMPERMANENCE

chapter nine - the commander's circle

Dagger remained inside of the chambers for the remainder of the day. He paced throughout the circular room like a caged animal. He listened to the hundreds, maybe thousands of footsteps that traveled outside of his chamber doors. The buzz and chatter of eager attendees could easily be heard. Dagger tried to listen in on their conversations by pressing his ear to the doors. It seemed as though all of the voices scattered in the halls of the castle blended into one unknown language. Dagger quickly found himself occupied in something else to pass time.

As he glanced at the bathing room one too many times, the thought of taking a warm bath wrestled back and forth in his mind. But then, he realized that he had no idea how to operate a bathtub in the slightest. What if he flooded the entire castle?

Dagger decided against the idea once and for all. To hell with these Kintuins and their lavish bedsheets of silk. Dagger sank on top of the bed and threw his arms behind his head followed by kicking one leg over the other, just as Lennox did earlier.

Even on the plush bed, Dagger found himself restless and unable to stay still.

He used the frame of the ivory bed to sharpen the small blade to a sharp point. He winced inside as he tainted the fine woodworking of the bedframe, but decided to continue on anyway. He'd likely never see this room again, so what was the point in worrying about such things?

Before he knew it, the sun began descending below the mountainous plains along the horizon. He found himself entranced as he viewed the sun's departure. Soon, the crescent moon would take its place. Through the chamber windows, he saw large fire pits flickering in the distance. The Southern gardens, he assumed. That must be where the celebration would take place. Dagger could see dark figures making their way to those fiery pits. Soon, Dagger too would be one of those many figures. Wind pushed against the cream colored curtains draping against the window. The fabric brushed against his hands dangling by his sides.

Just as the stars trickled into the night sky and the crescent moon was at its full peak, Dagger stalked out of the chambers and shoved his blade in between the band of his pants.

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The loud banging of drums echoed throughout his body, the scents of hundreds of people clogged his nose. Giant fire pits oozing with flames and smokey remnants made his eyes water.

There was laughter, there was cheering, there was dancing, and there was makeshift sword fighting. Dagger's body hardly blended in amongst the crowds, his height taller than the majority. White tents circled the southern gardens, containing the large celebration within. It allowed him to catch a glimpse at his potential target. Well, the tent he resided in, at least. Amongst all of the other white tents scattered about the grounds of the celebration, one tent, in particular, stood out to Dagger. A scarlet red tent placed at the furthest head of the fields, like the highest number on a clock. It reminded him of the large bell tower in his village, and the chimes the bell would make when pointing towards twelve. The tent looked royal and elegant. Two guards stood posted at the entrance. Dagger knew that he had struck gold.

In all of its glory, the Commander's tent, standing right before his very eyes. His legs became paralyzed, his feet sunk into the ground as if he had been trapped in quicksand. The sounds of music faded into a blur around him. People were shoving their way into the celebratio. They knocked into his shoulders to get past him.

From what he could see, no one wore their armor tonight. Women stained their lips and darkened their eyelids. Some were drinking, others were dancing, and most were racing to do either of the two. Dagger patted his hips to check if his blade was still safely tucked in his waistline. One wrong move and the knife would be embedded in his skin. It remained snug and unnoticed beneath his dark clothing. Since nobody else bore weapons at their sides exposed for all to see, hiding the knife in his pants was a smart move. He was already starting to fit into the kingdom and had only been there a day.