The Assassin Princess

Enter the Bodyguard

Calira stared at the prince with a look of complete shock spread across her countenance.

“What?”

“Will you accept a bodyguard?” Alaric reiterated as he leaned forward toward his betrothed. Calira was silent as she stared at him with wide eyes. Several moments passed in utter silence. Finally Calira sighed almost in a sound of defeat.

“Will you be satisfied if I accept a bodyguard?” She questioned as Alaric nodded his head.

“And I’m assuming you already have someone in mind,” Calira remarked as she leaned back in her chair and slumped her shoulders. Alaric nodded his head again.

“Who?” Calira asked warily. She did not trust Alaric’s choices. After all, he had chosen Countess Dubare as his mistress and had even put it into her vain head that she would be a lady-in-waiting.

“The assassin.”

****

“His name is Wesley,” Alaric informed his betrothed as she stood in front of the dark cell that housed the assassin. Calira frowned as she glanced over her shoulder at the new king.  Alaric stood behind her with his arms folded across his chest with a look of boredom stretched across his handsome face. 

“You’ve spoken to him?” Alaric nodded at Calira’s question. He could see the suspicion and distrust in her eyes. He almost rolled his eyes.

“Your grace,” Wesley appeared at the bars of his prison. Calira regarded the Assassin with an unimpressed gaze. Wesley held two bars in his hands as he stared at the woman who would ultimately determine his fate.

“Why did you falter in your mission?” Calira questioned as she folded her arms across her chest.  Wesley met her gaze before he answered in a quiet, unabashed tone.

“I couldn’t kill you,” he admitted. Alaric fidgeted and shuffled slightly from his place behind Calira, but the assassin paid the king little mind. Calira watched Wesley’s face and searched for his tell. Something to tell her he was lying. When she found none, she felt genuinely surprised.

“Why not?”  She asked. Wesley dropped his head before answering.

“You were too lovely,” he replied honestly as Calira stared at him in shock. Her wide eyes glanced between her would-be assassin and her soon-to-be husband in disbelief.  

“You failed your mission because you were attracted to your target?” Calira asked incredulously. Wesley sighed before he slowly nodded his head.

“Your mentor must be so proud of you,” Calira remarked as it was Wesley’s turn to look up in surprise.

“How do you know I had a mentor?”

“Everyone knows any assassin worth his salt has a mentor,” Calira replied as if it were common knowledge. Alaric frowned before he stood erect behind his betrothal. Wesley looked from the fresh King to his bride. He stepped away from the bars of his cell and stared at them.

“I must say, your majesty, your knowledge of assassins is very interesting,” he quipped as Calira narrowed her eyes on him.

“I think it’s a good thing to know your enemy and the people they might send to kill you,” Calira answered as she straightened her back. Wesley approached his bars again. His eyes met Calira’s and he felt the iciness of her glare.

“Have you decided my fate?”

“Yes,” Calira seethed as she turned from the assassin and pulled her betrothal’s ear close to her mouth by yanking on his perfectly placed cravat. Alaric grunted in annoyance as he listened to Calira’s whispered words, ignoring the strange stirring her breath on his neck created.