Princess Callie

Chapter 16: Assassination Attempt

The four assassins had their weapons ready. I looked around for an escape path but I couldn't find any. Behind me was the palace's hospital building. Although there were a few pathways and bridges, there wasn't any cover I could rely on. I took a few steps back and they followed, making sure I didn't create any distance from them.

"Wait! Before you kill me. What's this all about? Why are you doing this?" I asked trying but failing to sound confident.

"Someone wants you dead. They're willing to pay us rather handsomely." the octoling boy standing to my left answered.

I needed to buy more time to come up with a plan. If I could keep them talking, maybe an opportunity for escape would come up. "Someone wants me dead? Who?" I asked.

"Can't tell you that sweetie. Not good for business." the octoling girl right behind me said.

I continued to back away and noticed the assassin that was standing behind me started to appear on the left side of my peripheral vision. The other assassins moved to make room for her. Suddenly, I bumped into the wall and yelped.

"You've got no where to go Princess. It's a shame we have to kill such a pretty girl. The things I do for money." the octoling boy to my right teased.

"Help! Guards! Someone help me!" I screamed.

"Don't bother. All the guards and servants were given the rest of the night off. You are all alone." the girl to my left said. They all started taking steps closer.

"Wait all of them?" How did they manage to get all the guards to abandon their posts? Did they have someone on the inside? I started to reach behind my back for my roller. It was good thing none of them searched me.

"Yes, all of them so you should come up with some better last words." the boy to my left replied.

"Enough! Time for you to die! Kill her!" the girl to my right ordered. The four assassins started running towards me. Any closer and they would be within arms reach.

I quickly pulled out my roller which surprised all four of them. I swung downwards trying to splash all of them with pink ink. All four of them jumped back to avoid my attack but the octoling boy on my left was a little slower than the rest and got splatted as a result. This created an opening to my left. I quickly performed a vertical swing to create a line of ink. Then I quickly changed into my squid form, jumped into the ink and swam away as fast as possible.

"Get her!" yelled one of the assassins. The three assassins started chasing me with their octobrushes. Luckily I was able to swim slightly faster than they could make a path.

I wasn't sure where to go. I blindly turned the corner and ran towards the main building. If there really weren't any guards around, I'll have to fight them off myself. It would be a lot easier to mount a defense inside a familiar building. I wasn't happy with my decision it was the only plan I had so I continued to throw ink in front of me and swim until I reached the front door.

Once I got inside, I quickly turned around and shut the door. Then I looked around the foyer and found a large chair for visitors. Using whatever strength I could muster, I pushed it in front of the door to create a makeshift barricade. I yelped as I heard the assassins start smashing the door on the other side. The barricade clearly wasn't going to last long. I had to come up with a new plan quickly. I took a deep breath trying to calm myself.

I decided to start painting the entire room with my roller. It would give me plenty of space to hide. In a few moments I managed to cover the entire ground floor and most of the stairs with pink ink. Then I ran next the stairs, changed into my squid form again and tried to hide in the ink as best I could.