ROYAL DUTY

1. The messenger's message

1465 AD

Demotia

 "We will go in at midnight. General Randall will be asleep by then. So the two of you--" Princess Natalia eyed two of her assassins and gestured at the map before them. "--will enter through this door over here and take care of the guards stationed there. Then you will...."

 Before she could complete her order, three knocks came from the door into her office. Only one person could interrupt her meeting. Her bodyguard, Kyle. And he never did so, unless something dire needed her presence or input.

 With a single nod, each of the five assassins in her office understood her cue and hid as she wrapped the maps, shoved them into the shelf, and locked them in.

 Once she was sure that she had safely stowed away all confidential and suspicious items, she sat down with a romance novel. Flipping to a random page, she called her bodyguard in.

 "Your Highness!" Kyle bowed.

 He was a very handsome man, very tall, with chiseled features, deep green eyes, and blonde hair. He was a frequent subject of palace gossip and admiration, especially among the ladies. But what had appealed to Natalia was his sharp mind, his diligence, his integrity, and his prowess with the sword. Which made for a perfect bodyguard.

 "A boy is requesting your audience. He insists its urgent."

  A boy?

 "Did he give you his name?"

 "No, Your Highness. But he is quite small, like 8 to 9 years old, very skinny, has a scar on his left cheek, and--"

 "Let him in." She did not need any more details. She knew exactly who it was. His name was Abu, and he was one of her border spies. And if he was here in the palace and not at his post, there must be an emergency. "NOW!"

 At her command, Kyle left to go fetch the boy.

 Left alone in her office, she ran all probable scenarios over her head, each worse than the first, and felt dread consume her.

 Ever since her fathers right-hand man entrusted her with the band of royal informants and assassins two years prior. She had only received and dealt with internal threats.

 More often than not, the nobles in Demotia plotted against the Royal family. Her family. What were even more common than the plots, were rebellions from the commoners. Which was where the spies came in, to detect such plots before they happened.

 A knock interrupted Natalia's train of thought before both Abu and Kyle walked into the room.

 Abu's clothes were old, torn, and dirty. He was as skinny as Kyle had described him. His malnourished look--a common feature of most of the boys in Demotia--, drove a pang to Natalia's heart. She hated the poverty in her kingdom with a vengeance. But there was ever so much she could do about it.

"What has happened?" Not wasting another second, she went straight to the point after dismissing Kyle with a nod.

 "Five horsemen bearing the Athanasian crest and flag are riding towards the palace. They crossed the border yesterday evening. They will be here shortly. I rushed here on the fastest horse I could find. I wanted to get here before them. But unless they rested, they will be here before the sun goes down."

 Her heart had stopped the moment she heard the words 'Athanasia', 'Crest', and 'crossed the border'. Those words meant that the Emperor of Athanasia(The Empire to which her kingdom was vassal) had sent envoys. And never had an Athanasian envoy conveyed good news.

 Exhibit A: The last time one was there, he had increased tax on their people and the tribute her father had to send them.

 But she didn't have the time to digest the news. She needed to alert her family and her band of assassins to prepare for the worst.