Return to Jorgaldur Volume III: blood warrior

Assassination (II)

Drigca was pale. She had been surprised to find the prince, but far from worried. She knew that she only needed to flatter him a little to make him happy. He could even help her get Kroquia into trouble.

However, she had soon learned that the prince's party had fallen in one of their traps. She had tried to deny any involvement, but her traps expert wasn't unknown to some knights.

"It's all a huge misunderstanding, your highness. Surely Kroquia and her group have something to do with it," she tried to divert his attention.

"Stop making excuses! I know it was you! Do you think you can attack the first prince without consequences!?" he answered, angry.

"Your highness, I know you are understanding and magnanimous. Why don't we help you find that Kroquia and interrogate her?" she suggested, with a somewhat sensual tone.

The prince was still angry. This was an affront to his honor, one that couldn't go unpunished. Still, the prospect of blaming Kroquia was appealing. Until now, she had escaped his clutches, and had even humiliated him. To make matters worse, she seemed to be close to the second prince, one of his biggest rivals.

Nonetheless, though proud and narcissistic, he wasn't stupid. The prince knew it would be difficult to accuse her without evidence, and he couldn't do whatever he wanted dungeon. Even he had to abide by imperial laws. His entourage protected and obeyed him, but also watched him. Ultimately, they served the emperor.

Besides, he wasn't going to let Drigca off so easily. Although a bootlicker, he knew that neither she nor her family supported him wholeheartedly. Therefore, he knew that if he played his cards right and corner her, he could win the support of her house. It would prevent them from supporting any of his siblings, and maybe he could gain a concubine too.

"This isn't a game. What you've committed is high treason. You and your house are responsible for having attacked the first prince," he accused her.

She knew she didn't have it easy. It had been a profound blunder, from which she wasn't going to come out unscathed. Her mother wouldn't easily forgive her for the concessions he was forcing her to make, but she had no other choice.

"My house is without a doubt totally loyal to the first prince, to the future emperor," she declared with a naturalness that didn't reflect her heart.

The prince smiled with satisfaction, though he was determined to push a little harder. He had to make sure this ended up in an official alliance.

Meanwhile, Gjaki had arrived near them, after a detour, and had appeared behind Drigca's group. She was wrapped in Darkness, invisible to all eyes as long as she kept in the shadows.

The blood warrior had heard part of the conversation, which she didn't fully understand, although she didn't care either. Politics weren't important. What she needed was an opportunity, some way to sow chaos, to kill the prince.

It wasn't easy to approach him unseen, for the light generated by the floating orbs made it difficult for the Darkness that enveloped her to go unnoticed. Furthermore, in the event that she succeeded, by attacking, her cover would be lost.

She waited in her hiding place, while watching intently for an opportunity. It wasn't until the prince forced Drigca to give in that she had that chance.

The blue reptilian knelt before him, kissed his hand, and declared her loyalty despite herself. She felt frustrated and humiliated, especially by the prince's insinuation that they needed to have a private conversation in the palace.

She also knew that her position as heiress was in danger, but the prince had left her no choice. Her mother could well disinherit her if that went against her interests.

"Now! Attack the prince!" a voice was heard among the group of the blue reptilian.

It wasn't the voice of any of them, who looked around in panic. It was the vampiress' warped voice, through Ventriloquist. She immediately summoned and commanded four Blood Hounds to attack, which appeared to come out right behind the group.

They ignored the group and charged straight at the prince, who was now a meter away from his guardians. They plunged recklessly to try to reach and rip their victim apart.

The knights reacted quickly, and blocked the attacks by barely a breath. One of the hounds continued to attack head-on, while the others quickly tried to outflank them and reach the prince. However, the rest of the knights had surrounded him. They were protecting him, preventing the attack, and soon fighting back.

The vampiress' summons stood no chance against the knights. They soon faded into nothingness, as Drigca's party watched in shock and terror.

Gjaki lamented she hadn't been lucky, but it was a result she expected. Her real goal was to create chaos, while hoping to get a chance, and also to destroy some lamps.

The hounds, while facing the knights, had been ordered to attack those fragile floating objects. Therefore, several had disappeared, those which were in front of the prince's retinue.

The vampiress herself, who was hidden behind, had taken care of the three that Drigca's group had, by firing several arrows, most of which were aimed at the prince. It seemed like he was the target. Although they were blocked without problems, they had achieved their real goal.

Gjaki hid in the passageway and then back into Darkness after firing the arrows, so those who turned towards her were unable to locate anyone. With that protection, she moved closer to the prince, stepping aside, and waiting for an opportunity.

Meanwhile, the terrified prince had regained some of his composure. His trembling finger was pointing at Drigca, at whom he was yelling, his face pale and contorted.

"You...! You... You've tried to kill me! Everything was a trap! Kill her! Kill them all!" he shouted.

"No wait! It's been a plot against us! It wasn't us!" she tried to argue.

Nonetheless, the prince was beside himself, and didn't believe her. It might be forbidden to kill in the dungeon, but there were exceptions if it was justified. Trying to assassinate a prince was more than enough justification.

Neither the knights nor the prince's tutors tried to dissuade him. They all believed that Drigca's group were guilty, and that they should be punished.

At first, there had been more than twenty, but they had lost five. Taking into account that three weren't knights, and that two were in the rear to watch for any threat coming from behind, there were still more than a dozen left. They were enough to prevail over the group of seven in front of them. In addition, their levels were as high as it was allowed in the dungeon. Their goal wasn't to gain experience, but for the prince to do so.