The Assassin and Her Prince

Chapter Seven

Chapter seven

Resigning herself to the very real possibility of failure, Amaya sinks further into the squishy upholstery of her chair. Pleasant thoughts of spending more time with her nephews slip through her fingers and she sighs, praying whoever the elves select would accept the responsibility.

Just as all hope seems lost, the Moonshadow elf in question appears in an exquisite deep blue evening gown. She's captured the attention of every occupant of the room, evident by the heavy silence. As she walks, Amaya realises she's headed directly for the Princes, who beckon her over, pulling out her chair. The casual hum of conversation builds up once again, but Amaya continues to intently watch their exchange with interest. She's never seen Callum act like this before and she understands the reason why he refuses to believe elves are monsters; he's in love with one. Oblivious to the fact that she's already promised, Callum had fallen for the only woman he can never have. She watches as her eldest nephew leans in to whisper something in Rayla's ear. His lips obscured by her long, wavy hair, preventing her from intruding. Whatever he had said causes her to melt onto a puddle of goo and Amaya knows the elf returns his feelings. Suddenly a crazy idea starts to form in her mind; what if they could be together?

She catches commander Gren's eye, who, noticing her drastic change in mood, connects the dots. Realisation dawns on his face and he starts to shake his head fervently, attempting to convey his disapproval. Amaya chooses to ignore him, resolving to nominate her nephew at the next assembly, certain he would thank her one day.

-TDP-

Long after the feast had ended, but not before Callum had extinguished the lamp glowing beside him, he sat at his desk working on his latest sketch, shrouded in darkness. Carefully adding in the final details, he evaluates his drawing critically. To him, it doesn't hold a candle to the real thing and he sets about erasing each imperfect curve.

A tap at the window startles him, distracting him from his task. Instantly recognising the shock of white hair, he hastily pushes the sketch aside surreptitiously closing the leather-bound book before unlatching the window's clasp and allowing Rayla to sneak inside.

She tries to greet him, but he quickly covers her mouth with his hand, using the other to point to where Ez lay asleep in the next room.

"He's a light sleeper," Cal whispers. Then, realising his hand is still silencing her, he pulls away, rubbing his neck awkwardly. Smooth, he thinks.

"I just wanted to thank you, for earlier," she takes a deep breath, having never been very good at expressing her feelings. "It meant a lot," she adds quietly.

Smiling earnestly, he puts a hand on her shoulder, comfortingly, "I meant it. I should have told you this sooner, but whatever this means," he gestures to the band, "I'll be there for you."

Wanting, more than anything to close the gap between their chests and feel his strong arms encircle her, she avoids his gaze, a pink blush dusting her cheeks. Somehow, Callum was more charming when he wasn't even trying. Now, because of her promise, they could never be together and nothing he could do was ever going to change that.

"But what if this time, you can't?" She whispers voice catching in her throat.

Before he even has the chance to reassure her, she turns and flees sprinting out the window, into the night, leaving him standing alone and confused.

-TDP-

To say Callum was surprised when Opeli came to his door the next morning, requesting his presence at the meeting that he'd previously been told he had no place at, was an understatement. Unable to get a straight answer from anyone, he decided to not look a gift horse in the mouth and eagerly dressed in his best navy shirt and red neckerchief.

As Cal enters the remodelled war room, he tries to decipher the odd looks he's receiving from the members of each council. Hating being in the dark yet again, he turns to question his aunt, but she's deep in conversation with the head elven diplomat. He notices Rayla, already seated, brow furrowed in concentration. She momentarily glances up and Callum watches a thousand emotions dart across her face as she processes the new development, finally settling for what Cal perceives to be a hopeful expression. Just as he takes a stride towards her, Opeli grabs him by the shoulders steering him in the opposite direction.

Seats are filled and the low-level buzz filling the room dies down as the summit commences.

Someone clears their throat arresting the attention of the entire assembly. "The first point the court would like to review is whether or not a candidate has been selected," begins an official-looking elf that Cal doesn't recognise.

Commander Gren observes Amaya's response and proceeds to interpret, "We have heard your concerns and, as a show of goodwill, we have chosen Prince Callum to represent the kingdom of Katolis in this unifica-"

"Wait, what? Will someone please tell me what's going on?" interrupts Cal, mind racing to catch up to his mouth. Assessing the disgruntled faces dotted around the room, he wishes he hadn't spoken out of turn as he did.

"I assume this is the first he's hearing of this arrangement?" inquires the same elderly elf.

Caught off guard, Gren attempts to recover for Amaya. "We thought it best he did not-"

"Arrangement? What arrangement?" Cal's confused tone proves their suspicions.

"Does this mean he does not accept?"

Clearly frustrated at being so openly ignored, Cal all but yells, "Accept what?"

"If so, we will choose another," reminds the elder.

Confident Amaya knows her nephew well enough for her plan to pay off, she signs her response, "Ask him."

Finally turning to the confused prince, he asks, voice deadly serious, "In the interest of guaranteeing the alliance, you shall wed one of our own. Prince Callum, will you take Rayla as your future wife?"

A/N: I hope you enjoyed that chapter and if you did, don't be a silent reader! Thanks to my beta midnightpansy!

Click here to follow me: koalala11

PLEASE VOTE!