Impractical (Complete)

Chapter 2: Preparations

Aiyana did not go back to the serving quarters of the Palace after she left the guild. Instead, she climbed the nearest building where she would have a clear view of the exit. She waited only a few minutes when she saw Fox leave. He glanced around, maybe looking for her or someone else, but no one ever looks up and so she remained hidden.

She tailed him along the roof, avoiding the ones made of tin because they would make her feet echo in the silence of night. Fox lived in a middle class residential area of Nasta, inconspicuous. No one would ever expect a pirate bounty hunter to live among the thin but tall houses, some decorated with balconies and hanging plants.

Once he had entered and she heard the lock on his door click, Aiyana crept off the roof and slipped back into the Palace. Her belongings were stashed under her mattress, ready to go in a small bag that she could easily sling over her shoulder. The King was not going to appreciate her absence, especially knowing what she could have heard in her service to Nasta.

But she was prepared. For Arkin.

---

Before the sun had even began to rise and take over the sky, Aiyana was on the move again, her bag hanging limply over her shoulder. She didn't own much and therefore, she didn't have much to take. Fox wasn't the only one who was going to escape to Yeluva after this was over. Aiyana and Arkin had talked many times about how they would one day make their way Distancia, the richest city in Yeluva. Sometimes, Aiyana wondered if he had only said those things to indulge her because she wondered why he would ever want to leave the King of Nasta with his prime role in court. However, since he had gone missing, she became certain that he had wanted to leave. He must have known that his life was on the line.

As she ran through the Nastanese streets, avoiding the eyes of vendors who were cleaning or setting up their stalls in preparation for the day, she thought of her stolen moments with Arkin. The night he had given her a flower plucked from the Royal Gardens. The time, before she lost her position as an assassin, where they had run off in the darkness on horseback to outside the city, where the grass was greener and they could see the infinite night sky with all the shining stars. He knew she liked the sky.

Aiyana rarely got distracted by Arkin when on a mission, yet, when she thought about him, it felt like she was hiding from all the terrible things that had happened in her life; her one safe place was with him.

She needed to find him.

She needed to feel his hands in hers again.

She needed to get out of Nasta and there was only one way to do that.

Fox was exiting his house when she appeared next to him. He looked down at her, mildly surprised. He had a large bag swinging at his waist, similar to hers.

He narrowed his eyes. "How do you know where I live?"

Aiyana shrugged. He didn't need any information that could explain that she was once an assassin.

"I thought I was shot of you until this evening. I assumed we would meet at the guild considering that you left with no information."

"Well, you assumed wrong."

"I actually have somewhere to be," he said, side stepping her and walking down the street. Despite the height difference, Aiyana had no problem keeping up with him.

She shoved her hands in her pockets. "That's too bad. You signed up for this job and we are leaving today."

Next to her, a child was helping her parents set up the flower stand. She was carrying a large flower pot that was the same size as her entire body. Wobbling towards the cart, the uneven ground made her lose balance. The sound of cracked ceramic echoed through the street, making Aiyana jump. Fox raised an eyebrow and her nerves, but instead he sighed and stopped. "What do you know about this man you are looking for? Not his personality but where he is?"