Impractical (Complete)

Chapter 11: A Killer

Aiyana did not go anywhere without her knives. When she traveled around Nasta, she had one in her sleeve and one in boot and when she had gone on missions, such as the one she was already on, she had two in her sleeves. The same held true as she held the facade of a Glacian guard.

A few hours passed after the fight between the King and the Crown Prince. Aiyana maintained her position, announcing newcomers: treasurers, military generals, and colonels. Glacio had an air of violence. Occasionally, Aiyana could hear catches of information from the conversation within but none referred to Arkin. She had hoped that the King would discuss his captivity in a meeting. She shuddered at the thought that he had been dealt with already but quickly dismissed it. She couldn't live without him and life would not be so cruel to take him away from her when they were both so young. Admittedly, he was several years older than her but that did not seem like a problem when she was with him. When she was with him, she felt like she could fly.

Queen Cynthis, Princesses Ravenna and Jaylyn and Jason had convened outside the throne room once the council had been dismissed. Briefly, the Queen had embraced her son. She was taller than him but somehow seemed much more fragile. She had lifted his chin to look her in the eye and then raised her eyebrows. He nodded, their secret conversation only heard to the two of them. They had then dispersed, swiftly walking in different directions, Jason and Jaylyn staying together like glue cemented their hands.

When she was dismissed, Aiyana supposed she was to head to the guards quarters but had no idea how to get there. The two men she had been paired up with had mentioned something about going into the city for a drink but she had no desire to join them. She wanted to find Fox to learn what he had discovered about the whereabouts of Arkin.

She set off in a seemingly random direction but her head was held high to make it seem like she was confident. Her patience was wearing thin. She had been patient for so long but now it felt like she was breaking at the seams. She just wanted a warm hug and only Arkin could give her a warm enough one.

Her head started to ache after a while. It felt as if she was just walking in circles. She resolved to find a way out so she could look from the outside. Undoubtedly, the barracks of the guards would not be inside the palace itself. She glanced out a window. The sky had darkened with an upcoming storm, the clouds swirling menacingly and rumbling ominously and she was glad that both she, Fox and their stolen horses had somewhere sheltered and warm.

She looked at her own reflection staring back at her. Aiyana had never been one to care about her appearances, having no time for makeup and mirrors. Arkin had changed that. She had started to feel self-conscious about what she ate and how much of it, whether her hair was too short and her eyes too big. Should she have been so muscular? It was he who had gifted her the first makeup she had ever owned. Eye shadow he had said, to make your eyes seem less large. She never got the chance to use it, having been dismissed for the night and waking up to find him missing the next day.

Aiyana had given her curse a lot of thought. It hadn't hurt when it was cast though she had expected it to, considering the rage the caster was in. In fact, she couldn't remember much about it except being engulfed in brilliant purple magic. She remembered it seeping into her skin, under her nails, through her nostrils. Briefly, her eyes and hair had changed colour.

A curse never to love.

Maybe the curse hadn't worked because she was already in love with Arkin before it was placed on her. Nothing in her body seemed to have changed and her appearance remained the same. Therefore, she had never been worried about the curse. Maybe it was just for show. She just worried constantly about Arkin. But maybe that was just her anxiety.

While she had wandered aimlessly, lost in her thoughts, Aiyana hadn't paid attention to the sound of footsteps ahead of her. She heard it so suddenly that it seemed to walk over all her musings. They sounded urgent, pounding on the tile floor in a persistent, unrelentless manner. Aiyana glanced down at her own boots, clunky, impractical and two sizes too large. She removed them with ease and left them, proceeding in her socks, the knife pressing against the skin of her ankle in a reassuring manner.

Masked by the thunder outside, Aiyana proceeded forward on quiet feet. There was a chance it was someone going to see Arkin. The rain was starting to mask every single sound but she could still hear the footsteps become fainter. She moved faster.

Lightning illuminated the unlit hallway when Aiyana peered around the corner. With some dissatisfaction, she saw that it was Ravenna, her hair still in the same style as earlier but her dress different. She was obviously heading to the dining hall.

Aiyana was about to return to her boots when she saw a shadow in the window. Slender, dark and intimidating, it hovered on the sill like a midnight ghost.

Ravenna, humming under her breath was about to pass the window and the figure remained unnoticed. Aiyana was unsure how to act; could she call out? But before the Princess could be warned, the window shattered.

Rain and shards of glass showered over the Princess who raised her hands to protect herself. She looked up immediately as the figure leapt on top of her, pushing them both to the ground with a thud and twinkle of broken glass. Before the assassin could bring the dagger to the throat of the Princess, she caught their wrists, her muscles straining to protect herself. Her face was twisted and contorted. She wouldn't last long.