Underneath (ON HOLD)

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I quickly wake up in the middle of the night and sit up, rubbing the sleep out of my eyes, so I won't fall back asleep. Only a few more hours, and the nightmares would start, a loud alarm for everyone in camp. I considered lying there for the rest of the time, as I usually do. But seeing as it was cramped already, I make my way out of the tent. My defenses are low, but seeing as there isn't anyone around I walk around the tent and towards an empty area, away from the camp. I look up at the sky.

The stars seem to be shining brighter than my future, I thought. They take me back to my childhood. My mother adored the night sky. Every night, she would take me outside and show the different constellations. I missed her laugh, the one she used to save for my innocent and silly questions.

That laugh no longer exists.

"What are you doing out here?" I hear a familiar cold voice behind me. I already heard him coming up behind me a while ago. But it was fun to give him the pleasure of thinking he snuck up on me. For extra effect, I appear startled.

"I-I was just looking at the stars. They remind me of someone" I say, facing him. His green eyes appear calm, basking in the moonlight. His dark hair is pushed off his face, and his mouth set in a frown.

"You shouldn't be out here. It's dangerous" He says, assessing me as if he suspected something.

I scoff, "There's nothing dangerous in looking at the stars. There's no one here for miles".

He avoids my question and walks closer to me. "Who are you?", he asks, "You seem like you have walked a long way, your horse is injured. Where do you come from?" He asks.

I freeze. He suspects something. "I am from a village near Krisn. We were living peacefully until Elgar's men came and ambushed us. Everyone was slaughtered. I barely made it out with my life." I look away, hoping he would offer sympathy.

"I'm sorry" He frowns.

I smile inside. He's denser than I had previously thought. He steps closer invading my personal space, his green eyes boring in more. He leans in as if he wants to kiss me, then shifts so his mouth is near my ear.

"I'm watching you", He said simply, his warm breath fazing the tip of my ear. My heartbeat tripled for the first time in my life, in response to his comment or his closeness, I don't know. He leaned back, looked at me one final time, and left, leaving me scattered with my thoughts.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

It is morning, and the sunlight shimmered in rays, seeping through the tent. After my confrontation with Alex yesterday, I came back to the tent, only to discover that we were moving camp. I helped the women pack up camp, and we traveled on horses for a full day. Since there were only a few horses, we had to sit with a few of the guards. Once the sun came to set, cheers erupted from the group. We had finally reached grassy land. Krisn was only an hours worth journey away from here, but the others didn't know that.

I checked up on Nyx before I helped the others in pitching our tents. Nyx is doing much better, he isn't limping anymore. Elgar-trained horses have fast endurance and adapt to new situations fast. As we set up camp, I made sure to pitch our tent closest to Alex and Maxon, in hopes of hearing their conversations. Ruby's tent was right next to theirs and I still couldn't figure out who she was engaged to.

As I lay there in the darkness, for what seemed like forever, they didn't make a single sound. In the morning, as I wash up in a nearby stream, I cannot help but think of everyone I left behind in Elgar. I cannot let silly emotions get in the way of my goals again. I think back to what happened in Elgar in my last assassination. If they knew my true name, they would fear me as they have never before. I am going to Krisn to get close to the king and their crown prince. Forsyth never gave me more information as to how they look like than that, not that I need it. I can easily find my way once I get there. I dress and walk back to camp. Suddenly Grace and Mia walk up to me.

"Lilith, come with us, you'll want to see this", Mia whispers. Judging from their looks, I can already tell.

They lead me over to a small clearing where the men are sword fighting, shirtless. I have seen plenty of shirtless men back in Elgar, as I was fighting alongside them. However, since I had Forsyth's favor, my lessons were shorter than theirs. I study my competition. It's been a while since I had prepped my fighting skills, but looking at their level, I can already tell I could beat them, five to one. I watched Maxon and Alex. Their muscles were clear, toned, and defined in the bright sunlight as they fought. Alex was clearly better than Maxon, as his alertness and quickness were too sharp for him to be not taking advantage of kill shots. But I suspect for Maxon and his pride he is merely warming up. Suddenly he locks eyes with me over Maxon's shoulder. His gaze hardens.

"What are you doing here?" He asks.

I step out from where Grace, Mia, and I were crouching. I make my way over to him.

"Funny, is that how you always start a conversation?"

Maxon turns around, a smile on his face when he sees me. However, I catch Alex's frown when he sees his smile.

My irony getting the best of me, I ask him, "Maxon, can you teach us how to fight too?"

Maxon's smile widens. "Of course! Good thinking, do you ladies have anything else to do?"

Without answering and holding furious blushes, Grace and Mia shake their heads, left to right in synchronized movements. I almost laughed, my lips twitching as my eyes met Alex's green ones. Maxon walked up behind us and called two of the guys forward.

"Grace you take Ryan. Mia, take Topher. And Lilith, you'll be with me" Maxon states.

My heart sinks. Was I hoping to be with Alex? I quickly brush that mental thought aside as I grab a sword from the pile on the ground.

Only then do I realize my mistake.

I wasn't supposed to know the proper hold of a sword. Before the others could catch my mistake, I shift my hands to an improper and clumsy grip. As my eyes shift around for anyone who may have noticed, they collide with a very bright green pair of eyes. And a matching frown to go with those. I look away and quickly make my way over to Maxon. As he taught me the correct way to hold the sword and the correct stance, all I can feel are those piercing green eyes staring into me.