Narrator's POV:
It was getting dark. Catheline had her plan perfectly laid out. She would tell the maids that she is tired and shall go to her chambers early, telling everyone not to disturb her. Then, she would prepare everything and head out as Lady Cassandra.
From then on, she will look out for the hooligans. Catheline finished the first step already and locked the doors of her bed chambers. Now, she needed to change into her warrior attire. Since there were three people she needed to fight, she had to be careful. Even one wrong move could end her life. When she was finished, she jumped out of the window and carefully hid in a huge tree in the middle of the castle.
Four hours had passed.
The castle was dark and quiet. Catheline could watch all the places from the tree. It was a good spot. She noticed the King's study and saw that her husband was still working. And Nathaniel was with him. She was aware that the ones who intend to attack them would try to separate them. So she could use that to her advantage. She waited and waited.
Three more hours have passed, and there was no sign of anyone entering the castle. Catheline was getting a little impatient and tired now. But she had to maintain her position and kept herself active.
Suddenly, she noticed that something was moving near the shadows of the rose gardens. She saw three black figures in there. Catheline knew who they were.
Then, the biggest figure of those three went alone. Catheline assumed that it was Sir Vilen. She headed out to the rose gardens to intercept the other two.
.................................................................
As she reached there quietly, she heard the two people talking.
"If this assassination is successful, then Lord Elest Simion will be the king," She heard the man say, who was recognized used as Carlos.
"Be quiet. You talk too much." The other man said. But Carlos continued, paying no heed.
"You shut up. I think this time it will be successful. Sir Vilen is the best assassin known in the land. The previous king was frivolous, so he was easy to kill. Unfortunately, the young prince was still alive. But now-"
Catheline stepped on the ground hard enough to make them hear. The two men were startled.
Catheline stepped out, but since it was dark, they could not see her properly.
"Who goes there!?" Carlos yelled, drawing out his sword.
Catheline smiled. It has been a while since she fought in the dark. But she loved it. She pulled out her sword too, Waterlight. She spun the delicate blade in her hands before leaping forward.
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It was about time Xander retired to his chambers. His thoughts still lingered at the memory of how he embraced his wife. It would be done out of the blue and unexpectedly.
He left the study with Nathaniel following him. The hallways were dark and quiet. But suddenly there was a sound. Nathaniel pulled out his sword, looking around.
"Go," The King told his aide, who looked reluctant but followed the order anyways.
The moment Nathaniel left, he tensed and started to turn around knowingly.
"Get out. I know you are there," He said, touching the hilt of his sword.
Not so surprisingly, the hooded figure emerged from the dark soon. He already had a sword in his dark gloved hand.
"You have good senses," he said, in a strange mocking tone.
"What do you want?" Xander asked him, frowning.
The hooded figure made a noise before taking a step forward. "Your life,"
"Seems that many people want my life," Xander said calmly and finally unsheathed his sword. "Go on. Give it a try,"
The hooded figure charged at him without a warning.
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Nathaniel followed the sound until he reached the gardens. There was no one there. Then suddenly, a cat jumped at him but he quickly dodged it. That was the thing he had been following. Then it hit him.
He was tricked.
The King was in danger. He rushed back anxiously but suddenly heard a different noise. He went back to see what could be the possible danger.
When he reached the source of the sound, he saw two men tied and gagged. All their weapons were laid in front of them. He continued watching them in awe and shock.
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If Sir Vilen finished this mission, he would be accepted by Lord Elest. Poisoning King Xander was his goal. So he had to trick him into thinking that he was about to kill him.
It was easy as he was trained to be the dark assassin. But dealing with this one was hard. The young man was not only blocking every attack of his sword but had not made any offensive attack on him. He had no time to waste as this might attract attention. He had to be quick before he could get into trouble.
Xander could not kill him, even if it meant risking his life. He had to know who he was. That was why his strategy was his tire him out by making him attack all the time. His opponent seemed old enough to get exhausted. But he was only getting stronger with every attack.
Xander had to think of something else. But he had no time to think as the person was constantly attacking him. While he got distracted, the attacker pushed him against the wall. In the chaos, he accidentally dropped his sword. However, the attacker did not take the chance to end him.
"I intended to never kill you. You fell for the trap, Xander. You are so gullible just like your father." The man said, smiling behind the mask.
Xander had enough of people talking about his father lately. He tried to push the attacker back, but he was too strong. The attacker pulled out a small pin and it was dipped in something Xander could not see.
"Farewell, boy." the attacker said calmly. "You fought well though,"
Xander finally found the voice familiar. He could never forget this voice and the reason why he was unable to recognize the man was because it had been so long. Too long.
"Sir Vilen?..."
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There was no sign of Catheline's husband. She ran through all the hallways, surveying them carefully. Finally, she found them.
Xander was pinned to the wall but he did not do anything. Sir Vilen pulled out the pin meant to poison him. Wasting no time, she darted at him, raising her sword.
However, the man sensed the attack and quickly dodged it. Catheline stopped running and stood in front of Xander, shielding him from harm. She was right. He was more skilled than the others.
"Who are you?" He asked her.
Catheline did not speak. She simply looked at him, with sharp eyes. The man simply chuckled when he realized her nature.
"For a woman, you are not that bad," he said, gripping his sword in one hand tightly. "I will ask you one more time. Who are you?" He said again.
Again, Catheline did not say anything. She smiled at him, even if he could not see that.
This silence from her seemed to have infuriated the man. He quickly grabbed his sword and rushed at her. Catheline did not budge. When he neared her, she raised her leg and kicked his sword out of his hand.
Then she slashed his cloak which revealed his face. She kicked him again before he could react. The man was on the ground, his expression showing astonishment.
It was over.
Catheline realized that he was strong, but seemed to have underestimated her. The man was shocked that he was defeated in a few seconds. He reached out for his sword, refusing to give up but
Catheline pulled out her hidden blade and threw it at his hand fiercely. That impaled his hand to the floor, making him scream in pain. She flinched, seeing how much damage she inflicted. All these years, her targets were wooden posts and straw men but now...
She shook her head, unable to hear his pain, and quietly walked toward him. She spun her sword before knocking him out. He collapsed on the ground, unconscious.
Then she turned to her husband.
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To say that he was stunned would be an understatement. This was the masked woman people were talking about. It was at that time that Xander could see how capable she was. Her fighting skills were unreadable. This was the first time he saw someone so unique in their combat skills.
When she turned back to him, he could not move. He only saw her eyes but that too I'm clearly. She approached him and glanced at the sword on the ground before stepping on it with force. The sword flung into her hands which she returned to him.
The woman walked away but curiosity and awe flooded Xander's mind. He looked at the sword in his hands before looking back at her.
"Wait!"
The woman turned around and glanced at him. He put the sword back in its scabbard before meeting her eyes once more.
"Thank you," he told her, with genuine gratitude. "But...how did you know about this attack? Why did you save me?"
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Catheline stopped as she continued watching her husband. She could not speak even a word as that would give her identity away. A sudden idea struck her head and she sighed quietly before walking toward him. She looked at the corner of the hallway and pointed toward it before walking forward, indicating for him to follow her. When the man hesitated to do so, she neared him and held his hand in hers.
Xander could not understand the feeling when she took his hand. It felt friendly yet...distant. She began pulling him with her and started searching for something in the hallways. When they finally approached his study she pushed the door open and took him inside.
"Why did you bring me here?" He asked her. But another question popped into his head. How did she even know that his study was located here?
She did not respond. Instead, she pointed her finger at the quill. Xander quickly understood that she wanted to write something. He quickly gave her his permission to use the quill by nodding curtly. She took it and got a piece of paper and started writing something.
Catheline decided to not enclose the entire thing yet. She had no actual proof and he might start suspecting her. She did not want to mention the fact that his father was killed by these people. She finally decided what she wanted to tell him. So she started writing,
'Beware of a man called Elest Simion. He was the one who had sent these people to hurt you.'
She wrote it in completely different handwriting so he could not recognise it. Then, she handed him the piece of paper and was about to leave.
"You could not speak ?" He asked her making her stop in her tracks.
She turned around and nodded. He put the paper aside and approached her. "May I ask you for your name?"
Catheline could not help but sense some curiosity from him. She suspected that he was interested in her fake identity. But Catheline did not react. She reached for the quill again and started writing.
'I am a simple and nameless warrior. But I am fine to be called Lady Cassandra, the name your people chose for me,'
She wrote and handed him the paper. Without letting him react, she ran off to the window and jumped off.
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Xander was aback back by the sudden stunt. When he looked outside she was nowhere to be seen. He gazed at the writing she left him. He wanted to see her again. To ask why she saved him. But that seemed impossible for now. He sighed before glancing at the name she wrote. The man who supposedly sent assassins after him.
Elest Simion.
He could not recognize the name. But why would some unknown man want him dead? What relation did he have with Anthreal? Xander was brought back to reality when someone rushed into the room.
"Your Majesty!" Nathaniel yelled, breathing loudly. "My apologies, I should have never left you alone!---"
"I feel fine," Xander told him. "Calm down now. What did you find?"
"I...I found two intruders who were tied up. I do not know whose work it was..."
It did not take that long for him to understand that this was yet another work of that mysterious woman. He turned to the window and looked outside.
"It was that woman..." He said simply, staring at the stars.
"Woman?"
"Lady Cassandra," Xander explained. "She saved me..."
And he was more than grateful for that. It only made it clear that she did not have any bad intentions.
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Author's note:
This chapter has been edited.