Before I start, I just wanted to say thank you for reading my book. Every little notification I get about this book makes me cry in happiness. Thank you for supporting my dream. I appreciate you so so much.
Anyways, let's get on with the reason you're here.
Clara was walking back to Victor's chambers with a basket full of his newly washed and dried clothes when she spotted a familiar face far from her.
The same man who had been trying to get to the prince of Avelyn.
"Excuse me." Clara called out, quickly walking over to him, her heart beating faster with anticipation. "You seem lost, need any help?"
"It's you..." he muttered under his breath, followed by a curse. "I'm not lost, thank you."
"May I ask where you're going?"
"You may not." he shot her a glare. This was the second time she interrupted him, and he was losing patience, his mission had taken far too long.
"I insist." Clara matched his tone as she blocked his way. "Why so tense? You don't have anything to hide, do you?"
The man saw red, and he pulled out a dagger, not even bothering to look around for any prying eyes. He pointed it at Clara's neck, getting closer and closer, but she stood her ground, her eyes so fiery that you wouldn't see the fear behind them.
"Listen to me, girl." he sneered. "You're going to shut up and let me be on my way."
"I don't think so." she said and dropped the heavy basket right on his foot, making him scramble back, and Clara narrowly dodged the blade, preventing it from cutting her chin.
"You bitch!"
"That's no way to talk to a woman!" she gasped in mock offense.
The man's face turned red and he approached her once more, taking out another dagger, holding it in reverse as opposed to his first blade. He slashed his hands violently, but Clara was quicker, and smaller, so she was able to dodge them all quite easily.
Growing frustrated, he ran and slammed into her, dropping her to the ground, knocking the air out of her lungs as he hovered over her, knife in hand. The second blade fell out of his hand when Clara tried to steady herself, and it laid not too far from them. He tightened his grip on his knife, bringing it down to her heart with speed. Clara caught his hand just in time, inches away from her heart. She clenched her jaw, focusing on putting all her strength in her arms to fight him off. She noticed that he was straddling her just above her knees, so she brought her knee up harshly, making him yell out in pain and lost his grip, giving her time to catch the dagger and flip them over, so now she was over him. Still caught off guard, she punched his nose, hearing a bones crack and blood splattering all over the floor and her.
The man growled and brought his large head up, hitting Clara, sending her back. She held her head in pain, feeling slightly dizzy, giving the assassin enough time to grab the other dagger that was neglected on the floor. He stumbled to his feet and ran towards the girl, slashing his knife with her blocking them skillfully. Clara, now back to her senses, crawled under his legs and quickly stood up behind him, slashing the back of his knees and kicking him to the ground.
He turned with an angry yell, thrusting his blade forward to stab her, missing her by merely an inch. He used his foot to knock her down and he crawled over to her, slashing violently, managing a slightly deep but short cut on her left arm. Blood seeped through her now torn dress and she let out a small hiss at the burning sensation. Just as he was going to stab her, she knocked away his hand and thrust her own dagger right into his heart.
The man fell limp against her. Clara Let go of the blade and quickly crawled back, her breaths coming out shaky and uneven.
She stumbled up to her feet, her hands shaking and trembling now that the adrenaline had passed and she realized what she had just done.
She just killed a man.
She had felt the blade go through his flesh, and the sound of the bones cracking filled her ears. She felt her stomach acid rise to her throat, and her heart sunk into the pit that was her stomach.
The sight of him laying there with blood pooling around him made her sick, and scared. That could have been her if she wasn't quick enough.
It could have been Victor.
The pain of her wound brought her back to reality, and she ran, not glancing back. Her vision was blurry and she still couldn't breathe properly.
She needed Edwin.
As she was running, she collided with the cold armor of a knight, but she couldn't find it in her to apologize, or even look up. She crumbled to the floor, her breathing getting shallower, and sobs getting caught in her throat. The knight was talking to her, but she couldn't hear him. He knelt on the ground in front of her, putting his hands on both sides of her face, making her look at him. Her brown eyes were met with the familiar baby blue of Julian, now darker than usual.
"Hey, hey, hey." he gently tapped her cheek. "Breathe, Clara."
"I can't." she choked out, her voice barely audible. Her hair stuck to her now wet and bloody face, and snot was running down her nose. "Ed.."
"Edwin?" he followed her gaze to make sure she wasn't going to pass out. She nodded, more tears falling down her face; the droplets staining her dirty dress.
"Henry, go get Edwin, now!" Julian ordered.
"What happened?" Alan asked, now sitting beside the pair. Julian shook his head, not knowing what to say. His heart was heavy with concern, seeing Clara like that.
"As...assassin." she took ragged breaths, trying to speak a full word without choking.
The knights eyes widened, and with a silent conversation, they nodded at each other before Alan took off to the direction which she came from, to see what had happened.
"You're okay..." he whispered into her ear as he pulled her into his arms, resting his head on hers as she cried into his chest. "I won't let anything happen to you. You're safe."
A few moments later, Edwin could be heard calling Clara's name, concern dripping from his voice. As soon as he saw her, he knelt on the ground and Julian moved away, letting Edwin pull her into his arms. Her sobs got worse and her breathing was nowhere close to normal. Henry, who had gone to call Edwin, came back with some bandages and started to wrap it around her arm to stop it from bleeding.
"I'm here, darling, I'm here." he whispered into her ear and placed soft kisses on her head as he ran his hand through her hair. His own eyes were glossy with unshed tears. It hurt him to see his daughter so broken like this. "Let it all out, it's okay. You're okay."
"What happened?" he asked no one in particular. Julian was about to speak, but Clara's voice rang out in between sobs.
"I killed him." she cried. "Why does it hurt so much?"
Edwin's eyes widened and he held her tighter, looking to Julian for more context.
"The assassin." he told him, and Edwin nodded.
Just then, Alan returned, now holding a basket of clothes, knowing Clara would probably get scolded if she didn't take them back to the prince.
"He's dead." he informed everyone. "The same man she described last month. His daggers had these crests."
As he showed them to Edwin, Clara caught a glimpse of them, and the blood that covered the steel and she recoiled back into Edwin, still shaking. Noticing this, Julian took the daggers and hid them, nodding at Edwin when he smiled at him gratefully.
"Let's get you home." he whispered to his daughter while he helped her stand, holding onto her securely as they walked home.
Clara's eyes drooped as she folded Victor's clothes from yesterday. She was too tired to acknowledge her fast beating heart at the sight of the clothes and what they reminded her of.
Victor noticed her almost falling asleep, and the dark bags under her eyes.
"Cleo."
No response.
Clara's mind was fogged with the previous night's nightmares. She was emotionally and physically drained. She didn't even know why she was still working for the prince, if the threat had been neutralized.
Concerned, Victor got up from his seat and approached her, placing his hands gently on her arm as he called her once more. Clara winced, the cut on her arm still healing. Victor quickly removed his hand and stepped back, afraid he crossed his boundaries with her.
"Are you okay?"
"Yes, your highness." she replied tiredly, not having enough energy to even offer a smile.
"Why do I not believe you?"
"I'm sure we've had this exact conversation multiple times." he laughed lightly, remembering the previous arguments.
"Seriously, though." his face turned serious again. "Have you not slept?"
"I couldn't." she shrugged and turned to continue her work, not liking how she felt weak. "Nightmares."
"You wouldn't listen to me if I told you to go home, would you?"
"Never."
"What if I had nothing for you to do?"
"I'd go to the kitchen to help."
"Alright then." he nodded and clapped once. "Let's go."
"Why do you want to come along?" she furrowed her eyebrows.
"To make sure you don't fall asleep and hurt yourself on the way." he teased. "We all know how much you hurt yourself."
"You don't know the half of it." she chuckled to herself.
They then walked over to kitchen together, a comfortable silence between them, until Victor spoke up.
"Do you know what happened yesterday?" he asked. "Everyone, including my father, was panicked yet also relieved. They refused to tell me anything."
"Oh, I'm not sure." she gulped, taking a deep breath. "I had been taking care of Lila, she seems to have caught a cold."
"Oh, bless her little soul." he frowned. After the day in town, he had grown a soft spot for the little girl. He saw parts of himself in her. "Is she alright?"
"She's a tough one." she chuckled with a proud smile. "She's no different from when she's not sick."
Victor smiled in relief and stopped in his tracks when they arrived at the kitchen doors. He opened the door for her and let her walk in first, making her send him a small smile.
"Good evening, Hazel." he said to the curly haired girl after Clara gave her a quick side hug.
"Your majesty." she curtsied with a smile which he returned.
Victor and Hazel blossomed an unexpected friendship, bonding over teasing Clara and having her spend the majority of their day with them. They even exchanged style tips occasionally.
Clara rolled her eyes when Hazel looked back at her with a knowing grin and subtly wiggled her eyebrows teasingly.
Victor mingled around, even helping Molly when she needed to lift something heavy.
Yawning, Clara walked over to one of the cutting boards with meat on it and took a knife before she started to cut it up. When the knife cut through, her breath got caught in her throat at the familiar feeling of the sharp blade cutting through flesh. Her heartbeat quickened as she remembered the way the dagger went through the assassin's chest, piercing his heart.
She dropped her knife and stumbled back, her body trembling with panic. Her hand found its way to her heart, clenching the fabric covering it. Hazel was immediately by her side, wrapping her arms around her as she eased her to sit.
"Clara, focus on me." she tapped her cheek. "We'll do it together, come on."
Hazel continued to guide her through her breathing, her words soft and comforting. Her hand gripped her best friend's hand, as her other hand threaded through her hair, knowing it would calm her down.
Victor was kneeling on the ground beside them, completely clueless as to what to do unlike Hazel, who had a hunch on what had triggered this.
Molly dampened a cloth and brought it over, dabbing it over her face in a motherly manner. She then ordered the rest of the girls to get back to work instead of gape at Clara. She handed the cloth to Victor, who then took over her task as she left to get something sweet for Clara, as well as a glass of water.
"What's happening?" he asked Hazel once Clara was able to breathe more normally now.
"She's panicking." she frowned, hating to see her like that.
"I'm fine." Clara mumbled, taking the glass of water from Molly and drinking it, only now noticing how dry her mouth was.
She tried to stand up, despite everyone's objections. Victor held her left arm to make sure she didn't fall but loosened his grip in confusion when she winced and let out a small cry of pain for the second time when something touched that area.
After everyone ordered her to go home and rest for the rest of the day, she finally agreed, and let Victor and Hazel help her walk to her home. Victor made sure to hold her arm higher than where she seemed to be hurt somehow and made a mental note to ask about it later.
"Has this ever happened before?" he asked Hazel after they dropped her off at home.
"When we had first met," she nodded. "there were instances when this would happen to her."
"What causes it?"
"It's not my story to tell." she sighed apologetically. "I'm worried about her."
He noticed the frown on Hazel's face, and it hurt him seeing her sad. In the short amount of time he'd known her, she'd become like an older sister to him, despite being a year younger.
"She'll be okay." he nudged her arm with his, offering a comforting smile. "You know how stubborn she is."
He smiled when he heard her laugh lightly.
"I wouldn't be surprised if I found her in my room in a few hours, just organizing my things."
"I see you don't want to kill one another anymore." Hazel stated with a knowing glint in her eyes.
"Don't tell her that." he pointed a finger at her. "She'd never let me live it down."
"Oh, I'm much worse." Hazel grinned mischievously. "You told the wrong person, your majesty."
"Great," he rolled his eyes sarcastically. "I have two Cleos in my life now."
"Funny, she said the same about having two royal rodents in her life."
"Of course she did..." he sighed. "I take it back, I'd kill her if I could."
"Mhmm," she hummed in amusement. "that's why you helped her, just to kill her."
"What are you implying?" he narrowed his eyes at her.
"Nothing." she smiled innocently. "I suggest you tell Edwin about Clara, I'm sure he'd want to know."
Victor was left alone in the hallway as Hazel entered the kitchen, not glancing back. He let out a huff and shook his head, not believing what his life had come to.
He didn't hate it though. It was nice talking to people more regularly around the castle, without it being business related.
With a final shake of his head, he left to find the general, in hopes of getting some answers to all the questions that swam around in his head about the girl who seemed like the biggest mystery in his life.