The halls were empty apart from one or two servants hurrying through to get their jobs done. None noticed me walking through the darkened halls as I made my way up to my quarters. The castle felt empty as most people would have been in their chambers, and the halls echoed with every step I made, making me jump at each sound. Why am I so jumpy? I’m an assassin; I am the bump in the night. I pulled my keys out of my pants pocket and fumbled in the dark with the right key for my quarters.
I unlocked the door and lit the gas lamp just inside the doorway. It gave a slight glow to the living room that would allow me to light the rest. As I turned towards the centre of the room, I saw two shadows sitting on my couch, waiting for me. My pulse raced as the thoughts of my cover being blown sprang into my mind. I quickly lit another gas lamp and saw a familiar face staring at me.
Captain Malik sat in the centre of my couch, his face as stern as normal, but his brow was low. He was scowling at me. That was when I saw it, a strange woman sitting beside him.
“Callie, where have you been?”
5
I stood there, frozen, my eyes wide and my mouth open. I had been caught; it was all over. All of my hard work was for nothing. Malik kept scowling as he stood from the couch. Before he could ask the question again, the woman stood as well and circled around me. The woman was middle-aged with her dark hair tied up in a bun. She had a small stature but was quite muscular. She was wearing a brown tunic with copper-coloured edges and black pants. I wondered who she was and why Malik brought her into my quarters. She circled me again and stopped right in front of me.
“Callie, this is Abigail. She is the seamstress for high workers in the castle. I brought her here so she could measure you for your new uniform.”
“Why do I need a uniform? We don’t even know if King Jarrett will allow me to have the position.”
“The King likes things to look their place. He wants you to have the uniform so that you will still look formal.”
I looked down at the small woman and gave her a welcoming smile. Abigail returned to my couch and grabbed a large cotton bag from behind the living room table and placed it on top. I watched as she pulled out a wooden step and handed it to Malik to place it in front of me. Without looking from her bag, she motioned for me to stand on the step. I obeyed her instructions right away.
Abigail fussed away at my legs, measuring the length and circumference for my uniform pants. She took my feet size to make sure she didn’t have to make a new pair of boots, and then she asked for me to step down before starting to measure the top half of my body. When she was done, she wrote all the measurements down with a quill and paper before placing everything back in her bag. When she finished, she showed me the type of uniform I would be receiving. It was a red tunic with a black jacket and black cloak. The pants were also black but had a red symbol stitched into them near the belt line. The symbol was three crescent moons linked together in the middle; it meant I was part of the high staff of the king. The jacket and cloak also had the symbol, just over the breast pocket for the jacket, a small one on the front of the cloak and a large version on the back.
All kingdoms in Braelia had a symbol for their royals. While travelling, it made it easier to pick which kingdom someone was from based on the symbol they wore, and the colour indicated the position they hold. A king has gold, his advisor is red, Captain of the Guard is royal blue, normal guards were green and all normal staff were white or grey.
I nodded to Abigail to let her know I understood what my uniform would consist of, so she put them back in her pack before picking it up and placing it on her shoulder. She started towards the door but stopped before she opened it.
“You should have your uniforms by the morning,” she said as she struggled to open the door.
“Thank you, Abigail.”
As soon as the door shut, the mood in the room shifted. It suddenly felt cold, and it caused me to shiver. I was alone with Malik. I turned and saw he was staring at me once again. His hands were firmly at his sides, but I could just see they were clenched into fists. His brow lowered, and his eyes got darker. I walked towards Malik and sat down on the couch in front of him. He didn’t move.
“Where were you?” he finally asked.
“I was looking around the castle.”
“No, you weren’t. Abigail and I looked all over for you; you weren’t anywhere in the castle or on the grounds. Abigail was about to give up and go home when I said to wait for you here.”
He finally moved and took a seat across from me. “Sounds like you didn’t want her to leave.” I teased.
His cold, hard face lightened for a moment and showed something that seemed like a small blush before he returned to the normal Malik. For once I’d actually like him to be genuinely nice to me and not just because he has to. I relaxed in my chair in hopes he had forgotten his question and would move on.
“So, where did you go?”
My hoping was wrong. “If you must know, I went to the night market to find some books on poison and poison tasting.”
He paused for a moment, taking what I said in before his eyes widened and lit up. He sat forward in his chair and picked up one of the books Fletcher had given me. He lifted his eyebrow and gave a crooked smile before bursting out in laughter.
“What are you laughing at?” I probed.
“Out of all the tests we could have given you, we gave you the one you know nothing about. You won’t be able to learn it all in the three days. What if the first dish is poisoned and you don’t know the taste of it? You will fail.” He paused to continue his laughter. “You won’t last this test. The king will continue to think you will be worthless at the job, and you will go back to just being a normal guard.”
Malik’s words stung but were true. I couldn’t learn poisons in three days, but I needed to try. It was the only thing I could do to try and keep my position. Fletcher was counting on me. Malik stood from the couch and left my quarters, still laughing as he closed the door behind him. The force of the door slamming shut blew out my gas lamps. Then I was alone, my quarters silent and dark.
I felt my way around the room so I could light the gas lamps again. As soon as the room lit up, the book on the table began staring at me. It was getting late, but I couldn’t let that hold me back. I needed to start learning how to detect poisons or I wouldn’t last another day in this job. I picked up the easiest book off the pile and opened it to the first page. As soon as I finished one book, I’d start another and then another.
It was well past midnight, and I hadn’t even got through half of the pile. I started to understand the basics of poison testing, how to roll the food over the tongue and try it from both sides, mix up liquid before tasting since some poisons sink to the bottom, drink while holding your nose since some poisons change taste when you can’t smell it, roll the liquid over your tongue too to cover all of the taste buds. I was ready to start tasting, but I wasn’t ready to name any poisons by taste yet.
My eyelids started to droop when I heard the town clock chime: one in the morning. My body felt weak, and it was slowly getting harder to read the pages of the books. I lied down on the couch and continued to read. Soon, I fell asleep.
6
A continuous knocking disturbed me from my sleep. I tried to push the annoying sound to the back of my head then realised it was coming from my front door. I slowly opened my eyes and let the person at the door know that I would be there in a moment. The knocking finally stopped. As I tried to sit up, something heavy made it harder for me to move. The book I was reading when I fell asleep still lay open on my chest. I placed a piece of paper where I had been reading, closed the book and sat it next to me. My head started spinning as I stumbled my way to the door just as the knocking began again.
I opened the door and a bright-eyed Abigail greeted me. Her smile was electric, and her silver eyes shone in the morning sun. Before she could tell me why she was there, she produced a large pile of clothes and two sets of boots.
/>
“I worked all night to get you these for today. I’ll show you what I have done for you. I found two sets of boots in your size. You’re only supposed to get one pair until they wear out but I thought you might like a second. I have made two cloaks for you as well, one in red with a black symbol and one black with a red symbol. I’ve given you lots of red tunics with also some other colours which you can wear around town, but you will still need to wear your black pants with your symbol.” She stopped, still showing me all of the garments.
“Thank you, Abigail. You are too kind.”
“It’s not every day that a woman gets into a job like this one. I will do anything to help you out if you need it, Callie.” She paused, putting the clothes on the couch. “If any of your garments get ripped while in combat, please bring them to me, and I’ll either repair them or make you some new ones.”
“Where do I wash my clothes when they get dirty? We had a community washing area in the guard’s quarters.”
“There is a washing room just behind my workshop. When you have some time off come by and I’ll show you what to do.”
“Thank you again, Abigail,” I said as I pulled her in for a hug. No one had ever been that nice to me since working in the castle. It was nice to see someone so friendly.
I still had a little time before I had to meet the king for breakfast so I drew myself a hot bath and cleaned myself up for my first day as advisor. I washed my hair with forest-scented soap and let the dirt soak away. When I got out, I dried my hair as best as I could and tied it into a braid. I slipped on the uniform Abigail made and found that it fit perfectly. The red tunic clung to my body but wasn’t constricting; the black jacket was light enough to wear in the warm and hot seasons but I would need to wear the cloak once it got colder. The pants and boots also fit perfectly and left me enough room to breathe. I must remind myself to tell Abigail she is a miracle worker with garments. I had never had clothes that fit me this nice before.
When I was a guard, I was given a generic uniform and had to make it fit myself. I was never good at sewing but I needed to learn to make my garments to my size.. I gave myself one more look over in the mirror before leaving my quarters. The halls were bustling with servants and guards roaming the castle. I squirmed my way through the crowded hall and into the wing that held the dining room. I remembered it was just down from the king’s quarters.
The double doors greeted me as I pushed them open. The dining room had a large table in the centre that could hold almost a hundred people. Down the other end were the king and Captain Malik. They both turned to stare at me as I walked the length of the table.
“You’re late,” Malik announced. As his words escaped his lips, King Jarrett shook his head.
“Your breakfast hasn’t arrived yet.”
The doors swung open from behind me, and the cooks with trays of food entered the dining room. They placed a tray in front of all of us before bowing and leaving the room as quickly as they came in. King Jarrett sat there staring at his food before turning to me with a frown on his face.
“Well, hurry up before it gets cold.”
His breakfast was hot porridge with a side of bacon and an orange juice. I grabbed his spoon and stirred the porridge before taking a spoon full from the centre. It smelt normal with a hint of vanilla; I held my nose and tasted the food. It tasted like normal porridge with vanilla through it; I rolled it over my tongue with no change in taste. I swallowed it and cut off two small sections of the bacon from each end. All three tasted normal. The king looked at me and lowered one side of his brow; he was getting impatient.
I picked up the orange juice and swirled it in the glass, sniffing it as I lifted it closer to the mouth. The acidity was almost overpowering. I held my nose, and it stayed the same. I took a second sip and rolled the liquid over my tongue; still nothing.
“This food is clean.”
“Good, you’ve passed one of nine meals. Now eat. We have an important meeting later.”
My own breakfast was the same as the captain and the king; I sipped my orange juice and almost instinctively tested it for poisons. Maybe they will trick me and poison my own food instead; it would certainly trip me up with the test. I tested each piece of my food before digging in. It was delicious. I hadn’t fully tasted it when trying King Jarrett’s food, but the quality was completely different than we had in the guard’s quarters.
By the time I finished my meal, King Jarrett was sitting there impatiently, his eyes fixed on my plate. I stood from my chair and let him know I was finished and ready to go. Malik handed me a sheet of paper with what King Jarrett had to do that day.
“You will need to write one of these every night so both you and the king know what has to be done. I’ve done the first one for you, but from now on, it will be your job,” Malik explained before abruptly turning and leaving the room.
How am I supposed to know what has to be done the next day? My thoughts went south as I stood there, frozen in my tracks. Am I in over my head? I’m an assassin, not an advisor. My job is to spy and kill, not set up meetings. A cough pulled me from my thoughts. I turned my attention to the king who was now standing next to me, glaring at me with eyebrows low. I quickly fixed myself up and looked at the list of things we needed to do.
“First, you have a meeting with the guards.”
He swiftly turned away from me and hurried out the door. “Hurry up or I’ll leave you behind.”
We passed through the halls with no one in our way. Everyone who saw the king walking by moved to the side and let us walk by. It was incredible. We made it to the guard’s training area in a matter of minutes. As we walked in, the guards were all lined up and waiting for us to arrive.
I stood to the side and a little behind where King Jarrett was talking to the guards. I didn’t bother listening to what he was saying; I just focused on the actual guards. As I looked around the room, a strange feeling came over me, one I had felt before. Someone was following me. I tried to see where it was coming from, but there was nothing. Everyone in the room was focused on the speech the king was giving; no one was paying attention to me at all. I tried to shake off the feeling, but it wouldn’t go away.
The hairs on the back of my neck were standing on edge. With every movement in the room, I flinched. I hated not being in control of a situation, and having the feeling of someone watching me was the worst. I was the one that was supposed to be following people, not the other way around. Instead of thinking about being watched, I focused on the king. He held his head high as he spoke to the guards, almost like he respected them a lot. I had been on the receiving end of one of these speeches before, but I never really paid attention. I always just wanted to get back to training and being on guard duty.
When the speech finally ended, the strange feeling went away. I shook it off as nothing and continued with my job. King Jarrett made his way over to me, waiting for me to announce the next thing on the list.
“You have individual meetings with three guards before lunch, then you have a meeting with an advisor from Oslor.”
“Ah yes, I’ve been waiting for that,” he exclaimed as he turned towards his next appointment.
The next few hours went by in a blur. King Jarrett wouldn’t allow me to sit in on the meetings so I had to stand outside of the training area and watch them before calling in the next guard. My desperation for wanting to train with them again shone as I stood there watching, calculating their movements and thinking how I would attack them back. I saw their faults and wished to use that to my advantage to show them how they needed to improve.
Once I called in the third guard for their meeting, one of the others came over to me.
“I saw you watching us. Why don’t you join us while the king is busy?”
“I can’t. This is my job now. I’m sure he would fire me if he found me messing around.”
“Your choice, Callie,” he said.
My heart swelled with joy that he remembered my name from when
I was a guard. I hadn’t really made any friends in the years I was with them; I liked to stay by myself. He gave me a small smile and joined his fellow guards and continued to train.
Right after the guard left my side, the door to the meeting room opened up and King Jarrett came out. With all three of his meetings finished, we quickly made our way back to the dining room. Captain Malik was already there. Our lunches sat on silver trays with domes over them. I removed the dome from the king’s tray and began tasting for poisons. Everything smelt and tasted normal. I couldn’t detect anything within the food.
“This food is clean.”
“That’s two you have passed.”
Once we all finished our lunch, we made our way into the war room. The table was empty when we arrived. Malik left to bring our guest to the meeting. The king and I sat in silence; I was surprised I was allowed to sit in on this meeting. A whispered conversation alerted me to their return. As Malik entered the room, a small man behind him joined us.
The man was wearing an advisors uniform with a red trident on his jacket, the Oslor emblem. His shaggy blonde hair clung to his middle-aged, rough face. His face was full of scars; he looked as though he had been in plenty of battles, although he tried to cover them with a rough beard. He sat opposite me at table and looked at all three of us. I wondered when he was going to speak, but he opened his mouth, nothing came out. His eyes looked down at the table like he was ashamed about something.
Heroines and Hellions: a Limited Edition Urban Fantasy Collection Page 62