The King's Assassin

by M.M. Brownlow

Eryk stood at the window in his room, looking out over the castle and part of the city beyond the castle walls. It was another gorgeous summer day, perfect for spending outside. Too bad he had yet another official duty to attend. Today, he would lay his father’s body in state in the cathedral, and Eryk would need to be on hand all day while the citizens of Bacovia paid their respects and passed along their condolences. He really hoped that the blood from yesterday was all cleaned up, because otherwise there would be some rather awkward questions posed.

  Suddenly he felt cool hands brush up along his arms, and then his cheeks, before finally coming to rest covering his eyes. “Guess who?” someone whispered softly in his ear.

  “Oh Alexius, stop it,” he said. “I don’t have time for these silly games.” He grasped the woman’s wrists and turned to face her. Except he wasn’t greeted with bright blue eyes. Instead, he found deep brown eyes greeting him. It wasn’t Alexius who had come to his rooms, but Aislynn.

  Eryk was still holding onto her wrists and he pulled her arms out wide, stepping toward her. He wrapped his arms around her long, muscular body, pulling her even closer, acting on the invitation. He could feel how strong she was as she resisted his embrace, just a little, before giving in and allowing him to pull her into his arms.

  This was a woman he could love, a woman he could spend time with while doing the things he loved. She would never be a burden to him, never expect him to wait on her hand and foot while she languished in her deathbed as his mother had… He shook that thought away and concentrated on Aislynn’s face as he bent closer. She winced a little as he squeezed her ribs just a little too tightly, but she didn't complain. Aislynn tilted her face up slightly toward his, eagerly awaiting their first kiss, and Eryk leaned down, lips brushing across her cheek softly, tenderly.

  “We need to break off diplomatic relations!”

  Eryk jumped back, surprised by the unexpected voice. The back of his head connected with the headboard of his bed as he startled awake. It was just a dream, none of it real, he thought bitterly to himself. He was alone in his room. Well, not quite alone, he thought as he turned his head toward the intruder.

  “Branden, what are you doing here? It’s barely dawn and I had a rather long day yesterday, if you remember. And I have a rather long day ahead of me today too. Go away.” Eryk slid back down under his covers, pulling the blanket up over his head, clearly wanting Branden to be gone.

  “I said that we need to break off diplomatic relations with Evendell. The king will be here for your father’s funeral, and we can make all of the arrangements before he gets here, so he'll only have to sign the paperwork. Then we can send that creature away once and for all, and everyone will be the happier for it.”

  Or I'll be the deader for it, Eryk thought wryly to himself. And considering his dream, he was reasonably sure that he wouldn’t be happy if Aislynn was gone. Then another thought occurred to him. When had Branden begun to refer to Aislynn solely by descriptive nouns?

  “I can’t do that, Branden. We have a mutual protection pact with Evendell. Aislynn is here to protect me, and we are expected to protect Evendell if needed. Besides, we have very profitable trade agreements with Evendell. They produce the finest gold, ore and gems of any of the surrounding kingdoms.”

  Branden’s face was getting darker and darker, the rage building up inside of him the longer Eryk spoke. It was obvious to Eryk that Branden would not be happy with anything less than full banishment for Aislynn, but Eryk was not prepared to do that. Especially not after yesterday’s incident, and certainly not if his dream had any real meaning to it.

  “I see,” Branden said, finally. “If that’s how you want it, then so be it. You’re the ruler, after all.” And he turned and strode out of the room.

  Eryk sighed, confused by his friend’s behavior. It had become steadily worse all week, his mood getting darker with each passing day. He knew that Aislynn was at the heart of it, somehow, but he had no idea why. He decided to find a way to look into it, somehow.

  Shaking his head, he rolled over to try to get a little bit more sleep before it was time to face what promised to be a most boring day. If I’m lucky, he thought to himself, I'll get to star in that dream again.