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Kat Dakuu
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#1
Old 01-22-2017, 10:54 PM

The story thus far...

Vasileios is the king of Negatia, a country which is in poor relations with its neighbor Porphyros. At the start of winter, the Porphyrians send an Asharian mercenary and criminal to assassinate him, but her attempt was thwarted by the king. When he realizes the assassin, Moira, is a woman, Vasileios offers her a game. He will let her go and attempt to kill him two more times, but after the third strike, if she has yet to win against him, he will take her as his wife. Not having any other choice, Moira accepts...


Link to previous writing:
Love me or Kill Me

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#2
Old 01-22-2017, 11:36 PM

Kat Dakuu:

Getting into the city was as easy as ever, the little black bag tied to her belt had a heavy weight on her mind as Moira made her way in the shadows towards the castle. She had four bath salts, three of which were filled with a soapy poison and fourth had a paralyzing toxin. From some gossip she'd overheard from a servant she know knew that the king, Vasileios, had a private bathing area that was secluded.

Her boot covered feet made little sound against the cobblestone roads as she moved swiftly, soon she reached a wall of the castle and she found footholds to pull herself up and over the wall, she landed in a shaded garden like area, this made it easier for her to stick to more shadows as she pulled her cloak around herself again, the thick black fabric being the only barrier between the cold outside and her tanned skin.

Shortly she found a small entrance that lead up into a crawl space between the ceiling and the bottom of the next floor. It took some searching again but she found herself above a room full of steam and the sound of water. Threw a vent she could see people getting the bath ready, she grinned to herself proud that she had found the right bath so quickly. She slowly untied the black bag from her belt and held it tightly. The crimson haired Asharian didn't plan on getting caught this time, she planned to drop her bath salts into the tub soon after the king would set himself down.

Moira's heart was pounding in her chest, part of her was scared that she woudl fail again, then she'd only have one attempt on his life left before.... Shaking her head gently Moira pushed those thoughts from her head, she had to settled herself and control her breathing, there wasnt a lot of movement space where she had hidden herself.

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#3
Old 01-27-2017, 06:27 PM

Once the servants finished warming the bath they placed their own salts with balms for dry skin, a luxury of the richest in a country so cold and dry. A luxury on equal level with gold. Truly it was the bath of a king. When Vasileios entered, he breathed in the strong aroma of the salts and perfumes. All but the last two attendants had retreated and those two greeted him when he entered. "Your majesty. Do you wish us to attend your tonight?" one woman asked, he eyes lowered to the ground as she stood in a semi-bow. The woman next to her, older but still beautiful, did the same.

He shook his head, already sliding his gloves off his fingers now that the warm steam could seep into them. "No. Just remove my robes and then you may leave. I have business to discuss in private," the king murmured back. After all, the bath was the most secure location. No clothes, no hidden weapons, and the warm water that obscured faces and even voices to some degree. It had been a favored location for secret dealings for generations. Besides, Vasileios was a warrior, not a royal. He could bath himself.

Once the attendants had taken his outer garments and hung them properly, he waited for them to disappear before he slipped his inner garments away to tease the water with a toe. "Now, down to the real business..."

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#4
Old 01-30-2017, 04:42 AM

Moira held her breath when the servants left the king alone, her crimson hair had begun to curl from the steam escaping up into the vent she was hiding behind in the ceiling, little wisps curled up into her eyes making her have to raise a hand to push them away. Moira's blue eyes were focused on Vasileios, scanning over the kings back and the Asharian women felt her head pick up speed.

The hidden women remembered the strength that had overpowered her that night... it had been frighting, she had been sure that her life was going to end that night a week ago. Yet here she was, hidden in the ceiling getting ready with her second assasination attempt, this time with her home made poisons... she just needed to wait for the white haired king to get into the bath, the more steam that rose the harder it was for her to make out a clear image of where he was. Moira could still Vasileios' outline among the steam as she waited, quietly opening her bag of poisoned salts.

Pushing some crimson curls out of her blue eyes again Moira slipped her green bath salt out of the bag, the paralyzing one...she was both glad and slightly regretting her choice of hiding spots.... her cheeks were getting flushed as the area around her began to get more warm the more steam that rose up into the space, the bath salt between her gloved fingers was no bigger then a marble, yet it packed a punch once introduced to water.

Her gloved fingers held the small marble sized ball a inch away from the vent she was hovering over, her eyes trying to find the best place to let the little green ball fall, though her eyes kept flickering over to the undressed king's silhouette. Her cheeks burned again remembering the small glimpse she had gotten of his uncovered body. It had been a long while since she had slept with someone...she shook her head, pushing the thoughts from her head and causing more red curls to fall into her face.

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#5
Old 02-10-2017, 05:19 PM

Vasileios placed one foot in the water. Steam curled in every direction, but it didn't mar the glittering surface of the water, visible beneath the rising blanket of steam. It was in this small layer between the water and the steam that he breathed in deep. This last week, he felt more alive than he had in months. The fact that his very life was in danger caused this only made him smile more. When when that woman--Moira--come? When would she challenge him again so that he could fight for some reason other than his country? Fighting for his life felt so much more worthwhile.

Just as he was about to slide all the way into the water, a voice called out from the other side of the bath. "Vasileios. You called for me?"

The king's foot pulled away again as he turned to face the voice's owner where he stood, obscured from sight. But even so, Vasileios felt the other man's eyes lock onto his. "Yes Callisthenes. Do you have your report ready yet? Tell me what you've learned of this Asharan woman. My curiosity has been insatiable." The same arrogant smile crossed his lips again as Vasileios turned his back on the bath, attention now fully focused on his personal scout. It almost felt like Moira was here and it only made him want to hear this report more. She should know that if she challenged him, then he would challenge her back in time.

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#6
Old 02-12-2017, 04:51 AM

The words where a bit muffled from where Moira hid, she saw the shape of Vasileios move towards another shape. Quickly she let the green marble sized orb fall threw the vent she hidden over, it fell into the bath just after the kings foot left the water. What she had used was some potent paralytic so it wouldn't just dissolve and dissipate, it would stay in the water till the bath was drained. Her ears caught the word 'report' and 'Asharian', her blue eyes became wide, was this report about her... had the king sent someone to try and find things out about her....

Moira bit her lip as she moved around the vent, trying to not press against the metal, as she tried to hear more about what the king and the other person where going to say. She hand't felt any one watching her this past week...but then again she had been only in the town outside the castle three times in the past week, picking up all her ingredients in a few trips as possible. She had even packed up her meager belongings from the cave she had been calling home for her time here as she was planning on changing her hiding spot any how. Staying in one place to long set her on edge in this country.

Heck back in Porphyros she had moved about the cites underground sewers, with many other homeless people. She hadn't slept in the same spot twice in one month. For years it had kept her safe after her kills, a few times she had stayed at Inn's by the sea, listing to the waves as she lightly slept. She only got good sleep when she was under ground, she guessed it came from years of living in underground places as a street mouse.

With shaky gloved hands she pulled out the poisoned bath salts, these ones had a special coating that stopped the poisons escape till the heated water melted the outer casings. She had to drop at least one now if she didn't' want the king to notice a plop in the water once he entered it.

Vaguely she thought of the man who taught her how to make poisons and their antidotes. He had been a respected doctor in the area she had grown up in, despite no one knowing about his knowledge on making the deadly things. All but one little Moira who had spied him poisoning some persons 'medicine' one day. Later he'd told her that the man was going to die any way, and his poison woudl be a less painful way to go for the man. This had been around the time that the old women who Moira had lived with died of old age, the man took her in for a while, they had a disagreement when Moira was older and she left. She'd had to kill him one day... he had begun to get drunk on the power over people his poisons gave him.

He'd fled Porphyros two years ago, and since till this target Moira only killed inside of Porphyros she hadn't had to kill her old mentor yet, she was not looking forward to the day she'd have to face him again. Shaking her head softly she carefully held the yellow bath salt between her gloved fingers before letting it fall threw the vent. Steam had obscured her vision and she had missed the bath, the yellow orb falling against the baths edge before bouncing of and rolling on the floor. Her blue eyes darted over to the shapes in the steam.

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#7
Old 02-23-2017, 07:47 PM

Nodding his head at Callisthenes' words, Vasileios asked for his scout to continue without every saying a word. Although he could slide into the warm waters as he listened, he felt a strange unease that kept him in place. Besides, he felt more intent on the report than bathing. That could wait. "Go on," he murmured. "There is no one listening here."

Callisthenes' cleared his throat though the young male didn't appear to be the sort to get nervous. Rather, he looked more than used to this sort of location and reporting method, having long been in Vasileios' service. “Right. So the woman, Moira. I learned she made a name as a mercenary of sorts, more than an assassin. Weapon of choice judging by previous kills, is poison.” Vasileios had to smirk at that considering the way she attempted to kill him before. He knew she wasn’t just a regular assassin from the start in that armor. It was laughable. Still, poison might be more of a challenge. As Callisthenes continued to talk, he glanced around the bath with a careful eye. No one would surprise him. Absolutely none.

“What about her location?” Vasileios cut in, not letting the other man finish his drivel of facts about Moira.

Clearing his throat, Callisthenes’ did Vasileios the honor of not lowering his eyes. Even in this steam, the king would know, as if he could feel the anxiety in the air. However, Callisthenes admitted his failure with pride. “I have been unable to ascertain that.”

Vasileios pursed his lips. Seconds passed, but he just waved a hand a second later. “Very well. Then you may leave.” They both knew without saying it that when next they met, the lack of information wouldn’t slide. When Callisthenes learned Moira’s location, that would be their next conversation, sooner or later, but without a doubt. Seconds later, the younger man slipped away like the steam, even his footsteps muffled somewhere in its denseness. Only then did Vasileios breath out.

“Well, now that that’s over,” he huffed as he circled back around to the slope of the pool. His entire demeanor changed, easier, and a little bit predatory. But it didn’t seem that he hunted. No, he looked relaxed as he approached the water. Giving a little stretch, he look up at the vents, a grin spreading across his face. “He’s gone, you know. You can come out now.” Eyes still on the vents, he opened his arms in welcome. “Right, Moira.”

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#8
Old 02-23-2017, 11:47 PM

Moira cursed under her breath, her heart thudding in her chest. Her blue eyes stared at the king, Vasileios, she bit her lip hard as she felt her body tensing. "I'd rather stay up here...." She said bringing her face close to the vent to be heard, her blue eyes held annoyance in them as she looked down on Vasileios from her spot in the steam filled vent. Her tanned skin was glistening with sweat because of the cramped space she was in trapped heat. Her crimson hair had ruled more form the heat and she wasnt looking forward to having to dunk her head in water and letting it dry again to get rid of the curls.

When the other shadow had spoken to the king she had barely made out the facts that he had learnt about her....'Well at least he didn't find where I've been staying.... and good thing i'm planning on moving.....' she thought bitterly her beautiful face warped with a scowl on her lips. This close to the vent and in better light one could make out the scar across the bridge of her nose, the scar was old and deep, she had been lucky that the blade that caused it didn't break her nose in a traditional sense...her nose was still strait despite the scar. "How long did you know where I was." She said her eyes not leaving Vasileios's form, her lightly freckled cheeks where flushed from being in the cramped space for so long, she could feel her legs beginning to cramp up on her. She had to move soon or she wouldn't be able to run away this time.

Her trained eyes where able to make out the now cracked and broken in half yellow bath salt that had hit the edge of the bath and rolled along the floor...she had to get the king into the paralyzing water....she still had two more poisoned bath salted in her bag, aswell as a vile of blue antidote, just incase she herself got exposed to the water and what should be within it. Raising a hand to her face she pushed some of her now curly red hair away from her face as she continued to glare at the king, the metal necklace around her neck clinked against the stone, she had not worn it last time as she had been sure that she woudl have been killed instantly.

It had been her mothers, it was the only thing Moira had of her. It was an Ashari tribe amulet, she wasnt sure what one, as she had never learnt to read and write her native language, it was slowly being wiped out by the kingdom that had taken over her birth place. One had of it was a silvery grey metal and the other was bronze. It hug around her neck by a thick black cord, there was no clear connecting point between the two metals and the cord, it was as if they where melded together. One of her arms was covered in what some woudl call a arm warmer, it covered the burns on her arm from a sewer fire, one of the few times she had saved someone at all. She couldn't feel much in that arm any more, her fingers where all tingly in this cold weather. Either way the long piece of clothing covered form just under her shoulder to a cuff on her wrist, it was loose between the two straps holding it to her arm and wrist.

Her blue eyes stayed locked on the white haired king, still not coming out of the vent she was running threw escape plans in her head... she could just try to shimmy her way out of the crawl space like she originally planned. Yet her legs where cramping so she either had to do that soon or come out of the vent... and into the bathing chamber with the king, and that thought sent another flush across her face, she still remembered being pinned to the wall last time... she had felt so weak physically....and that didn't sit right with her at all. Plus he was basically naked....under what he had warped around himself.

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#9
Old 03-13-2017, 01:24 AM

Despite already proclaiming that Moira hid in the vent, Vasileios still felt a thrill when she spoke and confirmed it for him. She did nearly do away with him this time. It was a far better try than the last and if not for his instincts, she might have succeed. "Oh, it was just a hunch I got. Only now do I know for sure." A rueful smile played over his lips as he looked toward the vent. With the steam, he couldn't make out what lay beyond the vent, but due to Moira's voice, he knew which one to look at now and he imagined he saw her face beyond. "But maybe it will praise you if I say I didn't know from the start? Or..." he paused as if indecisive, or just dramatic. "Maybe I did. Maybe this meeting was all a show, but you can never tell. Whether I lied or told the truth depends on what you think of my character."

Vasileios smiled to himself. He played an amusing game with words, but it didn't get him anywhere either. What to do, what to do? Since he promised not to kill her, he decided to tease Moira more instead. Walking along the water's edge, he gave it long, slow contemplative looks. This was what she wanted wasn't it? He felt thrilled. She tried to kill him. Oh, but she got close this time and that was wonderful. He never had more fun. At the last second, he turned away from the water though.

"Moira, Moira, Moira," he tsked. "I wonder dear, what did you do to the water? Ah, it's okay if I call you that right? After all, before long you will be my dear." For better or for worse. They said that right? "I'm a bit lonely having this conversation with you way up there so I don't suppose I could convince you to come down?" Vasileios brushed a hand against his hip, testing how easily he could disrobe completely. Just one little knot and the last cloth would be lost. But that wasn't even his goal at this point. The steam felt wonderful on his skin as if he already stepped into the warm waters, leaving droplets pooling at the tips of his hair, turned a steely grey in their wetness. And that enough should be a tease.

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#10
Old 04-08-2017, 12:43 AM

Her bright blue eyes glared at the king threw the steam, her metal necklace clanked against the vent bars, the already weak claps holding the two ties of leather together at the back of her neck wasnt fairing well in this steamy heat. "I'm staying up here well out of your grip." She said scooting herself back from the vent a bit, she froze again when she heard the snap of her necklace clap and then her blue eyes widened seeing the only belonging she valued slip from her neck and out of the vent, hitting the tiled floor and for her the sound echoed for ever.

Her legs where beginning to cramp up, she had to get out now or risk getting stuck in the cramped hot space for a long while. Yet she didn't want to just leave her necklace here.... but she had no choice now. With no other words she scuttled backwards in the venting space till it opened up into the crawl space she had used to enter the vents to begin with. The crimson haired girl could feel tears pricking at her eyes at loosing her necklace...she shook her head gently before she moved her shaking legs to leave the crawlspace and push herself back out into the gardens of the palace.
------------------------
Back in the baths the necklace glittered with dew and water droplets where it had fallen, it was well crafted that much was clear even if it looked crude, the Asharian symbols carved into the back where painstakingly placed with precision into the two metals that where melded together. The leather ties where the only thing that showed and age, the leather closer to the brown clasp where graying with age. Making one wonder just how old this pendent was.
-------------------------
Moira had almost run into guards on her second escape from the palace, her eyes having been blurred by the tears she was trying to force back. She was trying to turn her sorrow into anger, even now as she slunk down by the chilly docks of the city outside the palace she was plotting her last assassination.... either way... she'd either be locked up in a gilded cage if she failed.... and if she succeeded she doubted she's be able to get out of the country....From what she had heard getting to her new safe house was that Vasileios was a well loved king by his people.

The tanned skinned girl had found a entrance to the sewers under the city a few days ago... and had decided to move her base of operation there, she was more comfortable in this setting as it was similar to where she grew up over the years.

She threw her bag angrily against the stone wall of the little alcove she had claimed as her own for now. Moira took shaky but deep breaths, trying to clear her head and search her brain for any other ways she had to kill someone.... her mind settled on her dart blower... that woudl mean having to get more ingredients for poisons and toxins....

"I WILL get him next time... that Knocker basterd." she growled to herself. Her shoulder slumped as she slid down the same wall she had tossed her bag against, she pulled her hair free of it's twin buns, letting it fall far past her waist in stressed curls from all that time in the steam. Reaching for her back she pulled out a small journal and began to flip threw the pages that had sloppy writing and surprisingly good sketches of plants.

Late into the night Moira began to plan.... and she came to the collusion that her darts might not be enough. As they where better against marks with more skin showing. She made a small list that started with having to buy herself a bow and a few arrows.... and to find someplace she would be able to practice in peace. She'd never used a bow before.... biting her lip Moira rubbed her eyes and sighed, putting the journal back with the piece of charcoal and list back she pulled her cloak around her more and closed her eyes.
-----------------------------------
More then a week had passed this time around. A good month had passed, and Moira had been stopped by guards and others a few times, not that they knew who she was exactly. She was always quick to vanish for a few days after wards, and changed her practice areas in the woods daily, by now she was decent with her new simple bow. At least she though so, she had also mixed up liquid poisons and toxins that she applied to the tips of 8 of her arrows, and she never practiced with those once once she anointed them.

Pulling her hair up into a high ponytail Moira strapped her bow and arrows to her back, she had her special arrows in a quiver on her hip while the normal ones where in the quiver on her back along with the bow. She had changed her sewer location aswell, to deeper in the sewers and closer to the palace too. Moira's arms had gained some new mussel form her use of the bow, she had also been managing to eat a bit better, trading her knowledge of how to preserve meats with special plants for longer with the local merchants in exchange for some food over the past month.

Once again she packed up all her meager belongings, minus her necklace, that thought made her grind her teeth together... she planned to retrieve that today if it was the last thing she did...she doubted that Vasileios would have just left it on the bath floor... she planned to search the kings room before trying her last final attempt on his life.

"It's going to be today Moira... where you find out where your fate leads...." she took a deep breath before leaving her little alcove and following the water in the sewers upstream, water rushing past her sometimes.

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#11
Old 05-13-2017, 06:20 PM

Vasileios sighed as Moira gave him only a cursory response. "No fun," he muttered. "But we will meet again, I'm sure! You can't turn away from me now. Not after a second time!" he called after here, even as he heard the thumps and metallic clangs that announced the woman's exit from his vents. And really, she hadn't even tried to throw a dagger down after him or something. He wasn't sure if he would count that as part of the second attempt or a third one, but she might as well have tried harder in the face of his teasing. Why did she think he did it? It wasn't to rile himself up.

A faint clatter rang out over the more overt noises of the Moira's escape and he found his eyes darting down to follow the fall of some object. Moira's? He knelt down, finding the necklace glittering in the bath's steam. The metal felt rough, but solid as he ran a finger along its surface. The inscriptions on the back only made it feel more ancient and weighty. A smile finally stretching over his face, he clenched the object in his hand. A second later, he spun around, calling out into the mist.

"Servants! Drain the bath and cleanse it. The water has been poisoned. Bring my evening clothes, so that I may retire." A scrabble of motion sounded and soon, the entire bath was filled with people. Among all of it, Vasilieos slipped out.

Over the next couple weeks, their kingdom's relation with its neighbor, Porphyros, only continued to worsen. Vasilieos found much of his time taken up by councils rather than thoughts of an unruly female assassin. The more time that passed as well, the more he thought she might never show up again. Had Moira finally learned to fear? Did their game finally go too far? Only the weight of her necklace reminded the king of the assassin's resolve. And this, he kept hidden on him at all times. In many ways, he grew rather fond of the object.

Sunlight bit through the bitter cold afternoon air that signaled the start of true winter in Negatia. Anyone that tried to brave it alone would die, and here he was, standing outside with the troops, readying for war. If it came or not depended on far too many things still, but this time, his country would be ready.

"Sir!" The voice broke through the usual clamor of the training yards. Vasilieos turned to see a courier dipping his head. A second later, the young man continued. "A regent from the southern province is here with news of Porphyros' borders. He's waiting in the council room. Should I tell him you're coming?"

Vasilieos nodded his head once, then turned to eye the palace which looked so far away from here. As it should. He sighed again. "Of course. After I run the kinks out of Phren here, I will call on him. Tell the man to wait." With that, Vasilieos patted his horse's side and the courier hurried off, leaving Vasileios alone once again, turning toward the treeline and the inevitable path toward the palace where too much politics awaited.

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#12
Old 05-27-2017, 12:04 AM

A soft curse left Moira's lips as she left the sewers, she pulled her cape tighter around her as the winters cold began to lick at her skin. From the spot she had chosen to conceal herself she could see that the palace was buzzing with people, more then she had thought.... she made sure to keep her steps quite as she made her way to a part of the tower wall, last time she had climbed had been on that fateful night a month and a bit ago.... it felt like it had been ages...and she had all her gear and things with her, so the climb would be even more tricky.

To add to all this it had started to snow, lightly but just by looking at the clouds Moira guessed that it would be getting worse... pulling her gloves on more firmly Moira began to climb up the tower stones, some how she had managed to avoid being spotted...the guards should have been rotating now...yet she did't see any around the tower.

It took her a little longer then she would have liked to slip into Vasilieos's bedchamber window, she closed it behind her softly, just as softly as when she had entered. Blue eyes scanned the room, it looked as if it been cleaned in the past few minuets. She didn't know when Vasilieos or any of the servants would be back.... so she quickly began the search for her necklace. The more she searched the more frustrated she became when it was clear that the trinket wasnt in the room. "He must have it on him.... dam...." she muttered as she bit her lip.
-----------------------
Moira had quickly left the kings bed chamber, finding her way out of the tower and into a dim and narrow corridor that was like a secret passage. Even if it turned out it wast, just a scarcely used one, by the tracks that Moira's soft leather boots left in the dust on the stone floor. "At least it's not full of steam." she whispers softly as she continued down the corridor. After many twists and turns she came to the end, the end had a panel or door, it was hard to tell with the limited light Moira had, there was a small sliding panel , curiously she walked up to it and slowly slid it back, two peep holes. So this was a spy cubby then....

Leaning forward Moira saw a large table, with a map on it, some boxes and chairs where on and around the table. A war room? or a planning room of some sort. On the wall opposite the peep holes Moira saw painting, she guessed that the peep holes where cut form the eyes of what even painting this panel was the back of. The crimson haired women flinched back a bit when the big doors to the side opened and the voices of many men filtered into the room.

Looks like she would be listening in on what ever was going to happen... hopefully she'd get some information that she could use to strike at Vasilieos. She only had one try left... and part of Moira was terrified thinking about what would happen if she failed again...

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#13
Old 09-06-2017, 10:56 PM

Vasileios entered the war room after all the other men had gathered. The chill from outside still clung to his bones, but a fire set against one wall made the room a welcome fixture after the outdoor training. He pulled aside his fur-lined gloves and dropped them on the table, ignoring the miniature throne seat at the head of the table. Instead, he leaned forward to look at the map which had been arranged in preparation. What marked the border was a vivid red line and dozens of pins, each a stark and ugly black against his pretty snow-white country.

"Sir Abel, is this the news you bring me from the south?" Vasileios murmured, his eyes still intent on the map rather than the other occupants of the room. A rather pudgy man with yellowy, ashen hair squirmed slightly in his seat. Although not the oldest in the room with his own advisors at his back, he felt the prickle of a younger king that gave him no attention. After clearing his throat, the regent managed to answer.

"It's the Asharian's, mi'lord. They've started to join forces with Porphyros. Where our forces are not stationed, rogue armies have broke into Negatia along the Asharian border instead. It seems, the forces are Asharian's, led by Porphyrian generals. The best...course of action, mi'lord?" His voice turning hesitant, the regent trailed off, turning his gaze to also stare at the many black pins set up just inside the Negatian border.

For almost a minute, Vasileios didn't respond. Though he might be king now, he was once a powerful general. When it came to matters of war, he did not just throw around his weight. He just knew that he knew better than all the war generals but those he had hand chosen to stay by his side. As he had once stood at the right side of the previous king.

Turning on his heel, he paced around the table, arms held behind his back. "They are fools to make allies so fleetingly with a country long neutral in this war. Not because they are idiots, but because I am smarter." Half smirking to himself, Vasileios gazed around the room, slowly, and with confidence. Even looking into the eyes of all the paintings, he imparted this sureness. It was funny, but he almost thought she could hear him, or maybe it was just that he wanted Moira to hear just what gift she had given him by attempting on his life. Vasileios snapped his gaze back to the table.

"You see, I have a secret weapon. Just as soon as I finish capturing it..."

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#14
Old 09-09-2017, 02:32 AM

From her hiding place behind a painting Moira held her breath, she could feel sweat begin to form on her forehead as the men spoke. ‘My people are fighting for Porphyros?!’ She resisted swallowing the lump that had formed in her throat…. The people in the native lands of Ashari must be desperate...they’d always been oppressed in many parts of their own country by Porphyros...all the information she had heard over the years held true to this…. So why were they fighting for their oppressors….

When Vasileios looked around at the paintings Moira held still as stone, not blinking or breathing, keeping her eyes of neutral as possible till the king's eyes had well passed the painting she was hidden behind. Even if Vasileios had been alone in this room, there was no space for her to knock and launch arrows fast enough before she’d be caught. Trapped in marriage….. A shudder ran down Moira’s spine at the thought of being trapped, unable to move as she pleased, trapped within stone walls, no matter how fancy they were decorated it would still be a prison.

Her hands griped tightly into fists when the king spoke about a ‘secret’ weapon, the almost playful way he spoke reminded the Ashari women of how he spoke in the baths, playfully yet so assured of himself in what he was doing. Part of Moira had a feeling this secret weapon he was talking about had to do with their little...wager and that made her stomach sink.

Blue eyes carefully looked over Vasileios, trying to see if there was any sign of her necklace on her person. When she saw nothing that could be seen with the naked eye, so he was either hiding it under his clothing or somewhere else…. She felt her face heat up at the thought of his sans clothing…

Shaking her head gently she pushed those thoughts away, she knew she needed to find better place to snipe from...somewhere that she would have the higher ground on the king and relatively clear shots. Reluctant to leave behind the chance to learn more information Moira moved her arm up to close the peep hole panel. Her ears listing for any more information she might need before she slid the eye panel back into place.

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#15
Old 09-28-2017, 10:34 PM

The king and his advisors continued to talk for many more minutes, the conversations shifted from the pressing matters to more casual ones after not too long. It dragged the meeting out as well as Vasileios' patience. Did he kid himself thinking that Moira might be near enough to hear, just for his own benefit? She wouldn't try to kill him in front of so many people. She didn't have the skill or nerve. Telling himself that, his mind continued to wander until the meeting finally ended. His patience was gone. His boredom was high. Moira had to be listening. He needed that to bring color to his life again.

"We're adjourned then. There's nothing more to say until Porphyros makes a proper attack. Winter is coming so if they want to do it, they better do it now." With a shake of his head, Vasileios grabbed his cloak and strode out of the room, finding his servants and barking orders in quick succession, just outside the door of the meeting room, his voice carrying despite the fact that it didn't need to. "I'll be riding to my winter estate in the morning. Find me Callisthenes. We have things to discuss as I have no intention of bringing an army with me. This irritating talk can stay here at the castle!"

The servants scurried off and Vasileios allowed himself a brief smile before turned toward his quarters, somehow knowing deep in his bones that Moira would receive the message. Come attack me. I'm open. Then they would truly see who would win this game.

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#16
Old 10-01-2017, 05:18 AM

Deep blue eyes had wanted to narrow in boredom as the talks continued, yet Moira held her gaze lax, barely moving her not itching eyes till none where looking towards her painting. When the king moved to leave the room she quickly slid the panel back into place and followed the wall in the direction the doors had been. Pressing her ear rightly to the wall she could surprisingly hear Vasileios rather clearly. 'Winter estate..... well no surprise .... he IS a king.....' Now her blue eyes narrowed when she caught his words about not taking an army with him and she bit her lip.

The name Callisthenes made her blink... was that who he'd been talking to in the baths? She felt herself flush at the thought of that place. 'It was just the steam.... nothing more.....' she forced the thought to repeat in her mind. Frak....if the king was moving to another estate shed have to strike fast....and soon. The female assassin was starting to feel the pressure,but she would not give up with out a fight

Making her way back out of the passages, Moira stuck close to the shadows with her dark cloak pulled close to her. The big hood hiding her face as she make for the old tree she had used to get up to the kings room that first night so long ago. The crimson haired women was determined to end this before the king had a chance to leave for another estate.

Moira would end this one way or another today. This 'contract' had pushed her to her limits only because her target had been someone way out of her ability to handle...the docks where she'd peddled her skills were where she was comfortable, no one took the skinny girl with blood colored hair seriously and her poisons left no trace in the systems, just the darts leaving pin pricks where they hit. She had been used to taking out rival captains or people who had taken more then their share of something... normally hitting her targets in crowded taverns as they got drunk as skunks.

Part of her was glad how ever that this had pushed her to try other ways of killing someone. Moira knew that even if she lost the wager today...she would not go quietly, she would raise hell for Vasileios. Asharian people did not simply lay down their weapons if captured or cornered into submission. Even though she'd never really met another Ashari in all her years on the streets she had heard these things from traders who traded wares with the tribes of Asharian's that where on the coasts and close to the water.

Looking up to the balcony she'd used before, Moira could see the light glinting off the open doors and that caused her to narrow her eyes. She had closed them behind her when she'd left the room earlier, it was colder too then when she'd found those passages. She scaled the stones with ease keeping her ears open for any noise or voices as she got closer to the open balcony doors. The crimson haired women could hear the leather straps holding her bow in place creak gently as she moved, she cursed inwardly even though she was not on the balcony yet and the cold wind was whipping around her now.

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#17
Old 10-12-2017, 07:45 PM

Vasileios met with Callisthenes and the two spoke as they traveled through the lush halls of the castle. Even with no one around, they kept their conversation hushed, these words not meant to taunt anyone. Vasileios wanted Moira to hear of his travels to the winter estate, but the real plan, he would keep to himself. Really, he wanted to corner her to attack when and where he wanted. That way, it would be a real stand off between them. And really, what kind of assassin wouldn't want to ambush him, alone, on the road away from the palace? Who would even intervene?

As they reached the king's quarters, the two of them finally parted ways. Vasileios called to his servants in order to prepare things for the night as well as the journey tomorrow. He intended to bath and relax, knowing things would go according to plan. Callisthenes on the other hand, disappeared into the shadows inside of Vasileios' private rooms.

The air outside carried the promise of blizzards. The cold bite felt heavy enough with moisture that anyone from Negatia would know what came with the night. It would snow and likely, it would not stop. Staring down into the night with apathetic eyes, Callisthenes waited on the balcony. He hated to fight in such cold. His body felt too stiff and people became suspicious of his skill. The dark clothes draped across his body did nothing to block out the cold either. So, crouching by the balcony doors, still open ajar, he waited. Since the night before a blizzard was a troublesome time to fight, he protected his master's quarters on request.

Letting out a sigh, the young man wondered if this inadequate assassin really would try to scale this wall again and attack in the same way as before. "I don't know if you're really this stupid, but from one assassin to another," he murmured, eyes closed as he leaned his head back toward the sky darkening fully with night now. "I'd definitely attack on the Frost Giant's pass..." Dropping his gaze back to the balcony, he waited. If need be, he would wait the entire night through.

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#18
Old 10-23-2017, 05:39 AM

Moira had pushed herself as close to the cold stone as she could when she heard a voice...she frowned her blue eyes narrowing as the male voice continued to speak. She knew her moves up to and including now were not the smartest...the cold wind and snow blowing against her where making her muscles shake the longer she clung to the stone under her gloved hands. ' Frost Giant's Pass? Fraak.' She thought bitterly... she was caught between following the 'advice' and just pushing forward now.

After a few more minuets clinging to the stone wall and loosing light Moira decided to move back down towards the ground. If she wanted to get a head start and even have a chance at firing one of her poisoned arrows at the king she'd need to find this pass tonight... Looks like she wasnt going to get a lot of sleep...not that she really thought she'd get much today.

What made the Asharian women's blood boil even more was that she still didn't have her necklace. That simple hunk of metal was important to the tanned skinned women. She moved along the stone wall towards the back of the castle wall and then let herself jump from the wall into a pile of snow that had built up along the side of the wall. Her dark cloak was dusted with snow after the tumble down, her bow poking into her back causing the crimson haired women to groan a bit. Pushing herself to her feet she felt into the trees, back towards the underground sewers she had been taking refuge in.

The first chance she got she pulled a simple map from her pack, the paper had many creases from how many times it had been folded. After she pulled the paper out she pulled out a small candle and lit it, her blue eyes looking over the map trying to find anything that could be Frost Gaint's Pass. The light flickering as time wore on.
-------------------------------
It had taken the yougn assassin longer then she liked to find the pass on her map, and she had been right when she had thought to herself that she wouldn't be getting any sleep. It had taken most of the night and the light was just being to rise over the mountains. Now Moira was in a rocky outcrop up the side of the pass, waiting, she was warped in two cloaks because of the cold night.

Moira's stomach was in knots, her mind moving at a fast pace as the Ashari women blinked her eyes at the still falling snow. She was down to her three poisoned arrows and only a handful of regular ones...she'd run into some animals over the night that had not liked being disturbed. The dagger strapped to her thigh had tasted blood that night and she'd cleaned it off in the snow around the animals.

"More waiting..." Her fingers flexed around the grip of her bow as she pulled her cloaks around herself tighter. She had no clue when the king woudl show... but she knew that this would be her very, very last chance to end the white haired mans life....and Moira found a sad feeling welling inside her, she stomped it down by shaking her head and glaring down at the road threw the pass. Squinted her eyes more she saw shapes in the insistence, hopefully it was her target and she could finally get this over with.

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#19
Old 04-03-2018, 09:51 PM

Vasileios rose early, seeing as a fine snow had already started to fall from the sky. By later afternoon, the pass would already be dangerous with frost and snow. He intended to beat that with time to spare so as the sun painted faint lines of color on the eastern horizon, he was already at the stables, saddling his horse. The bag that the servants prepared were tied down, many voices buzzing around him, advising that he should wait until after matters would settled with Ashara and Negatia. How would they reach him until the thaw? But that was precisely why he would go now. Those he would need left already and that last matter of business, that he would handle on the way.

Smiling, the king rode toward the mountains where a single file, winding road rose, then dropped into the valley where his winter estate lay. Only one other horse followed him, Callisthenes giving the king his distance, wary eyes on the cliffs, but his weapons dutifully stored away. He knew his place.

"Moira...did you get my message...?" Vasileios wondered to himself as he reached the long stretch with high cliffs on each side that bore the name 'Frost Giant's Pass.' His entire body ached to know what she might do. He craved the action, needed to best her once and for all. Would she jumped down from the cliffs, sword swinging? Would she start and avalanche without ever showing her face? Arrows, or rope, daggers thrown through the barely light air? His mind raced with options even as his hands gripped tighter on the horse's reins in anticipation. But if either of them were to die today, he hoped they could look each other in the eye. After all, he did propose to marry her.

Till death do we part. Vasileios laughed, his eyes once again returning to the danger of the pass.

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#20
Old 04-11-2018, 02:58 AM

It was hard to tell that the sun had even risen from where Moira was positioned, as the shapes got closer the shapes got the more Moira’s gut clenched, this was her last chance after all. Her blood red hair was all tucked up and away inside her hood, hidden away to help conceal her on these frozen cliffs. Her limbs were stiff and sore from the cold yet she pushed them on, positioning herself, with a normal arrow first, a distraction and a way to cause a little chaos to help hide her as she moved.

When the king and the other person were close enough Moira let loose her arrow, it flew across the gap between the cliffs with only a small ‘shing’ like sound. The red haired assassin was already knocking one of her special arrows before her first hit its target, a pile of rock and snow, with just enough force to loose the rocks and snow.

At first one would suspect it was just a strong flurry of snow before the first rock fell, then another, and another, as they fell, brining more with them, Moira moved into position the coil of rope with a hook attached weighed heavy against ehr side as she gained momentum, she was going to lose her next arrow, then jump, tossing the rope and hook towards the other side of the cliffs and swing up into another ledge. She just hoped this worked…

Losing her arrow she waited only a fraction of a second before taking a flying leap over the ledge she was on, hands already flinging the rope and hook she had, she thanked the gods that it actually hooked where it was supposed to and she was able to turn her fall into a swing to another ledge. Unfortunately it was a lower ledge where if she wasn't careful she could get hit with any retaliation given by either Vasileios or his companion. During her fall and swing she’d heard the arrow hit, it sounded like she’d hit metal, shit.

She knocked another arrow into her bow, took aim and fired again, her heart was pounding by now…. After her shot she only had one poisoned arrow left. Sure she had normal arrows, she knew her aim wasn't the best yet with poisoned arrows all she needed was to nick the kings skin for the poison to take effect.

First shot had hit armor

Second had missed and hit the wall of the opposite cliff.

If this last poisoned arrow missed….she might as well think about tossing herself from the ledge, as much as she wanted to live, death was looking better than a life trapped in a gilded cage. Taking a deep breath Moira knocked her last poisoned arrow, she steadied her breathing, took aim, when she looked into the face of her target this time…. She felt her hands shake, sweat gathering on her clenched fingers even in the howling cold wind swirling around her. This man… this king.. Vasileios, had pushed Moira more then any of her old targets….he’d caught her in their first meeting…. Almost caught her in the damned bath, memories of a nearly naked king swarmed her mind. She shook her head, not closing her eyes, not taking her deep blue eyes off the face of the king.

Just as she was about to let the arrow loose she felt the edge of the ledge she was on shake, then she was falling, the arrow flying to high and missing as she Asharian women fell. Moira scrambled for her daggers, managing to unstrap one and slam it into a chunk of wall, the jolting hault of her decent jared her arm greatly causing Moira to release a pained sound before she bit her lip harshly to keep in any other noises.

Her distraction of a fall of snow and rock had stopped, her arrows had failed and now her arms where shaking from the force of stopping her fall, the one gripping the hilt of her dagger was screaming at her in pain, she’d most likely dislodged something. Harsh pants left her mouth in visible puffs of air as she tried to move her feet to find some sort of grip on the wall of cold stone and ice, Moira knew that the smug king would have spotted her cloaked self by now.

Moira had lost their little game, that didn’t mean she was going to go quietly with the king.

 


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