The Assassin and Her Prince

Chapter Twelve

Chapter twelve

From the moment she wakes up that morning, Rayla can't wipe the happy smile from her face. Since she first arrived at the castle, she has never been so eager to get ready for the day to come, but she can't wait to spend the entire day with Cal as they no longer need to attend the lengthy discussions. And, for the first time in what Rayla considers to be far too long, she doesn't have to wear an uncomfortable, and not to mention, incredibly impractical dress. Once she's pulled on a simple but still very pretty set of clothes and braided her hair off her face, she briefly admires herself in her full-length mirror before she sets out in search of her fiancé.

After a few minutes of fruitless searching, she bumps into Ezran in the hallway, who appears to actually be losing a game of hide and seek with Bait. Ezran happily agrees to help her find Cal, provided she helps him track down his pet first and, knowing it was only a matter of time before the glow toad in question gives away his position with his namesake shine, she agrees with little persuasion; finding Cal was incentive enough.

"Last I saw, he was headed to the blacksmith. I'll take you there if you want," Ez offers brightly, Bait snuggled in his arms.

Without waiting for a reply, he grabs her hand and drags her towards an annexe where a plume of grey smoke rises up from one of the many, tall chimneys. The royal blacksmith is equipped with a dozen large furnaces and every weapon-crafting tool known to man, but these lay discarded, replaced by mundane, cooking apparatus the smithy has been tasked with producing instead. The raw smell of coal and molten iron, like earth and fire, drifts from the stone structure. As Ez leads her inside, she's hit by an intense heat emanating from the lone furnace; the bellows manned by a figure wearing a long leather apron, a pair of thick protective gloves and round, tinted goggles. Smothering a snicker at Cal's odd appearance, she picks her way through the disorganised filing system arranged on the floor, courtesy of the royal blacksmith, careful not to disturb a pile of dangerous-looking sharpening tools. Finally noticing her stealthy approach, Cal yelps, ceasing his work instantly and attempts to hide his project behind his back, snapping shut a small box, lying open on the far end of the construction table placed conveniently between the pair.

"Rayla!" he squeaks. "What are you doing here?" he asks, trying to sound casual, leaning awkwardly on the table, blocking her view of the tiny box.

More interested by the shiny mystery objects glinting from behind him, she asks coyly, "What's that?"

With his free hand, he slides his goggles up to his forehead, revealing owl-like soot marks around his eyes and Rayla smiles affectionately at his adorableness.

"Nothing," he brushes off, too quickly, panicked eyes darting back to the box.

Noticing his distraction, she finally clocks the small object, making a grab for it before he can even react.

Dancing out of his reach, box in hand, Rayla pries open the soft velvet lid and gasps at the beautiful diamond ring nestled in a plush velvet cushion.

"You made this?" she whispers in awe.

Pulling of his leather gloves, he rubs the back of his neck in embarrassment. "It was supposed to be a surprise," he admits, lying the half-finished dual blades he was hiding behind his back on the construction table so that he can take her dainty hand in his. "These too," he says, placing a kiss on the back of her hand. "Rayla, I want to spend the rest of my life with you," he murmurs lovingly. "I want to grow old with you."

He takes the ring from the box and slides it onto her finger, but she pulls away as if she'd been burned.

"No," she says quietly, tears brimming. "How could I have been so stupid?" She berates herself and pushes him away, stumbling towards the door, past a confused Ez and knocks over a pile of unfinished pots and pans so he can't follow, leaving Cal feeling as though his heart has just been ripped to shreds.

A/N: I hope you enjoyed that chapter and if you did, don't be a silent reader! Thanks to my beta midnightpansy!

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