HUNTED ━━ obi x oc

stowaway | 0.17

I don't know what that man has planned but whatever it is, I don't like it.

~~~

I hastily made my way back to my quarters as I kept my hand pressed firmly against my neck. "Shit," I cursed under my breath. That damned prince. I hate him. My eyes rolled involuntary as I remembered his statement.

"Seems I aimed a little too close."

"Tch. What bullshit," I said as I threw open my door. With a groan, I peeled away the green cape from my neck and inspected it for any damages. To my surprise, it wasn't stained. The blood merely wiped off with the swipe of my fingers.

What the hell type of fabric do they use in this place?

"Whatever," I muttered to myself as I tossed the fabric onto my unused bed. I quickly shed my blood stained shirt, peeling away the sticky fabric as it clung awkwardly to my skin. I was slightly alarmed to see just how much blood I had lost. The entire back of my once dark green top had been replaced with a brownish scarlet. My eyes narrowed in annoyance. As an assassin, I learned to always travel light. This shirt was the only one I owned. Damned prince. Luckily for me, Kiki had given me a few extra upon my arrival to the castle.

Opening my wardrobe, I settled for a light beige top that would end just below my belly button. A bit scandalous but no matter. I laid it out on my bed next to my cape before wiping any remaining blood from my body. Using a pail of cold water given to me by the maids, I wet a small towel and held it to my neck. I hissed at the sensation. When I pulled it away, the white towel was bright scarlet. Why isn't it stopping? It had been nearly two hours since the attack. It should have stopped by now. Making my way over to the small mirror next my wardrobe, I leaned in to inspect my injury. My eyes widened as I saw for the first time how bad it looked. The gash took up most of my neck and was about three inches long. This is going to need stitches. I sighed as I reached into my wardrobe for the first aid kit I had tucked away—one can never be too safe in this profession. I grimaced as I pulled out the curved needle. I hate needles. After knotting the thread around the end, I brought it up to the flesh of my neck, shivering as the cold metal met my skin.

"Here goes nothing."

~~~

After tying off the last knot, I quickly cut the remaining thread and cleaned off the needle. A sigh of relief escaped my lips as I pat my neck with a damp towel, washing away any traces of blood left. After inspecting my needle work in the mirror, I quickly put away the rest of my materials and returned the kit to my wardrobe.

"Not to shabby," I said, closing my wardrobe and taking a final glance in the mirror. The stitching pattern I used was different than typical stitches. It was a trick I learned from my mother as a child to help wounds heal faster. I smiled at the brief nostalgia as I pulled my new shirt over my head, carefully avoiding the stitches. I grabbed my old cloak and secured around my neck before walking out the door. Normally, I would only wear my cloak when traveling but hiding my neck seemed to be a worthy occasion. With a sigh, I quickly doused my new green cape in water, washing off any remaining blood and hung it up to dry before heading out the door.

As I made my way through the halls, I noticed the guards had been moved and I tried my best to take mental note of their new stations. Prince Izana had made sure to scramble them up to where none of them knew each other well enough to strike up a conversation. In his absence, many of the guards Zen had stationed next to one another were close. Zen didn't mind if they enjoyed themselves, he figured they did better work that way.