A Tale of Traitors

The Assassin--Part 3

          It had been a minute since he'd seen the spirits pursuing him. He knew they were constantly seeking any hint of his smell, any drop of blood, but they were never able to find him. He was too good at disappearing. He never expected Willow to proclaim the same dark curse that he had all those years ago, the very same one she had disciplined him for saying. He shook his head as his griffin tore through the air, spiraling to dodge the attacks of the lost souls behind them. The man and the gryffin flung through the storm clouds, dodging the lightning. Startled by the thwacking of thunder. The spirits were gaining on them. It was incredibly dangerous...

He wouldn't lose them until he knew he was far enough away to give Willow some time to recover.

Then, he was launched back into his memories.




          Adresin stepped cautiously upon the floor of the terrifying throne room, walking down towards his father, Tormod. He had never liked the throne room. It was too cold, lonely, and dark to play in when he was a child, and it was much different from the palace he grew up in with his mother. It had been so many years since he'd seen her, but he didn't think he would ever desire to see her again. She would be disgusted if she could see her son now--an assassin, a slave to an evil lord with complete control of Adresin's destiny. Disgusting. Adresin never saw it that way, though.

Didn't matter how he saw it.

"Assassin," Tormod spoke, a booming voice that was frightening, disturbing, and powerful.
"Your highness." Adresin said calmly.
"I have a new assignment for you. One that will prove your worth. Do you understand?"
Adresin nodded.
"If you succeed, my kingdom will one day be yours. As you know, Assassin, my power is fading. I'm running out of..." He shook his head. "In the next year, my fate will be determined. I may live, but only for another couple decades. Or, I may die. Either way, if you succeed now, my throne will pass to you, my power onto you. I have raised you with the intention of bringing up a ruler stronger than myself, and your calling will be twice that which mine was. You know what must be done. You are capable of immense power--you can squash any rebellion, rule with an iron fist. Is this not why you were born?"
"It was." Adresin responded calmly, although a new desire kindled in his eyes.
"Good." Tormod grinned. "Your target is the queen of the Elvish realm. Those with her position should be under my command. She is more of a puppet, so the people feel as if they have some control over their own realm. But she has chosen to side with the resistance." He mumbled a spell and a book appeared out of thin air and into Adresin's hands, revealing the face of the Elven queen. Her skin was the lightest shade of pink, elegant and glowing from sheer joy that probably made Tormod furious. Her large eyes were a deep blue, and her long magenta hair was elaborately braided into her elegant silver crown. The freckles on her nose and cheekbones were slight but noticeable and gave her smile twice the warmth that shone through her eyes. I turned my eyes from the first page to the second, where there was a photo of another woman. Her skin was metallic silver, and her long blue and purple hair was braided and pinned up in a bun. Her eyes were white, the irises etched in black, like those of a lioness. There was no imperfection in her appearance, accept that instead of wearing the robes of nobility, she was clothed in armor, with a mighty bow swung around her shoulder and a sword in her hand.
"Who is the other woman?" Adresin asked.
"The rebel we have been seeking," Tormod growled. "Her name is Willow Aredhel, and she has been attacking our shipments of young recruits before they can leave her realm. She has also led teams to destroy our Exterminators, and I believe she has found some way to pierce their armor. Intelligence tells us that she is one of the most trusted advisors of our beloved queen, here." He motioned back to the book. "Kill them both."
"Yes, your highness." Adresin waited to be dismissed, but Tormod eyed him curiously.
"Watch out for Ms. Aredhel," he said, incredibly seriously. "She can be persuasive."
"Pardon me, Father, but are you warning me to not get attached?" Adresin asked in evident surprise.
"Yes, Adresin." His father didn't understand what was so shocking. "Go undercover, that's the best way. But stay uninvolved. You're dismissed."





          The assassin shot a few spells at the spirits, knowing they didn't hold much power. He shook his head in annoyance, but almost chuckled at the memory--it appeared he did get sort of involved... Tempest roared against the pouring rain, his cries reaching down to the surface below. Probably being mistaken by the Averages for a plane descending. The assassin thought they were far enough from Willow for it to be alright to begin disappearing. He yelled commands into the ear of the gryffin, and they took off faster than before.





          His plan was cunning, and definitely dangerous. But it had to work. He waited in the car full of teenagers and children. While most children were selected for Tormod's training in their younger years, there were teenagers and even some young adults who were also found to be worthy. Adresin had just turned 20, which was a year older than Willow, so he had to hope that she found nothing out of the ordinary with his age. He couldn't get close to the queen without getting to Willow first. For that, he needed her trust. It would be a long process, but he would succeed. The queen would fall, and Willow would follow. Then, he would have reached a new level of power, and possibly impress his father. Tormod was worried about this warrior, even though she couldn't escape her realm. Was one woman and a team of puny elves really doing that much damage?
          The commotion erupted suddenly, demolishing the silence of the cold winter night. He knew right away that the warrior had come. Within minutes, silence was restored to the wilderness and the trunk of the truck was pried open. The kids--all green- and yellow-skinned--stormed out crying and screaming, begging for their parents and blank-ies. Then, there were three teenagers, including Adresin, placed strategically in the back. They helped push the kids out of the truck and carry the smaller children to safety.
"It's HER!" One of the smallest children screeched happily, pointing to the warrior. "My mommy told me about you!" The child sprinted towards her as the warrior smiled warmly and knelt down to the child's eye level. Without waiting, the child fell right into her arms and cried happy tears to have been spared a "horrible" fate. Adresin wished he could understand that feeling. What am I thinking? He helped another child out of the vehicle. They should wish they are as lucky as me. More children crowded around the warrior until she rose and faced the crowd.
"Listen up," the warrior's voice rose above the rest. "We can't take you home, or Tormod will find you once more. The only option for safety and freedom from him is to come with us, where we will clothe and feed you. You will be trained and protected by my crew and me. If that freedom is what you want, then you can load into our cars now. You may follow him," she pointed to a really creepy-looking old man with a nasty scar down his face. Was he a... no way...
"Don't be fooled by his appearance," she smiled again. "He's quite the--charmer. Those who wish to go home, or go off into the wilderness on your own, you are free to do so. We have ten minutes before a patrol comes by, and we must all be gone. Anyone on the road at that time will probably be killed. Anyone who's coming with me, let's go."
After this blunt  monologue, each and every child ran to the old man's side, and he barked at everyone to stay close to him. She held the three oldest elves aside and questioned them each separately to ensure that they weren't spies. But her tests wouldn't work on Adresin, who had lying in his blood, and he was found to be innocent. She explained to them that they had caught many spies this way, and it was always the saddest when they had to kill teenagers to protect the others. But she assured each of them that no matter what she'd have to do, she would secure their safety. It was almost too easy for an evil assassin to sneak into the guarded, disguised, and enchanted fortress of those who stood directly on his path to glory.

So easy, in fact, that he almost laughed.





          He had come a long way since then. Still pursuing Willow. Still under the watchful eyes of the spirits. Still hating the throne room that his father summoned him to. This was a bad situation... but, like all the others, he'd escape this one too. He popped open the small bottle of vomit-smelling liquid. What's this even called? He grimaced, then chugged the liquid and tossed a chunk of raw meat into Tempest's mouth. The meat contained the potion, so Tempest could travel with him. He knew too well that the spirits could border jump too. But he dared to wonder... Usually border jumping can only be done when touching the ground. Otherwise, one can be shattered by the force of air shooting through into another dimension. Their body could be torn apart like a rag doll. Best of all, one could appear randomly in the realm, without having any idea of where they could land. Or, they could be shot into the cold expanse of unforgiving space. None sounded appealing, especially because he still had a mission to accomplish.

There was the risk of death.

Of being stuck in space.

Possibly torn apart.

Or even ending in the wrong realm and making new enemies there.

They were approaching the edge, where Earth meets Realm 5.

Sounds like a flawless plan, he thought sarcastically as he directed Tempest as high as they could get.

He fell into that familiar trance as his head flung uncontrollably through the clouds and his spirit shifted realms.