The Assassin's Crown

•Chapter two- Part 1•

EDITED[✓]

"Marisol, stay still." The head maid, Aunt Hilda scolds me. She's not technically our aunt but the rest of the staff– the servants and slaves–and the assasins call her that. Aunt Hilda is in charge of the servants in the palace. She used to look after us when we were younger.

The assasins are what you could say are more privileged than the servants. We are being trained to protect the king and his family at all cost. It's been drilled into our heads that the lives of the royal family is far more important than our own. Therefore, if it were to come down to us making the decision of losing the life of a royal and ours, we should spare the life of a royal.

I flinch as Aunt Hilda cleans the wound on my cheek with an alcohol filled cloth from where Liam scratched me. Aunt Hilda gives me a stern look.

"Sorry," I try to give a sheepish smile but it only causes my cheek to hurt more.

I walk out of Aunt Hilda's place and move two doors to my left. Opening it, I walk into a room full of three girls my age.

"Hey, Mari!" Alexa greets.

"Hey," I say.

"We heard you beat Liam today, in sword play." Jane says, she's the eldest of us.

I pinch my brows. "You heard of that already?"

"Exactly," Jane says. "Gossip spreads fast," She turns to look at the only red head in the room. "Right, Dolly?"

Dolly doesn't share her enthusiasm. "Unfortunately." She turns to me, her green eyes ever piercing. "Liam doesn't like to lose. I hope you know that. I doubt he's gonna let you off the hook after humiliating him like that."

I face her. " I know. Don't you think it's-"

A knock interrupts me mid sentence. "Who's that?" I mouth to Jane.

Jane doesn't answer and turns to the door. "Enter."

A tall man in the guards' uniform walks into the room."I have been sent to relay a message."

Jane nods."Speak."

"Marisol is being summoned to Lord
Hemmington's quarters."

Lord Joseph Hemmington. I won't speak of this despicable human being. But all you need to know is that he is a disgusting sac of snail slime.

Jane's eyes widen a little, her expression unreadable. But I can see the wheels turning in her head. She nods a little. "Very well."

The guard leaves the room and a feeling of dread settles among us. Dolly looks smug. "Spoke too soon."

Alexa and the rest of us send a chilling glare her way.

~•~
Life update. I'm currently standing in front of the door of Lord Hemmington's quarters.
There's this kind of weight in my mind like something bad is going to happen and I feel like I'm not prepared for anything. I clear my thoughts and with a deep breath, I knock on the door. Another maid- probably from another wing of the palace or a new maid- opens the door.

She looks at me from the top of my head to the tips of my shoes. Yup, from the way she's sizing me up she's probably a new maid...or she's just plain rude.

I look at her with a blank face. "I've been summoned by Lord Hemmington."

Her eyes widen and she opens the door a little wider. "Right this way."

I'm going to keep the description short. It looks like a mini flat. Yes, a living room, dining and the likes. It also looks like it cost a fortune.That's because it probably does.

The bedroom is ornately designed as expected. With neutral colours, one would expect the room to look dull. But no, unfortunately it isn't. There's a queen sized bed in the centre of the room. Two nightstands on either side of the bed. There's a white double door leading to a balcony overlooking the garden and the courtyard (where I was training earlier). There's a wallpaper above the bed depicting a battle scene, which was gory, might I add. I'm not exactly sure how the man sleeps at night.

After peeping in the bedroom of lord Hemmington, I'm about to leave before I'm caught when a voice is heard.

"Miss, I am sure his lordship will not appreciate you looking into his private chambers like a common thief planning a robbery." The chambermaid chides, a stern look in her eyes.

Ouch. I was right. She is just plain rude.

"I'm so sorry, I-"

“Do not overstep your boundaries.”

The rude chambermaid turns away from me and she freezes before curtseying stiffly, bowing her head slightly. “Lord Hemmington! Lord Brown! My apologies, I-”

Lord Hemmington waves his hand, dismissing her and effectively shutting her up. I almost chuckle, clearing my throat before the sound can make itself known. Unfortunately, that draws me to the centre of attention.

Lord Hemmington smiles. “Mira, leave us,” he turns to me his eyes glinting with mischief and amusement.

Hey, don't forget to vote if you enjoyed this chapter! Or drop a comment. I still shamelessly want to know what's going on in your head. I'm not naturally this creepy, I swear😁

~ Beryl