His Assassin and His Creator

First Date

Published 06/05/23

1 Day Later
Percy's POV

I creep through the door, my gaze penetrating as I stare silently at the king sitting before me. He appears to be hunched over some sort of paper, pen in hand as his fingers drum anxiously against his ornately carved wooden desk.

"Ahem," I cough into my hand, foot restlessly tapping against the intricate, plush rug beneath my feet.

The man startles, hand grabbing something - a dagger - from under his desk as he rises to his feet to face me.

"How did you get in here?! Guards!"

"Your guards cannot help you now."

"What do you want?" the man questions, scowl unrelenting on his face when he doesn't hear the pounding of feet and clinking of armor.

"Your death," I tell him simply, head tilting as I pull out a knife to spin between my fingers.

The man's eyes follow my movements, and he gulps as he realizes he is outmatched. "And if I offered you money?"

"Well I'd definitely take that...And then kill you!" I chirp, my eyes crinkling behind my mask as I smile cheerfully.

The man splutters, stance shifting as his hand tightens around his dagger.

But before he has a chance to do anything, I throw my own knife with pinpoint accuracy; the weapon finds its target in the man's chest, and I watch as he falls to the ground.

I walk over to him, pressing a foot against his throat as he begins to choke on his own blood. "Hopefully you will no longer be a bother to people."

"Who...are you?!"

"You may call me Sotiras." And with those last words the king finally stops struggling, a small rivulet of blood still flowing down his cheek to splatter droplets on the floor.

Yanking my knife from the man's chest, I wipe the blood off on his clothes before standing and scanning the room.

My eyes land on a small door off to the left, opposite the wall of windows next to the desk.

Curiously I approach the thick slab of wood, twisting the iron doorhandle and letting the door fall open with a creak. I step inside, following the tunnel down until I am led into a small chamber containing lots of cells holding...kids?

My jaw clenches, and I suddenly wish I had spent a bit more time with the king.

And then I catch sight of an older woman, expression regretful as she crouches by the bars of a cell and speaks gently with a young boy no older than six.

"Are you in charge here?"

The woman jumps, armor clanging as she stands and fumbles for her sword.

"Don't bother. I would've killed you already if I wanted to." The woman pauses, letting her sword slide back into her scabbard as she eyes me warily, a steady hand covering the young boy's as he watches me worriedly.

"So what do you want?" the woman wonders, gaze dark.

"Your king is dead. I killed him." Gasps ring out in the room, all of the kids tentatively coming towards the front of their cells now as they look upon me with awe. "Please," I ask, looking at the women before me, "let these kids go."

"I-of course..." she murmurs, shakily fiddling with a ring of keys as she rushes around to unlock all the cells.

As kids come pouring out, I notice the young boy the woman had been talking to hasn't moved, an older girl now next to him as she tugs on his arm.