Steel Assassin

Heartbroken

(By now...you should know what the italics mean 👀)

Elowen's POV:

Her breath hitched in her throat and her inhale caught in her throat, sounding like a cross between a choke and a gasp. Atlas turned to her in alarm, "Are you alright? What happened?"

Elowen coughed to cover up her apparent shock, "N-Nothing. I choked on air."

Atlas giggled, "How in the world do you do that? I couldn't even if I tried to."

Elowen smacked his head lightly and said in her best nagging tone, "Don't question me, you little goldfish."

Atlas squeaked a little and tried to squirm out of Elowen's grip and failed miserably. Atlas sighed, "What now? If my father dies soon, I'll have to take over swiftly or the nearby countries will see the absence of a leader as an invitation to attack us. But...being the king will make it challenging to find the person that wants to kill me..."

Elowen thought about her reply, "Well, if your father dies and the Soul-reaper doesn't came to me, the client will most likely be your mother."

Atlas shrugged, "Might as well go kill her right? I mean, she'll an obstacle in my way under my rule

Elowen cracked her knuckles, "Wait. Your father might not be as supportive as you may think. He might be putting on a guise as a supportive parent. You do know that if the client dies without my part of it, you will die?"

Atlas tensed, "I'm very sure that my father does not wish death upon me," there was a note of steel in his voice, as though he was completely sure of what he said.

Elowen bit her lip hard, a droplet of blood drawn from the pressure. "That's a huge risk. You're willing to take it?"

Atlas nodded, "I mean, even if I die, I can leave the country in Priera's hands. I can trust her. But I worry for her safety. My mother might try to remove her from the throne, if that happens...but what I'm saying is, it doesn't matter if I die. No one cares, and anyone who does is dying."

Elowen parted her lips to answer, her eyes lit with determination, but the words caught on her throat. Her eyes dimmed. Her words died out and Atlas seemed to gather himself together. He smiled briefly at Elowen and said, "You need a place to stay?"

Elowen nodded, "Yeah, I do..."

Atlas grabbed her hand and pulled her, guiding her towards a room. It was a few doors away from Atlas' and he unlocked the door with a set of keys he took out from his pocket. Elowen noticed that there was only 3 keys and she wondered why there were only so few.

Before she could speak, he turned to her and smiled, "Get some rest, Lowie."

Elowen smiled awkwardly and pushed the door open. She crept inside and turned around, whispering, "Thanks for this..."

"No problem," he winked and shut the door, leaving Elowen stunned. She shook her head aggressively and thought, 'Of course, he'll naturally be flirty. He's a literal prince. Ugh, why did I think he meant it?'

Elowen buried her face into her hands. She groaned in exasperation and growled a little. Her slender and long fingers pressed against her forehead. Tears started to stream from her eyes, that were squeezed shut in disappointment. 

A tiny sob escaped her throat and she swallowed it, causing her to hiccup. She forced her numb legs to carry herself to the bed that wasn't even hers. As she approached the bed, she took one last step, channeling all the energy she had left into that one move.

Her knees trembled and they crashed against the wooden lining of the bed. They crumpled slowly, hitting the ground with a soft thud. She buried her face into the bed, arms crossed in front of her. 

After a long time of crying, she felt drowsy, dreary and fatigued. So, she forced herself to her feet again and she crawled onto the bed, laying her head on the pillow that looked fresh. Elowen thought, 'I'm a fool. Loving someone will only end up causing more pain for me.'

With heavy eyes, sleep crept up on her like an unforeseen shadow and took her. 

[698 words]