She walked through the aisles, observing the number of copper coins the villagers paid for each item. Yup. She was tricked not only by the beverage stall owner but also by all the other merchants.
She sighed. She took a helping of fried sweet potato wrapped in thin white paper, then turned to return from where she came. Thuraya and Mazin must be looking for her by now. She hoped she hadn’t created problems with her sudden disappearance.
But not a step further, the paper bag was wrenched from her grasp. She watched, dumbfounded, as her missing snack dangled from the end of an arrow embedded into the stall, its fetching shaped into a small roaring flame.
Chaos erupted around her. People screamed as they ran in a frenzy. She struggled around the barrage of bodies as she tried to reorient herself and find her way back. A man snapped at her as his arm connected hard with her shoulder.
“Get out of the way!”
She blinked at him from where she sat sprawled on the ground. She struggled to her feet, but soon, another body rammed into her side. She stumbled, her hands flailing by her side before a hand grabbed her arm and dragged her away through a narrow alley.
Daliya gawked at the assassin. “What’s happening?”
He paused. “What do you mean? Didn’t that arrow almost kill you?”
“It was meant for me?” Her eyes widened in disbelief. “But—but—”
The screams in the street intensified, followed by the sound of heavy boots and the clanging of swords.
“Alright. Let’s get you away from here before we get noticed. And close your mouth. It’s unbecoming of someone of your standing.”
She hurried after him, stumbling over barrels and sidestepping wooden logs. He was fast, too fast for her tired legs. And she feared that soon enough, she would lose sight of him.
They navigated through the narrow passages, the sounds fading behind them as they took turn after turn. Another sharp turn, and they reached the end of the alley—or she did. She blinked in confusion, frantically looking around for a sign of the assassin. He was nowhere to be found. She was alone. Alone and completely lost in this maze of alleyways. She couldn’t even get back to the bazaar. She had long lost her way back since the third turn.
A wall stood before her, barring her way to freedom. Just when despair and hopelessness started taking root in her chest, the assassin peered down from over the roof of an adjacent house.
“What are you waiting for? Hurry up!”
“Where did you go?” Her voice was accusing, as if she were admonishing him for abandoning her—which she was.
He raised an eyebrow, the corner of his lips curled up slightly as if her distress amused him. Daliya wanted to throttle him.
She breathed through her panic and looked frantically for something she could use to scale up the wall. She pulled one of the barrels, her nails scraping against the wooden surface. It was heavy, and a suspicious liquid sloshed inside as she moved it. When she returned for another smaller one to haul it up over it, she heard him speak behind her.
“This is taking too long. My legs are about to freeze from waiting. This way is better.”
Without asking for her permission, he picked her up and jumped all the way up the roof like she weighed nothing. She put her hand over her mouth, but despite her best effort, the shriek she tried to hold in managed to escape.
“You can put me down now,” Daliya said. She could feel her face heat up from embarrassment.
“Of course, Your Highness,” he said mockingly.
Daliya glared at him, but her chiding words were lost when he dumped her on the cold stone. She winced as she massaged her side.
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“Stop dilly-dallying. We don’t have much time to waste,” he called from a couple of rooftops away.
She did a double-take. When did he get there?
She struggled a bit to keep her feet steady on the wet stone, barely managing to catch her steps as she nearly slipped down one slop, her fingers digging hard into a chimney’s soot-covered stone. She cursed under her breath, scowling at him as he glanced back at her, ensuring she followed him.
They stopped after a while. Daliya hunched over, her hands braced on her knees as she took big gulps of air to soothe her aching lungs. The bastard looked fine, not even a strand of hair out of place. He regarded her with a raised eyebrow as if wondering how he got saddled with someone as pitiful as her.
“Not one for rooftop meetings, are you?”
“Why am I even here? I didn’t do anything to anyone! Why would anyone try to kill me?”
The assassin rolled his eyes. “Did you forget whose body you inhabit right now? Like it or not, you’re this empire’s only princess.”
“Shouldn’t that mean that I would be safe here?”
He leveled her with a look. “Not everyone is happy with how things are handled here.”
She shot him a suspicious look. Was he one of them then? But he already knew she wasn’t the real princess. He wouldn’t murder her, would he?
She glanced at her surroundings, her eyes darting around, looking for the fastest way to escape in case he had a change of heart, and decided he was the one who wanted first dibs on the princess’s blood. Her fingers twitched, desperate for a weapon to defend herself. She shouldn’t have left her sword back at the inn, no matter how heavy or impractical it was. Not that she thought she could take on an assassin. He was far beyond her capabilities.
“You think really loudly, don’t you?”
Her head snapped to look at him. He had a smirk on his face, his brow raised.
He sat down, his legs crossed, and looked at her, his head resting on the palm of his hand. “So…?”
“What?” she snapped.
“What brings the princess and her knights to this small, humble town? It’s a bit below Your Highness’ standard.”
She scowled at him. “Stop mocking me. You already know the truth.” She sneered.
He hummed, his fingers pinching his chin. He tilted his head to the side, regarding her with an amused grin. “True.”
She took a deep breath and focused on the man before her.
“I’m looking for the Seer… or the princess was looking for her.” Her voice lifted at the end, making her answer sound like a question.
He stilled, his eyes narrowing. “What for?”
“I don’t know.” Her shoulders slumped in defeat. “I don’t know why I’m here or how to get back home. I don’t know anything. I just… I just thought maybe the Seer the princess was looking for might know something.” Her voice lowered, almost a whisper. “I just want to go home.”
His eyes softened a bit at her words.
“Hmm, she might be able to help you.”
Her heart soared. She took a step toward him. “Really?”
He raised a finger. “I said maybe.” Seeing her dejected look, he added, “It wouldn’t hurt to talk to her. She might know why you got here.”
She nodded. “How do I find her?”
He tilted his head to the side and chuckled. “Well, wouldn’t that be easy? You don’t find her. She finds you. If she has something she needs to tell you, you’ll find her then.”
“That’s not helping.” Her mood soured.
He shrugged. “Seers hide for a reason. Imagine having a hoard of people harassing you every day to show them their future.”
“Isn’t there a place she might be hiding?”
His lips twisted into a frown. “Hard to say.” He paused. “But one place I know you won’t find her in is the food district.” His eyes shone with amusement. “Gotta say, it’s a bit weird to see the princess turn into a glutton.”
Daliya could feel the flush travel up her neck and color her cheeks. “I’m not a glutton!” she protested.
“Right, of course.” He grinned.
Her scowl deepened at his mocking tone.
“You might want to try somewhere with not much of a crowd. Somewhere away from the empire’s searching eyes.” He got to his feet and dusted his long jacket. “Things must have died down at the GreenMarsh Street. We need to get you back. Wouldn’t want to have the whole of the knight’s order on our backs for kidnaping their dear princess now, would we?”
She was a bit wary when he took her back to the inn where she was residing. Even worse was his ability to slither unnoticed inside the inn under the knights’ watchful eyes.
Were all assassins this skilled, or was it just him? That was something to worry about if she was to remain her posing as the princess.
“Imperial knights are shitty at mingling with their surroundings.” He gave her as a way of explaining. He paused at her windowsill. “Do yourself a favor and avoid too much attention. Not everyone here is an imperialist.” Then he disappeared into the night.
