Unedited

Chapter 5: Do You Take Late Work?

What this fat lard means by "business" turns into a three-hour long argument that requires the assistance of three guards and many restraints.

But let me start from the beginning of the whole exchange.

"So, let me get this straight," I repeat for the tenth time as the king nods with his growing impatience at my slowness.

Good, make him think I'm an idiot.

"You want to hire me to go be hired by someone else and do what again?" The king sighed tiredly and pinched the bridge of his nose, though he must have remembered what and who he was talking to and quickly sat up and cleared his throat.

"Well, not much. I need you to be a fly on the wall while posing as a manservant for this king's family. No bit of information is too small!" He tried to stress the last part and I continued to stare at him with a piercing gaze. I keep a front up, to let this man know that he won't intimidate me. I place my elbows on my knees and lean forward as if I'm about to whisper a secret and the king actually leans in and scrunches his eyebrows with intrigue. A smirk spreads across my lips as I tilt my head a little in my hands.

"No," I say in the sweetest and most kind voice an assassin can muster which is actually pretty nice considering we sometimes have to lure victims and such. King Bardolf continues to make eye contact with me as his slow mind processed the simple word I had given him. His face slowly beginning to turn a molten red color and he backed up until he was sitting pin straight in his obnoxiously tall chair.

His face twisted like he wanted to say something or rip my head off or both at the same time, but he doesn't say anything. He looks more like an ensnared warthog if I had to give a true comparison to anything.

"What do you mean no?!" He hollers finally and I just quirk a brow at him and if my legs weren't chained, I would cross them, so instead I cross my arms and peer back at him with the look of a challenge. "Well a specific definition would be 'a negative response', but I don't think vocabulary is your strong suit?" I continue to pick at the king as his chest puffs. "I could have you beheaded for such a response!" He bellows, gripping his desk like a toddler throwing a tantrum.

I tsk and shake my head, "But you need me alive, am I wrong?" I lick my lips and feel dominance over the situation flood through me as the key continues to glare me down. That's when we hear a laugh at the door and I have to glance back to see who it is.

"Father, didn't I tell you to wait for me before engaging in a deal with him?" A guy may be a little older than me strolls in in freshly pressed trousers and coats as he takes his place standing beside his father.

If the king made that thing, his wife must have been hot to help balance out the ugly.

King Bardolf visibly relaxes as his son stands at his side and eyes me like a cat stalking its prey... That's my job. "You were busy in your lab, I didn't want to disturb you." The king offers as he adjusts himself in his seat and folds his pudgy hands over his desk.

I could be getting so much homework done right now.

His son continues to eye me and I cross my arms tighter because the longer his eyes are on me, the more exposed I feel. "You'll have to excuse my father, he isn't exactly a people person." The male says as he adjusts his weight to one foot and rests his hand on the edge of the king's chair.

I feel a smart-ass retort rest on my tongue, but I swallow it and just keep studying the interaction and movements of the two men in front of me. For some reason this makes the son smile wider and I feel my jaw clench in an annoyance that I can't place.

"I'm sure by now my father has told you about his plan for you to infiltrate King Markos' home and deliver back information?" His voice sailed over the sentence like butter and it just pissed me off. He's the king of pretty boy I absolutely hate. "He said something of the sort," I grumble and the guy just nods.

"Well, I'm afraid the matter is much more important than it appears." He stands back up straight and like the cat he is, prowls closer towards me and I feel my fists tighten out of instinct the closer he approaches.

I open my mouth to snap at him to back off, only to feel a tightening around my throat and the sound of a lock before I can even reach my hands back. I cough for a brief moment, allowing my veil to fall to my shoulders where my face reveals itself to these royals.

I hadn't realized how matted my beautiful hair was, but unfortunately, that is the least of my worries. I reach my fingers up tentatively to the cold metal around my throat until I realize it's basically a dog collar.

"What, you want me to fetch too?" The son and king both laugh and I stab the inside of my cheek with my tongue as I wait for them to finish. "Well, fetch information I suppose if you want to put it like that." The son says as he wipes a tear from the corner of his eyes.

I'm guessing he doesn't laugh very often.

I tilt my head to the side and feel the collar with my fingers, looking for any indication that I can pick it without them noticing.

"Hilarious conversation and all, but putting a collar around my neck isn't going to make me become some dude's servant and give you pricks information on hell knows what." I snap though unlike before the king doesn't get mad.

Mini King Bardolf actually rolls his eyes at me and doesn't act surprised when my collar plops onto the floor with a muffled thud and my eyes look up to him defiantly.

"This is fantastic. You're just as good as we thought you would be." He says through a grin that even makes me squirm in my velvet covered seat.

I tip up the corner of my lip and attempt to play along. "Word gets around about me, huh?" I swing my legs over the edge of the chair to give me a more relaxed appearance as I lazily glance at them with an arrogant air about me. This isn't even a fake feeling, I know I'm a pretty big deal.

King Bardolf and his son chuckle once more and I finally feel as if I'm controlling the show once again. "Oh yes, your status and skill are well known all throughout this land and probably many more." I nod and motion with my hands in a way for them to keep the compliments coming.

"It's also said that you can't be recruited for... Personal matters?" The son leans against the desk, his eyes never leaving my face though I'm not intimidated anymore as all this is doing is just reinstalling my large ego.

"That's right and is there a point to all this?" I make my voice drag as if I'm growing bored which honestly I kind of am.

"Xavier, he isn't going to crack." The king mumbles, giving a name to the man who's still staring at me and it's kind of weird.

"He will, father." For the millionth time, I quirk up my brow and am about to retort with something smart, but at this point, I should learn better than to. An aching sensation spreads from the top of my head and that's all I feel before having a dream as if I'm rolling down a hill and not stopping.

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"Wake up, Edward." A faintly familiar voice fills my headspace.

I have to stop passing out, this is so unprofessional.

"My name is Edgeeee." My voice feels heavy and it feels like it's weighing my head down because I can't lift it.

"Whatever you say, Edgeward." The voice rings again and I want to shred whoever is speaking into such fine pieces that there isn't even an ounce of them left to bury. "What're you, mmmm." A groan rumbles from deep in my throat as a sharp pain pierces my neck though it only lasts for a couple of seconds.

"Just something to finalize our business deal."

My eyes slowly blink open though the world just looks fuzzy and colorful. I don't feel the protection of my shadow, so I must be fully exposed in my mortal form. "Whatdya meaann..?" I feel strength following back into my limps though my arms are bound above my head and legs spread apart like a starfish.

"Take a moment to wake up, Edge. All will be explained ." Something warm rubs across my cheek and pushes my hair back off my face. "Such messy hair."

My vision clouds out again and I'm asleep.

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Waking up this time is completely different. I feel warm and comfortable for once. Not even my own bed feels this soft and relaxing; I almost don't want to wake up, but the anxiety of memories crashing around in my brain forces me into sitting up with a start.

"Holy shit!" I gasp and rub my eyes vigorously and ungracefully until I can see clearly after a couple more blinks. My eyes roam around the room I'm in and I try to recollect why I'd even be here.

My hands go up to my neck where a bandage has been wrapped though that isn't what gives me a heart attack. Without even thinking about my health or any further questions of why, I stumble out of bed, not even bothering to catch myself as I almost trip until I run into the connecting bathroom.

"THEY CUT MY HAIR!!!!" I scream, not caring how un-assassin and silent it is. My fingers run through the mop of hair left on my head, not being able to believe the horror and heartbreak. My hair had always been my choice! Now even that has been taken away from me.

Assassins shouldn't let their emotions rule over their jobs. It can make things messy for everyone involved; well more so than how messy a job can be.

This time is different though. My shadow coats my entire body, making my silhouette unrecognizable with my new haircut. "I'm going to kill those-"

+Unsafe for children and people in general rant+

My eyes snap around until I spot the door that must lead out and raise my foot to kick it open. Before I can kick it open, it opens on its own accord with the prince standing right in front of me.

Even better.

My reflexes may be slow, but I can surely at least hit this dude.

"Down Fido." He presses a button and it feels like I have an electric fence built up inside of me. My shadow instantly flees like a cat sprayed with a hose. A hiss escapes past my clenched teeth as I glare up at the sinister glare of Prince Xavier.

"Ready for your instructions?"