"My Prince?"

I turned to eye my childhood friend warily, it had been a long night, "What is it, Vail?"

What's with that look? I thought. Why is he looking at me like I've killed someone...Did he find the bodies?

"W-well, I, uh overheard you and...someone named Liv last night and uhm..." Vail cleared his throat, at a loss for words, his hands fidgeting with the hilt of his sword nervously.

My eyes narrowed. So he heard everything, how unfortunate.

"You heard nothing of consequence Vail." I said cooly. I kept my face straight, better to figure out how much he knows by baiting him first.

Don't make me kill you Vail, I don't need any more complications.

"For nine years you have served as a palace guard, surely by now you know nobles have a peculiar sense of humor compared to peasants, yes?" Come on, you can't possibly confront me like this without information that would ruin me Vail.

"B-but last night, you were discussing the most potent poisons...and... and your father's favorite drinking chalice." He whispers the last phrase of his sentence like it was some kind of dangerous taboo. Though I suppose to him it was. I sighed in irritation, the look of determination on his face told me he wasn't going to let it slide.

The one time you actually overhear something you won't be willing to drop it will you? Honestly, I can't have anything nice can I.

Vail had always been one for rules though, so I suppose I shouldn't be too surprised, like that one kid in tutoring that would always snitch when me and my friends went out to have some fun.

...That one kid who we buried in a ditch on the side of an abandoned old house.

"Vail...father is getting old and my older brothers are not fit to lead..." I guess we're going with the truth then, way to go brain.

Vail just stared at me, face paling as realization of what I meant struck him. I could have sworn his eyes flickered to the door, as if weighing whether he could out run me. He can't, of course, but panic does crazy things to a mans mind.
"I-I have t-to go..." Vail said, stuttering worse than before, his eyes flitted to the door agian and this time I caught it, that look of desperation. The look he always got right before he went and did something royally, gloriously stupid, and those somethings almost always ended up giving me a damn headache. 

"If-if, you'll excuse me my prince." Bowing hurriedly Vail walked swiftly from the room.

I listened intently to see whether he would run and sure enough I could hear his pounding footsteps as he ran down the hallway a few seconds later.

I reached up to massage my brow. Really? Must we do this?

A million thoughts swam through my mind but no solution fit my dilemma. Setting my jaw I surveyed my surroundings, a nervous habit I had developed to make my stress less obvious. My quarters were large and spacious, perfect for hiding my dark secrets. My four poster bed was in the room to the right of my study were I currently stood and my library and artifact collections were in the room to my direct left. Like the rest of the palace, the chiseled stone walls were of granite and sparkled in the sun that made its way inside the palace through various windows. Turning to the largest window in my study, I stared up at the sun, wondering if the goddess would ever forgive me for my sins.

"Liv?" I knew she was there, I could feel her golden, yellow flecked eyes staring into my back, waiting for my final decision, and my order. She was always like that, the calming presence that helped me think, even if she was beyond deadly, I closed my eyes. A soft thump sounded as she slid to the ground from her perch on the ceilings scaffolding.

"We can find another way if you want to, there isn't any proof," her calm voice, gentle but strong, washed over me.

She and I were both alike, Yin and Yang, the killer in the sun and the killer in the shadows.

While I will be fine if we fail, if I fail, Liv will die as a result. The one person who sees me and doesn't shy away will die if I fail.

I opened my eyes, my descision was made. Sorry my friend. May you find solace in the goddess's eternal embrace. I truly meant it. "Do it," I said softly.

We buried the body in an old cemetery that night, the one the commoners thought was haunted, the one no one would ever think to look in.