Alex watched the crescent moon rise above the trees of the garden, the Elf’s footsteps echoing through the attic as he watched the stars appear, growing more anxious with each passing second. He knew what she was feeling at that moment, it was a frustrating reality, being so close to her goal, yet patience was a necessity. Alex had been working on the plan for a week, planned it to a perfection, and nothing could throw a spanner in the works. Not even partnering up with an Elf that he met in the attic of his target’s castle, the presence of his new companion had already accounted for the path forward.

  The rational side within him warned the rest to be a bit more cautious around someone who had tried to stab him mere minutes ago. Confronting a red-haired Elf with penetrating emerald eyes bathed in darkness would have been unnerved the greatest of heroes, her visage made even more terrifying by the fact that she towered over him by two inches. However, something about the Elf, something in her eyes when they first locked gaze, put forth a convincing argument to not choke her unconscious before she could blink. Maybe he saw some potential in her to continue in his line of work, or that something about the pain in her eyes reminded Alex about himself.

  _Do this after you’re done._

  “Why are we wasting time?” the Elf’s impatient voice snapped Alex back to the present.

  “Can’t tell you, yet.” He replied, the words causing him to be hoisted by the brim of his hood, her frustration evident as her eyes remained exceptionally still. The voice inside his head pushed to put her in her place, yet he calmly responded, slipping out of her grip before his words ended, “I know that you’re anxious, but there’s no reason to get physical.”

  Brushing off the dust from his cloak, he reminded her, “I don’t fully trust you either, so think before you do something that might provoke me,” As the Elf clicked her tongue, returning to pacing along the window line, allowing him to check the time. Pulling out his pocket watch, his eyes fell upon its minute hand, calculations running rampant before his mind was sure it was the right moment.

  Snapping the copper cover close with a flick of his wrist, Alex added,“ But you are right. We have waited long enough, and we shouldn’t make the Earl wait for his decided fate any longer.” The Elf’s body exuded relief as she started to move towards the door that was at the back of the attic.

  “Not that way,” Alex exclaimed, stopping her in her tracks, knowing that he was grinning like a maniac as he motioned her to follow him.

  He made his way to the other side of the attic, through stacks of painting shoved into boxes full of jewellery, old forgotten chandeliers, and extremely poorly made replications of weapons from legends, crafting a list of anything that seemed stolen or out of place. It took all the will in the world not to explode into a flurry of sneezes as he pushed past the blankets of dust upon the antiquities, the sound of creaking wood beneath unhelpful. The Elf followed close behind, stepping on his heels multiple times, yet never apologising. Thankfully, he soon arrived to his destination, and immediately he could feel an air of doubt from behind as he pressed his back onto the blank wooden wall in front of them.

  “What are you standing there for? Come on, we don’t have any time to lose,” He grinned through his teeth as he motioned her to do the same, which she reluctantly did. “When I say so, push your entire weight against the wall,” he instructed, taking in a deep breath as he focused his muscles for the ordeal ahead and with a tap on the wall, they began. The wall stood there, unwilling to move in spite of their efforts, yet they groaned against it, the planks creaking under their weight, some approaching their limit, crackling echoing through the attic, but finally, Alex felt it cave.

  “Move a bit to your right,” Alex instructed once again, and the Elf did so hesitantly, another tap on the wall, caused them to start to push once more However, this time, a faint mechanical click echoed from behind the wall, and with it the solid barrier finally gave way. The faux wall fell, and the Elf stumbled with it, but he quickly moved to grab the edge of the passage and her arm, preventing them both from tumbling into absolute uncertainty. A glance behind revealed a small chamber that had stretched itself further, narrowing into a tiny passage, and if it had been relayed correctly, a path weaving through the entire castle, hidden behind the stone walls of every room in the building.

  Pulling the Elf back to her feet, Alex motioned her to follow behind as he squeezed into the passage. He considered himself a lean individual, priding himself in being deceptively strong for his appearance, yet even he had to hug the moss-covered stone walls to hobble forward through the escape route. They both shuffled through the passage, the stench of rotten wood wafting through the air, the passage gradually dipping downwards. The dip turned to a drop, but he decided that if she couldn’t climb a ladder down in total darkness, his help would be wasted.

  Sliding down the mouldy poles, his ears picked up something heavy landing on its feet behind as he continued to follow the passage as it made a left, then a right, and suddenly stopped, his eyes revealing a break in the path. The Elf bumped into him, not realising he had stopped, pushing against his back as if he was a wall she had mistaken the way for. Ignoring her, his hand extended to feel the wall in front of him, his fingers running over the familiar texture of lacquered wood. A singular ray of light illuminated the surrounding grey and green rocks, coming from a hole in the wall ahead.

  “We’re here,” Alex whispered back to the Elf, signalling her to remain quiet as he checked his watch. It should have started by now, but he had to restrain himself to just peered through the hole till the dominoes fell. Just as he was told, the passage connected to the Earl’s study room, his vision being met by a large portrait of the Earl as a young, blonde knight on a horse adorning a shimmering golden suit of armour. But Alex needed only to look to its left to see the facade that the painting was depicting.

  Time had not been good to Reginald Hastings, the Earl of Bakelv. He was sitting on an ornate chair, hunched over the table, furiously scribbling on a piece of paper till satisfaction, shabbily stuffing it into an envelope and tossing it onto the pile of others. Alex had met the man once before, and the same emotions of disgust flared up in him at the moment as they did that day. Suddenly, the door to the room violently burst open as a castle servant rushed in.

  The Earl bellowed at the servant, “WHAT?!” not waiting for a response, immediately diving into writing another letter.

  The servant yelped as he stammered to reply, “Sire– the guards– they are reporting that the Garden has been engulfed by flames, it is only a matter of time before the fire reaches the castle, perhaps we sh–”

  “NO!” The Earl shouted, seemingly freezing entire, muttering something to himself, before barking out, “Order the guards to secure the perimeter, and the servants to put out the fire… They actually think they can trick me!”

  “Sire, I don’t think that’s wi–”

  “GET OUT!” the Earl furiously spat, throwing a paperweight at the already closing door, the glass cube shattering against the steel door.

  _I’ll be damned, it actually worked._

  This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

  The Elf must have noticed the giant smile adorning Alex’s face as she pulled him back from the peephole, whispering, “What is going on?”

  He could see the anxiousness spreading across her face, knowing that she was so close to her revenge yet still having to wait, but he had to prioritise what he came for, “Promise me you will do exactly what I tell you to.”

  The Elf reluctantly nodded her assurance, and Alex whispered as he added, “Whatever happens, you will not kill him till I clear you to.”

  He observed her for any sign of opposition, and there was a hint of it, her gaze darting towards the door, her face tensing up as if she was about to burst through, but it disappeared as fast as it came. Satisfied, Alex shifted his attention back to the wall, trying to feel for a groove or a notch. His fingers ran over an indent, whose path formed a panel, careful prying at it led to his nails to pull it out of the socket, and he looked upon a row of books with their pages facing him. He saw a wire emanating from within a book’s pages, and he passed the panel back to the Elf, gesturing her to move back till she was cloaked in darkness, and could carefully push the book. There was a click of a switch, a whir of gears, and the wall popped open.

  It only took his eyes a few moments to adjust to the light and when they did, it took everything he had for Alex to not lose his composure when he saw Hastings’ face. But Alex remained poised, walking up to the Earl and quietly took the chair in front of him. Alex waited for the Earl to regain his cognitive abilities, resting his feet on the table to rest them.

  Seeing this action, Hastings’ entire face bloomed red, his lips parting to scream, only to be pre-emptively cut off by Alex mimicking the Earl’s penetrating and nasally voice, “GUARDS!”

  His screech echoed through the room, but instead of the sound of well-trained men marching through the halls, the only sound that reached Hastings’ ears was of the wind blowing outside. The Earl’s jaw tensed as his face reflected the internal realisation that, at the moment, he was at the mercy of the person sitting in front of him.

  Hastings’ sighed, opening a drawer in his desk as grumbled out, “Who are you, and how much would it take to make you go away?”

  Alex flashed a grin, searching the depths of his soul to make his voice as slimy as the man he faced, “Sire’s head would be sufficient,” studying the Earl’s eyes to observe his response. And what a response it was. Gone was the angry pompous little man from before, being replaced with the greasy scum Alex remembered, as he saw panic and terror fill up the Earl’s spineless body.

  “At least that was the plan,” Alex remarked, getting up from the chair and moving to inspect the bookshelf where he appeared from, “But someone looking for you changed it at the last moment.”

  Hastings’ let out a huge sigh of relief, “The church hired you, didn’t they? Thank the gods,” putting on his shell once again as he continued, “You should learn how to treat your superiors, lest your sharp tongue meet the blade. Honestly, they keep on choosing worse and worse messengers.”

  Alex blew the dust off the books, looking back at the Earl, who was now leaning back on his chair. “I volunteered.”

  “What? Cease these games and just give me the message.” Desperation crept in with his voice, meaning he was feeling something wrong.

  “Considering our history, I’m not shocked you don’t remember me. I'm no one compared to you,” grinning as he uttered the last word, watching as the gears in Hastings’ brain started to slowly turn.

  “Nemo.” There was venom in his voice.

  “See? You’re not as dumb as people say. I thought you should know that someone will attempt to murder you today.”

  Hastings remained silent, so much so that Alex thought he had accidentally killed him due to shock. He pushed against the bookshelf, checking to see its sturdiness as he waited for his response.“How much did they pay you?” he uttered, failing to keep his composure, sweat collecting along his brow.

  Alex replied,“I’m not allowed to say, and my contract doesn't involve assassination.”

  “I’ll triple it,” Hastings responded.

  “Like I said, I’m not killing you today.”

  “My ears work perfectly. The money is to hire you as a bodyguard.”

  Alex thought about it for a moment. A bit of extra coin never hurt him, and his words reflected his current thoughts, “Alright. If you can pay me right now, that is.”

  Hastings pointed to his portrait, adding, “The combination is 7-8-9-99. Empty it.”

  Alex walked over to the painting, pulling a knife out of the shadows and using it to gut the drawn earl. The canvas parted to reveal a gilded safe embedded into the wall, shimmering under the lights above. His hand grasped the cylinder, rotating the dial to the combination, till a heavy thunk reached his ears, and allowed him to turn the handle easily. He scanned the contents of the safe, which varied from watches to gems, but only one thing caught his eye – a plain emerald necklace was strewn carelessly among the riches, and it pinged somewhere in his memory.

  The Earl was starting to get impatient, “Is it to your liking or not?”

  Alex closed the safe’s door, pocketing the necklace and walking back to the bookshelf, “Yes, it is.”

  “Good, then help me get out of this city,” Hastings hastily got up from his chair, grabbing the envelopes on the table, not waiting for an answer

  Alex thought for a moment, his instincts telling him that it wouldn’t hurt, before his mind won the discussion, pulling the book down to reveal the concealed passage once more, exclaiming, “You can kill him now.”

  The gears of the contraption creaked back to life, the sound quickly being followed by the sound of wood breaking on bone.

  The Elf had moved faster than anything Alex had witnessed before. Hastings dropped to the floor, conscious but dazed, blood seeping through his hair, making it seem like a dog’s wet pelt. The Elf appeared from darkness, and the look on her face sent a chill down Alex’s spine. It was not one of anger, but something much more calm. She had replayed this moment hundreds of times in her mind, and the way she walked left no doubt in his mind that she knew exactly what she wanted to do.

  Shoving the table aside, giving Alex a better view of the show, she knelt next to the Earl groaning on the floor, and started slowly, plunging a knife into Hastings’s huge gut. The arc told him that it would not pierce anything important, but it had the desired effect. The Earl’s mouth opened, yet nothing came out, robbed of his ability to scream. Pulling out another knife, she used it to slice both of his achilles’ tendons, all the while staring into his eyes as they begged for mercy. She stood up, giving the Earl some hope, only to crush it along with his left shoulder with the heel of her boot. Stepping over him as he writhed in pain, she stomped on his other shoulder with an even harsher snap, which finally allowed Hastings’ scream to escape his throat.

  But her demeanour changed as the Earl screamed, and Alex recognised the look on her face. Gone was the meticulous behaviour, being replaced with pure anger. The Elf pulled out another knife and used them both to make Hastings’ gut into a pincushion. In and out, the knives went, each time taking with them a piece of the Earl. But slowly the anger faded, as did the thrusts, and Hastings’ screaming stopped.

  The Earl was silenced as his own blood filled up his lung, slowly choking him. But Alex was more interested in the Elf, who was looking at Hastings’s body as it went cold, having finally achieved her revenge. Her anger was replaced, not with happiness or relief but with a look of oblivion. As he watched her, Alex realised why his mind had compelled him to help her.

  _Almost like she reminds you of someone._