As much as Aloysia enjoyed those midnight strolls through the tamed wilderness residing at the palace, the real jungle she still wished to explore laid further out than the castles boundaries, past the mountainous hills-tops, past the endless forests and into the multitude of villages, each with something to offer.
Huffing, while wrapping the velvet cloak around her body, she was cautious of the night sky as it continued to hail snow for the 3rd day running.
Her daggers, that felt at home sheathed on her hip provided little comfort while the hood felt suffocating.
Normally, Aloysia would scowl at the bitter cold chilling her to the bone, but now, she embraced it. Each pinch it left, served as a reminder that she was alive and could feel every muscle contracting, each heartbeat; so in tune with her body.
She inhaled the crisp air. Her mind trailing off to the town around her.
Aloysia was perched within a village close to the remarkable clock tower thrumming in the distance. It was one of the landmarks that brought people to the south, one she had seen many times yet still marvelled over it whenever she saw it.
Music flooded the streets, the night markets bustling with customers while the day slept. Even at dawn, the south was still alive.
And she thrived.
Deciding against loitering in a spot for too long, she hopped down a drain pipe from a cobblestone building, it's rough exterior housing a beautiful flower shop.
She often liked to remain there, allowing the breeze to carry the scent of the fresh flowers below.
The concrete beneath her feet was rough, gripping onto her boots as she turned to follow the back lanes, the music drowning out at the distance.
However, filling the gap left by the music, a rattling of iron dripping to the floor caught her attention, a noise resonating from a nearby lane. It sounded as some sort of conflict.
She smirked.
"Time to play" she grinned to herself.
Following the trail like a shadow, she reached the vicinity where the conflict was brewing, and to her satisfaction she saw two men at each other's throats; a discarded knife clattering to the ground as well as a conversation to which her perky ears couldn't help but eavesdrop.
"You mad bastard!! What in the gods are you-" his sentence was harshly cut short, as a fist pummelled directly at his face, the man's head spinning off at the impact.
He stumbled back, baring his teeth.
"Bastard!" He yelled, grabbing the man's collar in retaliation and delivered a fast blow to the forehead. A small drop of blood dribbled down, a minuscule cut now gracing his features.
He winced, nose scrunching as he wiped the sliver of blood onto his hands, eyeing it with an anger that gave Aloysia goosebumps.
"You will pay for what you've done! For everything you've done against my family!!" He roared, lunging at the man with a speed even she blinked twice at.
The man on the opposing end of that force yelped backwards, reaching desperately for the dagger metres away- a waste of time.
Before he knew it his body was shoved against the wall by a hand gripped around his throat.
The man's face was inches from him as he spat, "Even death is too good for filth"
The pure hatred that he spoke with was un-wavering, strengthening his grip on the man now squirming in his hold.
"I- I- didn't-" he could hardly choke out a word, his hands trying desperately to remove the ones dragging him further up the wall.
He was like a restless animal caught in the claws of defeat.
"Save your breath" he breathed down the man's face, eyes condescending.
She'd seen enough.
Walking with a predatory stillness, and trying not to interrupt, Aloysia sashayed towards the abandoned dagger, examining it with a disproving frown for a few seconds.
She reached for her own but paused, feeling the eyes on her before they grew wide at her presence... before she heard the gasp.
She grinned, continuing the motion of reaching for her daggers.
A drop of feet, the man pinned now hobbling against the wall, trying to inhale much needed air to his oxygen starved lungs.
His coughs were strained and raspy, an indentation of a hand prudent on his skin.
"My my, what have we here?" Aloysia asked nonchalantly, her tone like warm venom.
The man in question -the one not wheezing on the floor- only stared, gulping loudly as his body couldn't react.
He swore, such a vulgar word that even Aloysia noted it down.
"Please, I- we have no business with you" he almost had his hands up in surrender, his thick jacket bolted tight around him, "just let us be- let us sort this out"
He almost sounded upset at her appearance, as if she had ruined something so meaningful to him.
She clicked her tongue, the empty hand raising to her hips while the other played ruthlessly with her blade.
Aloysia assessed him, for any hidden threats, but to her displeasure, she found none.
"What has this man done to your family for you to want to violently attack him?" Aloysia purred, walking cautiously around the two, his spine stiffening at the movement.
Her eyes shifted, even undetected the man gnawing at his throat for breath knew she was peering over him. And it made his blood boil. Nobody looked down on him. Nobody.
"He- he stole from my families bakery, holding a knife at my mother's neck while he laughed!"
His words transitioned to a growl, the anger seeping back into him while his body turned toward the man crawling beneath him like a runt.
Aloysia would never normally linger to find a just way to kill, but this one intrigued her.
"To save you the hassle, if you'll let me..." she licked her lips, her teeth grazing her lower lip "I'll kill him for you"
The assassin's muscles tightened, her lips a tight smirk.
He couldn't respond, his chest rising and falling at a faster pace while the bridge of his nose crinkled.
Swallowing briefly, the man on the ground croaked, "I- I only did it, b-because I had no food..."
He dared to hold her attention, staring straight at her savagely, no regrets lining his face.
Aloysia didn't back down either, the grip on her blade suffocating.
The street lights flickered, as did her temper.
"I had no choice" he muttered, "I did what I had to do"
The surrounding housing remained distant. For all she knew people could be watching this very conflict and they'd have no idea.
A horrendous cough had Aloysia retreating a face of disgust. Her frown now snapped towards an interruptive kick to the stomach from the man standing superior to him.
He wasn't allowed a second shot-
Aloysia had grabbed the accuser before his leg swung back for the second motion, twisting his arm and swiping his stand-alone foot to bring him to his knees.
He cried out, her hand shushed the plead- "don't make me angrier at you..." she spat.
You didn't need to hear those words to know not to disobey. Her aura was threatening enough.
"Now" she growled, "answer the question"
"What questio-"
She had him jarringly shoved to the ground, standing above him as his face moulded with the concrete. His fidgeting was futile with the grip so steady she could do it blind folded.
The man grunted, his auburn hair fraying over the only cheek exposed to air, his lips crumbing at the pressure.
Aloysia leant closer to him, not once taking her eye of him.
"Do you want me to kill him?" She repeated, her tone vexed at having to go to such lengths to get a straight answer.
"I won't ask again" she retorted to the grunting idiot sprawled beneath her feet.
The back streets, covered overhead by trees so large you could live in them was typically sheltered from the snow... making the man's downfall even more painful without cushioning.
The man blurted out, "yes!!"
Wincing at the scratches the concrete engraved into him, the pressure kept him there without easing one bit; he reassured, "Yes!! Yes yes- god- kill that son of a bitch"
She needed wait no longer.
Whirling around in an instant, her fingertips danced with the tip of the blade as it spun from her fingers, directly at the accused scurrying toward the Main Street.
He had regained his footing during their interrogation... thought she hadn't noticed, that she was already occupied... but she could sense it, feel every muscle tug as his struggling body regained purpose; trying to escape like the coward he was.
Directly in the shoulder. She had aimed directly at his shoulder without even looking for his positioning.
He roared out as the dagger spliced him, swearing every word under the sun.
The man dropped instantly, his life flashing before his eyes at his only option. A shaky arm ruthlessly reached for the blade buried in his shoulder, leaking blood.
He gripped its pommel, the concentration keeping his eyes open, awake.
It burned. His eyes welled up as he bit his lip harshly, drawing even more blood; preparing for the pain as he ripped it from within him.
He howled at the agony. The wound now gushing with a stream of red...
He shouldn't have done that.
Aloysia smiled grimly, stalking towards the man cupping his shoulder, desperately trying to stop its flow; hands soaked and stained with it.
"Trying to run will get you no where"
She circled him menacingly, taking her time to walk as she watched him.
"Especially when it's against me" she purred, a small vicious laugh leaving her lips. She breathed contently, waiting for the plead that usually follows.
She waited. A heartbeat longer. Nothing.
She was impressed. But too little to late.
Removing her second blade gradually from its scabbard, she watched as the starlight reflected back at her, reflected her kill laying in front of her.
"Any final words?" She teased.
Aloysia would test his limits, test his willpower to see how long he could hold back the natural instinct of adrenaline; to run, to fight for you life.
The assassin crept down lovingly, reaching out and placing his chin in her palm.
His body held no protest, his eyes were already empty. He had given up. No fight, no tussle. Just acceptance.
She almost felt bad for the man... almost.
He no longer held his bleeding shoulder, no longer reached for the drenched dagger by her feet. The face said it all. 'Get it over and done with'.
Being this close she studied him; middle-aged, definitely a hard life by the scar over his temple. Baggy skin from sleepless nights as well as un-kept hair. Nothing special about him- there never was.
But his eyes... they were a royal blue. A stunning colour that had all life, all hope drained from them. A colour that should be vibrant like the sky at its peak. But alas, they were not. It reminded her of eyes she knew very well.
Liams...
And they had only dulled, lost its beauty because she was the reason...
Her throat constricted.
And for once in her life, the assassin hesitated, her hand faltering.
And that one sign of weakness cost her dearly.