Lonely

“Are you lonely Novra?” Aden asks me as he puts down his pen. It’s an early summer afternoon and I'm sitting by the window on the velvet sofa in his study. Aden is working on the documents his father, the king, asked him to complete. I sit and read near the widow pouring over pages of history. I look up surprised at the question.

“Lonely?” I think it over, “Sometimes,” I finally reply. “Why? Do you feel lonely?” I ask.

“Sometimes, but lately it’s been more then usual. I actually feel as though people are avoiding me,” Aden says standing up and looking out the window behind him.

“Do you know why?” I ask closing my book.

“No,” Aden says, “I don’t KNOW. I can only speculate,” he walks to where I sit and joins me on the sofa.

“And your speculation is?” I ask.

“That my father will not see me, nor the nobles talk to me, tells me that something is wrong with my father,” Aden says. He looks at me like he knows I hold a secret. The truth is I hold many secrets. “Novra what aren’t you telling me? I can tell that you’re hiding something,” he can’t tell. There have been too many secrets I’ve hid from him, I’ve become too good at lying to him for him to realize it now.

“I’m not hiding anything from you,” I say it convincingly and reassuringly, but it’s a lie.

“Is that the truth?” Aden asks. The truth? No it’s not. The truth is that his father is sick. Yeah he's dieing and no one has told him. I want to tell him. But if it did I would only attract attention to myself, and I’ve got enough of that just by being so close to the prince.

I am the adopted daughter of Lord Isaac Savric, and I am Aden’s protector. The title I inherited from my father is Assassin. I’m a silent force that kills those that would kill Aden. Aden does not know, only my father and I know who we are. It is our greatest secret. It is this secret that has saved king’s lives since the kingdom’s beginning.

“If I knew anything I’d want to tell you,” I say. It’s not a lie, just not the truth.

“I know,” Aden says looking at his hands in his lap, “I just feel so helpless.” I hear something above us. It’s too slow, heavy, and purposeful to be an animal, it’s a human.

“How about we take a walk? It’ll help you clear your head,” I say.

“Is that always your solution?” he asks.

“It works doesn’t it?” I say as he walks into the other room to dress for the outdoors. I’ve got five minutes. The would be killer jumps down in front of me. He’s good he waited till we were separated.

"Who sent you?" I ask calmly knowing he won't answer. I'm right, he just charges at me, he's a hand to hand fighter, that's good. That means I can kill him easily from long range. I slip out a single throwing knife from the sash tied around my waste. I side step the charge and wait for the man to turn around. I don't want to make this messy, so I need one clean kill and I need it now. As the would be assassin turns to charge me again his neck becomes a clear and easy target. I throw the knife, and it loges silently in the neck of my target. the assassin slumps to the floor with a thump. I don't recognize the face under the mask that I peal off.

I can hear Aden's footsteps going towards the door on the other side. I move quickly placing the body behind Aden's desk. It shouldn't be found until we return. I quickly resume my seat on the sofa my book in my lap.

"Ready to go?" Aden asks coming into the study.

"Yes," I say closing the book. I let a light girlish smile grace my lips. I try very hard to make myself project a person I am not, a person pink and sweet, a person who does not know trouble or life.

“It does by the way,” he says opening the door, allowing me to walk through before him. No one will say it, but they’ve been trying to keep him in his room lately, and now I know why. We’re met by opposition immediately upon leaving the room a son of one of the many lords approaches us. He must have been sent to make sure the prince went back into the room until the assassin killed him.

"It does what?" I ask looking at him over my shoulder as I pass him.

"Work," he says with a grin. I'm sure if I had been anyone else that grin would have stopped my heart, but as it is it simply reminds me how innocent he is.

“Your highness, I’ve brought the bridge proposition your father asked you to look over,” a young man says. His face is white; he must have expected Aden to be dead by now. Aden began to reach out his hand to take the papers, but I grab his hand before he can grasp them. This could be a back up plan, the papers my be poisoned, the man is wearing riding gloves.

“His highness was just about to escort me to the garden, why don’t you accompany us and tell him about your proposal?” I say. If anyone else had said this, or taken those liberties they would have had there heads chopped off. As it is the prince and I are intimate friends. We’re the only youths in the castle under the age of nineteen, we were schooled together, we played together, and now we spend all our time with each other.

I know how it looks to the other young nobles, but it’s not that way, we’re best friends and nothing more. The young man starts to say something, but one look at my face and he changes his mind. There is noting on my face but a pleasant smile, but in my eyes there lurks danger for anyone who annoys me.

“No thank you my lady,” he says to me, then turning to Aden he says, “I’ll come discuss this with you tomorrow,” the youth bowed and Aden nodded his head as we walked away.

“Sometimes you scare me,” says Aden when we were out of earshot.

“Sometimes I scare myself,” I say. We walk down the cobble stone path in the rose garden. The pink roses just peaking out from the bush and the fully blooming red roses that demand attention with there deep passionate color.

“How did you ever learn to maneuver a conversation like that?” Aden asks me.

“I was the only one who paid attention in Tutor's debate and speech sessions,” I said.

“Then I suppose you’ll have to re-write it all for me, so I remember,” Aden says thoughtfully. We walk for a while in science.

“What would you do if you were king?” I ask He looks thoughtful for a second then says,

“I would replace all the high ranking lords I didn’t trust with those that are like your father.”

“Why?” I ask.

“Do you remember studying the son of Solomon in church?” Aden asks.

“Yeah he listened to the advice of his friends, instead of the advice of his elders,” I say.

“It reminds me that I must surround myself with wise people, and the lords my father follows the advice of are greedy and not at all concerned with the good of the people. God help us all if these men or the children of these men become my pears.” He says.

"You've thought about this a lot?" I ask.

"Yes, it's hard not to when you know it's your destiny," Aden says.

"Do you really believe in destiny?" I ask.

"Yes and no. I believe God has a set course for us and that all we've done and will do have been predestined," Aden says, "What you don't belie that things are predestine?"

"No I believe God puts us here and then we make our decisions, hence the whole free will thing from Genesis," I say.

"I guess there's no way anyone will ever know for sure," Aden says.

"I guess not," I say. We walk in silence each of us lost in our own thought. We pass twenty minutes just walking the path before we run across any other beings. When we finally do it's two of Duke Krass' daughters, Lord Opse's oldest son, and Sir Wake's middle son. The boys bowed and the girl's curtsies, and I in turn curtsied to them, while Aden nodded his head curtly.

"Lady Novra, how nice to see you out today. It seems as though you and the prince are always locked away in that study," Duke Krass' oldest daughter said. Her words smack of veiled insult. both girls are tall, taller then me, and have black hair and eyes. They almost look exactly the same except they younger is slightly shorter.

"Well Aden has his work, and I've many lessons to study. Not that you've ever had to bother you head with learning, but I belie a well read soul is a healthy soul." My words were insulting, less veiled then those that prompted me to mine.

"We really must have tea sometime," said the younger sister pushing her sister along.

"Yes, sometime," I agree.

There figures and there escort's disappear down the path.

"You let her have it," Aden says.

"Even used your name instead of your title," I say.

"Let's head back," I say, "It's getting rather warm out here."

"Yes, and I've got that pile of papers to sort through," Aden says.

"And I've a book to read," I say taking his arm. We walk back in silence such as that which prevailed as when we walked there.

When we arrive back at the study I manage to put myself where the body is, and scream at the top of my lungs. Several guards rush into the room and to me, seeing my pale face. Aden takes my hand and pulls me away and hugs me as I fain tears from fright. He smells like roses.

"Don't look Novra," he whispers. I berry my head in his shoulder shielding my eyes. Aden escorts me to the sofa and brings me a glass of water.

"It must be the Eternal," I say.

"You know that the Eternal is just a myth," Aden says reassuringly. The eternal is supposedly a monster that lurks around the castle, in reality it's just a fictional beast credited with all the deeds of all the protectors.

"But what if it's not?" I ask.

"You were out in the sun a little too long," Aden says, "I'll have one of the guards take you back to your room."

"No, I can make it on my own," I say standing.

"Are you sure?" Aden asks.

"Yes, I'm sure. I'll see you tomorrow," I say crossing the room to the door.

"Make sure you sleep," Aden says.

"Make sure that the guards are alert," I say, letting the sound of worry overwhelm my voice.

"I'll be fine," Aden says escorting me to the door. the door doesn't close until I'm out of sight of the door.

Reviews

[Jena]

This is really amazing. I love Aden and Novra. I can't wait to read more of this!