A Strange Conversation

            I’ll kill him, I have to. He knows my face, he knows who I am. He could ruin centuries of work. No other Eternal would have been distracted like that. No other Eternal would have there first kiss stolen by someone trying to kill them. Though that’s what confuses me, was he trying to kill me? I mean I know he was but was he trying hard?

            He launched himself over the guard rail, I’ve got to fallow him. But where will he go? If I were him I’d head toward the rose garden. It’s got the lowest wall because on the other side of the wall is a cliff so it has very few guards, plus it’s not totally unheard of for people to go for late night walks. If this guy has study the grounds at all this is where he’ll go.

            I won’t jump after him I’ll get there before him. I fly back through the doors and move silently through the study. From the study I go through the rafters pulling myself above them and to a skylight. I silently open the skylight and pull myself onto the roof. Once on the roof it’s a straight shot to the garden.

            I can actually see him now, the assassin. He’s doing exactly as I thought he would. I’m passing him now, I’ll have to jump to reach the garden first. I have to do it at just the right second or else I’ll break my ankles. No time to think, just act on instinct, I jump and lucky me I land right at the entrance to the garden.

            “I’m not letting you get away that easily,” I say.

            “I hoped you wouldn’t” he says. I know throwing knives are useless against him he’s just as fast as I am. He thinks I’m toying with him, but the truth is I just want to be done and go to sleep. I need to take some more lethal actions. I could use my pistol however it would bring to much attention to the area. I guess I’ll just have to use hand to hand. I use a few short jabs that he blocks and we end up in a dead lock.

            “Politics or religion?” I ask stepping away.

            “Excuse me?” he asks as he tries a few jabs of his own.

            “Are you trying to kill hem because of politics or religion?” I restate.

            “Money,” he says as I try to land a blow on his torso. He sidesteps.

            “So religion,” I say. He tries a complex combination of kicks jabs and grabs to no avail. If I didn’t know better I would think I was fighting myself. Everything I would do he does, everything I do he can evade just before it happens.

            “I suppose,” he says, “How about you?”

            “Love,” I say.

            “So you’re in love with his highness,” he says as he tries a roundhouse kick to my head. I see it and sidestep.

            “He’s like a brother,” I say.

            “I’m sure that’s just how he feels,” he says sarcastically as I jump behind him and attempt to unbalance him with a quick kick to the back. It doesn’t work he just turns and parries.

            “For an assassin you’re awful talkative,” I say.

            “Self taught bounty hunter,” he says.

            “It shows,” I say. He finally left himself open I grab his right arm and use my leverage to pull him down. This doesn’t work in fact he left himself open on purpose. In a second he does the same thing I was trying to do except for him it works. I end up on my back dazed.

            “We’ll meet again princess,” he says plucking a rose from the bush and laying it in my hand. Before I can stand he’s at the wall and over the cliff.