As Victoria and Roman made their way deeper into Gloucester Estate, Victoria found her heart was beating twice as fast as normal. The tile floors of the Outer Garden gave way to the fresh dirt of the Inner Garden, which she could only assume was the Prince’s personal garden.
The whole area was circular, and in the center stood the strangest tree she had ever seen. It looked like an art project gone terribly wrong, with its multicolored trunk that had every color from the rainbow. It was beautiful, but strange. “What in the world is that?” Victoria asked, as she took a moment to stop and catch her breath. Roman stopped as well, and inched closer to the tree in the question. “I’m not entirely sure. I think I’ve seen them before, but they’re really rare. Surrounding the tree was an assortment of other odd looking plants. To Victoria’s right, she spotted recently unearthed dirt, and she wondered if the Prince himself tended to the garden. “He has a lot of…bizarre things.” She said hesitantly, as her eyes swept the entire garden and found that everything, not just the plants, was unusual. Another pond, although smaller than the one in the Outer Gardens, was situated behind the tree. Victoria and Roman walked to it quietly, looking over their shoulder, occasionally, for guards.
The area around the pond was littered with bottles and trash. “I guess we’re getting close.” Roman said softly. “In fact, I know we are.” He looked up and over at something behind Victoria’s head. She followed his gaze, and it landed on the closest part of the Estate, which appeared to be some sort of sun room. “Follow me.” Roman whispered, and with Victoria following, he ducked down and crept towards the sun room. “This is probably as close as we’re going to get. The real job is inside work, I’m afraid.” He said, as they rounded on the sun room and he pushed her head down so she couldn’t be seen from the window. Roman rose slowly, and peered into the sunroom. “He’s in there, Victoria. He’s in there.” She resisted the urge to pop up in excitement, instead rising slowly as Roman did, and took a quick peek into the room. The room was dimly lit, probably by lamp. A large television took up about a fourth of the room, but, Victoria supposed, it was a sunroom, so it wasn’t supposed to be that large anyways. To the left of the television sat a pool table, and to the right, as Roman had predicted, was a couch where a boy lay sprawled out, snoring loudly. Victoria had never seen the Prince before, she’d only heard about him. He looked refreshingly…normal. Surely, he wasn’t in the most attractive position he could have been in, but Victoria could see, that if he wasn’t snoring at the top of his lungs, he’d probably be pretty good looking. “Victoria, get back down. Someone will see you if you look for that long.” Roman whispered, tugging on her robe.
Victoria ducked back down, reluctantly, and looked over to Roman. “What’s the plan now?” He shook his head. “We found him, got to know the area little better…I think we’re done here. We can come back tomorrow.” “Tomorrow night?” “Day and night. We need to learn everything we can about him. Let’s go.” As Roman pulled down his hood over his eyes, and begin darting back across the garden, Victoria chanced another look. The Prince was still snoring, his arm stretched out behind his head. He looked peaceful, blissful even. “Victoria, let’s go” came Roman’s voice from somewhere behind the rainbow tree.
Victoria took one last look before darting off in the direction of his voice. Tomorrow, they’d be back, and despite her earlier misgivings, Victoria found her interest in the task piquing once again. She and Roman ducked out of the fence, and headed back to their respective institutes. “Be sure to rest up for tomorrow, Victoria. I’ll meet you here tomorrow morning, at six.” Roman said, before disappearing into the forest, “And remember, sharpen your dagger. Just in case”
She looked down at her dagger. It felt heavy and hot against her skin, a marked contrast with the cool night. Tomorrow it is, then, she thought. Tomorrow, it is.
XIII.
The following day, Victoria rose even before the sun, her growing anticipation preventing her from wasting even another second in bed. As to be expected, the convent was nearly silent this early in the morning, the only sounds to be heard were the chirping of the most ambitious birds, and a distant, clanging pot from the convent’s kitchen. Victoria glanced down at her watch, it was 5:45 am. She wrung her hands nervously and fished her dagger out of her dresser drawer. There was no need to sharpen it, as it was still as sharp as ever. She looked down at her watch again and sighed. It was only 5:46. Frustrated, Victoria stood up and began pacing around her room, counting each step as she went. Perhaps, she thought, this might make the time go faster.
After glancing at her watch for a third time, and discovering that once again, only a minute had passed, Victoria burst from her room and the convent, and out into the open air.
The lawn of the convent lay completely bare, as the nun who set up the serving stations, evidently had not risen yet. It’s kind of nice, Victoria thought, as she settled down on the grass. If she hadn’t know that it was a convent, she might have mistaken the area for being a nice field, or something of the sort. She glanced at her watch again, and to her excitement, it read 5:55 A.M.
Victoria traced tiny circles in the grass as she waited anxiously. She’d never anticipated anything this much since, well, ever. Another look at her watch read 5:57 AM. She stood up and stretched slowly, thinking that perhaps, if she took her time stretching, she could eat up the remaining three minutes. As she stretched, she felt a tap on her shoulder, and Victoria turned quickly to see Roman standing behind her. She smiled, relieved.
Roman frowned slightly at her smile. “What? You thought I was going to be late.” Victoria quirked an eyebrow. “I’m never late.” He said, looking slightly offended, but he recovered and offered Victoria his hand. “You ready?” Victoria grasped his hand, recoiling slightly at how odd her hand felt in his after weeks of not being there, but she allowed herself to be led down the familiar path towards the capitol city of Gracelia.
Victoria and Roman stood outside the fence surrounding Gloucester Estate, and Victoria watched as Roman crept up and down the fence looking for the square he’d cut out the previous day. “Aha, found it.” He stepped through, and turned back, lending his hand to Victoria once again. She ducked inside the fence, and then looked back at the gaping hole, warily. “Aren’t they going to notice that?” She asked slowly, but Roman shook his head. “They will, eventually. But it’s so far out, it’ll take them a few days to notice. It just means we can’t take forever.” “How long have we got?” Victoria asked, as she hurried forward to catch up with him, as he was already skirting about the Outer Gardens. “I’d say a day or so. But probably a day, exactly.”
“So…when should we…do the deed?” Victoria asked, following Roman behind a bush, where he bent down on his knee to catch his breath.
“Either tonight, or tomorrow morning.” “Tonight?” Victoria said, a little louder than she should have, earning her a swift clap over the mouth. “Keep your voice down!” Roman hissed. “Sorry. But tonight? Isn’t that a little fast?”
“It is fast. But we don’t have any more time. You don’t get unlimited time on tasks, you know. But go.” “Go where?” “Check out the Prince. We need to know what he’ll be doing today.”
“Wait, aren’t you coming?” “I can’t, Victoria. Two assassins really aren’t supposed to be completing a job. It’s too obvious. I’ll stay here and a keep a look out and if needed, a distraction. You just find out what the Prince is up to.” For added emphasis, Roman waved his hands in a shooing motion. “Get going.”
Victoria stumbled up, feeling rather ousted. She made a mad dash for another bush, and panted in relief when she arrived unseen, but cursed herself for being less graceful than Roman. She’d gotten used to following his lead, because after all, he was the more experienced assassin. Without him, she just felt clumsy and frankly, just a little bit stupid.
She crossed over the Outer Gardens into the Inner Gardens, just stopping for a brief moment to view the bizarre rainbow tree. She reall
y would have to read up on it when she got the chance. Victoria continued on to her spot on the wall by the sun room, and took a quick peek inside the window. Immediately, she recoiled, almost hitting her head against the wall as she did. She heard a shuffling noise coming from a nearby bush, and she knew it was Roman, probably preparing for the worst.
Victoria swallowed. What’d she seen hadn’t been the worse, it was just unexpected. The Prince, was awake and was staring at the television. Victoria had almost mistook him for a chair, as he was sitting that still, so it was certainly a shock when she realized that it was not a blonde chair she was looking at, but rather, a blonde prince. She peered up into the window again, this time a little slower.
The Prince was still staring at the television, unmoving. She might have thought he slept with his eyes open, but she saw him blink twice. She pressed her ear up against the wall, in hopes of hearing what was playing on the television. To Victoria’s surprise, she heard nothing. She looked again, realizing that the television was on mute. Why, Victoria wondered, would the Prince watch television without the volume. That was the best part!
She looked again, to find the Prince still sitting rigidly on the couch, leaving her to wonder what she could possibly find out about him if he sat in the same place all day long. Her thoughts were soon answered as she heard a door creak open. Still peering up, Victoria watched as a tall, older man, walked slowly into the room. She thought he might be walking slowly due to age, but as he crept around the couch behind the Prince with surprising speed, Victoria realized that he was likely trying to keep his presence unknown.
“Alexander. Turn off that garbage.” The man spoke, and Victoria couldn’t help but cover her ears. His voice was so harsh and demanding that she found herself feeling bad for the Prince, and she didn’t even know why yet. The Prince reached for the remote, every move appearing to be deliberately slow, and turned off the television. “You look at me when I’m talking to you, son.” Victoria gasped softly, as she realized that not only was she looking upon the Prince of Gracelia, but also the King. She looked him over in interest. He was a tall man of slight stature, but his voice made up for any physical prowess he lacked. His salt-and-pepper hair combined with his smooth, tan skin made him almost good looking, but something about his features, perhaps the way in which he was scowling down at his son, made him look unmistakably cruel. “I said, look at me when I’m talking to you.” The King raised his hand, and Victoria felt her breath catch in her throat. He wouldn’t dare, she hoped.
To her relief, before the King had a chance to move his hand, the Prince swiveled around. His features remained impassive, but as someone who knew a lot about keeping emotions in check, she could almost feel the underlying current of anger beneath his calm façade. “Yes, Father. I am at your service.” “Son, I am not just your Father. I am your King, and you will address me with the proper greeting.” There was a long stretch of silence, and Victoria found herself fearing for the Prince once again. She had no idea what kind of relationship they had, but it was obvious that it was strained.
The Prince lifted himself slowly from the couch and walked around it to where his father stood. He slowly bent down on one knee, with his arm curled up in front of his head. “Father.” He said, and there was no missing the spite in his voice. “Very good, my son Alexander. Now, you may rise.”
Alexander rose slowly, and Victoria watched as he composed his face once more, and she chuckled. She knew that move. “Alexander”, the King began, “I’m pleased to see you’ve risen so early. Those who rise early accomplish much. I knew I taught you well.” He smiled what Victoria supposed he thought was a winning smile, but in reality, it just came off as being a little eerie. “I’m sure you’ll be glad to know that you’ll be accompanying me for the day. We’ve got many meetings to attend.” “What?” Alexander burst out, his voice loud, smooth, and clear. “I’ve got plans for the day.” “Silence!” The King waited a moment before continuing. “Your friends, and your silly little garden can wait. We have business to attend to. I expect you down at breakfast in thirty minutes.” The King turned abruptly and left, leaving Alexander standing there, his frown deepening with every passing second.
As soon as the door closed, Alexander picked up a mug sitting on a nearby coffee table, and flung it at the wall. It shattered with a clang, splattering its murky brown contents all over the wall. He looked around wildly for something else, and evidently, when he could find nothing else to throw, he lifted his foot and kicked over the entire coffee table, looking only vaguely satisfied when it came crashing to the floor. He was muttering now. Victoria pressed her ear closer to the wall so that she could hear, but then stepped back when she heard how colorful his vocabulary was.
“Everything’s stupid to him, except his money and his women. That’s all he cares about. Why am I not surprised. ‘I am your King, and you will address me with the proper greeting.’ Yeah? I’ve got another type of greeting I’d like to share with you.” Victoria watched as he made a rude gesture, and she couldn’t stop herself from giggling. “I’ll have you know, FATHER, I’ll do whatever I please, whenever I please.” He picked up a pillow from the sofa and sent it crashing into the wall behind him. After throwing the remaining pillows from the sofa, he settled down once again, still muttering darkly to himself.
Victoria withdrew from the window, and crept over to the spot where she’d left Roman. She rounded the bush to find Roman sitting cross-legged, as he examined his dagger. “Roman!” He scrambled up onto his knees, and leaned forward alertly. “Right, I’m here.” Victoria rolled her eyes. “I hope you were keeping watch.” “Don’t worry” he waved his hand dismissively. “I was. Anyways, what did you find out?”
Victoria opened her mouth, but then closed it immediately. Shockingly enough, she’d found a lot. She didn’t know how much of it was pertinent to the task, but she could say, confidently, that she knew quite a bit about the Prince. She couldn’t tell Roman this of course. He’d chide her for taking note of his personal issues. So, Victoria shrugged as nonchalantly as she could, and said “Eh. He planned to hang out with friends, and do some work in his garden, I guess. But the King told him he’d have to be in meetings all day. I don’t know if that helps, though.”
“Of course it helps! He’s a teenage guy. Even if he’s in meetings all day, he’s going to do it anyways, so he’ll probably do what he wants sometime tonight. That’ll be the perfect time to catch him.” “Catch him?” Victoria faltered. “Yes, Victoria. Catch him, as in, complete the task. Kill him. But come on, we need to get going. It’s getting light, and we don’t want to be here in broad daylight.”
She followed Roman out of the Gloucester Estate, her mind on Alexander the whole time. As they made their way back towards the convent and the convent, respectively, she felt her stomach twisting uneasily as she thought about the upcoming night.
XIV.
The remainder of the day passed by slowly, but Victoria found that she didn’t notice. She was still too deep in thought. She returned to the convent just as the sun was rising, and was accosted by several nuns at once. Some wanted to know how she was progressing with her task, some, like Grace, wanted to share a few comforting words, and others, such as Sister Katherine, came to remind her that even if she had an impending, dangerous task, that she was still expected to serve slop.
Victoria served slop for a few hours, but eventually found herself wandering over to Grace’s station. As she approached, Grace looked up and smiled, and nudged the child on her table, to tell him to get off. The child moved away, and Grace took his place, studying Victoria as she found herself a table to lean on. “So, tonight’s the big task.” Victoria nodded . “Excited?” “I don’t know.” She answered, truthfully.
Grace nodded sagely. “I felt that way during my first task with the Other Sisterhood as well.” “Did you ever get over it?” “I can’t say I did.” Grace responded, with a shrug. Victoria sighed, as that did nothing to sooth her nervous stomach.
“I’ve been meaning to talk to you about something, Victoria.”
Victoria quirked an eyebrow and waited. “I’m going to be leaving the Sisterhood.” “The Other Sisterhood?” “No, both Sisterhoods. This one, and the one that ain’t so holy.”
“But why?” Victoria felt her heart drop, as she thought about the prospect of the Sisterhood without Grace. It was bleak.
“I don’t know. I’ve been feeling that it’s time for me to move on. I don’t know if I agree with everything here anymore.”
“But you can’t just leave!” Victoria said helplessly. “What will I do without you?"
Grace chuckled, and smiled warmly down at Victoria. “I don’t know. Keep on living. I’m not dying, I’m just leaving. I live right here in Gracelia. I’ll even let you visit me. I just don’t think this is the place for me anymore.” “But why?” Victoria repeated.
“My faith doesn’t glitter in the sun, Victoria.” Grace hoisted herself up from the table she was leaning on, and began to pack up her bandages. Victoria stood, watching her, still trying to comprehend what she’d said. “Are you leaving now?” “In a little bit. Have to make sure I get all my things. You should be resting though. The big night is tonight.” She leaned forward and gave Victoria a bear hug. “I’ll miss you, kid. But like I said, come visit me sometimes. Katherine knows where I live. I’ll see you around.”
Victoria trudged back to her room, feeling oddly deflated. It was true, it wasn’t like Grace was leaving the country. She was just going back home. But then why did she feel so alone? She spent the rest of the evening laying on her bed, counting the dots on the ceiling.
When the sun finally went down, there was a knock at her door. She opened it, robes on, dagger in hand, to finish this once, and for all. She barged through the open part of the fence surrounding the Gloucester Estate and made a beeline for the Prince’s sun room. Victoria was marching forward, determinedly, when Roman suddenly yanked her back and pulled her being the safety of a bush. “Jeez, Victoria. What are you going to do? Trample him to death?” He pointed out to the grass just outside of the Outer Garden. There, on his back with his eyes to the sky, lay the Prince. Victoria watched him for some time, she wasn’t sure how long, before she felt an urgent tap on her shoulder. “Get closer, Victoria.” Roman whispered.
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