Anastasia walked through a lush green meadow, very annoyed. She wore a light green dress, with no straps, that was covered in blood. Her brunette hair was flowing down her back, having broken from its usual ponytail. She used her left hand, which didn’t hold her bloody dagger, to push her hair out her face.
“Great, this was King Arsenoff’s favorite dress I owned,” Ana muttered as she walked into the forest.
She didn’t go far into the woods and stopped at a large oak tree with a small hole. Anastasia then grabbed a leather bag from the tree’s hole. She opened the medium sized bag and grabbed her tan trousers and white shirt before quickly changing out of the bloodied dress. The assassin stashed her bloody knife in her right boot before leaving the cover of the trees and heading down to the small village she lived in. Ana looked around and rolled her eyes as she saw all the single women running around looking for dresses for Crown Prince Endrid’s Marriage Ball.
“Ana! Have you met my son Harold? He turned 18 last month!” A woman exclaimed, as she walked into the small bakery.
“Mrs. Hemsworth I am sorry to say I am not in the market for a husband,” Anastasia kindly replied, getting her bread.
Once she paid she quickly left as Ana did not want Mrs. Hemsworth to randomly call Harold over. She tried to be as polite as possible when it came to marriage proposals but it was getting on her nerves the amount of them she has been getting lately.
Anastasia gave a few nods to the people she passed on the cobblestone road that created the town square. She looked at a few other shops and stalls but didn’t buy anything. The assassin decided her bread was the only thing she needed from the shops today so she headed home. Ana walked past the crowds and crumbling fountain of an angel which nobody bothered to repair. This was a practical kingdom and so things that have no meaning don’t need to be repaired. She made it out of the crowded area and walked along the dirt road to her home.
After a good 20 minute walk Anastasia finally made it to the steel gate and small cobblestone fence that protected her home. She opened the gate and slid inside before turning and closing it again. Ana looked up at her large house, it was almost so large it could count as a manor but the house was just a bit smaller than that. She smiled as she looked at the dark brick building with the only color being the green vines that ran down the right wall. The assassin went to her small stable that sat beside the house and pet the singular horse there. It was a chestnut brown thoroughbred horse with a white stripe running down the center of its face.
“Hello Scarlett, my pretty girl,” Anastasia said to the horse, stroking her face.
Scarlett gave Anastasia a nudge before going to the back of the stall. “Oh, do I have blood in my hair?” Ana asked the horse, pulling her hair to the front.
She quickly looked it over, seeing that there indeed were a few locks of hair covered in dry blood. The dried blood almost blended into her hair, but it was a few shades lighter than the brown of her hair. Ana waved a small goodbye to her horse before running to the house. She quickly went inside, almost knocking over a china vase on the way inside her dark bland home, throwing her bag on the small hallway table. Ana took a left past her small parlor and up her metal spiral staircase to the second floor of the house. She ran down the middle hallway and went into the second door on the left. The room was a small washroom which held a metal bucket full of water and a metal basin as well as a cabinet filled with different soaps and towels.
Anastasia filled up the basin before peeling off her clothes and grabbing some soap. She got in and quickly started to bathe, washing away the blood in her hair and dirt on her body.
“I will be getting visitors soon. I need this blood out of my hair!” Ana complained as she washed.
It didn’t take long for the basin to be filled with dirty water and excess soap. She had gotten the blood out her hair and all the dirt was washed off. Anastasia quickly got out the basin and grabbed a towel from the cabinet, wrapping it around herself. She left the washroom and went straight across to her bedchambers.
Anastasia went to her wardrobe and pulled out a light blue dress. It had no shoulder straps and the off-shoulder sleeves were very loose, almost so thin you could see through it. She slipped the dress on and watched as the thin flowy blue fabric settled on her slim body and the way it fell down to her knees. Ana dried off her hair the best she could before brushing out and letting it flow down her back. She slipped on her black flats before leaving her room and walking down the stairs looking very elegant, if you were a townsperson you would know that Anastasia was beautiful if she put effort into her looks.
Just as Anastasia made it to the bottom of the stairs there was a knock on the door. She quickly walked to it while realizing she still hadn’t put up her bag. Before opening the door she threw it into the corner. Ana breathed before opening the door and putting on her most innocent smile.
“Miss Damarcus! Lovely to see you as always!” A blonde man about 20 in a red and black suit, the kingdom colors, said turning around.
“Always a pleasure to see you as well Phillip,” Anastasia replied with her intoxicating smile.
“It was made public of Duke Ferair’s assassination. I must applaud you!” Phillip said enthusiastically.
“Please! It was quite easy I assure you!” She answered humbly.
“For you maybe! Alright all talk aside I’ve come with your reward and a few requests from the King,” He said, handing over a small bag filled with gold coins and 2 letters.
“Oh, I almost forgot! You have no say in His Majesty’s requests!” Phillip added before walking down her stone steps and onto his horse.
Anastasia nodded to him before quickly closing the door and groaning. She set the coins down and opened one of the letters. Ana’s eyes widened as she read the letter over and over again.
“I have to protect Crown Prince Endrid!” Anastasia yelled, looking at the letter in disbelief.
She quickly set down the letter before ripping open the other envelope. Anastasia read the second letter and her smile faltered.
“I am not exempt from the Marriage Ball,” Ana groaned as she set the letter down.
Anastasia hated balls, and rightfully so. When she was 18 she had to go to the town’s Marriage Ball and it was horrific. Ana danced with 15 men who all just wanted her for her looks, she was actually excited when the night began so she could find her true love but by the end she hated it. That’s why being an assassin took over her life, because she loved her job which isn’t something she should admit.
“Hopefully I won’t have to dance with him,” Anastasia muttered as she grabbed the coins from the table and leather bag from the corner.
ns 15.158.61.8da2
