Blind Spot

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"Nadia, wait!"...but the prince was too late. The horse carried him at an amazing speed back toward the town, but Angel couldn't help but look back, worried about Sayomi more than anything else. Taking a look at the papers that were put in his hand, he focused once more on the task on hand, letting his worry for Sayomi fade to the recesses of his mind...though that didn't last for long. Sayomi's house came in sight sooner than he expected. Angel quickly decided that he would wait for her there, though he was unsure what would be waiting for him. The rain began letting up as he reached the house, giving him some peace of mind as he dismounted the mighty animal. Giving it's nose a pet, he walked to the door and knocked three times, fearful of who he would meet in the house of such a skilled woman as Sayomi.
 
At the knock, Sayomi's mother stood and went to answer it. When she opened the door, she wa s not entirely sure who it was, but when she saw the horse, her green eyes met his and whisked him inside. She didn't say anything. She decided she would wait till either he told her the grave news of her daughter, or she would appear. Though, she wasn't sure of that with that fact that the man has her horse. Placed a tray of bread, cheese and fruits in front of him, something that she had prepared for Sayomi's return. She sat in a chair, and sipped her hot tea, watching the man. Nothing he could do would scare her, so she just waited.

Sayomi ran through trees, breathing heavily as she fought through the mud. Finally she saw the horse, he was stuck in the mud, only a few yards from the mud slid. She went over and started to pull on the reigns, grabbing his attention. After a few tugs, he started to climb with her pulling. It was a process that seemed like it took forever, as the hill continued to slide, but in reality, it was only a few minutes. By the time he was out though, they were near the edge, he pulled her away from the edge. As we through the mud, a tree started to fall down the root swung up, hitting her in the head. She rubbed her rubbed her head, not noticing that it was bleeding because of the rain. She jumped on the horse, and let it take her. The horse knew what to do in situations like this. Once the horse was on the the main road close to the house, it walked slowly, exhausted from its struggle. Sayomi leaned on its neck, breathing heavily still, exhausted and cold, her head slowly bleeding. As they got to her house, Sayomi slid off slowly and hugged the horse. "I am so ready to just sleep forever." She got a soft huff in response and that was it.
 
The prince, with his mask still on, was immediately dragged inside and sat down by who he presumed was Sayomi's mother. Shocked by the suddenness of the action, Angel had no words to speak. He simply sat still as the platter was set in front of him, rather perplexed at the woman's active, yet calm, demeanor. It was there he sat in total silence until the sound of the other horse could be heard from outside. The prince's heart skipped a beat at the noise, but he continued to remain immobile. In the presence of Sayomi's mother, he felt irrevocable fear. Not for his life, but that he would be judged for something. It was his greatest fear, and it only grew when flung into an unfamiliar situation. His lips sealed shut as he waited for something...anything, to happen that would free him from the unbearable silence that set over the room.
 
Sayomi finally went and pushed the door open. Stumbling inside, she sat down next to Angel, and pulled her mask and hood off. Blood ran down the side of her
head, through her fingers. She reached and grabbed a piece of cheese eating it. "If I never have to go out in the rain again, it would be too soon." She closed her eyes and let her head rest on the table, a pool of water turning soft pink laid under her. She didn't care, she was too wet and cold to move. She just enjoyed the heat and the food. She ate the cheese, waiting for the questions that would come from her mother, hoping that she did not say her real name. Even though the whole point of her hiding it was because of the tie that it had to her family, and what people said about them.

"Sayomi! What happened?!" her mother yelled. She felt her face cringe as she looked up at the prince, her eyes looked at him then the table. She felt bad for lying to him. She had wanted to tell him when they were in the woods, but knew that it was not time for him to not trust her. Her mother started to pull her hair apart, looking for the gash. She she found it, her eyes widened as she looked at it. "I will be back. I need to go get something to stitch up your head." She looked at Angel "Do not let her go anywhere. She may try and go out. That gash is pretty good. She is loosing a lot of blood."

"Mother! I am not three! Just get the stuff so I can take the horses back to the stable or if you pass by the inn get his son to come get them. Something. They need to get brushed and dried and warm before they get ill and die!" All she got was a glare, as her mother went out the door. Sayomi still couldn't bring herself to look at Angel.
 
Angel was once again shocked, first by concern for Sayomi's gash, then by learning her name was actually Sayomi, and then by the order that her mother gave him. It was all a whirlwind of information that he just wasn't ready to process yet. He decided to take one step at a time. Taking off his rain-drenched mask, he looked at the girl curiously. "...Sayomi, huh? I, uh... I think it's far more fitting than Nadia, if I may say..." The prince spoke awkwardly, running his hand through his hair in an attempt to brush out some water. "It sounds like you weren't entirely honest with me...back at the castle, anyways. I mean, I guess I suspected as much during that whole escapade, but...yeah..." He was honestly shocked beyond words. His confidence left him once again, but it was more from all the clashing information flooding him.
 
Sayomi didn't look at him. She just looked down at the puddle that was now turning redder. Shie got up, and walked herself to the kitchen. She grabbed a cloth, tying it tightly around her head, and then grabbed another. She walked over to him, and handed it to him to dry his hair. "I'm sorry I lied.." She finally said, the disdain of herself showing through her voice. "I thought if I had told you my real name at the party that you would recognize it and tie it back to the Chi family. There are rumors that circle amoungst the people about our family.." he finally looked at him for a moment, before she sat back down. This time, farther away from him. "I didn't want to get whisked out of the castle just because of my name." Though what she said was true, she still didn't want to tell him the whole truth. She thought that it would be too much for him at once. They had had a long night as it was, and it might not be over. They didn't know what the survivors would plan to do. If they would continue on, or retreat back. Her eye lids grew heavy as she looked at the table, then up at him for a moment. She crossed her arms on the table, and rest her head on them, still ignoring the blood. She knew her mother would care for them when she came back. She let her eyes close for a moment, as she listened to her own breathing. "I am very sorry that I lied to you.. Please do not hate me.." She had to fight not falling asleep. She knew that it was probably not a good idea for her yet.
 
Angel took a moment to dry his hair before responding. "Hate you? How could I hate you? If I did, that would make me no better a man, nor you any worse of a woman. I have lied about myself too, in case you forgot." The prince chuckled, sliding his mask toward her. "Listen, you're obviously more than you make yourself out to be. Even now I can tell you're holding back...to be honest, I appreciate it. I...I appreciate everything you've done so far, actually. Being sheltered was a grand weakness of mine for a long time. I never got the chance to be myself outside the castle, if I ever left. It was nice to have that chance...to live without regrets for once..." He blushed and looked down at his hands, remembering what he had done before their mission.
 
She stood slowly, finding it harder and harder to as the cold and loss of blood took over her body. Sayomi went over, and let herself hug him. She let the feeling wash over her, as held onto him. "Your lie was different than mine.. I think mine was worse. And I promise in due time I will tell you everything. We have had enough for one night." She continued to hug him for a moment. "Of course that would have to mean you would have to allow me to come around you still." As she straightened up, her mother barged into the house, pushing her into the chair. She laid out all the stuff she had gotten and was ready. Her mom took the rag off her head and shoved it in her mouth. "Do not move or pull. It will only make it worse." Then she began to stitch up the gash in Sayomi's head. She let out a loud groan of pain, as her mother continued on, tears rolling down her pale cheeks.

Her mother switched out the needle for an apple, putting the slice in her mouth, Sayomi trying to see through the pain and blood loss. Her mother looked at the prince, half surprised, then looked at her daughter. "You both need out of those clothes. I think I still have some of her father's clothes. they might be too big on you though, but still better than soaked clothes."
 
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The prince blushed heavily at Sayomi's gesture and words, but he was quickly brought back to reality with her mother's entrance. At her words, he took a look at himself, realizing he was soaked to the bone. Not only that, but he was shivering excessively. His body had become numb with the night's chill and the soaking rain in combination. All he could do was sit there in silence as Sayomi's wound was stitched up, in fear that anything he would do to help would simply get in the way. The feeling tore at him with empathy as he watched the blood trickle down the side of Sayomi's head. He was untrained in so many areas that could have helped at this point that it brought a tear to his eye, only masked by the multitude of raindrops still upon his face. All he had done was kick a few trees down...what good had he honestly done for the kingdom? And more importantly, for Sayomi?
 
As her mother went upstairs to get some clothes for the prince, Sayomi looked at him, eating the apple slice, and then some. She was used to being hurt, so she didn't dwell on the pain. She knew eventually the pain would stop, and she would be just fine. They had more pressing matters to attend to. "We need to go through the papers. They will depend on our next course of action." She said as she looked up at him, her eyes sunken into her face with sleep deprivation. "Hopefully they weren't ruined with the rain. I didn't get to read any of them. I just grabbed them and left." She stood up, grabbed the tray, and made her way into the living room, expecting him to follow. She sat herself next to the fire, as she ate a piece of cheese, holding one closer to warm it up. "No matter how good we did tonight, which we have no idea about unless we go back tomorrow night. We still need a course of action. They will just restock their numbers, and their supplies, and come back, with higher security, if they don't just march here with the remaining survivors." As she talked, she heard the stable boy outside with his father as they collected the horses, who fought at first due to the energy of what had happened that night.

Her mother walked down the stairs, and handed the prince some clothes. "They are the smallest I could find, hopefully they are not too large on you." Her mother looked at Sayomi as she went back up the stairs. She knew she needed to change but really didn't want to at that moment. Finally she let out a defeated sigh as she got up. "I'm going to change, then I will be right back." She walked up the stairs and into her room. Forcing off her boots, and leather pants, that clung fiercely to her skin. After a battle, and nearly falling, she got them off. Along with her her shirt. She saw a basin of water and used it to rinse the blood from her hair. She was looking for comfort at that moment, compared to something smart.
 
Unsure of how to take the current situation, Angel simply followed and listened to Sayomi. When she headed up the stairs to change, the prince folded the clothes he had been offered and set them on a chair, getting closer to the fire to dry off instead. Humbled as he was to be offered a change of clothes, he couldn't find it in himself to accept. The fire did well in heating his body and drying his clothes as he waited along. Recalling what Sayomi said about the papers, he pulled them out and began inspecting for damage. Aside from a few smudges here and there, the leather of my cloak was effective in keeping this dry... I only wish the same could be said of myself. He thought with a sigh. The majority of the letters were heated responses, seeming to be from the South king himself. They included a number of choice words, clever insults, and few words of encouragement. The portion of the page that didn't contain these retorts included details on supply shipments, particularly those of merchants returning to Angel's haildom from the South with weapons and armor. He's been playing off of an assumed peace, just to harness control over our military situation...worst of all, he knows we are defenseless. The few weapons we craft for ourselves are not of sufficient quality, and any trading we could do with other regions would arouse suspicion of intent to invade... The prince spoke quietly to himself, mulling over the details that disturbed him the most. The last letter was unusual. It was sealed with a unique wax mark that was an uncommon formality, especially for the Southern kingdom. The insignia itself was unknown to Angel, but the soft purple hue of the wax he knew all too well as the choice color of the royal house. It proved that someone close to the Fey family had fraternized with the enemy, and this frightened the prince more than anything. Falling into a chair in exasperation, he poured over the facts time and time again, wondering who would possibly do such a thing.
 
Sayomi put on a simple night dress, one that was heavier than they wore here. She had picked it up on her travels. It was a soft pink, and it pulled tight around her waist and hips. She didn't care what the prince thought of it, she was in no mood to deal with pulling on anything decently acceptable. She brushed her hair and pulled it up, to keep the loose hair out of her face, and out of her fresh wound. As she walked down the stairs, she noticed that he had not changed. She walked down silently and into the kitchen, before returning to where he was, entering behind him. She softly slid a mere butter knife under his shirt. "I won't allow you to catch a cold, Angle. You may feel it wrong or improper to accept the help. But I think right now, we are past that point, are we not?" She said in a soft whisper. She could see that something heavy weighed on him from the letters, but didn't know what. She wanted to at least reassure him that she would help, even in the smallest of ways. She walked around him, the small dull knife in her hand. Across her face was a small sly smile, one that could almost be taken as seductive. "In my eyes, you are no longer a prince. For I have never seen a prince, not even a king do what you did tonight, with just a small women and two horses at his side. None would think it even a smidgen smart." Her eyes, dull with exhaustion and pain looked at him, goosebumps from the cold that held onto her bones warming up rose across her pale skin. "You are no prince to me anymore. You are one of the few that I would consider brave. Do not think of yourself as just a prince anymore either. You are far greater."

Her little speech over, Sayomi stood in front of him, hands on her hips. "What did you find exactly?" she finally brought herself to ask.
 
Angel jumped at the feeling of the cold knife on his back, struck by how silent Sayomi was to sneak up on him. Her smile made him blush heavily when he saw her, and the kind words she offered him brought a sheepish smile to his face. When she stood in front of him, hands on her hips, wearing such a unique night gown, he couldn't help but chuckle a bit at how different she looked. No longer was she the dangerous woman with the skill-set of thousands, but instead she was just a lady in her natural environment. He admired her, and was constantly in awe of how she treated him, but he was soon brought back to reality by her question. Shaking off his trance, he answered her. "Well, most of the letters are conversations between the king and commander of the force we encountered. Most of what I read would be more fitting in satire, but the details included heavy amounts of information about merchant shipments, especially of those between this kingdom and theirs. This whole time they've been stealing back their own weapons, using our merchants as delivery boys... but that's not all. I found this letter stamped with wax. The seal itself is beyond my knowledge, but the wax was made in the castle itself. The hue is that of my family's crest, and its use is restricted to a select few of the castle... It narrows down my search, but not my doubts. I thought I'd wait for you before opening it." The prince finished, unlatching the letter and unfolding it to reveal the message. He began reading with hesitation. "Commander of the South Force - Dunwall Eddies - Ready your men for a slaughter. The kingdom's walls are in disarray, with guards scattered and confused. When I give the word, simply do what you do best... I look forward to a profitable future with you and your king in tandem. Prince of the Haildom - Angel Fey -" The prince narrowed his eyes at the sight of his own name. "I-I never sent this... but this...i-it's my signature..." He stuttered, turning sickly pale and slumping back into the seat in disbelief.
 
When Sayomi heard him say that there was is name on there, that he hadn't signed. She took the paper from his hands, looking over it. She read the words, just starting at them. When she looked at the signature, she pulled the paper closer. "You can see where the line wager. They were copying it from something." She threw it on the ground. There was no other time better than then to tell him the whole true. "The rumors that run about my family are very true.." She went upstairs for a moment before she came back down. She tossed the bags of coins in front of him. She stood back, away from him. She didn't know how he would take what she had to say. "That is from Darius.." She didn't look at him again. "He came to me, well more was looking for anyone in my family.." She took a deep breath, finally looking up at him. "He asked me to assassinate you.. He wanted you dead. He believed that you were trying to ruin the kingdom. He thought it was you who killed your father. Because you wanted control." She turned and stopped looking at him, and she started looking at the fire, and out the windows. "He is the one who gave me the invitation to the party. I don't just kill anyone. I mostly kill people like what he made you out to be. But I never do it without first finding out if what they say is true or not.." She sighed heavily, the burden of him finding out lifted, but a new weight placed. "I think that it has something to do with this." She finally looked at him, ready for him to come at her or something.
 
The prince was silent for a moment, processing all that Sayomi told him. He then inhaled, exhaled, and began to speak. "...Darius... why would he do this...but you, a-and the party... You would have killed me long before this had you been lying, but...it just doesn't make sense. Darius is like a grandfather to me..." The prince stared at the hefty bag of coin that lay in front of him in utter disbelief, eyes wide with shock. "...he would never do this, not by his own accord. It would put his family at too great a risk. What did he tell you? Please Sayomi, put my mind at ease. He must have said something...anything, that would prove him innocent. I cannot lose another family member like this..." Angel spoke as he ran his fingers through his slick blond locks, combing them back out of exasperation and confusion.
 
Sayomi went over and hugged him once more. "Angel I'm sorry I had to tell you.. he came to me. Because he was afraid for his family. He said what you were doing would hurt his grandchildren.." She held onto him, kissing the top of his head. "I think this has something to do with the queen. Only so many people would have your family's wax, and your signature. There are so many things that point towards her." She grabbed his face in her hands, and looked into his eyes. "He seemed like it bugged him greatly to come to me. He had something about him wishing it wasn't so. Something about your father and you. Right now literally everything points to the queen." She couldn't think of anything else to go on for leads. They had to figure something out quick.
 
Angel was thankful for Sayomi's embrace, closing his eyes in the comfort to let his mind clear. Hearing what Darius had told her brought a bit of relief to him, but it wasn't to last. "The queen... I-I suppose that would explain everything, save the reason to go through all of this. What does she have to gain?" The prince scratched his head slowly, as if trying to recall something. Soon after, he snapped his fingers in accomplishment. "I remember now! There is one fact that the queen has been able to keep hidden from the public...but not from her family. I...I don't know how I could have looked it over. The short of it is that the queen came from the South kingdom before my father took her hand in marriage. I never heard how they met, but I've known her for most of my life. I guess I just took it as fact that she was...family..." He pondered on the word for a while, slowly realizing that the last of his true family died with his father. The rest of the castle, with the exception of his bodyguard, was simply fodder for him to imprint upon.
 
Sayomi smiled, and kissed his forehead. "That's it!" She jumped up for a moment, before running to her bag by the door. She pulled out a journal, and brought it over. It was filled with sketches and notes from all of her different jobs and visits. In there, there was different sketches of people, flowers, views, anything she wished to remember. She went over to him, and sat down by his feet, leaning on his knee. She went to a few pages from the beginning. "Something similar like this happened more than a few kingdoms over. A little different of course. But all in all it was a bogus marriage. The neighboring kingdom just wanted in to drain the one kingdom of all the resources, then the call was given, and they stormed in on a town low on everything." She flipped through the pages, narrating the story. "I was called in to take care of the bastard King and kill him before too much harm was done. I was too late though. By they time that I was hired, they had been over run. When she flipped to the last page, it showed a kingdom, ablaze, smoke flying up. "They had been taken over. Most had been killed. The king still remained, to boast of the victory and his lies." She looked at the picture, remembering the smell of burning flesh as it rose through the air and forest. "I went in, and still killed him. And it was to make sure that people understood what had happened. It was not the typical assassination. I did what I thought I could do, for the few survivors.." She looked up finally, unsure of what else to do. She just remembered what it was like. It was one of the worse trips that she had been on.

"Do you think she would be wanting to crush your kingdom?"
 
Angel listened intently at Sayomi's story, growing fearful of the same fate befalling his own kingdom. As she finished, he replied to her question. "Now that I am convinced of her place in all of this, I am also convinced that she does not intend to crush the kingdom. This is not a campaign to destroy...this is a conquest of expansion. This kingdom will become a shell for the south to fill, and nothing more, and the queen must intend to make it as ready as possible for the arrival of it's new inhabitants... Everyone will die, but it will be quick, silent, and impossible to counter." The prince shuddered just to think about it. The idea of Southern soldiers entering houses without so much as a warning, slaughtering man, woman, and child alike. However, he had a much more drastic thought in mind. "...I can't go back to the castle...not with this knowledge. It's likely that most of the staff is on alert for me, and with the queen's influence, they aren't likely looking after my safety... *sigh* I'm sorry, I was simply thinking to myself. I won't let myself be a burden to you and your family." Collecting the letters, Angel stood up, brushed out a few wrinkles of his cloak, put on his mask, and walked towards the door in preparation to leave.
 
As he turned to leave, Sayomi didn't know what to make him stay. She got in front of him, her insides feeling like they were squirming. She didn't want him to leave. She stepped closer, then she pulled him down and kissed him deeply. It was her turn to do something on a limb. She held the kiss for a moment, then looked him dead in the eye, still holding onto his shirt. "You are not leaving. I'm not letting you go. I'm not letting you get hurt" her gaze didn't waver. She wasn't going to let him go anywhere because he thought it was best for her. "We will figure out what to do. We can get a very large amount of weapons, no questions asked. We can try something... But I'm not letting you leave." She hugged him tightly, burying her head in his chest. "I'm not letting anything happen to you."
 
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