In the middle of the night, Cyrus was awoken by the presence of a masked individual standing by his bedside, a dagger inches from his neck. Just as Cyrus realized what was happening, the masked individual used his free hand to silently to his index finger over his mouth. The message was all to clear: "make any noise, and I'll kill you.
W-Who the HELL is this?! Cyrus' brain raced.
The masked person slowly lowered their free hand back down to their side, whilst the dagger was still pointed directly towards Cyrus. Then, after ten agonizing seconds of silence, the mysterious assailant spoke in a quiet, raspy voice.
"Cyrus Merrifall..."
The voice was male - judging from the sound of the voice, it belonged to a man significantly older than Cyrus. Perhaps a middle-aged assassin of sorts.
"You do not have my permission to speak," the masked man said. "Speak even a peep, and I'll thrust this dagger into your throat. Understood?"
Cyrus slowly nodded. Even if he wanted to, he couldn't do anything to his "guest." He was unequipped, and caught completely off-guard in a compromised position. Whether he liked it or not, he was at the total mercy of this stranger of the night.
H-How does he know my name? Cyrus thought.
The masked man continued, "Listen, and listen well, for I'll only say this once: I am only your enemy if you make me your enemy. For the time being, consider us... partners..."
Yeah, real great way to start a partnership? This some sort of sick team-building exercise? Cyrus sarcastically said to himself.
"This matter does not concern either you or I," said the masked man. "It only concerns the princess."
Cyrus' eyes widened.
"Do not fret," said the stranger, "I have no plans of disposing of her... but, she is key to my plan nonetheless."
If he doesn't plan to kill her, what DOES he plan to do with her then?
"I assume you've become well-acquainted with Her Majesty's daughter, as well as her... talents," the voice said knowingly. "Strange and repulsive as they be, they will prove necessary to my goals nonetheless. Her family's bloodline has been bestowed such traits for gods know how long. It is a curse upon her and her ancestors... and I intend to break it."
Cyrus became even more confused. That... doesn't make sense, he thought. If this is truly a bloodline curse, why not just kill her before she were to give birth to a child? Surely that would stop it... right?
"But, the process of doing so will require... delicacy..."
And he needs ME to ensure that it goes through... I see how this is going...
"You've been entrusted as her bodyguard. Thus, you will have clear, direct access to her at any given time. Access that I do not have. However, I know precisely what needs to be done in order for her to be... relieved of her cursed gas..."
It was evident from how he referred to Andaret's flatulence that he wasn't exactly keen on it. His opinions on it were harsh, to be sure. As to why exactly, Cyrus could only speculate.
"Whether she knows it or not, the princess is on the precipice of unleashing her full power," the stranger elaborated. "... and it will be a power so foul that it could risk the safety of the entire kingdom. You and I must stop that before it happens. Otherwise, she will become a living means of producing never-ending, uncontrollable foulness..."
...So, her farts will be... uncontrollable? Cyrus questioned.
"What you must do is simple, Cyrus Merrifall... once I take my leave, you will be given a list of instructions to follow regarding how to break the curse placed on the Princess... fail to follow those instructions... and I'll have to resort to a gruesome back-up plan..."
So he DOES plan to kill her!
"Do your part, and you will be the one who helped save the kingdom... refuse, and you will be at fault for the death of the heir to the throne," the stranger threatened. "And, if you think yourself clever enough to skirt around what I have told you to do... rest assured, I will know about it. I have my eyes on you."
Then, rather abruptly, the assailant struck Cyrus on the head with the butt of the dagger's hilt, knocking Cyrus out cold for the rest of the night.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------
Cyrus awoke in the morning, head throbbing.
"Ugghh..." he groaned. "My damn head..."
He then saw a piece of paper laying folded on the edge of his bedside drawer.
Wait, Cyrus recalled. That's right - the masked intruder! These must be the instructions he left!
Cyrus then quickly unfolded the paper and read the note left written, though all he could process was the first steps of his instructions: "Request the princess to accompany you to the castle garden, and proceed to have her break wind for precisely 13 seconds long."
The hell? Cyrus thought. I thought the point was to get her to STOP farting... what is the deal with this man?
Cyrus then recalled what the masked man had told him the previous night: "I have my eyes on you."
...This is a test, Cyrus said to himself. If I don't start playing along, then he'll know. He specifically needs me there at the garden so he'll know where I am.
Cyrus felt anxious. This is bad... whoever this masked man is, he has damned-near perfect stealth abilities. He was able to sneak in and out of my room with hardly a trace. For all I know, he could very well be hidden somewhere in this castle now.
"And all this, just to break Andaret's curse...?" He said aloud.
Cyrus contemplated his next move - on the one hand, the Princess' life was in danger, and needed to be alerted to this fact. On the other, Cyrus couldn't risk her life at the hands of a potential assassination attempt. He then considered the masked man's end goal. Assuming he was truthful, all the man seemingly wanted was for the curse to be broken, lest Andaret's flatulence simply became too uncontrollable. A not-too-unreasonable goal, he supposed, but it wasn't that simple - Cyrus knew full well that Andaret saw her flatulence as a gift, or a blessing. Taking part in having that stripped away from her would surely break both her trust in him, as well as her sense of ownership. Cyrus couldn't just betray her like this, not after she had opened up to him.
I've got to find a way around this somehow! Cyrus thought.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- -------------
Princess Andaret had just finished her breakfast, and let out a sharp fart as a result.
BRRRRrppppppt!
"Whew! My, what a nice meal!" she exclaimed. She then turned to face Cyrus. "I like to think it common courtesy to pass gas after some fine dining - think of it as a show of my liking of the food!"
Cyrus just nodded.
"So, today should be a simple affair," Andaret stated. "While mother waits to hear back from Davenruff regarding their talk from yesterday, I am to go about my day as usual. All you have to do is accompany me."
Cyrus had been informed of the meeting with a representative of the neighboring kingdom of Davewnruff previously, by the Queen herself. Though unrelated to what he was going through now, it couldn't help but stick out in his mind.
"In that case," Cyrus replied, "where would you like to go today, Andaret?"
"Hmmm... Well, I assume this is your first time in our castle. Anywhere in particular you would like to go? I'd be more than happy to provide you with a tour!"
Cyrus saw an opportunity - either follow the first step on the note, or go elsewhere in the castle. Cyrus had considered the possibility that he didn't need to go to the garden right away, just at some point later in the day. This could give him ample time to think of a counter strategy against the masked man from the night before. But would it be worth the risk?
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