Heaven's Kingdom Ch. 02

Tali raised her head, unclasping her hands. The prayer now complete, she stood up, careful not to disturb the candles around her. Even with only the flickering light of flames to illuminate her room, her eyes still functioned near perfectly. A product of both her training, natural born ability, and her affinity for sorcery. Even on the darkest of nights, she could still find her way.

Hardly a unique ability among the Bene Dai.

Despite the order's ritualistic and dogmatic insistence on conformity, down to even the outfits they wore, Tali managed to be the darkest among a family of black sheep. She always volunteered for the most difficult and dangerous assignments, from espionage in the most secure of locations, to stealing the hardest to reach of treasures, the harder the assignment, the more likely she was to get it. Now, Tali no longer needed to volunteer for them, the missions landing in her lap like clockwork. No matter how difficult, and no matter how many attempts, she always succeeded.

Where others failed, or gave up, she persisted until success.

So, when the order came for her first assassination, she knew it had only been a matter of time. And of course, the task would not be easy.

Assassination of House Avalon's only son. The king died nearly twenty years prior, leaving the Queen, already with two daughters, alone with a lone son. Now after the Long War's conclusion, he was easily the most valuable member of the royal family.

And thus, nearly impossible to reach.

Nearly.

The party responsible for contracting the Bene Dai insisted. So long as the Prince ended up dead, they didn't particularly care how long it took. Just if he died before siring any children. No doubt a rival nation hoping to cripple Avalon in the post war ruins.

Tali cared not for their politics. The order was clear, and the task was simple.

She'd slipped into the Capitol city a few months prior, quickly connecting with the local cell that managed to avoid getting snuffed out by Avalon's ever-present security force. By necessity they were a small cell, only a few members, only existing essentially to spy and sell any information they could. Any activity beyond that would easily bring down the wrath of both the royal guard and the standing army that guarded the fortress city.

So, when Tali and her orders arrived, tensions immediately rose, though no one would countermand her, no one volunteered to help her either. No matter, she worked better alone anyway.

She always had.

Months of moving through the city, observing where she could, and gathering as much information as possible revealed a few things to her. The Prince had not been publicly in almost two years. He also had a specialized section of the royal guard dedicated to protecting him as well as a network of spies all throughout the city whose sole job was thwart any assassination attempts. And perhaps most importantly, he lived in a separate, secure wing of the castle, at the very top of the tallest spire in the complex.

She stood up, her nude body reflecting in the mirror as she moved to the window. She glanced up the mountain. It would be a long trip just to get to the fortress, let alone the climb up. Everything would need to be timed perfectly to avoid the layers of patrols and other security measures. Any number of the guards would be an immediate death sentence or worse with their magitek armor and weapons.

Not to mention the mysterious woman who guarded the Prince directly.

Tali observed her almost as rarely as the Prince himself, which was to say almost never. The few short times she'd caught a glimpse of her were always from afar and never enough to get any solid detail. She would be her most dangerous threat and likely the closest to the Prince. There was only one detail she could gleam from the mysterious bodyguard.

She was built, and perhaps more importantly, armed and armored, like a god.

A direct confrontation with her would be beyond a death sentence. Suicide likely didn't even begin to describe it. No, avoiding her at all costs would be the plan. Even if she escaped with her life, merely alerting her would be enough to warrant complete failure. Any hint at an immediate threat to the Prince would cause an immediate tightening of security. What now was difficult would become downright impossible, even for a Bene Dai.

Tali glanced at the mannequin that held her outfit. A sleeveless black and grey robe with accompanying dark grey trousers and thick obi belt holding several throwing knives, smoke bombs, and other equipment. On the back of the mannequin hung two full metal sickles, both intricately forged and sculpted to appear as minor works of art. And accompanying them both was an equally aesthetic short sword. Rounding off the entire set were a pair of black featherlight boots and a black face mask.

At the foot of the armor stand sat some hand wraps and binding tape. She sighed, casting the tape aside and wrapping her knuckles. Binding her chest became unnecessary with her breasts on the smaller side. Though not completely flat, she would never consider herself busty like the others in the order. Just enough to indicate that she did in fact possess breasts when in civilian clothes. Still, if they were any bigger, she'd need to start doing something about them.

Almost ritualistically, she began to dress herself, slipping into her slacks, then boots, tucking the legs of her pants into the shoes. Then her robe and equipment belt followed by her weapons. With a practiced swiftness she tied back her hair into a spiky tail behind her head before pulling on her mask.

She was ready.

She pulled her dual sickles off her back and stepped out of her room into the common space. Other similarly dressed assassins occupied the space with various tasks, from eating to polishing weapons to running through a few short series of exercises. All of them looked up from their activities.

Tali knew what they were thinking.

Any one of them wanted the job she was about to undertake. The fact that a relative outsider like her got it over them did not site well with them. Of course, she'd have received the same reaction no matter where she was, whether in this cell or back at the Nest. High expectations were the name of the game and everyone was waiting for her to slip up and fail.

Any failure would be met with abuse.

Even success could earn a similar fate.

The fact that Tali never failed at anything, even if it required multiple attempts, painted a target on her back. Even if fate forced her to attempt another run a different night, if she did not outright fail or get exposed, they would still hate her.

One of the assassins sharpening her knife stood up, moving to intercept Tali at the door. Tali stopped, gripping her weapons a little tighter.

"Leaving so soon?" the woman's voice came out cold and dead.

Tali glanced up at her, "Night's fallen. And it's a long way up."

"Best be on your way then. Wouldn't want Mother to find out her favorite pet missed her mark."

Tali's eyes hardened to a glare, "I'm not her favorite."

Her human blockade glared back, "Best get moving, pet."

Tali sneered at her beneath her mask, moving around the woman, heavily resisting the urge to cut her throat on the way out. She approached the door and stepped out into the night of the city. It would be a long way up, and hopefully she would only have to do this once.

***

Compared to River's cold, at times, almost inhuman cold professionalism, Scarlett came off as a complete guard newbie. Of course, he could blame nerves for her manners but Jax never felt the need to enforce Royal protocols as much as his family. River also wasn't exaggerating when she mentioned the longer than regulation ponytail. Still, she wouldn't have made it into the guard if she didn't have some level of competence. Perhaps River had a point. Maybe he needed to get out more.

The thing that surprised him the most though, was her height. She wasn't short by a longshot, in fact completely average. However, Jax still found himself almost instinctually angling his head up every time he turned to address her. Of course each time, he ended up speaking to the air above her head before quickly correcting himself. Months of having only River to talk to and he'd almost forgotten that the average female did not, in fact, stand at 6'1. Or in her armor, 6'4. River was the exception and not the rule.

Scratch that, he definitely needed to get out more.

Jax stared at his room. With River and Scarlett's help, they'd reorganized much of the space, moving his possessions to the side of the room and securing them for the night's coming event. Only his bed, which proved too heavy to move anyway, stayed. The rest sat cleared away for several interesting devices.

A semi padded table sat in the center of the room, secured to the floor. A series of hinges and breaks in it indicated places of articulation. A number of cuffs, chains, and ropes accompanied it, each one specially enchanted so not even a sorcerer could break out of them or use their abilities while bound. A metal bowl with an accompanying number of bottles and jars sat atop a cart, that itself was covered by a thin sheet. What lay beneath it on the other numerous shelves, only Jax knew.

And Scarlett.

Jax smirked. Off to the side, River stood in her armor, microscopically fidgeting in her metal plates as Jax inspected the set up. Rarely did River not know something about his life and right now, even the benign unknown of what the cart contained bothered her to no end. The simple act of asking Scarlett to retrieve the items and the cart himself served well to cut out the middle woman. Of course, he also found himself ordering her to keep everything about it to herself, but he gave it about 50/50 odds she followed through.

Jax glanced at the magitek clock on the wall. Almost time. River continued to fidget.

He turned to Scarlett, who's face still wore the blush she'd began sporting the moment she arrived.

"Is she normally this nervous?" he asked.

"My prince- uh, my lord, sorry. I'm afraid I don't know what you mean," Scarlett answered.

He gestured to River who shot him a small glare, "She doesn't seem nervous to you?"

Scarlett stared at her superior. Jax watched intently as River, ever so slightly, shook her head. Scarlett's nod on the other hand was not nearly as subtle.

"No. Though I should like to say that if his majesty were to ask, there are stories from the barracks I would be happy to share about his prized possession."

River's face lit up red. She appeared to briefly relax as she turned to Scarlett.

"You zip it! I'll make it an order if I have to," River said.

Jax grinned, "What if I order you to tell me?"

Scarlett paled, her eyes moving between River and Jax and back again.

"I'm afraid my lord's orders would supersede your own, sis- Captain, I mean Captain."

River turned, "Please don't ask."

"Why not? They can't be that bad," he sang.

She cringed, "For me they are."

Jax turned to Scarlett, "What about for the rest of you?"

She smiled, "We laugh about them. Though who exactly gets the last laugh with those particular stories depends on your perspective."

He turned back to River, the blush still burning hot across her face, "I could imagine."

Scarlett turned to River, "If anything Cap, a little embarrassment in front of our lord here would serve as fine consolation prize for the rest of us."

River's blush only deepened as she began struggled for a response.

"Ain't she cute when she gets embarrassed?" Jax sighed.

Scarlett laughed, "Oh absolutely!"

"I hate both of you," River deadpanned.

"I'd believe that you could hate me," Scarlett smirked, "But not him. He is your boyfriend after all."

"That is way out of line for Royal protocol, young lady."

"I'm not complaining," Jax said.

"You zip it," River turned, shaking a finger at him.

"You need to relax, honey. Should we go take a bath again while we wait? Help you unwind, dearest? You're more than welcome to bring your friend here."

Scarlett's blush intensified and she looked away as River scowled at him.

"Okay, okay, relax. I'm only joking. Or am I? You decide."

River sighed, "You're really lucky I'm madly in love with your or else I'd have you in an armlock begging for mercy right now."

Jax felt his face heat up, "If that's supposed to be a punishment, you don't know me."

River walked up to him, placing a gloved finger beneath his chin, "You know with those magic chains you had he bring up here, I could make it a punishment. I could have you begging me for mercy for once."

Jax swallowed, "You wouldn't dare."

River smiled at him, "Considering you cheated in our little game last night, it's certainly tempting."

"You can't say you didn't enjoy it."

She rolled her eyes, "Of course not."

Jax cupped her face and leaned up and kissed her. River's eyes widened before closing as she sank into the intimacy of it. Jax separated from her, planting another smaller kiss on her nose.

Behind him, he heard Scarlett giggle, "Oh I'm so telling the others what a big softie you are, Captain."

River glared at her sub, "Shut up, Scar."

Jax smiled, "Oh yeah she's a softie. But she's my softie. And your softie too apparently."

"If you're just going to try to embarrass me all night would you like me to make it easier for you and strip naked already?"

Jax blushed, "As much as I'd like that-"

"Can I vote yes?" Scarlett laughed.

Jax shook his head, "As much as I'd love that, I'm afraid I need you to keep your clothes on tonight. And I'm afraid it's time for you to depart, Miss Scarlett."

Scarlett frowned, "Of course, apologies my lord. I didn't mean to intrude."

Jax cocked his head, "You didn't. But we are expecting company tonight and the less people up here, the better."

"Of course, I understand, my lord," She bowed, her professionalism returning.

Jax sighed, "I hope I don't have to do this for all of you guys, you can drop the royal titles and nonsense around me. I don't need it. But, uh... you know, feel free to stop by and visit again if you'd like. Just, uh, not tonight."

Scarlett brightened up, "Really?"

Jax turned to River, who gave an encouraging grin, before turning back, "Yeah. I, uh, I need more friends up here than just River apparently."

"You do need to get out more, my lord," River sang.

"Yeah... so she says. But I'll start with having people over. So, uh, yeah, feel free to drop by when you'd like to. On duty or off, I'll just consider it a little more personal protection or what not, whatever River would call it."

Scarlett nodded, "I'd like that. Thank you, my lord- fuck- oh shit- I didn't mean to- gods damn it, I'm such a mess."

"Welcome to the club. But yeah, uh, come by again and you can tell me all the naughty and embarrassing stories about my golem over there."

"I'll strangle you both I swear," River deadpanned.

"I'll look forward to it," Scarlett bowed and turned to the door, "It was nice to actually see you again, my lord- drop the titles, gotta remember that."

"Take your time," Jax said, "I've been trying for years and this one still hasn't dropped them entirely."

"Got it. See you two soon."

River stepped forward, "Oh and Scar? Next time... leave the armor at the door."

She cocked her head, "Cap?"

"You heard me."

Scarlett's eyes slowly widened as her blush returned to her face, "Oh! Uh, alright, sure thing, Revy- fuck- I mean, yes ma'am, Captain."

She quickly saluted before making her exit. Jax cocked his head.

"She's certainly an interesting character."

"Yeah she is," River walked up behind him, draping her arms around him, "What'd you think? I figured you'd like her at least a bit."

"She's certainly more rambunctious than I was expecting. Also... Revy?"

She put a hand to her face, "I could tell you not to ask but I know you will anyway."

"I'll take the abridged version since we're short on time."

She sighed, "Me, a special exercise in training that involved a spinning platform, and my name, River. Place those together in a series of unfortunate events for me and... well River became Revy and it stuck."

"Do you like it? The nickname I mean."

"I don't hate it."

"Would you prefer me to use your name?"

"My lord you can call me whatever you'd like... But I enjoy hearing my real name come out of your lips when I'm up here."

Jax smiled, "Sure thing, River."

"Thank you, my lord."

"Now if only I could get you to do the same for me, at least more often than once in a blue moon."

"My lor- Jax... My love, if you're around your family or participating in any royal engagements, the titles will have to stick around. But... when it's just us, or just your guards... I guess I can work out a compromise. Still a tough habit to break though."

"I'll bet. I just don't want there to be any titles or any high-class nonsense between us when it's just us together. Mother may have assigned you to be my bodyguard but to me you're so much more."

River smiled, "As are you to me, my love. Is that better?"

Jax clasped her hand in his and gave it a gentle kiss, "It'll do. Just don't slip up and say that in front of someone you shouldn't."

"Of course, my love."

"Should we get into position? Your guest will be arriving soon."

Jax nodded, "Of course."

***

Tali perched herself atop one of the metal rods of the castle's many flag poles. The time taken to even reach the castle itself would have exhausted a lesser assassin. Though certainly nothing to scoff at, her confidence in her ability to do her job remained absolute. Though now that she was here, her confidence in her ability to get there waned a little.

The prince's wing of the castle, if it could be called that, towered before her. Almost a separate castle in it of itself, only a long stone bridge connected it to the rest of the complex. Below the bridge, an abyssal chasm that served to drain a river that flowed from some glacial spring near the top of the mountain. The fall alone would kill anyone, enchanted armor or not, nothing could survive a fall like that.

She glanced down, below glowed the lights of Avalon's massive capital city. The nation's jewel, it served as the grandest of many hubs for arts, sciences, magics, and above all else, politics. The queen ruled over it and the entire country from an unassailable fortress atop the mountain. With the city's defense, attacking it would be suicide. Attacking the castle would be nearly impossible.

And attacking the prince's wing would be impossible.

Thankfully, direct confrontation was not her style.

The fortress of the prince's wing sat perched atop a rocky outcropping near the summit of the mountain. The structure itself looked down on the rest of the opulent royal palace the same way the palace looked out over the city; such was the distances between them. Massive walls embedded deep in the rock rose up around the small complex, hiding the details inside. Still, the points of some small spires and the edges of rooves reached above the tops of the walls, giving a small amount away. This area, designed to protect one person, stood out as almost a small town in it of itself. But beyond all that, one structure dominated all the others.

A large tower rose up from some base behind the walls. It loomed high over the complex like a judgmental monolith. Various lights poked out along the windows, making it sparkle like a spike of diamond. Glancing at it, she wouldn't be surprised if it really was composed of some kind of precious stone or crystal. No doubt the royal sorcerers possessed the ability to construct such a thing. No doubt the queen ordered something as durable and ostentatious to serve as the protection for her son.