Fairy Tale Assassin - Chapter 10

Meeting Hansel and Gretel

Chapter 10

“How in the hell did you sneak up on us like that?”

The words came out from my shock at the couple’s silent ability to get behind us. The man’s expression turned puzzled as Ruby grabbed my arm and pulled me back.

“Listen, we don’t want to fight,” I said. “So just relax the weapons. I just got Ruby away from that bastard Gilbert. I appreciate you helping us get away from the guard.”

“Did you really kill Lord Gilbert?” the pretty girl asked as she kept her match lock pistol pointed at me.

My attention focused on the ancient gun since it was so slow to fire, I could probably move out of the way. However, the rapier blade point at my throat made me snap out of my thoughts. I frowned, since I’m not sure if the wrong answer gets me killed or not. Instead, I tried to fudge it.

“Not sure,” I lied. “We got out of there as fast as possible. I got him in the back with my dagger.”

The man glanced over at the woman with the gun.

“He’s lying. I watched him grinding down poison berries this afternoon. It’s a fresh poison he uses with small arrows which he shoots from a blowgun. It’s a clever weapon we’ve not seen. He also killed a guard who patrolled the grounds.”

The woman’s expression changed at the news. I pulled my dagger since I figured we’d have a fight, which I wouldn’t win. My hope was Ruby could escape.

The woman holding the gun nodded at the dagger I held in my injured hand as she questioned the man with the rapier.

“It looks like we have a hidden noble with the looks of that dagger. Hansel, can we use him?”

The man’s face scrunched up at the idea. I glanced at Ruby, who’s watching the conversation with wide eyes. I expect my expression showed the same look since the name sounded familiar.

Yoo, I’m here listening to you!

“What about the contract?” the swordman asked with a growl. “We’re out of gold if Gilbert died by their hand. We should remove them since they work for someone else.”

“Listen, I don’t work for anyone, so how about a deal?” I interrupted. “We don’t know about this contract you’re talking about. Hell, you want credit, you got it. Since Gilbert is dead, we have to leave since people might come looking for us. You can leave us out of your problems.”

They looked at me like I suddenly grew a horn through my forehead. Finally, the blond woman’s expression broke into a smirk.

“So simple and dishonorable,” she giggled. “Eva will want us to make use of a noble with such wickedness! You say your life is in jeopardy, then explain.”

Nodding, I described my encounter with Gilbert’s men early that day. The two strangers glanced at each other as I recounted my story.

“You got angry and came up with a way to assassinate a lord in a day,” the girl mused. “Tell me about the sickles you have wrapped around your shoulders.”

After I explained the modification to the two sickles, she immediately understood.

“I’ve seen grappling hooks used for ships, but the noise of hitting the stone or wood would give one’s position away.”

“I wrapped cloth around it so it doesn’t make a not a lot of noise. Besides, the guards are lazy around here. They are looking for a place to sleep at night.”

The woman agreed with a laugh as she turned to the young man with the sword.

“He could be useful. What say you, brother?”

The young man gave out a loud sigh while he drew back his sword. His easy movements convinced me of his highly trained skill with such a weapon. I certainly wouldn’t last long in a fight with him.

“Gretel, you know I hate nobles. He’s too smooth with lies, if you ask me.” He paused, then gave me another glance. “Alright, I’ll go along. But I swear you’re going to be the death of me with your mercenary heart!”

The woman patted him on the shoulder while she gave me an uncanny grin. As I watched her, I felt something off with her personality. She carried a kind of innocent cuteness. However, those icy irises of hers told me she’d kill in a heartbeat, probably with a grin on her face. The woman’s attention turned to Ruby.

“This is strange. A gentleman saving a common wench. Do you follow him, red hair?”

“To the end of this world and into the next,” Ruby firmly stated.

“Well, learn to fight, so a man does not need to rescue you.” Gretel’s voice said evenly. “Join our guild and you can learn such things.”

“I’ll do so if Covan does,” Ruby quickly agreed.

Of course, her loyalty made me feel good, but I remained quiet. My silence came from trying to handle the fact I met two more fairy tale characters.

Freaking Hansel and Gretel stand in front of me!

In my world, the story told of a witch who kidnapped Hansel and Gretel. Gretel saved them by pushing the witch into an oven. Another morbid story for the children that twisted into something else in this world.

“Fine, then what about you? Where are you from?” Gretel’s questions brought me out of my thoughts.

“Ah, I’m from America and hiding from our king.”

The woman paused at my words.

“It’s a kingdom far beyond the seas, as you can tell from my words,” I continued my lie. “The ship grounded, and I barely survived.”

“Then you’ll come with us,” Gretel finally announced.

“Where are we going?” I asked while remaining cautious.

“You’ll see. But if you swear we took care of the contract on Gilbert, my brother and I will ensure you can become part of our guild and receive protection,” she explained. “You already knew the king will seek to hunt down the person who killed the bastard noble. Tis a favor for a favor.”

“As long as Ruby is part of this, I’m guess that’ll work.”

I started to give the dagger to Ruby, then remembered she had no belt and barely anything under the robe she wore.

“She needs clothing as well,” I said. “Can you help with that? I think I can pay a few coins.”

I’m playing dumb about the money in my cape. No reason to give them knowledge that I robbed Gilbert. Hansel was staring at Ruby, and I frowned at his obvious gaze. He noticed, then looked away.

“Both of you will need clothing,” he said. “The guild master will have some ideas. Come on!”

Ruby and I followed the brother and sister. Hansel stood a few inches taller than me, and he had a wiry frame and a squared off face. His long blond hair dropped over his shoulder after he pushed back his hood. He shared similar facial features with his sister, enough for me to think they were twins, despite the difference in height.

Both moved with grace and ease amid the dark shadows along the twisting route through alleys. Gretel only pulled out the lantern she held occasionally to light our way. By the time we reached a two-story building in the middle of a quiet street, I found myself lost. A series of specific knocks allowed us entry into the building where an elderly lady with a white headscarf stood underneath the stairs.

As we walked into the hallway of what appeared to be a family townhome, the women pushed open a panel beneath a stair and stood back. Ruby and I followed Gretel through the entrance and followed the stairs down to a cellar. Hansel locked the panel behind us, and his sister pulled open back a door partially buried under the dirt floor. Another staircase, this time built of stone, brought us to a long passage that remained partially filled with water. Lights of some type of crystal lit the way.

“This is one route to the entrance of our guild,” Gretel said as we walked along with the rats that moved out of our way. “You cannot enter the guild building directly.”

“Then you have multiple passageways under the city from various points to reach your guild? That’s a lot of work. I guess it keeps the wrong people from finding your guild. That means your guild has a lot of money, which means power.”

My observation caused Gretel to glance back at me.

“You don’t sound surprised by what I’ve told you,” she replied.

“Well, you mentioned contract,” I shrugged. “A noble’s killing can’t be cheap, so someone must put up a gold. In my experience, gold equals power. The fact we’re taking such a long winding road means it’s difficult for new people to trace back to your secret guild.”

Then I grinned at her.

“Plus, you never gave us a name to this guild.”

Certainly, I thought that was strange since I never heard of such a guild without a public face in those mangas my kids read. It led me to believe what was coming would be dangerous. My glance at Ruby showed me the concern and the excitement in her eyes as she held on to my sleeve. We finally came to another cellar and took the stairs up to another building. As we entered the huge open area, we saw tables nestled around the massive fireplace in the center of the room. Sitting at a few tables were people, mostly dressed in black, who drank from mugs or were playing cards. On one side of the room, we found a few rows of cots with people sleeping. Gretel turned to me with a Cheshire grin on her face.

“Those who make it this far can finally discover the guild called The Six Servants,” she said. “Now, you’ll need to pass the test to stay here.”

As I looked around, uneasiness enveloped me from the expressions on the brother’s and sister’s faces.

“And if we don’t pass the test?” I was pretty sure I knew the answer, but I asked anyway.

“Nobody will discover your bodies!”

---

---

Chapter 10 is the last FREE chapter - Please consider becoming a paying subscriber to receive all the stories.