Fairy Tale Assassin - Chapter 6
An Old Soul
Chapter 6
Late into the night, Ruby and I walked to the wall surrounding Morum. The so-called moot was nothing more than a foul-smelling ditch, which I think they used as a toilet. We already knew only a gate closed at the entrance of the main road at night.
As we walked along the side of the fortifications, they did not impress me. After all, I’ve seen plenty of actual castles when I traveled in my past life. Throughout Europe, such defensive walls were massive, redundant, and well thought out. However, this fairy tale capital city didn’t have such a wall. The fairly low barrier, along with the lack of a strong moot, convinced me Morum would not last long in a war. It also got me to wonder about the rumors of encroaching war.
Getting through the muck was gut-retching but doable. We found a level place to unwind my coiled rope. After I backed Ruby away, I wound up my grappling hook, which I covered with my cape to deaden the noise. My first attempt only managed to hit the bottom of the battlement, landing back near my feet. Scanning the top of the wall, we could only see lanterns far away. From the lack of movement throughout the night, I rightly guessed the guards were not on high alert.
Another windup and I got my hook over the battlement. We barely heard the thud. Pulling back on the rope, I tested the device several times using all my weight. It seemed stable enough, so I started climbing. When I got to the top, I was so winded I swore the guards would hear my gasping. My arms shook from the burning muscles I hadn’t used like that before. Finally, I shook the rope several times. It was Ruby’s signal to tie the rope around her waist. She quickly climbed up while I pulled on the rope to help.
“Tis exciting!” she whispered.
“It won’t be if we’re caught,” I whispered back. “Hold my shirt as we walk. I’ll find us a place to get down from here.”
My idea was harder to implement than I thought. First, the area below the wall inside the city was pitch black in most places. The lanterns near the corner tower remained unmoved, but we couldn’t approach the area for fear of waking the guards. So, I made my way along the top of the wall until I stumbled upon a solution. Actually, I nearly tripped over a wooden case. When I went to my knee, my hand realized there was an open area where I thought the low stone wall stood. Soon, I found the rickety wooden stairs leading down.
A few minutes later, I had my cape back on with the hood over my head. The rope coil hung over my shoulder and my grappling hook hanging from my belt. I let Ruby guide us, since I figured she had more sense about where we could find a place to stay out of sight until sunrise. According to my partner, the night watch will ask questions when they don’t know you and see you walking the streets at night.
We took several twists and turns through various back alleys which smelled as bad as the ditch outside the wall. Ruby stopped us once when she heard men coming out of a building. Fortunately, they passed by without noticing our position in the shadows. She told me we should find stables soon. As soon as we turned into another alley, I nearly ran her over when she halted.
“My, an old soul. It’s been years since I felt such a presence,” a gruff voice spoke up.
A flicker of light flashed on a man’s fingertip, revealing a white bearded man with a hawk-like face as he lit his pipe. He casually sat on a crate, puffing on the pipe for a moment, while I gawked at him.
“The question is, should I kill you now, or later?” he asked himself as he blew the tobacco smoke into the air.
“There’s no reason to kill anyone.” I felt a chill run down my back as I replied.
Stepping in front of Ruby, I felt her tugging on my cape to run away. However, I knew such an action would do us now good. The man in front of us never fully looked our way. It was his way of showing how minuscule we were to him.
“Listen, I’ve done nothing to you, mister. Hell, we don’t even know who you are! We’ll leave quietly.”
“I’ll introduce myself, Covan,” he chuckled, then snapped his finger.
My blood froze and I couldn’t move. I heard Ruby’s sudden intake of breath at feeling the same sensation.
“I’m known as Myrddin Wyllt. They call me by many names in other realms. Here I’m…”
“I’ve heard of you!” Surprisingly, my mouth still worked, which made me happy.
“You’re also called Merlin, the Magician who helped King Aurther? Seriously, you’re the greatest of sorcerers. What the hell are you hanging in a back alley at night?”
He tilted his head at my reaction before he gave a hearty laugh. Still, the man’s laughter was unsettling.
“As I thought, an old soul who knows too much. You’ve already taken the young lass on a different destination. It’s not good to meddle in the future.”
“Of course I did. Ruby doesn’t deserve such a fate. She’s a perfect example of someone who needed help. She’s with me now and there’s no wolf after her. I will fight for her!”
While I know my bravado doesn’t scare him, I continue my rambling. It felt like an urgent need to plead my case before the executioner.
“Come on, this place is so screwed up,” I continued. “I don’t know anything. I’m certainly unable to change this place. So far, there’s nothing here that makes sense.”
“That’s probably true, but you’re dangerous,” he calmly blew out a puff of smoke.
“That’s not even a funny joke. Nobody knows me. I’m not superpowered with weapons and magic. All I want to do is survive. If I get a little business going, I’m good. I’ll hang out in my corner of the world and keep out of everyone’s way.”
For the first time, Myrddin looked over at me. He pulled a staff from out of nowhere. The yellow orb at the top of the staff changed colors.
“Humm, your words appear true. But you don’t belong here. Changing situations affect other realms. Your realm calls it a butterfly effect. Still, such changes occur across time and space in this realm. It’s too bad for you. But what’s a guy to do? I’ll make your death painless.”
His resigned voice made my fear factor go through the roof. Still, the nonchalant attitude about killing us got me angry.
“Don’t give me your bullshit rationalization,” I growled out the words. “There’s no way that I affect a place with stories about Prince Charming. Are there three little pigs getting two of their houses blown down before they kill and eat the wolf? If so, that’s fucked up and you know it! I don’t know how a myth like that becomes a kid’s story.”
My attitude got his attention, but it seemed my story definitely changed his expression. The glow of his pipe showed his dark eyes light up with interest.
“Phhfff! That’s the tale? Totally incorrect, which shows ignorance accompanies you. What other strange stories do you know from your world?”
“Plenty of them. I haven’t met Cinderella, but I’m guessing her sisters didn’t cut off their toes to fit in the glass slipper to marry the prince.”
He chuckled.
“I don’t see the lover of Empress Boju worrying about such things. After all, she killed them to marry Prince Ravana at the orders of the empress.”
“See! That’s what I’m telling you. There’s no butterfly effect. Hell, I’ve had villagers trying to kill me for being a zombie. Grimm never wrote about the undead like that. Nothing I’ve read fits this place.”
Nodding back at the woman behind me, I continued my rant.
“Ruby knows nothing about Snow White. Emerald City doesn’t have a yellow brick road. Besides, I know from the book that the Wizard of Oz came out a hundred years after Grimm’s tales. I’ll bet there’s no Dorothy or Toto there since I hear it’s full of brothels.”
He laughed at my reply.
“It seems your dimension carries far different tales. Tis not unexpected. While I’m a godlike being, I cannot know every variation of timelines. You mentioned Grimm. As in the brothers?”
I hesitated while digesting his oversized ego before answering.
“Yes, of course. Who else are there?”
After a puff of smoke let loose, he took a deep breath.
“Many others, I’m afraid. Myths abound throughout time. Even a fool knows space bends and warps with time constantly. Still…” the wizard furrowed his brow in thought.
Finally, he nodded to himself.
“Alright, I’ll give you a reprieve for the moment. I need to ponder upon what you’ve told me. The brothers caused me problems in the past.” He looked at Ruby. “I give you a fair warning, young lady. Miss Riding Hood cannot stop the story once it starts. It is your fate.”
Myrddin Wyllt disappeared. I stood there with the strange sensation filling my body after he released us.
“Covan, what just hath happened? Doth thee knoweth yond terrible wizard?” Ruby’s words finally got me to turn around.
“I know of him,” I explained while trying to keep from buckling to the ground.
After a couple of breaths, I brought my arm around her shoulders.
“He’s a troublemaker, but don’t worry about it right now. Let’s find a place to rest and we can talk about it more.”
Ruby stared at me for a moment, then she led us out of the alley. When we finally found a place to bed down, it was the hayloft over a stinking stable. Fortunately, the rodents didn’t bother us as we lay on the soft bedding of hay. I explained as much as I could while maintaining my lie. My previous life was off the table. Seriously, who’s going to believe I suddenly died and woke up with people trying to kill me? So I just told her we had myths in America that seem similar to some things in this land. She told me how much fear overwhelmed her from the spell he cast on us.
My story appeared to work, since Ruby remains convinced that I’m a noble. I think the encounter with Merlin or Myrddin reinforced the idea. As we talked, it was the first time I asked questions about magic. Before meeting the sorcerer, of course, I knew such a thing could not exist in reality. Sure, fairy tales talk a lot about it, but I’m still stuck in a mindset developed over seventy years in another world.
“What shall befall to me? The wizard warned me, but I understand not.”
“I’m not sure,” I confessed to her. “But it’s not something to worry too much about. He probably just wanted to frighten you.”
I gave her a reassuring smile.
What did the bastard mean by her fate?
Unfortunately, Ruby knew little about magic other than she held a great fear of it. Fortunately, they are rare and keep to themselves, mostly. She told me that witches and sorcerers live their lives mostly hidden from the public. She described some tales of nobles using them to punish or help them. Ruby pulled her dagger and pointed out the curse from her grandmother was magical.
Yes, I obviously didn’t consider that part of it. My twenty-first century thinking disregarded an important part of fairy tales. From Sleeping Beauty to Rapunzel, curses and magic made up a huge chunk of the stories and how they ended.
“Well, let’s get sleep and we’ll figure it out in the morning.”
I brought her close, and she laid her head on my shoulder. As I tried to rest, my tired mind kept coming back to the important things I needed to accomplish. Now that magic came into my thoughts, the need to find something to defend against such a thing suddenly rose to the top of the list. Survival against an unknown danger like Myrddin required defenses and knowledge, which I didn’t have.
