Rhethiak Galcan had seen a lot of things in his life. He was over 400 years old, and had been around quite a bit.
He recognized a Reaper when he saw one.
The hellhound was a nice touch. The killer was polite, and Rhethiak had to wonder why he was here. As far as he knew, Reapers only killed one person at a time… so who was this one here for?
If captured, he'd likely never tell, and he might even fight his way out, so Rhethiak gave a nod as the tall, dark figure bowed and offered congratulations.
They would wait, and see whom he was here to kill.
…..
Valiel was in a routine, not really paying attention, when she saw a face that made her pay attention. It was Thatcher and Nike! The hound looked so nice in the bright collar, Valiel couldn't help but smile at them both. She watched as he faded off to the side.
After a bit, she stood, intent on going to talk to him. She was known for mingling with the commoners, so no one would think anything of it.
"Valiel…"
Her father's voice pulled her up short, and he motioned her towards him.
"If you're intending to go talk to the tall fellow with the hellhound, don't. He's an assassin, and I'll not have you in close range of him."
Valiel felt like he'd slapped her. She'd rather liked Thatcher, but her father wasn't usually wrong about these things. She asked a few questions, got a few answers, and slipped back to her seat, her little heart sinking back down in her chest.
She felt betrayed, though she had no reason to feel that way. Certainly, she felt lied to, but the more she thought about it, she had no reason to feel that either. They'd met exactly one time. She shouldn't have expected him to just tell her everything after one meeting.
Her Grandmother leaned over and spoke comfortingly to her. "It's just your heart, dear. Everything feels worse because you're upset. But the sun will come up tomorrow, and the clouds will part, and you'll be alright." She smiled at Valiel, and the Princess gave the smallest smile back.
The thought wasn't a comforting one, but… it was a good try.
Maybe he's here to kill me… she thought. That would have been a nice turn of events.
……
The evening passed slowly, and soon, things were beginning to wind down. Only the most drunk and festive guests had stuck around… and the thieves.
This became clear when there was a commotion, and guards began shouting further into the palace. King Rhethiak stood, shouting orders, and marched out of the room quickly, flanked by multiple guards. Apparently, some drunk criminal, or a group of them, had made an attempt on the treasury. The King and many guards would be distracted for a while.
The Royal family all retired for the night, and the guests were dismissed.
Valiel gave Thatcher a sidelong glance as she headed towards her quarters. Part of her wanted to go yell at him, or say something cutting, but she held her tongue as she walked out of the banquet hall.
What she didn't see was Phryos drunkenly following her towards her rooms, with bad intentions in his eyes.