In love and war...

The battlefield stretched over the fields of Hirega.
Standing on top of a small hill Eve surveyed what would become tomorrows battleground. On the horizon the enemy army had massed under the rouge warlord, Kineron. Eve gritted her teeth at the tought.
The man was a brute and utterly merciless. She had heard the soldies talking about him in hushed tones, as if he somehow could hear them even here on the other side of the plain. They all knew what he did to prisoners of war..
Sometimes he even send back pieces of the poor souls.

Eve was no stranger to torture although she detested the practice. Information gleaned from torture was rarely useful, or even true. During her training she had been kidnapped and tortured but had never uttered a word, except the occasional scream. She still had nightmares about how she had been strapped to a big wooden wheel which, as it turned, pushed her head under water until she thought her lugns would explode.
Bruised and battered she had been released and told she had passed the test: she hadn't given up any information. But Eve knew that what had been done to her was far tamer than what happened to most people.
She absentmindedly fingered a scar stretched across the back of her hand. With her long auburn hair and green speckled eyes she was quite beautiful although not enough to attract undue attention. However, with cosmetics and the rigth clothes she could make jaws drop which also could be useful.
She was of avarage hight, slender with whipcord muscles, high cheekbones and finely arched eyebrows. She was also quite vain and during her trainer the assassin Lord had been very careful about scarring her face, although the rest of her body had not been spared.

Burying the thoughts deep within she stalked into the biggest tent in the middle of the camp and bent her knee in fron of the wooden throne within. The old man sitting in said tone sneered at her and Eve had to grit her teeth again to keep her temper in check.
"So.." the old man rasped. "The Lord of Assassins have sent you? Maybe I should be insulted that he sent a trollop instead of a real assassin? What can you do? Entice your way into Kineron's camp by spreading your legs?"
Eve rose but said nothing. She was used to the reaction and even though it was demeaning it was also useful. No one thought that a young woman of only 22 was one of the most feared assassins in the country.
She kept her head down and discreetly swept her gaze over the assembled people; the King, the Crown Prince, a couple of advisors and two burly bodyguards. She surpressed another sneer. As if they could stop her if she really tried to kill them all.

The Crown Prince stood behind his father's throne staring stonily into empty air. He stood stiffly and almost managed to surpress a growl as his father spoke again.
Eve quickly tore her eyes away from him. She was a part of the cabal trying to ensure the Prince's rise to the throne. Gods help them all if the throne was siezed by his brother, or even worse, his sister, but the Crown Prince hated his father and the King knew it.
"You will infiltrate the camp and poison Kineron's food and drink." Did the old man even know what he was asking? Eve was good, great even, but not a ghost. "If you fail to poison him you will assassinate him in other ways. He also has a daughter, bring her here."

Silence fell in the tent.
"What are you waiting for? Go!" The King barked.
"I am waiting for my companion who has been scouting ahead." Eve's voice held no trace of the disgust she felt for the King. She sounded almost bored, her husky voice low and slightly menacing.

A tall man entered the tent and bent his knee before the king before even glancing at the younger woman.
"My Lord" he said with a husky but lean voice. He seemed to be in his late 20s or early 30s. Short dark hair, a square stubbled chin, brown eyes. A scar ran over his left eyebrow but other than that his face seemed to be spared from any marks. Renn looked muscular and rugged, not someone that you would want to mess with.
"I'm sorry if I kept you waiting.." he uttered with his head facing the ground but he glanced over towards Eve and grinned. The King snorted and eyed him.
"Atleast this one looks the part" he huffed and chuckled with an dissaproving sneer in Eve's direction, not really caring for Renn's apology.
"Off with you both!" he commanded while throwing out his hand. Renn boved his head and then rose to his feet again. With a swift turn he headed outside and continued toward the small gathering of trees on the left hand side of the camp. He wanted to be out earshot from any curious soldiers before reporting to Eve.

He reached the trees and then turned around, scouting toward the camp before he fixed his eyes on Eve.
"The tent is quite well guarded. Two soldiers are guarding the entrance and his personal guardsmen are housed in the tents on either side. The back of the tent might be an possible opening though.. they haven't thought of that angle as much.."

Eve flicked her eyes to the side as Renn entered. She had to bite her cheek to resist the urge to plunge her dagger in the King's eye socket.
She gave a hasty bow before turning on her heel and stomping after Renn. She followed him to the trees and sat down on the ground with a sigh. She glanced at Renn and snorted.
"Perhaps, but if he dies without publicly naming a successor there will be civil war. We need to make sure that the Crown Prince have enough nobles on his side before making a move."

She sighed and dragged a hand through her hair but perked up as she saw a figure moving towards them from the camp. She recognized the Prince from afar.
She didn't rise, even when he reached them and greeted them with a ironic salute.
The Crown Prince was tall and rather average looking with brown hair and a not too prominent chin. His eyes however were a startling blue.
"Well, you heard my father. If you manage to poison the man we'll all be happy but no one really expects you to succeed. He has at least to tasters. The real goal is his daughter."
The Prince looked pale as he said it.
"She's only an infant and his biggest, if not only, weakness. His wife is only a slave from his harem and he bears her no love. When you get the child you will take her to the river where you'll be met by Ben and Sarin. They'll smuggle her off to a monestary in the southern mountains."
Eve knew what was coming next and surpressed a shudder.
"A stillborn child will be handed to you by Ben and you will take the dead child to my father and tell him that Kineron killed her before you could get her. We must protect her from my father. In the future she will be moumental to uniting our kingdoms."

The word "I hope" hung unsaid in the air, but Eve was still glad. This was better then handing an innocent child into the hands of a vengeful King.

Renn shrugged indifferently to her words.
"You're patient" he stated sarcastically and chuckled. "I thought that you would kill him then and there" he gestured towards the King's tent.
"I could practically touch the loathing in there." He eyed her but then turned his gaze to the approaching figure.

He crossed his arm over his chest and looked at the prince with a stern face. It weren't often that a job had to do with children but it happened. Renn had been in the business for a long time and most of his compation for other people were gone.
He was quiet as the prince told them about the child and the plan to smuggle her to the monestary. When the Prince stopped talking, Renn snorted at the plan and pulled up his hood. The prince seemed to take offense at this but Renn didn't care.
"Let's get on with it then.." he said to Eve and touched his belt to make sure everything were in it's place.
"The sun will set within the hour.."

Eve rolled her eyes at Renn and nodded at the Prince. She may hate his father but there was no need in alienating the person she, and many others, tried to put on the throne.
She pulled her hood up and put two fingers to her lips. A sharp whistle from her called two horses that came trotting from behind the trees. Both were dark and quiet, like all the horses trained by the Assassin's Guild.

"We'll ride hard and infiltrate the east flank. It's farthest from the warlord's tent and shouldn't be as heavily guarded."
She threw a pack at Renn and pulled a face
"You can disguise yourself as one of theirs, the uniform is in the pack." She herself had a very revealing dress in her packs. The warlord didn't have women in his ranks and she had to go dressed as one of the many whores brought along to entertain the men.

During her short life Eve had fought to preserve her humanity. She still refused contracts to kill children or other races such as the peaceful fae or harmless selkies.
Killing had never been her choice, she had been "rescued" from the streets by the Lord of Assassins and vigourously trained. Her training had been expensive and it would take her years to pay it back and be free from her "benefactor".

She shook her head to rid herself of such gloomy thoughts and lithely mounted her bay mare. Without a backwards glance she took of at a canter, aiming to go around the enemy camp in a big circle.
The thudding of hooves was almost soundless on the springy grass.

He caught the bag that Eve threw at him and flashed her a quick grin, clearly understanding what kind of costume she would have to wear to "blend in" with the crowd but he didn't comment on it. Not yet atleast. He mounted his horse and urged it to move forward after Eve as she cantered away. On horseback they would get to the enemy camp within the hour, they just had to avoid scouts and curious guards on the way over there.

Renn turned his head back towards the King's camp to make sure that nobody was following them. When he was confident that nobody saw or followed them he looked forward again and kept an eye out for the enemy camp, making sure that the circle they rode in was wide enough so that they wouldn't be spotted. He adjusted the direction a bit but not very much.

The sun had begun to set and they could now spot the smoke pillars from the many fires in the enemy camp. Renn reined in his horse so that it abruptly halted. They needed to put on their disguise before moving any closer to the camp. Not far from where they were there was a small gathering of trees. He let out a low birdlike whistle to alert Eve and nodded towards the trees before  he headed in that direction. When he reached the treeline he took the pack and jumped to the ground.

Eve followed Renn into the woods and dismounted. She sighed as she opened her own pack and pulled out its contents.
It was a frilly and somewhat sheer skirt with a long slitz over each leg almost stretching as high as her hip bones, an equally sheer blouse and an underbust corset. Eve wasn't modest but this was a little much even for her.
She muttered darkly as she undressed, not even sparing Renn a glance as she went from completely naked to just almost naked. At least that's how it felt.
The corset however, presented a problem. She turned her back to Renn and lifted her long black curls, exposing her back.
"Lace me up, will you?"

Corsets were abominations but she had been sure to make this one at least a little useful. The metall boning in the corset could be pulled out and utilized as lock picks or even weapons. It also hit a thin dirk between her breasts and another in the small of her back. It made the corset even more uncomfortable but at least she wouldn't go into this without weapons.
How she missed her longbow!

"We'll walk in together, make it seem as if we've had some fun in the woods. We should be able to get fairly far into the camp. If we can't se our target at that point we'll split up. It'll probably be easier for me to infiltrate the main tent itself, he'll recognize that you're not part of his regular guard. Have I missed anything?"
The last question was pointedly sarcastic.

Renn unclipped his cloak and then pulled his tunic over the head. His muscular torso and arms were covered with a criss crossing of different scars from various sharp objects and his back showed deep marks from whipping. He glanced over at her as she let all of her clothing fall to the ground, it wasn't as if he hadn't seen her naked form before but he weren't the gentleman to shyly look away when a lady undressed in front of him. As she started to put on clothes again he lost interest and instead opened the bag with the uniform and pulled out the soldiers shirt and the leather armor. He looked up again when she asked him for help.

"Only because I get to untie you from it later" he said playfully and deliberately stroked her back with the back of his hand as he reached for the lacing. He liked to tease her in that way. Renn tugged on the cords to lace up the corset and did so thightly. When the corset were in place he tied it and then took a step back returning to the leather armor. He picked up the white tunic and pulled it over his head then he started to wiggle on the armor which weren't as cooperative but he managed to get it in place without help. It felt a bit thight in places, it was probably ment for a less muscular man but he didn't complain. He fastened the leather bindings at the waist and arms before he took off his boots and linen trousers to replace them with the leather ones.

Lacing the pants he turned to her with a sly grin.
"Not that I can come up with at the moment. But I'll surely think of something." Renn retrieved the daggers from his belt and carefully slid them into the sleeves of the armor. Since he was dressed as a soldier he could carry a sword with him without anyone batting an eye but it was foolish not to have a backup plan. In one of the beltpouches he retrieved a phial containing a dark liquid and then gently stoved it behind one of the bigger leather straps at the waist. Lastly he put on the leather helmet.

Eve pulled a face and couldn't help the silent gasp as the corset crushed her ribcage, cutting off any response she might have given. Her own alabaster skin was marred by scars but she was confident that the waning light would cover them easily. It wasn't too uncommon for whores to have them, depending on how brutal their clients were.
She looked down at herself and couldn't help but smile. Even though the outfit was tasteless she still looked beautiful. Her long legs were slender and well muscled and her thin waist made even thinner by the corset. The very low cut blouse showed off ample cleavage and her ebony hair flowed like silk behind her.

Eve gave Renn an appreciative glance before hooking her arm through his. As an afterthought she reached upp and ruffled his hair as well as her own. If one romped in the woods one rarely came out of it well combed.
"Well then, handsome. Let's make this convincing."
As they came closer to the camp she pressed against him, laughing at some imaginary joke and making sure to look at him dotingly. As she leaned her head against his shoulder she made sure to sweep the surroudning area with her eyes.
Several guards on duty but they all looked bored and not very alert. Several of them let their eyes linger on her translucent outfit but just then theit captain came by on his hourly check-up and they all snapped to attention.
Eve had to stand on her tippy toes to reach Renn's ear as if she made to whisper something inviting as her hand slid acoss his chest.
"Three guards continuously patrolling and a captain checking up on them. Shouldn't be an issue. Can you spot our target?"

"Lead the way my lady" he smiled and then followed alongside her towards the camp. When they neared the camp he started to stumble a bit as he walked, like if he had been drinking and laughed heartedly as he gestured with one arm, the one that wasn't now thightly wrapped around her thin waist, as if he were telling a wild story. He played a convincing role and let his hand unabashedly run up and down her slender body. While he pretended to look at her he glanced to the sides to scout the area. His eyes darted towards the captain as she whispered in his ear. The captain didn't mind them which was good so Renn let his gaze travel over the camp.

He leaned down in a gesture as of smelling her hair and then lightly whispered in her ear as he made a show of kissing her neck.
"The big fire up ahead. It's right in front of his tent and he's gathered outside with two of his personal guards." Renn grabbed her hand, that lingered on his chest, and grinned at her.
"The guards might be a problem but I figure you can get past them." It was risky to do the job out in the open with all the soldiers and guards around.
"You think that you can entice him to invite you into his tent?" he pressed her close to him and let his hand rest on her rear. She might have a better chance getting to him in the confinement of the tent. Renn didn't think that Kineron would let any of his guards stand watch inside while he entertained himself.

Eve giggled as his lips brushed her neck and ear. Her coy smile didn't falter when she felt his hand on her behind but her eyes flashed warningly. Next time they sparred she might be tempted to try and break the offending hand.
"You got to the back of the tent and let's hope he isn't a faithful husband. Remember: the child is the real objective."
She slipped out of his grasp and blew him a kiss before sauntering off. She had the art of flirtation down, she had been trained by some of the most famous courtesans in the capital after all, but she was vaguely uncomfortable by all this.
She was still a virgin, although she'd never admit it, especially not to Renn or anyone else in the guild. Personal information was currency, and she held onto it.

As she walked toward the big fire she snatched a pitcher of wine from a nearby table. Her walk became languid and suggestive as she neared the fire. The bodyguards immediately noticed her and put their hands on their swords which alerted the warlord of her presence.
She respectfully lowered her gaze but made sure that the dress adequately displayed all her assets.
"Wine, my lord?" she purred.
The smile on his face made her want to rip his eyes out as they roamed over her body. He took her arm and dragged her closer and she barely managed to hold on to the pitcher. So.. he was already drunk. His breath reeked of wine and ale.

As he pulled her onto his lap she let a hand slip inside his shirt as she whispered in her ear, all the things she'd let him do and all the things she would do to him if he only came with her. It still took her a couple of minutes to entice him to actually move, he seemed content to caress, squeeze and pinch out in the open. Oh, how her breasts would be sore tomorrow.
Eve was very relieved when he stood up, even though he practically threw her over his shoulder, laughing heartily.
As soon as he entered the tent he ordered the guards to leave and practically threw her down on the bed. Starteled, Eve didn't have time to move before he was over her, tearing at her clothes.
Damn! Where was Renn? She ached to kill the disgusting man but they had to know where he kept the child hidden first. She reached for the blade hidden in the small of her back but he pinned her hands over her head, burying his face in her cleavage.

He could feel the tension in her as his hand rested on her bum and he chuckled at this. They were out on a job but that didn't mean that he couldn't have fun in the meantime. He nodded as she reminded him of the child. They would probably find it with the mother but where they would find her was another question. Presumedly in one of the tent close by the warlord's. He watched her as she headed for the great fire but then turned into the path that lead trough the tent area of the soldiers. Renn moved quickly and silently for a man his size. He had his target set for the big tent in the middle but he had to take a wide circle around it not to draw to much attention to what he was doing. When he neared the back of it he took of inbetween the tents and slowed his step to have a clear view and feeling of the surrounding. There was a guard patrolling the back but luckily he was heading off in a different direction as Renn closed in the distance. He could hear the burly laugh of the warlord and heavy steps walking in to the tent, which must mean that Eve had done her job well. Renn glanced over his shoulder. No soldiers in sight that was looking his way. He slid his fingers between the folds of the back of the tent and carefully snuck inside without anyone noticing. A table was placed alongside that side of the tent so he had to cautiously slide behind it not to knock anything down. The warlord was huddled over the bed and Eve, whom seemed to be in a bit of a predicament at the moment. A sudden surge of anger knotted his stomach. He wouldn't confess it to anyone but he was quite protective when it came to the younger woman. One quick sweep of the tent told him that the child weren't in there. Renn swiftly closed the distance between them while a dagger found its way to his hand.

With a chunk of hair in his hand he forced the other man's head back as he pressed the sharp blade against his exposed neck.
"Scream and I'll slit your throat" Renn promised with a dark and low voice. Kineron only had the time to let out a light sound of surprise as he was teared from the woman under him but gritted his teeth in silence as he could feel the cold steel against his throat.

Eve considered pulling her knees up and kicking Kineron in the stomach when his weight suddenly disappeared. She shot out of the bed into a crouching position with both dirks out but relaxed only slightly when she saw Renn.
She gave the warlord a predatory grin before stalking up to him and pressing her dirk dangerously close to his right eye. The man went cross eyed as he tried to follow the blade.
"Alright you piece of butchering scum. You will tell me where you keep your wife and child or I carve bits off your junk and feed it to you." She wasn't entirely bluffing - bruises were already showing around her wrists.
While she kept him busy following her dirk with his eyes she discreetly used her free hand to sign to Renn.
"Do you have sleeping death?"

It was a very specifik poison that caused deep sleep, a sleep that became deeper and deeper and killed within 2-3 hours. It should work for what she had planned.
"No wife." His voice was harsh but quiet. "Disloyal and unfaithful. Hanged." Eve hissed angrily. If rumors were true he had just killed his 5th wife. She actually worried about how to get him to spill information about the child when he surprised her.
"Child is in two tents from here, north. Red."
Eve hastily flicker her eyes at Renn. Something didn't add up. If his child was so important to him, why would he volonteer the information so easily?
Eve removed her dirk from his face and adjusted her blouse that had been ripped completely open. For some reason she fought a blush as she tied it over her chest.

Renn kept his eyes on Kineron but briefly swept with his eyes towards the tent opening when he heard steps closing in outside but they soon went away again. Eve's signing hand caught his attention and he barely nodded his head in respone. He let go of the warlord's hair and swiftly fetched the little phial with dark liquid. The sharp point of the dagger pressed hard against the skin and drew a drop of blood when the man tried to move away a bit. Kineron hissed at the stinging pain and Renn grinned at this while he held the phial out for Eve to take.

Renn's eyes narrowed as the warlord willingly spilled the location of the child. If the child really was as important as the prince had let on, why would he give up that information without hesitation? He met Eve's hasty gaze. Something was wrong. Renn noticed the look Kineron gave Eve as she tied her ripped blouse. He didn't like it and therefor added more pressure to the blade which caused the other man to have to lean his head back not to get his throut slit.
"What now?" Renn signed at Eve with his free hand after she retrieved the little flask from him.

Eve thought quickly as Renn handed her the phial. She was sure Kieron was telling the truth. They couldn't torture the information out of him here and bringing him with them was out of the question.
She swore silently as she pulled the stopper to the phial, covered the vile man's nose nad forced the liquid down his throat. She would have liked to make him suffer a little, but there's a time and place for everything.

The drug worked quickly and Kineron sagged against Renn. She kept her voice low.
"We have no choice but to check it out. You'll slip out the back and I'll meet you there soon."
Eve turned away and climbed into the bed again. She kept her face turned away from Renn as she started bouncing on the bed, moaning and panting. She was fairly sure that Kineron was a loud man but she hoped her performance would keep the guards out of the tent for a little longer, even after she left.

Renn watched Eve as she forced the liquid down Kinerons throat. The other man struggled a bit and Renn locked his arms while keeping the dagger in place. It didn't take long before he could feel the other man sagging against him and he then gently lay the man down on the bed. He slid the dagger back in place and then looked at Eve.
"Alright" he answered and then headed back to the back of the tent to slide behind the table that blocked the tent flaps. When he heard her panting and moaning on the bed he turned his head and watched her for a brief moment. He averted his gaze and tried to listen to the sounds outside instead but the sounds she made made it hard for him to concentrate. The area behind the marquee seemed to be empty so he quietly slid outside and then contiuned to move inbetween the tents not to get caught standing there.

After a couple of minutes she decided that it was enough and let the moaning reach a crescendo. Luckily for her Kieron started snoring soon after.
Eve replaced the dirks under her corset and picked up a dark cloak that someone had thrown on the ground next to the bed. No one would think it odd that a whore received something other than money after a job well done.
When she strode out of the tent she made sure to have a slight limp and was glad of the hood of the cloak that hid her face as the guards outside jeered after her.

Thankfully none of them seemed interested in pursuing her ans she quickly faed in to the shadows behind the tent.
She quickly and quietly made her way to the red tent the warlord had mentioned. Two sleepy guards stood at its entrance and another guard at the back of the tent.
Eve pulled her hood down and made sure that her dress could be seen as she neared the guard, shamelessly winking at him. To his credit he tried his very best to look stern and uninviting, even when Eve sidled up to him and pressed her chest against his arm. His denial, or approval, died on his lips as Eve rammed her dirk into his throat, slashing both the artery and his windpipe.
Blood sprayed over her arm and hand but she stepped out of the way before she got anything else on her.
A quick look around to make sure no one had seen her - she had been lucky again.

Renn blended in with a little group of soldiers that marched along the tentline. He kept an eye out for Eve and soon spotted her leaving the tent, now wearing a black cloak. He kept his distance but followed her towards the red tent. Keeping to the shadows he watched her play the guard and then fiercly sinking her dirk deep into the man's neck. Renn looked around to make sure that no one had seen Eve's little deed before moving closer.
"You bring a new meaning to drop dead gorgeous" he teased in a low voice as he drew near her. Without waiting for a response he grabbed the dead man around the chest and then dragged him behind the tent where the body hopefully wouldn't be found before they got out of there. He covered the body with some of the hay that was scattered on the ground to prevent too much of a mud build-up and then went back to the front of the tent.
"I'll stand guard outside while you fetch the child.." he told her and grabbed the spear that the guard had been holding. It would look suspicious if no guard was standing outside guarding the tent.

From the corner of her eye she saw a guard moving towards her and she prepared for a fight but let out a relieved sigh as she recognized Renn. She game him a feral smile before slipping into the tent.
It was dimly lit and quiet. Eve stood motionless, waiting for an attack but the only person she could see was a sleeping slave women, chained to a small bed-
Eve crept up and put a hand to the woman's mouth, holding her dirk before her eyes.
As the woman woke she stared at Eve with terror but tried only briefly to struggle before the sight of the dirk made her freeze.
"Listen, and listen well." Eve's voice was a hoarse whisper. "I will not hurt you if you keep quiet and tell me where the warlord's daughter is."
The woman gave a near imperceptible nod and Eve released her hold, ready to knock the woman unconscious if needed.
The slave gestured weakly at the small bed and Eve peeked down at the sleeping form in it. More of a toddler than an infant, really.
"Not daughter." The slave's voice was thick with accent and Eve narrowed her eyes. The slave only gestured again and when Eve looked at the child it had now opened it eyes and was staring right at her.

Eve's blood froze to ice in her veins. The child's eyes were milky white but still seemed to see her as they stared into her soul. This was not a child, it was an Oracle. Only one was every born in a lifetime and the the church had build its religion around it.
Eve wasn't religious in the least but the church was the Crown Prince's first and foremost supporter. Without the church he would never be crowned.
She swore and looked at the slave again, who looked back, pleading.
"I will not kill her." The slave had time to look grateful before Eve drove the pommel of her dirk at her temple and she crumpled to the ground.
Eve gathered the child in her arms, a little freaked out at how the child never uttered a sound or made a move. It was like holoding a living doll.
She peeked her head out the back of the tent and held the child toward Renn.
"We have a big problem on our hands." she hissed.

Renn looked after Eve as she dissappeared into the tent but then turned his gaze forward, playing the role of standing guard. A couple of soldiers went past him a moment later without even sparing him a glance. So far they had been lucky but he felt that everything went a little bit too smooth.
"What?" he turned his head as Eve peaked out the tent again, this time with a child in her hands. His eyes met the milky eyed stare of the child and a chill went down his spine.
"An oracle?" Renn hissed with gritted teeth and quickly tore his eyes away from the being in Eve's arms. The Prince had played them, he had known about the nature of the child without a doubt. Renn cursed the Prince in a low voice and quickly looked around to make sure that no one had yet seen or heard them. They were supposed to meet up with the Prince's men down at the river to swap the child for a stillborn. Did the King know about the child? If so he wouldn't be tricked by an ordinary dead infant which would cause a lot of problem for Renn and Eve if they were to deliver the wrong child.
"We need to get out of here" this was not the place to get caught dead. They would have to discuss this later.
"Take the child and return to the horses, I will follow shortly after" he said to her and made sure the coast was clear before he ushered her out of the tent. He had to stay guard for a while longer so that she had the time to get away with the child.

Eve smeared the child with mud to make sure that the pristine blonde hair looked dirty brown. It chilled her that the child never uttered a protest or even seemed to notice the treatment.
She had heard that the Oracle was a human born with all the god's voices in his or her head. The Oracle was always insane, sometimes raving and sometimes quiet as a grave. This seemed to be the latter and she hoped it would keep quiet.

Eve pulled up her hood and pressed the child against her, covering her with the cloak. She gave Renn one last look before she hurried into the shadows between the tents. She strained to walk slowly, all she wanted to do was to run and run and run.
Her luck ran out when she was only a few yards from the edge of the camp.
A man stepped out in front of her, drunkenly wielding a hunting knife. She recognized the man as one of the guards that had been guarding the entrance of the camp when they arrived.
"I see you have no customer now, sweetness. What say you we get to know eachother a little." His voice was slurred but she could hear the malice in it. This was one of those who needed is women to hurt. As he lunged for her she jumped back but was hampered by the child in her arms and his knife bit into her side.
Eve hissed and with lightning speed got out her dirk and drove it into the mans eye. He died with a strangled scream.
Eve cursed colorfully and bolted for the woods, she could already her alarmed voices looking for the source of the scream. She could see no sign och pursuers as she reached the treeline and huddled down in some bushes to await Renn. She barely felt the blood trickling down her side.

Renn had a stern face as he watched the huddled figure of Eve dissappear in between the tents. He felt tense but tried to relax, this was not the time to get anxious, she could handle herself. A couple of minutes went by. She should have reached the edge of the camp by now if everything went as it should. The thought only had time to flash by him when raised voices and shouts suddenly filled the otherwise silent night. Renn perked up and turned his head in the direction of the alarm and clenched his fist as he realised that it was the same direction that Eve had been heading off in. He wanted to run after her, to make sure that she was alright, but that would draw too much attention to himself. He looked around and then hurriedly started to move down the line of tents to where the shouts were coming from, trying to blend in with the other confused soldiers that was running around to find the original source of the alarm. A little group of people had formed a circle around a body on the ground. The sheer mass of the body quickly told him that it didn't belong to Eve and he couldn't see her anywhere close by which must mean that she had gotten away.

Renn quickly realised that there were too many people in this part of camp by now for him to quietly slip away unnoticed. But he couldn't stay here, sooner or later they would realise that he was the odd one out. He slowly backed away from the growing crowd and headed for a different part of the camp. This was a risky move, heading away from the ruckus while everybody else was moving towards it but he couldn't risk drawing attention to Eve or the child who were probably hiding in the nearby forest.
"Soldier!" the voice behind him made him freeze in his tracks and his fingers instinctively reached for the daggers he had hidden in the sleeves. He turned around and found one of the captains standing there with two soldiers escorting him.
"Yes, sir?" Renn responded and tensted up in salute. The captain eyed him for a moment.
"What's the ruckus about?" he demanded and Renn's eyes briefly flickered toward the soldiers that was standing on either side of the captain. They seemed calm, no twitching hands reaching for a sword which was a good sign.
"They've found a body at the west edge of camp, sir" Renn answered. The captain's eyes narrowed at this and he looked at his escort. "Go check it out" he commanded and the soldiers quickly resonded. Renn remained silent and watched the captain who was now eyeing him thoughtfully.
"As you were, soldier.." he said at last and continued in the direction he had been walking. A small sigh escaped Renn and he kept moving towards the edge of camp and soon was out in the open. He crouched in the tall grass and hoped that no one saw him leaving, and if they did that they shruggred it off with that it was someone that was going for a piss. It would take him some time to backtrack to Eve especially while crouching.

After some time waiting Eve could stand it no more. She did a good impression of an owl's hoot and soon hear hooves coming her way.
She thanked her lucky stars they had been given horses from the Guild for this mission. Eve ached to go and search for Renn. Even though the Assassin Lord encouraged enmity among his subjects Eve had developed a liking for Renn when she realized that his ethics resembled her own. Far too many of the assassins liked their work all too much.
She would never admit it though, she was fairly sure Renn would stab her in the back if he felt her to be a threat.
Eve lifted the child onto the back of her mare. She stared into the white eyes and swallowed.
"Hold onto the saddlehorn." It was a quiet command people rarely ignored. Still, she was surprised when the little girl grabbed onto the saddle horn. Maybe she listens to commands...
She rummaged in her saddlebag and pulled out her fighting daggers, tight fitting leather leggings and a black tunic. She kept an eye on the child while she changed but the girl didn't seem to care about anything around her.
She felt immensely better in her new clothes, although she hadn't been able to unlace the corset by herself. She looked to the sky and wondered how long she should wait before heading for the rendezvous point.

It didn't take long for Renn to realised that he was being followed. The captain had probably found something strange with him and therefor had sent somebody after him. Renn kept moving not to make his followers suspicious or cautious. If he let them close enough he could probably kill them without anyone noticing but it was a risky move since he didn't yet know how many they were. Who ever they were they weren't trained in the art of sneaking because they rustled a lot while they were moving forward through the grass. By the sound of it he figured there were atleast two soldiers behind him but there could be more. He bent close to the ground and waited. The steps moved closer but then went silent as they lost sight of him, hushed voices could be heard from the patches of high grass no more than a couple of feet from where he was now hiding. Renn listened intently and let the daggers slide out into his hands. When the closest soldier went past him he sprung up from the ground and jabbed the blade into the mans chest while the other hand covered his mouth from behind. The man went down silently, dead before he even knew what had happened. Renn gently put the man down on the ground and started moving in the direction of the other soldier.

It wasn't a challenge to take out this one either. It was all too easy. A steel bolt suddenly tore in to his back, close to the left shoulder and knocked the air out of his lungs. Renn gasped at the sudden pain and he leaned forward while his hand searched for the pretruding arrow in front. It hadn't burrowed all the way trough but was planted deep in to his flesh.
"Curses" he hissed and spun around to face his attacker. A man with a crossbow was standing maybe 20 meters behind him. He had just finished reloading the crossbow and was now putting a horn to his lips, sounding an alarm. Renn swore to himself and then ducked as a new bolt flew past him. He balanced the dagger in his right hand and then threw it with all the force he could muster. The blade twirled through the air and then found its target; the left eyesocket of the man, who now fell dead down with a surpriced expression on his face. Renn shakedly stood up and then started to sprint through the tall grass in a different direction than that of the forest. He couldn't go in that direction anymore, it would lead them to Eve and the child.

He soon reached a little stream and since no one seemed to be follwing him yet he fell to his knees in the soft dirt and tried to catch his breath. The arrow made every breath hurt but he pushed away the pain, tried to gather his thoughts. At the Guild they were trained to withstand pain and this was nothing compared to what he had had to endure before.

Eve was getting really restless.
While she had been waiting she had bound her midriff, grateful that the wound was shallow. It stung like seven hells though.
She estimated that about half an hour had passed when she decided she could wait no longer. She mounted her horse so the girl sat in her lap and started off in the direction of the river. Eve fervently hoped she would run into Renn on the way but the mission came before all else.
She rode slowly, hooting like an owl from time to time, listening for a reply. She didn't dare call him and hoped he would recognize their usual call.
As she rode she racked her brain. The King said the child was an infant, their best choice seemed to be to accept the dead child and bring it to him and hope that he thought it was the right child. Anger rose in her throat at the thought of the Crown Prince keeping this information from them.
She would ask Renn what he thought... if she could find him.