Even faster then you thought

You sit down on a nearby barrel just outside Alexia's view to watch her deal with the five armed men circling around her. The leader of the men appears to be hitting on her thinking he'll get lucky.

"Hey Red, how about you follow me to someplace more private and have some fun?" He might still have survived the encounter at this point, but he makes the mistake of grabbing her ass.

"Sorry friend," Alexia's voice is surprisingly sweet sounding considering what you knew is coming next. "At the moment I'm interested in finding someone else, so try your luck with your ugly friends - they seem your type, smelly and dumb."

"What did you just say, you little whore?" The muscular bully grabs her by her shoulder still not understanding just how close he is to ****, "You think you're better then us?"

Alexia gives him a smile, grabs his hand, and then knees him in the balls before he can pull free. Her twin daggers appear in her hands so quickly it looks like magic and taking two steps back, her hands separate to stab the two closest standing men in their hearts. Only now do the rest start to react, but you know from personal experience that by now it is far too late.

Alexia pulls her daggers out of the dead men's chests and flicks one into the throat of a dark-haired thug with a jagged white scar running from his mouth to his ear as she ducks under the slash of the forth man. The attacker's wild swing leaves him open for the upwards stab through his diaphragm into the lungs leaving only the leader of the hapless gang stumbling to his feet with his friends dead or dying. Alexia must really concerned about you, because instead of killing the poor sod, she tries once again to question him about you.

"As I said, I'm interested in someone else, my friend." Alexia pulls a rag from her shirt and carefully wipes the blood off her knife as she speaks. "So now that I made it easier for you to concentrate, maybe you could tell me if you've seen this silver-haired swordsman and I'll be on my way"

"Fuck you crazy bitch!" The man staggers awkwardly out of Alexia's reach. "I'm out of here. Good luck finding anyone stupid enough to be with you." He's hobbling in your direction, holding his crotch and moaning in pain and you consider stepping into sight to finish the lowlife off. However, by this time Alexia has recovered her dagger from the throat of the fallen foe, swiftly wiping the blood off the dying man's clothing before sheathing it with its mate. It's little cruel, you think, to let the man believe he might get away, but Alexia was a cool as they come when provoked. She slips the bow off her back, notches an arrow and fires it right into the spine of the man who drops dead at your feet less than a second before he could have rounded the corner to safety.

You decide you'd better show yourself to your spymaster before she kills half the town in her search for you. As a gesture of good will, you retrieve her arrow wiping it clean and step into view. Alexia freezes when she sees you and an array of emotions seem to cross her otherwise inscrutable face as you approach. Joy, relief, irritation and then, unexpectedly, she blushes like the awkward teenager who used to follow you around court.

It's a look you haven't seen for several years, and it brings a smile to your face as you remember the good old days.

"Hey, Alexia. You lost this arrow in some garbage back there." She nods silently and the color in her cheeks returns to normal so quickly you wonder if you imagined it. "I think we had enough fun for today let's return to camp." Alexia plucks the shaft from your hand and returns it effortlessly to her quiver so casually that you wonder if you are going to get away without a tongue lashing about the foolishness of falling off a horse in a combat zone. Instead of scolding you she nods her head in agreement.

"Galeon's probably worried." She states the obvious, and then adds something you hadn't thought about. "The United Armies likely sent an envoy due to our missed meeting, and he sucks at diplomacy." Relief that things are somewhat back to normal with Alexia, you decide to tease her just a little.

"Unless you want to go looking for this amazing, silvered-haired, impossibly handsome, swordsman of yours."

"Shut up!" She snaps, "Just shut up, Bruce and get moving." Whistling for her horse she adds one final piece of advice. "Stop stroking your ego, Sire. We have enough problems already."