Who are these assassins?

You groan and rub your brow. You had just become the queen of a large city, a race of proud and powerful warrior-women, and a jungle island that stretches for over forty miles and the supreme commander of one of the most powerful navies in the world all in a little under a single year's time. You are not ready to become the queen of another city, let alone one ruled by men. You doubt if even the women of this land would accept your rule, let alone the men, so acknowledging your bloodline is out of the question. More worrying at the moment is the assassins that appear to be able to kill whenever, wherever and whoever they chose. Did they know that you were a part of the Masson bloodline? Do they have plans to kill you too? It is obvious that you need to know more about these assassins; who they are, and what their goals are.

Dropping your hand from your brow you look up at your grandfather with stern eyes, “Does anyone else know that we are related?”

“Only a few,” Thanos replies with a heavy sigh, “My aides and record keepers mostly. The rest is rumor spread among the local taverns, a seldom heard one at that. Even today with my bloodline in shambles I don’t think anyone has given you a second thought, even the assassins for that matter.”

Lord Marshal Raxius chimes in, voicing his interest in the situation, “Regales, when King Thanos dies, Masson and the surrounding lands will fall into chaos as generals and nobles fight to fill the power vacuum. If you were to calm your position as the heir to Masson it might lead to civil unrest, but as a strong leader with a clear claim to the throne it is a situation that could be controlled and quick to end.”

“Most certainly not!” you and Thanos say in unison.

“I’m having a hard enough time trying to convince my elder Sisters that I am worthy of being their queen,” you state, “I can’t rule a land where the men treat their women like servants and the women faint at the sight of a butter knife.”

“And I’m not about to let a woman rule my lands,” Thanos adds confirming your opinion of the bias that you would undoubtedly face as a new queen, “Let alone one that is part of a race that is so spiteful towards men that Aries himself had to inflict a curse upon them that ensures that they will birth only daughters just so they would consider opening their legs for us." You bristle at the mischaracterization of Aries' blessing, but silently acknowledge that were it not for the need to reproduce, there is little that you and your Sisters need from men. Thanos is still speaking, clearly is bitter about everything and everyone from your island queendom. “- damn bitches are so restrictive that when they make their picks, more men then not don't live up to their fucking ideals.”

Raxius shook his head at the two of you. “Regales, if Queen Xira doesn’t claim your throne when you die, your lands will fall into chaos and may stay that way for years to come.”

“Have you tried naming a new heir?” you ask Thanos looking for a simple solution to this irritation.

“Twice,” he replies, “Both were killed within the week. When I attempted to name a third no one accepted, seeing it as a **** sentence, I suppose.”

Whoever these assassins where they were very thorough. Which begs the question, why haven’t they come after you yet? “Do you know who these assassins are?” you ask Thanos.

“They work for the mercenary Aristidis Mutos.” Your eyes go wide, and then you break into a broad grin.

“All the more reason to kill him.”

“Wait, wait, my bloodthirsty queen, killing the man doesn't solve the underlying problem.” That might be true, but it often doesn't hurt either. “I don’t know who hired Aristidis but I'd wager that it was someone within that damn city,” Thanos waves in the rough direction of the white walls of Athenapolis, “After the unfortunate **** and public auction of Amara of Helios, the attempts on my life stopped, I suspect he saw the repercussions of the sale long before the High Council realized they had gone too far.” As far as you were concerned the great families of Athenapolis had gone too far the first time they sent slavers to capture your Sisters from their peaceful homes on Accor, but you listen to Thanos as he continues.

“A few days ago, I received a sealed letter from Aristidis detailing how his company was commissioned by a powerful entity within the city to kill off my family. The letter went on to state that he would spare me if I was able to convince you not to attack his company during the siege. Apparently, there is something inside the city walls that that man really wants and can’t do that while you are trying to kill them.”

You clench your fists and turn away from the two men to hide the tears in your eyes. Thanos and Raxius might not see it, but it was crystal clear to you. The battle of Elaina had been an elaborate attempt to kill you along with your mother. Unable to reach you on Accor, the assassins hoped to kill you in battle. The reason why so many of your Sisters have died, the reason why your mother is no longer with you, is because these assassins were trying to end your blood-claim to a throne you don't even want!

“Did they tell you who hired them?” You ask as softly as possible, fighting back the anger growing within your belly.

Thanos shakes his head, “I’m afraid not.”

No longer able to control the pain of this revelation, fuming hot steam out of your flaring nostrils. You quickly turned to the king, your cape flapping behind you as you started towards him. However, before you could reach him Raxius hooks his surprisingly powerful arm around your midsection to stop your advance. You shoot a quick glare at the Lord Marshal but do not break his hold on you. Instead, you turn your attention to your grandfather, “So that deal you offered me earlier was worthless!”

“To you maybe,” he answered, “To me, it would have bought me a few more years.”

You hiss at the man, “Did you ever think that the reason why your kingdom is crumbling is because you are a spineless coward.” With a quick jerk you twist your way out of Raxius’ arms and turn to the front of the tent, but before you can leave the Lord Marshal stops you with a firm hand on your shoulder plate.

“Queen Xira, I know you do not care for the idea of being the Queen of Masson,” he starts, “But I would still let your most trusted advisers know about the situation.”

That is going to be a problem given how you have a traitor in your mist. You would be surprised if the traitor already knew of your connection to the Masson bloodline, and you wanted to keep t that way. “I’ll keep that in mind,” you respond over your shoulder before stepping out of the tent.