Horace and his men circled Ada’s camp like vultures, hiding in the darkness out of sight. His men had been waiting for the perfect moment to strike, and seeing the guards change shift, they knew it was now or never. Halfdan moved forward with his knife, reflecting the moonlight. Hearing the light footsteps behind him, the guard quickly spun, but before he could say anything, the blade pierced through his throat.

Shoving his stumped hand into his mouth, Halfdan pulled the knife out and repeatedly stabbed him in the stomach until the light was gone from his eyes. Dragging him into the darkness, he looked over to the others and raised his hand, signalling for them to tart approaching.

Horace finally arose and casually walked over as his men surrounded the camp. There weren’t many, but they had the element of surprise. Horace moved quickly, moving past Halfdan like a wraith. His eyes looked across at one of his men, and they gave each other knowing nods and closed in on the two around the fireplace.

Taking a final look at one another, the two men moved noticing a presence behind them, as Horace covered the mouth of one and slit his throat. His operative was unlucky, and before he could get a good hold, the guard hit him away and turned. Pulling his sword, he let it swing and cut deep into the man’s stomach.

Halfdan moved quickly, running from behind and punching the man across the face, dazing him for a second. It was enough time for him to deliver the finishing blow as the operative let out a low moan. Horace bent over his operative before he could scream in pain, silencing him for good. He couldn’t risk alerting the whole camp yet.

Although there weren’t many, they were all trained soldiers. They couldn’t handle a full-blown fight. Horace looked at Halfdan, and the two dragged the two guards out of sight. They made too much noise, and it was only a matter of time before someone awoke and came to check. Crouching by the tents, they waited patiently.

IT wasn’t long before. The sound of a few putting on gear and coming out alerted everyone. They knew they had to be quick. The first came out, and one of the operatives grabbed them quickly. Covering his mouth, he plunged his knife through his heart and dragged him out of sight. A second and a third quickly followed as Horace looked around.

There was no more movement. He didn’t risk trying to impersonate a guard. He was sure they all recognised each other’s voices. Stepping forward, he took the sight of everyone and made a hand gesture to let them act freely now. Without hesitation, they stormed the tents, not caring about being silent anymore, and quickly killed as many as they could. A few put up a small fight and shouted for help, but against an enemy with a weapon whilst unarmed it was a short scuffle.

Ada awoke to the warnings and looked out of her tent with scared eyes. She didn’t know what was happening and grabbed a small blade she had been given. Gulping, she pointed towards the tent entrance like a cornered animal.

"GET OFF ME!" A cry from the noble she had come with echoed in the darkness, and she could hear him kicking up the dirt, trying to escape. "DO YOU KNOW WHO I AM?" A loud making of flesh quickly followed his words.

"No." Ada next heard her maid gently whisper in horror. "NOOOO! AHH! LET GO!" Her screams were horrifying, and Ada silently prayed in her heart.

Horace looked at the final tent, which he cut open with his knife. Inside, he saw Ada looking at him with terrified but betrayed eyes. "Sorry for awakening you, Princess." He looked down at her knife and smiled. "I don’t mean to harm you, so can you please step out?"

Ada didn’t move, and Horace frowned. Reaching behind his back, he moved quickly and swung his arm forward. A blade shot past Ada’s head before she could even register what happened, and looking to the left, she gupled. "If I wanted you dead, it would be easy. So can you please get out. We have so much to discuss."

Ada meekly nodded, the strength in her hands failing as she dropped the small blade. Walking out, she saw her maid standing by the side with a woman holding her mouth. On the floor, the noble knelt, shivering in fear with a rope in his mouth.

"You see, Princess." Horace grabbed her by the shoulder and walked her before the noble. "I was wondering what you wanted."

"Can y..."

"Ahh." Horace stopped her from talking and placed a finger over her mouth. "Let me speak." Ada lowered her head and tried her best not to collapse. "As I was saying, I have such great interest in the Commonwealth, more specifically those who are important in it. My job requires me to."

"But you. You were strange to figure out. What did you want? It isn’t political power. If it were, you would have claimed it many years ago. Or maybe you were smart enough to realise it was a foolish dream." Horace smiled. "Recently, one of my missions required me to dress as a woman. I won’t say I know their minds, but it gave me time to think like one."

"So. What is it. You don’t marry for love. If that were the case, you would have never married Izaak. He had a lover after all. Then you don’t marry for power. Becuase if that was the case, you would be in the Gotic Kingdom. So if it’s not those two things, it must be control."

Horace could feel Ada’s muscles slightly tense up in his arms. "To control your life realistically. Marry a husband who won’t oppress you is my guess." Horace looked at her and smiled, seeing he was close. "It’s definitely to have control over your life. But your husband had to be faithful. Izaak would have been a perfect choice if he didn’t have a lover. After all, the man was loyal to his family. And you ran from a King who is famously a womanizer."

"What do you want?" Ada asked quietly, looking up at Horace. Seeing his smile, she couldn’t help but get a bad feeling.

"I’m sorry for lying, Princess. My real name is Horace. Horace Underwell" He could feel Ada freeze up in his arm. "I’m sure you heard of my family. As you know, I’ll do anything for the Empire. So I have a proposition for you."

Grabbing her hand, he forced his dagger into hers and curled her fingers, forcing her to hold it. Only when he was sure she had a tight grip did he let go and step to the noble. Ada felt the weight of the dagger and was confused at how her enemy could give her a weapon so easily. Taking the rope out of his mouth, Horace took a place next to him and patted his clothes before kneeling.

"I am giving you a choice for once. Kill him and come with me. Or kill me and go back to your father." Horace looked around. "NO MATTER THE CHOICE! DO NOT HARM HER AFTERWARDS!" Horace smiled and looked at her. "So, Princess. Make a choice. Take control."

The noble looked at Horace like an idiot before looking at Ada. "Princess. You can’t trust the Underwells. They are the demons of the Emporer. Kill him. If you do. Your father won’t care about the marriage. He will praise you. And I will be eternally faithful. You want the throne. I will support you. A good marriage. I will give it to you. Just please make the right choice.

Ada turned the blade toward Horace, her hand shaking as everyone looked at her. "Do it, Princess!" The noble screamed at her, his eyes full of desperation.

"Ada," Horace called out her name. "I won’t offer you anything other than the chance to be free. If you want power, I’ll ask his majesty. He will accept aswell. After all, having a living Sobieski will make our occupation much easier."

"HE LIES!" The noble screamed out. "THEY HATE US!"

"I didn’t interrupt you. Don’t be so rude," Horace said with disgust and turned back to Ada. "Most importantly, Ada, if you kill him, then you won’t be forced into a marriage you don’t want. I will give you complete control of your life—the thing you wanted." Ada turned the blade on the noble, making him go white.

Her breathing was heavy as the blade shook even more. "Freedom, Ada. Take control." Like the devil, his whispers flooded her mind as she inched closer to the noble.

"Princess." The noble chest bounced as he tried to suppress his fear. "I’m loyal, Princess. Don’t do this. Forget your brother. I will give you everything."

"Loyal." Before Ada could flip the knife on Horace, he scoffed. "Yet he is so willing to abandon your brother. What about you? Once he has his life, will he happily wag his tail for you? No. You’re a woman. You can never rule over him. His graditute lasts maybe a year; two if your lucky."

Horace shook his head. "He has no loyalty other than to himself. He is a greedy hypocrite who uses such words without care. It sickens me. The Underwell know loyalty. I would give up my very existence if His Majesty asked. Do not tarnish what my family lives for by spouting you are loyal. You know nothing." 𝒻𝑟ℯℯ𝑤𝑒𝑏𝑛𝘰𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝒸𝑜𝘮

Horace said sinisterly. Looking at Ada, she felt like he could see into the deepest pit of her soul. "He will never respect you. When you return to your father, he will talk about how he saved you, Princess. And Snowid will marry you off all the same. Beacuse he is King first a father second. He has no love for you anymore. That’s why he sent you away the first time."

Ada moved closer to Horace and held the blade at him. "Take control, Princess. Don’t regret your choice."

"DO IT!" The noble screamed at her. "KILL HIM! HE IS OUR ENEMY!" His cries became frantic, annoying Horace’s operatives with how loud they were. Ada gritted her teeth. ’Do it. Orders. Always orders.’ Her mind went blank as she turned the blade on the noble. Breathing heavily, she stabbed it into his chest and let go.

Her hands shook as she looked down. Tears welled up in her eyes, and she became nauseous. Turning around, she threw up, unable to believe what she had done. Horace stood up and patted her back gently. "It gets easier with time. But for once, you took control."

Taking the blade out the man’s chest, he quickly sliced his neck and looked at it. He couldn’t help but feel slight pity for Ada. She didn’t even realise the two other choices. Kill herself or leave. It would have been a great surprise if she had done either, but Horace didn’t blame her, only feeling pity.