Nash decided the job was only half done. He froze time again and walked back to the vendor, where he carefully cut away one side of the handlebar mustache with his blade. He placed the large chunk of hair into the man’s pocket for him to find later and retreated back to his original position before restarting time. He watched as villagers began to laugh and point at the vendor’s face.
His cries went from “Someone stole my purse,” to “Who would do such a thing?” and “How can this happen?” as he touched his face.
Nash laughed at his distress with everyone else and left. After all, he had been summoned, and the King was waiting for him.
King Sargus waited for Nash in the throne room with his trusted advisor, Agamen, at his side. Their heads were pressed close to each other, and they talked quietly while they waited.
Nash entered the otherwise empty room and gently coughed to let them know he had arrived. A sweet flowery scent wafted across his nose and dissipated quickly, he assumed the Queen must have just left the room.
“Nash!” King Sargus said happily. “Thank you for coming so quickly.”
“It is my honor, my King,” Nash said.
Agamen stepped forward, “We have a mission for you,” he said. “A wedding is planned in the Praetha Kingdom to form an alliance between them and the Drenad Kingdom, and we need to stop it.”
“A wedding, Sire?” Nash asked the King.
The King leaned forward, “I need you to kill the bride. Quietly,” he said nearly at a whisper. “No one can know the Kingdom of Kheozia has anything to do with it.”
Nash frowned. Women were one of his least favorite targets. He had no desire to kill the defenseless. Children were never a target, and the King knew they were off-limits with him. Nash understood why an alliance between the two kingdoms would be undesirable. Praetha was between Kheosia and Drenad and made a convenient buffer. There had been bad blood between Kheosia and Drenad since before Nash was born, and no amount of diplomacy had stemmed King Hugue’s anger.
King Sargus noticed his mood shift. “Is the target going to be a problem?” he asked.