I’m not one to stand out.

When in a crowd, I try blend in as much as possible, be as furtive as possible. And it always goes as I intended it to. I’ll leave the standing out to others, others who insist on expressing themselves with bright, gaudy colours and excessive amounts of jewellery when in busy places, just to have a pair of curious eyes land on them.

Sadly, my reverie ended when I saw a woman, much like me, sticking to every shadow in every corner. She wasn’t hidden enough though, as if she was inviting me to follow her. We left the large crowds, heading into dark alleys. I made sure to stay a good few metres from her, whilst I still navigated the maze on the outskirts of the city.

We turned another corner. That’s when she stopped.

“Why are you following me?” Her voice was deep, calm even.

I came to a stop behind her, lifting my hood from my face. “Let’s just say I have some business here.”

Before I could say anything else, she spun on her heel, hair flying. A dagger appeared in her hand and she had me against the wall, the blade pressed to my throat in seconds.

“Answer the question.” She whispered, anger slick on her tongue. “If not, my hand might slip.”

I sighed, steeling myself. “Your question, one that is incredibly vague, by the way, with many answers that I could use except only one is satisfactory to you-“

She pressed the blade harder into my skin, causing blood to emerge from a shadow cut. “Get to the point.”

“Ok, ok.” I raised my hands in mock surrender. “Even if I do answer your question truthfully, you will kill me anyway, or as you said it, your hand might slip, and you accidentally killed someone for not saying the right answer to their question.”

The woman raised a brow, but didn’t say anything.

“I have a job.” I said through gritted teeth, “And that job involves you and the blade that will slowly make its way into my hand from my pocket, and then quickly ‘slip’ into your chest very soon if you give me a reason to get paid early.”

“Fine.” She removed her knife from my neck, and I resisted the temptation to remove the blood dripping down my skin.

“What can I do to stop you from assassinating me?” She asked, sheathing the knife.

I considered the question, rolled it in my mouth for a few seconds before replying with, “You can help me with another one of my jobs.”

“Who’s that?”

“Someone with a high status. A king, to be specific.” I smirked, cracking my stiff knuckles.

She cocked her head to the side. “Then why did you come to kill me first?”

“It’s more fun leaving the best for last, don’t you think?”