Armageddon
Chapter 4.2

When he said they’d meet again, she did not expect it to be that very night. The moon was high in the sky, most of the palace asleep. She was up late, stretching her body across the floor when someone swiftly slid through the small balcony in her room without making a sound. She jumped quicker than she ever thought and twisted in an instantaneous motion, her leg extending and impacting against the rib cage of the assassin himself. He held her foot against his side and bit down on his lip, closing his eyes in pain. He remained on the floor, half-kneeling half-sitting. She hesitated, completely surprised. Slowly he released her foot and opened his eyes, standing straight.

“I’m sorry to have frightened you,” he whispered.

“I’m sorry I hurt you.” She lowered her foot to the ground. Thankfully she now wore a tank and sweats. She wondered how this would have gone if she had been in the nighties Alex had been giving her.

“Yes, that was very surprising. You have a very nice kick, I’m surprised.”

“Humans are taught how to fight since we can walk. I excelled in it.”

He nodded. “Yes, well. That’s good, I was going to offer to teach you... but you seem to already know-how. With that being said, if you’re going to save the male Human you should have some practice. I can spar with you every night for as long as I can if that’s something you would like.”

“Oh my god, yes!” she nearly shrieked before quickly covering her mouth and looking back towards the door. “I mean, of course!” she said much quieter. “All they want me to do here is to eat and dance and play music. That’s not the kind of life I want to live.”

As it turned out, her loud exclamation had not gone unnoticed, because suddenly there was a rapping at the door as Rose’s worried voice filtered through.

“Lady Tiana, Milady, are you alright?!”

The color in Tia’s face drained, if only momentarily, as she wracked her brain. She scrunched up her face and found the courage to tell the only lie she could think of “Uh, yes, I was just having an... er... intimate moment!”

There was a pause and then, “With whom?!” Tia could practically see the shock on Rose’s face through the closed door.

“With myself! Now if you don’t mind...”

Muffled apologies and the sound of shuffling feet retreating told her that she and her visitor were properly alone again. Heat brightening her cheeks, she turned to face him.

He smirked, his eyes full of unexpected amusement. It was oddly complimenting to his boorish features. “You are an interesting lass; I’ll say that much.” She grimaced, but he ignored it and continued. “Lady Tiana, ya may call me Jaya. Short fer Digjaya.” He turned back towards the window and scanned the treetops to the side of the mountain.

“Now, the royal family prowls these forests at night, and we need to slip you past the Prince without him noticing.” He lifted a fox pelt from his side and held it up for her to see. “This will transform you. It is important you keep a clear head, focus on what it is that you need to do; you need to follow me. Understand? Follow me.”

With eyes full of curiosity, she nodded. He wrapped the skin around her shoulders, and she felt the very fabric of her body change in an instant. He watched her as she shrank down and took the form of a white-faced capuchin. He scoffed at her subconscious choice of animal and allowed her to crawl up his shoulder. Her tail wrapped around his neck and she coed, looking around the room with new eyes. “Okay, Monkey. Hold on now.” With one swift lunge, he was out the window.

Tia held onto his leather jacket tightly and hid her face in his collar. His body contorted beneath her as he angled his body against the flow of gravity. The muscles in his shoulders twitched as he guided their fall, pulling his body closer and closer to the tower. He continued to fall mere inches away from the wall as his sharp eyes scaled the quickly approaching earth below.

He slipped silently into the treetops and grabbed at the branches around him. His descent slowed until finally, he landed on a thicker branch with one final thud that echoed gently through the woods. He released his breath gradually before tousling the small monkey’s fur atop its head.

“Easy girl, just hang on.” He hushed before scaling the tree in one quick movement. He crawled along the branches as he swiftly left the area. In the distance, he heard the howl of a wolf. He worried not if they smelled him; he was known to come and go at all hours of the night and day.

He continued to crawl, leap, and swing from branch to branch until finally, he found himself on the other side of the mountain. He descended to the earth with a silent roll and jogged into an open field. Tia, as if she could feel he was at ease, leaped off him and darted into the tall grass. The Orc hesitated as the small pitter-patter of her feet grew faint. “Monkey, where are you?” He called out, lowering himself slightly, his ears fixated on the night. The moon was bright, nearly full, illuminating the clearing.

He heard it in an instant, an instant almost too late. He turned around rapidly, falling back to avoid a blow to the face. His palm stretched out, parrying the blow. The red-headed female was midair, her foot connecting to his forearm as she spun around elegantly. Her caramel irises were hard and fixed on to their target, filled with excitement and dedication. Her red curls spun around her head in almost slow motion. He hardened his resolve and used his sheer muscle mass to shove her off before twisting back and flipping through the air.