A Malice Heart

“Malice!” The king turned and looked up from his book to see the cheerful redhead headed his way, a sack of fur in her hands. “You won’t believe what I just found!”

Confused, Malice stood from his chair and squinted in an attempt to understand what the hell she was holding in her hands. Once it came to view, his eyes widened at the sight of the small feline in her arms.

“Drew, don’t you dare take another step closer,” he warned her, but the assassin only cuddled the disgusting thing closer to her, the cat purring in her arms.

“Isn’t he adorable? I found him wandering around the gardens.”

Malice winced at the thing. “Too bad the watchdogs didn’t eat it already. How’d the lucky bastard survive?”

Drew ignored his remark and attempted to hand the cat over, but Malice only backed away, “If you think this will somehow change me, you’re far from right, darling.”

The cat only hissed at his remarks but calmed down as soon as Drew started petting its head and then moved down its body, hushing the animal carefully to keep it from attacking either one of them.

“For my sake, could you take it out?” Malice questioned, not taking his eyes off the feline. How much he hated cats was an amount that couldn’t be put into words. These cunning little creatures that hissed and clawed whatever they wanted, acting like spoiled little creatures even when they know that they are fairly low on the food chain. Drew must have really reached a dead point to be so thrilled to bring over a cat. He had noticed that there was a strange change in her expression as if something was always holding her back. It was something he had started noticing a few days ago, where she laughed at something he said, but then seemed to remember something, and a shadow was cast over her eyes.

The assassin had done a great job hiding whatever it was she was thinking, but once in a while, it was easy to notice that something wasn’t sitting quite right with her.

She’ll find a way.

Malice knows Drew may be very stubborn, but she was as much a smart person as she was stubborn. For someone who was raised on the streets all by herself, this assassin is a great inspiration for those who choose to give up on their lives.

Except for Malice.

These words and actions spoke nothing to him.

Drew made a pouting face and turned around, the cat still in hand. He didn’t know where she was planning on unleashing the small beast, but he hoped that it would simply be as far away from him as possible.