A Malice Heart

As they walked inside the inn, it seemed that Drew had already bought them a room and led them towards the second floor. The staircase was so old that it looked like it was about to break at any moment, but that thought was completely erased from Malice’s head as he saw a young boy run down them as if it was nothing.

Drew too didn’t seem the bit bothered by anything, so he followed her lead and acted just as unsurprised. She pushed the key in her hand into the lock and opened the door.

The room wasn’t as old as the inn itself, but it did look like it could use a bit of a makeover. The furniture was so dirty that Malice made a mental note not to get anywhere near it. What made both of their eyes widen was the fact that there was only one bed in the middle of the small room, one fit for two.

Before Malice could argue, Drew was already running down the hallways with a key and yelling out the name of the lady that sat at the front desk, probably demanding a different room.

Malice looked over the railing and watched Drew lean onto the table, pointing her key at the lady before up towards where Malice stood. Her loud voice suddenly turned into a hush, but all she got in reply was a shake of the head from the old granny and a shrug of the shoulder, her lips reading the words ‘that’s the best I can do for you today’.

Drew’s head drooped as she made her way back up, shaking her head. “The double rooms were all booked for the day.” She didn’t explain further as she marched inside with a sigh, setting her bag on the floor with a loud thud.

Malice chose not to speak, not wanting to make the red-head before him even madder.

“Listen up,” she said, clamping her hands together and turning to him, “you will be staying as far away from me as possible and I from you, okay? I don’t even want to feel your presence as I attempt to fall asleep.”

He guessed she didn’t bring up the idea of him sleeping on the floor because she knew he’d never agree to something like that. Wise girl.

He only nodded his reply, agreeing with the idea without a single complaint. As long as Drew had promised not to attempt murder on him anymore, he’d felt more willing to cooperate with her.

“How exactly are we supposed to shower?” questioned Malice as he eyed the giant, wooden tub at the corner of the room. He felt as filthy as the villagers after spending one full day walking in all that crap and breathing it in.

“Exactly how you see it, except one small thing,” Drew replied, already taking off her layers and layers of clothing, “there’s only hot water early in the morning. Plus, the waters here are barely clean, so even a shower wouldn’t wash you up so well.”

Malice glared at her but Drew only shrugged, folding her clothes neatly and placing them on the left side of the nightstand. She then moved on to untie her braided hair. “The people here suffer through this every day, I’m sure you can too, princeling.”

“I thought we were done with that nickname,” he grumbled, piling up all his weapons on his side of the bed before peeling off his own layers of clothing.

“We’re done with them once I feel like it.”

Drew turned on the heaters that lay at the end of the room, the machine making a strange choking sound before turning on like an engine.

Malice had never heard a heater make such a noise, usually, these things were meant to be silent and warming. This one, on the other hand, felt like it was turning on and off constantly.

“We’re not sleeping with that thing on,” Malice said, already walking over to the machine so he could turn it off, but Drew was already in front of it, hands out to both her sides to keep him from getting anywhere near it. Her red hair was a frizz of locks, partially on her face as she stared at him, dared him, to take another step forward.

“Unless you wish for me to complain all night about how cold it is, you are not placing a single finger on this heater, understand?”

“I think you forget way too often who you’re talking to,” Malice leaned forward, challenging her back. He tried not to get into another argument, but couldn’t hold back replying to her sneering face.

“As a matter of fact, I remember exactly who I’m talking to, Malice,” he almost winced at the sound of his name being spoken in that tone. The last time someone spoke to him like that was when his mother scolded him back when he was a child. A reckless one, at that.

He looked her in the eyes, trying to see if she’d back down or change her mind, but the assassin stood her ground, her own blue eyes widening as if to say ‘what are you looking at, scum?’

Malice only backed off a bit, running his fingers through his hair and thinking over all the decisions he had made until now that had led him to this exact situation. If only he’d killed her the first chance he got or allowed her to rot in peace in the cell with no one. Would he have been able to do that? To the first person with so much courage that he had seen in a long time?

Back in the palace, no one had ever stood up against him. No one dared speak to him if it didn’t mean business or something else that was important. And above all, no one even brought up the name Alverdon Village and the state its people were put in.

Satisfied with his decision, Drew walked over to her side of the bed, now wearing nothing but a sweater and thermal pants, before slipping under the covers and closing her eyes.

Malice only shook his head, feeling a headache already coming, so he continued taking off his layers until he was left with nothing but a long-sleeved shirt and pants.

The bed looked old but seemed sturdy enough to hold two grownups, so he carefully sat on it, attempting his best not to wake the already sleeping assassin that lay as far away from him as possible on the other side, her breathing layered and a small sound of a snore leaving her mouth.

The heating machine suddenly produced a strange cranking noise once again, letting out a cloud of dust before returning back to normal.

Malice picked up the covers from beneath him and slid in, keeping his back towards the red-head and blowing on the candle that sat beside him on the nightstand.

His day had been the craziest he had had so far in his life. It was something he never thought would be found in a king’s schedule for the day. Instead of sitting down and doing paperwork, Malice had walked around an old village with one of the most talkative girls he had ever met in his life.

And in his opinion, even with the number of times they had argued, watching Drew talk about her life, no matter how hellish it had been to her, was the most fascinating thing he had seen all day.

As he slowly drifted to sleep, allowing his body to rest, Malice couldn’t stop the small grin that had formed on his face.