She stared at her arms. The arms that she sliced her knives into, the arms that she let bleed onto the entire floor. Thick red blood covered her body. Ptolema has tried before to kill herself, each time has failed. Her body keeps stopping her hands from doing it.

Ptolema jerked her head to face the door, after a hard knock banged on the it. She looked around the bloody room and panicked. This much blood could not be cleaned up in the time she needed. She panicked and ran to her dresser and quickly put on a long sleeve tunic and pants. Before whoever banged on her door could come in, she rushed over to the door and peeled through the peep hole. It was the Captain. He looks very serious as he waits for her. She unlocked her door and slipped outside of her room, trying to hide the blood in her room from the Captain.

"Is that blood on your hand?" the Captain asked confused.

"Er... I'm on my monthly cycle," Ptolema quickly answered. Of course she lied, the Captain cannot know about what she had done in her room.

He stepped back a step and coughs into the air nervously. She almost laughs as his cheeks became flushed.

He ran his hands through his hair before telling her, "I was informed to tell you that your first mission starts tomorrow."

Ptolema's heart sank. She thought she had more time to prepare - more time to think of a way to kill the king. Now, she will leave tomorrow. Her plans will have to be modified, but nonetheless she will eventually kill the king.

The Captain walked up to her and leaned his lips to her ear to whisper, "The prince will be coming on our journey with us. The King granted him full permission to go."

Ptolema cursed under her breath. Now that she saw how Princeling fought, he would definitely be dead meat to anything the king has them fight. Cursing more colorfully, she started to pack a small bag with clothes food and tiny weapons. Of course, the king would allow her bigger and better weapons before she goes on her journey to kill his assigned targets.

She looked at all the blood in her room and thought hard about what she could do to get rid of it. Quickly, she grabbed a lamp and yanked the top off. The tiny flame grew bigger on the candle as she starred at it. As the flame starts to die, Ptolema throws it into the center of the room. Instantly, her blood caught the fire, making it spread. She ran for the door, quickly, without catching on fire herself. Her small bag bounced on her back as she left her room without anyone noticing her or the ever growing red hot fire. The iron around her room would keep the fire from spreading to the rest of the castle.

She looked both ways down the hall before running the left side hall. Doors began to look familiar. Fire lamps lit the hall as Ptolema quickly ran down, almost tripping over her own two feet a few times.

Finally, she the the door that she had been searching for. The Captain's room. Ptolema realized she was shaking and took a long and deep breath. Her hand stopped trembling, so she reached for the door knob. Before she could open, something tapped her on the shoulder.

Ptolema swirled around to meet the Captain's eyes as he said, "There better be a good explanation for why you are out of your room and why you are at my door."

"I was coming to talk to you about my mission for tomorrow. I need some kind of hint of what I may or may not need to bring. For all the Lords' sake, I'm not going to just run into a damned mission with my bedroom on my back!" She partly lied.

"And you had to ask me with backpack on?" He asked, lifting one eyebrow.

"I get lonely at night here. I'm not used to being in a huge room with guards everywhere and no one to yell or speak to at night," it wasn't a full lie, because some of it was true, just one that would get him off her shoulders.

"What I heard is that you requested for no one to accompany you at your old room? So why is this any different?"

"Why must I spill my life out to you! Look, I'm in a castle where everyone wants me dead! Have you ever had that?" Ptolema went on without letting him respond, "No! You haven't! You're the King's perfect little Captain! You're his puppet! So, you live in a perfect castle, perfect room, perfect meals, perfect partners to keep you warm at night. You have no worries. Me, on the other hand has been living in hiding for almost my entire life! So pleases I please sleep on your couch or on your floor."

The Captain didn't speak, didn't even blink. He just stared at her with his beautiful eyes. Those brown eyes. He then opened the door and gestured her in.

His room was like an entire house all by itself. There was a miniature kitchen, shower room, bathroom, two beds, four closets, three couches, and probably more that Ptolema could not see.

"Welcome to my room," the Captain closed the door and put his hands out waving them as in inviting her anywhere.

She went to sit on one of the two beds and it was like a cloud, better than a cloud. Better than her bed in her own room.

The Captain watched her every move, even as she stripped into night clothes. He noticed the new scars on her arms. Ptolema tried her best to hide the scars under the cover so he could not see them.

The Captain changed into his own night clothes while in one of his huge closets. Ptolema looked around to room even more while he was gone to bathe. She slid her fingers down the golden statue that looked like him. It must had been sculpted of him years ago because he looked younger, or maybe it was just because it was made of gold that it made him look different.

"I was fifteen when they sculpted that of me," his voice made her jump into a fighting stance. He chuckled and walked to his bed. His long strides made Ptolema jealous that it only took him nine steps to get to the bed while it took her sixteen.

"No girl has ever been in my room just to sleep," the Captain stated while looking into her eyes as she looked into his. They both stayed like that, looking at each other from their beds.

"Well I'm glad to be your first change in life," Ptolema laughed as she broke their stare to look at the ceiling. It had many beautiful designs. While she was examining the artwork on the ceiling, she hadn't realized that the Captain had gotten out of bed to stand by her's.

"I don't like change," he growled and lifted the covers of her bed slowly. Ptolema's cheeks flushed as she saw him slide into her bed.

"I really would like some sleep," she tiredly whispered.

He did not say anything as he grabbed her face and pressed her lips with his. She tried to pull back but the kiss kept her intact with him. Suddenly, sanity overthrew her and she pushed him away as hard as she could

He looked at her in surprise and took her head in between his hands. The Captain smiled at her.

"I've been watching you. You don't know how long I have been wanting to do this. I slowly have fallen in love with you every time I saw you on your killing missions, I followed you and watched from afar," as he spoke Ptolema's breathing grew faster. She did not need to know that. She did not want to know that. This changed nothing though. She hates him now, and she will hate him for eternity.

Ptolema tried to forget the Captain's words as he slowly climbed out of her bed and into his. She hoped he had lied about it. For if he was telling the truth, who else has been watching her from afar, while on her missions. As she closed her eyes, the thoughts drifted away into her dreams.