I decided to go into the Inn to eat.  I got there and saw a face I hadn’t expected.  Stephen was at the Bar apparently waiting for me.  His face still was healed but he wasn’t much to look at before so it wasn’t much of an improvement.


    “Sir Arthur, I came to apologize for my behavior at your Knighting.”


    Okay what''s the game?


    “Nothing to apologize for.  In your place I probably would have acted very similarly.”


    It was BS of course a 5 year old could have been more mature.


    “That may be so but it is unbecoming of one of my upbringing.”


    Another jab.  See what happens when you’re humble.


    “It has already been forgotten.”


    It had been honestly.  I had been so busy I had almost forgotten about him entirely which was dangerous to say the least.  He definitely was raising some vengeance boner vibes.


    “Now have you tried my Shine?” I asked with a smirk.


    “I have not but they say it is most foul.” He said with a scowl.


    “Only the dainty lads say that Sir Stephen and neither of us are that.  It will put hair on your chest as they say in America.”


    I proceeded to get him hammered almost entirely by all but calling him a pussy if he didn’t keep up. I could drink the best of men under the table in the 21st these Agers are a bunch of pansies by comparison.  I had him singing like a canary before long.


    “They say he sleeps in a different bed every night. Hiccup.  None his wifes of course she -burp- she doesn’t even –hiccup- live with him no more.” Rough ol’ English booze talk translation.  He was talking of the King of course.


    “But what of the Empress?  Do you like her?  If she was ruler would you serve her?”


    “Hah a woman?  Never –hiccup- and the Church would never support it.  Now as my Queen perhaps.”


    Oh hell I was right he has a thing for his cuz.  Well that’s disgusting.


    “Are you in love with her?”


    “Love? What does –burp- love have to do with it?”


    So it was just the legitimacy to rule.  Power hungry SOB, that somehow seems worse.


    “Nothing of course.  Well I think you would be the better person to secede the King.”


    I was lying of course Lawrence would make a better King.


    “That much is obv…..” And with that his head hit the counter.  Lights out folks.


    I finished up my steak, tipped our waitress and picked up my drunk not-friend and carried him back to the Tower.  One of the guards ran off and got the King after he saw that one.  Apparently it had been made known I didn’t much like Stephen and seeing him passed out on my back alarmed them a tad. Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.


    “Now what have you done to Stephen?” The King asked chuckling.


    “He didn’t know when to stop your majesty.  He just had a wee bit too much of the sauce.  He’ll have a splitting headache tomorrow for his mistake but nothing worse.”  I said as I handed him to a servant.


    “The Sauce?”


    “My Shine your majesty.  It was a bit harder alcohol than he was used to.”


    “That stuff is harder than anyone is used to.  Except you if the stories are true.”


    “My moms breast milk was half full of the stuff when she was nursing me, your majesty.”


    Not really otherwise I would be about a foot shorter most likely and maybe with a couple extra or less fingers.  Hey, like the Agers.


    “Hah Hah.  You are one of a kind Sir Arthur.” He was literally slapping his knees in laughter


    “That’s what the ladies keep telling me your majesty.”


    With that I excused myself and went to my room.


    When I got to the door I noticed something wrong.  I have been paranoid as hell since I got to the 12th and even more so since I started living in the Tower.  When I first moved in I started leaving these triggers that would let me know someone had entered my room.  Pieces of string in the doorjamb usually that fell when it was opened


    They were on the ground under the door.


    My first thought was that  it might have been Lina but I hadn’t seen her in weeks.  The obvious other problem with my foolproof trap is it could have just been Agatha or Lawrence that went in.  Hell it could have just been a servant cleaning the room.  Like I said it wasn’t well thought out. I had seen it in a movie once and thought it couldn’t hurt.


    So with trepidation I slowly opened the door to see if I could see anything amiss.  I couldn’t make out anything out of the ordinary so I decided to take my chances and enter.


    When I got in, the door swung shut behind me and a hooded man jumped out from behind with a dagger.  I reached up and grabbed his wrist just before it got to me.  The point stopped only a few inches from my eye.


    I kneed him in the stomach and then slammed his arm on my knee freeing the dagger.  We wrestled for a few seconds until I elbowed him in the nose causing his vision to blur.   As his vision was impaired I grabbed the dagger just before he lunged at me.


    In what was honestly an almost involuntary action I thrust the dagger upward.  In a an instant I felt it enter his neck.  Then the hot sticky sensation of blood trickled down my arm.


    I have killed before of course but they were always animals and usually with a gun or at least a bow and that was from hundreds of feet away.  You never see them die usually.  I got to see it this time. Every horrifying second as he gurgled on blood and the life slipped from his eyes.


    As I sat there in an ever increasing pool of blood, I realized three things.  One was the obvious, somebody wanted me dead.  The second was I had so many people that could be at blame it made it next to  impossible to investigate now that the only source of info was dead.  The third was that I had just killed a man.


    I guess someone heard the commotion because in a few minutes it seemed the whole Tower was there.


    “What happened Sir Arthur?” the King asked looking worried.


    “What happened was this assassin got what was coming to him your majesty.”


    I had to control the narrative.  Who knows who sent him they could try to pin me for murder.


    “Good man good man.  I will get to the bottom of this.  Guards!” and he left with a purpose.


    “Oh you poor thing.  I will stay with you and stroke your hair until you fall asleep.” Agatha said looking concerned.  She had been staying in the servant quarters in the room next to mine.


    “Like hell you will.  I’ll be fine I just need to wash this off and go to bed.  No, dammit without you Agatha!  I’ve been through worse than that.”


    Sure, I felt like I had 10 years shaved off my life no biggie.


    “I can help take your mind off it if you want.” Whispered Matilda as the others left.


    “No, I think I’ve had enough excitement for one night.”  I said and pointed out the door.  She left looking disappointed.


    “Agatha get someone to clean this mess up and bring me a wash bucket with clean water and a towel.”


    About an hour later I finally got some sleep.  It didn’t last.  Agatha wouldn’t take no for an answer.


    I ended up just letting her sleep with me but I told her I was in no mood physically or otherwise, for sex.  It was easier than arguing and it is always nicer to share a bed with a beautiful woman instead of sleeping alone.  Especially after you just survived an assassination attempt.