Omisha | Princess of Menahem

Many thoughts ran through her mind as she saddled Shadow. This wasn’t the first time she had saddled a horse to go on a midnight ride, but she had never done so with another human being. She had never really trusted anybody to come with her, the only people she could have invited would be her parents and that was something she would prefer not to do.

Of course, she could always have forced a servant to come with her, but there was no fun in doing that. It would just be an awkward encounter as they rode silently. She wasn’t even sure if any of the servants could ride. And of course, any race or fun challenge she could have issued would be unfair. King of the Night was the best horse in the stables, bred to be the best, trained to be the best. It was odd for the princess to get the best horse, but of course most princesses weren’t assassins as well.

Omisha needed the best horse.

Saddling Shadow just made her miss the palace more. In the palace she had her privacy, she had her own side of the castle, she had her special mechanisms, she had her trusted servants, she had her own horse, she had her plants. Here she had nothing. She had a room that was joined with her mother’s. A room that any servant could enter because it would be suspicious if she told them not to enter her room. So she had no privacy, no horse, no trusted servants and no plants.

The garden would be a substitute for her plants for the time-being, but most of them weren’t poisonous or harmful which meant that most couldn’t be used in making her ‘potions’. The only poisonous plant she had seen had been lily of the valley, but even that had limited uses.

Life really hadn’t been fair to her.

She had been forced into being an assassin, forced into murdering people for her father and forced to become desensitized to death. Now she was being forced to marry some man that she was going to kill later. The chance of falling in love with him was nigh on impossible so that wasn’t what she was worried about. No, Omisha was worried about slipping up. Worried about expressing her dislike of this marriage to the wrong person and being the first suspect. And then if she was caught for this murder, she’d probably be caught for all the others too.

With a soft sigh, Omisha went through all the motions, accustomed to doing them she didn’t really need to put much thought into what she was doing. The mare seemed accustomed to this as well, not throwing a fit like she had seen some horses do but allowing Omi to do what she had to do. Peregrine seemed to love horse riding, a trait which Omisha could understand. It made him a little less insufferable.

She turned her head towards the prince when he began speaking, nodding and listening intently to his words. When it came to an animal’s wellbeing Omi would listen to anyone. “Sure.” Once she had checked that everything was in its proper place and tightened, Omi began leading the mare out of the stables, using the back like Peregrine had done. She wasn’t about to jeopardise a horse ride by being spotted.

She was quite pleased that Shadow had her peculiarities, in her mind it made the mare more like her own stallion. Besides, they weren’t difficult peculiarities to manage. Far from it in fact.

Peregrine waited patiently for Omisha to go from walk, trot, canter, and gallop. He had mounted his horse, and was sitting there in silence, so when she was ready, they could leave as soon as possible. While she was riding, he began to try to think up a race course. He watched her seeing how much skill she possessed, and he realized, that he would have a hard time beating her. Would it better to be doing a challenging course where he might be able to gain advantages or just pick a random one.

Omisha | Princess of Menahem

Omisha quickly got used to the feel of Shadow, using her legs only was thankfully something she was pretty used to from bareback riding and not wanting to yank on a horse’s mane. It had taken a moment to get used to how much strength she had to use, during which she had gone from walk to trot and back again multiple times until she was prepared. She was fully focused on the task at hand, not wanting to sacrifice the mare’s health and safety because she wanted to get on with the race or because she got distracted.

She wondered what race course Peregrine would pick, for she was sure he had a preferred one. Would he choose one where he had an advantage or one that the horses would prefer to run? He would already have an advantage, knowing both Shadow and Bjorn’s limits while she knew neither’s. At least she had skill, it would help balance the scales a bit.

She took a deep breath, enjoying the horse smell that floated around her. It made for quite the relaxing aroma, something that was comforting. Though horse riding was risky no matter what skill level you had, it was still a wonderful experience. Galloping through fields or forests, wind in your hair, you felt free. She was free from her father, free from her job and everything that tied her down. Free from expectations, stupid dresses and the stress of life. It was wonderful.

Omi hoped that Peregrine wasn’t using this as an excuse to get her in trouble and terminate the marriage. She was sure that nobody would believe him if she played it right, for she had already established a reputation of being a polite and proper girl but she didn’t want to take the risk. She wouldn’t tell, but now she also wondered if he was wondering if she would tell. She supposed that if people believed him, she could always pull out the ‘how do you know?’ and get them both in trouble, but she would be more affected. It was due to this stupid patriarchal society.

After going through the motions Omisha stopped Shadow and turned to Peregrine, unable to to hide the smile that came to her face from just the feeling of being so free. Peregrine was probably going to win this race but she didn’t really mind, losing wouldn’t be the best but he had a bunch of advantages and it would only be expected that she would lose. She moved a hand to her hip, adjusting her shirt slightly though her gaze was trained on the prince. The dagger hidden there was banging against her, and by adjusting the shirt she was adjusting it too. She had considered not bringing a weapon, but had decided that it would be more useful to have a weapon. It made her feel safer as well.

Of course she had a multitude of weapons hidden around her person, she couldn’t very well bring a bow and arrow and if she had to attack somebody from a range she would need to be throwing daggers left and right. And you can’t very well stop a battle to collect a dagger then recommence it once you had it.

She tossed some hair behind her back, irritated by the wind blowing it towards her. When Peregrine spoke she nodded in agreement. She couldn’t really disagree for she had no clue of the other courses. She just had to go with whatever he said. “Sounds good.” There was a chance that a townsfolk could see them and tell, but really she doubted that they would believe a commoner over two royals.

Her eyes sparked with excitement as she brought Shadow in line with his horse, wanting to do this race properly. Her gaze turned back to Peregrine, seeing him in a better light than she had before. He wasn’t too bad right now, but she was sure he would worsen again in the morning.

“Your call on when we go.”

He was glad to see that she was very competent on the horse. At first he could see her adjusting, but soon it appeared that Shadow and herself were old friends. If Omisha's face told him anything, it was that she was concentrating fully on the horse, so she wouldn't notice him observing them. When she anounced that she was ready, he could feel himself tensing in anticipation. Underneath him he could feel his horse responding to his own excitement.

Bjorn pawed the ground and snorted a few times. Because he could feel what his horse was going to do, Peregrine stopped him ahead of time from crabbing sideways. He didn't stay still, and he tossed his head. He knew this was reflecting his inner self, so he strove to calm otherwise controling his own horse would not be easy. He was surprised that they would go on his say. That would be giving him another advantage.

He really hoped he didn't lose with every advantage piling on top of himself. He couldn't wait to be one with his horse. The cool night breeze whipping across his face and hair. The horse's mane stinging his face. He felt that they were both feeling a little more generous with each other. As long as no one tattled, they were both content in each other's company for the moment. They didn't mind each other's flaws, because they were about to do something that would have nothing to do with each other.

Horseback riding. While they might technically be doing it together, it wouldn't feel like it. They were bonded by this one thing, and he wondered how strong of a bond it could create. He noted that she was smiling now. She was excited about riding also, and he was pleased to see a different expression on her slightly intimidating face. He gave her a playful smile, "Hopefully, none of the commoners are awake at this time of night."

He didn't see a reason why they would tell his parents, but there was always that slim chance. Since she lined her horse with his, he couldn't adjust Bjorn. Shadow had a lighter build, so she would have better acceleration, but Bjorn should soon catch up. He hoped that Bjorn would be able to use his longer reach and catch up quickly. He didn't want her to be too ahead. Now that he had figured out some plan, he looked at her. "Ready?,” he took this moment to settle himself into the correct position.

“On your mark, get set," he waited a moment and took a deep breath, "Go!" He waited a second to make sure that Shadow got going before he gave the signal to Bjorn. He felt he had enough advantages so the one or two second head start he gave them shouldn't be a big deal. His horse didn't like Shadow being in the lead, and he quickly picked up speed. The distance was far enough that he couldn’t let Bjorn give it everything.

He would have to save his horse’s energy. He rode well, and he wasn't a lumpy bag of potatoes sitting on his horse's back. Omisha was doing just well herself. For most of the ride, he just enjoyed it. The wind was keeping him quite cool, and he enjoyed the momentary sense of freedom. He wondered how Bjorn managed to stay cooped in his stall a lot of the time. How was he able to give up the outdoors?

As long as Shadow didn't get too far ahead, he was fine where he was. He preferred to see where Shadow was instead of working to stay in front of her. He was fine with letting her set the pace. When he decided they were close enough, he gave Bjorn more rein. Soon, they began catching up and pulling closer. He observed closely not sure if she would let Shadow try to pull ahead or if she would save their energy spurt until later. He could feel that Bjorn wouldn't be able to keep up this pace much longer. Soon, the town came into sight, and he heard their hooves thundering by.

Omisha | Princess of Menahem

Omi relaxed her hands while waiting for the command to go, almost setting them on the reins before lifting them up and setting them in her lap. If she held onto the reins then once the command was given she’d instinctively tighten her grip and therefore pull on the bit. She didn’t want to ruin the fragile relationship she had managed to build with the black mare, if all went well tonight maybe they could do it again sometime. She had to reprimand herself for the thought, if they did it again that would only increase the risk of her getting emotionally attached and then it would just make her job harder. She’d still kill him of course, it would just be a little harder for her to do.

Her gaze flicked back up to Peregrine, the hazel ring around her pupils more obvious in the dark, the light green not reflecting the light as well as the ring. She looked down at Bjorn when he began to move about a bit, clearly reflecting the anticipation Peregrine was probably feeling. She couldn’t blame him for she was feeling just as excited herself, perhaps even more so. She rarely got a chance to ride like this just for fun. It tended to be that she was on her way to a job and that meant she couldn’t just enjoy the ride, she had to be going through everything she knew about the person and planning. Though she had a job she had to get done here, she wasn’t about to kill him now. No, she had to wait and establish trust.

Shadow tossed her head, beginning to move forward before Omisha brought her back to where they had been, focusing all of her attention on the mare as she did so. It probably wasn’t the safest thing to pay no attention to your surroundings, for she didn’t know if Peregrine was going to try to hurt her or run off. But she supposed it was worth the risk, she wanted to make sure Shadow was safe and paying attention to her. She didn’t want to seem like she couldn’t ride well because she hadn’t taken the time to make sure her horse was going to listen to her.

Her smile widened slightly when he spoke, not a grin but it was something. She wondered if this was going to build a bond between them, they didn’t seem to mind each other as much right now and she wondered how long that would last. Probably not too long from what she had seen this afternoon. He seemed very childish, and she wasn’t sure how she would survive being married to a boy-man but at least she would have the knowledge that he would be dead soon.

She nodded, settling into the correct position and waiting for him to say go. It was another slight advantage that he could choose when they went, but Omisha didn’t really mind that. He already had so many advantages, it would be strange if she won and she might as well give him another one. She could feel Shadow getting more excited, the mare seeming to know what was coming next. The command was given, and Shadow took off.

She didn’t want her to burn herself out at once, so Omi allowed her to put on a burst of speed at the start before slowing her down. She didn’t want to turn her head, but she could hear Bjorn coming up right behind them. Peregrine hadn’t let him pass them yet so she supposed he was waiting to see what she did. The wind whipped her hair back, a joyful grin splitting her mouth until she forced it to fade into a smile.

The town came into sight, and she allowed Shadow to put on her burst of speed, paying attention only to the feel of the wind in her hair and how wonderful it was to be riding without a care in the world. Who cared if she lost the race? She certainly didn’t. She thought she saw Bjorn pass her but she wasn’t truly paying attention, so it may have just been a house. Either way, she couldn’t contain the smile that landed on her lips.

Omisha | Princess of Menahem

Bjorn had passed them, circling around and coming to a stop just like Shadow did a moment later. She couldn’t prevent the laugh that floated from her lips, eyes bright as she smiled at Peregrine. Her hands lingered on Shadow’s back, absentmindedly stroking the mare for a moment before glancing up with a smaller smile at the compliment Peregrine gave her. “As are you.” It was true, she’d expected him to win with all of the advantages he had but she had a feeling that he would be a worthy opponent even with no advantages at all.

She glanced at the sky, unable to tell what time it was but not minding too much. The adrenaline coursing through her body would keep her awake, she didn’t need to worry about that right now. Besides, she could go two days without sleep before she gave herself away, that was one thing she’d had to train herself to be able to do. She nodded, urging Shadow into a trot before allowing the mare to slow down when they reached the forest. The mare was clearly tired, chest heaving as she took in as much oxygen as she could. Omi wouldn’t push her, despite the feeling that Peregrine wanted her to hurry up.

He was soon out of sight, causing her to reach up to her waist before she forced herself to calm down, pretending that she was just scratching her side in case he was watching her. She wouldn’t hurry Shadow, she’d pushed herself and deserved a rest. Her head snapped up when she heard a shuffling noise, sticks breaking for a moment before there was silence. Something was there. Shadow could sense it too, pawing the ground and tossing her head in nervousness. It was clearly a predator, something she should be on the look out for.

A bear broke through the trees and at once Omi had two daggers in her hands, preparing to throw them. The only problem was Shadow, for the mare was freaking out and Omisha was unable to get a good aim because of it. She glanced up, seeing Peregrine appear and disappear quickly. So he was just content to let her die? He really was like every other stuck-up, boy-man that she’d met. A stupid brat. She wasn’t going to regret killing him.

A surge of anger flowed through her, grabbing the reins to keep Shadow focused on the bit instead of the bear and throwing both daggers with speed and accuracy. One buried itself in the bear’s neck, the other in its body. Her eyes narrowed, grabbing more daggers that had been hidden in her clothing. This clearly wasn’t working, Shadow was freaking out and forcing her to focus on the mare instead of the threat. This wouldn’t have happened if she had been allowed to bring King of The Night. Shadow reared up, a dagger flying backwards out of Omi’s hand and burying into a tree.

With an annoyed grunt, another dagger went flying through the air, burying into the bear’s leg and making it pause its shuffle towards her. Now she had a window of time and she turned Shadow towards the tree, urging her into a canter to have speed on her side. As they passed the tree, her hand stretched out and grasped the handle, yanking it out of the tree as she turned Shadow in a tight circle, throwing the dagger towards the bear as the mare cantered towards where they had been before.

Shadow was backing herself into some trees, freaking out because of it and almost dumping Omi onto the ground. Another irritated grunt left her lips before she glanced up in shock as an arrow buried itself into the bear’s flesh. Peregrine. She wasn’t feeling happy about this, what kind of idiot didn’t bring a weapon when riding through a forest? He’d abandoned her so that he could go get a bow.

Her gaze was cold as she reached into her boot, pulling out the daggers there and throwing them in quick succession. Her anger helped fuel her accuracy and speed, the bear moving onto its hind legs and pawing at the arrow stuck in its head. It began to turn around, moving slowly for it was still trying to get all of the weapons out of its flesh.

One more dagger went flying through the air, landing in its stomach with a stroke of luck. She hadn’t been aiming there, but it had turned and had surprisingly helped her injure it more. If only Peregrine would do the same.

(I feel like this is so OP so please have Peregrine be OP too)

Omisha | Princess of Menahem

Finally she had Shadow under control. The mare seemed to have realised that she could trust Omi to not get her killed and seemed content obeying everything the princess told her to do. Just a bit late wasn’t it. Her face was masked with an annoyed smile, eyes a cloud of thunder as she focused on making sure the bear was dead before she turned to Peregrine. It was slightly irritating that she hadn’t been expecting a bear, really she had only been expecting humans to set upon her, and daggers were certainly suitable for humans. Just not so much bears.

The only thing that was useful was that she had so many that were now buried in its flesh. It was a distraction for it to say the least, and so many clustered around one spot were beginning to actually have an effect. It seemed intent on pulling the daggers and arrows out, something which she thought pretty stupid. If it ripped them all out there would be nothing stopping the blood from pouring out of its wounds. Though now she doubted that it realised that.

She noticed that his arrows weren’t hitting the best spots, if he was a bad archer why had he brought a bow?! An annoyed grunt came from her mouth as she manoeuvred Shadow so that the mare was in a suitable spot for when Omi dismounted. It was too late for the bear, she might as well dismount now. Still, she knew that that was a risky thing to do for who knew what Peregrine would do? When he dismounted, so would she. She let the prince finish the bear off, not wishing to waste any more daggers that she could use in teaching the prince a lesson. Namely, be a better fighter.

When the bear finally collapsed she scoffed softly, brows still knitted together in a frown. This stupid, pampered prince was clearly nothing but that. Her eyes ran over the carcass, analysing the best way to pull the daggers she had used out of its body to store them for another day. She didn’t want to be pulling a dagger out of flesh for too long for it gave anybody the perfect chance to ambush her. Shadow began to take a few steps forward, and Omi clicked her tongue, keeping her still while she stared at Peregrine.

Her face was no longer visibly angry, though her eyes definitely was. It was quite odd the amount of emotion on her face, or rather, the lack of it. Finally he spoke, a question which she didn’t respond to. Her eyes were fixed on him, watching his every movement. He seemed to be acting rather weak, she couldn’t tell whether it was the carcass, the fight or her that was making him act this way. Maybe even all three.

As he dismounted, she waited a moment before doing the same, quickly examining Shadow to make sure she was alright. The mare seemed fine, and as Omi stepped back and convinced Shadow to walk towards her, she noted that nothing seemed pulled or injured in any leg either. So that meant that she didn’t have to worry about the horse. Wonderful.

Still ignored Peregrine, she stalked over to the bear and placed one booted foot on its body, reaching down and grasping a daggers hilt. Adjusting her grip she pulled and watched as it slid out smoothly, as did every other dagger that she pulled out of the carcass. They were coated in bear blood, so she kneeled to wipe the blades clean. It would tide over until she could wash them, nature always worked for a certain amount of time.

Her attention was still not focused on Peregrine, until she stood up, daggers still clutched in her hands and eyes glaring at the prince in front of her. If he asked her something along the lines of what, she would allow herself to blow up at him. If not, she’d hide her rage until he did so. Even if it took a year.

(Bleh, short. Hopefully next time Omi needs to fight something, I won't lack motivation and just make her OP. Hopefully it worked alright since she is supposed to be quite a good fighter because...Y'know...Assassin stuff.)