The Azrimodus estate was cloaked in silence, broken only by the soft drip of water from a distant fountain and the echo of footsteps that did not belong. Nox moved like a shadow beneath the moonlight, his cloak absorbing the dim glow as if it resented illumination. He stepped into the chamber without knocking. There was no need to announce himself to a man who knew every movement before it was made. Andreus Azrimodus was already seated, one leg crossed over the other, wine glass spinning idly between his fingers as though the world itself spun on his whim.
The room smelled of leather -- since when did the lord read?-- and a potent new oakwood polish, which burned the inside of Nox's nostrils. Candlelight flickered along tall bookshelves that boasted histories, strategies, genealogies -- all the tools of a man who planned to rule not with charisma, but calculation. Again, those seemed so out of place as a backdrop to the man in front of him. Nox stood a few paces from the desk, arms at his sides, face expressionless.
Andreus finally looked up, a sly smile tugging at the corner of his lips. “Ah, Nox,” he drawled, leaning back in his chair with the air of a man about to give a speech he’d rehearsed a hundred times. “My dearest cousin is in the market for a new guard.”
He paused for effect, as if expecting the assassin to express interest. Nox said nothing.
“She will choose one soon,” Andreus continued, gesturing vaguely with the glass. “And that new guard is going to be you.”
Nox didn’t move. Didn’t blink.
“You must get close to her,” Andreus went on, reclining further, clearly enjoying the sound of his own voice. “She’s always been a nerdy bookworm -- hiding in castle corners, blabbering on and on and on about the latest mathematical theorem -- augh.” He rolled his eyes with theatrical disdain. “A true thorn in my side.”
Another pause. Nox’s silence, to most, might have been unnerving. To Andreus, it was expected, though it obviously put a mild damper on Andreus' ego.
“But enough of that.” The lord sat forward, voice dropping lower now, more focused. “Nox, you are going to kill her when you deem the time to be right. And I... well, I will be doing my part, climbing the ladder of power. When I am king, I will release you from your bonds.”
Nox raised an eyebrow slightly, the only betrayal of thought on an otherwise unmoved face. A dry note scrawled itself across his mind: Andreus still hasn’t learned how to shut up.
“Yes, my lord,” he said simply, and with that, made his exit.
--
The night was coming on by the time he reached the outer perimeter of the royal city. Nox had shed his assassin's garb in favor of something less conspicuous: simple woolen trousers, a dark shirt with an open collar, and a worn traveling cloak. His signature daggers were still hidden on his person, of course, but fewer eyes would recognize them than his armor.
The castle's library loomed quietly near the east wing, known for being open far later than most of the palace. It was Xiomara's domain, whispered to be more of a refuge than a resource. The guards knew to leave it alone, which made it the perfect place to begin.
Nox slipped in through a side entrance. No one questioned a man carrying an armful of books. He selected his subjects with calculated randomness: a hefty essay on constellations, a few mathematical texts, and a tome about regional wildlife -- plausibly mundane, but not too much so. He didn’t want to look like a commoner playing scholar; he wanted to look like someone who belonged, someone whose curiosity might lead him to a princess.
The library was vast, lined with spiral staircases and arched windows glazed with the golden light of wall sconces. He settled into a corner seat near a tall stained-glass window, the chill of the stone bench sinking through his clothes as he opened a volume on celestial navigation. He didn’t bother to read.
He waited.
Hours passed differently for men like him -- no nerves, no fidgeting. His senses stayed sharp, mind calm. From where he sat, he had a clear view of the grand staircase that descended into the library’s center, and every so often, he heard the soft rustle of pages being turned by unseen scholars further in the stacks. No sign of her yet.
Then, he heard footsteps.
Soft ones, but not tentative. Familiar, confident in this space. He didn’t look up right away, only turned a page.
The sound of movement grew closer. A low murmur as a hand brushed the spines of books, then silence as someone paused in his periphery. Nox glanced up briefly.
There she was. Right where Andreus said she would be.
Nox tilted his head slightly, letting his gaze drift back down to the book in his lap. He had time; it wouldn’t do to approach too quickly.
After all, trust wasn’t something won in a night.
Summer Month: 1 
Day 
