The Nem assassin's eyes widened at the declaration by the little girl.

So did Fanilly's. For a few moments she didn't quite understand, after all... and then it hit her. The Assassin must be getting blackmailed with the fate of her sister in order to do this. And if word got out that she'd failed, the nem's sister would likely be killed. But claiming a member of royalty was dead... wouldn't they have to work quickly if they wanted to avoid the consequences of such a claim? Taking a deep breath, the short girl approached the tiny assassin.

"Dame Tyaethe is right," she began, "If word gets out that the assassination failed, that would mean they'd probably kill her sister. The Iron Roses defend the crown and the country, but we will not have the blood of a blackmailed girl's sister on our hands. But we'll have to work quickly, which means..."

She took another deep breath. While her words were sincere, her tone betrayed her fears and lack of confidence in such a claim. Claiming the princess was dead... the idea of doing that felt terrifying, in a way, but she couldn't doom this girl's sister. "Can you take us to where your sister is being held?"

The nem assassin was silent for a few moments. Then she raised her parchment and put the quill to the paper.

[i]Yes.[/i]

Her hands were trembling after she wrote her message. It was clear she couldn't believe this was happening.

Fanilly nodded. Trying to calm her nerves, she took another deep breath. Work fast. They had to work fast. That would mean word wouldn't get out, either of the lie, or simply because of a rumor of the Princess's death spreading too far. Before the night was done, they had to be finished with this.

"I-Iron Roses, be ready to move out as soon as possible," the blonde said, "We-ah...?"

One of the newest knights, Viviane, was saying... what? Fanilly didn't understand, to say the least. What was all the talk about plays all about?

The nem assassin, however, did. For a few moments, her relief mixed with confusion and hesitation was overcome by anger.

How [i]dare[/i] this girl suggest that she was intended to fail?!

[hr]

"Ah? Er, yes, er..." the Princess took a deep breath, before nodding. Her hands were shaking. Someone really had just tried to kill her... for a few moments she realized that the knight speaking to her was one of those that had made her so very angry, and yet at this point... well, something like that seemed quite trivial.

"Please, I... I think I need a moment to relax, y-yes..."