Taris smiled when the door clicked open an hour after he’d sat to wait, admitting a small man of middle age. He seemed to stumble around for a moment, disoriented by the dark of the room. The physician made his way to a nearby table, and reached for a lamp held there. Taris stood silently and swiftly, moving towards the man. The physician turned around, and only managed a gasp before Taris clamped a hand over his mouth, blew out the lamp and dragged the man into the shadows with him.

Sometime later Taris stepped out of Shadow into the thieves’ tunnels, dragging the physician by the back of his jacket. The man had no obvious wounds, but the skin around his eyes was sunken and grey, and his hands were trembling uncontrollably. The Shadow Elf’s face was grim and he made his way down the tunnel towards the sound of a bow being shot and a woman’s steady but labored breathing. A couple of children turned in surprise at the sound of a man being dragged into their midst, including the young girl who’d brought Taris water at the tourney.

Ahead, in a domed chamber, Aera stood with a bow nocked and drawn. At the sight of Taris, the slight smile on her lips vanished and she loosed the arrow at him. Expecting as much, the assassin waved a hand in front of him and a patch of solid, cloudy darkness appeared before him, devouring the arrow. The tall elf, Envy moved between the two of them, a stern look on his face. “I don’t think you are welcome here, Shadow Elf, please leave,” he told Taris, but Aera put a hand on his shoulder. She stepped around and looked daggers at the assassin.

Taris held up a hand. “I’m not here to talk, [i]he[/i] is,” he said, throwing the barely conscious man to the ground in between them. “This is the esteemed Royal Physician, and I have just finished having a discussion with him, the details of which I think you’ll want to hear.” Twin claw-shaped daggers flicked into his hands from seemingly nowhere. “Go on,” he said in a voice like death, “tell her.”

The small man whimpered and looked up at the daggers, to the red eyes nearly glowing in rage, and finally to Aera. “It… i-i-it’s all a lie. You are not with child, you haven’t quickened. T-t-t-the Queen, and Princess Risa, they ordered me to say that you were pregnant when you fell ill, to disgrace you when it came out you weren’t. Please, Your Highness, they forced me to say…” The man cut off as Taris hauled him to his feet, and began to sob.

Taris turned away, carefully avoiding meeting Aera’s eyes. “Now you’ll go admit this to Kentaro as well, and you may yet come away with your life,” he said with sweet venom. Taris almost turned to look back at Aera, but couldn’t bring himself to face what may be in her eyes. Instead he sliced a patch of shadow open and vanished with his captive, the darkness closing behind him.

In moments the physician was thrust out into the halls of the castle. He made his way to the Prince’s room, jumping at every shadow, knowing what lurked within. The man knocked on the door to the Prince’s room, and gaining permission, entered. Kentaro looked very happy and clasped the physician’s arm. “Ah doctor, welcome, it’s such a fine day. Can you believe it? Finally I’ll have an heir!”

The small man wrung his hands nervously, “Actually, Your Highness, I needed to tell you something. The Princess is not having a child. Your mother had me say that, for her own reasons, I’m sure. But I’m sorry, she is not pregnant. Forgive me Prince.” He backed out and closed the door, hearing something crash against it moments later. At least the elf had said he’d let him live. The royal physician returned to his office, still glancing fearfully at every shadow he passed. He opened the door and again felt a powerful hand clamp over his mouth, and could only stare at the rope hanging from the chandelier in the center of the room. Despite his struggles, the elf far outmatched his strength, and had the noose around his neck in seconds. “You told me you’d let me LIVE!” he cried.

The assassin tugged the other end of the rope tight, constricting his throat. “I said I [i]may[/i] let you live,” his voice chilled the man’s blood in his veins, “But I find I’m not a forgiving elf.” Taris hauled the rope down, lifting the other man into the air. He watched coldly, with a small satisfied smile, as the man thrashed in the air, hastening his own death. Slowly his legs stopped kicking, and Taris tied the rope to a desk, knocking a stool over beneath the man. He waited for a while in Shadow, until he heard the maid scream. Smiling to himself he made his way back home.