Average

A new prince had appeared, one your parents had mentioned as a potential husband for you. Just the thought of his disinterested, smug grin made every fiber of Tendou’s being rebel as he reached the staircase leading up to your room. He took two steps at a time, then three, faster and faster up the stairs, determined to reach you before it was too late. His sides were burning, his legs ached, but Tendou just gritted his teeth and kept running.

It should have been easy. A drop here, a glass of wine there, and the prince would have quietly passed away in his sleep. No one would have suspected it was murder. But Tendou had been careless. The successful eliminations had made him proud, given him the feeling that he was untouchable, untraceable. And that had made him act foolishly.

The prince had heard about the incidents, that the princess’s fiancés had met their ends quickly, in agonizing, poisonous ways. So when he found the wine in his room, he didn’t regard the bottle as a gift, but as a threat.

The bottle was taken to the castle healer, who confirmed his suspicion: the bottle contained poison. That realization alone had made Tendou uneasy, even though he was able to skillfully hide it behind his mask.

But the prince had not given up. He had traced the bottle back to its seller, who sent him to Tendou’s middleman.

Tendou had to give him credit for remaining silent for so long, but eventually every man succumbs to the pain of torture and reveals even the best-kept secret he had sworn to protect.

The only thing that had saved Tendou’s neck from the noose so far was that he had never revealed his name or his face. He had always worn a cloak with a low-hanging hood so that nothing could be recognized. As soon as he had learned of this, Tendou had stuffed the cloak into one of the large furnaces, where it had hopefully crumbled to ashes by now.

However, one of his informants had told him that the prince was no longer far behind him, but was right on his heels. Tendou shuddered. He had been too careless; someone must have seen him. Not for long, not clearly, but long enough that it wouldn’t be long before the prince caught on and came looking for him. And when that happened, Tendou had to be gone—along with you.

Panting, Tendou reached the top of the stairs, where a single guard was sitting. The rest had been pulled off duty to help the prince with his search. Tendou couldn’t help but smile cynically. If only they knew that by doing so, they had made his escape easier, not harder. His smile grew even wider when Tendou realized that this was the same guard who hadn’t been alert enough to keep a proper watch on him the last time.

“What are you doing here! It’s late at night and the princess—” He didn’t get any further, as Tendou lunged forward in a single bound, drew the dagger from its sheath at his belt, and slit his throat before he could utter another sound.

The guard’s eyes widened, and he grabbed his throat in an attempt to stop the bleeding. It was futile, however. Horror was etched on his face as he slumped to the floor, gurgling, and the light faded out of his eyes, reflecting Tendou's white mask, now splattered with blood.

Tendou didn't linger a moment longer; he wiped the dagger on the dead man's doublet and strode into the room, locking the door behind him.

As the guard had already mentioned—or rather, had tried to explain before Tendou slit his throat—you were lying asleep in bed, your mouth slightly open, your calm breathing contrasting with his frantic gasps in the silence. For a brief moment, Tendou hesitated. Should he really do this? Wake you up, drag you out of bed, and flee the kingdom with you, followed by all the palace guards? To do what? To live with him in a small house in the woods, where he couldn’t even begin to offer you the riches and luxury you were used to, that you deserved?

His hand, which had been reaching out to you, slowly dropped until it hung uselessly at his side. Could he really do this to you? Was he really enough? Or wouldn’t you ultimately be happier with one of those princes, without him?

Tendou swallowed the lump in his throat.

Didn’t they always say that to love is to be able to let go? Even if you could never forgive him?

But before he could turn around and leave your sleeping form behind, the bells began to ring. Tendou flinched, and his gaze fell through the gap between the curtains. Outside, dozens of small figures were running around with torches in their hands, all heading toward the castle, toward the tower. Tendou cursed under his breath. So the prince had finally tracked him down after all. They had no time to lose.

“Tendou?” Your sleepy voice made him jump. “What are you doing here?” He turned toward you and there you were: Clothes crumpled, hair tousled from sleep and a sleepy yet confused expression etched into your features. Your eyes, still half-closed from sleep, widened instantly upon seeing him. “What happened?” You swung your legs out of bed and stepped toward him barefoot, a shudder running through you due to the cold of the floor. “Your mask… is that… is that blood?”

Tendou took your hands in his and pressed them against his chest so you could feel his heart pounding wildly. “I’m sorry, my love,” he murmured, feeling your fingertips wander over the fringes and ruffles of his shirt, searching for something to hold onto.  “But he found out.”

Tendou didn’t need to say anything else—you understood him well enough. For a brief moment, you stared at him with wide eyes, only to tear yourself away from him the next, run to the wardrobe, and hurriedly pull out boots, a pre-packed bag, and a coat to throw on. To Tendou’s great surprise, you reached into the closet again and, with the words “Catch!”, tossed him a sword blade, which he caught with ease. His gaze wandered over the simple scabbard from which a plain but high-quality sword hilt protruded, and back to you as you pulled the last straps of your coat tight and put on the hood.

“You were prepared for this.” That realization should have shocked him; after all, he had always been the one to devise the plans—thought through twice and thrice—that you had followed with a sweet smile. Not that he had ever considered you naive or gullible; after all, you were the one who had started planning the elimination schemes, but still…

“I knew we wouldn’t get away with it forever. Someone was bound to figure it out.” Smiling, you stepped toward him and placed your hands on his mask-covered cheeks. Carefully, you lifted it so that, bit by bit, his face became visible, until the mask had completely disappeared and you let it fall to the ground. “You won’t need that anymore, where we’re going.” Lovingly, you caressed his still-sweaty cheek with your thumb, and unable to resist, Tendou leaned into your touch. “Hopefully, you’ll never need it again.”

~**~

Being a princess certainly had its advantages. One of them was that a secret passage had been built into your room, leading to the maze garden, in case enemies tried to scale your tower. As Tendou ran through the tall hedges with your hand in his, mentally recalling the garden’s layout, he couldn’t help but grin at the irony that the enemies the princess ultimately had to flee from were her own guards. Your hand lay firmly in his, while he gripped the pommel of his sword tightly with the other. The shouts and footsteps of the guards searching for you could be heard all the way out here, spurring him on to run even faster. The hedges shot past Tendou like dark, shapeless walls that blurred into one another the closer he got to his goal of freedom. The gravel crunched under his shoes, and he had to be careful not to slip as he took the next turn.

“Sa… Satori,” your voice came out in a gasp. Tendou turned his head slightly—his field of vision unobstructed by the two small holes in his mask—and could see even in the dark that sweat was streaming down your face and you looked as if you were about to collapse at any moment. Tendou cursed silently to himself. Of course, you couldn’t keep up the fast pace he’d set until the end. After all, you weren’t used to such physical exertion. The only thing probably keeping you on your feet right now was the adrenaline pumping through your body. And yet he couldn’t bring himself to slow down. The forest, where a contact of his was waiting for them, wasn’t far away. Just a few more steps separated you from freedom, not far now…

Tendou had let his guard down, a fact that became clear to him once again when, out of nowhere, a sword blade came hurtling at him from around a corner—a blow he managed to dodge at the last second.

A quiet cry escaped you as the tip of the sword plunged into the ground in front of you, a small shred of fabric from Tendou’s shirt clinging to it, torn off by a glancing blow.

“Well, look who we have here.”

A man’s figure emerged from the shadow of the hedge. Little by little, blond hair, glasses, and finally a smug smile came into view, causing Tendou to narrow his eyes as his thoughts raced at a hundred miles an hour. How had he gotten into the maze so quickly? The guards had probably only just arrived at your chambers to look for him. So he hadn’t had any way of knowing that you would be walking this way with him. Unless…

Tsukishima clicked his tongue disapprovingly. “Oh, come on, you didn’t really think I wouldn’t notice, did you?” With an air of boredom, he pulled the sword from the ground and examined the blade before pointing it at Tendou’s heart, pushing you—who had refused to move—behind him. “Your mask may have hidden a lot, but your glances were almost telltale.” He tilted his head. “If it weren’t so pathetic, it would almost be impressive how long no one noticed the string of deaths. But your mask, of course, granted you a certain… anonymity.” Tendou felt the urge to knock his teeth out as he grinned at him in that arrogant way, but he held back. Acting impulsively now could cost him his life and you your freedom. “Which is all ultimately pointless, of course, since you’ve left it behind, your face exposed to the world.” Tsukishima snorted. “Idiot.”

Tendou pushed you back a little further as he stared at Tsukishima with a devilish smile on his lips and reached behind his back for the hilt of his sword. “You see, little prince, that’s where you’re wrong. You’re the only person who’s ever laid eyes on this beautiful face. And I have no intention of letting you leave this labyrinth alive enough to describe my face to anyone.”

Tendou’s blade sliced through the air faster than most could blink, but Tsukishima managed to raise his sword at the last second and parry the blow, causing the blades to lock together. Tendou forced a grim smile. “Oh, look at that—the little prince isn’t quite helpless after all.” The blood rushed in his ears, and his gaze flitted over Tsukishima’s face, which looked at least as grim as Tendou’s must have. “But unfortunately, not enough yet.” With that, he whipped the blade around, spun, and swung the sword in such a way that it should have cleanly severed Tsukishima’s head.

However, he narrowly missed him, as Tsukishima dropped to the ground with a soft groan at the last second and rolled instantly to the side as Tendou’s blade came crashing down on him once more. He had dropped his sword by the hedge.

Tendou’s blade once again swept down toward Tsukishima, who was now on the ground; Tsukishima could only evade the blows by rolling to the side again and, faster than Tendou had expected, crouching down, grabbing him by the hips, and pulling him to the ground, knocking the sword out of Tendou’s hand in the process. Tendou hissed and tried to break free, but he had to admit to himself that while he was more flexible, agile, and stronger than most, he was no fighter: he was a court jester. Nothing more.

Tsukishima pinned Tendou’s body and arms to the ground with his legs, while his hands reached for Tendou’s throat and squeezed. “I hadn’t intended for it to get this… physical.” Tsukishima grunted as he increased the pressure on Tendou’s throat.

Gasping for air, Tendou’s hands clenched tightly around them and tried to scratch Tsukishima’s face, but he had no success, as the blond was leaning too far away. “But then again… the end justifies the means, and surely no one will care exactly how that annoying court jester who kidnapped the princess died.”

Black spots began to dance before Tendou’s eyes as he fought for breath and freedom, and he knew he would soon lose consciousness if he did nothing, yet he couldn’t help but grin up at him. “You… know…” he croaked with an effort that caused Tsukishima to squeeze even tighter, the latter looking surprised that he could still speak at all. “One… tiny little detail… you… overlooked in your brilliant plan.” Tsukishima tilted his head and stared at him with an air of arrogance. “And what would that be?”

Tendo’s grin widened. “I didn’t kidnap her.”

Realization flashed across Tsukishima’s eyes for just a moment before a jolt ran through his body, accompanied by a squelching sound, and he let out a gurgling noise as he looked down at his chest, where the tip of his own sword was protruding. Horror and betrayal were etched on his face as his hands released Tendou’s throat, who instantly rolled away beneath him and struggled for air on all fours, coughing, while he staggered back, catching a glimpse of you. Your expression was cold as you watched him fall to the ground, his eyes fixed on you in disbelief.

“But…how…” Blood spilled over his lips and choked his voice before he could utter another word, sending shivers and tremors through his body. The sight of him left you completely unmoved, however, and you stepped toward him to crouch down in front of him. “He told you, didn’t he? You saw his face. There was no way he was going to let you leave this garden alive. Or me.”

Without wasting another word or glance on him, you turned and hurried to Tendou’s side, who was still gasping for breath, while Tsukishima’s bloody gurgling grew fainter and fainter until it fell completely silent.

“Satori?” Your voice was soft, worried, and your hand slid through his hair, as if you didn’t know whether you were doing it to calm him or yourself. He looked up at you, his eyes slightly reddened and dark marks already etched on his pale neck, yet none of it could suppress the broad grin he flashed at you before pulling you down and pressing a firm kiss on your lips. “God, I love you.”

~**~

Once Tendou had pulled himself together and, with some support from you, was able to move again, it didn’t take long before you reached the edge of the maze, this time without any complications along the way. The edge of the garden bordered a row of densely growing trees and shrubs that marked the beginning of the vast forest stretching across the entire kingdom. Once there, Tendou led you to one of the large oak trees and helped you settle down somewhat comfortably among the massive roots. Although he was the one who, just a few minutes ago, had been nearly strangled to death, he knew that the whole ordeal must have been even more exhausting for you than for him. Not only the physical stress of the chase and the running, but also the emotional and psychological stress that the evening had brought with it.

You had killed a man, a prince from the neighboring kingdom. Tendou had hoped it would never come to this, so he had always been the one to do the dirty work and get rid of the dreadful fiancés your parents had chosen for you. He had never wanted you to go through the horror of having those men’s blood on your hands. That was what he was there for. But he clenched his teeth, brushed a strand of hair from your face, and pressed a gentle kiss to your forehead. “I’ll be right back. Get some rest.”

But as he turned, your hand grabbed the hem of his sleeve and stopped him from leaving. “Be careful.” Your voice sounded small and uncertain, and it pained Tendou in his heart to see you like this. Gently, he pressed a kiss against the inside of your hand. “Always, my love. It won’t take long. I promise.” With a gentle nod, your grip loosened from the fabric of his jacket, and Tendou disappeared with stealthy steps deeper into the forest, through thorn bushes and low-hanging branches, until he reached the spot he had designated as their meeting place.

There, already waiting for him, stood a young man with black hair, holding the reins of a packed horse and glancing around nervously. When he spotted Tendou emerging from the shadows of the surrounding trees, a certain tension seemed to melt from his shoulders, and his lips almost curled into a smile.

“There you are at last. I was starting to think they’d caught you after all.” Tendou just smiled knowingly and took the reins he handed him. “Oh, Goshiki, always so worried about everything and everyone. You’d think that after all these years of our fruitful collaboration, you’d have learned that nothing and no one can bring me down.”

Goshiki’s cheeks flushed red, but he merely pursed his lips into a defiant pout. “The handprints around your neck tell a different story.” He seemed about to say more, perhaps to comment on the drops of blood on Tendou’s cheeks, but the former court jester shot him such a cold look that his mouth shut instantly and he looked for something else to focus his attention on. In this case, his feet.

“Here.” Tendou tossed him a small pouch that jingled with coins as Goshiki caught it. “And if I were to give you a tip: try to get out of here. The forest will soon be swarming with royal soldiers. You don’t want to be here then, believe me.” Goshiki nodded, turned around—and paused. “Take care of yourself, Tendou. You’ve always been one of my favorite dealers. It would be a shame if anything happened to you.”

Without waiting for a reply, he darted through the trees and vanished into the shadows. Smiling, Tendou shook his head and set off on his way back, leading the horse by the reins. He would miss him. Goshiki might have been a bit cheeky at times, but he had always been reliable, and Tendou had actually enjoyed working with him.

However, he now had something more important to do. You were still sitting exactly where Tendou had left you when he returned, leading the horse behind him. The crackling of the sticks under its hooves startled you and only confirmed his suspicion that you’d dozed off for a moment.

“Where did you get the horse?” Tendou just smiled conspiratorially and put a finger to his lips. “A magician never reveals his tricks.” You rolled your eyes and stood up to walk toward him. “And I thought you were just a court jester. How silly of me.” “I have many talents you know nothing about.” Your fingers glided over the animal’s muzzle, and for a moment there was that gentle expression on your face that Tendou loved more than anything. But just as quickly as it had come, it vanished, and you looked up at him. “Are you sure it can carry both of us?”

Tendou nodded. “There’s only one way to find out.”  His hands rested on your hips, and before you knew it, he had lifted you into the saddle. “Satori!” He grinned at the indignation in your expression and swung himself into the saddle as well, so that your back was pressed against his chest. “Don’t worry, Princess,” he murmured in your ear. “I’ll make sure nothing happens to you.”

Without another word, he spurred the horse on, and they charged through the undergrowth into the black night. Tendou wrapped his arms around your body so he could hold the reins in front of your stomach, guiding the horse over roots and through bushes, always careful not to leave any trace that could be easily followed. He knew that two kilometers ahead, a river would run through the forest. Though not very large, it was enough that the few traces you would leave behind would vanish along with the rushing waters. In his mind, he went over the route in detail once more—the one he had planned for weeks and revised hundreds of times.

After leaving the river, you would have to ride several kilometers north until you reached a large clearing with a rock formation. There, your path would continue eastward, past several small settlements, until you reached the town of Inarizaki. Tendou still had a few favors to call in there, so he was assured of finding lodging for the night. The rest would not last long, only until dawn—enough time for you and the horse to recharge your strength. After that, you would continue eastward to the next forest and from there a little further until you arrived at the cottage that Tendou had chosen for you a very long time ago.

He leaned in slightly so he could whisper in your ear. “I hope you’ll like it. I promised you that I’d take good care of you and that every one of your wishes would be my responsibility. You’ll want for nothing, I promise.” But all he got in response was a soft snore. Puzzled, he paused for a moment before a suppressed chuckle escaped him and he gently kissed your hair. “Don’t worry, darling. Just sleep. I’ll make sure nothing happens to you.”

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