Moonlight cast itself along the garden's cobblestone floor. The lampposts giving the path a gentle glow, bringing colors to the petals below.
With each gust of wind, the bushes around us ruffled, far too loud in the stillness of the night.
Sophia stepped forward a few paces. Her emerald eyes met mine, sparkling in the light.
"So... want to do a little Q&A?
"Hmmm, what for?"
She sighed. "Well, I just realised that I don't actually know much about you. Apart from you being a trained killer at such a young age. But except from that, I don't much else."
Silence lingered for a moment. "I'll ask you a series of questions, and you better answer quickly, or…"
"Or what?"
"It's nothing. Besides, it's all going to have the same outcome anyway." She looked ahead, deeper into the garden, and I spoke from behind her.
"If my intuition is somehow accurate... just telling you, it won't work."
She chuckled, not looking behind. "Come on, don't be such a kill joy. You know I read on the internet that people who are always so serious tend to die at an earlier age. "
"And should a royal princess really believe everything they see on the internet?"
Sophia grinned, turning back and walking beside me. "Let's start. You'll see later."
We walked side by side along the garden path, our footsteps echoing against the stone pathway.
"Favorite food?"
"Takoyaki, with extra sauce."
"Favorite game?"
With each step forward, the night grew quieter.
"Uno."
"Any hobbies?"
"Killing people."
I caught a glimpse of someone's shadow slipping through the moonlight, gone almost as soon as I noticed it.
"... Aside from that?"
"Playing cards."
"Do you smoke?"
"I eat wafer rolls."
Ahead, the center came into view. Eight pillars stood, arranged in a circle, supporting a dome illuminated by the moonlight.
The whole structure was colored white, making its ethereal presence stand out even more.
"What's your style?"
"In clothing? Rugged formality."
"Have you ever drank someone else's coffee?"
"What kind of question is that?"
"If you were an object, what would you be?"
"An Ace of Spades."
At the center of the dome, a lone, golden gramophone was seated in a pedestal. I could already guess what's going to happen.
"How about your type of girl?"
"Queen of Hearts."
"Are you using card metaphors because you think it's cool, or is that how you genuinely think?"
"...It's how I genuinely feel."
"What do you think the song is going to be?"
"I don't know, maybe some classical music?"
We finally reached the heart of the garden. Grass walls rose to half our height surrounding us, while a dome rested above, supported by the eight pillars.
"That'll be it. Feeling uneasy?" She walked toward the lone gramophone at the very center and chose a song to play.
Above her, the dome had a circular glass roof at the center, letting the moonlight shine down and illuminate her figure.
"Of course not." My voice was confident.
"You're a terrible liar." She smirked, before staring straight at my eyes, her steps heading toward me.
"One last question. Does this finish with a perfect pirouette… or a fall before the music stops?"
The wind howled once more, only this time the leaves were rather loud, not loud enough to for an average man to notice. They're ready, and so was I.
"Oh, don't ask me." I finally answered.
"So be it."
The song finally played.
***
I moved to the right, my shoes sliding quietly over the stone, while Sophia stepped left, already turning as she shifted her balance.
She completed the turn with flawless precision, and I mirrored her a heartbeat later, rotating to face her again.
Together, we stepped back, accurate and deliberate. Our arms stretched outward as if measuring the space between us.
Then we advanced, one careful step forward, the gap closing between us. Sophia pivoted sharply, spinning twice, her stunning figure shone elegantly beneath the moonlight. As she landed on my arms in an embrace, I pushed her away in another spin.
Suddenly, four figures in black popped up from the bushes at the side, their guns pointing directly at us.
Of course, I had already expected this. Grabbing my gun, which already had the silencer I always take with me, I shot before they could even react.
Half went down with headshots, dead, and the other half were hit in their hands. Sophia's spin was already ending, so I had to aim quickly.
Fortunately, the remaining men didn't scream in pain from the shots. were they trained for this moment, or do they just not feel any pain?
As Sophia finished her spin, my hands reached out to her, catching and swiftly guiding her vision away from the scene.
Our dance continued, and the fight continued as well. With the pursuers not giving up, still trying to kill us.
They had already given up shooting though, probably because they were using heavy guns, and you can't exactly operate those with one hand. They should've bought a pistol or something.
One pursuer rushed at me, a knife in his hands. I kicked him in the chest before he could reach, sending him tumbling farther away. Then I took out some throwing knives from under my suit and… well, threw them.
The knives hit his arms legs and throat, ending him on the spot.
But it looks like this fight got much worse for us, as far off in the darkness, a brief spark caught my eye. Sharp and ominous. It came from a fixed point as well, a glint of cold light reflecting where no light should be.
In a situation such as this, it could only mean one thing. Someone, somewhere, was watching us through glass and steel.
We continued to dance, a step to the right, two steps back, in each other's embrace, circling around the dance floor. There were two enemies left, a sniper and one last pursuer.
The pursuer rushed at us. At the same time the sniper shot, the bullet barely missing my leg as I stepped away just in time.
The pursuer was still there. So, I pulled Sophia toward my body in a tight hug with one hand, positioning myself so her head faced away from him.
Then, with my free hand, I swiftly grabbed the gun from under my suit once again and shot the last pursuer in the head.
Once the enemy was down, I breathed a sigh of relief, and looked at Sophia's face, only to find her wearing a wide grin.
So, she knew... well, of course she did. Who wouldn't notice?
The bullets kept coming. Dodging them was much easier now that my mind wasn't overthinking about making sure Sophia didn't notice, but it was by no means a walk in a park.
Seriously, I wondered why I hadn't just told her in the first place.
Now, how do we stop that sniper? We could just get to cover and report the attack to the king; this would avoid putting the princess's life in danger. However, there's a chance the sniper might get away, and I wanted him alive.
Of course, this is a really peculiar situation. Sending only five people to take the princess's life, and none of them even that skilled, yet all of them seemed like hardened veterans able to endure pain. Something else must be going on here.
I could've kept some of them alive down here but I'm afraid the sniper will just shoot the ones I've incapacitated. So, I've decided on capturing the sniper instead, but how?
Just when I was deep in thought, spinning around and dodging bullets. Another glint from a scope came into my view. This one closer, and from the opposite direction of the other.
It seemed the first sniper noticed as well, as the shots suddenly stopped. Were they not allies?
At that instant, the first sniper disappeared. One moment, the cold light of its lens hovered against the night; the next, it vanished, never to return.
Our dance came to a stop together with the music. Sophia looked at me, confused. "How about the sniper?"
She really knew, I sighed. "One died. The other... the other is a friend of mine."
Yuta. I don't know why, but I was sure of it.
"Oh, really?" she said in a teasing voice.
"What? Jealous you don't have any friends like that?"
Sophia smirked. "What are you saying? Of course I have friends like that."
"I'm staring at him right now."