Chapter 3.5
Milly managed to pressure the assassin into backing off momentarily, his eyes flashing with amusement at the sudden intrusion. She pulled out the knife she hid under her skirt and threw it directly at his face, and as expected he deflected the blow. He rushed in, his knife stabbing straight for her neck, but Milly deflected the blow using a fork. She twisted the dagger hard like she would twist spaghetti, and the dagger flew across the room. Next, she whipped out the threads and infused them with magic to make them sharper than any weapon as she aimed for the assassin's head. She wanted to catch him off guard while he still thought she was just a little girl--just a maid--and dispose of him before any harm came to her young master.
The assassin leapt back to the broken window, amusement playing across his face. He reached behind him and with incredible speed threw five knives at Milly. She parried each one with the magic-infused threads as he once again closed the distance between them and attacked with blinding speed. He wasn't pressured in the slightest--in fact he looked like he was beginning to have fun.
A dagger went past her face as she dodged to the left. Using her momentum, Milly spun to get behind the assassin and landed a heavy kick to his back and knocked him across the room into the wall. The assassin crashed, but instead of a cry of pain he laughed. He was having fun now that this maid was putting up a real fight.
"I haven't felt this in a long time," he chuckled. "This will be fun little maid!" At that he leapt high into the air and threw more knives at Milly and at her young master. She quickly blocked them all, making sure none would hit her charge, but the assassin was behind her now and standing over the crib. Before he could plunge his dagger into the baby, Milly threw one of the knives at the assailant's head. He grabbed it out of the air and threw it back at her with even more force. She dodged this time, then with a practiced motion she manipulated her strings into a spiral and thrust at the assassin as though it were a lance.
He blocked and jumped back, the two at a standstill now that they've gotten a grasp on what the other can do. They watched each other, waiting for any sign of movement, an opening, anything to gain the advantage. The assassin let his guard drop, and Milly pounced knowing well it could be a trap. The two clashed in the air, knives drawn, and soon there was a whirlwind of blades and strings flying at incredible speeds. Neither one backed down and neither was able to advance. They were perfectly matched in terms of speed and power.
"A combat maid, huh," the man whispered, then clicked his tongue in agitation. "They didn't tell me one of you was on staff."
"And who would they be?" Milly asked calmly, not letting her frustration at the situation show.The assassin said nothing, only slashed and stabbed as he tried to make an opening in Milly's magical thread defenses.
With a flick of her wrist, Milly dispersed the threads and the assassin was momentarily thrown off balance. She wasted no time on that opportunity and directed each one to aim directly for vital points on the man's body to finish him off. The battle was going on for too long, and she was getting tired. She was, after all, only 12 years old. She had to protect her young master, but if the battle drew on much longer it would be over for her. She instinctively knew that much. This man was strong, so she had to be stronger.
"Void Circle to Death's Embrace," he whispered, naming her moves perfectly. "You're so young and yet so skilled!" He let out a laugh as the threads pierced his vitals. Blood spattered all over the immaculately clean carpet and walls, causing him to sputter and stumble. However, he did not fall. The man, clearly mortally wounded, kept advancing on Milly with nothing but a smile on his face. "You're one of her students, aren't you?" he asked, perfectly calm. "So young...so so young."
Milly tried to apply more pressure, but something felt off. She couldn't move her strings anymore--it was as if the magic had been cut off completely. Nothing had changed in terms of appearance, Milly could see that, but everything felt wrong. It was like his body was stone but also flesh. Her strings would not move but they responded to her touch. What was going on?
"So young and so pretty," he laughed. "Shame you'll have to die when you have so much potential. So pretty, so skilled. So so sorry." Milly guessed he was trying to look upset, but it came out more like he was grinning. Suddenly, her strings went slack and the assassin had vanished from view. She looked around for him but couldn't spot him nor sense him with magic. Milly moved to guard the crib, one eye on the baby and one eye out for the assassin. That was her mistake.
From under the crib the assassin slashed the backs of her ankles and Milly crashed to the floor in a cry of pain. She felt a cold presence slide over her body, paralyzing her on the ground. His face appeared over her, his breath hot and smelling of rotting wood and fresh vomit. He licked her face, and she instinctively let out a whimper. She was trapped beneath him and couldn't move. The knife had surprised her and cut her down, but the breath and the saliva had been used to poison her. Milly could no longer move nor defend herself and was at this disgusting man's mercy.
"Let's have some fun, shall we?" he whispered into her ears. His dagger caressed her chin, traveled down her neck and to her chest where it hovered over her sternum. He let it slowly, painfully slowly slide into her skin as she couldn't fight back. He loved watching the look of helplessness spread on his victims' faces most of all. Man, woman, child--it didn't matter to him so long as they were terrified. But this girl was defiant. She was scared, he could see it in her eyes, but he also saw the fire to live and to fight to protect her charge. How he wanted to just carve that right out of her and take her flesh with him. He was a truly disgusting man, but he did his job so well his clients always forgave him in the end. Perversion was a small price to pay for guaranteed results.
As the knife plunged ever so slowly into Milly's chest, she tried to keep from crying out. She had to figure something out--she couldn't let him win. She had to protect the young master. It was her duty as a maid to always protect him and right now she was failing miserably. There was no way she could let a mere assassin kill her, not when her master was depending on her to save him. She had to figure something out, but it's rather difficult when someone is tortuously stabbing a knife into one's chest.
That was it! Milly could still feel the magic in her body, but she couldn't cast with her hands. The poison may have paralyzed her but it hadn't rendered her incapable of using her magic. She tried to focus on the point of the dagger in her chest as it stabbed into her. She let the magic in her body course to that singular point, pool at the tip of the blade, then she sent it surging all at once through the dagger and into the assassin's arm.
He let out a scream as his arm twisted from the spiral spell she sent through the knife. It was a gamble, but it seemed as though the spell she cast when through the knife and into his arm just as Milly had planned. The assassin's arm bent at a completely unnatural angle as the flesh turned and spiraled in a horrifying simulacrum of a real arm. She hadn't controlled the spell as well as she had hoped, but she had still managed to completely break his arm and render it useless.
Rage burned in his eyes even though the smile was still plastered on his face. He was experiencing pain, rage, fear, and pleasure all at once and he loved and hated it in equal measure. The assassin had wasted enough time playing around and this was the price he would pay. That was fine. He could kill the maid and the child and get out just fine. After all, she was still paralyzed and it was just a baby.
But that was where he was wrong. He had underestimated Milly's desire to survive and protect while simultaneously overestimating his own skills at stealth. He had taken up too much time, and now the castle was awake with activity. The door of the baby's room burst open and guards rushed into the room with swords and spears drawn. They charged at the intruder but he was still faster even injured. He dodged their blows by dancing into the air and over their heads. His usable arm flashed and cut the throats of a few guards, while others tried to go for his head. He kicked off of one and landed right at the window for an easy escape.
Milly glared up at him from the floor, breathing heavily. No, this man could not be allowed to leave--he would just come back until the job was done. She had to stop him. But it was too late--the assassin was too strong to be stopped by regular guards and with a sick smile pointed towards her he leapt through the broken window and into the dark night.