Here you go, jungle321jungle. Enjoy!

Assassin 2 (hahaha)

Will couldn't breath. The world flashed before him. Then Nico stepped back sliding his sword back into his scabbard. Will looked at his hands, surprised. The chain was cut, almost like it was butter. Will plucked the cuffs off easily.

"Put this on." Nico said. He tossed a black cloak in Will's hands. He stared at it incomprehending. "Follow me."

"But I-"

Nico shot him another glare. "Shut up and do as I say."

Will swallowed a lump in his throat and tied the cloak around his neck. The dark fabric was thicker than he would've preferred, the weight setting him off slightly. But he didn't dare say anything.

Nico took off the same way he'd come without looking back. Will bounded after him, his boots falling in sync with the young Prince.

The silence was stifling. Nico made no move to explain his actions. His lips tight together, a blank look that told Will more than not. Nico was in pain, his dried tears still hurting him. Memories of his sister ringing in his mind.

Will could tell that just by looking at him.

They walked down the halls, other prisoners in the cells became more frequent. They shuffled away from the bars at the sound of their footsteps, settling in the shadows.

Nico rounded another corner, coming face to face with a heavy wooden door. He barely paused. He pushed it open with his palm, and it swung open without a sound.

Nico pulled Will forward throwing him through the door easily. Will stumbled, almost falling if it wasn't for the rough hands that caught him.

Will looked up, his blood freezing. Peering down at him were the dark eyes of that green eyed knight from dinner.

"Geez, Neeks," the knight whispered, "You could be a bit more careful."

Nico shrugged.

The knight pushed back a lock of his black hair. At their feet another solider in metal laid scarcely breathing. He was unconscious, a welt blooming on his forehead that was sure to come with a nasty headache when he woke up. Will recognized him, it was the same blond haired knight that had knocked him out earlier.

"Are we clear, Percy?" Nico asked crossing his arms.

The knight nodded, "It should be a couple hours before anyone notices. I cleared a path for you--the usual, between rounds."

"Good." Nico said his voice blunt, "Tell Annabeth I said goodbye."

"What, are you kidding me? You think I'm letting you go without any protection?" Percy asked, "No way, I'm going with you. I've got packs and everything."

Percy turned his back to show off the two packs he had prepared. Nico rolled his eyes. Faster than Will thought was humanly possible Nico lashed out. His fist connecting with the small of Percy's back. The knight slammed sideways, his head snapping against the wall hard.

Percy moaned once and slid into a heap on the floor. He didn't move again.

Will could only stare. He'd barely known Nico. The Prince was as popular as Bianca with the people of the kingdom. It was a real treat when they went outside the castle. But Will never expected Nico to be able to do this. Any of this.

The Prince curses under his breath holding his hand. The words snapped Will back into focus.

"Are you okay?" He asked quietly.

Nico shook out his fist, his knuckles red. "Fine." He mumbled through gritted teeth.

"You don't look okay."

"What are you, a doctor?" He hissed, "I thought I told you to shut up."

Nico looked down the corridor, the red walls glistening in more torch light. It played tricks with Will's mind, making the tapestries look alive and the walls like flowing blood.

"Percy has a girlfriend to get back to." Nico said quietly, trying to justify his means, "He can't come with us. He'd never be allowed back."

Will didn't like the sound of those words. "Nico, what are you planning? What is this?"

He looked up like he was just remembering Will was still there. "Grab the packs. We've got to go."

Will didn't move, "Nico..."

The Prince sighed and grabbed the packs himself. He tossed one at the blond fugitive, who barely caught it, "Bianca was killed by an assassin."

"How do you know?"

Nico pulled the backpack on, "The wine was adulterated with a rare poison. Something so rare it can only be found in three places. This particular form of poison is specific to one person. An assassin nicknamed Plague."

Nico continued. Will's limbs felt frozen at the sound of the name. He'd heard it before. Many times. The assassin was a legend, something of a ghost story. A man who's preferred weapon of murder was poisons.

He was nefarious throughout the world. But he wasn't the only assassin. There were other murderers out there. People that lived rich on killing others. Names popped up everywhere. Famine, Archangel, War...even their names were deadly, picked to instill terror in the population.

"What are you going to do?" Will whispered.

"First, I'm going to find this "Plague"." Nico sneered coldly, "Then I'm going to make him wish he'd never been born."

***

The castle was surprisingly easy to leave. They came across no active guards. In fact the only person they came across at all was an unconscious gatekeeper as the edge of the grounds.

Under the cover of the night they were nearly invisible scaling the walls that surrounded the castle and the grounds. Nico was amazingly skillful at it. His hands finding the crevices in the walls like muscle memory.

Will had to wonder just how many times he'd done it and why. Did he have some secret girlfriend outside the walls?

They crepted through the quiet village. Will kept his eyes open, his breath nearly silent. If they were caught now they were dead. Will was convicted of murder, Nico was aiding him. It didn't matter if Nico was a Prince.

"This way." Will tugged Nico's cloak, "I know a safe house."

Nico nodded. His silence was unnerving. He'd let his last statement hang in the air, a threat that he would do anything to fulfill.

It terrified Will. Nico was trying to go after an assassin. A man who killed people for fun. A man who trained in weapons and poisons. Nico was going to get himself killed like his sister.

"Stop." Will said suddenly, dragging Nico back. He was cool to the touch, like the night air. He flinched, as Will looked past pretending he hadn't noticed.

Two guards in midnight blue stomped past, their swords glistening in the moonlight. It wasn't until their footsteps faded that Will let out the breath he was holding in.

"That was close." He whispered to himself more than Nico.

"Yeah." The Prince whispered back. Will looked at him suddenly finding it hard to inhale. They were standing closer than either of them realized. Nico's exhale was warm on Will's cheek. His eyes hauntingly full of emotions.

He was still just a kid.

A kid who'd lost his entire world.

"This way." Will whispered, drawing away from him. He knew the village well. Even in the dark. The street was empty and Will's careful step led him right up to the second to last door on the street.

Will tugged the black cloak tighter around him and raised his arm to knock. His knuckles rapped on the wooden planks. The hollow sound echoing louder than he'd hoped.

It swung open instantly. Nico inhaled sharply at the sight. In the bright candle light the man in the doorway looked threatening. Until he pulled Will into a bone crushing hug.

"You son of a Hydra!" The boy said. His brown hair fell in front of his brown eyes, casting shadows across his face. "I thought you were going to die!"

"Yeah, I'm alive, Cecil." Will said shoving him out of the hug, "No thanks to you."

The boy, Cecil, grinned, mostly with relief, "Come on inside, Lou Ellen's been worried sick about you." He stepped aside so that Will could enter. The blond boy glanced back at Nico, and Cecil's eyebrows rise in surprise.

"Is that...?" He gasped.

"Yes." Nico said impatiently, "Can we come in now?"

Cecil swallowed his words, waving them both inside. He glanced both ways in the darkness outside before pulling it shut after them. Will couldn't help but have a sickening feeling in the put of his stomach.

Their house was bigger on the inside. It wasn't fancy, but it wasn't the run down beggars fort the outside promoted. Lou Ellen was walking down the hall her dark hair shining in the dim light.
"Will!" She cried, pulling him into a hug. Will saw Cecil stiffen with annoyance.

"Hey," Will grinned tiredly. She pulled out of her hug and smiled up at him. She'd been crying, her green eyes were still watery. Will expected her to hug him again. They were like best friends.

Her hand connected with his cheek, nearly knocking him off his feet.

"Damn you, Solace!" She snarled. "Making me cry for nothing!"

Will could only stare at her. Nico looked shocked, his mouth hanging open. Cecil laughed. His voice echoing in the room.

"Sorry," She said, but she obviously didn't mean it. She turned towards the Prince, blushing with embarrassment. "Here come on in the other room, I've got leftovers from dinner you can have. It might not be what the Prince is use to but-"

"Your cooking no where near that." Cecil cut in.

She sent him a dirty look.

Thankfully Nico cleared his throat and broke up their fight before they started throwing daggers. "I can't stay. I've got to leave before dawn."

Lou Ellen smiled like that wasn't a problem, "A trip? Excellent! I've got maps in the other room. We're traveling merchants, you know." She led him towards another room. Will tried to follow but Cecil grabbed his collar before he could.

"Wanna explain why the Prince is in my house, Solace?" He hissed quietly.

"Not particularly." Will shrugged.

"I know what you're thinking and the answer is no."

Will tugged out of his grip, fixing his cloak so it wasn't choking him anymore. Cecil's relieved smile was gone, replaced by a scowl. His freckles stood out more when he did that.

"Well, then it's a good thing you don't have any power over me then." Will said.

"He's going on a manhunt, isn't he!" Cecil whispered angrily, pointing towards the hallway Nico and Lou Ellen had disappeared down. "For the assassin that killed the princess. And you want to go with him. You can't, Will!"

"I have to do this."

"He will kill you when he finds out!"

"This is my duty, Cecil!" Will hissed, "Bianca's last wish was for me to watch over her brother!"

Cecil's fist pounded the wall like he wished it was Will's face, "Even if it kills you? That's not fair!"

"You wouldn't understand!"

"I understand plenty, Plague!"

Time seemed to stop. The tension in the air suffocating heavy. The silence was worse than their hushed tones. Will shook with anger. His blue eyes cold and harsh. His demeanor changed in an instant. "Don't call me that."

"Don't do stupid things and I won't." Cecil sneered.

Will glared at him coldly, "Careful, Cecil, or you might find something extra in your drink soon."

Cecil shook his head, rolling his eyes. "Remind me, who taught you how to kill people again? To hold a dagger? Wield a sword?"

"Lou Ellen."

"I helped some!"

Will snorted, "Yeah right. All you taught me was how to switch personalities, and sneak around quietly." Will headed for the other room. This time Cecil didn't stop him.

"Stop, you're making me blush, Solace." Cecil whispered sarcastically, "Really, I'm embarrassed."

"No, your not." Will said over his shoulder. "We don't feel emotions, Cecil. That's what makes us such a good assassins."

Did you like it? Was that a good enough plot twist?