(OOC: A bit mature!)
It was some months later on the eve of the Grand Duke's wedding.
The night air was surprisingly cool and welcoming after the heat of the banquet hall. Audric breathed in deeply, relishing the way it made his head spin a bit after the wine he had imbibed. It wasn't enough to make him dizzy or unsteady -- but it was enough to make him a little more independent than a man in his position should otherwise be.
"We'll have your carriage here shortly, my Lord," a servant said with a bow, then scurried away.
Audric looked after him a moment, then around himself. There were servants and nobles milling everywhere, preparing to depart for their night lodgings... A smart man would have waited for his servant to return; Audric had had just enough wine to make him the opposite.
Pulling a random cloak from the arms of a servant, who assumed it must belong to him (because, really, why else would Audric have taken it?), he walked towards the gates himself...and stepped out into the city.
His path was, at first, fairly aimless. He was unfamiliar with this city and had only wanted to go for a walk by himself...until, that is, he overheard something rather alarming.
A voice, gruff and hard, was speaking, and it was answered by a quieter, more timid voice of a woman. Peering into the open archway that led into a private garden, he frowned at the trio gathered there...and the body at their feet.
"I didn't know you were such the accomplished assassin," the man was saying to the woman. He said something more, but the words were lost as he pressed his lips against the woman's throat.
The woman laughed quietly, as though she enjoyed his attentions. "I thought we knew each other better than that." From his position, Audric could clearly see her hand go between the man's legs. He released a low, eager moan that changed pitch, suddenly, sounding more strangled. "Now, back off, or I'll make sure you join them."
The man raised both hands and took a step back, making her grin look more catlike. She nudged the body with her toe. "Put on his uniform. You'll look like any other guard in the Grand Duke's service."
"What about you?"
"I'll be stealing her clothes." She gestured to the woman sitting on the other side of the couple, away from the body. Looking more closely, Audric could see the woman was hog-tied. "I'll be in the kitchens. With this." She produced a vial from her sleeve. "If the poison fails, we'll kill the Grand Duke and that pretty little wife of his with our bare hands."
The pair chuckled, and then he gestured to the girl. "And why has she lived long enough to hear our plan?"
"I thought we'd have a little fun with her. Wouldn't want blood on her clothes, would we? Just be sure to be careful removing them."
The man's grin widened to match the woman's, and the pair advanced on the woman as one.
Well, Audric thought, there were so many reasons to get involved here...if only he had a weapon. The best he could do was a fallen branch...
The woman was ungagged and unbound, but she had little chance to fight the pair. To her credit, however, she was struggling and screaming loud enough to wake the dead...and that gave Audric the chance to get close enough to swing the stick down over the man's back.
The stick snapped in half...and the man turned with a blink, as though Audric had flung a flower at him instead. "Now, what's this? A hero?"
"Oh," the woman purred as she straightened. She made a gesture with her hand, and suddenly Audric found himself flung backwards and pinned against a wall by an invisible force! The next thing he felt was a blade pressed to his family jewels in a light caress that was terrifying. "It looks like I'll have a little fun too..."
The girl screamed even louder, now, while the man began to slide the dress from her shoulders. "I'll give you a better use for that mouth in a minute, girl..."
