The ancient clock tower sang feebly as it struck four in the afternoon. The sun was just beginning to sink behind the buildings as I nervously glanced out of the windows, hoping to see Marco strutting down the sidewalk. Although I was disappointed when he wasn't there, I saw Shawn shuffling up the stoned path that lead to our front door.
Before the door even had a chance to slam shut, I flew out to the hall like an angry hummingbird to corner him.
"Do you really think that Marco's serious about this? He would be completely insane to even try."
Shawn, however, chose to ignore me, and bolted up the stairs. I stared vaguely at the spot where he had stood moments before. Was Shawn really trying to avoid the situation? I came to my senses when I heard his voice float down to me.
"Of course he'll do it. I don't think he's a big fan of Prince Evan. I wish he wouldn't do it though," he said wistfully.
He disappeared through his bedroom door, leaving me alone to drown in my thoughts.
It was well past midnight when Marco stumbled through the door. He froze as he saw Cleo, Astrix and I waiting for his arrival.
"And what do you think that you're doing at this hour," Astrix fumed, "Were you out all day spying on the Prince?"
Marco slowly shifted his gaze from us.
"You did spy on Prince Evan! Do you even care what could happen to you if you're caught?" Astrix shrieked.
Marco didn't respond. He tried to slip past us, only to bump into Shawn's outstretched arm.
"Where do you think you're going? I heard a question, but I haven't heard an answer yet, you ungrateful little swine."
"So what if I was spying on the palace? It's not like they caught me. And even if the guards did, I could still get out of it," Marco muttered. Cleo gently placed her hand on his shoulder.
"All we're trying to say is that maybe you should forget about it. I mean, don't you think that all of this is unnecessary? Do you really want to risk your life for foolishness?"
"I don't care about what you guys think. If it concerned any of you, it would still be best if you stayed out of it. I'm still going to go through with it," he added with a tone of finality. He slipped under Shawn's arm and moved up the stairs. He turned back to us, like he was about to say something else, but he changed his mind, and charged towards his bedroom.
Marco had disappeared once again before sunrise. Shawn was beginning to give up hope on him, and was considering sending Marco to the nearest asylum.
The eerie silence followed Marco as he crept through the blackened city towards the palace. Dim candles flickered weakly in some windows, even as early risers came to revive them. Marco slipped through an empty alleyway, a shortcut to his destination.
Guards slouched inattentively at the gates of the palace. Some of them appeared to be sleeping right where they stood.
This is too easy. Marco slipped his hand into his pocket to retrieve a stone, and threw it as hard as he could. He held his breath until he heard a soft thump in the bushes. The startled guards ambled through the darkness, giving Marco just enough time to slip into a nearby rose bush. Even as he was assaulted by the thousands of thorns that surrounded him, he couldn't help but feel a sense of accomplishment.
"There's nothing here but a rock, "a gruff voice sighed.
"Probably somebody who thought it would be a good prank," another voice said, much closer to Marco than the first one.
Both voices stopped abruptly, as though both of their owners had simply vanished. Marco breathed a huge sigh of relief.
"And what do you think you're doing in there?"
Marco lifted his gaze to see two guards, both staring furiously at him. Suddenly, the thorns didn't seem like such a big deal.
The sun was just beginning to rise when I heard an urgent knock at the front door. I waited for thirty seconds to see if somebody else would answer it. The knock came again, and with some irritation, I shuffled down the stairs.
I opened the door and saw two guards looking as annoyed as I felt. The first guard had a long ginger beard, and he spoke for the pair of them.
"We caught this young man hiding in the bushes by the palace. He said that he lived here. Is it the truth?" The second guard cast a venomous glare at Marco, which even made me shiver.
I had the fleeting sense to say that Marco was lying, mostly because of my irritability. Then feeling slightly bad for him, I changed my mind.
"Yes, he lives here. We'll try to keep him out of any more trouble. And next time, you can keep him,"I hissed under my breath.
After I assured the guards that Marco would stay on his best behavior, they took their leave. Now was my chance to have a little bit of fun.
"Marco, it's so nice to see you. Tell me, how long has it been? Was it since the last time you were at the palace?" I said as loud as I possibly could. As I had hoped, there was a rush to get down the stairs, which was followed by a storm of yelling and scolding.
"You're entirely too obsessed with this assassination!"
"I can't believe you went spying on the palace again."
"EVERYBODY SHUT UP."
There was immediate silence. Shawn paced to the door, his black hair falling over his eyes.
"Listen to me Marco. Either give up the crazy ideas, or get out of here. I don't want anybody to think that the rest of us are involved with any sort of conspiracy. Do you understand me?"
A heavy air of suspense hung over us while Marco weighed his options. It felt like an eternity had passed before he decided.
"I'll just get out of your way. I wouldn't want to give up my ideas for your own selfish needs." He opened the door slowly, and I cracked.
"Well aren't you being selfish? Doesn't it occur to you that some people actually like Prince Evan? All you've thought of lately was killing Prince Evan. Now tell me which is more selfish."
Marco pulled his hand back from the door and sauntered up the stairs, giving the rest of us a furious glare after him.
"What are we going to do with him," Cleo mused.
"I told you not to get caught. Now everybody's going to know about this."
"Why would you even send him out? He's incapable of handling a task like that. Next time, let me choose who goes," a second voice said haughtily.
A long awkward silence filled the large room. After some time, the first voice spoke again.
"It's decided. Since you proved you cannot work in secrecy, Marco, you must now do the dirty work."
