On a chilly winter night, while everyone is asleep in the kingdom, in the dimly lit chamber a hooded figure keeps a watchful eye on the slumbering prince. The room is shrouded in silence as the figure surveys her surroundings. She takes a good look at the young prince inching a little closer. He truly was handsome looking. Then the words of her master rung inside her head. Her heart stops as the floorboards creaks beneath her black leather boots. Heart racing, she stood and turns around to see if anyone was alerted by her presence. The prince's eyes suddenly snap open at the sound of someone. The young prince was about to reach for his dagger under his pillow when he saw the glimmer of a dagger. Heart pounding she raised the blade high, poised ready to strike. His hand shot out to grip the intruders trembling one. As the prince awakens his vision clears. "What are you doing? Who sent you?" His voice was groggy, laced with fear and disbelief. The figure recoiled, the dagger brushing against the prince's throat, drawing a thin line of blood. She hesitated, a tormented realization dawning on her. She failed her mission. With a choked gasp, she relinquished the weapon, her eyes wild with panic. "I-I can't. I can't". She stammered, her voice trembling. He grabbed a hold of her thin wrist, his strength not dulled by his illness. "I asked who sent you? Many people like you have attempted to take my life. But have failed. Right now I could kill you. So choose your words carefully. Otherwise I will let you go. I won't ask again, who sent you?" He glared at her reaching for his dagger, putting it up to her throat. She flinched glancing at the shiny dagger to her throat. Without so much as saying a word, she hit his dagger causing his grip to drop the dagger. She tears herself away fleeting into the darkness of the night. As the crimson droplets trickled down his neck, the prince's heart pounded with disbelief and fear. The encounter forever alters the course of his destiny.