Chapter 25: Hired Or Forced?
Late into the night, everyone was sound asleep. The Celestial Lodge was so quiet, you could easily hear a pin drop. But under the cover of darkness, something was brewing.
Two masked men were creeping onto the second floor of the lodge. They were heading towards Sierra's room. When they got to the door, they carefully turned the knob and pushed it open.
A soft creak was emitted from the joints on the door, but it was almost impossible to hear. The stairs were pitch black, they could barely see anything in front of them.
At that moment, Sierra was supposed to be still sound asleep like most others in the lodge. But her heightened senses alerted her of impending doom. She flickered her eyes open.
It only took a few brief moments for her eyes to adjust to the lighting in the room. With only the moonlight from the window to light her space, it was what she had to work with.
"Someone's here," she mouthed to herself as she listened carefully.
Sierra was unafraid. She quickly closed her eyes and pretended to be asleep. She did not move. She stilled her breathing and waited.
She focused on her hearing and listened to the intruder's every move.
The intruders carefully made their way up, making sure they do not make a single sound. When they got to the top of the stairs, their vision improved a little with the help of the moonlight.
Sierra knew from their movements that there were two of them. A little more difficult to deal with, but not impossible for her.
The two intruders saw Sierra's sleeping form immediately. They used hand signals to communicate with one another. As they carefully moved towards her, they drew their weapons. The shiny surface of their blades reflected the moonlight, casting a reflection in Sierra's direction.
Sierra already had one hand underneath her pillow, where she kept her dagger. She flickered her eyes open and sat up immediately.
Her movements caught the intruders completely off guard.
"She's awake! Silence her now!" one of the intruders shouted at the other.
They were still trying to process what just happened when Sierra leaped out of bed and charged at one of them with her dagger. The man barely dodged the attack.
But that was just a ruse. Sierra grinned as she now had him where she wanted. She curled her free hand into a fist and punched the man in the stomach. Before he could retaliate, she straightened her hand and landed a blow at the base of his neck, successfully incapacitating him.
As the man collapsed onto the ground, his companion dropped his dagger in fear. They had been paid off by Princess Cassandra to carry out a simple task. Defile the princess who stayed in the attic and be handsomely rewarded.
"Fail to do so... well just don't. I don't think either of you will be ready to face the consequences. Run, and you better pray you are never found." those were Princess Cassandra's exact words.
The man gulped as he crawled backward, away from Sierra. They assumed Sierra was just a helpless princess, one with no skills or the ability to fight back. Who knew she would be such a monster?
The aura that surrounded her was unlike anything he had seen before. It was the deadly aura of a warrior, trained to kill her enemies with one blow.
"Please... please let us go! We were forced to do this! We mean you no harm!" he begged for his life.
Sierra's expression softened for just a flicker of a moment. She stopped in her tracks as she furrowed her eyebrows.
Seeing that she responded to his words, the man quickly scrambled to his knees and clasped his hands together, begging for mercy.
Though the princess who threatened him and his companion was scary, the murderous look in Sierra's eyes was even scarier. He was going to take his chances.
"Forced? Explain yourself." Sierra demanded.
"We... we were being hired to... to harm you, Your Highness," he confessed.
"Hired or forced," Sierra asked as she folded her arms, "Choose your words wisely."
He could hear the change in her tone, he quickly explained himself, "Both, your Highness."
Sierra pondered for a moment. Who did she offend that would come after her? A few people came to mind. It felt as if in the short span of days, she had more enemies than she's ever had at any point in her life.
"It has to be her..." she muttered to herself as she turned her attention back to the man who was kneeling before her.
"Who hired you," she asked as she pointed her dagger at him.
The man was shaking in fear. Sweat trickled down his forehead as he stuttered a reply, "I...I..."
His eyes darted to the side. Sierra bit her lip, she had forgotten about the other man entirely. This gave him the opportunity, upon waking up, to fight back.
He lunged himself at Sierra, ready to pin her down on the ground and do the deed. The man who was kneeling did not move.
Fear had paralyzed him. Sierra was not about to let him get his way. She ducked and curled her hand into a fist. She winded her arm back and punched him in the stomach.
The force pushed the man backward, he crashed against the wall with a thud and collapsed unconscious once more. This time, he had blood dripping down the side of his head.
"Damn it!" Sierra cursed beneath her breath. The commotion was loud enough to wake the others, she was sure of it.
Just then, Sierra heard the door to her room being pushed open. Someone was running up the stairs. Sierra held her dagger, ready to face the intruder.
But as soon as she saw who it was, Sierra lowered her guard and heaved a sigh of relief.
"Princess! I.. Wait... what..."
It was Ida. She was carrying a broom in her hands, panting for air.
Sierra went up to her and embraced her with a hug. Ida was at a loss for words, she did not know what to do or say. It was not every day that a princess hugs a maid.
Sierra never expected anyone to come to her aid. She knew Ida was assigned to assist her but she never expected her loyalty to go so far.
The man who was on his knees was still shaking in fear. When he witnessed Sierra punching his companion, his mouth was agape.
Seeing that the princess was distracted, he quietly got up on his feet and crept towards the window. It was his best chance of escaping.
"Jump out that window and you'll lose both your legs when you hit the ground," Sierra said out loud.
CREATORS' THOUGHTS 
ValestriaMoon
ValestriaMoon Always remember, our gurl Sierra is a knightess through and through! Fighting is in her blood~
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