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no. 302

"I'm going to kill you."

"Get in line."

"Oh, I already talked to the line. It was very long, but they all agreed my claim was best. In fact, they're holding off your guards for me."

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no. 301

"Have you come for my head?"

"In a manner of speaking. I've come for your hand, first. Then I'll win your heart. I'm sure the head will fall into line eventually."

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no. 300

"I've mourned you for ten years. What am I supposed to do with you, now that you're back from the dead? Pick up where we left off?"

"You could start by asking me where the hell I've been."

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no. 299

"Do you trust me?"

"Not a whisker."

That earned an exasperated look. "Why are you here, then?"

"Entertainment value."

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no. 298

"The blood runs strong in you."

They scoffed. "How can it? I'm a nobody. Bastard born from who knows where."

"The blood of this land does not run in your veins, but in your mind. Your heart. Your actions."

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no. 297

"How much am I going to regret this?"

"Quite a bit, I think."

"You're supposed to lie."

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no. 296

"We've learned that one of the assassins is a short, dark haired man," the advisor said neutrally.

"Not my new suitor!" the queen said indignantly. She had liked him. She frowned worriedly at the advisor. "No, perish the thought. Might you be overly suspicious?"

The advisor shrugged. "It's my job to be paranoid, your majesty."

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no. 295

“And what if I told you their child would grow up to be a monster? Would you kill them then, to save hundreds of thousands of future lives?” 

“Well, thanks to you, I’ll still be around in this awful future of yours. I’ll take care of it then. If I need to.”  

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ooo, I like the sense of greater, tragic story behind this scene! 

no. 268

“You’ve tread water in this toxic dump for so long. All by yourself. Let me help me, your majesty.”

The queen’s smile was bleak. “I watched the last person who asked me that sink. To the bottom.”

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no. 294

“What do you call a king without a throne?” 

The king without a throne did not like the man’s suggestively twisted grin. “Ah... that depends, I suppose, on--” 

The man laughed. “On how many guards you have? Well, your majesty, seems it’s just you and me. And from my point of view, you look just like every other man I’ve killed.” 

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no. 293

“If I discover a new planet, I’m naming it after myself.”

“If you discover a new planet, you’re naming it after me. I’m the one financing your interstellar suicide mission, after all.”

“But I’m taking all the risks!” 

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no. 292

“Do I know you?” 

“You saved my life!” 

“Oh, that explains it,” the hero said. “I don’t start remembering people til they save mine.” 

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no. 291

"You want me to marry you and then murder you? What am I supposed to get out of this?"

His lips twisted. She was struck with the realization that this was his real smile, when he was truly amused, not the broad, false one he flashed so convincingly.

"Money and freedom," he said.

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no. 290

They frowned deeply. "So, I'm supposed to pay you a bunch of money and then you fuck off and do whatever you want? How is that fair?"

The would-be assassin beamed. "It's called a bribe, Your Highness. I don't think they're meant to be fair."

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no. 289

"Is this worth your life? Are they worth your life?"

They shrugged. "Probably not. Gotta try anyway, yeah? We made a deal."

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no. 288

"What do you want for this? And so help me, if you say 'your soul', I'm out."

"Oh, nothing so old school as that. I only want your worst memories."

“What are you going to do them?” 

“The usual.”

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no. 287

"What can I offer you? What will convince you to work for me? Ask me for anything."

"I'm done with this business." They laughed bitterly. "You'd have to be able to raise the dead."

She slid a contract across the desk. "I did say anything."