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To their credit, Yiz couldn't fault the guards on their alertness or their reaction times. They were a switched-on bunch of sell-swords, their perception keen and their intuition potent. The fact that they'd managed to follow her this far put them head and shoulders above the usual rabble of beef-witted peons she was used to. Not that it ultimately mattered in the end; none of them ever had a hope of finding her.

Who could blame them? People only looked for things they expect, things that are demonstrably real; it's reasonable to assume that a thief or an assassin is going to hide in some dark corner or lurk in an empty building until the hunt is off. Nobody expects them to have shape-shifted into a barrel, or a lantern, or a spider; such things simple aren't possible.

Yiz might even have felt a scrap of pity for these guards as she slid her blade soundlessly between their ribs one at a time, hand clasped over their mouths as their bodies vanished into nothingness. The weapon's enchantment was simple, but potent; any opponent that fell to its strike would be rendered invisible for a short while. By the time the sun rose, the bodies would be ready to be found - and Yiz would be long gone. This deceptive utility coupled perfectly with her own natural ability to alter her form, allowing her to seamlessly take the identity of whoever she had just silenced.

In less than a minute the patrol managing the perimeter of the estate had been silenced, and Yiz was ready to make her way inside.

Wings beat swiftly in the night air as she took the shape of a bird of prey, circling the air above and scanning for a convenient entrance. The smoking chimneys indicated the presence of flames beneath; no sense going in through there. The balconies of the upper floors were awash with guests; even if she transformed into something less conspicuous she was sure to be seen going through there.

At the bottom floor however, just outside the kitchen at the rear of the estate, was a drizzling pipe. Judging by its location, it was the outflow pipe from the bathing area... Perfect. Given the high-end party going on, there weren't likely to be any guests being washed.

Now, to locate her target. Maintaining a brief glide over the great sky-light above the central hall, she drank in the swarm of guests far below. Baronesses, Duchesses, Dukes, Princes, Trade Masters, Generals, Ladies and Butlers and Maids... They all milled about like insects around the great, glowing statue in the center of the room; a curious piece around which simple enchantments of bedazzlement danced like fireworks.

The wealthy certainly liked to waste their money on utterly trivial things... Not that she minded of course; that's why she was here after all. Her vision latched onto a solitary woman making her way upstairs to the second floor, unaccompanied by any escort or companion.

"There you are..."

Tucking her wings to her sides and swooping through the night, Yiz transformed a moment before she hit the ground, her latest form far better suited to scuttling through pipes; the cockroach form tended to attract a little more distasteful attention out in the open due to its status as a 'pest', but it was perfect for squeezing unseen through tight spots.

The pitch blackness of the pipes might have been a detriment under normal circumstances, but Yiz had been blessed with a superb sense of direction - among other things - and the network granted her easy access to the second floor.

As she arrived at the end of the drainage pipe to the sink, she discovered that she had been mistaken about the status of the bathroom. Not only was it in use, steamy warmth providing the perfect screen for one to enter unseen, but her target was right there.

"What are you leering at girl?" The princess in the tub said with disdain, her glorious golden hair draped modestly over her bosom as she glanced at the maid out of the corner of her eye. An awkward squeak escaped the maid's throat as she turned her face further away from the bathing beauty, fussing about with the tray of drinks she'd set on the table as she struggled to breathe in the humid air. Her frilly black uniform was tight enough around her plump frame, her immense bust struggling against the buttons holding it in place.

"N-nothing, your majesty."

Yiz scuttled out of the sink, slipping down the pipe pressed against the wall and keeping herself concealed as she made her way around the edge of the room, waiting for her moment.

"Nothing? I am not nothing you insolent girl! You dare insult me by gazing upon my royal figure and then pretending it was 'nothing'?!"

The maid's eyes went wide, her hands shooting protectively to her chest and almost knocking over a wine-bottle in alarm. She spun on the spot, shaking her head as she looked momentarily at the princess before realizing what she was doing and looking pointedly at the tile mosaic on the roof.

"O-of course not, y-your majesty. My eyes wandered; it shan't happen again."

"See that it does not. Now then; about your punishment."

"P-punishment?" The maid yelped in a trembling tone, taking a half-step back as the princess gazed icily at her from the steaming tub.

"Indeed. You admit to look at my bared flesh, so you shall pay the price I set for you." The busty blonde sank further into the bath, slipping a single, elegant foot out of the end nearest to the servant. Moisture dripped off the pristine, freshly-washed sole as the princess pointed at it. "Get on your knees and lick. I shall tell you when you can stop."

Yiz's beady little insect eyes watched from behind the cover of the towel rack, sensing that an opportunity to strike was drawing close. There was nothing quite as thrilling as striking down a target in public, particularly when they are at that very moment engaged in an activity with another person. This little bout of humiliation would make for the perfect window of attack.

Nodding with rosy-cheeked embarrassment, the maid sank to her knees, the fabric of her trailing uniform immediately soaked with the residual moisture on the floor as she placed her palms on the tiles. If Yiz's cockroach form had possessed eyebrows, they would've risen slightly at the sight of the maid's damp dress clinging to the vast expanse of her buttocks beneath. For all their attempts at modesty, the fashion of this country certainly struggled to deal with women of a curvy figure.

A moment later, after a deep inhalation from the maid, she pressed her lips against the flesh of the princess's sole and stuck out her tongue, obediently licking away. The princess smirked, closing her eyes and reclining in the tub with a sigh of satisfaction.

Now.

Yiz scurried out a couple of feet from the edge of the floor to give herself room to re-grow, selecting her new shape from her subconscious and sending forth the mental command.

Nothing.

The sound of the maid's tongue slurping repeatedly over the princess's pink digits continued to fill the silence as Yiz felt a surge of alarm in her mind. She tried once more to change shape, but found her attempt thwarted. Something was preventing her from transforming!

"Yes, a little more I think..." The princess purred, her demanding tone softening a little as she pressed her foot firmly into the maid's face.

What could be causing it?! Devices that suppressed powers like Yiz's were exceedingly rare, and they expended huge amounts of energy. To run one for a single evening would cost a pretty penny, and would only be financially viable if their owner knew for a fact that someone was co-

Her heart froze as she considered the details of the mission. The generous payment, the petty nature of the motive, the politically-unaligned nature of the target... It wasn't an 'easy' mark by any stretch, but it was too... simple.

She had to retreat; there was no other option.

"That will do." The princess announced, wiping her sole on the maid's face before slipping it back into the water. Nodding obediently and trying to suppress her sigh of relief, the curvaceous servant rose to her feet, turning to leave the room as swiftly as possible. Midway through the pivot however, she drew in a sharp breath as her eyes latched onto the disgusting little pest on the floor of the bathroom.

"Oh Fuck..." Yiz thought, setting off for the sink as fast as her tiny legs could carry her.

"Oh Fuck..." The maid breathed, trying not to let the princess notice the unsightly bug as she took a single step after it, instantly overtaking the thing. She lifted the worn sole of her shoe over it for a half-second, engulfing the scuttling roach in the shadow of her heel.

Yiz scarcely had time to comprehend her own imminent demise before her target's shoe slammed down on her, stomping so hard that her body was squashed instantly into an oozing paste of carapace and insect innards. The maid gave her heel a sharp twist, unwittingly crushing the assassin with all the effort of any other pest.

"Hmm? What was that?" The princess demanded, opening a single eye.

"N-nothing your majesty; I just slipped." Trotting briskly out of the room before the lady had a chance to shout at her again, the maid closed the bathroom door behind her, breathing a sigh of relief. "That woman is so, so much nastier than I remember her being... All that power has gone to her head I think..." The serving girl grumbled, her bitter imagination conjuring the thought of the snooty little aristocrat in the tub scurrying along the tiled floor beneath her. A wicked smile and an awkward blush crossed the maid's face as she envisioned her mighty shoe stepping down on the puny blonde princess, crushing her in a single satisfying stomp.

A twinge of fear fluttered through her as she caught the thought, quickly smothering it as though her employers could read her subconscious. Without a second thought she scraped the splattered remains of the roach off on the sideboard, her mind already turning to her next task as she strolled down the corridor.

...

Back in the bathroom, the princess smirked to herself in immense satisfaction. Rising slowly from the tub as the warm water fell from her glistening, perfectly curved figure, she reached for one of the fluffy white towels on the rack. Stepping out onto the tile floor, her gaze fell lazily upon the smudge near the sink.

"Pathetic. Not that I ever expected you to succeed of course, but..." Sauntering over to the sink and drinking in the sight of herself in the mirror, the princess continued to speak as though the splattered assassin could still hear her, "I must admit, when I hired you for this doomed errand I only thought you'd get caught in the act... Ordering your execution would have brought me a great deal of satisfaction."

She chuckled, turning and pressing her bulbous buttocks up against the sink.

"Though I am quite pleased with this outcome. Of all the things I thought might happen to you when you arrived, I didn't think you'd bungle things so spectacularly that this was your fate. 'The world's most notorious assassin', smeared under the shoe of a parlor maid... a parlor maid you'd been paid to kill I might add."

Looming over the insignificant smudge, the 'princess' placed a single hand on an ample hip and sighed.

"Ah well... it appears our rivalry is at an end. A pity you couldn't recognize me, but... that little bauble in the party-room has its uses. Farewell 'Yiz'; my only regret is I didn't get to squash you myself."

And with that, the blonde bombshell began to redress herself, casting the dead insect from her mind.