4 Chapter Three: A Crude Awakening

I again wake on the bed.  A thick fleece blanket covers me, and the  sound of two steady breathing patterns fill the room. I spring out of the bed, spinning and pressing my dagger against the stranger's throat. It was too dark for me to see their face, but I knew they were awake when their breathing sped up. 

"Hands in the air." I'd come too far to deal with this bullshit. They swallowed thickly, sitting up with their hands in the air the universal sign of surrender.  With one hand, I reached across to the oil lamp, striking a match to light it. 

As Gavin's face flared into view orange with soft light of the lamp, I relax, withdrawing the obsidian dagger and sheathing it into its scabbard on my thigh quickly. "Goddess, you have some reflexes."

 I  give a slow smirk posturing before, turning to scan the room. "Well, maybe you should ask a lady before sleeping with her." I turn back, and he is still sitting up in bed, staring. 

"Where is the blasted washroom?" He bursts out laughing. "There isn't one, it's a seedy inn. Did you expect anything else?" He raises his eyebrows, and I raise mine in turn. I needed to find passage to anywhere far from here..

 "Do you know where one might find themselves transport to nowhere?" He gives me an perplexed look. "Nowhere?  'nowhere' isn't a place..." 

I chuckle now just realizing his ignorance. "So you aren't part of the Underground, then. Ok, where can I find transport to far away?" His eyebrows lower in concentration.

 "Do you have 2000 kavade?" Everything stops. "2000 KAVADE?" My voice thunders through the scantily lit room, echoing slightly. Gavin  gives a visible winces. "Yes. 2000 Kavade is the price for passage to the next continent. Unless, of course, you wish to ride with the pigs."

 I began to pace, the sound of my steps the only sound in the quiet room aside from my angered breathing. Where could I get that kind of money? With Sadeas chasing me, it wouldn't be long before I was caught if I tried to gain money through more jobs i'd be caught by Sades thugs. I look up, pinning Gavin with a stare.

 "What do you do? What is your rank in the underground?" He gives me another odd look. "English, please." 

 "Well, obviously you had a reason for being in the woods. You dont enter a forest late without an agenda." His eyes darken. "What does it matter to you?" I stop my pacing and began count off my fingers for emphasis. "I am being chased by various powerful forces, you just saved my life, I need coin… shall I continue?" 

Gavin blinks once. Twice. "You are an assassin aren't you?!" I impatiently continue pacing. "Yep." He stays silent for a bit. "What if I could help you?" I stopped pacing again and frowned looking into his eager eyes. 

. "First, you need to answer my question." He stared at me for a while before starting again. "Do you know King Damon of Zalar? Well, I might be part of a rebellion against him…" He sighs, "It's a long story. I was meeting some comrades in the woods to discuss a plan to raise funds." I stared at him, pitying him and his dysfunctional human rebellion.

 "But now," he starts again, "You are here. This changes everything." His eyes met mine, showing a surprising amount of steel. "And how, would you like to explain to me,  how would I change your plans so very much?" I questioned sarcastically. His eyes narrowed down to slits. 

"You?" He scans my physique, then quickly returns his gaze to my eyes. "You are going to help me get money, Aven. A mutual agreement. We'll rob from the rich of Damon's kingdom, and share the profits. I'll give the targets, you do the work."

 I considered it. It would be effective, and, yes, would solve my target problem. But I had long since learned that it was never a good idea to get too involved with the rebels of the various squabbling human kingdoms. Humans never liked Fae, and they were always too sentimental. Getting involved with the rebels... It was a one-way ticket to the realm of human stupidity. But it was all I had. I extended my hand, and Gavin stands, shaking it. "Deal. But Gavin- always remember which one of us is doing the heavy lifting in this arrangement." With that, I release his hand, spin, and storm out of the door. I slam it behind me.

 It wouldn't matter if I was nice or not, he is going to betray me eventually anyway. In the eyes of humans, Fae are animalistic monsters. Nothing will come from this deal, except for exactly that- a mutually beneficial deal. 

I doubted he even knew I was Fae.

    We had only just finished negotiations about the target and money the next day when I knew we were being watched. I rushed out afterward, in a hurry to get to the target- and, unbeknownst to Gavin, find the identity of our quiet watcher. I stride away, looking behind me casually every so often. Finally, I spotted them. Soldiers? Was Eyllon angry at me so much as to hunt me down? Great. Add that to the growing list of things to deal with. 

I quickly pulled aside a dark-haired woman, giving her my cloak and telling her to run as far as possible to the west before being caught, and then to pretend she never met me. Thankfully, she agreed without force and was off in a few seconds. I was left in my tight assassin's suit, a black leather full body that was made finely enough as to allow a full range of movement. It was worth wearing not only as camouflage and to look totally badass, but as to also stop arrows or even magic from becoming a deadly foe. It was enchanted by a sorceress named Lyra, on a life debt to me. Basically, it was worth a fortune… but also worth keeping. 

I had a loose time schedule, and originally planned to attack the lord's mansion in the black of night, but the newer presence of the guards made me reconsider. Who knows how long it might take to get away if they find me later on? 

So that was how I soon found myself scaling the brick wall of Lord Dahn's mansion, easily gripping the cracks between the mortar. I pull myself onto the window ledge, and smoothly slip inside. The window was already open for me, so I was suspicious of betrayal or worse. 

Had the redhead human warned them? Did he know I was Fae? I crept through the house, silent as the smoke billowing from the chimney far above. Finally, I reached his office. Inside, he had a safe with a painting from many, many years ago, that for some reason was incredibly valuable to humans. It only took me a minute to pick the safe and heft the painting over a shoulder, then climb out of the window and drop to the ground like a cat. I had turned to walk away when I heard the faintest scuffle. I whip around, setting the painting down and moving into a fighting stance in one fluid motion. 

Then I burst out laughing. The two buff men, standing with two flaming swords each, stood seemingly startled. Finally, I calmed but burst out laughing again. They thought they could kill me? They advanced, and it was seconds until they were both groaning in pain on the ground. Still chuckling, I made my way to Gavin's current sketchy Inn. Bursting into his room, I drop the painting on the floor seemingly carelessly and plop onto the bed. 

The Prisoner

I stirred, sitting up from my position on the freezing concrete floor. I look around, scanning my cell. The walls are slimy, covered in moss, the air a biting cold. An awful smell wafted from the cell to my right and met my nose, which I wrinkled in disgust. Looking out of the front of my cell, I notice a single guard two cells down, but no other life. Not even any other prisoners. "Hey! Mr. Guard! Would you like to hear a story?" I call cheerily, eerie echoes following in the wake of my gentle words. The guard doesn't even flinch. Sighing, I sit back against the wall once again. I had little hope much else would happen, and besides, I wouldn't be here for long, unless… No, I wouldn't think like that. I would be rescued. I ran a hand through my long red hair, lank and ridden with grease. This would be a long stay, although this wasn't my first prison rodeo so I wasn't expecting anything less. At least I have a basic toilet this time.

The Guard

I shifted my position, stifling a sigh. Really, the girl's story sounded quite intriguing, and certainly better than standing here on my shift for hours. But the Lieutenant would be furious, and my wife and kids depended on this job. I waited for perhaps another hour before I could no longer resist. No prisoner had ever offered- let alone pestered- to tell a story before, as stupid and childish as it sounds. I strode to the front of the cell, and the girl looked at me wearily. Pulling over the wooden stool (left for the late shifts mostly) I sit, armor clanking.

 "What is your story about?" Her face lights up, and she crawls to the front of the cell before settling down. 

"A lonely girl named Cassandra, and her friends." I squinted at her.

 "Well, go on then." Her lips curled into a smile as she started. "Once, in a far away Fae court…" 

Cassandra had no idea where Torina was. "C'mon, Torina. Show…" She trailed off as a man, suited in imperial armor, headed towards her. Not today. She took off, running like the wind. Torina had likely betrayed her, as many did. That was why she always had an escape plan. Launching herself onto a drain pipe, she climbed to a second story window and slipped inside. A man by the name of Forego had been paid in advance to leave at this time and put a bag of good travel supplies beside the bed. She was poor, and could not afford such things herself, so she had paid him with his life to do as she said. It's not like he didn't have enough money, anyway, as he had silken sheets and his sitting room had velvet upholstery. The bag was where it was supposed to be, luckily, and she leaped from his balcony into the back of a preplanned cart. The driver went on, and she buried into the rolls of wheat in the back. Not much later, the driver shouted at her. 

"All clear, Miss. Gate's comin' up, and you'd best get out before dem guards be comin' and checkin' my cart." She peeked out, saw the coast was clear, and jumped out to an ambush of imperial soldiers.

A call sounded from the hallway, and the guard jumps up out of his seat. Putting the stool back, he leans in close to mutter something to me. 

"Do not tell any others of your story, as they will sooner beat you than listen to it. Do not tell anyone what I did, either."

 And with that, he greets the replacement guard and walks off down the long hallway. Sighing again, I settle into my spot at the back of the cell.  A long stay indeed.