9 Thoughts

Kamigani paced in the cell like how she had been doing since the guard that came to write the relevant informations about them left as soon as they were thrown into the dungeon. she walked up to the door wondering what would become of her. She clearly heard the guard said she was being arrested for the murder of the King. Did someone else finished the job, did the King die, she could swore she definitely saw him open his eyes which means he was still alive when she left.

She had cured the King on an impulse without thinking of the consequence of her action, even when she saw his eyes opened she didn't care if he had seen her but at least she wore a guard's cloth, even though he saw her she knew he would never be able to recognised her in the uniform or he would never know it was not a man.

She took a glance at Tutina wondering if she had been tailed to the palace or if there was another person in the room waiting for her to make a move. Does that mean Ayante sent someone after her. Does that mean they knew about her finding of the Kenilworth Ivy flower. She doubt it, she wasn't followed, she hadn't check but deep down she knows she wasn't tailed to the lake. Or did she.

Who was the person that murdered the King, it could not have been Huare or Tutina which only leaves out Rora, Naria, Axin and Sky. Since they all left the house when she left with Mayflower according to Huare it means they wouldn't have tailed her.

Kamigani brain was ready to explode as she kept thinking of different scenarios that may have led to the King's death.

Didn't Ayante told her the King was already poisoned, was he poisoned by Axin.

Kamigani shook her head at the thought, Axin never leaves a way out for her victims and she never made them struggle for so long. She had always been the compassionate one which made her spent hours perfecting her poisons and Axin treats her like a sister even though she was forced to be completely loyal to Ayante but she would never jeopardize Kamigani's life.

Kamigani couldn't sleep not with a muffled scream she had been hearing next door like someone in pain and a hush voice coming at the end, probably they were in the middle of an interrogation.

Her heart skipped a beat when she realised she may be the next to suffer such predicament.

There was no bed only piles of straws on the floor where Tutina had acted like it was her domain and she even slept off since they got there and even had the audacity to snore loudly next to a cell where someone was receiving a torture.

The light coming through the window was getting brighter to show dawn was breaking in.

Fear gripped her heart as she tried not to imagine how she would be paraded to the execution stage, how people would curse and throw stones, eggs and rotten vegetables at her.

She turned to see the extended tail of her dress which was now shorter since she tore it to excape from the King's room, she tore off the rest clean from where it joined to her top waist coat. She wrapped it and stuffed it under the straws. Tutina which eyes was now open gave her a questioning look but she ignored her.

She was glad to have used up her darts or it would had pointed to her as the one who attacked the guards. her swords had been seized but it was clean not even a dot of blood on it. Now all that was left was to prove her innocence, she did not kill the King and they had no evidence against her except her swords but it wasn't uncommon to have a sword or take it wherever you go as long as you do not commit unreasonable attack with it.

She could feel Tutina graze on her. "Don't look at me like that Tutina." She said clearly annoyed at the stink eye directed to her. "It wasn't my fault you were caught." It was quite a pain there was no trust among them.

"We know." Huare said. "We shouldn't have gone out to look but we were only worried about you." Huare sounded depressed.

Just like Kamigani, Huare hadn't been able to sleep since the floor was so hard and cold and she had also been thinking of their fates.

Tutina snarled. "We only went out to look for you, clearly your fault wretch!" She turned to face the wall. "Won't this person just die." She said clearly referring to the muffled scream.

Kamigani frowned in confusion, When one of them goes out on a mission the rest stay back even though if the other was in danger and they could save them but they would never take an action until Ayante says so only if a day past by would Ayante start thinking of checking what went wrong.

There was more to the story but Kamigani wouldn't be able to find out now since Tutina would not tell her and Huare knows how to keep a secret. Huare loyalty to Ayante couldn't be questioned since Huare said being devoted to Ayante was the only way to be free.

Kamigani would have retorted back but she was more occupied with how she would get out of the mess.

She had not achieve anything in her life except serving Ayante. Ayante knows her way around and it wouldn't be a surprise to see an oldman working in a farm as one of her spies.

Kamigani realised if she ever step on Ayante's toe she would only end up dead like River. River was one of them and she escaped only to turned up dead, she had always been lively like Cecil and so energetic. Her choice of weapon were two sharp daggers with golden handles and she bragged about obtaining it as a gift for the favour she rendered to a Prince. She was the fastest and best fighter of them all.

Kamigani had a duel with her once over chicken breast, the chicken breast would belong to the winner. Kamigani took her swords thinking she had a chance since her weapons were longer. The duel didn't last a minute as River kicked her foot and disarmed her and before she blinked River's daggers were pointed at her neck.

When Ayante told them to come out and see a surprise they had run out only to see River dead on the floor. Her two daggers deep into her chest only the golden handles were visible.

Next came Maye when Kamigani wanted to take her chance to escape. Maye was the smartest of them all, she had a lot of tricks on her sleeves and she doesn't like killing since she throws up everytime she sees blood. When she goes on a mission she was always accompanied by any of them. She only had to trick the target over while one of them finishes the job, she escaped the night Kamigani perfected her plan to escape the next day.

It wasn't until two months later Kamigani returned from hunting with Axin only to see Maye wailing miserably on the floor, she was in a kneeling position, both her arms gone as two bounty hunters stood beside Ayante.

"Don't be pathetic Maye, they all enjoyed last night meal." Ayante had said.

Kamigani hadn't understand what she met until she saw Axin ran out to throw up. It was then she realised the meat that tasted weird they all ate last night was Maye's arms.

One of the hunter's went out to bring Axin whose face was pale and right there in front of them they watched Ayante butchered her to pieces till she died from agony and blood lost. It was the most horrible situation Kamigani ever witnessed.

Ayante told them to cut the dismantled Maye parts into pieces. They were all reluctant but she threatened that who ever didn't participate in it would be the one to eat the meat.

Ayante told them Maye was useless to her and Axin that kept throwing up was giving a machete and Maye's head for her to cut into twenty pieces.

Axin went mad at that moment and screamed before dashing to Ayante with the machete but the two bounty hunters were quick to move. One hit her on her stomach and she fell swinging the machet as the other gave her a kick at her jaw before disarming her. Ayante was so furious she decided to make twenty cut on Axin face but she couldn't find her blade.

She only tied Axin and fed her little of the lethal poison Axin made and each time Axin would suffered and Ayante would feed her the antidote.

Kamigani doesn't know how she does it but Ayante hand eyes and ears everywhere, if they secretly bought a new cloth, Ayante would know, if they sneaked out to drink she would know.

Ayante said the next time she catches any of them, two more would suffer apart from the escapee.

It broke Axin that she remained loyal and made Kamigani promised her to give up escaping which she did under the intense graze of Axin.

A guard came to view with keys dangling in his hands, he unlocked the door as fur guards came to view.

"Out!" he commanded.

Kamigani took a deep breath, she would prove her innocence and survive.