Only a Fool Defends Her Enemies (Domijeanne Pirate Au)

Chapter 1

Two figures slipped through the dim corridors of the castle's second floor with barely a sound. They had come up through the kitchens and used the servants' stairway. The two quickly made their way towards their destination, not daring to hesitate for even a moment. It was quiet, dark, and there were no guards in sight. But they stayed as deep in the shadows as possible, keeping their ears pricked for the slightest of sounds.

When they reached the room they had been seeking they padded carefully inside and closed the door behind them. It was a relatively small bedroom by the castle's standards and furnished minimally. An old, yet still elegant, four-poster bed took up most of the room, a sleeping figure breathing softly amongst its covers. The intruders inched forward, one of them - the man - pulling a small bottle from his pocket.
He popped the stopper off as his companion gently pushed the sleeping woman onto her back. He brought the bottle to her lips, meaning to tip the contents inside, but the moment he did her eyes blinked open. The woman kicked out fiercely, catching the man in the chest and causing him to stumble backwards as the other leapt atop her to hold her down. The woman was yelling and thrashing violently, difficult to handle even in her sleep addled state.
"Hurry up with that stupid drug!" The figure holding the woman hissed.

"Have a little compassion will you? She got me pretty hard!"

The woman bucked, nearly throwing her assailant to the floor.

"I don't care how badly you're hurt! It's over for us if you don't get your act together!"

The man growled but rushed forward to help his companion, grabbing one of the woman's flailing arms. He attempted to bring the strange liquid to her mouth once more but she kept twisting and turning her head out of his reach. Her eyes were burning with fury and defiance and the man was almost afraid enough to run. But he could hardly retreat after coming so far. Releasing her arm he reached to his belt and pulled out a savage looking dagger.

"Okay, you have two choices: swallow the contents of this bottle now or I slit your throat."

"Vanitas!" His companion yelled, panic leaking into her voice.

"I agreed to your plan before but if she's going to be this much trouble it's not worth it!"

Vanitas's companion scowled. "Do as he says," she said to the woman beneath her. "It isn't an empty threat."

The woman opened her mouth reluctantly and let Vanitas pour the liquid inside. She swallowed thickly, keeping a positively murderous glare fixed on her face the entire time. She felt lightheaded almost immediately and it wasn't long before she passed out altogether. When they were sure she had passed out the lady holding her down carefully slipped off of her to stand beside Vanitas.

"How long will she be out for?"

"A few hours if we're lucky. I spilled some when she kicked me so it isn't ideal." Vanitas shrugged.

"Then we'd better get going now," she bent to scoop the woman into her arms.

"What are you doing, Dominique?"

"What?" She raised an eyebrow.

"Shouldn't I be the one to carry her? I'm stronger! I won our last arm-wrestling contest after all."

"And I won the past three before that. We don't have time to argue about this, let's go."

Without waiting for a reply Dominique made her way to the door with the woman thrown unceremoniously over her shoulder.
Vanitas grumbled irritably under his breath but followed after her. They slunk back into the hallway, making their way back down into the kitchens where another of their companions was waiting for them. He was tapping his foot impatiently when they entered, looking anxious to leave. He had infiltrated the castle's kitchens multiple weeks beforehand to give them this opportunity, working as any other servant would in order to learn the schedules of the castle inhabitants and to make sure the door was open for Dominique and Vanitas. He tossed some hessian sacks at their feet when he saw them.