Royal Flush | pjm; jjk

Chapter One

Nora kept running through the narrow streets of Pauper kingdom, with knitted eyebrows, constantly cussing herself and any obstacle out. She has been telling herself for quite some time that these jobs need to stop, that she needs to find another way to survive. That at some point they will finally figure out where she hides and will come for her. And they did. Not even half an hour ago, she was counting the money she stole from the guards pouch and planning her dinner, when echoing screams caught her ears. She wasn't able to take much, most definitely not her savings, so quickly making a decision, Nora jumped into her shoes and straight out the window.

Barely escaping the guard, Nora placed her weight on the other foot and switched directions. The guard was not as swift and tripped, providing her a few second head start. Sweat kept falling down her temples, but Nora kept running, not allowing herself to look back. She didn't need to think about her route, her feet took her to correct alleyways without even planning - she knew the roads as the palms of her hands. Unfortunately, the guards knew them well too. As soon as Nora stepped her foot into the alley leading outside the town center, she saw guards at the other end.

"Shit!"  Nora cussed, swiftly turning around. "Oh my God, are you serious right now?!" She released a scarce, sarcastic laugh. Two more guards were standing right behind her, blocking her exit. She quickly understood that she was trapped. As if.  Nora scoffed under her nose and quickly ran forward, straight to the guards. They didn't budge, waiting for her to slam herself at them and Nora smirked. Abruptly stopping in the middle, Nora squatted down and launched her body upwards, using her full strength, reaching for the windowsill of the second floor. Not really sure if it was because she was so skinny, or because she had such strong legs, but somehow her plan worked. Nora grabbed the windowsill and pulled herself up, already reaching for the third floor. Leaving the cussing and yelling guards below, Nora pulled herself atop the building and ran through the roof. She didn't have many options, there were three landings - alleyway upfront, on the left or right. Right. Let's go right.

Nora swiftly ran towards the right side of the building, leaning over the roof she saw the absence of guards. "Great! Losers." Smiling victoriously, she started to climb down the wall, still using the support of the windowsills. The moment her foot was reaching for the first floor, her grin was quickly wiped off, as someone's arm grabbed her by the leg and pulled her down harshly. Without any chance of even assessing the situation, Nora slammed on the hard ground.

Desperately trying to get back on her feet, Nora knelt up. Everything around her started to spin, walls and people mushing together. Most likely another concussion. She quickly noticed, that her right temple was sweating hotter than usual, and somewhere at the back of her head Nora understood that she was bleeding. I have to get out. I have to run. Combining all of the strength that she had, Nora tried to stand up, but a harsh smack on her face dropped her back on her knees. Someone quickly grabbed her arms behind her back. Her vision, still dizzy, was now slowly being overtaken by red mist.

"Oh you little annoying rat, it's been so long! I've been looking for you for so, so long."  A guard spoke, his whole exterior and tone indicating leadership of the group. Slowly, one by another, all of Nora's chasers located her. She tried to lift her head to see who was talking, but the voice seemed to be coming from behind. Another sharp voice stung Nora's ear from the left. "We caught her, captain. We can bring her to jail ourselves, you don't need to worry." Nora clenched her jaw. The stinging pain, just above her right temple, was threatening to take away her consciousness at any moment.

"No. No jail for her." The cranky voice spoke behind Nora, and she tried to take another look. No jail? He was chasing me for so long to let me go? She kept shaking her head and blinking harshly, trying to remove the blood from her eyes, hoping to at least see a little bit."No jail for her. I will kill her here and now." Everything fell silent, Nora could feel hear heartbeat in her throat. Blood still blurring her vision, like a trapped animal, she started to shake and kick, doing anything with her barely moving limbs to run away. Without even a word, another hit was thrown straight to her stomach, making her release a gasp of air. Not being able to hold on any more, Nora folded forward, laying her head on the dirt, hands still grasped in someone's rough fingers.

People always say, that you see your whole life flash before you, when you're about to die. But the life that flashed before Nora was not pleasing. The memories that she retained were nothing but poverty, hunger, fear and cold. Tears started to form in her eyes. I was so close.. I was so close to having enough money to run away. To leave it all. Nora closed her eyes, releasing a small sob. "You little rat, you're crying now?!" An angry voice reached her ears. "You've been doing nothing but stealing from us for the last five years, and now since you've been caught you're crying?!" The man was yelling, his tone was cold, mocking even.

Nora was a smart girl, she really was. But she was also prideful, and sometimes her pride took over. "It's not stealing if it's already stolen, asshole!" She managed to creak, still not able to lift her head. "Everything you have is stolen from us! From people! I was just taking back what originally belonged to me!" Barely finishing the sentence, Nora received a final blow at the back of her neck. Releasing another gasp, she felt her last ounce of strength escaping.

"You still have pride to talk back, rat? Give me the sword!" The guard commanded, never letting go of her arms. Nora couldn't hear much, her ears were buzzing, but the muffled voices reached her in bits and pieces. Someone was stammering, someone was disagreeing. It felt like the guards didn't want this execution also. "Sir, we cannot. We've been told to catch her, she needs to go through a trial." Finally, a coherent sentence broke through the muffles and reached Nora's consciousness.

"Don't worry about it. We'll just say she was armed and resisted." There was a small pause, guards still hesitating. "GIVE ME THE SWORD!" The guard behind her yelled, as if setting her judgement into stone. Nora allowed another tear escape. The solid dirt underneath her was scraping her face and knees. It was cold, and damp like everything here. Realizing that there were no chances of escaping, Nora relaxed her arms and they slipped through the guards fingers. Surprisingly, he didn't try to catch them again, most likely understanding that the thief was in no state to run. Nora understood that too, and simply laid on the ground waiting for her end. God dammit,  I would have drunk the rum if I would have known I'd die today. Now it's just gonna be wasted. Somehow, a smile managed to creep on her face. Nora focused all of her attention to her dream, for a better future, for a better life and closed her eyes. Rough fingers suddenly intertwined in her hair and lifted her up harshly. She was left kneeling, head bent backwards in a unnatural position, her neck in open view, smile still on her face. Not daring to do otherwise, Nora kept her eyes shut tight.

A sharp. cold metal sliced her throat, warm liquid surrounded the wound instantly and kept pouring down her chest. The fingers released her hair, and Nora collapsed on the ground. The pain in her throat intertwined with the dizziness from her other injuries, and soon Nora felt almost nothing at all. Pain left her completely, all senses disappeared. The only thing that she felt, was the slowly passing time, as she kept laying on the cold, hard ground bleeding out.