The Tale of Tara and Emiko

XVII. Tara

I tapped her shoulder with a stick that had made its way in through the small barred window at the top of my cell. The stick disintegrated on impact. Ugh.

Luckily, she stirred, and sat up. A light sleeper, just as I'd always known her to be. When she saw me, her eyes widened, and she jumped up, moving into a perfect hand-to-hand combat stance. That is, she would've if it weren't for the chains around her wrists that yanked her back to the floor.

"Not used to the environment, eh? Always used to your dear daddy bailing you out?" I asked.

"Who are you? Where am I? What happened-oh my god, why do you look like a princess? Am I dreaming? This has to be some drug-hazy dream from that tranquilizer dart I got stabbed with, right?"

I laughed. "Nope. It's really me. I only look like a princess because I kind of got caught."

She gasped. "The great Tara Grey got caught on a mission? I feel like this is a dream."

"Nope! It's really me. Nice to see you again, Emiko."

"Long time no see," she responded. "You know what I'm thinking?"

"You had no idea we'd run into each other in a prison cell?"

"Oh my god, yes! And really? Being a princess? That's my job."

I'd been friends with Emiko for ten years, since we were twelve. Her way of business was the three s's: swift, silent, simple. Being the royalty everyone knew, she had to be excellent with disguises. Plus, she had the funds to cover anything she might need to get the job done.

I was at the top of the other food chain, the illegal one. The best hunter for my age group, better than Emiko. She goes by Eon as a hunter, though. Can't go around sharing a name with the princess now, can she? She likes to fly under the radar, but I enjoy making my presence known. Showing off, some would say.

"So you weren't that good at posing as royalty," Emiko noted.

"I wasn't! Who knew there were so many types of forks??"

"Hah, should've asked me! I could've helped so much." We were getting weird looks from the guards from our playful banter with a dash of breaking the law. Pretty fun.

Emiko held out her hand. "Give me your badge, the guards took mine." I handed it over through the bars without a second thought, and she popped off the back to reveal a small, purely opaque, rosy pink marble.

"What is that?" I asked.

She looked at me funny, "You don't know?"

"Know what?"

She shook her head. "I'll just show you." She held the marble up near the window, waiting for...something. "Gotta be at least one... aha!" The marble turned a cool shade of violet. By now, the guards were starting to get suspicious.

"Hey," the guard on the right said. His nametag on the front of his armor read Jerry. "What are you doing-"

"Hold your breath," she shot at me. Then, to the guards, "Think fast!" She chucked the marble at Jerry, who caught it perfectly with one hand.

He only got out a "What-" before the marble exploded, filling the room with purple clouds. When the color cleared, both guards were slumped on the ground, unconscious, their key rings both in Eon's hands. I was at the top of the steps.

"Keep up!" I shouted, sprinting into the halls ahead. Eon whooped, grabbing the guards spears and tossing one to me. We made it through the rest of the prison that way, racing to take out the most guards and open the most cells (why do they not use electronic locks?) and cause the most general pandemonium in a friendly competition.

Most fun I've had in a week!

Unfortunately, all things come to an end, and we made it to the third-story window. I stared at Eon, shocked.

"You have an escape helicopter," I asked, surprised.

"I'm rich, Why wouldn't I? C'mon, let's go!"

I practically dove out of the window before she finished speaking, grabbing the ladder and hauling myself in. Smoke was coming out of the windows of the prison.

"Was that you?" I asked, waving to the flames as we flew away.

"No, must've been another prisoner." Emiko was incredible at lying, her being a hunter and all, but everyone's got those few nervous tics that they can't really control. I could tell, and felt a sense of déjà vu. Seeing the flames swallow up the red brick building, Emiko's dishonesty. It unnerved me, but I set it aside. We were friends. She wouldn't have to lie to me without a really good reason, right?

After a few minutes of silence, Emiko asked, "So, where are we going?"

"Back to my place," I said. "We're gonna swap lives."