Cards of Our Fate

The Spy

"WHAT?!" I asked, nearly falling out of the chair with the leg jerk in response to his outlandish comment.

"Oh, don't be so surprised!" He said, surprised by my reaction, "We all know that the king is a real dic...tator."

"Well, no duh, but you're loyal to the king. Don't most of the loyal ones just try to live for Cards?" I asked, readjusting my chair from my last almost fall.

"Please, I've got eyes. I can see that some of the prisoners here haven't done anything bad enough to be here." He ran his fingers through his hair, "He's unjust, the whole reason I came here was to punish the wicked. Guess he's just the wicked, now."

"So, he's not that good to his own people?"

"Not even to his own son," he said, catching my attention.

"Oh, I thought he was spoiled." I said, talking as if Rae was the prince, and not the king's clone.

"Spoiled? Please, he's not even recognized as royalty." Eddy said, "The king locked the prince up somewhere, and made a new, 'better' son to replace him."

"Hmm, so, why do you need me?" I asked, bluntly, seeing that the conversation was dragging a bit.

"I can't identify the prince, but I do know he's locked up here. You're the only one here I've known as 'royalty,'" he air-quoted royalty, "and you've had a history of being a spy, so I thought-"

"The last time I was a spy, I was only on duty once, and for less than an hour. Now I'll be living with prisoners who hate the person I'll be working for. Or the person who I working for is working for." I said, confusing myself for how I worded that, but continued, "Besides that, I was branded a human and sent to the enemy. What'll happen if they find out I work for someone under the king? They might skin me alive."

"You won't be working for the the king, you'll be working for someone who is against the king." Eddy said, motioning to himself, "You're working for their freedom, to put the rightful heir to the throne."

"Who said that the rightful heir will be a just commander?" I said, but Eddy just shrugged.

"Time will tell, not I." He said, "Well, are you in or out?"

"If you're in, we'll tell you more information, but firstly, in or out?"  

"...in or out?" 

I thought back to when Shad had asked me to be a Charmer, how I helped him blindly, because of an urge for charms. Then I had turned around to work for another person, for an urge to take down an unjust king. I smirked at the feeling of deja vu. 

"Well, as long as King Cards goes down, I think I just might." I said, "Just don't hand me off to him as a traitor." 

"Very well." Eddy said, smirking while he held out his hand. I gave it a good shake, feeling a little anxious, "Let's get going now, prisoner."

"Lead on." I said, getting up, and following Eddy. 

He lead me down the way we came to this place. We stopped at the dungeon's doors.

"Don't forget, find the prince, and don't do anything stupid." Eddy said, opening the door.

"Why would I do anything like that?" I asked sarcastically.

"Sorry," he said, but before I ask 'why?' he kicked the back of my knees, and stomped my spine. Causing me to fall forward and into the cell in front of me, "Ha!" He laughed, "You dirty Charmer, they should've left you in the woods were you belong, dirty animal!" And with that he slammed the doors shut.

Tracy started motioning me over, so I found my, now, usual spot.

"So, you're here early." Tracy said, motioning to the empty room with her hands that were chained to the wall.

"Let's just say I met an old friend." I said, then winced at the memory that came from that statement, "Also, uh, well, how do I explain this? Steve...Steve is-"

"Steve is dead, isn't he?" Tracy said, looking over at me. She had completely expressionless eyes, not the normal ones of a person just hearing that their best friend had just died.

"How did you-?"

"I've been here for three hundred years, why else would someone not be here?" She said, then sighed, "Ugh, why is everyone always dying?"

"The kingdom would be quite filled if we were all alive."

"Yes, it would be." A voice that wasn't Tracy's said. I turned to see her.

I promptly yelled, then fell onto Tracy, recoiling away from the dark green woman.

"Well, if it's not Imani?" Tracy said, smirking at her.

"Ah, you're still alive, rumor was that the king killed you centuries ago." Imani said, she still had a look that seemed to cut, especially from collar bone to belly.

"Nah, he thought he might have some use of a Gypsy, so I've been stored down here." Tracy said, "If you could please leave, that would be grand. This one's my human, now."

"I claimed her first."

"You had your human. Stop being so greedy and leave, there's five strands of human lines left, go find one." Tracy said, hissing her away. 

"As an elder-"

"You left."

"So did you." Imani said, "I'll be back, don't worry, little human." She said to me, "I might be a little less...horrific, but I'll be around." She said, flicking a piece of hair away from my face, "Human hair just grows so fast." She said, before smiling an evil smile at me, then vanished before my own eyes.

I grabbed a piece of hair, it was already brushing my shoulders. I glared to where Imani was, while Tracy softly sighed. When I looked back at her, she seemed to have shrugged the feelings off.

"Ah, let's just meditate for a minute, 'kay?" She said, glancing over at me.

"That sounds marvelous." I said, as I let my eyes close and my mind loose.