Heart [ON HOLD]

Chapter 10: The Challenger's Field

The moment an assassin has a heart is the moment he dies.
-Unknown

The Wolf had a heart in Cora's basket when he came back out of the woods.

It had been savage, much gorier than he preferred. Without his knife it took a long time. Too long. Hunting down a boar and removing it's heart was much more difficult without his father's knife. She could notice. She knew what kind of efficiency he worked with. He couldn't say he had gotten lost. He knew the woods better than anyone. He couldn't say he'd had trouble doing the job. He'd taken down men six inches taller, twenty pounds heavier and five years older than him with ease.

The only way forward was to put a mask on and bluff his way through it. If the Queen did find out, hopefully by chasing Cora he had spurred her into running far and fast enough away that she could escape anyone who came after her.

The Wolf let his grip on the basket handle relax, loosening the tension from his shoulders, slackening his expression. He let out a long breath, closed his eyes, and when he opened them again, they were as dead and ashen as before.

He pushed back his shoulders as he neared the castle gate. The two soldiers in front of it were Fives, a respectable number of hearts, standing stiffly at attention. They moved to block the Wolf's path. Then they saw the heart in the basket.

The Wolf glared with pure steel in his eyes.

The Fives rushed to open the gate.

The Wolf breathed an inward sigh of relief, glared down his nose at the two guards, and strode inside.

If the Queen knew, she hadn't told any of the guards to apprehend him. Yet.

He continued down the main path that led to the castle, drawing stares and whispers from workers tending to the Queen's poisonous garden. The Wolf gazed straight ahead, but he made certain that the basket's contents could be easily seen.

The guards at the castle doors were Sevens, but they moved even faster than the Fives to open the doors.

The Wolf stepped inside. The floors were made of black marble veined with white and inlaid with swirls of gold. Gigantic, grey columns soared to the ceiling, and black banners hung down from it, displaying a jagged, gold crown surrounding a dripping heart. A red carpet led back into the castle. Hallways branched off to each wing of the fortress, but ahead of the Wolf, a hundred yards away, was a short set of stairs that lead to midnight, wooden doors embellished with fiery rubies and red metals. The doors looked like a volcano, hot enough to burn. Two Tens guarded either side. The Wolf's chest ached in a phantom pain. A few servants crossed into the entry hall from the other wings, but at the sight of him, ducked behind pillars. The Wolf ignored them, but tilted the basket. The smell of gore wafted faintly through the hall. He heard a sharp intake of breath to his left and a flurry of whispering. His wolfish senses caught,

"That's- that's Cora's basket."

"She's not back yet?"

"I don't think she's coming back."

The Wolf made no outward acknowledgement, but maybe if the servants believed it, they would spread it around.

He gave the Tens a cold stare when he approached. They crossed their spears in front of the doorway. Both parties lifted their chins.

"Where can I find the Queen?" the Wolf said.

One of the Tens glanced at the basket.

"State your business."

The Wolf drew out the heart and held it in front of the man's nose so he had to cross his eyes to keep it in focus. The Wolf put on a wicked grin that he didn't feel and squeezed the heart. Blood splatted onto the floor.