"What is it that you want?"
"Nothing that I don't deserve," the girl snarled. The young man standing above her scoffed and looked down his nose at the filthy girl.
Dirt was caked on her face. Blood matted her hair, though it was not her own. A snarl marred her features. Shackles were clamped tightly around her ankles, digging into her skin.
Her hands, however, were free. This did not go unnoticed. It was a show of power and she regarded it scornfully. Any truly powerful person would not have to fluant his own glory. One's power should be obvious.... And she regarded her own as such.
This boy was a child in her eyes though he was nearly the same age as she. Even from the floor in her current state she managed to take an air of superiority towards him.
She flexed her fingers and was immensely pleased to see the boy flinch. Smiling wolfishly she broke away from his stare and studied the room.
It was small and empty except for a door in the corner, no doubt locked from the inside. The key ring hung on the boys belt in plain sight. Another power show. Powerful indeed, she thought sarcastically, he is nothing more than a boy.
There was nothing here of interest to the girl. Even if she could grab the key ring there was nothing that would stop the boy from slaying her on the spot with that ridiculous bejeweled sword of his.... The sword. It gave her pause.
Just a step closer and she could reach it. Grab it. Hold it in her hand and slit his throat as she'd slit so many others. Almost giddy, she imagined the look on his face as he was cut down with his own sword. By a peasant girl no less! She almost laughed aloud at the thought.
After killing him in her own display of power she could break the chains that bound her to this small room and she would be free. Just one more step...
~~~~~~~~~~~
The boy studied the filthy girl with a hatred that matched her own. Feral, a disgusting montrous creature, he thought, and his lip curled in repulsion.
Standing tall, with not a speck of dirt to vouch for his uncleanliness, he looked like a prince. His clothes were immaculate. His face handsome. But his expression was cold and calculating.
He took special care to remain out of range of the feral creature's grasp. His hand itched to reach for his sword and make sure it was still in it's scabbard, but he kept it at his side. Weakness was a luxury he could not afford.
"You're weak," he spat at the girl, but she only smiled at him and turned to study the ceiling as though it held much more interest. Despite his disgust he felt insulted. He convinced himself that her disinterest in his superior physique was merely another mark of her savagery.
"Please! I can see the fear in your eyes as clearly as I can see that preposterously large gemstone in your sword hilt, boy" she said mockingly.
"This sword could slit your throat within seconds and you wouldn't even have time to scream," he said with false calmness, eye twitching.
"So why hasn't it?" she inquired, genuinely curious. He was asking himself the same question. Why bring her here? Why did he not kill her immediately? Curiosity he assumed.
Why had she done what she did? What justification for her crimes could she possibly provide? He could think of no answers, so he asked the girl for her own.
"Why?" he asked. The question needed no more clarification.
"You honestly have no idea? How daft can you possibly be? Your men killed a thousand of my country's men and I slaughtered just as many. You burned down my village, killed my people, destroyed everything I have ever loved!" she was shouting now, "all I did was return the favor!" Her voice dropped into a deadly whisper "you killed my family... And so I did the same to yours." The room was silent with the anticipation of his response.
"I only did what was nessessary!" he insisted with an air of false calm.
"Nesssessary for what? Your own benifit? I don't see the necessity of murder!"
"You are accusing me of murder?" He shrieked incredulously. Flames flickered behind his carefully managed facade. His hand slipped to his sword hilt, itching to pull it from the scabbard.
Greed shone in the girl's mad eyes and he quickly withdrew his hand. Breathing deeply, he paced the room. Regaining his cool demeanor, he faced the girl.
Black eyes studied him with the interest a hungry shark has when studying a seal. Unnoticed by the boy, her eyes lingered on his left boot. But quickly she looked away. Previous question forgotten, the girl spoke again.
"What justification could you possibly have for your crimes?" the girl inquired. The boy was taken aback for a moment.
"I-it was nessessary," he said unconvincingly. The girl rolled her eyes, ferocity temporarily in check.
"That answer was weak. 'It was nessessary.'" She did a dreadful imitation of his voice. "Let me ask you again. Nessessary for what?"
"Nessessary to keep my family safe. My father's legacy alive. I killed your people to protect my own! Would you not have done the same...? No, of course not. What would an animal know of sacrifice?"
"Sacrifice, yes, but it was not your own!" The previous fury had resurfaced, and her voice rose with it. "You're nothing but a sniveling coward! As long as I breathe you shall live with the fear that you will not see tomorrow's sunrise! A-"
"Enough! i'm done with this madness!" With this the boy drew his sword. The girl cowered back towards the wall, fear in her eyes. Taking a step forward, the boy raised the sword over his head.
Down it swung, but the girl lunged. The sword broke her chain as she lunged for the boys boot. Grabbing the concealed dagger, she thrust it into his side. A shriek of pain came from the young man. Now free, the girl stood, ripped the sword from his hands, and swung it.
She stood, breathing heavily, but smiling. The dagger previously hidden in the boy's boot lay on the floor next to his corpse. She still held his sword. It was a trophy and she beleived she had rightfully won it.
Taking the key ring from his belt, she undid the shackles still around her ankles and dropped them at his feet. Freedom awaited her, but she was not yet done.
Kneeling, she whispered coldly into the boy's unhearing ear. "Now we're even. I hope in the afterlife you get what you deserve," she paused as if she was listening to his response, though no sound came from the body. "Oh? You really think I'll end up there. Now that doesn't seem very fair, does it? After all, I only took what I should have been given."
And then she left and never looked back.
