To Kill A Queen

Eli

I sat up in bed, shaking and gasping for breath. I was drenched in sweat, which was new. A nightmare. What a lovely way to wake up. 

I got dressed in my normal pants a tee shirt and tried to put my boots on. They wouldn't go past my heel. And now I've outgrown another pair. I cursed and stepped outside.

Stretching, I walked out down to the marketplace. The rocks hidden in the grass hurt my feet. Luckily though, the market wasn't too far away. It was pretty busy today.

I looked around, walking near every booth looking for boots, preferably hunting boots. By sheer luck alone, I found some. I walked over to the merchant reading a book.

"How much for the boots?" I asked, pointed at them.

"Get lost kid." He said without looking up.

"How much for the boots?" I asked again, more forcefully this time.

The man finally looked up, about to tell me to go away. "Kid, are you even old enough to be out here alone?"

I shrugged. "Probably not, but what does anybody care anyway? Now, I will ask again, sir. How much for the boots?"

He sighed. "20 bronze coins."

I smiled without any trace of happiness in my eyes. "Sweet! Thanks!" I grabbed the boots, paid with what little money I had left, and walked off. The merchant tried to call after me, as I hadn't paid in full, but I somehow disappeared into the crowd of people. He must have terrible eyesight then; red hair does not blend in easily.

As I was walking around, looking for a place to but my boots on, something bumped into my stomach and I grunted from the impact. I looked down to see someone on the floor. I knelt down to help her up.

"Hey, watch where you're going okay? Someone else might not be as forgiving."

The girl grunted and accepted my hand. Her dark skin made my pale skin look ghost white in comparison. "Thanks, and I do apologize."

That voice sounded familiar, but I couldn't quite place it. "Why are you running? Don't you have money or thieving skills? You're in a marketplace after all."

"Thieving?" She sighed. "Someone tried to teach me at some point, but I was never any good at it. I tried again today, to see if I remembered, and I got caught. Guess I don't." She chuckled in embarrassment.

Hang on, "That's where I know you from!"

She gave me a quizzical look.

"Bronze, right?"

Her face morphed into something even more confused. I lead her to a space between two booths and sat down to ut my boots on.

When I was done and looked up again, Bronze had a knife to my throat. "How do you know my name?"

I brought out my own knife to counter attack if needed. "Okay, I know I got a haircut a while back, but I didn't think I looked that different."

She pushed the knife forwards a bit into the skin of my throat. I felt a small trickle of blood fall down into my shirt. Gripping my knife tighter, I stood up, Bronze following me. Her eyes narrowed.

"I mean, your face is the same, same horrible fashion sense,"

"Hey!"

"Same hair and voice." She continued as if I hadn't said anything. "I guess it's you." She put her arm down and sheathed her weapon.

I stared at her. "What, seriously?! That's it? No question, no quiz? No checking of I'm not a stranger? I thought Pandora and I taught you better."

She smiled and laughed. "And there you go. You passed the test."

"Fair." I sheathed my own weapon and wiped my neck. Small amount of blood. Not bad, though I'd need a new shirt now. 

Bronze's smile fell. "Shit, I forgot about my blade. Do you know where Pandora is?"

"No, but why does it matter? It'll close up in a bit."

"No it won't. My blade is coated with snake venom. You're going to die."