Keeper Of Souls

Chapter 1.2: Hair dyes and Goodbyes

(AN: Dedicated to a girl who has always been my supporter through anything and EVERYTHING. Thanks for the banner and I love you dearly and I appreciate you always <3)

“I’m sorry, what? I’m going to need you to repeat that.” Clasterina sat up straighter in her wooden chair. For one, this man saw her steal an apple. Everyone knew what happens to those that stole from the village— their hands were cut off. Either she was going to join the others that were deemed to that fate, or she was going to have to come up with some stealthy plan to get out of it.

“A Princess, darling. How would you like to be a princess? Not any princess, but Princess Katarina of Ichanon.”

Clasterina stared at him for a bit and then fell out of her chair with hysterics. She found the man to be crazy. Clast pretending to be Katarina? That was simply the most absurd idea she had ever heard, and she had heard some inane things. “You’ve gone mad!”

The man yanked her off the floor by the collar of her dirty blue shirt. “When you have no hands, Clasterina, we will see who has gone mad,” he growled. Clast’s stomach tightened with fear. He threw her back down onto the floor. She scrambled onto her feet and looked him in the eyes.

“I don’t appreciate the fact that you are trying to use me mister… whoever you are! That’s another thing, who are you?” She crossed her arms.

“That’s for another time. You have two options, I’m afraid. Either you swap with the princess so I can interrogate her, or you lose your hands. Choose, now. I’ll even pay you fifty gold pieces for this task.” He smiled as if he were doing a great service.

Clast’s eyes went wide with the mention of money. “Make it a hundred gold pieces and I’ll do it.”

“Sixty and we have to dye your hair. Katarina has black hair.”

“A hundred and ten! Do you know how rare it is to have red hair like I do?” She tossed her hair for emphasis.

“Seventy five and I also have to teach you about her lifestyle. You must literally be a princess and not road scum.” He snorted.

“A hundred and twenty five. There is a chance that they could know it is me and off with my head. Also, how dare you call me road scum?”

“Ninety gold pieces and you have to get cleaner than this. Have you ever heard of a river to bathe in?” His nose wrinkled in disgust.

Clasterina sighed. “A hundred and fifty gold pieces. That’s a far walk to the river, mister.”

“A hundred gold pieces and that is my final offer!”

Clasterina settled back on her toes, snickering. “You’re a sucker, you know that? That’s what I wanted all along. So, how are we doing this?”

The man gaped at her and then shook it off. “I can already see this is going to be difficult. Just sit in that chair, okay?”

Clasterina took a seat and watched him exit the room. Nerves gnawed at her already empty stomach. She picked up her apple and bit into it. How was she going to pretend to be a princess? Didn’t becoming a princess consist of many tasks, many snobbish tasks? Clast knew that the princess didn’t go out and make it her obligation to help those less fortunate than herself. For all she knew, Katarina simply watched everyone suffer. Also, she didn’t want to wear dresses— she had never worn a dress in all her life. So why start now?

Clast threw the apple core to the ground and followed the man with her eyes upon his arrival. His golden curls shined among the cabin’s lamplight. In his hands was something similar to a floor plan.