The Failed Assassin

Divulge

When Emma awoke she jumped up, her complicated dress tripping her upcausing her to fall and land on the ground with a thud. She cursedunder her breath as she wondered why she was in a dress instead ofher normal comfy pants made of swathed cloth she had. She lookedaround seeing three dark walls, a small window high up where even ifshe stood on her tip toes would barely be able to see over if at all,and the last wall being metal bars.

A cell.

She thought back to what she had done her heart rate starting to pickup in distress. This was bad, very very bad. She had known going inthere were five options for tonight, was it even still night? Sixtechnically.

The last things she remembered was gripping the dagger with her righthand. Her left hand flexed as if demanding to her why she hadn't usedit instead. She was clumsy with her right hand even if she hadlearned to by just necessity with how many people preferred it, whileher left was skilled like a surgeon. So how had she ended the night?Had she killed him or not? Despite herself she felt her green eyeswater with the thought of extinguishing a life.

Unbidden the image of a happy boy giggling as he ran with a ball fromher, turning and smiling with the one dimple before throwing it toher, his happy laugh echoing in her ears. She tried to shake theghost of the past from her mind. No. She wouldn't think of that, ofhim, not now. She steeled her mind to think of what was important,the here and now.

She could have not gotten an opportunity, something that couldn'thappen as she would stay as long as she needed even if it meant doinga quick change and dressing like a servant or making her way to hisroom and hiding till he came and she did it then. She could havesucceed in killing him and escaped which was the option she hopedfor, succeed in killing him but been killed herself by the guardwhich would be something she didn't want. She could have failed tokill him but escape or failed to kill him and been killedherself. By far the worst option but as she was breathing air and waspretty sure she was alive didn't think that is what happened. So thatleft only the last two options, both ending with her in a cell.

Did she succeed in killing him but fail to escape, or did she failand get caught?

Honestly succeeding in killing him but failing to escape would be thesecond best option right behind escaping him after she killed him.She could make a statement. Let the royals know they would not standfor this, that people were not their pawns. That the suffering of theentire seven kingdoms should not be done just so the select few canhave a near perfect life.

That hundreds shouldn't starve so a couple could stuff themselves.That they shouldn't freeze exposed to the elements so that the richfew can heat a huge castle. That the taxes and demanded tribute theroyalty demanded, and the blind eye of constables to nobility crimes,the upper class's working them for not enough to buy a single loaf ofbread for their families, the middle classes forcing them further andfurther out of where they were. It would not stand.

Would that lead to her being a symbol as more and more peopledemanded not to be treated as property? Would seeing her andrealizing how easily she slipped among them show the lucky few thatmaybe the poor were not as inhuman as they thought? Would it justcause them to see?

She had no way of knowing but she couldn't not try.

She had seen them out and about, how they looked at the lower middleclass, working class, peasants, and beggars. No not looked at them,looked through them, like they weren't even there. How harshly theytreated someone, how they touched and toyed with them. How theydestroyed the people until they had nothing left to make them evenfeel like people.

So the question would be if she'd get a trial or if they would justquietly execute her with none being the wiser?

She looked to the side as she heard footsteps and checked if therewas anything left and smiled as she saw the extra metal shavings werethere, she just might be able to make a key. Perhaps she should slipaway, let their fear of her returning scare them till they jump attheir own shadows. And just when they have stopped being rulers ofany kind, then she'd kill them. All of them. Pulling her hand out ofher pocket before anyone could question it she saw two guards walkin, both looked very burly and grunted looking at her.

"She the one?" The guard asked and the other nodded tossing acrude metal platter which held a bowl of water that sloshed as wellas some flour and yeast.

"Dinner. May be the last you get. One of the fairer sex you canfashion your own meal, yeah darling?" He sneered and Emma's fierytemper, which she had held back all during the ball and had takenwell over an hour to center herself. Which she had not done now.Leaning down she picked up the tray bringing it to stand upright andlook right into their eyes with a glare.

"Don't think you can scare us little missy." The first guardscoffed, "you should count yourself lucky his royal highness wantsto know why."

"I want to know why we have to feed h-" the second guard hadstarted to quip but cut off with a gasp as they saw Emma's hands glowa bright white, it moving to take over the top of the tray coveringthe flour, water and yeast. It all centered into a small oblong andthen just as quickly faded leaving a loaf of bread, one of thosepersonal loaves she would often make for the particularly hurting forbasic necessities of Beggar's Alley. Only normally she would add someof the fresh herbs the older children would pick from the woods forher or even the cheese that some of the kinder farmers would give theextra that they could not sell to Beggar's Alley.

The smell of fresh baked bread wafted to them while Emma lifted onehand to grip the still warm loaf, letting the tray drop with aclatter her other hand coming up to bread it in half so that theguards could see the steam wafting from the warm bread.

"Thank you." She all but growled before putting the broken offpiece in her mouth, chewing slowly looking them right in the eyes.

It possibly wasn't the smartest move, she hadn't thought it throughbefore doing it. But the way they talked...she couldn't hold back heranger and feisty nature and honestly no matter what happens aftertheir faces were so worth it.

That was way tooenjoyable to write! Just for Emma to let go after holding back duringthe entire book so far.