When The Stars Align

chapter one | crowns and cloaks

MY HANDS WERE TIED behind my back, cool bracelets of metal pressing against my skin, holding them together. It would be an easy job, breaking out of them, kicking the guard in the shins and taking off into the night sky, but I stay, my hands only being able to stretch inches apart.

The guard has one of his hands firmly grasped onto my arm, dragging me foreward. His nails weren't trimmed, digging far into my skin, making sure I won't escape. I'm aware of the gun sitting in the holster on his side, even if I can't see it. My cloak covered my face, my eyes, making it invisible to the people and media that will soon surround us, in which my face will only be revealed upon my sentencing.

Ten years, and they've finally caught me. Not that I was wreaking havoc around the city until five years ago, but I've done enough to have people scared, even when they don't know my name, or how I look. I'm simply a ghost to the public - they're aware of my actions, but nothing else.

But alas, my feet stumble as I am dragged to the throne room, where the royal family, and a member of the judiciary waits to see the girl - who was hardly an adult - who's been charged with so many crimes that it would need more than their fingers and toes to count them all.

I felt the warmth radiate from the lights in the room - if that was even possible. Every now and then, there was a cool draft entering the halls; the cool September breeze entering the castle through the open windows. The dungeons were cool and damp, so the breeze was enough to make the goosebumps on my skin rise again.

"Walk faster, girl." The guard grows impatient, but it isn't my fault. I've hardly been on my feet since I was captured; with no where to go, there was no point in being on my feet. The lack of (decent) food made me wobble with each step.

But the guard dealt with my slowness for the last at least half hour, since I was taken out of the dungeon. We were probably just in front of the throne room now. I closed my eyes, listening to the chatter of nervous citizens on the other side of the door. This was a historic moment for the people of Noatra. They were finally safe from the greatest threat the kingdom has faced - at least in the last a hundred and fifty years.

I heard the faint creak of the grand doors as they swung open. The chatter stopped. From beneath the hood, I saw anxious feet dancing around, parents holding their children close and vice versa - who would even bring their kids to something like this? I guess it would be a good lesson. Don't you ever become what she is, alright? I mean, I was warned of things like that, too.

It wasn't long until there was more than one guard surrounding me. Of course, to be fair, there were two before me and two behind me as I walked here, keeping their distance. They figured out that I cooperated better when I was with one guard, not swarmed with a million. So they kept it like that.

"Your Majesty, the assassin," one of the guards stated. I was pushed onto my knees, my hands still tied to my back. The chain was definitely going to leave a mark onto my skin; the actual cuffs, too.

From behind my hood, I could make out the details of the royal family in front of me. And even if I didn't, I knew exactly what the family looked like, and what I expected of them. The king sat with his back straight on his gold and black throne, a crown of red and black jewels sitting on his head. Almost thirty-eight years old and not a single grey hair on his head yet from running a country, and his eyes remained the same blue - almost grey colour from his youth. He studied me carefully, probably judging my walk, a smug smile on his face. He thinks this is my end.

Beside him, seated on his left was the queen. Ten years younger to the ruler, mother to all four of his children - and soon the fifth - she sat with her hands on her lap, with a back as straight as she could maintain. The deep brown locks that were usually pulled tightly back into an exquisite braid currently rested half on her right shoulder, the other still behind her. Her full lips were pressed together, nervous.

I bit my lip, suddenly my heart palpitating. It was hard to look at her.

The king's right hand man and advisor stood on the right side of the king - obviously, or he won't be the right hand man. He looked too formal with his black suit, brown hair pulled back. He's the one that speaks the first words.

"The unnamed assassin has finally been brought in front of His Majesty. She is charged with numerous crimes, including the murders of the Queen's parents and multiple cases of theft of drugs and other substances. How do you plead?" his eyes are focused on me. He expects to have a long judging period.

"Guilty," I say, firmly. It's unexpected, but there's too much evidence piled against me. The queen herself was sitting right in front of me. There was no chance I was getting out of here innocent. There was no point in a long trial. I just needed to face fate.

The king's eyes widened. "Noatra's greatest criminal, going down without a fight? What shall her punishment be?"

"Execution might be nice," I suggested. You could probably feel the smirk on my face with my words. "I mean, murder already is a terrible thing, and I've done that quite a lot. But the queen's parents, out of all people..."

I was really asking for it, wasn't I?

"Enough!" the king's voice boomed. The chatter that started as I spoke silenced. The people probably thought I was crazy, sentencing myself to death. But I didn't even have a choice, did I?

"If you wish for death, you will get death. Sir Demitrius, her cloak. Remove it for the people to see."

I gave myself a small smile. Of course I had a choice, even if the king wouldn't give me one. I had a plan of my own, I'm not stupid.

The black cloak was pulled off my head, my face exposed to the sunlight streaming into the throne room and the fresh air, but most importantly, the public and the royal family saw me. The king's expression didn't change, but there was a slight change in his expression when he saw how young I actually was. The queen, on the other hand... well, her eyes grew - wide. And I was sure she couldn't expose her. Though no one heard her, her lips mouthed one word: impossible.

"And I'm sure we need a name for you, assassin," the king's bitter words escaped his words, though everyone knew he wasn't a bitter man. He just needed to sound authoritative. And in the process, he didn't seem to notice the expression his wife had on her face, because she could probably answer all of his questions.

"You want my name? Sure, of course, Your Majesty," I start. I'm surprised the guards are allowing me to use this tone with a royal, but no one says anything about it. The room stays quiet as I say the next words: "Ameilia Covington, Your Majesty, if you want me to be honest."

I swore I would tell the truth, but the name escaping my lips was a lie - I knew it was a lie. The queen knew it was a lie. Anyone who had eyes might've been able to tell that it was a lie. But the king did not. His eyes grew wide this time as he stood from his throne. "Impossible."

He took his wife's words right out of her mouth.

"I swore to tell the truth, did I not?"

"The Covington line is dead."

"If you believe so. I guess, if I was lying, I would have committed more of a crime, right? I guess execution would be the best punishment, wouldn't it?"

The king shook his head, setting gasps off from around the room. This took an unexpected turn for everyone else, didn't it. The king walked towards me, his footsteps silent, yet at the same time echoed through the grand room.

"Keep her locked in the dungeons. Limit her food." His eyes focused in mine, me crouched on my knees in front of the one person I shouldn't be in front of. "Ten lashes a day. If you want death, Amelia Covington, then it will be a slow and painful one."

I gave the smallest, wickedest smirk I could manage. "Perfect."

✶

a/n: this update is brought to you by the fact that i actually finished nanowrimo and didn't stop at 10k words! updates are gonna be on sundays and if you want to, pleaseee check out my nano book from last year, "and then, we created chaos", which is updating fridays until i drag myself to write the rest of it lol.