The End Of The World

One

Lady Charlotte Rose Atlas strode through the corridors of the manor, the clicking of her heels echoing off the walls. She made two left turns, climbed a flight of stairs and took another left turn before arriving at her destination - her private study. The clock above the door told her she had ten minutes before her guest, a man by the name of Daniel Wilder, would arrive. Daniel Wilder was a mysterious man, who had been employed by many desperate people for a variety of jobs in varying degrees of legality. Despite his history of accepting these jobs, Charlotte knew she had been lucky when he'd agreed to meet with her, for it was not often that he worked for someone of her status. Not much was known about Daniel Wilder, but it was common knowledge he usually worked with the poor, kinda like Robin Hood.

Charlotte gazed momentarily through the window overlooking the long driveway and dark forest beyond the gate before focusing on her reflection. Her azure eyes trailed her long, honey locks that tumbled onto her shoulders, a few golden highlights shining in the light projected by the small lamp on her desk. They soon drifted to her plump lips, coloured a deep red, with a thin layer of clear lip gloss giving them a slight shine. She refocused on the gates, a slight smile gracing her lips as they opened. Her eyes lock onto the solitary figure walking slowly up the drive toward the front doors. As they drew nearer the heavy wooden doors were thrown wide, spilling warmth and light onto the figure. From the window, Charlotte could see a man with closely cropped raven hair and very tanned skin. She kept him in sight until he passed through the doors.

Charlotte pulled back the chair at her desk and sat, playing with her fingers until her guest was brought to the study. Her eyes flicked around the familiar room nervously, a million thoughts and worries playing in her head.
What if he doesn't take the job? What if he does take it, but then I offend him and he drops it? What if he refuses because it's too 'risky'? What if...
Charlotte took a deep breath and shook her head. She was going to do this whether she had help or not. It would just be a little more difficult on her own. There was a sharp knock at the door before the handle twisted and it swung open to reveal the tall ravenette Charlotte had seen enter her home. She stood and extended a hand to him.
"Good evening, Mr Wilder," she greeted politely, "Pleased to make your acquaintance"
Daniel grasped her hand and shook it gently. He locked his emerald orbs onto Charlotte's azure ones and smiled pleasantly.
"Please, explain the details of this job for me, Miss Atlas," He spoke, his voice smooth and velvety
"Take a seat," she said, "and I'll begin."
Daniel did as she requested, pulling out the chair positioned opposite to the girl and sat.
"As you may know, my family possesses many old artifacts, some of which are believed to grant magical abilities to the wearer," Charlotte began, "Recently, one such item was stolen, a ruby-encrusted diadem."
"I take it you know who took it?" Daniel asked.
"Yes, while the thief was skilled and was able to get in and out unnoticed, they did leave behind a letter from Queen Kindra of the Ashlands."
"So... you think she has it?"
"Yes, I think she has it, and if she does, we're all in trouble."
"What exactly does this diadem do if it's such a bad thing in her hands?"
"It could end the world as we know it"
"So do you have a plan to get it back?"
"Yes, but first I need to know, are you in?"
"Considering the world could end, I'm in."
"Thank you, Daniel."

Charlotte twisted her body to the right and opened the second draw. From it, she pulled a rolled-up map. She rolled the map out flat on the table in front of her.  She placed a few objects on the corners of the map to stop it from rolling in on itself again.
"We are here, the kingdom of Voketia. We need to get to the Ashlands, over here," she explained, pointing to each kingdom respectively. "To get there we have to cross through Apraegon. It's about a four-day ride to the border between Voketia and Aphraegon and another seven days to reach the edge of the Ashlands."
"So what happens once we reach the Ashlands?"
"We'll need to journey to the heart of the kingdom, to where the Queen Kindra's castle is. We will have to sneak in, which will be difficult since it's heavily guarded. Once inside we need to find out where she's keeping the diadem and replace it with a fake to buy us some time to get out of the castle and escape. Any questions?"
"What happens if we get caught before we can switch the diadem?"
"Uuuuh..... Well... we- um... we hope that we don't get caught?"
"So you have no backup plan?"
"Uh, well, no... not- not exactly"
"Righ, well, before we set off on this world-saving mission, we should probably come up with a backup plan in the event something goes wrong with the current one."
"I didn't really think We'd need a backup plan..."
"Have you ever actually planned a mission before?"
"Well, no, this is my first"
"Yeah, it was just the slightest bit obvious," Daniel said
"I'm sorry I didn't come up with a backup plan, ok? I was a bit preoccupied with trying to come up with a decent plan A," Charlotte defended, "Let's just figure it out if and when it happens."
"When do we leave?"
"At first light tomorrow. I have our supplies prepared already. My butler will lead you to a room for the night"
"Alright, well, good night"
"Good night," Charlotte smiled softly. They stood simultaneously and moved toward the door, which Charlotte held open for Daniel. The butler, Mr Jenkins, gestured to the right and spoke,
"Right this way, Mr Wilder."
Daniel shook Charlotte's hand once more and followed Mr Jenkins to his room, Charlotte moving the opposite way to her room.