It had been a long time since Adelia visited the streets of Olin. She never thought she would end up roaming the mucky cobblestone paths of the southern part of the kingdom. Witnessing her people personally like this was something she could only envision from her windowsill. It was merely a few days ago that she dwelled in a lavishing council room within the safety of the palace walls.

It wasn’t difficult to remember the lustrous stone flooring and the sculpted candlelit sconces that illuminated the hallways she would regularly walk. Privileged with the warmth and security of the divine rooms and resources, she wouldn’t lie that it was the ideal posh lifestyle. The council room was no less exquisite than the rest of the palace. The royal council would regularly reside there with the Queen to assist in hard political decisions to benefit the kingdom. But ever since Adelia came of age, she had picked up the standard duties of her deceased mother. Though it was a drastic change at a young age, it was here that she formed the distinct confidence that she became known for.

“We have told you many times, your royal highness. We cannot extend those types of resources to the outskirts of Olin.” A voice lifted from amongst the council. It wasn’t irregular for someone to protest against Adelia’s words, but lately, it had been ensuing more frequently.

“Can not or will not?” Her words were laced with extreme etiquette and vigor. The silence after her intense comment only added to her hushed agitation. “I shall take it there myself if it is such a fuss--“ Her frustration slipped out before she was able to bite her tongue. Taking a moment to recollect her thoughts, the subtlest sigh escaped her throat. It was tempting to use menacing words but now wasn’t the time to lose more of their trust, especially with Lucretia desiring to steal the crown from her. “They have been suffering enough, have they not? It is my duty to provide for my kingdom as future—” Adelia’s words were interrupted, a glint of fierceness quickly growing in her eyes as she diverted her attention to the voice that challenged her. “Future Queen?” The voice said from the council room’s ajar door. A voice that Adelia knew well. Princess Lucretia Elsie Sheridan, her younger stepsister.

It was moments after the interruption that the whole conferential session was destroyed by passive-aggressive bickering. Thought to be harmless at the time, the naïve dispute between the princesses unknowingly became more than a leap toward the premeditation of Adelia’s attempted murder.

Nothing had been safe anymore, not even the oddly bitter wine that she had consumed later that day. Who knew a laced elixir would make her this feeble and unsteady? A blur of days had slipped by since the nearly lethal sip that forced her to flee from the palace walls. Taking to the quieter streets beyond the palace, she ultimately found a sense of security on the southern outskirts of Olin's territory. With pale skin, a flushed sickly face, and sapped eyes, she shamefully resided in expending a pretty penny on bottles of ale in an attempt to flush the lingering illness out of her system. Sustaining her royal image was not important now. An unlucky mistress had become her new alias as she frequently lingered near the quieter taverns, only befriending the well-knitted cloak that constantly shielded her eyes.

The sweet stench of ale from regular tavern visits clung to her cloak and followed her down the streets. The aroma was unlike the pleasant perfume that she had become so used to. Even the lower quality apparel that she stole from the maid’s chambers was no match to the quality of cloth she came to care for. Mucky puddles from the recent rain were quick to cover her neglected shoes as she traveled past the bustling people of the streets. Adelia rarely dared to tread in an area with so many eyes, but it was safer rather than looking suspicious down abandoned side streets. It was there that she unintentionally heard much of the gossip from the shopkeepers.

“Have you heard about the latest thieveries just East from here? They’ve been relatively frequent, the latest I heard.” The uncultured and substandard words slipped from a brittle old lady selling trinkets. “Well, if you locked your things up as I've told you, then no one would bother you.” A sneer from another person bickered. “If the royals did their damn duty instead of living a posh life, then we wouldn’t have to worry about the upcoming thieves. The royals aren’t bred like they once were.”

“Watch what you say.” Another hushed voice slipped into the conversation.

“I care nothing about treason. Ever since the latest queen’s passing things have been out of control.”

The conversation continued, soon hushing when customers came to look at their products. It was difficult for Adelia to not take over the conversation, punishing them for every remark that came out of their mouths, especially the one about her mother. Forcing her irritation aside, she continued down the street, finally escaping the congested area. Her steady galivant along the cobblestone path wasn’t long-lived before she craved the shadows of an alley. A wave of nausea regularly disturbed her by the hour, leaving her photosensitive underneath the sunlight. The withdrawal of poison still made her queasy even days after the initial sip.

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It had been years since the desire to find the cure had enveloped the mind of Xarrus Aetnon. Sure he still thought about it now and again, but not like he used to, it didnt drive his every move like it once had. Today in particular, was no different. He simply woke up and wanted to get through the day, he lived day by day, that was something Ender Calyx had taught him.

Over the time he'd spent in the Olin kingdom Xarrus and Ender had become some sort of friends. They relied on one another to survive, Xarrus was the brawn and smarts of the situation, but Ender was the speed and caution. A couple months prior to the day a girl had joined them. Now she was the brains, and she was also Ender's girlfriend. As happy as Xarrus was for the both of them, he couldn't help but feel a sense of resentment for both of them. Inga, the brains, had taken his only almost friend's attention, and Ender let her. Though they were fluid on the job, and seemingly never failed, when they weren't on a job it was..complicated.

Today they walked together down the streets they knew so well. They were also known in the streets, many of the peasants knew them for their..skill sets, and the fact that though they did bad things, they never harmed the class they were in. In the early morning light Xarrus appeared to have red hair, so deeply colored it looked like blood running from a victim. He had his hair tied tightly in a bun, small whisps had fallen out due to the elements and their previous run from a market stall.

The three walked and gazed around, nothing in particular catching their eye until a set of clothing made Inga grab them and pull them to the side.

“There's a castle maid over there” She told them as they rolled into the alley. Xarrus nodded slowly but Ender looked confused “She probably has shillings on her, besides, I'm sure she thinks she's better than us anyways” This made Ender get excited, but caused Xarrus to roll his eyes. He hated how the two of them played themselves as victims, like everyone was out to be better than them.

“Okay so convince her to follow us into a dark alley, we take her money then what? She's just going to tell the guards' ' Ender said, peaking around the corner.

“I have a better idea,” Xarrus told them quietly. “We take her, somewhere no one will find her, if we can get you into those maid clothes maybe we can finally get inside the castle” He told Inga, whose eyes lit up as she began to understand his plan. “Okay, since ill be able to grab her and move a lot faster ill be the one to go out, Ender to run interference on any guards around the area, and Inga, you make sure no commoners get in the way.” Each of them looked at eachother and gave a small nod before going in their respective directions.

Xarrus pulled his cloak to close so that his knives wouldn't be visible. He meandered through the shops, making eye contact with a few folk, who understood he was up to no good and didn't want to be caught in any cross hairs so they scurried away. He acted as though he was shopping through the market, going from stall to stall until he ended up next to the maid that the group had targeted. He picked up a trinket from the stall and gazed at it as though he was so curious as to how it was made. Stealing a glance up he made eye contact with Ender, who gave him a small nod that his window had arrived. Inga was walking with a small group of women, away from Xarrus, chatting as if she was a social gossiping butterfly.

Xarrus inhaled and looked to his right, where the hooded maid stood. Upon inhaling he could practically taste the ale on his lips, raising his eyebrows he looked back down at the trinkets in his hand. “It's a little early for day drinking isn't it?” He asked with a slippery cool tone, and a charming grin. He smelled of fire and old leather, so he wasn't exactly one to speak of smells.

After a moment he looked up at the owner of the market who was standing not far away organizing some things. “Hey shopkeep!” Xarrus said kindly “Would you be as kind as to show me the other makes of this?” He asked, holding up the trinket in his hand. When the man gave him a small smile and waddled to the back Xarrus gazed around as if he was looking at the other small objoects in front of him. He turned to walk behind her acting as if he was going to look at something on the other side of her.

When he was behind her his left arm snaked around her waste and pulled her to him. His other hand came up, a blade pressed to the skin of her throat. She still had her hood on so he whispered as he began to shuffle, pulling her with him. “I wont hurt you so long as you come with me, dont make this harder than it has to be” He pulled her, his arm around her waste holding tightly with no hope of her being free’d “I’m sorry it has to be you, but you were just such an easy target” Though he did things like this for a living there were times that he felt bad, and this was one of them, of course, he had no idea what or who hed just taken hostage.

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The wave of nausea that twisted around her senses subsided sooner than it had before. At least it was an improvement compared to just days before. The avid sun seemed brighter than usual as she daringly squinted at it. Later peering at the crowd she had just left, the flow of customers had unknowingly followed her up the road, all infatuated by the different types of vendors. There was a newly irregular mood amongst them, some staring in her direction with distracted eyes. It couldn’t have been her who caused such a sudden change, but it was more than enough to cause an instinctual amount of alertness to take effect.

Distracted by the numbing eyes that peered her way, Adelia was quick to startle when an unfamiliar voice nearby lifted higher than the market's noise; a straightforward remark on her drinking habit. He wasn’t the first to comment on the overbearing stench of alcohol imprinted on her skin. Had he known why she drowned herself in those drinks – something she got sick of after the second glass - she was sure he’d speak a different tone.

Adelia wasn’t adamant about making eye contact with the nearby customer, but she turned his way enough to catch the pulled corner of his mouth, a sadistic expression she often acquired from men who sought to take advantage of her. Her feet guided her away until she reached a seemingly comfortable distance, but she faltered as something caught her eye. It was nothing suspicious but rather something she dreaded. Royal guards.

Face growing pale, her heart pounded like a beating drum, the peculiar bitterness of wine enveloping her mouth as the memory of being poisoned replayed. She hadn’t even noticed that she subconsciously stumbled backward as her gaze refused to leave the signature colors of the royal guards in the distance. Was this why the market's mood had changed? It was unheard of to see a royal guard this far out on the outskirts of Olin. They must’ve been searching for their lost princess. Her. Adelia couldn’t trust whether they intended to kill her or return her to the place she was meant to be – she didn’t know which was worse. She didn't want to find out. Her pace shuffled midway, turning on her heel to take the opposite direction, skating past the sadistic man.

But things moved too fast for her. Whether it was from the leftover poison in her system, the countless amounts of ale ingested, or the adrenaline from seeing the guard; she didn’t know. The scent of fire and leather flooded her system as a tight grip surrounded her, practically swiping her off her feet. A muscle squeezed at her ribs, another around her waist. Her first instinct was to fight back but she knew the cold feeling of a blade all too well. Her fingers entangled around the forearm that almost painfully gripped her waist, naturally prying at it but not daring to do anything more. Her eyes danced around to nearby shoppers, a silent cry for help, but they were too distracted to notice her. How had no one noticed? Her feet shuffled with the much taller figure, dragging at times in a failed feat to keep up with him. It wasn't until she finally saw the opportunity to fight back, barely getting the chance to clamp her teeth ever so slightly against the hand that drew the blade, that things started to get hazy, ultimately draining into blackness.

…

A sour taste developed in her mouth, her youthful skin glossy in sweat. Her stomach ached in queasiness, deprived of food for – she didn’t know how long. Hours? Days? Her wrists felt on fire, swollen and itchy, her ankles too. Trying to move them was excruciating and unsuccessful, but Adelia wasn’t alert enough to understand what held them back. Her vision was doubled as she barely parted her eyes. Her lips parched and tart, her breathing hitched. Sitting upright was a joke. Such a mission was hopeless as she could only maintain a slumped sitting position. Tears tumbled down her pale but flushed cheeks, something she hadn’t even realized. The scents around her were quite powerful, a strong stench of ale wafting unbearably through her senses, though at first, she thought it emitted from herself. A dull moan parted from her dry lips, inaudible words that murmured out of her. The sturdy shapes of furniture began to form from her double vision. A chair, a table, a dust-covered bookshelf, all old and dingy but moved for use.

Peering up at the ceiling, the building was old, made of weathered wood. So, the smell of ale hadn’t come from her, though she was sure to still smell like the musty remnants of it. Rays of light seeped through the cracks, dust particles glowing eerily from the effect. She tugged again at the rope entangled around her wrists and ankles, a crappy job compared to what she knew the royal guards learned in their training. It fell loose in certain areas but was still enough to break her joints if she dared to pull hard enough. Her hearing finally kicked in, ringing at first, soon to drain into the echoing voices of three individuals arguing in the distance. Was her mind causing the echo effect or was it the building she was in?

Her throat was dry, making it painful to swallow her nervousness. Better vision was next to arrive, the double vision fading away. The lack of furniture and loneliness stared at her. It wasn't until the memories of feeling a blade against her throat came back that she shrunk back into the safety of the hooded cloak that she was lucky to still be wearing. Adelia finally understood the whole situation. Her eyes instinctually fell half-closed, as still as prey seen by a predator. Honing in on the voices, she couldn’t hear much more than the tone of the harsh words that fell from their mouths. Trying to listen to them was like an annoying buzz in her brain, another heart-aching moan slipping from her throat.

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