As soon as night fell, Mikel set out to play out his roll in his Mistress's plan. He constantly repeated what he was to do like a chant so he wouldn't forget a single step.
-Wait for the guards to move, burn the castle, return to Mistress. Wait, burn, return.
He stationed himself at the far end of the concubine's courtyard in the form of a little black cat. His fluffy black fur blended in quite nicely with the courtyard's many shadows. Almost completely invisible to all the people bustling about around him.
Even if someone did see him, who in their right mind would pay any mind to a stray cat at a time like this? The king was making a visit, and they had no time to spare to play with animals! There was too much to do!
After what felt like several hours waiting, a fat man adored in elegant robes and jewelry came Into view, bringing a faint scent of sweat with him. Mikel had a great sense of smell, but he felt even the humans would be able to smell the man 20 feet away with BO like that.
What a greasy pig. How is my Miss this man's daughter? She is a goddess, and that man is nothing but a pig dressed in fancy clothes! He heard her mother, the late Empress, was a beauty beyond compare. She must of gotten her good looks from her.
His little cat nose snorted at the king as he walked pass him, making his disgust clear. Lucky for him, the king didn't even notice the kitten at all. His mind clearly preoccupied with the perverted thoughts of the conquest he was about to begin.
The fat man slammed the sliding doors open with a loud 'clang' , scaring the poor concubine out of her skin. She stood in terror at the man in front of her. Was this fat and greasy man truly the one who murdered her family? It was almost comical how such an unhealthy looking man could conquer an entire kingdom, let alone murder the entire Royal family with the exception of herself.0
Was it the stench of this man that killed her fathers armies? They must of dropped like flys from the smell alone. She honestly doubted the man could even lift a sword above his head without getting out of breath, let alone make his way threw a battle field.
"What a beautiful woman the Koun Kingdom raised. It's a good thing I killed them when I did, or they would of spoiled such a pretty face." The kings eyes filled with lust and his face became red from excitement.
He push threw the door and closed it shut behind him all in one swift motion. This girl was going to be his, even though if He felt she was more on the plain side for a bride. He thought a princess of a foreign country would be more exotic, but a trophy was a trophy. When it came down to it, it really didn't matter what she looked like.
A small framed girl with long dark hair shook in her robe by the mere sight of him. Was this it for her? Was this disgusting man going to really put his grubby hands on her? She had to think fast.
She tried to reassure herself.- Keep calm. He doesnt know about the wine. There's still a chance to get out of this! Just act natural and trick him into drinking it. When he falls, just run! It didnt matter where to, as long as it wasnt here!-
Probably not the most thought out plan on her part, but it was surely better then letting this pig have his way with her!
She tried to put on her sweetest smile, and she soothed her voice to sound more alluring.
"My King, surely you are thirsty? I've prepared the most delicious wine for you. Please do me the hornor of sharing a glass with me." She batted her big almond eyes at him making her plain face seem much more adorable to him.
"Hahaha! That's good! Alittle wine might loosen you up for me!" His round face shook as he laughed, making her stomach twist at the thought of that slimy face could very well be kissing her at any second.
-Keep calm and just breathe-
She tried to hid the panic she felt in her heart the best she could. She gave him another 'sweet as hunny' smile and walked across the room to pour the wine into two small expensive looking glass cups. The liquid was a dark swirling purple, and fruity fragrance filled the air as soon as the wine started to pour.
The kings body began to feel stiff, and strong scence of familiarity crossed his mind.
-Wait. I know this smell! Is that wine made from gooseberries? The little bitch wants to kill me!-
Rage filled his stomach, bringing a strong spiritual pressure that hung heavily on her shoulders. It felt like thousands of bricks came from the sky with the intention to crush her. Her knees almost buckled from the weight alone.
He spat his words at her as if she was the single most repulsive woman he had ever laid eyes on
"Guards! Arrest this woman at once for treason!"
It felt as if the guards were allready on stand by. Like they knew what was going to happen and were allready waiting to be called just outside the room. The minute the words escaped the kings mouth they were allready breaking threw the door to get to him.
The concubine was absolutely terrified. Her heart fell into her stomach, and her blood ran cold from the fear.
"No, Your Highness! You're mistaken, I would never try to poison you, I've been framed!"
Tears ran down her face, making her big eyes all the all the more pitiful to look at.
The king laughed out loud at the girl. How stupid could she possibly be?
"I never said anything about poison. If you were truly innocent, why would you of know I was angry over the gooseberry wine?" He waved his chunky hand toward the guards, signaling to hurry up and arrest her.
It felt like a brick wall had hit her right in the face. He was right.. she gave herself away! Damit!! This couldn't be happening right now.
Two large guards dressed in silver armor grabbed her by the arms ready to drag her to the dungeons, but right when their hands touched her, an intense smell of smoke invaded the room. A thick black cloud of smoke filled the room, burning their eyes and throats from the sudden invasion.
"What the fuck is going on now?!" The king was furious. First an attempt on his life, and now a fire? Why would the heavens seek to provoke him so?
Without wasting any time, the king turned on his heels and rushed out of the room. When he reached the courtyard, he saw flames taller then trees swallowing everything around them. As far as his eyes could see, there were bright crimson flames dancing around his palace. The heat from the flames burned at his skin making his face red and puffy.
"What started this fire?! Someone put it out allready!!" His heart couldn't handle any more surprises. How could this happen? Were the heavens truly seeking revenge on him?
He subconsciously looked over to where the rest of the palace stood. To his dismay, it seemed nothing was spared from the flame's destruction. Even the palace walls that separated the different branches of the palace couldn't contain such menacing crimson waves. Flames soared over the walls, making the night sky light up in a shade of terrible red.
His mind suddenly blanked. -The treasury is in that direction! All my wealth will be burned to crisps!-
His legs moved on their own as he rushed over to the treasury, his personal guards following his lead, carrying buckets of water from the near by well.
The remaining men tried their best to stop the flames, all of them in a state of panic. When everyone had their eyes on the flames, a man dressed just as the palace guards, stealthily made his way across the concubine's chambers.
The girl was overcame with fear, and could no longer stop her knees from crumbling onto the ash covered ground. No one cared to try and save her, after all, why risk your life for someone that would be only be executed the next day? It was pointless.
Right as she was about to give up on her own life, a man's voice brought her back to her senses.
"Miss, you need to find the strength to stand. My Miss has ordered me to aid in your escape."
The mysterious man had a deep but kind voice, and seemed to carry a superior aura completely different from the common guard. His face was covered with a black mask hiding every thing but his gorgeous green eyes and his head full of ginger hair.
It was like he appeared out of nowhere. Was he among the other guards when they rushed the room? It was possible, everything that happened so far felt like a blur to her.
She was completely in shock by this point. First she thought she would be executed, then the fire, now a strange man and his mysterious Mistress wanted to save her? Who were these people? Why in the heavens good name would she trust anyone that came from this hell of a palace? No way!
Before she even had a chance to regain her strength in her legs, the masked guard bent down and scooped her body up in his arms. She felt a cold sensation from his armor against her skin, that felt comfortable compared to the heat from the flames.
He had a mission to complete, and his Mistress wasn't know for her patience. If he had to wait on this weak little girl to get up on her own, he would surely be reprimanded for being late.
A burst of fear took over the girl from the man's sudden movement, sending her into a frenzy. "Unhand me! Someone! Anyone pleas-" Before she could even finish her cry for help, the man made quick and skillfull work with his hand. He chopped the nape of her neck, just hard enough to knock her into unconsciousness.
Her body became limp, and other then the crackling of the fire and the faint shouts from the palace folk, the room was finaly quiet.
Just as he turned his body to face the door, a young boy's voice called out to him drawing his attention to the doorway.
"Mikel is going to tell Mistress you were rough with a maiden."
Sitting smack in the middle of the door way, was a very nonchalant looking little black cat. It casually licked at it's paw, as if the blazing fire around him was nothing but a warm breeze.
The faux guard knitted his brows together, looking slightly worried about what the cat had said. It was going to tell on him? How would the Mistress react? His Miss was a very 'live in the moment' kind of woman, there was no telling what she would do! She might laugh it off and say good job, or she might go as far as cutting off the hand he used to knock the girl out.
A shiver ran down his spine, and he had to awkwardly cough to clear the lump in his throat.
"If you tell the Miss about this, then I will have no choice but to tell her about you practicing your flame magic and setting the royal chef on fire."
"No, you can't! Mikel didn't mean to catch Mistress's favorite chef on fire! Mikel just wanted him to make some snacks... I didnt know he would quit over some brunt hair.."
"I heard he's completely bald now" The faux guards eyes narrowed at the kitten, it was as if his eyes alone said 'if I go down, you go down with me'.
The girl in his arms began to squirm alittle, bringing both of them back to the current predicament they were in. They didnt have time for this, they had a mission to complete!
"Mikel is going back to Mistress now, you should also escape while you can." The cat lazily lifted his body up, and slinked out the door as they came to a silent understanding.