When I woke up, I felt reborn.
Oh, beds. How much I have missed them.
It's been almost two weeks since I last slept on cushions and proper sheets, and oh my, does it feel good. No matter that the room I stayed in was small, equipped only with a small bed and a small chest of drawers, this place felt comfortable. It was just chaotic enough for my liking.
As I opened the top drawer, I saw it wasn't empty, there were clothes inside. And not just any clothes, clothes I happened to specifically ask for, pants. Fucking pants, dude!
I have never worn pants before! I was so excited t finally put them on.
And, wait… does that mean… how did the pants get in the drawer? And where did my old clothes go?
He couldn't have entered my room at night, could he? Not while I was asleep. Asleep naked!
Oh, he did, didn't he. Damn asshole watched me sleep.
Ok, Alex, calm down now. He just brought you clothes, it doesn't mean he stayed longer or that he saw anything.
Thank goddesses, for putting some reason in my brain and keeping it fro jumping to conclusions.
You might think I am overreacting, but I am a shy person. Yes, regardless of my profession! That was different, it was necessary for survival. Besides, a mask on your face and a new name to your body make it easy for you to pretend to be someone else.
Chasing these thoughts away, I got dressed and went downstairs. The prince was nowhere to be found, thankfully, but there was a new face there instead of him.
"So you must be Alex, Evren told me all about you." Said a fair-looking girl. She must have been around my age, her long blonde hair hugging her smiling face perfectly.
"Melian, right?" I smiled at her.
"Yes and don't worry, your name is safe with me. I'll keep it from the prince, with whom, I hear, you have an exciting thing going on?" I chuckled, her curiosity was just too precious. She clearly didn't have any filter, so we are sure to be friends.
"I mean if that's what you would call the 'I destroyed my home to escape him and was then on a run for two weeks before he employed me' story, then yes. Really exciting."
She laughed at my little joke that has been my life and I started liking her immediately.
"And how did you ended up here?"
"Just wanted a job, to be honest. Imagine my surprise when the prince, the damn prince, found me and offered me a job. Me! A woman!" She shook her head in disbelief and some frustration.
"Yeah, that must have been an experience," I scoffed, thinking how much it must have hurt him for actually employing a woman. "how long have you been working for him?"
"About three weeks, which reminds me," she looked kind of nervous all of the sudden, "is it true?"
"Is what true?" I asked, confusion clear in my voice.
"Um…the prince employs everyone with a reason. Evren is a skilled fighter and a chemist, I am quite a good thief, may I say so, and you…are you really…"
"Yes, I'm a witch." I said confidently.
"I can't believe it!" She got all excited, to my relief. For a moment there I thought she had some irrational fear of witches. "I have never met a witch before! I thought you were extinct!"
"Well, nearly. Thanks to the king." …and the prince.
"Ugh, yes. The king." She said with disgust. "Can't wait to overthrow him, he is a despicable human being."
And that he is. There are stories, rumours, circling around about our dear king Rikkard. Stories about how he got the crown, how he beheaded everyone in his way and then feasted on their flesh. The stories of king Rikkard are stories of war and immense violence. It is even rumoured that the king killed his own wife, the queen, when she refused to give him more children. It is said that after murder, the king threw the body in garbage bin, as if she were the biggest trash on the world.
I wonder if that's part of the reason why the prince wants to take crown from his father. Besides all the power-hungry thing, of course.
"This missions the prince gives us?" I asked carefully, "are we allowed to discuss them with each other?"
"Oh, yeah. We will work on most of them together, so that's not the problem."
"What kind of missions, though? How do you overthrow a king without making the kingdom look weak?" I wondered. I'm sure other kingdoms would gladly attack this one, if there were rumours about an improper ruler.
"That's mostly my job, espionage. I make sure that whatever we do to make the king seem improper stays inside of the castle and no information leak." Melian elaborated. "It is Evren, who has trickier responsibilities. He is feeding king with small amounts of arsenic to make him feel weaker and more open to manipulation from Covyn's side. He also fakes attacks from other kingdoms, Evren tell Alex how you once blew the stables up."
I didn't even see Evren enter, but the smiles the pair has exchanged did go unmissed. "That was a fun day," he said, still eying Melian wishfully, "I planted some home-made bombs on the stables, stole two horses and replaced them with the remains from the butcher, to make it look like they exploded."
"I think that was the first time I actually saw our wicked prince impressed. I just wish I could've seen it. I bet it must have been magical!" Melian clapped her hands excitedly, exchanging glances with Evren and I suddenly felt like imposing. I made some stupid excuse and left the love birds alone. What craziness did I get myself in. A fun one, my brain pointed out and I found myself smiling.
I have decided that with nothing better to do, I could go back to the used-to-be cottage and see if there's anything worth taking still there. And surprisingly enough there was.
The place was a total mess; books, clothes, cushions and candlesticks laid everywhere around, most of them shattered in pieces.
Nevertheless, I have gotten to work. I packed my clothes, some of the books and candles. As I was removing the pieces of wood from the selected items, I accidently stumbled upon one of the Ro's old toys.
Oh, Ro. How much I miss you.
The stuffed bunny was my gift to her for her tenth birthday. The gift I tore from some rich child's hands in cold blood, right from his own backyard. The poor toy lost an eye in the battle, but that detail is what gave it the character, or at least that's what Ro used to say.
Reliving the memories, I have decided it was time for me to call my sister. But first, I took the stuff I gathered back home and destroyed all the evidence of civilized life in the woods.
I left a message to Evren and Melian, telling them I went fishing.
Which wasn't a complete lie. I did go to the river, mainly to see Ro again, but since I'm already there, I could make myself useful.
On my way to the river I picked the few ingredients I needed for the spell to work and hoped that I will actually be successful. The last time I casted this spell was when mothers went on a mission when I was 13.
I rubbed the leaves in my hands and chanted the words for the mirror to appear in the water. For the final touch, I dipped my hands in the water and made circular motions, while whispering Ro's name.
A few moments later the mirror actually appeared and the relief swam over my body. Inside of it I saw my dear sister smiling and waving at me.
"Hey, sis. How are you?" She asked all excited to see me again after few days.
"A lot, actually." I replied and told her where have the life had brought me.