Adrestia

ONE

Sure that she wasn’t someone that was destined to have a happy ending, she made it her life’s goal to insure she could give a happy ending to as many people as possible.

“Listen, just because you can’t win against someone your own size doesn’t give you the right to pick on people smaller than you,” she called down from where she was standing on the roof. With her arms crossed she leaned against the chimney beside her, face hidden under the shadow of her deep hood. For someone who didn’t know any better, she was unassuming and more nuisance than threat. This soldier was a new one, which means he didn’t know any better.

“Stay out of this unless you want to join her, you vermin,” spat the guard.

Typical of the new soldiers, they thought they were invincible, untouchable, because of the emblem they wore on their coats. The royal crest was the kingdom’s once noble coat of arms covered with a black spider. He puffed out his chest, as if trying to put the gaudy patch on display.

“He’s going to make me deal with him isn’t he?” she rolled her eyes at the young girl on her knees in front of the soldier. The girl smiled, blood dripping from a gash in her forehead making her smile look gruesome.

“Hey!” He was getting annoyed now. “I am speaking to you. Don’t you know who I am?”

“I know who you think you are, but it looks to me like your little friends in the royal enforcers neglected to tell you who I am.”

She was leaping from the roof before he registered the little girl whispering her name. The name that he associated with the biggest traitor to the crown. Moving with the grace of a large jungle cat, the girl in the hood rolled out of her jump and sprang to her feet. She moved so quickly that she was almost a blur of movement, he black clothing concealing her in the shadows.

Her sudden appearance beside the soldier took him by surprise, knocking him off his guard. All of the soldiers in the royal enforcers were the same, they viewed size as a measure of power and with her petite stature they always assumed she would be weak. It made it all the more enjoyable for her when she them down. She could see the shock in his eyes when her foot came in contact with his groin. If he wasn’t above taking cheap shots on little girls, then she was not above taking cheap shots of her own. Bending over, clutching his groin, she didn’t hesitate to send her knee into his nose, causing a sickening crunch. It took all her composure and concentration not to flinch at the sound, a sound that she hated. She hated even more that she was the cause of that sickening sound. Hurting people was not what she wanted to do with her life, but she felt her life was not one that came with a lot of choices.

It was all over before it had really begun, he was far too confident that she was not a threat to really put up much of a fight. Now came the part that she dreaded, the part that kept her up at night. While he lay unconscious at her feet she pulled a knife from the sheath at her waist and with a deep breath, sliced open the achilles tendon on one of his legs. Fighting the bile rising in her throat, she could hear the tendon snap under her knife. He was bleeding a lot, but he will be fine. There will be a patrol that found him before he has the chance to bleed out, she was going to make sure of that. She always did.

The little girl looked confused when she pulled out a thick cloth and tied it tightly around his wound.

“I don’t like to hurt them more than necessary if I can help it,” she whispered, “It would make me no better than them and I refuse to sink to their level.”

“Adrestia.”

“Go,” cutting her off before she could say anything more, “there will be more soldiers coming by here soon. You don’t want to be anywhere near here when they find him.”

She nodded and ran, understanding that when a soldier is found injured his comrades don’t pause to ask questions. They are quick, and happy to dole out consequences. Quickly finishing tying the bandage, she stood and ran as well but in the opposite direction. Once sure that she was out of earshot from the little girl and the soldier unconscious in the street she allowed herself to feel what she had just done. Allowing herself to consider the pain she had just inflicted on the soldier. It was what had to be done, she knew that, short of killing him, this was the only way to keep him off the streets and away from innocent people. When she started protecting the down trodden she thought knocking them out was enough, that it would teach them a lesson but it backfired. Soldiers often found their victim again and blamed them for the incident. To keep the people safe she needed to make certain they would no longer serve the crown. The king had no use for soldiers who couldn’t walk, and thus her solution was born.

Tears streamed down her face as she choked out the contents of her stomach. She hated what she was doing, but she would hate herself even more if she did nothing. The kingdom called her a traitor, and that is exactly what she was. Constantly betraying the King so that she would never be forced to betray what she knew was right.

The picture of strength, the people’s hero, she laughed bitterly to herself, if only Alistair Noble could see me now.

Thadeous Noble, the captain of the King’s enforcers. He was the man tasked by the king to find her, and to take her down. He was the one who trained his men on how to deal with her and not underestimate her. She would be quite flattered if she felt like she deserved it. As she wiped the vomit from her mouth she was reminded that she was an imposter. The people saw her as their hero, as their defender. They didn’t know who she really was or how pathetic she really was.

When it came down to it, Odette Basilious was nothing more than a little girl fighting against her father.

Odette had been sneaking in and out of the castle for a few years now. It took her a while, and a few close encounters, to perfect her routine. She needed to make it back to her room without being spotted in her dark clothing, but if she removed it and changed too soon there would be questions about what the princess was doing so far from her room so late at night. Odette was sure if she were caught she could explain her way out of it, but that would involve King Rufas and she hated her father. She avoided her father as much as she could. The King’s deep growl of a voice only reminded her of dark rooms and broken bones. He didn’t hurt her that way anymore, he didn’t think he needed to. King Rufas broke his daughter a long time ago. Only he didn’t realize that she had put herself back together again piece by piece, jagged and fragmented but no longer crumpled at his feet. Odette would do everything in her power to make sure he didn’t find out until she was ready. Until she was strong enough to end his reign of terror. For now she would play the dutiful, meek, and submissive princess.

For now.