《The Hunt》Chapter 29- Laughing in the Face of Possible Death
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Cecily was headed in the direction of the capital where a false king sat on a throne that belonged to her king.
Two days after leaving her old town and house along with her father and friends, she caught sight of the modernized city that nearly glowed white the way the sun reflected off the smooth buildings.
When she was little and she traveled to the same city to sell her animal skins, she took time to admire the view. When she was a little older, after her mother threatened her fathers life, she never dared go this far from her home in fear of what that woman would do. Now, she was too focused on hiding from the general authorities and police officers to enjoy the view. They weren't the one she wanted to be caught by.
In the middle of the day, her hair blazed like wildfire, making her an easy target. Luckily, the weather was still cold, so no one stopped to question her when she pulled the hood of her jacket up, covering both her frigid ears and warm hair.
From long lost memories and the ride up a few months ago, she'd easily memorized the way to the castle.
Getting in was the easy part.
She didn't need the disguises or to use force. Not that a disguise would help. In a place like this, guards were I.D.'d upon entry. It made her really wonder how the slave trader had managed to kill the king.
So, she simply walked up to the front door, locked now that a new King, that slave trader named Rosalynd, was preparing for her coronation. The two guards, who the hunter was positive she could beat, if need be, looked down at her from above their overgrown noses.
She smiled smoothly, pulling the hood off and putting her hands up.
"Cecily Earnheart, wanted for murder and assisting former prince Zephyr, at your service."
She let them tackle her, taking her to the ground with a thud. She let them disarm her, like her weapons were all that she could hurt them with. She let them throw her in a prison with a bloody nose, a bruised eye, and no resistance.
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"The King will want to see her," one of the guards said, on their way out.
Perfect.
---
Two hours had passed and she was bored out pf her mind. Using her cybernetic hand, she'd quietly dug a hold in the ground, nearly reaching the surface, just to prove she could.
When the door clicked, she covered it up with the excess dirt and sat on top of it, compressing the dirt.
She let the guards drag her out and even put up with a wandering hand resting on her hip. He'd have to go, later though.
They dragged her until she sat in a room, surrounded by accusing eyes of people.
Cecily ignored them all, searching for a single shaking man.
"Cecily Earnheart," a loud, feminine voice said. "A pleasure to finally meet you."
"And you, slave trader," she replied, letting her eyes glance at the busty woman for a moment. "I had planned on meeting you at around this time. You were, however, supposed to be a bit more bloodied up."
She laughed.
Ah, there he was. That shaking man who stood in the back of the room the day she'd met the previous king. In the back of her head, she congratulated the man on still being alive, but lying was what these nobles and politicians were good at. He nodded at her, knowing what needed to be done.
"I was beginning to thin-"
"What am I being held for?" Cecily deadpanned, smirking at the King.
"What?" She muttered, clearly pissed that she'd been interrupted by some murderer.
"I'm being held under law, aren't I? What for?"
"Of course you're being held by law. For the murderer of your mother and conspiring with the former prince."
"A few more murders, now. Those people I killed under Zephyr's name are no longer legal. Oh, and running which I think is considered resisting arrest or something like that. Breaking and entering. Assault. You're really missing somethings here. You'll have to work on it if you want to be king."
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The woman looked a bit shocked. Cecily didn't both covering the chuckle that escaped her lips at the raised eyebrow and dark glare. This woman wanted to execute the criminal on the palace floors, but a King-to-be who did not obey the laws that could only be changed by a King, was a criminal. Therefore, she could not
So, Cecily smiled. She was having fun.
"Y-yes."
"Good. Now that we have that out of the way, I've been granted immunity."
"What?" Now she looked confused.
"It's true," the shaking man finally said. All the eyes landed on him. "The former King, gods bless his soul, wrote a grant for her and I bore witness." From his pocket, he took a nicely folded piece of paper. "I was also the keeper of it. It reads as such. 'Should Cecily Earnheart be taken captive by anyone with a claim to the throne, she is to be cleared of all suspicion if the following conditions are met. No member of the guard, the nobles, or the royal family is to be killed by her hands upon her arrest. Zephyr is to be alive. The previous king is to be killed and no death by any other means. If these conditions are met, Cecily Earnheart and I are to be cleared of all suspicion and granted immunity for seventy-two hours.'" The man looked up from the paper.
Cecily looked up at the guards.
"Now get your hands off me."
They stared at the King to be who was currently grinding her pearly teeth.
"I said," she repeated, her tone chilling, "get your hands off of me."
Her eyes, and the entire room's, were trained on Rosalynd who's body was tense.
"Let her go."
---
Outside of the palace, under the scrutinizing eyes of the guards, the man and her dressed in the warmest clothing they could find.
Slowly, he took her hand. She almost slapped him, but felt something smooth in his palm.
"Thank you, for keeping the king alive," he said, smiling warmly at her, despite his weak features.
She took the small item, pulling it under her sleeve and hiding it from anyone who could see.
The man, who's name she did not know, pulled her into a weak hug, burying his face in her hair.
"The rest of the agreement," he whispered.
Her skin cooled as he pulled away, but she did not miss the warmth of the man who was nearly a stranger to her.
"Will you be safe?" She asked as the two of them walked, the guards walked closely behind. After all, there was nothing saying they couldn't follow her. They just couldn't touch her. She didn't worry. The hunter was good at avoiding the eyes of the prey and right now, she had her eyes set on the entire kingdom.
He nodded, "I have family out of country. It'll be two days trip, but they can't touch me once I'm out."
She almost laughed at the lightness of his sentence, seeing the irked looks of the guards when they didn't so much as acknowledge them.
"May I ask you something, Ms. Earnheart?"
She nodded, burying her nose in the new scarf.
"Why did you not kill the slave trader when you had the opportunity? If you killed her then you'd be King. Then you could've passed it on to the true King."
"Zephyr needs to be the one to do it. If the people can see that he's strong then he will make a better king. They'll see him as a better King when he does it for himself." After all. He hadn't even managed to win the crown game. That never looked good to anyone.
The first thing he'd done as a royal was fail.
She gave the man a sideways glance. "How do you know I wouldn't take the title for myself."
He answered simply.
"Because you came back."
-Author's Note-
Sorry it took so long to update and sorry for the short chapter, but I figured you'd all want a short chapter over nothing at all.
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