Villainus || Folkelore

Chapter 8

I drop to the ground, my black cape fluttering around me. Deimos, this is so cliche. Father sent me to get another one of those pins, and I'm wearing a black cape with the hood up in the dark to blend in. It's disgusting, but I have no choice unless I want to get caught and thrown in someone's smelly dungeon.

Rolling my shoulders, I watch for a second before creeping forward. The shadows are my cover and my friends. They protect me from prying eyes. Keeping my movements fluid, I press up against the wall and check my surroundings.

The guards change positions, and I continue onward. Looking ahead of me, the house stretches as far as the eyes can see. A very blatant show of power and money, but it's beautiful. As a kid, Father always tested my sleuthing skills by getting information from him. I had to sneak into the house or his office or overhear snatches of his conversations and piece them together. Whatever it took.

It was exhausting work, but look at me now. Infiltrating any place I need to be without a single glance in my direction.

Just a couple more days, and I won't be subjected to these dangerous missions. I'll be free.

In some ways.

I push the thoughts out of my head, and latch onto the side of the house. This climb will take a clear head to make it in time to not be spotted. My fingers and toes find the holds like they were marked with neon signs. The climb is fast, and soon I'm slipping into a dark, hopefully empty, bedroom. My footfalls are near silent compared to the pounding of my heart. Things won't end well if I get caught. My eyes scan the room, looking for a place someone would leave their accessories. A desk, a side table, a bookshelf. Anything.

A small glint of metal reflects the full moon to my right.

Gotcha.

I pick it up and examine it next to the pin I took from Lord Rothschild. A perfect match. Come to think of it, I've seen these pins somewhere else before. I can't quite put my finger on where...

A noise sounds in one of the nearby rooms, and I startle. Voices float through the air, heading towards me. My instincts kick in, and I make for my exit. It's going to be hard to leave the same way I came, but it looks like that might be my only option. Glancing out the window, I check to make sure the guards aren't rotating through. As I peek, a tree branch taps the side of the house. Slowly, a smile grows on my face. Looks like I just found my escape route.

The handle of the door clicks, and I tuck myself into the branches of the tree, disappearing in plain sight.

A young woman arrives at the window, giggling. "I guess I forgot to close the window earlier. The room should be plenty cool tonight."

A man answers her, but I'm already creeping down the tree. The rest of my departure is smooth and I'm walking up to Father's study in no time at all. Straightening my shoulders, I knock. He calls me in, and I drop the pins on his desk.

He picks them up and examines them the same way I did. I bite my tongue to keep from pointing that out. When all seems right, he tucks them into his jacket pocket with a nod.

"We need to discuss your upcoming nuptials. Sit."

Meaning: I'm going to tell you what I expect to gain from your marriage.

I take the chair, keeping everything ramrod straight and my eyes forward.

"Marrying the Scle King will be a great benefit to our family and Court if you do it well. You know your responsibilities to your Court."

Great, he's trying to guilt trip me. I love it when this happens.

"You know the consequences of failure, daughter."

I nod, working hard to keep my features void of any and all emotion. He'll only use those to further manipulate me. Once I'm gone though, he'll have no control over me. There might be other problems, but being a slave to my Father won't be one of them.

Father dismisses me with a flick of his wrist, and I calmly walk from the room while everything inside me tells me to run. The second I'm in my room, I collapse to the ground.

I'm doomed. I'm marrying a man I thought loved me, but upon closer inspection it appears he just wants what I can do for him. If only I would've known sooner.