Mae

The inside of the small pub was crawling with folks from all over Azure. Luckily, Mae had secured a nice room upstairs in the inn, away from the bustling crowds. As long as she ignored the ruckus in the rooms around her, she might actually be able to get a nights rest.

Sitting across from her at their table, Jameson twirled a bullet between his gloved finger tips. He looked down over circular spectacles, purposefully ignoring her watchful gaze. A fresh, pink scar was etched into his black skin just above his brow, almost covered by peppered hair. She'd never liked the leader of the Wolves, but he was the one paying her, so she wasn't going to complain.

"Are you sure you can do this job, Mae?" His voice was like chalk, likely from years of using the pipe. The smoke always smelled disgusting and like tobacco hjuy,.land was practically glued to his lips wherever he went. He took one long drag as smoke filled the air. He rose a brow, clearly impatient for an answer.

She frowned. "Yes." She didn't have much of a choice. She owed the Wolves a debt. Declining a job could be fatal, more so than refusing the work she was supposed to do. She tossed a strand of strawberry blond hair over her shoulder.

He smiled, revealing two missing teeth. "You'll leave tonight, a car will pick you up and take you to the Azure court."

It wouldn't be the first time she'd wandered the court hallways and yards under the guise of night. She tilted her head and crossed her arms as she leaned back into the seat. She took a swig of ale. "And whose my target?" She hoped it would be someone she could take out quickly, she didn't quite like sticking around for too long.

Jameson leaned across the table. He finally met her gaze, his grey eyes catching her blue. She had always thought he might have been handsome in his younger years, before all the bullet holes and wounds. "This will not be a quick task." He looked at her from down his nose. "You'll be infiltrating the court under the guise of being a princess from Diamandis, visiting for the decennial festival. There will be heavy guards in the court."

Her cheeks grew warm, and her eyes went wide. Usually she was fairly good at hiding her emotions. "Infiltrate?" She gulped. "And whose my target?" She couldn't imagine who she'd be going after if she needed to be that careful. She wasn't one who liked to extend her stays with her targets. She was an in and out type of girl.

Leaning back into his chair, a small smirk spread against his lips. "Princess Robin."

She blinked. The princess? Who would want the pretty blood princess dead? Mae gripped her glass, which turned her white knuckles red. She pressed her lips into a line. "Whose ordering this?"

Jameson scoffed out a laugh. "That's none of your business."

She frowned. "I think I have every right to know who I'm working for, especially for something as delicate as this." Jameson could be such an ass sometimes.

"Let's make this clear, Mae, you work for me. They pay me to pay you to get the job done. Got it?" His voice was rough and hard, leaving no room for arguments. "Do you want me to pass this off to another Wolf? This is the biggest bounty we've ever had, and you better bet your sorry ass your lucky I'm even assigning you this job."

She held back a bite of a retort. He was practically assigning her to a suicide mission! She couldn't deny the sound of such a large bounty was intriguing. "Will I be going solo?"

He shook his head. "You'll be going with Ben, he'll be acting as your advisor from Diamandis." He glanced toward the small stage where dancers were beginning to to come from behind the curtain, clad in barely a cloth on their lean bodies.

At least she wouldn't be going to the court alone.

Before she could argue further, Jameson coughed as he took another breath of his tobacco. "You'll be leaving at midnight. Your papers are already in your room. And for the love of all the unholy things in this damned place, please don't be an idiot about this. Take her out before the festival ends, but not too soon." He took another long drag. "Try to get as much information about those around her before you do. No specifics, just what you can." 

She held back all retorts she had, knowing arguing with the crew leader would be useless. He was a serious man. She wasn't sure if she'd ever seen him smile in all the years she'd known him.

Jameson waved his hand, dismissing her from their impromptu meeting.

Sucking in a breath, she hadn't realized she'd been holding it until she was pushing through the pub's tables and making her way toward the staircase. The wood groaned under her heels as she ascended. Pulling her key from her pocket, she walked into her small room for the next few hours.

Strewn across the bed was a black dress, and sitting beside it were the papers. As she wandered toward it, she was curious as to how Jameson had gotten such serious paperwork done. Making people believe she was a princess from some other land wasn't going to be an easy task. Who had called in this kill order? 

Sitting on the edge of the bed, she chewed the inside of her lip as she read over what had been provided. It wasn't much, just traveling documentation. "Runea," she read her new name carefully. It felt weird on her tongue and she made a sarcastic gag as she sat the papers down and turned toward the dress.

The dress looked more expensive than anything she'd ever owned. Sparkling black beads covered the neckline all the way to the bottom. She held it in front of her, and it glittered against the soft moonlight streaming in from her window.

She wasn't sure how she felt about killing the princess. From everything she knew of Robin, she was diplomatic and careful, which was far different than her father who sat on the throne. Why not just kill the king and let the princess take over? Over the last few decades, the king had done nothing but throw the lowest of citizens further into poverty to fund his stupid wars.

"All right, Mae, get ahold of yourself," she whispered as she closed her eyes and took in a shaky breath. She could do this. She'd only ever failed a few missions, and she wasn't going to add this to the list. Maybe this one would be enough to fulfill her debt to the Wolves and get as far away from Azure as humanly possible.

Going toward the bathroom, she took a quick bath. The moon was ascending higher. As she shimmied on the dress and did her hair, she glanced out the small, singular window in her tiny room. A sleek, brown car sat waiting for her. The fact she was being sent in a car was already shocking but one this nice? She could faint at the very thought.

A few rasps at her door made her jump. She peeked through the tiny peep hole. Ben stood outside, arms crossed. She could have laughed at how bored he always looked.

She strapped in a dagger and a pistol beneath her skirts before she opened the door to meet the Wolf's gaze. Quickly grabbing her paperwork, she put it into a small bag she'd found sitting on the bed. She didn't bring her own things with her, except for a few articles of clothing. If Jameson didn't take care of the few belongings she had, she was going to rip the old mans head off.

Ben looked down at her, an entire head taller than her. "You ready?" He wasn't one to bullshit, which was one reason he was one of the more tolerable Wolves.

She gave a small nod and followed him down the stairs and away from the pub. As she climbed into the car, she took a deep breath. She held her chin high, already attuning herself to role she was going to have to fall into. Gazing out the long window, she quietly counted the hours as they started toward the Azurean royal court.