Mae

Mae quietly walked in front of Ben, with her hands folded in front of her. Her fingers were itching to get into some trouble — explore the back cavities of the castle to see what else she could find. She still wasn’t sure about her task at hand. The princess didn’t give her any reason for an assassination, but she had to remind herself that she wasn’t in this line of business for reasons. All she was supposed to do was be in and out.

This was different, though. Even if she commonly had to put on a disguise, she never had to do it for this long. A disguise for a night to get the kill, not a disguise for an entire festival to get information and a kill.

What had Jameson really put her up to?

As the servant assigned to them lead them to their quarters, she let out a sigh of relief. She hated being lead around and she hated even more that she had to act like she was okay with this servant doing their job. Of course, the servant was another unblessed. She couldn’t be surprised when they were in the capital of the gem nations.

“Do you need anything else, your highness? We can have a bath running for you shortly,” said the servant.

Mae frowned. “What is your name?”

They blanched, their pale face going even paler. “K-Keller, your highness.”

Mae offered the best smile she could muster as she walked toward the small girl. “That will be all for today, Miss Keller. Thank you for your services.” Mae fished into one of the hidden pockets of her dress and pulled out a small bag of coins and held it toward her. “Please take this as a thank you for your services.”

Keller’s brown eyes widened. “I - I couldn’t,” she said. Mae shook her head and held the coins out further. Keller bowed her head and quickly took the coins. “I will be back in the morning to help you prepare for the show.” She backed out of the room, and the door shut quietly behind her.

Ben groaned. “You can’t just go offering the servants money.”

She rolled her eyes and started on a parade around the room to get herself acquainted with all it’s crevices, windows, and hidden compartments. “It’s bad enough that we’re stuck here for however long the festival is — I’m not going to boss around the servants.”

Ben took a seat on the edge of a large wooden chest situated at the end of the four poster bed. “You have to be careful.” He sounded exasperated, but he couldn’t disagree with her.

“Do you know who paid Jameson for this?” She needed to be careful with her words, it was hard to tell who could be listening through the walls.

He shook his head. “I know as much as you do.”

She tried to not look disappointed in his answer. “It just doesn’t make sense.”

“Does any of our jobs often make sense?”

She frowned and walked along one of the walls, her fingers trailing against the ornate wall paper. The guest quarters they’d been assigned to were bigger than she’d ever seen. There was one room for Ben, and then the main room for her plus a large bathroom, balcony, and waiting room. She stopped at the wall when she found exactly what she was looking for.

With a few quick rasps, the wall opened under her hand, revealing a secret corridor. She’d wandered those corridors before, and a small smile creeped up against her lips.

“Really, already?” Ben snorted.

She grinned. “I’ll be quick,” she said. Technically she was supposed to be spying, so maybe she could go find out information about the other visitors and if they had anything to do with her job.

She knew Ben didn’t want her wandering out already, but she couldn’t stay cooped up in these quarters for the rest of the day. There were things to learn in a castle as big as this, and she wanted to learn them all. She turned toward where they had supplied their clothing, and she retreated to the bathroom to quickly change into some black pants, a black shirt, and she put a small black mask over her face and tied her hair back.

Casting one last look at Ben before she disappeared into the corridor, she chuckled. “I’ll be back soon.”

He laid back onto her large bed. “I’m sure you will.”

Before he could argue with her, she eased into the corridor and shut the hidden entrance behind her. The walls were lined with gas lit candles, which casted an orange glow across the floor. She was as silent as a shadow as she wandered the halls. 

She came to a slow as she began hearing a commotion up ahead. She slowed in her steps and peered around a corner. The doorway to the princess’ quarters was open, and a servant covered in blood was crying at the entrance.

An unblessed visitor was killed. Mae’s eyes widened as she listened. They were barely here a few hours and someone was already dead!

She waited a few minutes as the servant, who she learned was named Matthew, returned to the corridor and walked in the opposite direction. A few minutes later the hidden entrance opened again and the princess and their advisor slipped through.

Mae could have scoffed at how dumb they were being. It would be so easy for her to finish the job right now. She could sneak up behind the two of them and slit their throats or strangle them without a single thought. Yet, as she debated getting it over with, she couldn’t help but wonder why the servant had gone to Robin of all people.

As much as she wanted to hate the princess, just so she could finish her job and get the bounty, she immediately recognized that the unblessed trusted her.

Letting her live for a few more days wouldn’t be so bad, Mae was supposed to be getting information anyways.

Mae stuck to the shadows as she followed them, listening to their whispers.

“Who would kill someone?” Robin whispered.

The copper headed advisor shrugged. “We’re in a den of wolves, remember, and your father is the leader of the pack.”

Robin groaned. “You think he did it?”

“I wouldn’t be surprised,” the advisor said. “What are you going to do? I don’t like the corridors, they give me the creeps.”

Mae wouldn’t be surprised either if it were the king’s doing. She tucked away that piece of information to keep herself safe. If the king was already killing unblessed visitors, she could be next. She was posing as a princess, and an unblessed princess from a gem nation was likely enough to make the king go mad.

The further she got from her own quarters, the more she slowed. Robin and her advisor’s whispers were no longer audible at this distance, and it was in that moment that Mae decided she would head back and share what she learned with Ben. If there was someone else here to kill, they could be next.