The palace was in uproar. Servants hurried this way and that, adjusting flower arrangements and hanging ornaments in random places. Even though everything had been prepared the day before, everyone knew that the palace had to be of utmost perfection. The first day of the Imperial Ball would take place in the evening, just before sunset. But before that, Abella had somewhere to be.

Abella dismissed Mary to go help with the preparations for the Imperial Ball, and quickly put on a black cloak. Making sure her windows were closed and her doors locked, Abella snapped her fingers and a white glow consumed her, just as she appeared behind a small shop in a dark alleyway. Just as Abella was about to leave, three guys saw her.

They were all wearing rugged, plain clothing – they were obviously street thugs. To further emphasise this fact, they all had a scar somewhere in a visible spot – on the arm, the face, the leg, the hand, the list went on and on. Smirking, they approached her and she gave them cold, icy glares that warned them not to approach her.

“Hey, where’re you going, little girl?” the bald one said, stepping closer to Abella.

“That’s none of your concern,” Abella said calmly, but her icy glare remaining. “Please leave me alone.”

“What nice manners – you must be a noble lady.” The guy with a scar on his eye snickered.

“Now what’s a pretty little rich noble lady doing out somewhere here?” the third, the shortest thug out of the three, sneered. “I bet you would fetch a pretty penny from your daddy. Or if not your precious daddy, then I’m sure others would pay a hefty sum for a blondie like you.”

Abella scowled and glared at them with disdain.

“How feisty, little lady. But you should know that you’re in no position to refuse us…” the scar-eyed man said, reaching out to grab her arm.

“Don’t touch me,” Abella swatted his arm away and remained with her calm disposition.

“You’re such a stubborn girl. You’re not even that pretty, so get off your high horses! Just come with us before we have any trouble here,” the short man snapped. He seemed to have the shortest fuse amongst them.

“No.” Abella said simply. “I don’t want to go anywhere with lowlifes like you. Who do you all think your are, trying to kidnap young children? Anyways, you were the ones that caused trouble here first as soon as you stepped in my path. So I warn you – don’t touch me.”

“Now listen here you little bitch—” the bald man growled, reaching his hand out to grab Abella by the hair. Quick as a flash, Abella grabbed his arm and twisted it, then let him go as he stumbled away in pain. They were obviously expecting her to be easy prey, but she wouldn’t let them take her.

“How dare you!” the bald man stood up again and glared at Abella, only to come face-to-face with her pointer finger as it rested on his forehead in a finger gun. He was surprised for a heartbeat, then smirked, “is this the best you can do, little girl? For all your cockiness, I would’ve thought you’d have more to back it up—”

Abella smiled as she fired with her finger gun and calmly said, “bang.”

In less than a second, a light blue magic circle the size of Abella’s palm appeared at the tip of her pointer finger and suddenly, a pulse of energy emanated from it. The thugs were pushed back from the force as Abella withdrew her hand. They weren’t dead, but they would surely have some broken bones. As Abella exited the alleyway, she smiled to one of the thugs on the ground, “I warned you.”

Even as he lay on the ground in pain, the man couldn’t help but shudder. How could a mere fourteen-year-old girl be so scary?

Leaving the thugs in the alleyway, Abella approached a small shop that seemed innocent enough from the exterior. When she entered, there were shelves upon shelves of bottles with strange-coloured fluids inside – mystical purples, ruby reds, blood scarlets, amber yellows, and many more. Ignoring all the shelves, Abella breezed past them and headed straight up to the counter.

“I would like the antidote to Arsenic,” Abella said to the person behind the counter.

“What?” the man looked surprised before he said, “now, don’t use big words you don’t understand, girl. Arsenic is a poison – people might get the wrong idea about what you just said.”

“I know,” Abella stated firmly. “I meant exactly what I said. I want the antidote to Arsenic – the most dangerous, deadly poison that could kill a person slowly and painfully with a single drop.”

“I-It seems you know what you’re talking about, girl.” The man said, visibly taken aback. “W-Well then, I’m afraid to tell you that we don’t have Arsenic, nor the cure to it, in this shop. You’d have better luck elsewhere, little girl.”

“Better luck elsewhere… such as in the shop safe?” Abella smiled emptily.

The man was intrigued. Not many people, much less outsiders, knew of the variety of dangerous poisons inside the shop safe underground through a magic barrier. Yet, a young girl in a cloak that appeared randomly one day in front of their shop had known about it. Either rumour had gotten out, or this girl wasn’t who she seemed to be.

“How much do you know?” the man suddenly turned serious.

“I know enough to be able to locate exactly where the safe of dangerous poisons are.” Abella replied, a confident gaze in her eyes that seemed sure that she would end up triumphant.

“Fine then. Looks like I’ll have to get rid of you then. I apologise, but you know too much to remain alive.” The man suddenly lunged forward at Abella with a knife, but she swiftly dodged them and chopped his upper arm with her hand, making him lose his grip on his knife. Quick as a flash, she grabbed the knife from midair and held it up to the man’s throat as he froze, leaning over the counter.

“I suggest that you do not do anything rash and simply give me the antidote I require,” Abella said icily.

“Well, you can’t get it for free. Do you know that even a drop of Arsenic is incredibly expensive, not to mention the cure?” the man said.

“So it is money you are worried about?” Abella pulled back the knife from the man’s throat, tucking it away inside an unseen pocket and pulled out a bag of gold coins from inside her cloak. “I believe that this should cover it.” Abella dropped it on the counter with a loud clunk as the coins inside jingled. The man’s eyes widened in surprise, and his gaze flitted to Abella’s serious expression, then back down at the money before him.

“Well, it seems that we do have a cure to Arsenic, after all.” The man smiled. “Just give me a moment and I will return with what you seek.” He disappeared into a door behind the counter and reappeared not long after with a small vial containing a mesmerizingly blue liquid. It seemed to glow through the diamond-shaped glass bottle. It had a crystal cork with a blue rim, but the rest of the bottle was transparent.

Handing it to Abella, the man took the money and said, “thank you for shopping at Poison Ivy. I hope to see you here again, young lady.”

Abella smiled and slipped the vial in her cloak, the bell at the door tinging as she left.