In the hollows of the floating mountains, separated by harbour of sea and small village dwellings, I made my way through the undergrowth of the mangroves. The brush rubbed my hip that had been torn horizontally only a few days prior. Barefoot, I wove my way across the field that led to the opening of the riverbend. The roads were not safe at night, however I was, with the blades that were strapped to my thighs. Grigor had given me them four full moons ago, and they have been silently swaying between the fabric of my pants and my skin ever since. The sun had set many hours ago and I realized that soon the red dawn would come upon the horizon. My pace quickened as I now darted in and out of different villages. I passed through the clotheslines and darting between the chairs and pottery that had been strewn across the grounds, until I reached another crop. Then, I absentmindedly grabbed an orange off of one of the trees as I finally reached where the river flowed down all the way to meet the capitol. The stars were no longer visible and a dark blue began to emerge from the early morning dawn. The route was tedious and impractical however I still followed the stream until I reached a landbridge between the mainland and an island protected by the rapids of the Hutyu river. Skipping across the rocks poking through the water until I came to the island, I finally breathed a breath of relief.

It wasn't until I reached almost the center that I reoriented myself and found the tree I was looking for. Although Elm was my favourite tree, long gone from this earth, it was easier to hide things in the hollows of pine. My fingers touched the rippled skin of the tree in the dark until I found the hollow where the note had been placed. I waited a few more minutes until the sky was almost red, when I could read the printing. Took the words down and stored them in my memory, locked tight as a vault. However, I remembered that I still needed to reseal the now broken seal, and so, I swung around my backpack and got to work. The paste and extra wax set well, albeit I did wave it around to try and help air dry it. With pink entering the sky I put the letter back into the tree and hastily made my way across the landbridge. Not before seeing a capital brigade float down the river boasting chandeliers and fancy lettering upon the side. Disgusting, I thought while I leapt across the rocks. My mind started working double time and therefore my teeth were grinding so hard my jaw muscles ticked. And then, in between grabbing another orange and tucking it into my pocket, I saw it.

Only a flicker of a shadow, only a second, only a figure. But what it meant, oh what it meant was that no one would be enjoying a quiet supper tonight. Such blundering idiots, don't trust me to do my own job, I thought with vile, they're gonna get us all killed.

With that, I made my way through the dwellings and along the train tracks this time until I reached my village. People were now rising and there was work that needed to be done in the capital, that most people were getting ready to do now. The train for Drosca was taking off in half an hour so I quickly worked my way through the main part of the city until I reached Grigor's shop. The bell didn't chime as I walked through, and I realized that it was out of commission and nowhere in sight. "Grigor?", I called out to an empty shop.

"Yeah," he answered from the back room, semi groggily, "What do you want?"

I walked until I was face to face with him, "Cmon dyo, you have to get up you have orders you have to fill".

"Fuck the capital and their orders," Grigor muttered with one arm over his head and the other holding a bottle of ale in his other.

Which I subsequently took out of his hand. I grabbed his other and slung it around my shoulder, and then helped him walk to the bathroom. To which, he then stopped and told me that he could bathe himself, which ended in me slamming the door closed behind him when he went in. When I left the door chimed above me. Although I was not a great blacksmith like my brother, I could screw a bell back onto a door frame-which was something he would completely forget about. The train station was only a few minutes away but I might have been late if I didn't run, so I took back alleys until I reached the platform. A small portion of the hundreds who commute to work everyday were waiting on the platform until the train finally croaked into the station. Because I was smaller I slipped through the gaps between people fairly easily and found a spot where I could actually grab onto the wall. These trains weren't like the ones that you heard of in other kingdoms in the world like Juvian, Giordan, Feiv or Karoj. These were the trains reserved specifically for the poor folks of Yiurkov.

The train smelled musty, and I finally found a place to sit down on the ripped upholstery beside an old woman who looked at me and smiled. It wasn't that out of the ordinary, however it did seem suspicious for this early in the morning while most of us were pretty much on our way to slave labour. The train passed the city Ghys before hitting the capital, meaning we were going to have to stop there and allow more people in. It already is packed when it starts at our outskirts- which is why only the poorest take the train, everyone who can afford to not be packaged in like a day old sardine package left in the sun for too long would take the opportunity to not.

And yet, two men wearing cut silver blazers entered my cart.

My blades felt like a sear into my skin and the garter around my thighs tightened to where it hurt because every muscle in my body had tensed upon seeing them. I turned to the old lady, however she had disappeared. Without a second thought I was moving, whether or not the men were on here for me or not, I simply couldn't risk being caught either way. Making my way through people in the train, touching waists and wrists as I walked by- sure to keep light footed and unseen by anyone around me. Once I had wormed my way to the back of the train I was sure I at least was granted a small mercy, because unless the men wanted to cause a scene to get everyone to move out of the way, there were at least fifty jam packed people between them and I.

We stopped five times in the capital city before we reached the main town square centre, when Macillian Station was announced by the speakers. The majority of people were looking to get off of the train which was a relief because I was able to get away from the men without any real incidence. The streets were contrasting in size, age, and style- from cobblestone paths made from a fairyland dream, a raceway that outlined the city in a haphazard way; and everything in between. The fairyland daydream is often the path that I choose, it's also the path where people on me would get preyed on the most, because they would suspect the good people to choose the good paths into different parts of the city.

Hence the knives.

When no one touched me as I approached a familiar bend in the tuscan style left side of the street, I allowed my fingers to trace the wall as I walked by. I used my momentum to grasp onto the edge of the building and the alleyway that separated it and the next building. My fingers slid easily into the grooves and I managed to put my back quickly against it when I heard the two men from the train who had been following me this entire time slow down and start talking quieter as they approached the alley. They stared long and hard at me, and I barely let my breath falter as they looked around further and then continued on their way rather confused. Suddenly, a hand grasped my wrist and the knife from my left thigh was aimed directly at their jugular. Ismund simply smiled crookedly at me and I loosed a breath but then slapped him on the shoulder for just about giving me a heart attack.

"Pretty effective nuance, hey?" Ismund asked while he nudged my shoulder with his.

I sighed, "Wouldn't have to have been so effective if they had executed me when they got on board at Ghys".

He looked over at me in slight shock, but not the kind that filled his features-he had come to peace with as quickly as he had understood it. That prick.

"Wait, no," I looked at him accusingly as we slowly started to walk back into the barracks, "You were at point 9 this morning watching over me, you probably even took the train with me too. What? To make sure I'm doing my job correctly? This is-"

"Ruthie, you've only been here for what-six months? Yes, I checked in on you, but I never interfered and also this is only your third real drop," Ismund turned and looked at me fiercely, "This is for your own good, you see how they are".

Indeed I have, and so I only offered him a slight muttering of apologies and then scolded him for using my name in such a childish way. He only laughed at me as we were finally at the entrance of the barracks, and pricked his hand with the edge of his blade- smearing it along the skin-like texture of the door. Ismund did not flinch as his blood was absorbed, and the door clicked as if to say 'open me'.

We indulged it, obviously, and entered into the larger mess hall where around fifteen people were lounging. Ismund said a few words to some people as they passed, however none really spoke to me. Out of the small number of women who were in the group, only one who had been a secondary mentor to me gave me a smile and a nod. I simply nodded back and continued to walk behind Ismunds giant frame. We approached the stairs that climbed to the meeting room, and after Ismund knocked a response came from inside. He opened the door and ushered me in, closing the door after him and then leaned against it as he watched me approach the council of four who were all seated before me. I took in each of their gazes, then reached into my pocket for a blank piece of paper and graphite, then shakily, forcing myself to make the words legible- finished the sentence.

I slid it over to the highest of everyone in the room- Lord Yeven- and then allowed them to converse for a couple of minutes before I pull out the twelve rings, five pocket watches, and a wiretap that I was able to thieve from the train in between hiding, and I threw it all onto the counter, spitting out, "So.. when are we killing the queen?"