Seven Wons

1

A/N I'm posting this a day early because tomorrow is our epic egg hunt. My kids are all older, 20, 18 and 16. So for the past 10ish years we've been hiding one egg in the house and set them loose. Whoever finds it gets cash and the trophy to keep in their room for the next year. My 16-year-old has won for the past four years, and he's determined to keep the trophy, lol. I hope you enjoy this story, which I started writing a year ago and left in the drafts. The next book will be in May, and it will be a ship book. I'll post the voting for that sometime next month. 

A lone figure in a dark cape made her way away from the building that was on fire; no one noticed her. They were too busy looking at the factory that was currently going up in flames. "Seriously, Snow, you just had to blow the factory up? The one that most of the village works at," her best friend was glaring at her like she just murdered someone. Because, for real, she checked, no one was in the factory before she set it ablaze. 

It's not that she's against murder; she'll do anything for the right price. "Don't call me that," she hissed.

Thalia was not impressed; she rolled her eyes, picked up a handful of snow, and threw it right in her friend's face. "Don't call you by your name? Should I call you Princess then since that's your title?"

Snow scowled, "Wons, that's my name, so call me that."

With a loud snort, Thalia turned around and walked away from her friend, knowing that she would follow, "Not happening; I don't care how clever you think you are for coming up with that."

She shrugged, "Well, I mean, it is Snow spelled backward, and everyone knows that I'll do just about anything for some wons."

"Including blowing up a factory that your dear ole stepmother owns."

"Well, in my defense, maybe now she'll actually break into her coffers and shell out some of the money she's hoarding like a fucking dragon."

"You know that won't happen," Thalia sighed. "And now so many people are going to be out of a job."

Snow sat down at the table while Thalia fretted around the small house to make them some tea, "why did you do it anyway? I know that you won't do just anything people pay you. What was it you said?" She stood up straight and did an actually decent impression of the Princess, "I have a moral code and a need for revenge. So nothing is gonna happen unless you pay me some wons, and it fucks with the Queen's life."

"Well, you are right there. I only targeted the factory because a mother and father came to me begging. Their son, who was six, by the way, got a letter that he had to report there on Monday. The Queen demands it. Do you even know how many children have died in that horrible place? The working conditions were atrocious; they saved as much as they could and begged me to set the place on fire."

"How much did you make?"

Snow blushed a little. She'd never get rich doing what she did. But it didn't matter; as long as she was making sure that the Queen wasn't getting her way, it was fine. "A won," she whispered, making her best friend groan and throw herself dramatically on the couch, "I can't fucking believe you. Can you even pay rent this month?"

"Of course I can," she scoffed, "as soon as I sell some more jewels."

Thalia rolled her sleeves up, "You need to eat; it's been a few days; you must be starving."

Snow shook her head, "Naw, I ate a minion of the Queen earlier. Have to let her know that I'm still alive and kicking it despite what she thought that fucking apple would do to me."

"Well, if you are sure, I'm going to head to bed. While your job is all secretive and darkness, mine is not."

Snow nodded her head as she watched her roommate make her way to her room. She'd go back out, steal some coins from palace guards, and stalk the streets to ensure that no one was doing anything unsavory because she was the only one allowed to commit crimes in her village. She'll be damned if someone else stole on her turf.

Before the sun peaked on the horizon, she'd stolen enough money for rent, ate a bit more from a man who was beating his wife, and killed two men for attempting to do unspeakable things to a young woman. She needed to get back; while she could be in the sun, it hurt if she was in it too long. She was always thankful when it was winter, and she could wear her cloak to protect her.

As she made her way inside, Thalia was making her way out. She was a teacher during the day and a bartender a few nights a week. That's how they met: a patron was harassing her, and Snow jumped in to handle it. Thalia took one look at Snow and knew who she was immediately; she didn't even care that Snow was a monster that needed blood to survive.

It was the first time since her father passed away that someone had been nice to her. Thalia let her feed whenever she needed to, never judged her for what she did in her free time, and was just all-around the best friend anyone could ask for. Snow face planted onto the bed before curling up in a little ball and falling into a short and fitful sleep.

As always, she was plagued with dreams, dreams of seven different sets of eyes, and she knew that the only way to fix her curse was to find them. But it's been years, nearly a decade since she stopped aging, and she was no closer to finding them than she was at the very first dream.

She covered up and made her way to the village center to see what the Queen would do about the factory. She really had hoped that she would help the families out with some money, but she should have known better.

There was a declaration for all to see, 

'Since the factory is no longer in working order. If you want to retain your job, you will report to the castle by 9 am for new postings. 

                                 Signed

                                              The Queen.'

There was no telling just how horrible the Queen would be to those people. She might have burned the factory for no fucking reason.

"I heard it was Wons; she had been seen leaving the fire last night. The Queen offered 100 million Won for her capture."

Snow was getting ready to bolt, and while she didn't think anyone would turn her in, that was a lot of money for many people who just lost their jobs. "Yeah, right. She might be horrible, but she's still better than the Queen. There's no way the Queen would ever pay up."