Seven Wons

3

Snow stumbled into the house right before dawn broke; Thalia groaned, "Where have you been all night?" She scolded her like Snow was her child.

"I was planning," Snow replied as she removed her cloak and boots. "I'll be gone tonight as well."

"And just where will you be tonight?"

Snow grinned, "Why, I'll be at Lord Chesterfield's humble abode."

Thalia snorted as she started getting ready for work, "And please tell me why you are going there, to one of the Queen's most trusted advisors?"

"You just answered your own question," Snow was practically bouncing where she stood excitedly. "Surely he'll know what she's up to and what she has planned."

"He's a Lord; he'll have plenty of guards. You won't get within 100 feet of him."

The Princess leaned forward, her elbows on the table. "I don't need him, just his house, or more accurately his office. I was out all night trying to see when the perfect time to break in would be. And as it turns out, the Queen is having a fundraiser for the explosion victims." She was rolling her eyes because they all knew that none of the people out of a job would ever see a dime of that money. But there was nothing anyone could do about it. That's why she had to do it; she was the only one who could ever stop her wicked stepmother.

"Be careful; I'll be home before dark. Will you need to eat?"

She shook her head no, "I can always eat a guard if need be, you know that."

Thalia snorted before grabbing the last of her things and heading to the door, "All right, have fun eating nasty men that probably haven't bathed in a month."

Snow wanted to snark back, but she was tired. So this round goes to Thalia. Snow faceplanted onto the bed in exhaustion. She slept like the dead, not even moving until it was time for her to get up. She downed some water, but it never quite fixed her thirst issues, nor did food, but getting access to blood was challenging.

Then she strapped weapons all over her body and got dressed in all black. Once her cloak was on, she was out the door. She needed to hide in the woods near the Lord's house until it was dark. But she wanted to observe it for a while. Watch the servants come and go, see if any essential people show up, that sort of thing.

It was dreadfully dull work, but since she was solely on her own, it all fell to her. She could hear the animals around her in the woods; they wouldn't come near. They knew an apex predator was near, and they would do anything to steer clear of it. It used to bother her; animals would flock to her when she was human. There was never a time when she didn't have a bird on her shoulder or a squirrel chasing after her. 

Now, cats were about the only thing that would get close to her; nothing could stop a cat's curiosity, after all. They will go up to wolves and hiss at them like they aren't a quarter of their size. It made Snow laugh every time a stray cat would come up to her and rub against her legs. Even dogs were wary of her, but cats couldn't be bothered to care what others did.

It was getting cold, but honestly, the cold had been a permanent part of her lifestyle since the curse was activated. She felt like she was constantly in the middle of a blizzard, no matter how many layers she wore. But Snow knew it was pointless to complain; it would not fix anything. So she gritted her teeth and kept her eyes sharp on the massive house in front of her.

Finally, the Lord left, and it looked like the servants were finishing up for the day; as soon as the last light was turned off, Snow got up. She made her way across the grounds in total darkness; climbing up the side of the house was easy. It just took someone that was brave and a little bit crazy—jumping in the dark, not knowing if she'd grab something to hold onto or not. But she always did, and that's why she kept doing dumb things.

The window wasn't locked, most likely because it was the third floor, and most would assume that they'd be safe. But they'd assumed wrong because Snow knows how to climb. She slowly and, as quietly as possible slid the window open before flipping herself through it. With a quiet thump, she landed right on her ass in front of the window. It wasn't graceful, but there were no witnesses, so she couldn't be bothered to try and look fabulous.

Even when she was still a Princess in court, she never tried to be royalty. She ate the food she wanted to eat, she danced if she felt like dancing, and screw anyone that questioned her. She only had one life, and she was going to live it to the fullest. Snow looked around; she wouldn't be able to turn any lights on. Someone would notice that, but her eyesight was good enough that she could use the moon to see.

Document after document, she went through them all, looking for something of substance. But the documents were strange, different from the ones she grew up seeing her father, the King, deal with. It's almost like these were fake, but why would a Lord have counterfeit documents in his office? That made absolutely no sense. So she kept digging, and there, under the right drawer, was a false bottom, and inside was a leather ledger.

Proof of who was in cahoots with the Queen, and it looked like she'd have to start targeting aristocrats. She smiled to herself; now all she had to do was wait for the Lord to return, and she could eat someone who had bathed in the last month. She made herself comfy on his bed, thanking the fact that he and his wife slept in separate rooms since he likes to bring his mistresses home.