Bella returned back to camp, angry at herself and circumstance itself.
She had been supposed to sabotage the Kingdom of Hearts. She was supposed to kill the King and Queen of Hearts. However, there were so many guards that she couldn't even get past the front gates.
She was a Beta, and had quite a bit of experience with breaking and entering. Even so, she wasn't going to risk her life for this.
They were trained to never do anything if there was a higher than seventy percent chance they'd be killed.
Bella kicked rocks and pinecones as she stomped back to camp. Furiously, she broke a branch off a tree and beat another tree with it until the branch snapped.
As camp came into view, she found herself worrying what Emma would say when she finally returned to base from the Kingdom of Spades. She feared that woman, and she feared her punishments even more.
Bella cautiously walked back to the camp, where several of her fellows were gathered around. The children were running rowdily, hitting each other with big sticks and laughing sadistically when their playmates fell. The blonde smirked as one ran across her foot and she kicked him, sending him skittering across the leaf-strewn ground.
The little brunette boy stuck his tongue out at her and ran away, back to his group of friends.
Bella parted the crowd. As a Beta, she was basically Emma's second in command, and had authority - along with the few other Betas - whenever Emma was away.
"What is going on here?" She asked, looking at Hana, an obnoxious, hard-headed newbie. She had escaped Clubs prison, and quickly found a band of criminals that were heading to their camp.
"Hana has an announcement," cried someone from the crowd. "She said it was important!"
"Yes," the black-haired girl yelled. "I have received a message from Addy, and she has information on the Kingdom of Clubs!"
"And how," Bella continued. "Did you return so quickly from Antoine? Were you already finished with your job, Omega?"
Hana's smirk didn't fade. "I skipped my mission," she stated, almost proudly. "And it paid off! I retrieved thirty pounds of gold jewelry from a noble man's house, and I got this message!"
Bella stepped forward and ripped the gold necklace Hana had claimed off of her neck. "To the Coops!" The Beta yelled. "Maxwell, go take care of her punishment!"
Maxwell, a clever brunet with a tendency for apathy nodded and dragged Hana towards the Coops, otherwise known as the punishment chambers. "Treason, endangering the camp, and disobeying orders," Bella stated. "You know the punishment."
Hana's expression contorted into one of fear and she bit her tongue, forcing herself not to beg. There was a punishment for weakness as well.
Bella smiled and turned back to the gathered crowd. "As for Hana's message," she said. "I also know what it is."
She cleared her throat. "According to Adelaide, the King of Clubs has not been paying or properly providing for his servants. He gives them mostly table scraps, and sometimes the rotten food from the garden. Most of their pay, he keeps for himself. He has not given them quarters, and makes them sleep in the kitchens. By definition of the Court of the Four Kingdoms, King Cameron is keeping slaves, which was outlawed over one hundred years ago."
A whisper swept through the crowd as people slowly realized what this meant. "Mark, Perri," Bella said, speaking to the Messenger twins. "I want you to go into town and tell everyone you see. Tell guards and shopkeepers and people on the street that King Cameron of Clubs is keeping slaves. It'll be the coup of the century!"
The surrounding Jokers cheered, and the twins ran off to the supply tent to retrieve their disguises.
