Pieces of the Past

AKO Project ~ Adventure "The Assassin's Protege"

Quinn winced as her fingers began to cramp and the jagged rock dug painfully into her body as she clung to the tower, a little way beneath the window ledge. A sweet smell of freshly baked bread wafted down to her, taunting her with its presence.

She had not anticipated this. The bakers were never within the room at this hour. And yet they were. She knew tonight would be risky. It was the King's Birthday tomorrow. The bakers would be frantically creating delicious meals for the feasts that are held across the kingdom.

Ignoring the thin layer of sweat that encased her body from hanging off the wall for so long, Quinn closed her eyes and listened for the sound of the door closing. Suddenly, it creaked and a miniature thud could be heard. She grinned.

Bingo.

Swinging herself up onto the ledge she scanned her surroundings. The room was clear. A glow and the shadow of flames danced along the walls, reminding her of water reflecting inside of a cave she had found as a child. Quinn spied a rack of fresh bread and quickly made her way towards it. She had to be quick as she had no idea whether or not the bakers would be back, and if so, how soon.

She pulled a rugged leather sack off her back and pushed the bread inside, blowing black -almost blue- strands of stray hair back from her face. Quinn was alerted by the soft tapping sound of shoes colliding with stone steps. Hurriedly tying up her bag she figured she had but a few precious seconds left to escape.

Quinn hauled her body over and out the window sill, and with expert ease she grabbed ahold of a rock in the wall and swung herself into the wall, flinching slightly as her body hit. But she was alive and had food that would last her awhile. So long as she rationed it carefully that is.

And if the baker was looking hard enough, he would have seen the tip of a black braid flying out the window, following its owner.

{~}

Quinn was barely out of breath, despite her adventure and sweaty clothes. But of course, that was to change. Quinn took in a deep breath and let it out. Turning around in the shadows she began to walk home. But she only took one step before gasping as she came face to chest with someone.

Now she wasn't short, she was pretty tall for a seventeen-year-old at 5'9 and she was being cautious to avoid this.

Yet it still happened. She hadn't been caught before and had no clue what to do. Quinn had trained herself specifically in the art of not getting caught. Should she just stand there? Should she run? Bluff her way out? Quinn went with the first option, standing rooted to the spot.

In the past she would have flirted with her captor before knocking him cold and running away, praying that they never saw her again. No more could she do that, as now she was sixteen. In this town, once you turned sixteen you were shipped off to become an apprentice. If you didn't make the cut you became a servant or worse. Of course, if you were a noble born you had an option of what you wanted to do. Stay or go. As an Orphan, you were often left in a cell, or as a servant for the lowest rankings in the castle. Quinn was an Orphan. She refused to caught. She couldn't - she wouldn't. But she just did.

The person, who from their smell was probably a man, leaned down and whispered in her ear, "Now what is a young lady like you doing out here, stealing the baker's bread?" Quinn gulped.

"N-nothing. I-i was just-" She stammed.

"I know what you were doing, Orphan."

"How do you-"

"I just do," the man cut her off again. "You'll do." He said he made a move to grab her, but Quinn quickly backed away.

"What?"

No reply. The man was gone. But Quinn knew all too well that looks could be very deceiving.

She pressed herself against the wall she had just descended from, quickly pulling a homemade, rusted and jagged iron blade from a sheath on her leg.

"Stay back!" She yelled, slightly more confident.

"Why?" Her head whipped to the side, the man standing close to her. She gasped. Where on earth did he come from? He made no move to attack. In fact, he seemed to be studying her, committing everything about her to memory. He grinned, in a cunning way before moving faster than she could register and delivered a swift blow to her temple, rendering her unconscious.

{~}

When Quinn awoke all she saw was black. Startled, she realized that a blindfold was covering her eyes as she recalled the recent turn of events. Her head throbbed in the place she'd been struck.

Oh, Lehtia.

Trying to move her arms and legs she figured they too were tied. Focusing on her other senses she could tell she was sitting down. Probably on a wooden chair. Her feet were tied at the ankles to the front legs of the chair and her hands were tied together behind her back. She thought about what she had to do.

Quinn had read of people doing this, and never thought it would be her turn. It was only a small stool, making her task easier. Standing up she bent her knees as much as she could before jumping up and crashing back down. Quinn winced.

"Ow." She muttered.

She repeated the process a few times before Quinn was rewarded with success. Quinn wriggled away from the remains and reached into her boot for a knife she kept hidden there. She had earlier felt that it was still in its correct place. She made quick work of the rope around her ankles before flipping the knife around and cutting through the rope around her wrists, grunting every time she nicked herself.

Finally, she was finished. Quinn's blurry vision scanned the small, musty room, unraveling possible secret exits. A plain barred door, not unlike that of a prison cell stood quietly to her left. Another thing she noticed was half hidden human legs to her right. A battle raged within her. Escape or investigate? Get out of here quickly and avoid whatever fate would await her should she stay, or investigate what looked to be another prisoner and risk it being a trap or her captor coming back and finding her roaming free?

With a sigh, Quinn voted on the latter. She couldn't leave here with a clear conscience without at least figuring out if the person deserved to be here or not. Hauling herself up onto sore legs, Quinn went over to the shadows. Taking a deep breath she pulled the chair into the lighter part of the room. It was indeed another prisoner.

A girl with messy golden locks sat tied to a chair. She was breathing heavily in fear yet desperately attempting to hold in her frightened sobs. The girl wore expensive clothes, suggesting she was a person of importance, for only those of wealth had access to such clothing. Quinn ripped away the blindfold, revealing unfocused emerald eyes.

Shock hit her like a tidal wave. She knew this face, this person. It was Lord and Lady Wailyn's spoilt daughter Odelia. What on earth was she doing in here? What did their captor want with a Noble Born and an Orphan?

~~~~ 

This is part of a bigger story. Forgot to mention, but so was the last one.

Peace,

BTSWD
Borntosingwithdrama