Cinnia drew a shaky breath and stared at herself in the ornate floor-length mirror that stood against one of the walls of her room. She had, with much difficulty and awkward help from Adorno, managed to remove her dress, and replaced it with one of the long, white night gowns that the Assembly Hall supplied to guests. Her hair, which had earlier looked like it belonged to royalty, was now hanging loosely on her shoulders and down her back, in a tumbling mess. She had told Adorno of what she was about to do, and he had promised to station himself right outside the door in case something went wrong.
She reached for the complimentary crystal glass of water and with shaky hands and brought it up to her lips. With difficulty, she forced it past the growing lump in her throat. She wiped her clammy hands on her dress and focused on her breathing, 'relax, Cinnia' she told herself. She had never imagined that her first night with someone would happen in this way, and she felt disgusted. But too much was at stake, she had decided, and knew that priorities had to be set.
A quiet knock came at the door, and before she had the time to answer, it opened slowly, revealing Derek. He had a smug smile on his face, and was carrying a bottle of some kind of alcohol. 'Good' Cinnia thought to herself.
Derek approached her and set the bottle down on the table. Cinnia grew, if possible, even more nervous. She had never been seduced, and didn't know how to either, and therefore felt awkward. Derek reached for two of the smaller, whisky glasses and poured two, giving one to Cinnia. She noticed the ring around his finger. He smiled over the rim, downed the liquid, and winked at her, "If I may say so, you look even better dressed like this." He said as he looked her up and down. Cinnia felt ridiculous, self-conscious, and like a piece of meat up for sale, being judged by a particularly hungry buyer.
He set the glass down and smiled even wider when he noticed how nervous Cinnia was. He moved closer, and placed his hands on her hips. When he began to move them to her more personal areas, she stopped him. "I'm not that easy you know. Make me interested" She mustered up a flirty smile at the last sentence.
He stepped back and looked at her with even more interest. "You're a strange one," He said and turned his back on her and poured himself another glass, "But I like it.". Cinnia realized she had been holding her breath, and gasped quietly, feeling weak in the knees. Derek was strange. He was charming, revolting, and terrifying all at the same time. He downed the second glass in a moment.
She stepped forward, knowing she had to keep him drinking. She placed her hand on his shoulder, and slowly ran it down his back. She grabbed the entire bottle off of the desk and bounded to the large, four-post bed. She smiled at him secretly. He smiled back, surprised but interested in her change of attitude. She motioned for him to join her.
He sat next to her, on his knees. Cinnia held the bottle forward, "Drink, if you can handle it." She dared, hoping his manly side would accept the challenge. He smiled at her knowingly and winked before taking a large gulp, "Of course I can handle it. I can handle anything." Derek slurred slightly.
Cinnia noticed that his gaze was growing less and less focused. Derek placed the bottle on the side table. In the next few happenings, Cinnia realized that the alcohol had made him more forceful. He leaned forward, much too quickly, and took Cinnia's face in his hands. Her breath hitched it her throat as he leaned forward and gently planted a kiss on her lips. His touch grew hungry and with it, the kiss turned sloppy. In a split moment of panic and guilt, Cinnia thought of Kieran, much to her own confusion.
She wished Kieran was there, to help her.
Derek's hand slid from her face to the buttons that lined the upper part of her night gown, and slowly began to undo them. Cinnia suddenly found she still had power in her hands, and stopped him. He leaned back, slightly annoyed, but excited. "Two buttons left," Cinnia said and glanced down at her nightgown, "For each button, a drink." She smiled and reached across the bed, got the bottle and handed it to Derek.
Derek grumbled something along the lines of "You are stubborn," but did as he was told. He coughed once and set the bottle back on the table. His eyes were now struggling to find Cinnia, but his strength had not been compromised. He got back to what he was doing, with even more determination.
Once the last two buttons were undone, Cinnia felt a cold hand slip inside. She took a harsh intake of air through her nose. Now, she was truly terrified. Her plan wasn't working. She nearly admitted defeat when suddenly, she heard a loud commotion coming through the door that lead to the hallway. Raised voices, that were arguing about something, seeped through old wood of the door. Cinnia recognized one voice as that of belonging to Adorno. Something was wrong.
Derek stopped, and twisted his head to look towards the door. "What was that?" he slurred, genuinely confused. Cinnia, in a split second of desperation, grabbed for the bottle on the table and swung it at the back of Derek's head. It hit right where she had hoped, emitting a dull sound. The bottle itself had managed to stay intact. Derek, without a sound, fell to the side of Cinnia. She wriggled herself out from under Derek's legs and placed the bottle his hand. She reached for his right hand, found the ring and slipped it off as quickly as she could. She hurried over to where the complimentary slippers were and jumped into them. They were slightly too large for her, but it didn't matter. On the wall hung a decorative sword, and Cinnia pulled it from the metal spikes that were holding it up. It was unbalanced and heavy in her hand, but it would have to do.
The sounds of the voices outside were growing and growing, and Cinnia hurried to open the door. She still didn't know whether or not her real identity had been revealed, but she took her chances. "What is the meaning of this? Can I not sleep in peace?' She said, acting annoyed and demanding while making sure to keep the sword hidden behind the door.
Three angry guards and a scared Adorno silenced at the sight of her. "Get her, now!" The guard in the lead said and they came at her.
Cinnia backed away from the door that swung open only a moment later. She swung her sword at the first surprised guard--whom had assumed she was unarmed--and he took a blow to the side of the head that caused him to pass out. 'Unsharpened' she thought to herself in dismay at the sword, but happy that she most likely hadn't killed the attacking man.
The second guard, which were a few feet behind the other one, fumbled at his belt, trying to get his pistol out. Cinnia hurried, and sloppily rammed the sword into the head of the second guard.
"Drop it," The final guard said once the second body dropped. He had his gun pointing straight at Cinnia's forehead.
Cinnia dropped the sword but remained calm. Behind the guard, she saw that Adorno had grabbed hold of a metal, candle floor stand in his right hand and a small dagger in his left, and was sneaking closer. With all his force, Adorno swung the candle stand at the back of his head. The guard’s eyes grew surprised for a moment at the impact, before turning dazed. He collapsed into a heap on the carpeted floor. Adorno and Cinnia stared at the bodies before locking eyes in awe of their luck. Adorno grabbed at Cinnia’s hand—forgetting his hatred for her—and pulled her out through the door.
“They know, Cinnia. They know we’re impostors. They have some of Raelith’s guard force stationed outside. We have to sneak out. Did you get the ring by the way?” He said with desperation.
Cinnia nodded. She felt the outline of the ring and stone pressing into her hand, most likely imprinting into her skin from her harsh clutch. Adorno murmured a “good job” as he pulled her into a run. The floor in the hall way was made of hard stone, and Cinnia felt her heels becoming sore from constantly hitting the floor harshly; the thin sole of the slipper did little to protect her feet.
They reached the window at the end of the hall and glanced out. To the far right, a crowd of organized guards stood in front of the entrance, apparently taking orders from a man in the front. Cinnia noticed Adorno estimating the distance to the ground below and Cinnia followed his gaze. The terrace, which ran around three fourths of the building stretched out twenty metres below them.
Adorno turned to her, “We can climb down,” He said and turned towards the long, white tapestries hanging from the ceiling, intent on tearing them down using his dagger. “Put the ring on or something, so we don’t lose it. I am damn well never coming back here to re-do this later.”
Cinnia opened her hand and looked at the golden band and the strange stone. The blue rock’s rippling surface seemed unsettled, and was constantly changing hues of blue. She slipped it on her middle right finger, and the band immediately seemed to tighten around it. A weird, unsettling feeling grew inside her. She felt powerful, but also exposed. The ring seemed to react to something inside her. She felt as though something was terribly wrong, and as if she had exposed herself to something she shouldn’t have.
“What?” Adorno asked at her puzzled look, looking up from his task of tying the white fabric securely to an elemental heater near the wall.
“Uh...it just...no, nevermind. Is it ready?” She hesitantly said before nodding towards his work.
“Should be. Here, you go first.” He said and pushed the window open, throwing the fabric out over the ledge.
“So I can test its security?” She asked suspiciously.
“No, because one, you have the ring, and two, they are more intent on finding you than me.” He said.
Cinnia was dumbfounded at his newfound attitude, but did as he said without a word. She sat up on the ledge and twisted so that she was on her stomach. She carefully heaved herself towards the ledge and grabbed on to the thin fabric. Half-way down the man-made rope, her hands began to ache at the strain of holding up most of her body weight. She bit together and continued down, determined to reach the ground unharmed. The fabric was cut short by a few metres and with her heart in her stomach, Cinnia let go of the fabric and landed with a dull thud on the terrace below. The feeling of needles attacked her feet painfully at the impact, and she cursed her slippers silently.
She looked up and saw Adorno not far behind her. She walked over to the edge of the terrace and leaned forward, noticing the ferns that had grown up against the wall. A moment later, Adorno joined her at her side. “We’ll have to take our chance,” He said, thinking the exact same thing as Cinnia. Together, they climbed over the edge and carefully used the weak-looking ferns to guide them down.
A few metres from the ground, Cinnia felt her foot slip. With a stifled gasp, she desperately tried to gain a secure footing. She heard the branch above her creak in protest against her weight. Just before her foot found security, the branch snapped, and Cinnia tumbled to the ground. A sharp pain shot up the side of her ankle, and she almost cried out at her own recklessness. Adorno was at her side quickly, “You can walk, right?”
“I have to.” She said and stood up, determined to ignore the pain.
“Alright, come on,” He said and nervously glanced towards the mass of guards.
He pulled her along and they tried their best to sneak around the trees that had been placed outside the Assembly Hall. Somewhere behind her, she heard someone yell, “They’ve escaped!” followed by loud murmurs. “There they are!” Someone else yelled. Adorno and Cinnia didn’t have to look back to know they were being followed.
They set of running down-hill, down the same way of which they came. Cinnia didn’t know where Adorno was running, and she suspected that he didn’t either. She groaned slightly as the pain in her ankle doubled, but neither she nor Adorno stopped. As they ran, Cinnia started to feel the cold droplets of rain against her skin. The small water droplets easily soaked through the thin fabric that covered her body. She gave a reluctant shiver, but paid no attention to it.
They passed many closed shops, and several open restaurants. The rain was pounding down on them now. Cinnia was soaked to the bone, and was well aware that her equally soaked night gown—which was clinging to her form—was becoming more and more see-through. Her breaths were becoming strained, and she could hear that Adorno was beginning to struggle with the run as well. The guards were still behind them, but seemingly farther away than earlier. Adorno took this opportunity to duck into an alleyway.
They ran to take cover in the doorway of a side-door. There, they panted heavily, desperately trying to slow down their breathing. Cinnia folded her arms around her chest, partially to cover up, and partially because she was freezing.
"The guards are probably going back to re-organize themselves and send out a search party," Adorno said through gritted teeth.
Cinnia nodded, not saying anything as she tried to control the violent chattering of her teeth. She took this time to look around, and began to recognize where they were. "C-come. Cha-Charbonneau should live n-nearby." She said, and grabbed Adorno's hand, "If we h-hurry, they might not c-catch us."
Her ankle still throbbed, but she bit together stubbornly and continued on. A minute later, and having turned down yet another alleyway, Cinnia found herself standing before the door of Madam Charbonneau's residency. Adorno reached up and knocked three times. The fierce pattering of rain made the knocks nearly inaudible, but soon enough, the door opened, revealing the familiar, old yet beautiful face of Madam Charbonneau. She smiled, as if she had been expecting them to show up at her door all along.