The guard came to a stop outside of a large, ornate wooden door that had rubies lining the edges and carvings I could barely make out in my weakened state covering it. He knocked sharply twice, and I could just make out a muffled voice answering. The guard opened the door, yanking the chain and forcing me to stumble in after him.
He came to an abrupt stop, and I all but collapsed to the ground behind him. The lethargy was taking its toll on me, and I struggled to take in the details around me. Dark walls lined with bookcases surrounded the space, and a large wooden desk that was surely twice the size it probably needed to be sat upon a large red and gold rug. There were what I knew had to be high-value items sitting on display throughout the room, just out of my grasp.
But it was the man who stood behind the desk and slowly walked around it who caught my attention. Long, vibrant red hair and matching red eyes were set in a long, severe face. Everything about it was sharp, from his nose to his cheekbones to his chin. He was beautiful, of course, as most Elves were, but the red of his eyes was too intense, practically glowing, giving him an intimidating aura.
I hadn’t allowed myself to be intimidated in years, and I wasn’t going to cave to it now. I refused to go to my death cowering before someone who thought themselves better than me.
And I knew immediately that was indeed what he thought. His sneer down at me was quite the clue, after all.
“Thisis the one?” he asked, sounding disgruntled for some reason, besides the obvious.
“This is her.” The guard nodded once, but I could just make out the tremble in the hands clasped behind his back.
Huh, not so tough now, was he?
“You’re dismissed.” The man, who could only be Lord Carnelian, told the guard. The Elf faltered for a moment, clearly surprised. He looked like he wanted to argue, his mouth falling open, but the lord narrowed his eyes a bit, and the guard immediately nodded, dropping the chain and handing the key to his lord before darting out of the room as fast as possible.
I wanted to laugh, but my own predicament certainly wouldn’t be helped by that.
“So, you’re the one who thought it a good idea to try to rob me.” Carnelian’s slitted red eyes took me in carefully. The ruby pools flared before he reached out, fingering a lock of hair that had escaped my braid. “Tell me, what were you hoping to get?”
I struggled to open my mouth, wanting nothing more than to fall asleep where I kneeled. The lord rolled his eyes, stepping back and leaning down toward my chained hands. He stuck the key into the lock, and I watched as the manacles fell to the ground. I hesitantly reached up and rubbed my wrists, feeling my strength come back to me in a dizzying rush.
“There, that’s better, isn’t it?” He smirked, straightening up. Before I could get my bearings, he grabbed my chin, forcing me to look up at him. I glared back at him, but he seemed more amused than anything. At least if the smile tilting the corner of his lips was anything to go by.
“Now, what were you after that you deemed important enough to do such a foolish thing?” He crooned, but I stubbornly kept my eyes narrowed on him and my lips firmly shut.
“Come now.” He tutted, shaking his head as he leaned down to meet my eyes. “You don’t actually want to die, do you?”
“I wasn’t aware there was another option.” I spat, making him chuckle.
“Death is so permanent. What use could you possibly be to me if you’re dead?” he responded, his voice carefully blasé. I looked him over as he straightened, trying to figure out what his angle was. But if there was a chance I wasn’t about to die if I talked…
“I needed money,” I admitted, slowly,carefully. “My friend is sick, and I can’t afford the gems to help her.”
“So altruistic,” he scoffed, shaking his head again and looking almost disappointed as he began to turn around.
“I owe her,” I said, voice carefully emotionless. His head tilted to the side as he stopped mid-turn, before shifting back to inspect me again.
“And where are you from, girl?” he asked, making my heartbeat speed up. I didn’t think I’d ever seen him before, but I could very well be wrong. I was so young back then… If he recognized me, I was truly fucked.
“I’m not reallyfromanywhere,” I told him, making eye contact and forcing a veil of truth over myself. As long as I believed what came out of my mouth in that moment, no courtier would be able to read a lie on my face. It was a tactic that Ula had taught me to survive, but it worked just as well for uppity lords. “I live on the streets, and we tend to move around. I’ve been everywhere from Sapphire to Amethyst to Emerald.”
“Hmm.” He hummed, rocking back on his feet, his eyes still way too intense as they examined my features. “And what would you give to escape death today? To help this friend of yours?”
I considered his words, tilting my head to the side. I didn’t know what game he was playing here, and that put me on the back foot. But at least it meant therewasa game to be played. One I could learn the rules of if I played along. So I told him what he clearly wanted to hear.
“Anything.” It wasn’t far from the truth, after all. Maybea bitof a stretch.
Lord Carnelian slowly smirked, satisfaction rolling off him. “Then you’ll do just fine.”
He moved to sit behind his overly large desk, waving a hand at me to sit opposite him. I carefully lowered myself into the tufted leather wingback chair, watching him as he watched me.
“How do you feel about our High King?” he finally asked, after an extended silence. I raised an unimpressed brow, but couldn’t help thinking back to blood pooling on the floor and dead eyes staring back at me. I couldn’t stop my nose from wrinkling in disgust at the very thought of the king who oversaw the deaths of everyone I loved.
It was enough to make Lord Carnelian smile truly. “Good. You see, I’m also not a big fan of our High King.”
“You don’t say,” I responded dryly. He narrowed his eyes, but his smile never left his face.
