Katherine
Two years earlier
I look around the room as I gulp down the rest of my drink. A few men five meters from me glance at me from time to time, their glassy eyes eyeing my figure.
I can hear their thoughts. Despite my boy-ish appearance, they want to ripp my clothes off and take me to a corner to fuck, as some would say. However, they won't get five steps near me before I stab an arrow through their heads. They are human beings but I have to protect myself. I can't be a damsel in distress for the rest of my life.
It isn't easy to kill your own kind, even after all these years.
My stepmother... In this case, the queen has been after me for three years since I was sixteen years old.
I was born without worries and swords ready to strike me. I was born into royalty, in a safe castle. My mother passed away a few days after giving birth, because she lost too much blood and her body grew too weak. For a long time I thought I had been born in the wrong life. I wasn't very fond of the dresses, the lessons and the strick schedule. Regardless of this, my father comprehended how I felt. We were very close and we helped each other. He was a simple man and that was one of the main reasons why the people of Saldrian loved him.
One of the men suddenly stands up. He pulls his pants up and stretches his arms as he takes another glance at me. Slowly, I reach for the knife on my waist as he gets closer to my table and bring it up, making a spectacle of showing it to him. He walks in another direction, not forgetting to shoot me an angry look.
Since I was twelve, I have been given angry and bitter looks from my stepmother. Our encounter was unusual. I had just turned twelve when the guards rescued a young woman from the woods. She was lost and in shock, so we took her in and treated her wounds. She had long straight silver hair, pure and delicate features and a slim figure. The maids dressed her in one of my mother's dresses, with the consent from my father, and I would never think an evil, ruthless creature existed behind her pureness.
We never found out abour her past. She appeared out of thin air but that didn't prevent my father from making her his wife, when I was fourteen. I didn't trust her and I knew something bad was going to come out of this marriage. One year passed and it was enough for her to change. She acted differently, shooting me strange looks and talking less and less to me.
Tragedy striked the castle when my father died. I was sixteen and in need of a parental presence in my life. There was so much I wanted to know and there was no one to teach me. And it couldn't be more precise, since he died on my name day.
Now, this vicious woman who hated me and wanted me dead was living with me. I had to be strong for my father and myself, for the worst was still to come. Two weeks later, she become queen regent until my coronation but I would never see that day. Her first order was to have me beheaded. I only had time to grab a few belongings and escape before her guards got me. I left the kingdom on my horse and wandered the wild fields before I found civilization. In Nevenia I traded my dress and shoes for peasant boy clothes and a cloak. I knew what these people went through every day and so I blended in effortlessly.
My whereabouts were still unknown by other kingdoms but I couldn't let people know who I really was. I become Katniss Everdeen, later known as the famous outlaw. I was no longer Princess Katherine of Saldrian. I lived in the woods, slept in high branchs and looked for food during the day.
"Hey, sweet thing."
I look up to see the man I threatened with my knife. The easy smile on his lips isn't enough to cover up his strong smell.
"Do you know what my first kill was?"
He looks puzzled by question but shakes his head.
"A fat squirrel." I say, looking at the knife's blade. "It was a clumsy kill with a crappy knife. After I skinned it, its skin and fur were coated in blood and my clothes were covered in bowels, dirt and blood."
I see the sneer as he looks at me in disgust.
"And this bow and quiver of arrows?" I smile faintly. "I sold my horse for them. My kills are clean and rigt through the eye, now. Do you want to see it?"
He doesn't answer and goes back to his table, possibly thinking I'm a lunatic.
Perhaps I am. After two months of running and hiding, I saw the first posters with my name, Katniss Everdeen, the famous outlaw, on several villages. Some men came after me but I killed them. After my first kill, I spent the rest of the night until sunrise with my hands in a stream of icy water, watching the blood of the enemy disappear. They were blue, purple and wrinkled when I pulled them out of the water. I didn't feel my hands for a two days.
It was a small price I payed for killing those people. I still live with the guilt of murdering those men and a cup of ale sometimes help but it only soothes the pain for a while. However, this guilt only fuels my revenge.
I have been hiding from the queen for one year and nine months. Three months have passed since the last assassin but I'm always waiting for the next one. I know she killed my father. She wanted the throne the moment she entered our castle and has been chasing it for a long time, perhaps.
I'm certain I will get my revenge and the throne that is mine.
This story is going to be a retelling of Snow White. In this story, Katniss's real name is Katherine. I will use her real name as her outlaw name. This story has many influences such as Once Upon A Time, Throne of Glass, Reign and Game of Thrones. I'm not trying to copy anyone's work. I just spent too much time with them. Favourite, follow and review!