DIRTY MONEY
cette
[1/1]
A silver noble and all she had to do was simply stand there, and make sure that everything went smoothly. How hard could it be?
Clara Goodwin smoothed a hand over her short black hair, and then rested it on her baton. She could care less what was going on a mere ten feet behind her, as long as she got paid, and no one implicated her. Perhaps, in dark corners of her mind there was something that told her she really didn't need the extra money and that what she was doing was wrong; however that part didn't seem very prominent.
There was always some way, an easy way, to make getting extra money justifiable. Even the pretty way the coin would glint in the sun.
Raised voices came from behind, but Goodwin didn't move. She stood steady, even if she tightened her hand on her baton a little bit. She wasn't being paid to make a scene or ask questions.
The yelling got louder, and she could hear the clear ring of a sword being unsheathed. Slowly, Goodwin turned to look at what was going on. She was lucky, because by an inch, she managed to avoid dying on a man's sword.
The dead man who had been stabbed fell on top of her and knocked them both into the sewer. A second man fell on her other side, trapping her. Goodwin tried to keep calm as the two men's blood trickled down her cheeks, pooling together in the sewer.
That could be mine.
"Did ye nab the dog?" Goodwin froze. The blood started to cloud her vision. Heavy footsteps broke the silence.
Please Goddess, I'll do anything, I'll do right, I'll never be loose again – just let me get out of this alive.
There tension seemed to last for hours. Time slowed. Goodwin could hear her heart beating, and those of the men she was with. She heard them slow, and then stop, as hers pounded louder and louder.
Please, Goddess.
"Wench is with tha' scummer." The other man laughed, and Goodwin closed her eyes. That noise chilled her to the bone. Goodwin heard their laughing fade into the distances, as their heavy footsteps quieted. It seemed to take hours.
When she was sure they were gone, Goodwin struggled to move her hand to her face to wipe the blood. She opened her palm and looked at the coin.
It was dirty.
She struggled to get herself out – but eventually she managed it. No one was out to watch what happened – or they were too fearful to be around. She looked down at the two men in the sewer; their faces were obscured by the muck and rats.
With some hesitation, Goodwin raised her whistle to her mouth with trembling fingers, and blew twice for murder.
At the end of her watch that night, Clara Goodwin, threw the silver noble into the kennel's collection.
Because after all, she really didn't need the money.
So I finished Bloodhound pretty much as soon as I could, and well, I won't say I loved it, but it was still good. (I just love Tamora Pierce). I will say that opinion is probably biased because, well, there wasn't near enough Rosto or Lady Sabine in it. Anyways, the particular passage about Goodwin being crooked stood out to me - I liked it, I think it gave her an added dimension. Goodwin is awesome. Anyways, that is how this is insipred.
As always, tell me what you think!
