The characters belong to Kitsis and Horowitz, I just like to take them out to play from time to time.
She heard the guard's knock the first time but enjoyed the petty thrill of making him repeat it and then snapping at him in return.
"Enter already. There had better be a compelling reason for you to be interrupting me," she narrowed her eyes, hiding her glee behind a sneer.
"Yes, your Majesty. Word has reached us that the Tarina Brooke has been sighted sailing towards Balliolshire. With your permission we should be able to overtake her before she reaches its shores," the guard spoke in a tight, clipped voice but she could smell his unease. It was a rancid stench that rolled off him in waves.
"And where did this information come from? Weeks of nothing and now this?" She strode up to him, her heels clicking satisfactorily across the floor. "Tell me and I might spare your life."
"The Tarina Brooke has attacked another one of our merchant ships bound for Balliolshire. The crew was found adrift in one of the lifeboats," the guard's voice wavered and he closed his eyes against her growing rage. "The pirates looted the vessel and sank it after forcing the crew to surrender."
"The Tarina Brooke's captain?" She asked in a lowered voice.
"They say not one of the pirates was addressed as such, your Ma-"
He stopped talking with a gasp, eyes blown open wide as she yanked her hand back out of his chest, his bright red heart pulsing in her fist. His eyes found hers, a plea in their depths.
"I said I might spare your life," she purred. Clenching her fist she delighted in the way he dropped to the floor like a sack of potatoes and the ashes of his heart sifted through her fingers. "But you brought me bad news."
Stepping over the crumpled body of the now dead guard she made her way to the elaborate wrought iron mirror hanging on her wall. She didn't need the services of the man trapped in it at the moment, instead connecting it with the one she'd placed just outside the reach of her most prized prisoner.
The woman's wrists were chained to the floor, if she were to stand she'd have to stoop or risk dislocating her shoulders. Her long, dark hair was tangled and matted in places, skin pale having been untouched by sunlight for years, and though her head was bowed she was well aware of the broken spirit that swam in their depths.
"I've just received some wonderful news. Soon, I shall achieve what's been denied to me for too long, my happy ending. Meanwhile you'll be able to do nothing but watch as I succeed."
Her prisoner didn't acknowledge her. If it weren't for the slight swaying of her head she could have been easily thought asleep. It didn't matter, for everything she'd been waiting so long for was within her grasp.
"Huntsman!"
The door to her chamber opened immediately to allow a slim, light brown haired, bearded man to enter, causing her to suspect he'd been waiting outside for her anger to subside.
"Yes, your Majesty?" His accent, one not common in the Enchanted Forest, caused his words to slip deliciously into her ears.
"Have my carriage prepared. We leave in the morning."
"Where are we headed, your Majesty?"
The Huntsman didn't ask out of curiosity, merely out of the habit to appease her. Not being in possession of one's heart did that to a person she'd discovered. Nevertheless, she couldn't help but smile as she answered.
"Balliolshire, we have a pirate captain to destroy."
A.N.: So it begins lovely readers. I hope this has peaked your interest and are ready for the ride to come. I won't be updating on a strict schedule but I do hope to update regularly.
Next up: A Summons