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Mercy
The 4 brothers rushed outside, Leonardo's heart was pounding, anger ready to consume him if the assassin had again gotten away. Laying in the dirt was the assassin sprawled out and unconscious, blood mixed into her red hair. Rou stood above her with a shattered wine bottle in his left hand. The man was breathing hard and seemed oddly overemotional to the situation. Leonardo noted how exhausted he looked, as if he hadn't slept in days, his red hair was dull and flat.
"I heard the news..." He breathed. "Is the Queen alright?"
"She's fine." Leonardo responded, "and the assassin?"
"She's alive...and she'll live, trust me." Leonardo raised an eye ridge at Rou's choice of words.
"Tie her to a horse and let's go, we've left the Queen alone for too long." Michelangelo effortlessly picked up the assassin, he threw her over his shoulder then unceremoniously threw her on the horses backside and quickly tied her to the saddle. He noticed the mark of the assassins branded into the nape of her neck, for a second he paused, and traced the symbol, a shudder going through him.
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Raging fires danced across her vision, screaming filled her ears, hazy outlines of wooden homes covered in orange and red hues filled the distance.
I was too late...I was too late.
It was cold where she woke up. Cold and damp, the familiar feeling of rough leather was gone from in between her legs and arms. Her hood wasn't warming the back of her neck anymore either. Immediately she knew two things. She had been caught and her armor was gone, taken by her captors. Not only that but they took her weapons too, her bow was probably sitting comfortably in an incinerator by now.
She was forced between kneeling and standing, her wrists attached to the wall behind her with rusty chains. The stance was agonizing, her legs burned and her face was swollen from the wine bottle smashing against her face earlier.
The assassin looked around, blinking away the fuzzy vision that kept her from making out what was around her. She spotted a window way up high, to small for anyone to crawl through and barred off. She observed that it was night out, the moon was right outside it.
She knew this kind of place. Castle dungeons and cold murky jail cells. She caught of wisp of blue satin blowing in the wind that licked the bars of the window.
Great. I'm back in Vvardfall.
A death sentence loomed over her head. Any minute now guards would come scoop her up, tie her to a pole and shoot arrows at her or just hang her. Usually she could escape these kinds of situations and come back later when the bounty on her head was given up and forgotten.
From experience, there was always something the guards missed, a tiny lock, a crumbling wall that just needed to be exploited. But not this time, everything was tight, as if someone took meticulous and obsessive measures to ensure she couldn't escape. This whole Kingdom proved to be an entirely new battleground that the experienced assassin ignorantly didn't take seriously.
The sound of chains rattling and doors unlocking caught her attention, she tensed, the heavy wooden door swollen with water groaned as it opened. A man, burly and smirking cruelly appeared. His front tooth was missing and his face looked as if he missed a day or two of shaving and a bath. Cautiously she relaxed when she realized this was not a man coming to bring her to her death. He grinned at her,
"Aye lass you gonna shoot meh too wit a glare like that?" He taunted, twirling a set of keys on his finger.
The woman glared harder,
"Ya know what dey gonna do to ya?" he asked, "Dey gonna hang ya up good."
She said nothing,
"I ear' Lord Leonardo gonna make ya dance on hot coals. Then serve yere cooked feet to pigs..."
"Get out." The woman demanded, he voice deadly,
"Aye but I ear' more!"
"GET OUT! GET OUT! GET OUT!"
"What's going on here?" A voice called from further behind the door,
"Oh! I...uh...I just telling our prisoner ear' a story..." The burly man stuttered.
"Get out. Don't come back in until I order you to." The red headed woman in chains gasped at the familiarity of the voice. She didn't bother looking up when she heard footsteps enter her cell.
"Yes sir, yes sir..."
The main door closed, the two were alone. An eerie silence sat in between whoever stood at the door and the chained up woman. She refused to look at her captors, she refused to answer to their questions and demands, she would refuse-,
"Faye?" Rou cautiously called out. "Faye Amrose La'Fontaine?" The name felt and sounded foreign on his lips.
The assassin didn't look at him, she remained silent, she wasn't expecting to see her brother coming in her and with so much power in the kingdom she despised.
The look on her face seemed genuinely and horrifyingly surprised,
"Answer me Faye." This time it was a demand, an order laced in his voice.
"Rou...it is me brother..." She responded softly. She looked up at him, the bleeding on her head hadn't stopped, the open wound likely to become infected without immediate healing.
"By the Gods." Rou's hand found his own forehead, tracing out her wound on his, shocked at what he had done to his sister, "I didn't realize I hit you that hard."
"You did this?" Faye's brows furrowed together anger was in her voice.
"What did you expect me to do?"
"Nothing." She scoffed, looking back at the floor in disbelief, "predictable as you are, I expected nothing at all." She smirked, "how is your Queen?"
"You're still so impossibly ignorant."
Faye's smirk disappeared, a sneer replaced it.
"What do you want?"
"I want to save you. I will be asking the Queen to pardon you." He told her.
"Are you insane? I didn't ask for your help." Faye growled.
"It doesn't matter. I promised to keep you alive. I'll do just that, what you want doesn't matter right now, you've been doing what you want for 15 years," Rou held something balled up in his hand, he unfurled it, a drawing of the woman with 'DEAD OR ALIVE' written on it. He let the paper drop in front of her, the edges thinned as water touched it. "this...assassin nonsense must stop."
Before Faye could respond, he was gone out the cell door, slamming it shut behind him, when he was out the second door he turned to the unkempt man guarding the dungeons,
"You there," The man was on his feet in seconds, "if I catch you bothering that prisoner again, I'll make you, dance on 'hot coals'."
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"My Queen I strongly suggest execution, letting this assassin go after time served in the dungeon or physical punishment will only bring her back to threaten your safety." Leonardo argued, "if this assassin is here because of a contract she will return,"
"And if there is a contract for your death the job will only be passed to another assassin." Donatello interrupted his older brother.
"What are you saying Don? You watched her try to kill our Queen, should she not be punished?" Leonardo turned to his brother,
"I'm offering an alternative based on logic. Exile will keep her alive and the contract on the Queen won't be passed to another assassin. We keeping our merciful reputation as a kingdom and Augustaria stays alive."
"I say we take some soldiers, head north and ambush those bastards, wipe out the whole damn guild!" Raphael growled, leaning on the wall, "you were almost killed Augustaria, isn't that war? What that girl did is an act of war!"
"I understand you Raphael, Leonardo, I do, please, I understand all of you. My kingdom has lost its reputation as of late. Weakness and power cannot mix. I promised my kingdom to be one of love and righteousness. Upholding the law with mercy." The Queen explained, sitting in a chair with her dainty hands clasped together in front of her.
"Then let me offer a solution." The five looked to the door of the diplomatic chamber to see Rou. He looked better, his hair a glowing red and eyes less baggy. He approached and bowed to the Queen.
"You have my permission to speak." Augustaria responded.
"As thane I have been granted the opportunity to speak to the people, those inside of Vvanfell feel the Queen is fair, merciful and upholds the law. However, outside...is a much different story." Rou approached the map that was settled in the middle of the room, surrounded by a gold centerpiece, he leaned forward against it, "in the 3 other kingdoms they've reported unfavorable behavior of our soldiers. Many of our soldiers have left their posts, creating gangs, bandit clans and unsanctioned villages that wear our armor but do not uphold our beliefs and laws."
"What's yer' point." Raphael growled.
"My point is the Queens Guard has failed to connect with the people and protect them, we've been spread too thin, we need help and connections."
"How dare you?" Leonardo turned to the shorter red headed man.
"He's looking fer a fight."
"He's right guys." Michelangelo cut in, crossing his arms, "this Kingdoms power across the land is falling. Our military influence isn't what it used to be."
"What does this have to do with the assassin?" Leonardo asked with impatience laced with anger.
Rou took a breath, "I have reason to believe the assassin was not contracted to assassinate our Queen. She did this on her own, like her own personal contract." He explained.
Donatello raised an eyebrow, "Rou...where does this information come from?"
Rou looked around at the brothers, his lie ready,
"She told me."
Leonardo bristled, "you visited the prisoner without our permission!?" He seethed.
"Leonardo calm yourself! I'm sure my trusted thane had a good reason to break our trust and meet with my attacker in secret." Augustaria voice was frighteningly accusing. She was giving him a chance to defend himself,
"I know the girl!" Rou blurted out. Then berated himself in his thoughts, they'll surely know she's my sister now..."She...belonged to the same village as me growing up." He covered.
"You've never mentioned someone like her before." Michelangelo spoke.
"She was a nobody...outcast really." Rou lied.
Leonardo glared at the thane, distrust clouding his eyes. His fists shook in rage.
"Start. Talking."
"My proposal is neither execute or banish the woman from the kingdom. I propose a punishment that she can never escape from. This woman is expecting you to execute her, and if you do you will make her a martyr. Her home was destroyed by our soldiers 10 years ago, this attack wasn't a contract, it was revenge. If you kill her, her cause will be validated. Our Queen needs a public relations boost, what better way to do that is to reign her in, like a wild beast that needs taming."
"And how do you suggest we tame this beast." Donatello asked.
Rou took a deep breath, preparing for the lash back for his idea.
"Bring this assassin into the Queen's Guard."
The room immediately erupted in shouting. The four turtles except for Augustaria and Rou were bickering with each other,
"Brothers! Please!" Rou tried to calm them down.
"The Knights guard is a respectable position, what would we look like welcoming such filth!?" Leonardo demanded.
"Have you lost it Rou? I was with you until you suggested...that!" said Michelangelo.
"Please listen to me," Rou persuaded, almost begging, "what better way to enhance the Queen's reputation of mercy and righteousness than to convert the enemy? Imagine...a hateful assassin turned into a loyal Vvardfall soldier." The four ignored him, continuing to bicker, Rou's voice was drowned in theirs.
Suddenly the Queen stood up from her chair, silencing the men in the room.
"Rou, your...suggestion is unorthodox. But I will think hard about all of your concerns and your advice."
"You can't really be considering this my Queen..." Leonardo started but stopped when the Quren raised her hand. A silent demand to stop questioning her. She looked back at Rou,
"I will require the assassin to publicly admit to the court that she will not harm anyone and she will obey me. She must consent to this." Rou nodded immediately.
"Yes my Queen, thank you my Queen."
Augustaria rushed out of the room, her aura of power and grace leaving with her. Now, Leonardo's anger filled the room, his glare towards Rou made the younger human take another deep breath.
"Leo I know you're upset with me but you have to trust me."
"Why?" He growled, "why should I trust someone who meets with our enemy?"
"I know you want to protect Augustaria but your feelings are getting in the way of doing that." Rou scolded, "listen to yourself, this kingdom is falling apart, you've become more and more obsessed about her safety. You know something is coming...don't you?" Rou prodded.
"Back off Rou." Leonardo warned, "you're forgetting your place."
"Leo...Rou isn't the enemy. We all care about Augustaria." Michelangelo approached his leader. "Let's all rest and come back to this, Rou has never mislead us, he's as much our brother as we are to you."
Michelangelo settled his three fingers on his older brother's shoulder. Leonardo's anger waned and he hesitated before speaking,
"I'm sorry Rou...you...you know how I feel." His head lowered in shame.
"It's okay brother," Rou responded. Leonardo gave him a small smile and took a deep breath,
"I want to talk to this assassin, alone." He said. Rou visibly stiffened, "don't worry, I won't harm her."
Raphael and Donatello approached them as well,
"I have a meeting." Raphael gruffly said, and smirked to them before heading off.
"I'm actually quite hungry, would my brothers care to join me?" Donatello offered.
The men smiled, agreeing immediately.
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