Sorry for the short chapter!
Yugioh13 - Thank you for commenting! I absolutely love your stories and I'm so glad you're liking this one! Please enjoy the chapter!
Even although I'd spent so much time after the events in his mansion to get ready to face him again, the moment his eyes met with mine felt like an eternity. I was always told that he could have that type of hypnotic effect on you, some say that's why the monarch sided with him so much, but who knows. Yet, as soon as he said that, I turned my face away and crossed my fingers that he wouldn't simply take out a gun and shoot me, but oddly enough, he quite simply leaned up against the counter of the bar.
"Stop acting like I'm a monster," He said, even although it was clear that he was. "I am here for other business, I do not care about you." He said to me, making sure to pronounce the words he wanted me to hear properly in a clear tone, and I brought my head back around to him.
I was always told that his tactics in life were questionable at the best of times. Sometimes his motives would be for pure evil, other times he acted as if he couldn't care who you were, but I was prepared for it from my training, but I never thought that when they said he had extreme duality that they were being this literal about him. His attitude of amusement at the party, to not caring here. His white clothes, but the darkened smile. A young blonde girl beside him when he's evil as could be, it was all quite unsettling in a way.
"You have no business here," I say to him as I stand my ground, keeping my arms by my side in case I need to make a quick draw. "Nobody wants you here."
The whole time I spoke to him, the maid's eyes never left me once and it even made my heart race a bit. I was a hardened revolutionary in the works and I'd dealt with thugs and other 'ruffians', but there was something about this women, Emily, just looking right at me that made my stomach flip. She had this look in her eyes as if she knew every single thing about you and that she was waiting for you to do what she'd already predicted within her mind. I wonder how someone as seemingly young as her came to meet someone like Reaver where in a world such as this someone as young and beautiful as her could work anywhere, even in the castle if she tried. Perhaps it was her powers that made him pick her up or maybe it was her good looks, but there was something else too that was unsettling. The two were standing very close to each other, their arms practically touching. At first, it may just seem like some servant standing far too close to their master, but I didn't get that feeling from her. It was nearly as if they both chose to stand that close. I knew they were more than they seemed, and I knew I'd have to find out.
"My dear girl, Anastasia," The fact that he kept calling me by my name was not only mocking but was making my spine shiver. "I do not care what you or your precious 'Rooks' want, I have money to make here and money I will make." He said as he flashed me quite the sudden bright smile, making me squint at him.
Of course he knew I was a target and that I was trying to murder him, so why wasn't he trying to kill me when it could've been quite easily, especially with the girl with him. It made me wonder if he had something else up his sleeve.
"Do not talk of my people as if you know them, white coat." I muttered his way as my hand slowly went to move from my gun secured on the other side of my leg, far from their view and as my hand even began to slip, Emily's eyes darted over and then she looked me back right in the eyes, mouthing the words 'Stop it' to me, making my eyes open wide.
I wish I was warned of how powerful she was. How can I kill him with her so close by?
Reaver glanced back to Emily, obviously understanding her signals for when she found something wrong, and he smirked at her, patting her shoulder before going for the door.
"I'm going to have a bit of a chat with the owners of the mine here," I took that as 'threaten the owners'. "I will be back soon Emily dear. Stay here and chat with our little lost aristocrat there, won't you?" Reaver said to Emily as he winked over to me before strolling out of the Rookridge inn, leaving only me and the maid girl alone. I braced in case of a sudden attack, but instead she walked over and placed herself upon a stool.
"Hello," She said in a high, chirpy voice. I did not think she'd sound like that. "Sorry about him, he can be a bit ruthless at times." She said as she clasped her hands together on the counter top as she smiled brightly to me as I sat in my chair behind the bar, and I blinked at her in confusion.
"Why aren't you attacking me? You know what I was about to do." I said bluntly to her, dismissing her words for my own, and her smile dropped a bit into a slight look of disappointment.
"When the Master is not here, I do not need to act vicious towards you. He is your enemy, not mine." She said in a casual way to me, actually making me stand and place my hands in front of hers, leaning into her a little.
"How are you so skilled?" I asked in genuine curiosity but with a lot of force in my voice, and she was completely un-wavered. She just sat there blinking back at me.
"Practice." She said back as she kept her ground, not leaning away from me even although I was getting in her face. I didn't want to make her an enemy of mine, somewhere down the line someone with her skill could help and even be a gang leader, but I had to figure out a few things right now so I could report back.
"Where did he find you?" I asked as our foreheads were practically touching and she still kept still.
"That's none of your business." She replied back to me, making me squint my eyes at her further. For a maid, she was really putting up some amount of casual fight against me. Many of those in the service world, especially those underneath those of great power are very jittery and sometimes don't speak back, but she was focused and still...not like a maid at all.
"You're not really a maid, are you?" I said in a strong tone to her, making her frown at me.
"I am." She simply said as he hands gripped onto the surface, almost as if she was about to launch an attack.
"Who are you?" I say as my final question just as the doors of the inn flying open sounded out.
"My, they weren't there it seemed! And-...Oh my, have I interrupted something?" I heard in Reaver's voice, and both of our heads turned around to look at him at the door.
It was at that moment I noticed something. Like any other maid doing something she shouldn't and her Master walking in would cause them to panic and pretend to act casual, but Emily was still right in my face, her braced stance not backing down. The argument could be said that we were so concentrated on each other that she didn't hear him coming, but she can see the future, so it doesn't matter, she should've been able to react anyway.
This girl, is not his maid. She's something else. That was very clear now.
"Of course, Sir. It was nothing, we were just talking." Emily said to him as she leaned back from me, coming from her seat and going to stand with him as he raised an eyebrow at her in question but he didn't say anything else on the matter. I knew this new information on the girl would be helpful to us if we wanted to get to him and to exterminate him for good, for if he was to go, she would have to as well. It's a shame really, when she first sat down it almost seemed she was going to be civil with me, but there is no such thing as that when it comes to those underneath evil by choice. It's clear she has a good head on her shoulders and that she can think for herself, so what in Avo's name happened to her to make her want to be with him? There's just something not right about it.
After the two left I went back into the woods of Rookridge and I reported back everything I saw and it got people talking, the new target for killing being Emily now and not Reaver, but it almost too felt wrong. Even if she wasn't his maid and was something else, from her skills it shows she may still be working class, the very same people we're fighting for. Is it right to kill one of your own to save many more?
Ideas were being tossed back and forth of how we were going to outsmart the fortune teller, and no-one could figure out a way, until I recalled a detail from the party right after I was shot. I remember Reaver saying something to her about her visions not always being correct, and that could be the thing that could save us all. So far, from what I've seen, she has predicted a shooting and another possible shooting, and that's not a very complex thing. The idea of perhaps creating absolute hysteria upon his mansion came to be, and we knew she'd have no way of foreseeing it all if all 2000+ of us went insane on his mansion all at once, besides, no one man could fight off thousands of revolutionaries. Yet, at the same time, although we are already viewed as ruffians by many, we didn't want to be known for taking back Albion by brutality, our assassinations would need to be swift and subtle, not crusades on mansions at the dead of night.
It was mostly decided that we would have to somehow separate them and force them to no longer be together as she is obviously his power house of information.
Many weeks passed again and just like last time I spent it mostly training myself in combat and mind skills, making myself quicker on the draw and making my chances of escaping another battle with the man in white a bit more possible. Yet, I also was out selling things that the 'I.B.D' had stolen for us specifically to sell off. Perhaps it was bad of them to steal, but it was always from richer homes and of course they wouldn't miss that extra candelabra, would they?
It would remind me of when I was living back in Rookridge as an aristocrat with my parents. Silver and gold were things that could be considered dirt to me for our riches were so high. Although my parents expectations were too high and their ways of showing they cared was limited, there was a part of me that wanted to think that they loved me. I know now that it isn't the case for if they did they likely would've stopped my joining 'The Rooks', but they never tried to stop me. I think they disowned me in their own way.
Perhaps that's why I felt strange whilst in Reaver's very lavish mansion, for indeed, it reminded me of a time when I wasn't running through tunnels under cities trying to sell a stolen chair or two so a few of us could eat. I wasn't training to murder someone, I was training my body to wear corsets and to walk with books on my head.
I just wish it was different sometimes, but I know I have to do what's right.
After another few days or so, I was informed that the leaders had decided to drop me as the official killer for Reaver and Emily and to let me go into hiding and to rest for some time after my several run ins with them. I protested of course as I wished for nothing but to keep fighting on, but I understood that they needed people who now didn't know them for personalities like I did, but just for their amoral acts, so I let it be. Within 2 weeks, over 6 of our own were killed even although warnings had been issued and practice was in place, there was very little we could seemingly do to strike him down.
Because of our missing people, people that were always a big hand in fact, I was told I had to find a job and Bowerstone Industrial was the place for me. I'd heard it was hard and that he would likely see me a lot, but I'm almost sure that he wouldn't shoot me down in front of the 'I.B.D' since their everywhere, that's unless he wants to get ambushed that is. Reaver will know better than that to do something so dramatic.
About a week or so into my work in the Industrial state, we were all called up to the main building where he was standing up on a balcony just speaking away, something about more hours and less pay and as I looked around, I saw several members of the 'I.B.D' standing just staring right at him, and it was odd seeing so many. As I said before, that gang mostly kept to themselves, but they were right now all out in the open. It was more than strange, but satisfying to know if I needed them they'd possibly help me.
The man in white strolled along casually on his balcony, a cane smacking against the metal flooring of so as many stood shaking before him. As I watched, his eyes kept going from me then to all of the members of the industrial gang, and it was clear he knew we were there. We would've been easily seen as we weren't standing around like any other worker who was shaking or not looking him in the eyes, we were all looking right at him in braced stances, and it almost made him uncomfortable I could tell.
Without industry, Reaver would most likely just be any other aristocrat. Take away the industry, the man goes too.
A part of me the whole time wanted to shout at him from the crowds, telling him how obnoxious he was, but only a genuine fool could do such a thing. I do not wished to be shot again. Plus, I could blow our cover to the public.
Just as his speech finished, his eyes connected with mine again, and it felt like forever. He had the most striking eyes and when he looked right at me, a smirk appeared on his face, almost as if it was a triumph to see me working for him, but it wouldn't be for long.
"Don't get too used to it, Mr Reaver." I mutter to myself as a horn blares just by us all, the obvious signal to get back to work. As I was about to leave, my arm was grasped and I turned around to see a member of the 'I.B.D'.
"Ana, correct?" He simply said to me, making me nod my head. He looked around for a moment before stepping in closer.
"We have a plan for tonight and we need your help here. That maid girl is back in Millfields and she won't have enough time to get here by foot as we've cancelled all carriages coming that way. We've got lots of barrels of gunpowder and we found the tunnels underneath his building." He said in a casual way, and my eyes opened up wide.
"Are we...going to murder him in an explosion?" I asked him as he grinned at me.
"Exactly. Be here for at least 1am and no later."
With that, he ran off from me and into the crowds of workers as my heart beat hard inside of my chest. This was going to be the most brutal way I'd killed someone...What if it didn't work?
"Get ready, Reaver," I said to myself as I stared up at his main building. "Get your rest...By Avo, you're going to need it."