𝕭𝖚𝖗𝖓𝖊𝖉 𝕾𝖊𝖈𝖗𝖊𝖙𝖘 (𝕯𝖗𝖆𝖋𝖙 𝕿𝖜𝖔)

𝕮𝖍𝖆𝖕𝖙𝖊𝖗 𝕺𝖓𝖊

·̩̩̥͙＊*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚ * ˚*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚＊·̩̩̥͙·̩̩̥͙＊*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚ * ˚*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚＊·̩̩̥͙·̩̩̥͙＊*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚ * ˚*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚＊·̩̩̥͙

Kailani

"We had a deal, Raksha!"

I struggled against the chains around my wrists and ankles. He twirled the dagger in his hands. I glared up at him, breathing heavily. My hair hung in front of my face, partially obscuring my vision.

Raksha chuckled and walked over to me and grabbed my face. "Oh Kailani. Sweet, naive, Kailani." He rubbed his thumb across my cheek and stared into my eyes. "I must admit, I didn't want to do this." "Then why?" He let go of my face and took a few steps back. "The money, Kailani!" He said, throwing his arms wide. He smiled slightly. "I need the money, Kail." I was shaking with rage. "So that money is more important to you than me?!" His eyes softened. Only for a second, but I saw it. "Yes, yes it is."

✴

"Come on. Come on."

I hissed. I had to get this done tonight. If I didn't, I'd never escape. The king was going to be here in the morning. And considering I'd tried to kill his son, I doubted he'd let me live.

I smiled in triumph when the cuffs around my wrists sprang open. It didn't take as long to do my ankles. Probably because my hands weren't bound together anymore. I stood up and quietly walked over to the door. I pressed my ear against the floor and listened for vibrations. Two soldiers walked past the door. I waited a few seconds after they left, then stood up and turned away to find something to open the door.

I startled and turned around quickly when I heard the door creak open. There was a young girl standing there, her brown hair poking out of her hood, resting on her shoulders. I couldn't see her facial features because of how low the hood was. Wordlessly she handed me a map and a key ring. When I didn't move she sighed and pointed out the door. "What about you?" I asked, looking at her. I could've sworn I saw her smile. "Don't worry, he won't hurt me."

I gave her one last glance before hurrying out of the cell. I pressed myself against a wall as a soldier walked down a hall a few feet away from me. "Okay," I whispered, unfolding the map. I froze, staring down at the letters on the page. "Oh." I heard a sigh from behind me. "You can't read, can you?"

I shook my head and shoved the map into her hands. "Help me?" She shrugged. "Sure. Ain't got shit else to do today." She stared at the map for a few seconds then grabbed my arm. "C'mon, this way."

✴

"It's right down that hall." She said, my eyes followed the direction her finger was pointing, and I nodded. "But who are—" When I turned around, she was gone. I stared blankly at the place she'd been for a few seconds, before the sounds of soldiers approaching caught my attention.

I snatched the cloak the girl had dropped and pulled it over my head. It was kind of big. How was she able to wear it?

I checked to make sure the coast was clear before stepping out into the warm summer air. I inhaled deeply, relishing in the smell of fresh air. They didn't really clean down there.

It was hard to stay under people's radars with this big cloak on. But there wasn't really any other way to hide my identity. I was pretty well known in Orlam. Not for good reasons though.

The sun was beating down on me. I was sweating enough to slide out of this cloak. I stopped under a vacant canopy and ditched the cloak. There were a few boxes on the ground under the table. I glanced around then crawled under the table and began searching through them. "There's got to be something in here that'll fit me."