[ OT ] Sunday Free Write : Leave A Story , Leave A Comment - The Dark Gift Edition !

Someone posted a [ prompt ] ( https: //www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/comments/3neiwf/ttits_the_middle_ages_and_you_make_money_by/cvnhfnm ) yesterday, and I felt compelled to write. 
 
 Here's what I've got so far if anyone's interested: 
 
 *** [ TT ] It's the Middle Ages and you make money by killing people. *** 
 
 # Balthazar's Masquerade Ball 
 
 `` Cedric.'' 
 
 `` Laina. Thank you for coming.'' 
 
 `` My pleasure to be of service to the legion.'' Candles flickered on torch mounts along the hallway at the passing of a calm wind, and a steady pace of water droplets dripped all around through the cracks in the stone ceiling. 
 
 `` I did n't think you would show.'' 
 
 `` Neither did I.'' 
 
 The legion had n't called upon me for a few years -- ever since I had a falling out with one of their spies -- and I was quite surprised they managed to track me down for work. I never heard word from them unless they started something they did n't have the power to finish, or needed someone to fix a problem for political gains. 
 
 `` Your *work* is valued, and unforgettable. We appreciate all you have done for the legion in the past.'' 
 
 `` Cut to the point, Cedric.'' 
 
 Cedric and I knew each other since the beginning of Balthazar's reign. We served together for the High King's Marshall and toured many years together, but we did n't always see eye to eye. At one point we were close as siblings, but now that time had passed, and the corruption of the legion has taken pursuit through anonymity, we no longer speak as kin -- only for business. 
 
 `` Very well, Laina. The legion has high coin for trade of your service-*should you accept*, and again, thanks you for speaking with us on short notice. Our political prospect has veined a path to righteous ruling over the land. Although, things must go exactly as planned, or the opportunity will be lost. This is *the* most important move that the legion has ever made, and expects the outcome to be a flawless-'' Cedric coughed, and cleared his throat as a gesture. `` *-execution. *'' 
 
 I pushed back the hood on my cloak which draped over my eyes, and showed my face to Cedric. `` What's the catch?'' 
 
 `` It is inside Balthazar's masquerade ball.'' 
 
 *Loud noises, distractions and gluttony? This should be easy coin*, I thought. * 
 
 `` Like I said, what's the catch?'' 
 
 A man masked as a traditional executioner walked around the corner, and his heavy stomps echoed throughout the tunnel system. I forced my attention to the man for a brief second, and watched as he struggled to lift a large, clumpy black bag across the hall. 
 
 *Death and blood are smells one never forgets, I internalized* -- and listened to the wet slop, and slosh as the man dragged the bag from one room to another. 
 
 `` Lord Balthazar.'' 
 
 `` No.'' 
 
 `` Yes.'' 
 
 `` No. That is suicide.'' 
 
 `` Well, then. You're in quite a predicament now, are n't you, Laina?'' 
 
 `` Who was in the bag?'' 
 
 Cedric grinned, and tapped his fingertips together in succession like a mad man. 
 
 `` I am going to bet that was the person before me who declined the job,'' I said, then slipped my hood back over my head. 
 
 `` Smart girl.'' 
 
 A light illuminated through the doorway of the room to the left. This was the same room which the man had entered with the black bag. I heard a sizzle and singe, and the noise of a shovel scooping coal. The light grew brighter with each scoop and slide, and Cedric's shadow had now cast over me. 
 
 `` When?'' 
 
 `` Tonight. You have until sun up. If you do not succeed, we will find you, and-'' Cedric chuckled. `` -well, you get the point.'' 
 
 `` How do you want it done?'' 
 
 `` It *must* look like an accident. The rest is up to you.'' 
 
 `` Done.'' 
 
 I gripped onto the rickety links of the wooden ladder with little support, and heard Cedric's voice echo up the passage of the disguised stone-well. 
 
 `` Time's ticking, Laina.'' 
 
 I pushed myself up and onto the ledge of the stone-well, and swung my legs over one at a time. A festive display of lights shone bright over the canopies of red oak trees in the direction of Balthazar's city, and poured through the infinite crevices between their limbs, and leaves. I hopped down from the stone-well, and landed with a crisp, cool, crunch onto the wild grass beneath the soles of my knee-high boots. The night felt brisk. Blood rushed to my cheeks, and the tip of my nose went frigid. The temperature had fallen fast, and my time was running short. There was no time to think, plan, or contemplate my next move, so I sprinted into the red oak woods on an inadvertent path to the city. 
 
 With nimbleness and finesse, I hurdled over toppled trees, and weaved around the massive trunks of the red oak's in my way. Time was of extreme value, and I was losing value as each second passed. Crowd's roared, and people cheered as I furthered deeper into the woods, and moisture from my lungs made puffs of white clouds with each panted exhale. I knew I was almost there -- the smell of filth from festivities traveled with the wind, and lingered in the wildlife. I slowed my pace to a casual jaunt, and then sauntered to the edge of the woods about twenty meters in. Darkness of the woods shrouded over me, and the foliage of the lowland bushes gave camouflage to my presence. I crept along the inner perimeter of the woods in stealth until I found a reasonable means of entrance -- and then I saw it. 
 
 Right there. In front of me. Ten meters out. I held my breath, and bolted from cover into the clearing in front of the large city gates. I gave it everything I had. The bottom of my leather strapped boots slid on the gravel when I tried to stop, so I crouched for balance and braced myself for an unpleasant halt. My body slammed into the backside of the isolated, stone building, and I gasped for air. Out of breath, and winded from the long-hauled sprint, I seated myself on one of the wooden crates and took a minute to catch my breathe. Nothing but piles of rotten garbage, and a stockade of empty storage crates encompassed the backside of the shop. A perfect place to hide. 
 
 *What the hell-* 
 
 Liquid trickled, and splattered against the adjacent wall from where I hid. A man let out a groan of contentment, and sighed in satisfaction. I pulled out a compact mirror from a pouch on my vest, and slid off the wooden crate to inspect the noise. Zest from the city's celebration roared, and nulled the subtle crunch of gravel in my step as I edged inches closer in silence. A twinkle, or flash from the mirror must have caught his attention when i peered around the corner, because he slurred a yelled in my direction- 
 
 `` Oi!'' 
 
 *Damn. * 
 
 `` Oi, you! Do n't you move!'' 
 
 *Wasting time. I have to keep moving. * 
 
 `` You lot'ear me over there?'' 
 
 I put the compact away and revealed myself from the shadows. 
 
 `` A woman?!'' The man swayed side to side, and hiccuped between words. `` I thought-'' *hiccup* `` -you were-'' *hiccup* `` -a threat!'' 
 
 He laughed, and pulled his trousers half way down his thighs. 
 
 `` Can I help you?'' I asked. 
 
 `` Why, yes. Yes, you can.'' 
 
 The man hulked toward me and said, `` I fancy a good fuck. Come here you whore!'' 
 
 I readied my stance, and waited for him to come at me. He had one hand on his genitals, and the other opened like a claw at the height of my throat. The man charged at me, and in one quick motion I moved to the side, and used his own inertia to bring him to the ground. While he laid flat on his back, I grabbed a hand sized stone off the floor, and smashed it into the back of his skull a couple times before tossing it to the wayside. Girth on his arms were larger than my hands, but I still attempted to slide him behind the shop -- he was too heavy -- so I kicked over a mound of trash to pile over him. And when I did, metal clanked, bottles broke, and garbage rustled as the mountain of trash fell onto the man. His body was only half covered, and his legs, arms and hands stuck out. 
 
 *Good enough, * I thought. 
 
 I unsnapped the secret slit at the cuff of my sleeve, and pulled out a pouch made of pure armadillo hide. Inside the pouch was one needle with blue-ringed octopus venom from my travels to the eastern isles. I clasped the needle carefully, and hovered it beside the mans neck -- but hesitated. 
 
 *Not worth it. I'll save this for Balthazar. * 
 
 I put away the needle, snapped the pouch inside my cuff, and ran toward the gates of the city. 

