Mia
The extravagance of Resta’s capitol city literally made Mia ill. Here, even the poorest members of society dwelled in homes carved from ornate marble while many others lived in mansions decked with a bounty of golden walls. It made sense, as the castle was built over what was believed to be the world’s largest gold mine. But as light glinted off the castle she had been casing, the young Starling, so suited for darkness, was starting to get dizzy. It was hard to see the advantage of living like this, but the residents of Resta City all seemed to wear an air of annoying contentment.
Why were they all so calm, anyway? She had personally seen to the deaths of two of the queens heirs. Surely this news should have reached these people by now. The press was a force of incredible speed, after all. Both of her assassinations, done at night, had been reported in the Restan Star the very next morning. Shouldn’t the speed at which the royals died have bothered anyone?
That was when a chilling thought occurred to Mia. These people might not even care about the royal family. The Queen was never the most well-liked among Resta’s rulers and, of her siblings, one was a drunk and the other an entitled socialite. The citizens might even welcome a change in regime. What difference does it make to these people when, for all they knew, their sickeningly charming lives were unaffected? For Operation Lighthouse to succeed, they would need to create an environment of fear, but she could see none yet.
These people need Operation Lighthouse, that’s for sure. How else would they know that a killer walks among them? With this veil that Dinorah talked about over their eyes, they would never see through her. Disguised as a royal clerk, she had donned a simple blue, silken dress, brown wig styled with long curls and thick, black glasses. No one questioned her presence there, not even the actual clerks. Her prepared cover story had gone unused for long enough that she began to wonder if anyone even noticed her presence at all.
Despite this, security was tight enough that she hadn’t yet discovered any means of getting close to the queen without being detected. The only place she could even see her was in the court, but that place was always crowded. Striking her target in her sleep would be ideal, but the residential towers could only be accessed from the second floor. She had tried to go up there once, but found the stairs guarded. Access was apparently restricted to royals, their guests, and their personal staff.
She needed more information, to be sure. It was time to put her cover story to use. Mia strolled casually through the cobblestone street leading up to the castle, her nose buried in her official-looking notepad. She had been scribbling some illegible notes as she went, using a shorthand that she knew wouldn’t make any sense to anyone who peered at them.
“Caravan murders uninvestigated?”
“Increasing temple attendance.”
“The Champions?”
“Goddess of Death credited with royal assassinations.”
“Salica.”
She glanced at the last of these phrases often as she continued to add to them. Although she had never seen the queen leave the castle, Mia kept hearing rumors that her highness was seen praying at the Temple of Salica. This rumor wouldn’t be unusual in a country so steeped in theocratic tradition, but why the queen would go to the trouble of hiding her visits nipped at the huntress‘ thoughts. At the same time, the subject came up with enough frequency that she suspected it was not only true, but significant.
The castle only had two public exits, so it was possible that there was a secret passage that the prey used to visit her temple of choice. This possibility brought a smile to her lips. She stopped halfway up the path and glanced toward the gold-plated gates that barred the castle from the rest of the city. I think it’s about time I found religion.
The temple of Salica, located along the city’s western wall, was plated with gold like any other major building in the capitol. Its marble stairway was parted by an inclined fountain and surrounded by planters filled with bluebells. Embossed in the gold above the temple’s towering mahogany doors was a creature with jagged protruding teeth, wide eyes, and four tentacles. Why a goddess would pick something so ugly to represent her was something Mia could not fathom in the time it took her to climb the stairs, so she pushed the thought out of her mind and went inside.
Much as it surprised her, an icy calm overtook Mia as she took notice of Queen Penelope Clark standing before her in the flesh. Her thick, dark brown hair always hung down to her shoulders; probably to conceal her ears, which were rumored to betray a part-elven heritage. If that were the case, Mia thought, she would be the only one among her siblings. If she weren’t soon to die, her own children couldn’t have lived to succeed her if she had any. Mia also took note of her unassuming cloak and unremarkable woolen dress, chosen with care to avoid drawing attention. She would have been an excellent Starling.
Mia was not altogether surprised to see that she had company, but displeased that it came in the form of remaining brother, Anthony. The Starlings had about working in front of their clients, mainly to maintain their mystique. Still, if it could possibly mean that they came unguarded, this could be seen as a potential break. Mia slipped casually into a darkened pew and watched her prey. Confident that neither queen nor prince had registered her presence, she edged the shadows of the dimly lit temple and began to listen to their whispered conversation.
“Sister, do you not realize what you are doing? People are in danger!” Anthony implored silently.
“I know that!” Penelope hissed lividly. “Our brother and sister are dead! Do you suppose the people would rather think of that or the RGT? I know what I’d say if you asked me!”
“How can you pretend nothing is wrong?” the prince demanded. “It’s not just our family who are dying? What is being done about the caravan murders?”
“The spellwarriors are handling it!”
“Funny. One of those spellwarriors who were supposedly handling it ended up in my infirmary last week with a disease I couldn’t diagnose! What do you make of that?”
“Perhaps you overestimate your skill as a doctor.”
“Or perhaps the disease isn’t scientifically possible!” Anthony roared, taking little effort to keep his volume down at this point. After Penelope shushed him imploringly, he continued in a frustrated whisper. “There are traces of magic at work that the entire collective knowledge of our kingdom can’t explain!”
“I’m hurt,” the queen retorted ironically. “I had believed that you had come back to mourn the loss of our siblings with me. How much time have you spent in the Library?”
“Don’t try to change the subject! All evidence points to something dangerous here! You have a responsibility to protect your people. Stop hiding the truth and cancel the festival!”
“Your forget your place! I am the queen, fulfilling the will of the gods! Unless some sign from Ragos himself says otherwise, we shall fill the pools, roast some fire crab, raise the tournament tents and honor him with our revelry! I can protect the citizens of this country without scaring them all!”
“I am sick of you acting like you know what’s best for everyone! A queen of the caliber you pretend to be would know that fear is more important than ignorance right now!”\
“Leave me!” the queen snarled. “Begone before I forget that you are all that remains of my bloodline!”
Anthony growled as he turned to leave. In the midst of his dramatic storm out, he caught Mia’s eye and nodded slightly. Seeing this irritated the Starling. Who does he think he is, directing me like that? More importantly, if he had noticed her presence who was to say that the queen hadn’t made her as well? Mia glanced around the room and noticed to her pleasure that they were alone. The Queen must have ordered everyone out so that she and her brother could talk in private, away from the ears of their “devoted” servants.
As Mia prepared to pounce, the prey turned straight toward her. “I’ve been expecting you,” she said.
Mia groaned exasperatedly. “What, are you a step ahead of me too? You share that trait with Johnny.”
The queen did not flinch at what Mia said, but shook her head distastefully. “Really? Is that remark meant to save face for admitting your incompetence? I suppose it makes sense to send a rookie after me. My people would recognize any other Scarlet Starling.”
With a sour expression, Mia replied, “Your inability to recognize me is the only advantage I needed, dead bitch walking. Just make with the cloaked guards so I can do some killing.”
“You think I need my guards? Here of all places?” the prey laughed mirthlessly. “No, the might of Salica is all the protection I’ll need. I thought, instead of having you beheaded, we might talk for a bit.”
“What’s the point of that?” Mia snapped impatiently. “You are in the Starlings’ way, so you die! It’s as simple as that!”
“You say I’m ’in the Starlings’ way?’” Penelope repeated with a frown. “Tell me, when did your oganization become so political? If I am to die tonight, I‘d like to know what I am dying for.”
“Like you don’t know!” Mia growled. “The answer was just smashed into your stupid face, like, a minute ago!”
Penelope gave a sigh of recognition. “Ah, so the Mother Starling agrees that I should be terrifying people, then?”
“You should be telling them the truth! I just killed two of your siblings! You’re about to die! Don’t you think people should be a little worried about stuff like that?”
“So, you’ll kill me and Anthony will become King. What exactly is this meant to accomplish?”
“How can you be so damned CALM right now! I’m going to kill you!”
“I am calm right now because I believe that these problems that my brother speaks of will be resolved in the hands of the gods. As the Queen of Resta, it is my duty to project that faith to everyone.”
“All the prayer in the world won’t stop you from leaving this room in a body bag!”
“I will not pray for my life, child. I pray that even in death, I will have done my part to prepare my people for the path the gods intended.”
“Ugh! I can’t stand this religious nonsense! How is your death supposed to be a good thing?”
“Do you ever go to Temple?”
Mia shook her head in irritation.
“Then you’ve not heard the legend of the five lands. It is a staple among our culture, you know!”
“Oh, this will be good!” Mia said with a snort.
“They say that the five lands of this world are joined by the wills of the four eldest deities. Salica plays with the people of the Midanian Isles. With so few of her kind left, she turns to these people for companionship. She is our friend. Serenity protects the people of Tanis. Having suffered countless tragedies, she doesn’t want her people to feel any heartbreak. She is our mother. Chaos tempers the people of Heron. Survival has never been a right and he takes it upon himself to ensure his people can take care of themselves. He is our father. Crane educates the people of Galeon. Designed with all the potential of his race, he guides the evolution of his people so that we may overcome their mistakes. He is our teacher. All gods love Resta, which means destiny. All gods share their blessings with us in order to prime us for the responsibility of someday continuing their legacy. They are our future.”
“How very lyrical,” Mia said, unimpressed. “Doesn’t explain why you think your death would be a good thing.”
“You’ve missed the point, then,” Penelope replied, finally betraying a hint of annoyance. “My death would be a tragedy. Perhaps even a calamity. But it is the will of the Gods that we will eventually stand among them as equals. How can we do so without some hardship?”
Mia’s eyes narrowed. “Are you saying that every little fucked up thing that happens on this world is meant to happen? That the gods just throw this shit at us to toughen us up?”
“Your words are crude, but accurate. So, here we stand at the precipice of destiny. At this very moment, I have more trifling concerns than my life or even those of my family. Kill me, and the panic you desire will strike this country under Anthony‘s rule. Perhaps that will temper our people’s resolve in the long run. Otherwise, you should kill my brother instead so that I may maintain order long enough for the Gods to sort out said concerns. That way, we can maintain our stability and continue to evolve along our pre-existing path. Both outcomes have their merits, but as I’ve been so careless, I suppose that choice now falls to you.”
Mia started to feel unnerved by the serious implications of the queen’s lecture. Never before had she listened to a point of view that did not belong to a Starling or their clientele, so this discussion felt different in ways she could not define at that moment. Her heart raced with the enormity of her decision. Loyalty to the Starlings would expose the naked truth of things to the people, but what if they don’t need to know the truth? If mortals ever got too comfortable, the Gods would take care of that little problem, wouldn’t they?
Mia stared at Salica’s statue for the first time. She looked so young. Perhaps if she had been a mortal they could have been the same age. Damn it! I need to focus! Try as she might, however, she could not straighten her thoughts. Fear or Safety? Starlings or the gods? The queen or her heir? Her vision soon felt as clouded as her mind, flushed with a deep, uncompromising mist. Seeing this only deepened her bewilderment and compelled her to lash out with her dagger. When she noticed the blood that had sprayed her face, she began to run, but no matter where she ran, the inexplicable fog followed.
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