Young Writers Society

Lordy swung open the doors and let the guard step inside first. He took one more look up and down the road to make sure no one was watching before he shut the doors behind them.

The people in the bar were confused to see the guard, but once they saw Lordy walk in behind him, they all began to smile.

"Sir, where is that lady that needs he-" The guard's words were cut short by a solid whack at the back of his helmet.

He stumbled forward and fell into the arms of a few of the bars patrons, who began holding him down.

"Tie him onto a chair for me," Lordy shouted, "I need to ask him some questions."

Within moments, the guard was securely fastened onto a chair and surrounded by Lordy's delinquents. Lordy walked up to him and pulled his helmet off. He was younger than Lordy expected, but the hate in his eyes were obvious.

"They're sending children out here now to protect us, do you all see it?" Lordy asked the crowd.

They erupted in laughter and cheers.

"Let me ask you boy. Did you see anyone follow me into that alleyway earlier?"

The guard looked at Lordy up and down and with one smooth motion- spat in his face.

Lordy chuckled as he wiped the spit off, "Suit yourself."

He pulled a small dagger from his belt and jammed in the crease of the guards armor, right between his kneecap and his thigh. The guard let out a scream that made Lordy start giggling like a child who just won candy.

---

Vincent was still confused. Where was Mercury taking him? Why were they running? Why was the space going to be tight? Did he want to finish the kiss he chickened out of?

They stopped in front of a small space where two people were definitely not meant to fit.

They looked at each other for a second before Vincent spoke up, "Do we go in together?"

Madam Kitshire could rouse a crowd far better than lousy Lordshire ever could have. She was on the bar now, rubbing her face in some wonderful, high grade catnip.

She brushed the catnip with her tail.

The another roar came, this one more distant. Her ears flicked to the direction of the door, to outside.

This roar was not... not her crowd? The audacity! She glided over to a group of men and women who were loitering next to a roaring fire. Something was revolving above it. Meat. She licked her lips.

No, no. She was on a mission!

"Is there some sort of gathering I don't know about?" She asked oh so sweetly.

A woman, mid chuckle, turned to her. "I don't think so, Madam Kitshire."

Hmmm. Perhaps she must go back to sleuth mode!

---

"And risk getting crushed? No. Besides, it's important that I go first."

Mercury managed to look back and placed a hand on Vincent's chest, forcing him to stop. Eye safeguards. He'd have to remove them before letting Vincent through.

Mercury slid in sideways until he got through into the clearing. It was dark, with crystals glimmering in the ceiling. He grabbed a handful of dust and tossed it up in the air. The crystals flared to life for a bitter moment, and then the room dimmed completely.

"It's safe to enter," Mercury said as he worked on getting a fire started.

The guards anger turned to sobs, "Please, I didn't see anything just let me go. I promise I won't say nothing."

"Awww," Lordy pouted, "You hear that everyone, he won't say anything!"

The crowd booed and looked to Lordy in anticipation.

"It doesn't seem they believe you, my friend. I'll tell you what, if you tell me what you saw, I promise I'll let you go. Back to your friends and family."

The guard looked up at him with tears in his eyes.

"If not, then I'll kill you." Lordy twirled his dagger in his hand.

The guard thought for a moment, "It was a man."

Lordy raised an eyebrow.

"He wore a uniform from the capitol. Not a regular guard, someone much higher up." The guard continued, "He just... followed you. ON FOOT. I thought someone like you would notice."

Lordy's lip twitched.

"Now please let me go. They're going to come look for me, but I promise you I won't say anything. I just want to go home."

Lordy spun around and tapped his chin, "You're right I did promise." he thought for a moment before he continued, "Chop his tongue off and get rid of his fingers. Let's be on the safe side people."

More screams erupted as Lordy wiped his dagger on a nearby tablecloth. He had been followed and had no idea, and by someone of the royal circle. This, was a problem.

---

Vincent walked into the room, that wasn't so much a room as it was a cave. He watched as Mercury started to make a fire. He wasn't sure how he felt being along in a hidden room with a stranger, but it did make things a whole lot more difficult when it came to doing his job.

"So, are you gonna tell me what's going on yet?" Vincent asked Mercury.

Mercury continued doing what he was doing.

"Listen, I have to kill this guy and get back home soon. You think we could speed this up a little?"

Tabitha turned invisible. She'd have to do this on the down low. Everyone's a suspect! Some man opened the front door, complaining about his bladder. If only humans didn't care where they spread their territory like Tabitha, perhaps the world would be a better place.

She followed the man outside, and her ears flicked to a place on the other side of the alleyway. The roars were coming from over there! Upon closer inspection, it was an inn.

She turned away. Just another dead end. Sad. Perhaps she should leave the sleuthing to Lord Lordyness.

More commotion inside.

The voice sounded familiar. Lordshire was in there?

Tabitha floated into a window on the second floor. People were in a bed under covers, giggling to each other. How annoying. Tabitha sneaked downstairs, just in time to see a guard getting his fingers cut off. Snip snip. Lordshire was having fun without her. She would have to remedy this situation, but it needed... a delicate paw. She disappeared and went back to the hideout. Just in time, too, the man was finished with his marking.

---

Mercury would have to go about this delicately. He needed to know what the Inner Circle knew. Vincent didn't seem like the guy to delve further into a mission than he was ordered to, so perhaps Mercury could... fudge the details a bit.

"Sit." Mercury gestured to a cozy chair next to the fireplace. "Our signals must have gotten mixed up. You know, higher up stuff. You know what an Eye is?"

Lordy walked out of the bar and shut the door. He tidied his suit up a bit before he looked to see if anyone was around. The town was lonely now, it was well past dark and no one really liked to be out in the night unless they had business to take care of.

He made his way back to the hideout to find everyone stuffing their faces and laughing with one another. He was glad to see them all celebrating. The time was coming soon where they would make themselves useful.

He scouted the room out for Tabitha, but saw no sign of her.

"Madam Tabitha!" He shouted, "Could I have a word with you?"

---

"An Eye?" Vincent began, looking directly at Mercury's face, "I think... I think I know a little more about them than you do."

Mercury's lip twitched.

Vincent knew he was trying to pry for information. He wondered how much he could trust this man, nothing had ever happen this way before on a mission.

"Sorry, they're a group of skilled warriors from the kingdom. I haven't had much to do with them, not til now at least. But their skills are talked about by everyone." Vincent tried to read his face for any sign of emotion, "But what would you guys be doing on a mission like this? Lordy Lordshire is a bad guy but is he worthy of the Eye's attention?"

Tabitha floated near the dusty chandelier at the top of the hideout. Hmm. She glanced down at Lordshire. She had to keep him waiting, just for a bit longer. He worked on cat time, not the other way around.

Finally, she sighed and plopped onto Lordshire's shoulder which elicited a groan from him.

"Yes, Lordshire? Mighty one of the cane?"

---

Mercury took the chair on the opposite side of the fire.

"Then why does it have the attention of the Inner Circle?" He was unsure who he was asking.

"Must you do that, my dear." Lordy said, reaching up to pet Tabithas head, "I think we were followed here."

"Oh?" Tabitha said curiously.

"Except the problem is, we had no idea. That doesn't sound like any regular old person does it?"

Lordy twirled his cane in his hand as he made his way to the bar.

"I think we may have some special guests on our tail."

---

"What the Inner Circle has for reasons is beyond my pay grade, unfortunately. I do my job and that's it. I don't ask more questions than I need to." Vincent said.

He knew that answer wouldn't satisfy Mercury, he just wanted to test the waters.

Tabitha chirped quietly. "You don't have a tail. Only I have one." She threaded her fluffy tail around Lordshire's ear. "They must be after your cane!" She announced triumphantly.

"But why?" She wondered aloud. "Why now, Lordy?"

---

Typical soldier type. The Eyes taught Mercury that mindlessly obeying orders leads to mindlessly giving orders, and that leads to the fall of kingdoms. The Eyes' entire mission revolved around keeping a close eye and have a hand in the daily doings of the nobility.

Perhaps that's why he was sent on this mission, to keep an eye on Vincent here.

"It seems," Mercury began, "that both of our masters have given us little information to go on, yet we are both given this mission."

He rubbed his eye. "The Eyes do not make these kind of mistakes. Something larger is at stake here." He turned onto Vincent suddenly. "Let me offer a suggestion, a hypothetical. Why would your general send you on this mission and no one else?"

Lordy sat at the bar and the bartender instinctively passed him his usual. He thought about what could have tipped the inner circle off.

"Hmm," He rubbed his chin, "They've always wanted me gone. Maybe the thought of someone else holding power in their land is finally getting to them."

He hadn't told Tabitha about his plans yet. Not in detail anyway, he still wondered if she was ready to hear. Or rather, if he could trust her.

---

Mercury was right, the Eye was careful with each and every aspect of their duties. This wouldn't happen out of the blue.

"They chose me because I get the job done," Vincent said in a perhaps overly-confident way, "I was born and groomed as a purebred soldier. I've never failed a mission before, and this is far from my first big target."

Big was an understatement in this case. He really had no idea just how important any of the people he's killed or captured were, he just did what he was told.

Tabitha wanted to check on something. She was confused, and that sight of the guard earlier piqued her interest.

Lordy used to always tell her back in their early days together that curiosity killed the cat. It was a useful reminder, of course, so she wouldn't rat them out when they were planning their first hideout.

But now? Hmm...

She yawned, stretching her mouth to show her large fangs. "I am going to get some rest, Lordshire."

"This early, my dear?"

"Oh," she batted a paw at him, "you know me. Always up at 3am anyway! May as well get my beauty sleep now!" With that, she disappeared.

Lordy could have his suspicions, of course. But, he couldn't follow her when she was invisible.

She was gonna have a little chat.

---

A purebread soldier. Those were dangerous words to a member of the Eyes.

Did. Did the Eyes want this person alive?

Mercury shook his head. Regardless, they were going to need caution here.

He sighed.

"I don't normally do this. But," if he could have rolled his eyes there, he would have, "we need to work together."

Lordy was skeptical of Tabitha, but his mind was in other places. As she disappeared and drifted away, he turned to the bartender.

"Tell me something, Franko," Lordy said, taking a sip of his cup, "When's the last time you shot someone?"

Frank continued wiping off a glass that was already too clean, "Don't know boss, it's been a while."

Lordy twirled his finger in his cup, "You might want to brush some of the dust off then buddy."

---

Work together? Did he want more alone time? No one had ever offered to be Vincent's partner before.

"I've never actually had to do a mission with someone else before." Vincent said, putting his hands on his waist, "I'm more of, uh, solo soldier."

Mercury looked at him.

"Besides, what help could you possibly give me anyway?"

~In-vest-igat-or~

Madam Tabitha Marxil Kitshire found herself humming along to her new title. Lordy Lordshire was up to something, and if he wanted to keep her out of the loop, then she will just have to, uhh, make her own loop! Yes, that sounds right!

Things are moving, and Kitshire had to move with it. Or, well, glide with it. Lordshire would be proud of her ingenuity here. She will make him proud.

If not, then she will make sure someone recognizes her.

She snuck back into the inn.

---

"There's nothing more solo than an Eye." Mercury gave him a pointed stare. "And, well, you already survived one foolish attempt because of me."

Mercury muttered to himself. "It seems the Eyes wanted some brains to this mission."

While Tabitha was gone, Lordy decided to do some organizing with the crew members he had at the hideout.

"Okay, alright. And how many guns are in the storage room?" Lordy shouted to someone in the back.

"Six!" A voice shouted back.

"Hm, I thought-"

"Seven!" Another one shouted.

"That's better." he took a mental note before he continued, "Are all of our swords sharpened? Dagger and knives and the like?"

"On it, sir!" Another voice chirped.

Lordy smiled, he didn't expect to have to start preparing so soon, but he had waited long enough. His PEOPLE had waited long enough. It was about time that his journey begun.

---

"Hm." Vincent thought for a moment, "I knew what I was doing. Lordshire is smart and powerful, but he would never be able to out-fight me. And on top of that, what could his goonies possibly do? Shoot me? I've dodged bullets before."

Mercury didn't seem to like what he was hearing.

Vincent continued, "I was more than well prepared to finish the job quickly and easily, being taken away so suddenly is more of a hinderance. As a matter of fact, he just may be on to us because of that. I thought you Eyes guys were supposed to be the smart ones?"

Kitshire floated through the same window as last time. Fortunately, this time there was no one in the room making a ruckus. The bed was nicely made. Tabitha just had to.

She plopped onto the bed. Oh, freshly clean bedclothes were just the best. She curled into the blanket. Oh, it was amazing.

Rolling onto her side, she squinted at the light, and then her eyes closed in pure joy.

After a few minutes of loafing around and absolutely destroying the freshly made bedclothes, Tabitha returned to her invisible self and glided down the stairs. The inn was now back to its usual ruckus after Lordshire left.

However, there was a suspicious dotting of blood leading to the back door that was fresh enough to send shivers down her whiskers.

She floated to the backdoor, and when no one was looking, pushed it opened just enough for her to squeeze through.

The soldier boy sat in a corner next to the stalls, silently sobbing into his lap. She found her target!

---

Whether he liked it or not, the... bullet-dodging soldier had a point. They could have been followed.

He closed his left eye, and after a brief delay, he could see the room again. This time, however, it was like viewing it as a fly on the wall, but with everything having dots instead of lines. It felt blurry but sharp at the same time. Color was diluted, and sounds weren't... sounds, moreso like they were vibrations that rattled the dots around them. The fireplace had a soothing and consistent vibration to it.

Other than that, there were no noises or magical beings anywhere around them.

He opened his eye and let out a sigh. The power drained him. "No one followed us. I tire of this bickering. Think. If I was sent on this mission, then there's something we are both missing. So, just 'taking him out' no longer works."

He slouched back into the chair. "I assume you know when a mission parameters change?"

There was no easy way to go about it, Lordy was going to have to cause a ruckus for his plan to work. But this late at night? He didn't believe anyone would pay any mind. No, he needed all eyes on him, and that meant he needed to wait for morning, when the city was bustling with life.

And with guards.

He smiled to himself before he shouted to his people, "Get your rest tonight friends! We have a big day ahead of us tomorrow."

Cheers met his ears as he walked his way back to the door. There was one thing he was sure he would need, and that was a guards armor.

---

What was Mercury doing? He looked like he just had a small migraine, did he need a head rub?

"Are we going to pretend you didn't just close your eyes-" Vincent looked at Mercury, "Eye... and tell me no one followed us? How do you know?"

Mercury didn't seem phased by the question.

"On top of that, I've never had my mission's parameters change. You want me to believe there's something they think I'm not ready for?"