Young Writers Society

Chapter 1- Allison

The tavern was heaving. Full of so many people, so many stories, so many idiots.

Allison knew that she was one of those idiots, if she weren’t she wouldn’t be here. She was sat in the darkest corner of a bustling tavern. Her gaze wandered over the patrons, most of which were drinking their lives away, fighting to be heard in a meaningless conversation with another. The waitresses were running around doing their best to keep the mugs of ale filled and the money flowing.

The tavern itself was nothing special, its wooden interior lit only by several lanterns offering meager lighting to the large room. The large communal tables in the center of the room filled to capacity with the city’s drunkards, workers enjoying a night free from their troubles. There were a few lone people sat at stools before the bar, either to get closer to the alcohol or to the flirtatious woman serving it.

Then there were the booths where she was currently seated, she hadn’t failed to notice the barely concealed curious glances some of the patrons were throwing her. That was the problem with meetings like this, they were supposed to be inconspicuous, and she knew better than whomever she was meeting that private and public did not go hand in hand.

She had however taken every precaution possible to ensure that her meeting remained as secretive as she could have it. The location had been given the day before, giving her just enough time to prepare. Allison had an exit strategy for almost every eventuality, though most involved the daggers which were tucked into the belt around her waist and tucked into her boots. There was also an easily accessible door located just behind her, the only reason she had arrived early for this meeting was so that she would be the one sat closer to that door.

Her fingers drummed on the table as her impatience rose, her attention now moving from the patrons to the door. Though she may have been early, her client was late. And although the sun had set not long ago she did want to be home before it rose again.

Allison glanced around the tavern again, she was always wary when in the city, and she was even more so in this city. She did her best to avoid the capital at all; it was dangerous in the best of circumstances. She preferred it when she could stay in her tent, away from any place where she was putting her life at risk, yet here she was, surrounded by her sworn enemies. But the camp needed money, so she had little choice in the matter.

The door opened and her eyes snapped up only to immediately clash with the yellow ones staring back at her. She leaned back in her seat feigning an ease that she wasn’t even close to feeling, watching as the man walked to sit opposite her in the booth. She smiled at the sight of the sweat gathering on his brow; at least she wasn’t the only one who was uncomfortable with this entire situation.

The man seemed a little older than she was, seemingly in his early twenties, but it was impossible to tell when in a city such as this, he could easily be in his hundreds. If he was then she couldn’t help but feel a small shred of pride, at least her reputation preceded her. Allison made a show of looking him over, ensuring her expression remained impassive the entire time; his hair was dark, harshly at contrast with the bright yellow of his eyes. He wasn’t muscular like many of the workers at her camp, but he also wasn’t fat.

She studied him for another couple of moments, taking note of the sword hanging at his hip, and the knife he had attempted to hide under his cloak. It was strange; Allison couldn’t help but wonder why the weapons would even be necessary considering his race had the ability to turn into a wolf. That would probably be able to launch much more effective attacks than a sharpened shard of metal.

After a few seconds of contemplation, during which time the man had made it blatantly obvious he wasn’t going to be the first to speak, Allison finally gave a small nod, most of the unease she had felt previously draining away, the man appeared so nervous that it was hard to find the creature threatening. “You have the money?” she asked, tilting her head to the side slightly. Though she might not fear the man she also had no intention of spending any more time with him making idle chit chat than she had to. Less time with him, less time in the city.

The man quickly nodded his head as he hurried to give her the bulging leather pouch that had been at his waist. Allison hesitated only briefly before parting the strings and looking inside, her eyebrow raising at the sight of the gold coins resting inside, this was a lot of money even for a standard job. She looked back up at the man again as she spoke once more “what exactly do you want me to do?” she asked cautiously.

He glanced around the tavern briefly as though expecting someone to be stood listening to every word, even though it was clear they were well out of hearing range, even the creatures in the tavern with enhanced hearing would struggle to make out anything other than unintelligible murmurs of sound. “There is a woman at court who is causing me some issues” he said with a sigh, though his voice was clearly lowered.

Allison fought the roll of her eyes as she nodded her head, these people and their politics was what got her most of her jobs, they paid well, but at the same time she considered it to be rather pathetic. “An old lover?” she asked, unable to help the hint of sarcasm that entered her tone, though she quickly hid her smirk as the man’s eyes visibly darkened. “Sorry” she muttered “what would you have me do about this woman?” she asked, her expression returning to its stony facade as she forced her mind to pay attention to the discussion at hand.

He frowned a little before he continued. “I don’t want her harmed” he said bluntly. At this Allison’s eyebrow raised, the only reaction of surprise that she couldn’t keep from her features. This was new, the only reason people hired her these days was so that she could get rid of people permanently. “I want you to remove her from the city, and I want her kept alive until I can come and retrieve her.”

“So, you want me to kidnap this woman of yours?” Allison asked dryly as she ran a hand through her long fair hair. At the man’s nod she frowned, kidnapping wasn’t part of the game that she usually played, death was clean, and this was going to be messy. She reached forward, taking her glass of water in her hand, not to drink, but only for something to hold.

The man waited silently while she considered it. Kidnapping was unexpected, and certainly not where her expertise lay, but she supposed that she could adapt. The money on the table in front of her was certainly good motivation for that. It could buy enough supplies to keep the entire camp for a couple of months at least, and they were in need of some more medicine. Her finger traced the rim of the glass, there were so many risks, if she was caught she would most definitely be killed, most likely hung for treason. She would also need help to be able to pull it off, kidnapping was a lot more complex than killing, there were more parts to consider, more places for it to go wrong.

But the money was needed, people would die without it. That was the ultimate reason for her slight nod as she lifted the glass to her lips and took a tentative sip. “Who is this woman then?” she asked “and why is it that you want her so much?”

The man frowned a little before sighing “the Princess of Elthia, Lillian Renncourt. My reasons for wanting her are my own. If you succeed send word and I will come and get her from you” he explained with a slight shrug as though it was a reasonable request.

Allison, on the other hand, was left speechless for the first time in what had definitely been a long time. “You want me to kidnap Lillian Renncourt? A Princess?” she asked in disbelief. She didn’t keep up to date in the politics of kingdoms, but everyone knew that Lillian was to marry the Crown Prince of Athin, the capital city of which contained the very tavern in which she was sat in.

“Do I look as though I have a death wish? No! Not in this life or the next. This meeting is over; you can find some other fool to do your dirty work for you” she protested quickly, as she moved to get to her feet, the money on the table long forgotten. As she rose to her feet however she found herself walking straight into something solid, her attention whipped up to the man who was now glaring down at her, his face no longer containing any hint of the nervous unease she had seen before.

“Sit” he snapped, Allison could have sworn she saw his golden eyes flash. She did as she was instructed, stubbornly keeping her expression impassive, refusing to show any of the nerves she was now definitely feeling.

The man smiled, though now it just seemed cruel and full of malicious intent as he sat down beside her, blocking her exit. Allison tensed, her hand itching to reach for one of her daggers, though she forced it to remain stiffly at her side. She stared straight ahead, refusing to give the man the satisfaction of looking at him while she considered her very few options. “You can’t force me to kidnap her for you” she muttered, sounding a lot more childish than she would have liked.

The man let out a low, dangerous chuckle “I can’t, you’re right. But you see, if you refuse I will undoubtedly become angry about it” he said giving her a calculating smile. “I don’t suppose you’ve ever seen what happens to a werewolf when they become angry, it would be a shame if you had to figure it out after I go to meet with your sister” he said, appearing to take pleasure as Allison stiffened in her seat. Her sister was at home, sleeping as any normal person would be at this kind of hour. It couldn’t be possible for this man to have her. And yet it should also be impossible for the man to even know about her.

When Allison was working she never gave her name, never gave away any personal details. For those who had gotten too curious about her life away from her work she had ensured that they were quickly removed from any position where they might even consider betraying her. But this man knew something, she could see it in the dancing embers that were his eyes, and despite herself she felt a small amount of panic beginning to blossom in her chest.

“Now, allow me to renegotiate our terms, you will take Lillian, and when I come to collect her I will return your sister to you. You may take the money I have already given you; I will give you a little more when you complete your end of our bargain.”

“You have my sister?” Allison murmured, her calm demeanor beginning to falter as fear made her voice shake slightly. Even though she mentally cursed herself for showing any weakness in front of this man, she had little control over it.

“Calm yourself, I assure you that she is safe, for now that is. I will answer no more questions about her, I simply need to know if you accept my offer or not.”

Allison looked over at the man in disbelief, he expected her to be calm? She doubted she would ever be calm again. There were so many questions, how did he get her sister? What else did he know about her? How did he find her sister? If he had gotten into their camp then all the humans there were in danger, not just them. But when it came down to the ultimate choice, well there was no choice, he had her backed into a corner, and she had no choice but to be lead out on a leash.

The nod of her head felt as though she had just signed away her freedom, but there were no other options available to her. The man grinned widely, it was like she had just handed him the moon on a plate. “Good, I think your best opportunity will be the ball at the end of the week, I’m sure you can find a way to get her to go with you, your sisters life depends on it after all” he said, his tone almost cheerful as he got to his feet again. “I’ll see you soon Allison” he said, and Allison couldn’t help but notice that his words sounded more like a promise than a simple farewell. 

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