Chapter 3

Later, Rhaenyx awoke in a dimly lit guild house. The building was barely maintained, and the walls were black. Rot grew on the timbers in every damp corner. A torch sat on the table next to her. She tried to move her arms and legs, only to be thwarted by ropes strapping her to a rusted metal chair. A bucket of golden liquid sat a few feet away, resembling the extract of an Akihyra fruit.

“Ah, the princess has awoken. Or well, soon to be queen if she follows her orders.” The man from earlier stepped out of the shadows. He was clean this time as if he freshly bathed. No dirt stuck to his face, and his hair was neatly pulled back into a bun. “The name is Tariar, Icran Tariar, and I’m the leader of this rogue guild, Dynamere. Of course, we named it after our benefactor. Dynamere Raenaleous stepped out from the shadows, grinning.

“Nice to meet you Rhaenyx. I’ve always wanted to meet the one I’d eventually beat into the dirt.” She pulled out a small knife, leaning on Rhae’s lap, pushing the blade gently into her chin. “So, the legends are true, you are quite pretty. Too bad we have to destroy that for you.”

“Now, now Dyna. We don’t want to ruin her face just yet.” Dyna slowly moved back at his words.

“What the hell do you mean, ‘ruin my face’?” Rhae jumped as she quoted his words, twisting her wrists to get out from the bonds.

“You’ll see. We have a little task for you Rhaenyx Maltalor. We need you to… remove the royal family from their thrones.”

Rhaenyx shuffled again in the uncomfortable iron seat. “If you wanted me to do a job for you, you didn’t have to kidnap me for it. Why didn’t your ‘benefactor’ do it for you anyway. She obviously thinks she’s better than me.”

“Well you see, the issue is, no one would willingly agree to the steps taken for this task. Besides, Dynamere doesn’t know how to have a heart.” Dynamere growled at the words. “We need you to change your looks, infiltrate the palace, murder the queen, take her place and take out the rest of the family. We will handle the rest. Easy as pie.”

“Pie is quite difficult to make, especially for someone like you who has no control of their hands.”

“Maybe we’ll have to sew that pretty mouth shut as well. Dynamere start the process. I’ll leave for this part.” Icran growled in frustration.

Dynamere stepped forwards with a small glass in her hand and a dagger. She dipped the glass in the Akihyra extract, turned to Rhae and chuckled as she shoved the glass towards Rhae’s mouth and pulled her head back, forcing her to swallow the drink or choke on it. It tasted bitter as it slid down Rhae’s throat, taking immediate effect. She placed the drink down on the table and moved her knife down to Rhae’s cheek. “This is going to hurt.” Dynamere shoved the handle of the knife into my jaw, smashing the bone. She cut open Rhae’s skin and pulled out a piece of the cracked bone just before the healing began. It began to pull the bone back together and stitch the skin once again. The process was repeated on the other side. Rhaenyx screamed from the pain that shot through her body, with some of it numbed by the Akihyra. For the second time that day, she was out cold.

 Rhea later awoke, searing pain surging through her entire body. Her bones ached, and her flesh felt burning hot, and the Akihyra tried desperately to seal the wounds all over her body.

Icran stepped out of the shadows, crossing his arms tight across his chest. “Finally awake I see? It seems that Dyna was precise in her work.”

Rhae lurched forwards, ignoring the tight pull of the ropes. Her leap forwards pulled the chair off the ground, causing her to tumble to the floor. She bit back a wince, gritting her teeth as Icran crouched in front of her face. He grabbed her chin and pulled her face upwards. “You are making quite the speedy recovery from your,” he paused thoughtfully, searching for the word, “surgery.” He grinned and stood up, pulling the chair with him until Rhae was sitting upright again. He turned and walked over to a table, grabbing a chair and a broken mirror. He placed the chair in front of Rhae and sat down, inspecting her expression. Slowly he lifted up the mirror to her face revealing the work that was done to her while she was unconscious.

Rhae’s face was paler than before, her cheeks a rosy red, covered in makeup. Her hair was the colour of a raven’s feathers and matted against her head with sweat. Her eyes were a bright blue colour, lighter than the original ocean blue hues. Her eyebrows were cleaned up and dyed black to match her hair. Her lips were plumper and full of colour. Rhae’s jawline was pulled back, creating a soft heart shape, reflecting shadows underneath her now prominent cheekbones. Her nose curled upwards, missing a chunk on the top where her nose was once straight. She growled, horrified, staring at the person that looked nothing like her. Rhae threw her head forward, shattering the mirror, leaving blood dripping down her forehead.

“Now, now, we don’t want to ruin the work Dyna did now do we?” He pulled a flask from his side and pulled her head back, tipping the liquid into her open mouth. The Akihyra instantly took effect, sealing the small cuts on her head. “Shall we go over the plan?”

“O hyro ha mere Anera fyth rera wial fyll!” Rhae spat in his face muttering the ancient language.

“Now that wasn’t very nice. I hope you eat Anera and fall off the 5^th ring wall too my dear, after we finish the mission of course.” His sly grin riled up her emotions; she wanted something, anything to cause this man pain. “Now you will do as I say and follow my direct orders, understood?”

“What if I don’t give a shit about your plans, hmm? I won’t do anything you say, understood?” Rhae mocked his deep voice, chuckling to herself in pride.

His expression turned dark as he stood up and turned on his heel. “Bring her in.”

Kaia emerged from the darkness, tied and gagged. She was being dragged along the floor by two brute rogues. Rhae’s guard slipped, falling into the abyss seeing her friend without freedom. “Kaia!” She shouted.

Icran flicked his wrist towards Kaia, and a sword was instantly drawn to her neck, piercing her skin.

Rhae let out a wail, then a shout, “stop! I will… I will follow your plan if you keep her alive and with her freedom.”

“You are in no place to negotiate. We will keep her alive, but she will become a member of our guild. We cannot let our little secret out just yet.” Icran waved his hand again and stepped towards Rhae. The sword was removed from Kaia’s neck and sheathed once more. “Thank you for your cooperation. There is a gala in a few weeks. First you will kill the Queen when she walks the 2^nd ring in two days. Then you will take her place at the gala. In the meantime, you will reside here. We have a room prepared for you, your highness.” He mocked the last few words. “You will have to remain bound of course, I do not doubt your abilities to kill any member of this guild.”

Rhae growled again, gritting her teeth until she felt a pang of pain through her jaw. She dug her fingernails into her palms as the ropes around her feet were cut loose. She stood up instantly, pulling her arms from the chair and swung her leg into the air, her foot connecting with Icran’s jaw before he could move. He stumbled back, growling, watching Rhae as she was pinned to the floor, struggling to escape the rough hands that pushed her down.

“No food for her until tomorrow. Only enough water to keep her alive. Give her a glass of Gharane to weaken her.” Icran turned and stormed out the front door, grabbing a sword from a barrel on his way out.