Ember had given Fleck the dagger that she had requested. It was surprisingly beautiful and she had no idea where her king had gotten it. It was a short blue crystal dagger that was chipped to a point. On it’s hilt was tied a soft brown piece of thick string, secured to which were two beautiful and intricate violet beads.
Fleck had asked for a dagger because she didn’t know if any of the guards or if Slate would recognize her dagger if she had to leave it in the body for some reason. In addition, she would have to clean her dagger afterwards and she didn’t know if she would have heart enough left to do that. Fleck decided that she would wipe the blood off of the crystal dagger and onto the grass, as not to leave a trail. Then she would stash it away someplace safe where she would be able to find it later on. She actually kind of liked it and her dagger, FoeFlayer, was a little plain.
But right now was not the time to think about daggers. It was a few minutes past midnight, and Fleck had a job to do. The treacherous task would not be pleasant, but she was sure that Ember had meant it when he had said that it was either Ob or her. Anyway, she wasn’t supposed to be connected to these cats. They were the enemy, whether she liked it or not.
As Fleck approached the hollow ash tree, she felt like backing out of this horrible mission. She didn’t want to commit such a treasonous action. She wished that she could just quit being a spy. Then she would truly be one of Slate’s cats and life would be so much less confusing. But she was trapped and couldn’t stay as a normal and loyal cat on either side.
Soundlessly, Fleck inched foreword, step by step. Heart pounding, she entered the once-welcoming guards’ den. It now seemed like a shadowy heaven where death and despair lurked. All she could do now was wait for it to consume her.
Fleck was now inches away from Ob’s barely breathing body. She poised her dagger to strike, right above the tom’s bloodied chest. She bit her lip, unable to bring herself to do it. Her eyes snapped shut and the dagger, glinting in the silvery half-light of the crescent moon, came down onto Ob’s chest.
Fleck felt great pity weigh down her heart. “Now you can finally be at rest, my friend. Suspended in forever sleep.”
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The next morning, when Fleck awoke, she remembered the events of last night. At first, she wondered if it had merely been a nightmare. Perhaps the mission and maybe even the battle had been part of the horrible dream, too. But when she got up, she could she the deep scarlet mark in motionless Ob’s chest that told her that it had all not been a dream.
Fleck glanced around, griping the ground with her needle-like claws and biting her lip until it bled to keep from weeping for her poor lost friend. No one else was awake, so no one had yet seen the bloody mark on Ob’s chest. Fleck decided that it would probably be best if she feigned sleep until someone else did. That way she could avoid many awkward questions and be as unlikely a suspect as any of the other guards.
Fleck must have fallen back asleep at one point, because a little later she was awoken by someone vigorously nudging her side. Sparrow’s voice was frantically calling to her.
“Wake up! Oh please oh please wake up!” He sounded extremely anxious.
“What, do you want to be woken up to that?” Jade snarled at the over-exited young tom. “I still say that we should let her wake up on her own. Then we can tell her.”
Fleck shot up like a bullet, startling Sparrow. “Tell me what?” She already knew the answer, but she had to make this look real.
Jade was unfazed. She looked slightly worried, like she figured that Fleck would take the upcoming news hard.“Ob was murdered in his sleep. The dirty scum. It’s just like Stinger. They’d only kill a cat if the cat couldn’t fight back. He was badly injured and sleeping. What kind of a murder is that? I would never be able to sink to such a low level, but obviously they aren’t like any of us.”
Fleck snarled and raked the ground with unsheathed claws. If Jade thought that she was going to take it hard, then she would. “Ugh! They make me sick! Why can’t they fight like honest cats instead of solving their problems by murdering others in the dead of night!”
“I know!” Sparrow looked both sad and horrified. “It’s horrible.”
“Anyway, I wonder why they didn’t kill they rest of us,” Jade said aloud, deep in thought. “They were armed and we were all asleep. They could have ended the war right then and there. So why didn’t they?” This statement sent poor Sparrow into a fit of violent shivers.
Fleck rolled her eyes haughtily. If I was truly loyal to Ember, Fleck thought, I probably would have. “Why do they do anything?”
“Anyway, we buried him in secret and told dumb old Slate that we ‘left him for the crows.’” Jade laughed mirthlessly. “Boy, he sure is gullible.”
“Yeah,” Fleck said with a dry laugh, giving a small nod. “Anyway, what are we going to do now? We’re down two cats, and a pair of us are training two apprentices each. Do you think that we should try to get another, more experienced cat to become a guard? You know, like Stinger?”
“Sorry, but I don’t think that that’s a good idea,” Jade said with a shake of her head. “Think about how long it took for Slate to find Stinger. He was looking ever since--even though I hate to say his name--Oatmeal died. Plus, depending on the cat we get, we might just end up with another apprentice to train.”
Fleck nodded in agreement. “You’re right. Anyway, how did Slate take the news.”
“Okay,” Jade replied with a shrug. “He was mad at us for not ‘sleeping lightly enough’ and ‘not being responsible enough to post a guard.’” Jade rolled her eyes as she quoted their king.
“Ugh,” Fleck spat in disgust. “Like it’s our fault that he doesn’t provide us with proper protection. His just to proud to admit that he was in the wrong and the he’s the one that made the mistake, not us.”
“Anyway, I think that we should probably train right around now,” Jade sighed. “I mean, I love Cinder and Ash, but I’m really not in the mood for training right now.”
“Me too,” Fleck agreed, nodding. “I’ll see you in a minute, I just wait to get a drink from the river before we train.”
“Bye, Fleck,” Jade said with a wave of her tail.
“I’ll see you soon!” Sparrow chirped gleefully, obviously exited to train.
When Fleck reached the river, she immediately called out, looking in the direction of the bushes by the riverbank. “Ember! Ember, it’s me, Fleck.”
Ember emerged from the very bushes that Fleck had been staring at. He was carrying a long, curved sword. It was the one he had used to kill Stinger at this very river. His gaze was stern and serious. “Did you complete your mission or did you fail?” One paw rested in a threatening way on the hilt of the sword.
“I killed Ob,” Fleck reported blandly, glaring at Ember with such intensity that he was forced to look away. “Although I really don’t see how that helped us to win the war. There have been three known attempted assassinations, and Slate might be getting wise. He’ll probably put up a sentry now, so you can say good-bye to my secret missions and every-other-day reports. I know that it’s ‘one guards less’, but Ob might have died on his own, anyway.”
“Whatever,” Ember said gleefully, completely ignoring her. He had stopped listening after she had said that she didn’t see how this would help them win the war. “Anyway, I think that I might have another mission for you.” He thrust out a paw, in which was clasped a vile of clear liquid that looked much like water but was quite thick and sticky looking.
“What is that?” Fleck asked disinterestedly, completely unfazed.
“This is a flask of poison,” Ember replied braggingly. “And you are going to use it to kill King Slate.”
“Already to failed attempts on his life,” Fleck sighed, “and you think that I can do it the third time? What, do I arrange a dinner with the other guards and the king and toss some poison into his food when he isn’t looking?” Fleck gave a dry laugh.
“Sure!” Ember cried, nodding brightly.
He dropped the flask into Fleck’s paws and happily skipped off, heading back towards his kingdom.
“Great,” Fleck muttered. “Another mission.”
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-KittyLover8
© 2013
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