It had been two weeks since she had given out her order. Out of curiosity, she went out to wander the streets, donning the royal signet ring but otherwise simple attire composed of a simple button up shirt and pants along with the coat she had fashioned into a cape. She brought only Velka with her, emphasizing that she could defend herself and Velka would be a more than capable bodyguard to any and all worried guards that tried to stop her. Although she had been here for over a month and a half, it was her first time outside the palace. She went down the stairs that led to the entrance and took the service door, avoiding unnecessary attention being dragged her way. Velka stood on her side wearing discreet plate armor; a design perfected by her armorers that consisted of enchanted plates that were practically invisible and soundless. In appearance, Velka simply wore a similar attire to Keela, only with a sword at her hip. Once she was out, she immediately went to the market, out of desire to check out the merchandise. As she had never gone out and her outwards appearance had changed quite a lot, she wasn’t recognized as she strolled about the streets, hands crossed behind her back. Getting to the market, she immediately went to a fruit stand, eyeing the apples.

“You’ve got good taste, young lady! The apples are in season and these are fresh off the farm!” said the merchant, a rather rotund man with the glimmer of joy in his eye.

“I know! I’ve had a few these past weeks, I’m absolutely in love”, replied Keela, grabbing one and inspecting it.

“How many would you like?”

“Oh, just one, I’m only looking around the market today.”

“That’ll be two copper then.”

As Keela fetched the change in her pocket, the man asked politely.

“I have to say, your appearance is fairly peculiar. What happened?”

“If I knew, I would tell you, rest assured”, replied Keela, handing him the two copper.

At that moment, the man saw the ring on her middle finger as she dropped the coins in his hand.

“Is that…?” asked the merchant, pointing to the ring discreetly.

“The royal signet? Yes. Why?” asked Keela, taking a bite of her apple.

It was juicy and sweet, the slight amount of sourness spreading in the mouth before the sugary aftertaste buried it back under.

“I was simply wondering if you’re related to the princess”, asked the man, almost whispering.

“That would be me”, whispered Keela with a wink, heading off.

The man stood silent, dumbfounded as Keela walked off towards another stand. The city was vast but dense, houses packed in a somewhat haphazard fashion. Heading from stand to stand, checking out the various produce, she noticed that most people in these streets looked happy. There was however always a loud minority. Out of the corner of her eye, Velka caught a glimmer and caught the dagger headed for the back of Keela’s neck. Turning back towards the source with fire in her eyes, she made the dagger melt in her hand. She tapped Keela’s shoulder who turned around, seeing a man in tattered noble robes.

“Can I help you?” she asked, smiling at him with a smile more complacent than compassionate.

“You ruined me! The changes you brought made me lose everything!” he screamed, walking out in the middle of the market, people avoiding him, forming a crowd around the three of them.

“Well, I daresay that was the point.”

“How dare you?”

The man started moving faster towards her, clearly in the intent to harm her. Velka put a hand on her sword but Keela rested her hand on hers. Going towards the man who had brought out another knife, she swerved around him gracefully, hands behind her back. Tripping him by kicking the back of his knees, she caught the wrist holding the dagger, wrestling it out of his grip easily. grabbing it with both hands, she snapped the blade off and dug it into the ground. Signaling Velka to hold him down, she turned to face him, the same smile on her face.

“Normally, I would kill you for even attempting to attack me. BUT. I’m in a very good mood today and there’re children around us who I don’t want to scar so you get a second chance!” she said, gesturing widely.

She then motioned Velka to let him go, walking off as if nothing had happened, ignoring the protesting screams of the man behind her. Letting him live with nothing was far crueler than killing him at this point. Someone with that kind of personality deserved the extra mileage in the sewers, she thought to herself with a wide smile.

Still thinking about the incident several hours later, sitting at her desk in her office, she sighed, laying back in her chair.

“Something wrong?” asked Velka, who was reading in the corner.

“You sometimes wish you could go back to your old life?” replied Keela, tightening her small ponytail.

“Well, I wasn’t particularly happy.”

“I see what you mean.”

Pondering to herself, she rested her head on her hand.

“I hope the kids are okay”, she said, looking out the window at the waxing moon.

A knock on the door wrestled her out of her daydreaming. As Velka opened it, Saphielle entered the room, a pile of documents in her hands.

“Oh dear, what now?” asked Keela, rubbing the bridge of her nose.

“Mostly nobles who want you to rescind your decisions still”, replied Saphielle, putting the documents down and wiping the cold sweat on her forehead.

“Why do I have to sign these, you could just deny them yourself.”

“I can’t princess, you know this.”

“I know, I know. Anything else?”

“A message from the Lowriders.”

“Oh?”

“Well… one of them…”

Keela took her feet off her desk, leaning in intently, her interest now most definitely piqued. Saphielle seemed hesitant.

“Well then, tell me”, said Keela, growing impatient at the silence.

“I think it would be better for you to see for yourself. Come with me please”, replied Saphielle hesitantly.

Curious, Keela got up and quickly followed, being led into the medical wing. Taking the front, she pushed the doors open unapologetically and stepped in, noticing the member of the Lowriders in a bed in the corner, looking down with a blank stare. Going up to the doctor, she discreetly asked:

“What’s the problem?”

“They took both of his hands. Even with all the doctors here we wouldn’t have the magic necessary to fix something like that. He doesn’t know yet but I’ve a feeling he’s also been tortured so his mind doesn’t quite follow anymore”, whispered back the doctor, trying to be away from the patient.

“Thank you doctor. I’ll take it from here, you can all go get some rest, it’s getting late.”

“Thank you princess.”

As the doctors left the room, only Saphielle, Velka and Keela remained with the patient. Saphielle stayed a few feet behind Keela, next to Velka. Keela approached the patient, crouching next to the bed.

“Talk to me”, she said, looking in his eyes.

The head slowly turned, eyes slightly damp from the excessive crying.

“They… they…” he tried, going to cover his face with his hands, only to find yet again the two completely severed off, wounds covered by bloody bandages.

“Hey, hey, look at me. I don’t need to know what they did. I just need to know where”, said Keela, offering a comforting touch on the arm.

“I… it’s… it’s a building in the Bright ward. Red roof, a bar. They… they’re hiding in the basement…”

“Thank you. I have one last question and then I’ll let you go.”

Pausing for a second, Keela looked to the side, debating the phrasing.

“They can’t… fix your hands. Do you want to quit? I’ll make it painless”, she said, turning back to establish eye contact to show sincerity.

The patient didn’t reply, simply nodding while tears filled his eyes again. Nodding to herself, Keela got back up and gently set a hand around his neck. With one swift motion, her grip crushed everything in his throat, paralyzing him and making him die in an instant, life escaping from him none the wiser. The crack reverberated in the room, along with a yelp from Saphielle who was taken by surprise. Grabbing a bit of paper, Keela left a simple note on the bed for the doctors. It simply read: “He asked for this.”