She began jamming herself between the walls of the chimney, and slowly climbing upwards. It was tough going as her somewhat malnourished muscles strained to keep her from falling back down. Higher and higher she went, several times nearly giving in as the distance to the bottom increased. Soon, she felt certain that if she slipped, she would fall and die from the impact. She reached the first opening and tried to peer into it. Immediately, she felt the stinging pain of heat on her face and nearly slipped, sliding about half a meter down before stopping. With great effort, she managed to reach the next opening before her strength gave in. The opening felt cool and using the last of her strength, she climbed into the opening and slid down the short distance to the bottom, landing in a small heap of soot and ash, covering her completely. A moment’s pause followed as her strength returned and her eyes adapted to the utter darkness of the room. Within moments, a door opened and a stripe of light flooded in. A young woman carrying a small candle entered. Her hair was long and well-kempt and the faint light shone on the expensive velvet dress, of sapphire blue. The woman shut the door and put the candle down on the nightstand, before starting to very carefully remove her dress. Soon she stood nude on the wooden floor, her skin soft and gleaming, the candle highlighting the gentle, adult curves of her well-fed, healthy body. She slid into a night gown, and laid down on the bed, before blowing out the candle.

Inside the fireplace, the girl waited, and soon the soft noises of a person fast asleep filled the small room. She approached quietly, getting out the small pouch containing the Dullweed powder, and the pilfered dagger. With the swiftness and stealth of a cat, she began plucking the powder and holding it close to her nose. Though painstakingly slow, the effects soon became apparent as the woman began making soft moans and shifting in the bed. The last pinch of powder drifted into the woman’s nose and the whole body gradually relaxed. In one swift motion, she slit the woman’s throat, causing her eyes to fly open. Her body began to shake as her lungs filled up with blood, the half-soothed, half panicking motions soon gave way to stillness. Fresh warm blood began to stain the cotton bedsheet and pillow. The girl backed up slowly, wiping the tip of the dagger with a corner of the bedsheet and turned to get back into the fireplace.

“Hoy! Satelia! Are you awake! It’s that time again, so why don’cha…” The door flew open and two guards appeared in the doorway. Seeing the dust and soot covered person standing next to the bed where their target was lying, bleeding visibly on the bed, it took them a moment to process the sight. Seeking to exploit the advantage, the girl leapt forward, preparing to cut them both up with the dagger. The guard, taken momentarily aback, gathered himself up, and dodging the sweeping cut, clenched his big fist, and savagely punched the girl in her gut, stopping her cold, and sending her tumbling back, the dagger continuing on, flying into the opposite wall.

“Heh, you’re way too early out for that boy… Hey Gradenz! Look like we got ourselves a little torture toy!”

“Finally… I was getting bored…” The other guard approached the girl, who was rolling around on the floor, trying desperately to breathe. He lifted her up by the neck and looked at the sooty face.

“Rather lean little kid… Wait a minute…” He grabbed hold of her cloak and tunic, and with a surprising amount of strength, tore the worn fabrics to shreds, revealing a distinct lack of curves, but a budding, feminine build.

“Hohoh…” A wicked, disgusting grin began forming on the man’s scarred, bearded face. “Trazin! We’ve got ourselves a little chicken! A dirty, deadly chicken.”

“Nice…” The other man named Gradenz, who had been examining the dead body of the woman named Satelia, looked up and flashed an equally disgusting grin. “So, I guess I’ll go first then eh?”

“Screw you… I got my hands on her first…”

“Hey, I was gonna have Satelia first! But she’s dead, so I wanna be compensated!”

“… Rock, paper, shears then… First to three! One, two, three!”

As soon as the men began their competition, the girl eyed her chance to escape his grasp. She tried desperately to loosen the grip around her throat, while kicking wildly, hoping to land a solid strike. Meanwhile the first round went in favor of the man named Gradenz.

“Shitty little brat… You ruined my victory!” He then landed savage blow against the girl’s gut, causing her to groan out, death panic starting to grab hold of her body.

“Now now… What’s this ruckus in the night?” The second round was interrupted by a voice from the doorway.

“… Lord Ferresyin sir! We, uh caught this murderess here!” The man named Trazin roughly threw the girl to the floor. She landed on the floor with a crash, clutching her abdomen and trying desperately to breathe.

“I see… And Satelia is dead?”

“Yes sir!”

“How unfortunate… I suppose we should have to get a replacement for her… Bring this one downstairs… We’ll see if she has what it takes.”

The girl had barely got over the haze in her eyes and the lack of air in her lungs, when her world was thrown into darkness by a rough kick to her head.