By the time the guards had called my name from outside my cell, my fingers had already traced the lines etched into the stone wall dozens of times. "Eleanor Hildred, that is your name, right?" A guard adjusted his helmet, standing upright at my barred door. From the sound of his slightly uncertain voice, he was probably new here. Lifting myself from the thinly layered bed slowly, I sat up and stretched out my arms, only being satisfied once I heard the pops.

Groaning, I stretched my legs out from the bed, and more pops. What else needs a good stretch? Perhaps my torso? Maybe even my hips? Maybe even my-

"Woman, are you Eleanor or not?" The guard squinted his eyes at me, steadying his ax at his side. Oh, they were always all bark and no bite. Constantly thinking they are better than us peasants, but they only have armor and a title.

"Listen," I walked up to the cell door, grabbing onto it, pausing, "What is your name?" He glared down at my pale hands and then back at my light gray eyes. "Balton, but you never answered my question-" I leaned forward a bit, a grin eating at my face. "Listen, sir Balton, if you were so kind as to, oh, I don't know, release me from this cramped room, I would answer your question."

He snarled, gripping at the bars with one hand, getting closer to my face. "What a grand deal, but I rather have hot candle wax poured into my eyes than release a murderer, like you, into civilization." He hissed, spitting into my face. After getting no response from me, he smirked, leaning back. One point for this guy.

As the guard, Balton turned to leave me, I released my hands from the dirty cell bars. Being sarcastic would not get me anywhere, and I knew that. Sighing, I pushed my brown hair out of my face, shaking my head.

"Yes," I mumbled, resting my eyes.

The guard paused for a moment and titled his head to look back at me. "What was that?"

"Yes," I said louder, through my gritted teeth. "Yes, what?" God, I could hear his fucking grin from here, that fucking bastard. Pinching the bridge of my nose, I sighed, "My name is Eleanor Hildred." I heard the shuffle of his metal armor slowly making his way back to my cell. Opening my eyes, I refused to look him in the eyes, taking the floor as a better view.

He stood there for a few seconds, testing my patience. "Good, the wardens need you."

I lifted my head, lifting my eyebrows in question. "They need me? Well, never thought I would hear this in my life." The guard simply scoffed, pulling out a key from his pocket and unlocking my door.

The door made a screeching noise, before fully opening open. I took a step out, already in a much better mood from being released from that tiny cell. If I was in there for any more seconds, I was sure I was going to go insane. Unfortunately, my freedom was limited, as he slapped cuffs onto my, already sore, wrists.

"If you try anything, or try to escape, I will be forced to-" "Forced to kill me? Yeah, I know. Trust me, I won't, I want to hear what the prison wants from me." I crossed my arms over my chest as we headed forward.

Every time I had walked these same hallways, the cells seemed to have new people within them. It was no surprise really, everyone got imprisoned for minor things and major things; anywhere from cussing out a guard to killing an entire family.

There was a salmon pink half-orc, we had known her as Fist. She had gotten the name by punching ten knights after one-too-many drinks at the local bar. That was a sight to see, I would pay someone to watch it happen again. By the Heavens, large buff women were godly.

Next to her cell was a green and red Lizardfolk, known as Hissy Tooth. He called himself that actually, claiming that it only took a hiss to knock down anyone. Of course, when we asked if he could show us, he said that it would cause utter chaos in the prison. Bullshit. Who the fuck goes by Hissy, anyway?

Across from the bullshitter was a Minotaur. We called him Watcher, as we never a heard a peep from him, and he just watched us all day, hence the name. We could all tell he did something unpleasant, so we stayed a respectful distance away from him. We let him do whatever he wanted, which wasn't much, in return. It was just a silent agreement between us all.

Aside from that, the rest of the cells seemed to be filled with strangers, some more lively, the rest quieter. It almost felt nice, but there was something off.

As we passed each cell, I took in each person. They all seemed about average, so I couldn't get why something just felt off. It wasn't until we reached the last cell I realized what was wrong.

A demon sat inside, resting his head against the stone icy wall.

Demons were very rare creatures to be seen. In all my twenty-three years of living, I had only seen two demons. They were never really looked highly upon, but if people needed something, anything done, they came to them. Demons commonly found loopholes and caused mischief, but they held their contracts.

I could usually tell why people were imprisoned, but this guy? I couldn't read him one bit, and I was not enjoying it. Murder? No, that was too obvious. Torture? No, not that either. Perhaps tax evasion?

He sat on his bed, his elbow on his knee, looking up at the barred window. The said window reflected almost perfectly on his candy red skin and long straight pitch-black hair. His black, grey and brown torn rags covered most of his toned body, even with how thick the fabric was.

His razor-sharp horns, the length of an average human hand, struck out from the sides of his forehead, adding more to his sharp face.

I didn't realize how long I had been staring at him until he tilted his head in my direction. I felt shivers run up my spine as his bright yellow eyes caught mine. They seemed to pierce my very soul, making me feel vulnerable and naked.

It didn't help that he deviously smirked, with damn near perfect teeth, and winked at me. My face flushed red, and I quickly snapped my face forward, speeding up to catch up with Balton. God, how embarrassing.

Soon enough, we reached a large wooden door, one that I was not familiar with. It easily was over seven feet and by the looks of it, was fairly old.

From where I stood, I could hear muffled chatter inside. So, this is where the wardens held every legal conversation. I'll keep this spot in mind; I would love to see their reactions once they see all the valuables are gone.

I felt Balton tense up, and I glanced at his face. His eyes had been focused on the door, but he seemed lost in thought for a second. He almost seemed worried, and even a little bit scared. The look was familiar, I had seen it so many times on others. I could understand why people feared them, the wardens were considered cold-blooded killers in poor communities.

I could recall a year back, my family and I had lived nearby a mother and her son. Her son had tried to steal jewelry from the Queen, and being a complete amateur, he was caught in the act. I remember seeing the guards dragging him away on a foggy gray day, the mud still fresh. His mother was crying intensely, our neighbors had been comforting her on the sides.

I remember the way he was screaming and struggling, tears streaming down his dirtied face. I had been holding my sister behind me because I knew - we knew that it was his death day.

We watched him get pulled up to the gallows, the hangman grabbed the head of the noose and forced it over his head and his neck.

The teen had begun screaming at us, for just standing there, for not trying to do something, anything. He called us cowards, along with a variety of other names. Although, he wasn't mad as he was scared.

Why shouldn't he be? He was just a young teen, trying to steal and gain some money for his mother. Unfortunately, he had no experience in doing such things, and this was the cost for it.

I can still remember his eyes landing on me, right before the floor beneath him was forced out. I can still hear his mother scream and fall to the ground. I held my sister to my side, who had her face in my back legs.

A shiver ran down my spine at that memory, that had been the first time I wanted to rebel against the higher-ups. To test how far I could go against the law and come out even better than before. I'm pretty sure the wardens wanted me dead, but every time, I would stand before them with a shit-eating grin.

I nudged Balton with my shoulder, knocking him out of his trance. He glanced at me with his brown eyes, and for a second, we felt at the same level. We were no better than the other but no worse than each other.

"So," I coughed "You gonna open that door? It's kind of cold in these halls." I grinned at him, one that wasn't filled with aggression or hatred. He mirrored my actions and stood straight up. With a sigh, he pushed the doors open slowly.

The sudden bright light coming from the room forced me to cover my eyes.

I blinked a few times, letting my vision adjust to the light. The chattering stopped abruptly, and the silence nearly killed my ears. I lowered my arms from my eyes, finally taking in the sight in front of me.

Seated around a large table, sat eight men, all staring at me and Balton. They all looked like men of higher status, based on the fancy and expensive clothes they wore. We all just stood there for a few seconds, before Balton stepped forward. He cleared his throat, "My Lords, I have brought in Eleanor Hildred, as you requested."

After he said my name, I stepped forward as well, crossing my arms over my chest. I didn't owe these idiots my respect, they were all petty anyway. I glared at them all before my eyes landed on the older man sitting at the head of the table. He was obviously the leader of this group, his glare at me was very overpowering, and it almost made me want to look away.

"Thank you, guard. You may leave us now." The said leader spoke, dismissing him with a wave of his hand, his eyes boring into my skull. Balton, who stood by my side, nodded his head before I could see him glance at me, one that told me "good luck", before stepping out of the room.

The door slammed behind me, and it was once again quiet. The air was thick with tension, and no one wanted to cut it. I shifted to one side, my handcuffs clinking together. "So, y'all wanted to see me? Is it to announce my execution? Or is it-"

"We did not give you permission to speak, woman." A man on the left cut me off, leaning onto his hand, practically clenching his jaw in anger. I squinted my eyes at him, eyeing what he wore. He wore some very nice jewelry, very expensive, and very light. Some emerald here, some diamond there, along with a lot of gold. Even better, I remembered I had seen him and his house once. Now that would be perfect for me to steal first.

"Eleanor Hildred," The leader kept his glare on me, "As you may already know, my name is Henry Bennett. I own this prison, and I know everything about you and every other filthy sinner in this stone building. I have been very merciful on you; you have committed theft around ten times, intrusion at least five times, and threatened the guards more than a few times." He paused, releasing a sigh.

"Not to mention, as of recently, you were caught trying to steal from a royal friend, and you killed a guard while running away." He spat with such disgust, that it made me flinch. "What do you have to say for yourself? I expected better from someone like you."

I grit my teeth, pulling on my shirt. "I- I didn't mean to! I mean, I fully meant to steal, don't get me wrong! It was an accident! The guard grabbed me, and I pushed him away. I didn't know that there was a window behind him! I wasn't planning on literally killing anyone!" I tried to explain, throwing my arms around to better explain my point.

"Murder is still murder, no matter how you look at it." My voice fell into my throat. I didn't mean to kill a man, I didn't expect to push a man to his death.

I never wanted to be a murderer, I never had that in mind. I always joked about a noble being my first kill, but I didn't mean it.

"I do hope you realize that the punishment for the murder of a person who works under the royal family, is death." I kept my eyes on the ground. I didn't, or rather I couldn't feel scared or be afraid; I was still in a state of shock. I knew, I too was going to be hanged.

Henry heaved a heavy sigh, leaning against his hand. "But..." My eyes flicked up, almost filled with sudden hope. "We might give you the possibility of being excused." He looked bored as if this wasn't a big deal for me.

I brought my arms up to my chest, about to give him my most emotional and powerful "thank you".

I caught myself before I spoke out.

Surely the well-known executioner, Henry Bennett wasn't just going to excuse me?

Bringing my hands back down, I bite the inside of my mouth. "What's the twist to this?" I eyed him, knowing damn better.

He lowered his chin, looking at me from a new angle, his eyes twinkling with malicious intent. "A twist? Who here mentioned anything about a twist? Can't I let a talented young woman, like yourself, leave without a scratch?" Hearing that almost made me gag. I could see damn well through his bullshit. Who the fuck would release a murderer back into civilization without any punishment? No offense to me.

"I'm not stupid, ya know. I know full fucking well you're not going to release a killer with a fucking warning - so what's the catch?" I gritted my teeth. Don't get me wrong, I was still scared shitless of this man, but I wasn't one to stay silent.

First, a small smile. Then a chuckle, turning into a full-out grin. "I expected that you were more than just looks. Fine, fine, you caught me!" His expression almost looked unrealistic on his face. "There is such a twist, yes. I'm assuming you heard of the King's recent passing?"

Shocked by the sudden change of conversation, I nodded. The King, bless his soul, had been killed a few days ago, and the killer had yet to be found.

King Nova's death affected everyone, and I mean everyone. He was looked up to by both peasants and aristocrats.

He planned to change and upgrade the living areas for the more unfortunate people. Be generous to these people, and they'll do anything for you. The best part was that he had no ill intent on any of us. He genuinely wanted the best for us, and to see his kingdom prosper.

Of course, if he still wanted to be King, he had to please the higher-ups as well. They would keep their places as "better people", and the lower class would still have to work. I and many others saw this as reasonable, we get many better living conditions, and the penny-pinching motherfuckers don't let out their anger on us.

"As you may or may not know, we're still investigating his untimely demise. Trying to find his killer, found out who's not so innocent, who is-" "Just get to the fucking point." I sneered at him.

Henry sighed, "We're having zero luck so far. So, we have to resort to the lowest point - have prisoners try to solve this crime themselves."

I blinked. Did I hear that correctly?

"You're having... prisoners investigate?" I almost had to hold my jaw closed.

"Laugh all you want, yes. We admit we're becoming desperate." We stared at each other for a moment. Again, he sighed, "Let me explain."

"We gather a pair of prisoners, make them investigate, and if they are successful, they get freed, without any charges against them and be hailed a so-called hero. Of course, if they deny, they face the punishments they were getting in the first place." I stayed silent, becoming more interested by the minute.

"Of course, we still have a set of rules."

"If both, or one of the partners try to leave, I assure you, the both of you will die."

"If any of the partners break the law, both will end up back in prison."

"Each duo has a week to try and solve this heart-wrenching case, or they will be placed back into prison."

Simple, yet tasteless in freedom. Why would people take this deal? There's too big of a risk!

It went silent for a moment, before Henry broke it, "You, my dear, still have a choice in all of this, you can still say no." I gazed back at him.

"But..." He rested on his hand once again, "Who would take care of your family?" His voice somehow became louder, without even raising it. The hairs on the back of my neck stood on end, and I could feel the rest of the council felt the same.

"Who would care for your dear little sister?" His voice reminded me of teeth scraping against a rock.

"Who would protect her from the evils of this world? She wouldn't survive a week out here."

My face was turning red in anger. How dare he bring up my sister, and even use her against me. I'd like to gut him like the smelly fish he is.

"And because I'm being generous, I'll give you a deal as well, if you agree to investigate." He dwindled a piece of his long greying hair between his fingers, seeming uninterested.

...

"...What's your deal?" Don't get me wrong, I wanted no part of this sick game, but a deal that gets you out of execution? If it means that I get to see another day, I'll take it. Everyone is selfish when choosing their lives between others.

I know I fell right into his trap, but you would have done the same if you were in the same situation as me.

"Ah, see? I just knew you could come around," He smirked, pleased with me being an obedient little bastard.

As much as I wanted to punch him in his snobby little face, that would get me nowhere.

He clapped his hands together before standing straight up from his seat. "But this is still wonderful!" He strutted around the table and the others, over to me.

He draped his arm around my shoulders, pulling me into his side. Uncomfortable as I was, I didn't want to fuck up my chances with a deal, so I stayed as still as I could. "You see, you're the smartest one here in this prison. I knew you wouldn't turn down a good opportunity once it was handed to you."

"Guard!" He suddenly shouted, as if he didn't know I was right next to him, "Open the door!"

On cue, the door was opened once again. Seconds after, I could feel a rush of warmer air hit me. I never thought I'd be happy to see these jail cells again.

Henry started walking out, forcing me along with him. Once we reached the door, I could see Balton again. He looked almost worried, but as soon as our eyes met, his whole body relaxed, as if he had been holding tension ever since the doors closed. I guess I lied earlier, some people like him seem to care for people like me.

"Guard, could you be so kind and guide us back to the first set of prisoners?" Henry waved his hand, receiving a nod from Balton before he guided us back to where I came from.

I would rather feel the cold walls of this prison than have Henry's arm around me, and he seemed to have the same idea, his arm leaving my shoulder in sudden disgust. What a moody bitch, being overfriendly to utter loathing within seconds.

It took only a minute, but what felt like hours to me, to reach the cells that were near mine. To be honest, I had wished it was loud as hell in here because the silence almost physically hurt my ears.

Henry suddenly lifted his hand, motioning for us to stop. He said nothing, but everyone's eyes were on him, waiting. He stayed like that for a moment, thinking, or maybe just to be dramatic.

"So, my dear, you still haven't asked what your deal was about. You know, I could have lied, or I could just change my deal-" "Shut up, and just tell me already." I was already sick of his shit and wanted to get it dealt with.

He sighed, "Impatient, are we? Fine, I'll go over it." He walked past some of the cells, trying to look like he was deep in thought. "Out of the prisoners here, you get to choose your partner. Now, I don't allow anyone else such a special deal, but I see potential in you, and I wanna see it to the end. If they end up betraying you, that is your fault, as you chose your partner."

The deal wasn't so bad in my opinion, as long as I thought it out, it would end well. Two was better than one, after all.

"So, I can choose anyone from these cells?" I crossed my arms, leaning towards Balton, who seemed very surprised at what he said. I nudged his side softly, he looked down at me. "What's up? Does he do this often?" I half-joked, but Balton remained surprised.

My smile faltered, but I brushed off his reaction, for now. I would have liked to work alone, but a case as big as this? Not just any person could murder a King, especially one with guards around every corner. No, this killer was someone important, not necessarily popular or famous, but someone who was dedicated to this. Someone who has most likely trained for years. If this information was true, I really would need another person, someone who could fight when needed, who could also be sneaky, but also someone who won't betray me.

I looked at the set of prisoners again, analyzing them. Let's start with the people I know; Fist, Hissy, and Watcher.

Fist would be a great partner, she could handle herself in a fight against multiple enemies, and would most likely be able to intimidate anyone for information needed. She really would be a great choice, if it wasn't for the fact that she has zero stealth skills. We'd be total opposites, and that just wouldn't work out. Might as well save me from the heartbreak.

Hissy Tooth is an automatic no. He would run off moments after being let outside. No fighting skills, or stealth skills, for that matter. Just suicide with extra steps.

Watcher would also have to be a sad no. He most likely has the fighting and stealth skills I want, but I know nothing else about this guy, and I can't be sure he wouldn't betray me.

So much for people I know, I guess.

I sighed and rubbed my temples together, saving myself the headache. There's a variety of choices here, all with their ups and downs, but I didn't have insurance that they wouldn't pull some stupid shit and get us both killed.

Henry abruptly coughed, nearly scaring me out of my train of thoughts. I almost saw dust come from out his throat and mouth, that ancient motherfucker. He waved it off.

Although, a cell behind him caught my attention.

I did need insurance from a partner.

And he had the perfect insurance and skills I needed for this.

Someone who knew how to hide and blend into a crowd, someone with clear strength skills... someone who would keep to their promises to me.

I didn't realize that I was wandering over to the said cell until I was already in front of it. Everyone's eyes were on me, but I only had my eyes set on someone else.

"I know who I want to choose." In my head, it sounded like a whisper, but in reality, I had said it loud and clear. Footsteps followed behind me, followed by "Are you sure you choose... this creature?" Oh, no no no, I'm playing! I choose someone else! "Yes, I'm sure I want him." I gritted my teeth together.

My eyes flickered back to those yellow ones behind these bars. In the sunlight, they almost looked like gold. Fool's gold.

"Ah, so, you choose the... demon, I see... Well, guard! You heard the woman! Unlock this gate at once." Henry said, rushing the already dedicated guard.

The candy red demon looked more shocked than surprised. He must have thought I was either incredibly stupid or incredibly fucking dumb. The cell door opened, and neither of us knew what to do. It's almost like time stopped for the two of us.

His once flirty look turned into one of shock, and I was sure everyone had the same facial expression.

I wasn't sure if I was a fool, but I sure as fuck felt like one. Was I going to fail? Would this backfire on me? I wasn't sure, but it was the best fucking plan I had. This was the only way out of this shithole.

I hadn't noticed it before, but his eyes were similar to that of a cat's. His pupils were little slits, wary and confused. Ready to pounce at any time.

"Come on. Out your cell." Balton commanded, standing at the cell door. With no hesitation, he stood up.

He towered over me, I hadn't realized how tall he was sitting down.

We both held eye contact, and a shiver ran down my spine. It was as if he was looking directly into my soul, while I could only see the shell of his own.

"Come on, move," Balton tried pushing him further out, but the candy-red being didn't even budge. He looked down at him, in an almost mocking way. Balton tried to hide his embarrassment, "I said MOVE, prisoner."

The demon growled, baring his teeth at him like a cat, but still nonetheless moved forward. I took a step or two back, letting him step out of his cell. My voice was caught in my throat, I couldn't speak.

Whispering and mumbles broke out between prisoners. It felt like I had made a poor into-the-grave decision, but I trusted my instinct. It was the only thing I listened to.

"I hope your decision was... the right one," Henry commented. "You look like a bright young girl, but looks can also be deceiving."

The demon glared daggers at him, a familiar hatred behind his eyes. I shared that same hatred for Henry.

"What an absssolute idiot! Hah!" Hissy Tooth screeched. My eye twitched, oh, how I wanted to rip out his sly little tongue out and force it back down his throat.

The prison roared to life after his comment, shouts, and screams filled the air. Although it wasn't only directed at me, it was also for the demon standing beside me.

The prison felt like it was shaking from the ground up. Balton tried to silence them, but it was of no use, I couldn't even hear his screaming voice. Henry had little to no reaction, brushing them off. He ushered us to move forward, most likely to the outside of the prison. Outside hadn't sounded so refreshing in my life, until now.

The demon followed first, and I followed behind him, Balton following suit behind me, too. Even though he couldn't catch me watching him, I couldn't keep my eyes on the red being in front of me.

The fresh air from outside filled my lungs, almost intoxicating. I took a deep breath in, glad to be alive, even if it was for a few days. It was going to be a very stressful week, but at least it wasn't going to be boring. I kind of preferred boring over stressful, in my opinion.

I had seven days to either say goodbye to everyone or somehow solve the King's death. I knew that my chances of dying were very high; looking into his death would bring people looking for my head. I already know escaping would fail, nothing was tighter than the guards at the borders.

"As you already both know," Henry started, "You have exactly seven days." He must have already informed my partner before me of the same offer, minus the deal of getting to choose your partner. I found it odd that he wasn't given the same deal as me, but people's racism against demons was not uncommon, he most likely was told he had to wait for someone to pick him. Henry probably thought no one would choose him.

"Remember, do not try escaping, do not try to commit any atrocities, which is hard, I know, and do not try anything funny." Balton removed my cuffs, and then my partner's, "I will be looking forward to seeing how far you two will get." I rubbed my sore wrists, surprised they weren't bruised.

"Farewell." Henry took no time walking back inside, tossing us aside like garbage. Balton followed behind him, shooting me a sympathetic look. "I wish you luck, both of you." I shot him a nervous smile in return before he finally closed shut the cold, hard, prison doors.

I hadn't expected him to just release us from our leashes, I hadn't even mentally prepared to be alone with my red partner. Silence engulfed us once again.

It was hard to look into his eyes, but I knew I eventually had to. My eyes slowly crept up his form, terrified.

When our eyes caught each other, I was expecting to have my soul ripped out from within me... it never came. His eyes looked different than when he was within those cold walls. They looked softer, less angry than before. He had normal eyes - aside from being cat-like - they held life, just like everyone else. Even though he held more power than me physically, we were even on the soul level. Two people just trying to survive in this world.

We both held contact, waiting, yearning for one of us to speak. I could feel the sweat move down the back of my neck and my spine.

I didn't realize what I was doing until I was already doing it. My hand was held out in between the both of us, and I spoke out without thinking.

"Eleanor Hildred, call me Nora." I didn't know if I had whispered it or even screamed it.

The red being looked from my eyes to my hand, and then back to my eyes, taking a second to register what the hell I was doing.

He outstretched his hand, complemented by black claw-like nails, and shook my hand.

An unsurprising deep voice spoke out, "Rex Mortis. Call me Rex."