A Fair Trade

Hours passed and in those hours she heard people crying, women shouting, guards shouting and she saw two guards enter a cell a few cells down and rape a woman inside. It was dark but she knew what they were doing to her. Each guard that passed her gave her an appraising look.Their eyes were hungry for her and she knew it was only a matter of time. However they hadn’t come thus far and as the room grew steadily darker with the fading sunlight a familiar face moved up to the bars. It was Armond. He didn’t look triumphant or pleased with himself. He looked...sullen and heartsick. Armand wasn’t one of those men that hid his emotions or was so jaded he showed none or felt none. He did feel and she saw his heart wanting to climb out of his chest.

“I’ve sent word that you are not to be touched,” he said in a low voice and he put his hands upon the dark, iron bars. He wanted to go to her, to hold her and love her but he knew that was over now. “Will you at least look at me...please?” He asked pleadingly.

Lorelei didn't move from that one spot. She stayed as far away from the bars as possible. She could hear what was going on around her, but she tried to block it out. She feared that if she truly listened then she would break down and start to sob and that wasn't what she wanted them to see. No, she would remain strong up until the very end.

Suddenly, she heard movement outside her cell and she began to fear that it might be some of the guards coming to do to her what they did to that other woman. However, it turned out to be the last person she expected to see again...Armand. She hated having him see her like this. It bothered her more than anything else. She forced herself not to look at him. She knew that if she did the tears would start. She looked down slightly and was quiet a moment before she finally spoke.

"I'm sorry I wasn't the woman you thought I was."

Her response unfortunately irritated him. She doubted her words, doubted everything about her. Then why did he come? He really didn’t know and yet…

“You’re sorry that you got caught...I don’t think you ever really cared about me,” he said abruptly before he could stop himself. The last thing he wanted to do is salt the wound. She was going to be hanged. The woman he loved was going to die and he was the cause of it. No, she had done this to herself. She ignored the consequences like so many to reap the benefits of lawlessness. That was what Athos had told him, they all had told him but looking at her now...he still. “Look at me damn you” He snapped though he wasn’t angry. Well, he was but only at himself. He didn’t have to have caught her. Someone else could have.

“You never mentioned Severin, who is he, your lover or husband? Is Lorelei even your real name?” he asked. He wasn’t even sure about that.

Lorelei had meant what she said and hearing Armand's response only upset her further. Having him there was torture to her and she could feel her heart breaking in her chest. She wanted to tell him everything...to shout it at the top of her lungs, but she knew it wouldn't change anything. He likely wouldn't believe anything she told him...so why even try.

Lorelei still wouldn't look at him, but he would see a single tear slip down her right cheek.

"Armand...please go away."

OOC-I kinda want the big fight between them and where she tells him everything to happen right before she gets shot by Severin, which is why I'm holding out right now lol

“So that’s it then? I was just another stitch in your skirt? Athos was right...they were all right,” he said half to himself then he looked back up to her. “It didn’t have to be this way Lorelei,” and she heard his affection for that name in his voice. “May god have mercy upon your soul,” he said and then murmured, “My love,” as he stepped away back into the darkness.

The next morning before breakfast thankfully two guards came. They shackled her by wrist and foot. They said nothing but she could only assume that she was to be shaved, they always did that before displaying women to the world to be hung. To be hung by the neck until death. She’d seen that before. The executioner made the noose improperly on purpose so those that were to be hung choked and kicked until they died. Their faces blue, their eyes bulging out of their skull. It was a horrible way to die. Or was she to be tortured? She’d seen that to though it was rare nowadays. She had insulted the Cardinal himself though for stealing his property. They put people on tables then opened them up and pulled out their entrails onto a large, wooden spool which they turned. As they turned it it caused the person alot of pain as their intestines were pulled from their bodies.

She was led outside but oddly, she was being hauled into the back of a coach. Not a prison coach just a non-descript coach that could belong to anyone. When she got in the guard tapped twice and the coach started off. It was then she noticed someone else inside it with her. Two men. A burly sort who pulled out a nasty looking knife and one other that sat across from her. He wore a dark suit, they both did but his cowl was up so she couldn’t see him well.

Hearing Armand walk away was one of the hardest things Lorelei ever had to endure. She wanted to yell after him that she loved him, but she didn't want to make things worse for him. He deserved better than her and she hoped that one day he would find a woman who loved him dearly and was everything he wanted.

That night she didn't sleep. She just sat in the same spot with her untouched food beside her. She thought about many things that night...her mother, Severin, the people she had killed for him, the things she had stolen...the people she had hurt. She knew that her soul could not be saved. She did not deserve a place in Heaven...not after everything she had done. It would have been easy enough to blame her mother for everything, but she could not. The truth was that she did what she had to in order to survive. She made those choices. She made the choice to try and rob Severin and it was because of that choice that she now sat waiting to be hung.

The next morning she heard the sounds of footsteps approaching her cell. She looked over as they opened her door and she knew then that she was to be hung that day. She did not fight them, nor did she say anything. She desperately tried not to think about the rope that would be put around her neck in only a few hours time. She was led outside, but strangely she was put into the back of a coach. This wasn't a prison coach like she was brought in with. No, this was a coach that belonged to someone. She sat down and the coach started off. She then noticed two men sitting in the coach with her. Neither of them spoke. She was curious as to where she was going, but she feared knowing the answer and so she remained quiet.

The man that sat across from her held out a small tin. Inside were yellow candies. He took one popped it into his mouth then offered it to her. “Candy?” He said evenly. He returned the tin to his pocket and his dark eyes looked over at her.

“When I found out it was a woman that stole my painting I couldn’t believe it,” he said as if amazed by that. The man next to her was thick all over, even his neck. He had dark eyes to, cruel ones and the knife he held twitched as if he wanted to use it.The coach bounced on down the street away from the prison. People stepped out of its way as it plodded past and a light rain had begun to pour outside. The street smelled damp and the thin mist of the morning still hung low in places.

“This Severin...I imagine he’s not in your good graces right now yes?” he said but it really wasn’t a question and he chuckled dryly. “There is no honor among thieves, right Beale?” he said but the large man only put his arm around her and moved the knife down close to her ribs. Certainly not a man of the cloth like the Cardinal. She was...talking to THE Cardinal right then! “It took a good deal of bravado and skill to scale that tower, take my property and be off again without getting caught,” he said though not kindly. He nodded and the thick man flipped the knife around then he hit her, hard in the breasts...very hard with his fist and the handle of his knife.

Lorelei watched as the man who sat across from her opened up the small tin that was in his lap. Inside she saw small yellow candies. The man took one and popped it into his mouth and then offered one to her. She only shook her head slightly and watched as he returned the tin to his pocket. When he then began to speak Lorelei had a difficult time believing what she was hearing. This man was the Cardinal? Her heart began to beat a little harder in her chest as she began to fear that she was about to face far worse than hanging. She tried to keep her face strong, however. She listened to him, but remained quiet. She felt the large man next to her move closer to her and put his arm around her. He held a knife in his hand and she watched as he moved it close to her ribs. She didn't move, but he would feel how tense she had suddenly become. She still said nothing in response and it was then that the Cardinal nodded to the man next to her. The man then took his knife and flipped it around and struck her hard in the breasts. She yelled out in pain and doubled over. It was then that instinct kicked in and Lorelei acted without thinking. Before Beale realized what was happening she had the knife and had it pressed against his throat.

The Cardinal laughed uproariously at that and the man she held the knife to grinned. He did not sweat nor did he display a hint of fear. “Beale there is a an anointed my dear. Death for him holds no fear. Even as you sliced his throat he’d snap your pretty little neck and she felt his hand grab the back of her neck. His hand was so large his fingers gripped the sides. She wouldn’t doubt what the Cardinal had said and it was clear to her now that these people were crazy. “Even so give back beale his knife or he might choose to get angry,” he said simply. “And if that happened you might not live to hear my...proposal,” he said as if this was some sort of negotiation between a merchant and a buyer over the price of turnips.

Lorelei glanced over at the Cardinal, but then felt Beale's fingers around the back of her neck. She could feel the pressure he began to apply and she knew that the Cardinal wasn't lying. A flash of curiosity came over her when the Cardinal mentioned a proposal. She glanced back at Beale before slowly lowering the knife. She gave it back to him and then sat back in her seat.

"What proposal?"

Beale did not remove his hand but his grip was barely there now and he seemed to relax though he moved the knife further away from her. The Cardinal looked out into the street.

“I need you to kill a man. Not for me, he is a friend. For the good of many...for yourself. He has been embezzling and I know I don’t have to explain that term to a thief such as you,” he said and he still just casually looked outside the coach. “He will not stop it and his death would also help me in other ways,” he said almost if he was rambling to himself then he turned to look at her. His eyes scanned over her and there was nothing kind or saintly about them. “If you do this thing,” he continued and he took out a folded piece of paper and handed it to her. As she unfolded it and read it he continued. “There is a full pardon there. Everything you have done including this task I have for you will be expunged. You’ll have a clean slate and no record. You will be free to do and go as you wish. It will not aid you however if you commit more crimes,” he said. She read the paper and from what she could tell it was real, it even had the royal seal. She had seen forgeries before and if this was one, it was flawless. Her real name was clearly printed upon it as well.

“Don’t get any ideas girl, without my hand it will mean little,” The Cardinal said warningly in case she thought to kill them there and take it.

Lorelei couldn't hide the look of genuine surprise on her face when the Cardinal told her that he wished her to kill someone for her. However, as she studied the Cardinal further she knew that he was speaking the truth. She had heard...things about the Cardinal, but never would have expected this from him. She was about to ask what was in it for her, when he suddenly produced a folded piece of paper and handed it to her. She took it and carefully unfolded it. Her eyes widened when she realized it was a full pardon of all of her past crimes. She could have a clean slate...start over. Her mind began to race and at first she wondered if this wasn't some trick, like the one Severin pulled on her, but everything about the document seemed entirely real. She couldn't believe it. One more kill and then it would be all over. No more running or hiding. She could get out of this life and begin a new one. It was an offer she could not refuse.

"Who is it?" she asked as she folded the piece of paper back up.

The Cardinal smiled but his smile never touched his cold, calculating eyes as he plucked the paper from her fingers then folded it up and put it back into his pocket. “The bishop Nevarre,” was all he said in reply without any elaboration. “How you do it, it must look like an accident, when you do it...it must be done soon...within a few days. When your task is complete, your pardon is guarenteed on the morrow after. If you fail or try to run,” He said in a dark tone. “And you will have wished for the hanging,” he told her grimly and even he winced as he thought about how she would die.

As she looked outside she could tell she was being driven to the commons. As the morning progressed more and more people crowded the streets. When he saw her looking out at the street he smiled and she heard them both fumbling at their belts. When she looked up she noticed that both he and Beale had pulled out their cocks. “Now, show me that your commitment is true girl and you will not spill a single drop, yes?” he added and she noted Beale did grin this time and his cock was as thick as the rest of him.

They had given her a room in an apartment complex in the commons and it was furnished though sparsely so. It did have a kitchen and a sink. (if she wanted to vacate her stomach of their cum) On the table was a bag and gold, undoubtedly to buy supplies and in the bedroom closet were clothes, some of which might actually fit her. On the bed were her supplies from the painting theft and her clothes and effects from the prison.

Lorelei's eyes widened when she heard she needed to kill the Bishop, however she said nothing. She knew this would be a difficult task. The Bishop was guarded at all times by Musketeers...including Armand. However, this was her only chance at freedom and keeping herself away from the noose...or worse. She looked at him slightly and then her eyes wandered outside. She could see that they were approaching the commons. More and more people were coming out to start their morning routines. She could only assume they were driving her here to drop her off.

Suddenly, the sounds of belts being undone hit her ears. She turned and saw that both Beale and the Cardinal had their manhoods pulled out. She knew then what she was expected to do. She hated it...she hated every second of it, but she did as they commanded. She had a mouth and a tongue that were far better than any prostitutes and it didn't take long for either of them. Afterwards, she was practically shoved out of the coach. She headed upstairs to the apartment she had been given and glanced around. It was furnished, but just barely. However, they had supplied her with everything she would need, including some clothes and her supplies from the painting theft. She bathed and then dressed and then sat down to think about how to pull this off.