Forced Heroes

Killian

TW: Self harm and body mutilation

"I hate to hear that Cora had another nightmare. I'm glad Pierce is going to keep an eye on her," the woman states softly as we walk down the street which doesn't have many people on it.

I was going to go and scout of the town to try and get some information about the guards and their abuse and corruption. For some reason, Lucy decided that she wanted to come with me. I'm not too sure on how she can help me though. I have experience with this kind of thing whereas she has never done anything like this before.

We turn down another street, no guards are to be seen but at least a few townspeople are around, "Do you hate me?"

I glance over at her, my eyes growing a little wide, "...What?"

"Back at the restaurant you seemed to really hate wealthy people and uh... I know that I'm one of the richest people alive considering I'm a princess, but I thought me and you were friends, so I tried to not think about it. I don't know if I did anything to cause you to feel-"

I cut her off as I raise my hand, "Breathe. You're starting to spiral."

She takes a sharp breath, working on calming herself down as I clear my throat, "You didn't do anything wrong."

Her shoulders relax hearing that, her breathing going back to normal as color runs back to her face. Her voice comes out timid, "So why do you hate people like me?"

I glance ahead of us before answering, "I was brought up in a bad area, hence me becoming a rogue. Rich people treated us like street rats and garbage just because we couldn't afford a place to live. While we were covered in filth and starving, the rich would flaunt their wealth and treasures. People normally sat on the street asking for money, but it ended up becoming something humiliating. Some rich kids wanted us to put on acts for money in exchange. It was so...Degrading and embarrassing. I had an older brother who wanted to make sure I at least could eat one meal a day. Our parents had died when I was around five, so he was a caretaker very early on in his life. He swallowed his pride and constantly did whatever they asked..."

I stop walking, feeling the burden weigh down on me, my gaze falling onto the stone path. Lucy stops walking, standing next to me silently. I avoid her gaze as I continue, my hands balling into fists as my nails dig into my palms, "It was coming up on my fourteenth birthday. My brother really wanted to do something nice. When the kids came back around, they had brought a dagger." I hear her take in a sharp breath as I close my eyes, "They asked for more entertainment. For something actually worth watching instead of poor people fighting in the dirt for scraps. They wanted to see how much he really wanted the money. They told him to cut himself. Every cut was worth a silver coin. Every ten cuts were a gold coin... He completely shredded his arms to the point that when they left, he collapsed. I tried stopping the bleeding but... There was too much blood and not enough skin. He died on my birthday. The money wasn't even real."

I finally look up, making eye contact with the princess who had tears in her eyes, "How can people be so cruel? So inhumane?"

"I don't know. They came back after he had died, telling me to learn from him. That being greedy will get you killed and that I should stay in my place. I know how he views thieves, he never wanted to steal. He was kind and never wanted to make anyone suffer so he allowed people to treat him so poorly. I learned that even though I steal and became this, that it was better than dying like that. But since then, I've viewed rich people all the same."

She looks down, shaking slightly, "I don't blame you. I would hate my kind as well."

"They aren't your kind. You are understanding and generous. They aren't."

She hugs me tightly, causing me to freeze for a second before I slowly hug her back. We stand there for a couple of minutes in each other's embraces. We then get back to scouting out the town, finally finding the guards and getting their patrols down. After spending a couple of hours learning their routes and times, we head back to the tavern where Pierce and Cora are, doing their own investigation to find out more about the corrupted guards.

Cora is sitting at the bar next to an orc lady while Pierce is sitting at a table in the corner with a group of guys that look like a bad crowd. Once they see us, they excuse themselves and come our way. The four of us grab a table in the furthest corner away from anyone that may overhear us. They sit down next to each other as me and Lucy sit down across from them.

"We got their patrols wrote down. Were you guys able to get anything," I inquire.

"The guards will take money and food from people. If they don't give up their belongings willingly, then the guards will threaten to take them to the jail. Some people get the shit beat of them," the muscular man answers.

Cora keeps her voice low, leaning forward, "Some of the male guards will um... Get handsy with women around the town. They will say vulgar things to them as well."

I grimace at the thoughts filling my head, "We need to end this now. Let's start working on a plan."

"Should we discuss this somewhere more private," the blonde-haired girl looks around warily.

"We would have to buy a room for that, and I don't think it's worth it. Everyone here is either very drunk or minding their own business so I doubt we have to worry about anyone eavesdropping on us. If we are quick with this, we won't have anything to worry about," Pierce explains.

I nod as we all talk in hushed tones, working on our plan.