The young wildcat tapped her claws impatiently on the armrest of the throne she sat in. Actually, it was more of a slouch than anything else; her legs crossed and her head drooping onto her left paw, which valiantly tried to prop her up. She suppressed a yawn; her green eyes fluttering open before anyone noticed her situation. She wore a crimson dress, which was cut in a V-shape at the neck. The dress was long and stuffy, ending right at her ankles to show the small shoes she wore. The sleeves ended just below the wrists. Gold could be seen everywhere on her: her ears, her neck, her arms, and her paws. Her striped grey and black fur seemed dull in the dark shadows of the throne room.
Before her, a small mouse kneeled in shackles. From the looks of him, there was no reason for all of the chains: he was barely strong enough to keep himself kneeling, let alone conscious. Two soldiers stood behind him; one was a rat, one was a stoat.
"So, the traitor is finally brought in," the wildcat growled in boredom.
The mouse looked up at her, dark blue eyes narrowing. "I'm not a traitor to anyone, filth!" he spat.
The rat moved to kick him, but the wildcat stood up. "That won't be necessary, fool," she snarled. "He'll get what he deserves soon enough." She moved closer to him. "Stand."
The mouse pulled himself to his feet, glaring defiantly into her eyes. His lip curled into a snarl. "Queen Tsarmina Greeneyes II… You'll die just like your ancestor."
The Queen lashed out at him, her claws digging small grooves onto his cheek. "I gave you no order to speak. You will learn not to say a word unless I order you to," she commanded, taking his silence as acknowledgement. "Now. I want you to tell me who is in this little group of yours."
"What group?" the mouse asked, feigning innocence.
"I advise you to think carefully about your answer, mouse. I know that you are part of a conspiracy; the head of it, actually. Do you wish to change your answer?" Tsarmina asked calmly. She took hold of the chain that held his neck, pulling him close to her face. "Answer me, mouse."
He grit his teeth, attempting to smile at her. "Never. You can search all you want, but you'll never find them!"
Tsarmina struck him on the face with the chain, causing him to fall to his knees. She pulled him back into a standing position. "Care to answer again?"
"Never! You'll have to burn the whole villa-" he stopped dead.
"Ah. So they're in the village, are they? Nice little blunder there. Since you've given away their hiding place, care to give any names?" she asked, smirking. He remained motionless. "Guess not. You've outworn your usefulness, mouse. You two. Do whatever you want with him…" She threw the mouse to the floor as the two soldiers moved in.
Queen Tsarmina turned her back to the scene and walked through a door on the side of her throne. She closed it tightly behind her.
"General?" Tsarmina called from behind a curtain. "General Kadharonon?" she called again.
"Your Majesty?" a female wildcat asked, trotting up. She respectfully waited on one side of the curtain. She was a tall cat, and looked a lot stronger than most: the sheer size of her made it obvious that she was used to fighting and using her strength. Her fur was a grey, which, and black in different places: striped. She wore the uniform of a soldier: a silver chest plate that covered from her chest to the bottom of her belly and curved around to the back, a crimson long-sleeved tunic under, and black trousers. She didn't look very comfortable, especially with the black boots she wore (they looked new due to the fact they were little used). Her copper-green eyes watched the dark purple curtain.
"Ah, yes… I need to ask you about that assassin," Tsarmina said. The sounds of water could be heard on the other side of the curtain.
Kadharonon frowned sourly-she wanted to take a bath and get out of the itchy uniform. "Yes, Queen. What about him do you need to know?"
"You've found one?"
"Yes, Queen. His name is Don Bruce III. When I told him about the conspiracy he seemed almost…eager to take the job. I'm not sure why, though," the General said.
"I'm sure he'll work just fine. Thank you for finding him, Kadharonon. You've always been resourceful. I am pleased with your work as my right-hand beast," Tsarmina said.
"Thank you, Your Majesty," Kadharonon replied. "There's one problem, though…"
"Yes? What is it?"
"He…well… He demands to talk to you. I don't know why, though," she replied, looking down at her boots.
Tsarmina growled in annoyance. "Why would he need to see me? I'm the one that makes demands here, not him." She sighed heavily. "Send him in after you leave. Just make sure you give me time to get out and into something, would you?"
Kadharonon bowed out of courtesy, even though her queen was unable to see her. "Yes, Queen." She turned and left, stepping out of the room where a ferret waited against the wall. "She will see you soon."
He arched an eyebrow, his red eyes watching the General carefully. Only small bits of his dark brown fur could be seen under a large black cape. She decided it was best to keep her distance from him.
"Send him in," the Queen called a short while later. Kadharonon opened the door for him, allowing him to pass. She closed it behind him and waited by the door.
Inside, Queen Tsarmina sat in a chair, her legs crossed. She wore a dark green dress that flowed to her feet. She nodded to him. "What is it you need to talk to me about?"
"Pay and conditions," he said succinctly.
"Hasn't my general already spoken to you about this?" Tsarmina asked testily. He didn't reply. "I thought you already knew the conditions. We have word that one of the conspirators went by the name of 'Steelrose'. We know for a fact this is not the real name of the person, but we also know that he or she is a regular at a certain tavern. Red Leaf Tavern." She paused. "You're job is to find out which regular there is this 'Steelrose' and assassinate them with as little notice as possible. Also, your pay would be expanded considerably if you were able to find out who else was one of these conspirators."
Don Bruce nodded, waiting for her to continue. He knew all of it already.
"As for pay… I had hoped General Kadharonon had already spoken to you about this. You will be allowed three pounds of gold from the treasury, of your choosing. There will be more if you are able to determine other members of the conspiracy."
His eyes narrowed. "Only three pounds? Maybe I won't do the job, after all…"
Tsarmina hissed. "Fool. If you say that now, I'll be forced to have every guard in this castle down on your head to kill you. You will accept this job. I'll raise it to four pounds, but that is as high as I will go."
The ferret smirked and turned away from her. He opened the door and moved past General Kadharonon, leaving a growling queen behind.