"I'm so fucking scared."
Runa lay huddled on her bed under the comfy blankets. The door to her spacious room locked.
An annoying bird sat on the desk nearby.
"Fuck you!"
Runa threw a pillow over her head and pushed it into her ears.
'This damned bird!'
A stupid bird named Lord of Truth, which had now caused its fair share of trouble. A trouble she was being associated with as the one carrying it around!
'How did my life even come to this…'
She sought a better life in Praxis after her tribe had been claimed by the Scourge.
But life in that hellhole jungle wasn't fun or easy as the rumors said.
Maybe it was at one point, but not anymore. Thievery was how one survived in contemporary Praxis.
If you stole enough, you got to eat. If you didn't, you starved.
And if you got caught…
A duel.
The legal system had collapsed years ago, turning into a rulerless system in which power wasn't centralized but spread across thirteen individuals.
'Oligarchic anarchy…'
None of these thirteen could ever agree on anything, leading to lawlessness. No centralized police force, no common law, no national army.
The only thing the people shared was the Praxian banner.
A banner that stood for something different to each of them.
Luckily for Runa…
She was quite the talented thief.
So she fit in well.
She never starved. She got water when she needed it. Her clothes were some of the best around.
Her life was good.
Hard. But good…
Or at least it was good until she'd gotten caught by that sly fox who was a little stronger than she let on.
Following her capture, Runa lost the duel.
As precedent dictated, her life and freedom were forfeit. If she decided to resist Cha Hon's dominion over her, all Praxians would label her a common enemy to kill on sight.
That was the one thing Praxians came together on, upholding the honor of that tradition.
In the end, Cha Hon chose Runa's freedom.
Taking Runa with her band of merchants, who baited thieves into attacking and stole from them, alongside their legitimate business.
Runa's job for a few years now had been to look cute and act innocent. Draw in as many unsuspecting customers as possible and use her pretty face to scam them.
Runa sighed and rolled on her bed, listening to Lot's constant chirping.
Coming to Catatran was risky for Cha Hon's band, but it was also a goldmine.
'I should've run…'
The country that had embargoes placed nearly everywhere except Praxis and Leyran, though it seemed like Leyran's embargo was coming soon.
In any case…
What that meant was, even if the citizens were poor, they'd trade all they could for foreign goods they had no access to.
Food, gold, coins, whatever, they could get all of that and more by selling useless items — the merchants knew they would come away rich.
But to think…
'I ended up being sold!'
It was lunacy. Lunacy!
Sure, she was essentially Cha Hon's slave, but life wasn't that bad under her. It was a bit rough and rustic at times, but they got by.
'The thing is…'
She wasn't just sold, but sold to a King!
Ixion of Catatran at that.
The Crownless King!
The warlord who could slaughter nations with his bare hands. Stoppable only by a handful. Known as a madman by his own people!
Technically, she was free to do as she pleased…
But she wasn't going to trust the word of an insane person.
At the same time…
'It's not too bad, at least.'
She got fed. A nice bed. Only had to worry about poison from time to time.
So all in all, not a bad gig…
At least it wouldn't be if everyone didn't hate her!
To everyone in the Royal Palace of Catatran, she was the street trash Ixion picked up.
To the nobles outside plotting an obvious rebellion, she was the owner of an ostentatious bird.
Simply speaking, she was a hated existence.
But as much as the people hate her and the man who'd 'adopted' her…
'King Ixion seems a bit misunderstood.'
Not entirely misunderstood…
'But, he's lying.'
Over the years of watching Cha Hon, Runa had gotten pretty good at reading bluffs and lies.
'The eyes are a pretty good indicator.'
Try as the King of Catatran may, his eyes when he hurt the chef weren't filled with the glee usually seen on the faces of ruthless, inhumane rulers.
He wore the same eyes as when he talked about his starving people…
The eyes of a hurt man who cared.
That's not to say Ixion was a particularly good man.
'In fact, he's still awful for doing it at all…'
But to Runa, Ixion's actions seemed much more purposeful than he let on.
She didn't like the King, but the cat was curious.
'Why does he act like that?'
'Why does he act mad?'
Was she wrong, and the King truly senseless?
Or was there another reason?
Too bad she didn't know how much longer she'd get to live, seeing as every powerful person of Catatran had put a target on her back due to a stupid bird.
"Fuck you!"
Runa cried into the pillow.
"Fuck you."