Regrets of Evil

Chapter 3
Scarlet Glass Rose

Len returned to the castle late that night, well after dinner. The pale light of the full moon illuminated the halls of the palace as he made his way back to Rin's chamber. He knocked twice on the oaken door before pushing it open. Rin was seated by her window, the glass repaired and the reflection of the moon lighting her face. Len bowed to her.

"The task is complete, Princess." He reached in his pocket and produced the glass rose. Rin smiled at her servant and stood. She took the rose from him and wrapped her arms around his neck.

"I knew I could count on you, my dearest servant." Rin gave him a peck on the cheek and released him. She held up the rose to the moonlight. "Now I shall have him for myself…"

There was another knock on the door and the prime minister appeared. He had a serious look on his face as he bowed to Rin.

"My princess, I have news of the green country. It has been consumed by war after learning its own princess was murdered by her fiancé. The blue country denied the accusations, but could not produce evidence since her fiancé has disappeared."

"Splendid. Thank you for the tidings, prime minister," Rin said through a smirk. "Send reinforcements to the green country at once."

The minister was taken aback. "But, why princess? This is not our matter…besides, shouldn't we send the reinforcements to the blue country instead?"

"Of course not, silly. I want the blue country to win. Send the greenest troops we have. That should seal the blue country's victory."

The minister didn't say anything to this command, though he knew it would be fatal for the troops sent. He bowed again before leaving. "At your command, Princess."

Len looked over at Rin. "Why send the green troops to battle? They've not even had proper training yet."

Rin's eyes narrowed. "I don't remember asking for your opinion, Len. Hmph, this has blood stains on it…" She threw the glass rose to the floor, where it shattered to hundreds of tiny shards. "There, that's better. Now, come brush my hair. I had the maid hanged and haven't gotten a new one yet."

Near the entrance gates of the royal city was the poorest district of the place. Here, all the filth and immigrants gathered to try and scrape out a living for themselves. One such person had attained such a reputation in this district the whole city knew of her. So when Kaito went looking, he didn't have to look far.

His target was staying at one of the most rundown inns he'd ever seen. This was one was even worse than the ones on the border roads. The inn was full of nare-do-wells and riff raff of the worst sort. They were all gathered around a single table and shouting cheers.

"Yeah! That's it! Take him down!"

"Come on, you can take her! Are you a wuss or what?"

Kaito saddled past the cluttered tables and dark glares and tried to catch a glimpse of what was going on. One of the men moved and gave him a clear view. A man with a missing eye and a brown haired woman dressed in simple red armor had their hands locked in an arm wrestle. Veins were starting to pop out on the man's arm and forehead. The woman hardly seemed to be breaking a sweat and she wore a cocky smirk. Her arm seemed to be losing. The man noticed and grinned. The woman's smirk got broader and WHAM!, the man's arm was bent backwards and defeated. There was a raucous cry from the crowd. The woman leaned back in her chair, arms open in victory.

She grabbed a tankard of beer and took a long swig. "Another one down!" she shouted over the cries. "Who's next?"

Kaito pushed past the foul smelling men and slammed his hand on the table. "Are you the one known as Meiko the Fearless?"

The woman gave Kaito a sidelong glance and drank some more of her beer. "Who wants to know?"

"I do. I'm in need of a mercenary of sorts."

The woman put down her tankard. "Is that so? Well, buddy, I ain't the sort to get tangled up in other's problems. If it's a mercenary you want, go somewhere else." She squinted harder at Kaito. "Hey, wait a minute…aren't you that prince who's gone awol? What you doing in a place like this? You're just asking to get mugged wearing those clothes."

Kaito was getting hate vibes from the men standing around the table. Meiko gave them a fierce glare and they backed off. She motioned at the chair across from her and lifted her feet to the table.

"You must be desperate if you're coming here just for some revenge help."

"Your reputation precedes you," Kaito said, taking the offered seat. "My fiancé has been murdered by the princess of this country."

"How you know that?"

Kaito's expression darkened. "I found a sword used only by the yellow country next to her lifeless body. And I also saw the killer. The princess killed her herself."

Meiko waved her hand dismissively. "Nah, couldn't have been her. She's too worried about getting her clothes stained to do something that messy. She probably had someone else do it."

"Someone who looks exactly like her?" Kaito said in a barely audible tone. He leaned further into the table. "I've heard it told you've got a grudge against the princess as well."

Meiko's brown eyes became like steely knives. "I don't know where you got your information, but yeah I do. She single-handedly brought my entire family to ruin. My parents killed themselves because of it."

"So we have a common enemy," Kaito said, leaning back. "And I'm sure there are others in this city that wish ill on her. She's certainly earned it. What do you say? I can promise a handsome reward for your assistance."

Meiko stroked her chin, contemplating Kaito's proposal. She held out her hand.

"You've got yourself a mercenary. I'll start looking for others to join. I know a few who'll be all too willing to help."