First Class Gardening

Masha grit her teeth against the Writer's will. She did not want to take this job. He was forcing her hand, making her take every single step toward the job giver. He wouldn't even allow her to talk except to say the things he wanted. This was why she hated the Writer. He took away her will, her freedom. Everything she held dear seemed to be at his command. Possibly even the One. It broke her heart to think her everything, her perfect man could be at the control of the sadistic bastard.

'Come now Masha.' The Writer projected into her head. He tired of her constant resistance. Even if it did help him to achieve the word count required by the job, her resistance made it hard to keep his flickering imagination alight. 'If you don't kill Ms. Cooper, some serial killer mage will. And they won't be gentle about it. Doesn't she deserve a swift painless death?'

Masha spat to the side. "As if you would let me make it swift. I bet you have some awful accident planned." Masha waited but the Writer had gone silent. She scowled darkly. Her scowl drove off a few men trying to approach her. It probably froze a few wolf whistles too. Masha was okay with that. She wasn't in the mood to deal with inane men right now.

Ms. Coldflower lived in a mansion in Cedar. It towered over the buildings to either side and immediately drew the eye when one turned onto the street. Masha thought the woman's last name was a good fit. Coldflower matched the icy beauty of the mansion to a T. Something about it made Masha sure the garden revolved around a similar theme. A shiver ran down Masha's back. An unpleasant woman lived here. One caught up in herself to an extent that she would murder someone for taking first place over her. Masha might like beauty but it had to be inside and out.

The knocker on the blue door was shaped like a circle with icicles hanging off the bottom. Masha carefully picked it up and slammed it into the door. It was opened immediately. A thin man with a long nose peered down at her. "I'm sorry miss but the Lady isn't accepting beggars today. That is on Friday in her garden." The scowl returned to Masha's face. Stepping back, she planted her foot in the butler's chest. The thin man flew back into the house. He crashed into the wall and slid to the ground.

Masha entered with her head held high. "I'm no begger, wretch" She sneered down at him. "I'm a mage from the dark guild, Savage Skull and I demand the respect I am due. The butler nodded weakly from the floor. "My apologies, miss." He said weakly. An arm was curled about his middle. Might have been for a broken rib or two. Masha refused to let guilt seep into her rage however."The Lady Coldflower isn't here right now. Shall I tell her you stopped by? Masha gave him a curt nod. Spinning on her heel, red hair flaring in the movement, she headed out the door. "I shall return for my reward." Masha called over her shoulder.

It took some searching to find where Ms. Cooper could be found. Unlike Coldflower, Cooper kept a rather low profile. Masha flipped her hair for a few men, batted her eyelashes for a few women to try and find the woman. Most seemed reluctant to help her which frustrated her. When she finally asked a potential informant why, she received a disturbing answer. "You were seen coming out of the Coldflower Residence. Everyone knows Coldflower doesn't like that Ms. Cooper beat her. Since you came from there, we all think you are a dark mage or an assassin Coldflower hired to off Ms. Cooper. No one will help with that." The rather round man tipped his hat at her before going on his way. Masha sat back on her heels. That hadn't been the answer she expected. This job may be harder to complete than she thought.

The beggars would help her. She grimaced at the thought. Beggars were so ugly and dirty. Yet most would give up information for a generous amount of jewels. Masha turned, heading down an alleyway. The beggars rose up around her. Wannabe bandits. Masha smiled coldly. She preferred to do things this way.

The six bandit beggars taunted her. Something about nice tits or ass she was sure. Masha however snapped into motion. Her fist slammed into one man's throat. Her enhanced strength caused his neck to snap. He went down in a boneless heap. His friends paused to look at his body. Masha didn't wait. Her foot went to work. A jaw, a chest, a set of balls. She grinned as she surveyed the damage. Broken jaw knelt on the ground holding his mouth shut with a hand. Fat tears rolled down his face. The one she had kicked in the chest was stuck in the wall, out cold. The one she kicked in the balls was unconscious on his feet, clutching himself. Masha turned around slowly to face the last of her attackers.

"Talk. Tell me where Ms. Cooper, the winner of the garden competition lives or end up like them." She pointed her thumb at the three behind her. The two men looked at each other. Masha let her smile fall. Her face twisted into an ugly expression. She hated it but it was necessary. "If you try to run, you will get worse. I'll leave you within an inch of your life. You'll be unable to see, unable to smile, unable to walk or grasp or fuck. You'll be in constant agony for the rest of your life." The men shrank back against the wall. They began babbling, giving Masha directions to a house on the opposite side of town from the Coldflower Residence. She smiled, thanked them, and knocked them unconscious.

It wasn't hard to find Ms. Cooper's residence after that. Masha felt her heart ache as she looked onto the woman's home. It was a quaint little place that radiated warmth and kindness. A couple of children were playing in the yard, looked over by a couple. Masha knew from the job poster that neither was Ms. Cooper. Perhaps one of them was her child. Making the playing children her grandkids. This job was suddenly much harder for Masha. She felt her heart squeeze. This was the kind of life she had once dreamed of. Back when she was in a cage. It would forever be out of her reach.

Masha shook her head, trying to harden her heart. Jealously curled about the edges of her mind and she cultivated them. Why did this woman get to have everything denied to Masha? Since Cooper had won the garden competition, Masha assumed the woman would be in the garden. She headed back there led by a clear path set next to the house. Luckily it was on the opposite side from the playing children so none of them saw her.

Ms. Cooper was crouched over something when Masha entered the garden. Masha didn't hesitate. She couldn't. She stepped up and slid Spite into the back of Ms. Cooper's neck. Tears rolled down her face as the woman collapsed onto a batch of flowers. Some kind of red flower. Masha couldn't make them out through her tears.

The shouts of the playing children yanked Masha from the downward spiral of guilt. She couldn't be caught. Quickly, she wiped her knife on the back of the woman's shirt. Masha paused for a moment. "I'm sorry. Be at peace." The tears were wiped from her eyes and Spite was put away. Masha strode from the garden, not daring to look back. It was time to collect the reward. Perhaps she would get a little revenge on Coldflower as well. That garden looked awful flammable.

Word Count: 1335