The Villain's Obsession

Blood splattered onto Alexander Claiborne's crisp white shirt. He grimaced. The shirt would have to be thrown out now that it had been stained with an imbecile's blood. The grey tweed suit was still pristine, however, so it could at least be saved. "My gloves, please," Alexander held his hand out. The gloves were placed in his hands, his attention fixated on the sobbing mess on the floor. Slowly, he slipped his long elegant fingers into his gloves, then pushed back a strand of his blonde hair. He motioned for the men in front of him to move to the side. Bending down, he sneered, "I really hate when I get blood on me. People already consider me a dastardly villain, I try not to look the part." He grabbed the sack of bones in front of him by the hair and bashed its face into

Edwina Knight devoted her life to her studies. For nineteen years she had spent every day honing her intellect and it had taken her very far. At twenty-four years old, she was now the Grand Historian. The King of Wintenborough had appointed her personally, due to her exceptional performance at the Royal Academy. She was the first commoner to receive a role on the King’s Court, made up of only his most trusted advisors.Born in a remote village to the south of the capital, her parents were kind, simple people. Her father had worked as a stablehand and her mother worked as a maid for Baron Schloss. For the early part of their lives, they had lived in the servants’ dormitory but after marrying and giving birth to Edwina, they had moved into a small house in town.Together they raised Edwina diligently and they were happy. Edwina never remembered much from this time, but when she tried to recall this period of her life she felt nothing but warmth.When E

“Eddie!” Crown Prince Thackeray opened the door to Edwina’s office with a bang. Edwina’s head jerked up in surprise, her glasses slipping off her face. Breathless, the brown-haired, brown-eyed prince stormed up to her desk, “We can catch him!”Scrambling to adjust her glasses Edwina replied, “Catch who?”“That Claiborne bastard!” Thackeray slammed his hand on Edwina’s desk, obviously feeling very gung-ho about his news. “I got word that tonight he’ll be meeting with the heads of the Grand Peerage. He’ll travel alone without any guards. He’s trying to keep the meeting location secret!”“We can snatch him then,” Edwina joined in, jumping up from her seat.“Exactly! Then we’ll interrogate him!” Thackeray clenched his fist.“And find out all the info about that Alliance of Assholes!” Edwina completed.Thackera

Alexander looked around. He was in a small windowless room. It was filled with overstuffed bookshelves and one small desk. The molding on the wall was familiar to him. It was a design only used in the royal palace. They hadn’t been foolish enough to bring them to one of their personal rooms, had they? The room was a mess. There was parchment scattered all over the floor along with empty ink bottles, and broken quills. His eyes caught on a piece of parchment near his foot. It had a date on it, and upon closer inspection it was a document about a meeting the king had with farmers a week ago. My god, they brought me to Ms. Knight’s office. His head whipped up to stare incredulously at the three conspirators who didn’t have a single conniving bone in their body. Normally, when you kidnap someone you bring them to a neutral location and if you bring them somewhere else, you certainly don’t remove their blindfolds, especially if it's your private quarters!

Capturing Claiborne had been a surprisingly simple affair. After their planning session, Edwina, Lily, and Thackeray decided bringing any guards would be risky and unnecessary. So the three secured an unmarked carriage and traveled to a street a few blocks away from Claiborne’s casino. Edwina positioned the carriage at the end of an alleyway located in a particularly sketchy neighborhood that Claiborne planned to pass by. Thackeray and Lily hid behind abandoned barrels and crates and waited for Claiborne to appear. Claiborne had sauntered down the alley, whistling a tune, oblivious to the attackers lurking and waiting for him. His grey tophat shielded his eyes and the echoes of the click-clack of his shiny black oxfords seemed to shield the anxious fidgeting of the Crown Prince and Lily. Thackeray rushed him and put him in a chokehold until he passed out and together, Lily and Thackeray hauled Claiborne’s limp body into the carriage. Thackeray carried Claibor