literature

Fleeting Distress 01: Marcellina's Story

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A little girl stood on her tiptoes in front of the store window, her face and hands pressed against the glass, just barely tall enough to peer inside.  A smile crept across her face as she spotted her favorite item.  No, it wasn’t a wooden toy from the toy store, it wasn’t even a floral print dress which all the little girls her age were wearing.  No, this was something that her mother would have wanted had her mother been more than a street rat.  
“Do you like it?” a man asked her, stepping up beside the girl.
She nodded rapidly.
“Do you want it?”
“Yes,” she said quietly, “but I can’t have it.”
“I’ll get it for you,” the man said.
“Really?” she asked, falling flat footed and looking over at the man.  He wore a long dark coat with the collar up to hide his chin, a hat on his head tipped down to hide his face.  
“Yes, if you do one simple little thing for me.”
“What?” she asked eagerly.
“Here, take this,” the man said, bending over to her height and handing her a battered dagger with years’ worth of wear, “and go stick it in that woman’s heart.”   
“Stab her?  Why?” the little girl asked.
“So you can have that,” the man replied, gesturing back to the store window.
The little girl glanced back over at the woman the man had pointed to.  “But… that’s the flower lady.  She gave my mother flowers… and she stuck one in my hair…”
“Which is better?  A flower or that?” the man asked, once again referring to the item in the store window.
The little girl reached out and took the dagger from the man.  “I’ll make a distraction for you,” the man whispered.  “Wait for my signal.”
The little girl nodded and skipped innocently over to the flower lady, the dagger hidden away in the ruffles of her dress.  “Why, hello, Marcellina,” the woman smiled at the little girl.  
“Hello, madam,” the girl replied kindly.
The man turned quickly and shoved a cart full of apples out into the middle of the cobblestone road, slamming into a wagon and tipping it over, the horses going mad.  “Oh my goodness!” the flower lady gasped, jumping up abruptly.  
The little girl moved quicker than lightning, and before the frail old woman even knew what had hit her, the little girl had the dagger through her heart: perfect aim. While everyone around hurried over to the crash, the man quickly came to the girl’s side and took his dagger back, shoving the lady under her flower cart to make it look like an accident.
“You are a natural,” the man said to the girl.  “How stealthy you are… you would make a perfect assassin.”
“Do I get it now?” the girl asked.
“Sure, if you break in and steal it yourself,” the man answered, hurrying away.  
The next day the headlines read: “Jewelry store robbed, store owner murdered, largest diamond stolen, killer unknown.”  And on the back page it was mentioned that a notorious serial killer was finally served justice.  A man who wore a long dark coat with the collar up to hide his chin, a hat on his head tipped down to hide his face, was found murdered with his own dagger.
He finally messed with the wrong person.
Yo, Christina Hadfield here, author of the Fleeting Distress series!
I'm uploading my books online so more people can read them!  If you have an interest or think they would make a great gift, you can find links to buy them below.  Thanks for reading! c:

This is Book 1 What Lies behind Bright Eyes? Prelude Part 1

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Fleeting Distress © Christina Hadfield
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