A couple years ago, the envelope would have been heavy in the lining of Fossil’s hood. It would have seemed a great weight, dragging her towards capture and death. But now she’d carried enough messages like this that her step was casual, and she was able to just as casually smile at passers-by, or chat with a merchant as soldiers walked by.<br/>Once she had made it away from the Citadel’s neglected gardens with the spy’s report, Fossil needed to wind through the city of Loren, losing anyone who might have followed her. She didn’t plan these rambles, just walked for a couple hours. It kept her unpredictable. Today, her walk took her to lower Loren and the docks. Fossil had always liked the sea. She sat on a dock for some minutes breathing the salty air, listening to the shouting and laughing of fishermen. Her eyes were closed, and the scene as she visualized it was idyllic.<br/><br/>“You lazy dog!” a man’s voice barked. Fossil’s eyes snapped open. Not so idyllic after all. Was someone yelling at her? She looked around quickly. No, the barking man, a large bearded man, was yelling at a young man on the next dock. As Fossil stood the large man struck the young man, who cried out as he fell to the boards of the dock. Fossil bit her tongue. She had almost forgotten how popular slavery was around here. She turned away. Fossil was on a mission. She needed to get the letter back to camp, and that meant leaving this boy to his fate. She whispered an apology, really to herself, and began to walk way from the dock. As she stepped off the dock two soldiers approached her.<br/><br/>“What is your name?” one demanded. Fossil froze, shocked. Had they followed her all the way here? “Name,” He demanded again.<br/><br/>“Alice-Alice Easterholtz,” Fossil lied as her face turned fiery red. The other soldier sneered.<br/><br/>“Really. I thought it was Fossil Nettles,” Fossil stared at him in disbelief. “It’s no use girl, your spy is already in the dungeon. Turn over the letter and surrender quietly.” So the maid had given her up. Not so surprising in retrospect, Fossil thought. She hadn’t seemed very strong willed. The first soldier reached for Fossil’s arm. She was too fast for him. Full of adrenaline, she bolted. She ran almost blindly as they gave chase, down a road and into a crowded market. Exhaustion overtook Fossil, not the soldiers. She stumbled into a dark, dead-end alley and collapsed behind a decaying crate. She had lost the soldiers. But now, as her senses cleared, she could hear what the market trafficked in, and smell the sweat and fear. Fossil had cornered herself in the middle of the slave market. She swore at herself. Why couldn't she have run into a nice fragrant fruit market? But there was nothing for it now. Her only option she could see was to walk out with as much confidence as possible and hope no one thought she was a runaway. So Fossil stood up, brushed off her tunic, and started walking.<br/><br/>Edited for formatting.