Quite soon we arrived in Seventh City. It was grand and huge and everything that was expected. It felt tropical with a bit of old world influences. I didn't have time to take in the scenery, I had a mission to complete. We had to deliver the letter and kill a Judge. Oh joy. "It's actually going to be pretty easy to get my old man," Raven said. "He should be in the city. I just need to find out where he's staying and we can kill him before their meeting. I could go in on him, talk him up, and then you kill him?"
I didn't like that idea. "You can't kill him?" Raven's answer was that he couldn't. He was too fond of him, apparently. "Well, alright." The idea of killing someone didn't sit well with me. "You're sure you won't do it for me?" I looked at Raven.
"...Alright," he said. I was proud of Raven. It must take a lot of guts to kill your former boss. As Raven explained to me, he was more like his father than his boss. Raven departed to find out where his Judge was staying, while I was to turn in our letter to the Judges' box so it could be reviewed in a few days. I went where Raven instructed me to, and I found a small office. It was similar to the post offices I had seen in other cities. Your mail here can go to anywhere in the empire.
This one had an extra function: you could give items to the Judges for review. Not many people had the guts to do it, and even though I was starting a war by doing it, I dropped it into the box. "Thank you for your concerns about our nation!" the postmaster called as I exited. I waited outside of the office for Raven. He reappeared and laid out our plan after a while.
He had located the Judge's position. We were to meet with the Judge and silently kill him, and then run. Fast. If we didn't, we would surely both be executed, courtesy of the Judges. Raven said we would go by nightfall. He had rented us a room in a nearby hotel. "I suggest you rest. It's going to be a trying few days."
So that's what I did. I went to the hotel and slept. I don't think Raven did. Perhaps he was preparing his mind for what lay ahead. At one point, I heard tears. Maybe I was dreaming, but Raven certainly didn't seem happy about something. At night, we headed out to a large building where the Judge was staying. We entered and climbed up many flights of stairs. Raven was silent.
We reached the room with the Judge in it. Raven knocked. "Who is it?" a voice called out. My heart leaped in my chest and I quit breathing. What are we doing? I don't want to be an assassin...
"It's Raven. I brought a friend too. We'd like to see you." Raven called out.
"Alright, come on in. I was just getting ready to sleep. This is a pleasant surprise." the Judge said. I heard a shower running in the distance. A squeak and it stopped. Then footsteps came over to the door. "What are you waiting for? Get in here!" Raven opened the door and I almost screamed. The man was stark naked!
"Hello, father," Raven said. The Judge walked over and hugged Raven.
"Oh, son! It's been so long!" the man whispered something to Raven, who nodded. "Come in and sit by the fireplace!" We did so. The fire was very warm. (I guess it has to be when you wear no clothes.) The man wasn't very old. I expected he was about forty. He was old enough to be Raven's father, at least. He had a whiskery face that had a kind aspect to it. He looked like an okay person if you only looked at his face, but his dark agenda as a Judge stood him out from the nice crowd (not to mention how freely he lets it all hang out...).
They went into the usual jabber, I suppose. "So Dad, have you gotten any women lately?"
"I'm actually expecting one, right now. I suppose you wonder why I'm not covered up in the slightest." the man said jovially.
"I'm not the least bit concerned about that, father. I'm used to it." Raven said, smiling. In a pause he whispered to me: "I can't do this. The dagger is hidden in my back pants pocket. Do it soon."
I gulped, but it had to be done. I decided to make myself known in the conversation. I grabbed the dagger slowly so as to not arouse suspicion and hid it in my pocket. Then I spoke. "Excuse me, I have to use the restroom."
"This building isn't connected to the sewers, so you can't really." the Judge said.
"But that's not why I'm going to the bathroom." He gave me a look that said "oh," and I stood up and walked into the bathroom, shutting the door. I took a deep breath and steadied myself. I put my hand on the dagger and waited a minute or two. Afterwards, I exited. The bathroom was positioned behind the Judge so that his back was to me. Raven was across from him, facing me. Both of them glanced my way.
"Welcome back," the Judge said casually and turned back to Raven to continue his conversation. His bare back stared at me and I gulped. It was now or never. I took out the dagger and slowly walked toward him. His body sat, leaning forward, and moving a bit as he talked to Raven. I was going to kill a man, Raven's dad. I was prepared. I had reached the point where I was a foot or two behind him now. I raised the dagger and plunged.
I shut my eyes upon impact. My ears rang and I couldn't hear anything. I felt Raven grab me and we exited the scene. I was in a daze. Raven had the dagger and slipped it into his pocket. We ran continuously until we reached the carriage. We galloped into the night with my conscience punctured. Raven was crying silently. We had done it, though. We had started a war. I think I fell into a sleep.
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