Unkept Promise

CHAPTER ONE

My body was flung wildly and I slammed into a stone wall. Every single bone in my body ached. I thought I'd be paralyzed for the rest of my life, but I had no time to think about that. Not now at least. I could hear my enemy approaching me. I had to open my eyes. With gritted teeth, I opened my eyes and looked dead in the eyes of my target. I had no idea what their name was, and honestly, it didn't even matter. My mission was to steal something from them, but they saw me. They saw what I could do. They must be killed at once.

He strolled towards me, holding up his arms.

"How about you give up, kiddo?" he smirked. "A sweet little girl like you should not engage in violence like this."

I met this man not too long ago, but every single word that came out of his mouth was the most annoying thing anyone could ever hear. His mocking tone only made it worse. I let out a small laugh, trying to push my pain and annoyance away.

"Bold of you to assume I'm a 'sweet little girl'."

I got up and used the wall I got slammed into to my advantage. I gave myself a boost by pushing my body away from the wall and sprinting directly towards my enemy. I was lucky that our environment was dark. I was even harder to follow because of my black clothes (and hair for that matter), blending in with our dark surroundings. Once I was right in front of him, I got ready to dodge his attack. To my surprise, he had a weapon. Why didn't I see it...? Another mistake.

I bent down and swiftly moved away to his left side. At this rate, I'll be dead in no time. My luck will eventually run out. I kicked his left leg, making him lose balance, then quickly ran behind his back. His nape. That's what I was looking for. I reached out to it and touched it with my index and middle finger. Nothing happened.

"What the..."

My enemy quickly turned around and swung his dagger on the right side of my forehead. I shrieked and jumped away immediately. As soon as I was far enough, I crouched down, thinking I was about to pass out right then and there. I felt like my heart was about to jump out of my chest. I touched my wound, and blood was all over my fingers. It was even dripping down my face. I turned my gaze to my enemy, rage was seen on both his face and mine. His smirk was completely gone. It was replaced with an indefinable expression.

"You ... you used the same filthy move on my friend right before he passed..." he said. I could somehow feel his voice shaking through the floor.

"YOU MONSTER!" he yelled at the top of his lungs, as he rushed towards me.

It didn't work... Why didn't it work?! This move did its job just fine 30 minutes ago, so why didn't it work out now? Why...

Before I knew it, the man was three steps away from me. I stood up as fast as I could and tried to run away. Just when I was about to escape, he reached out with his dagger and penetrated my left arm. It hurt like hell, but I had to keep running.

The place we were in was an old, collapsed, and much-forgotten dome. From the way it looks now, you could easily tell that this was once a beautiful building, but now it's not even a tourist attraction. It's a shame.

The escape plan I had in mind was quickly torn apart once I remembered that I was trapped inside the building. My only escape was the underground tunnel that I used to get in here in the first place, but opening that heavy door again would take me some time. And that is something I currently don't have at all. Another idea rushed into my mind. It was risky, very risky actually, but it was my only plan that had a slight chance of success.

I turned around at once. He was much closer than I thought. But close enough for me to perform my move. I shifted the hand he was holding the dagger in aside, and used my left elbow to hit his jaw as hard as I could. My strike was good, but not powerful enough. I was not surprised. He was, after all, about 25 years old, and I'm 15. My plan was obviously not thought through, because the arm I used to hit the man was injured. But it did its job well enough. I once again kicked his leg so he could lose his balance, and so he did. He fell on the ground, exactly like I wanted him to. I quickly pinned him down to make sure he didn't get up and plucked his weapon from his hand. If the man really wanted to win, he could toss me on the other side of the collapsed dome and finish me. But he didn't. He was obviously defeated. Not only physically, but also emotionally. With a swift move from my wrist, I flipped the dagger so its tip would face the ground. I lifted my hand with the weapon, ready to end this man's life.

"You're wicked, girl," the man muttered.

I finished the mission.

                                                                                            *   *   *

The whole world was spinning along with me. My vision was doubled, and I walked like an intoxicated rat. If anyone were to ambush me right now, I'd just grab the dagger I stole from the man and end my suffering myself. I had lost some blood, and the wound from my head was not making things better. It was hard enough for me to even make sure that I wouldn't trip on anything while I walked, so forget about even trying to think of a plan. After a few minutes of walking, I stumbled upon an unfamiliar town. It wasn't big, but it wasn't small either. I wish I could recognize the place, but I could barely recognize my own thoughts. I'll pass out soon. I need a safe place to hide in. That's all I could think of. I arrived in town and decided to walk through the darkest alleyway I saw. I noticed some people walking around, and I could only hope that I'd get around unseen. The alley was very odd. Most of the houses here seemed to be abandoned. I saw a house, not too far away from where I was. It looked like it hadn't been abandoned for too long ago, but it was deserted for sure. I still kind of hesitated to enter, but it was my only decent hiding spot. I approached the house and tried to open the front door. It was unlocked. I opened the door slowly, sneaked into the house, and leaned against the wall. Even breathing right now felt like a challenge. I looked up, and I couldn't believe my eyes.

There was a boy inside the house, staring at me in shock. My luck ran out.

I cursed, then fell to the ground.