The Dark Brotherhood [ON HOLD]

The Flashback

"Cairo, why don't you go pick some berries for me?" The mother asked. He accepted the task, a little annoyed "Yes, Mother." Cairo picked up the woven basket his mother had prepared for him. Outside the house toddlers and children were playing cheerfully. One of children, a girl approached Cairo. She had fluffy blonde hair and sparkling green eyes. "Cairo! Want to play along?" she asked in a sweet tone. "I can't play right now, I'm going out on an adventure! Actually, you might come with me. If you help me pick berries" he said with a lazy smile. The girl's face shone up with delight as she realized what he had said.

"My name is Astrid by the way." She said, carrying the basket full of berries. They had been in the forest for about an hour. Cairo didn't answer. Suddenly a stick broke behind them, as if they were being followed. Cairo quickly turned around, obviously nervous. "Oh, I – I'm sure it was nothing..." He stuttered. They continued to walk but Cairo couldn't avoid feeling uneasy, his guts told him something was wrong but instead of turning back to Falkearth, he continued forward.

Another snap could be heard. This time right beside them. A grey swift shape flew past them. "Wolves!" Cairo exclaimed, his voice trembling. Astrid stood stiff by his side. They noticed several more shapes. They were surrounded. Cairo had no weapons with him, the only way to get away was to run. "We need to get out of here!" he said then ran, ran as fast as he could, forgetting the girl, paralyzed by fear. Her scream reminded him. Oh, no. I should save her... But I can't, the wolves must've gotten her by now...There is nothing I can do he thought. He walked back slowly, feeling guilty and sad. He no longer had an annoying little fangirl.

A few days later he went to the place where the wolves had surrounded them. The place was a mess. Blood was spattered on the ground and the basket lay upside-down with all berries spread over the small glade. Astrid were nowhere to be seen.

The inviting scent of a rich meat-broth awoke Astrid. She lay on a bed, bandaged and cleaned. She had a terrible headache. The only thing she could remember was seeing Cairo run away and feeling herself pushed to the ground, awfully mauled by the sharp claws of the wolves closing in.

The room in which she was located was small, the only furniture in the room was a chair, bookshelf and the bed. The door wasn't entirely open, but open enough to let in the delicious smell of food, the scent made Astrid aware of her hunger; she was famished.

Soft steps could be heard outside the door. The door was opened and a man came in. "You're awake. Good." Astrid suddenly felt scared "Where am I? Who are you?"The man handed her a bowl of steaming broth. She gulped the whole bowl at once. "My name is Krex. You're in the Dark Brotherhood sanctuary." Astrid frowned "What's the Dark Brotherhood?" she asked curious, no longer scared.
Krex sat down beside her. He was young - around 19 Astrid thought - and had a straight face set with a square jaw, high cheekbones and calm brown eyes. His clothing was rather odd, she thought. It was a black and red leather uniform, made to achieve ultimate swiftness and silence.

Krex seemed relieved by her question and curiosity. "We help people. They contact us, tell us about their problem and pay. We make the problem quietly disappear. The emperor does not think highly of our organization. That's why we keep it a secret, that's why you haven't heard of us."

Though Astrid understood what he had said, she had not noticed the message hidden between the lines. The assassin looked down "Do you want to go home?" he asked. Astrid shook her head, surprisingly she didn't. "No... He could've saved me, but instead he left me..." She frowned and felt angry. "He left me to die. I feel... betrayed. I want to make him pay, maybe it's wrong. But that doesn't change how I feel." Krex peeked up at her and smiled "It's not wrong. What he did was wrong. You'd fit well in our organization." Krex's eyes sparkled with wickedness when he smiled. Astrid returned his smile, feeling empowered by the burning anger. "I never want to go back, I want to stay here. You saved me." She said.

Krex frowned and said "I'll talk to the others, they might not approve" he left the room and came back about half an hour later. "You can stay. We'll train you and help you arrange your revenge."