Assassin's Heart

Chapter 1

^Viviana^

Boisterous laughter sounded from below me, barely muffled by the thin wooden floorboards. My expression twisted into a sneer, mockingly laughing to myself at their ignorance. The tavern underneath my feet was one of the most popular in the city, called the Silver Wolf. They had no idea that the most skilled killers in the empire frequented the halls above them. 

It was late, as night had cloaked the city in darkness hours ago. My latest mission had been easy; all it took was a quick slit of the throat and the man was dead. Now in my sparsely furnished room preparing for rest, I cleaned the dried blood off of my dagger and slipped it into one of my ankle sheaths. Still clothed in a beautiful dress under my cloak, I quickly changed into a dark tunic and breeches, slipping on lightweight boots as well. 

Grabbing another knife and sliding it under the pillow on the bare mattress, I laid down and fell asleep, passing into a dreaming slumber. 

*******

I was walking along the busy streets of Emara, the capital city of Mythea. I could see the Silver Wolf just ahead, and I smiled in anticipation of the food that it would provide. All of a sudden a hooded figure darted out of an alley, pulling me into the shadows. 

I reached down to grab my daggers, but they weren't there. I tried to pull away, but my body wasn't listening to me. I could only stare at the figure, waiting for them to reveal themselves. Their arm had latched onto mine with an iron grip, but they had not done anything to hurt me quite yet. Pulling off their hood with their other hand, I was soon staring into icy blue eyes, boring into mine. I could practically feel the hostility rolling off of them. 

"Hello, Viviana."

*******

A knock sounded on my door, waking me up instantly. I sprang up, quickly pushing the ominous dream away, my senses alert and ready. A glance at the thin curtains covering the window revealed that it wasn't quite light outside yet. I unsheathed my daggers, relieved to find them there, and opened the door in one swift motion, pinning the figure waiting outside to the wall in a split second. Frightened brown eyes looked back at me, and I realized that the mysterious person was Mia, the 19 year old daughter of Maria. Maria was the one who received our clients and passed the missions onto us. 

I quickly released Mia and apologized. But the confusion must've shown on my face at her early morning visit. She brushed herself off with shaking hands and explained.

"Mother wants to see you. She sent me to tell you to come to her immediately, that it's urgent business." Mia gave me a shaky smile. She clearly wasn't used to being attacked like that, and I apologized again for my mistake. Mia just smiled again and walked away back to her own room. 

As soon as she turned her back I frowned. Normally we didn't get missions one after another, and a mission would be the only reason why Maria would want to see me. Usually we would get a week or so of rest between missions. I started down the hallway towards Maria's office, making my face completely devoid of emotion. Maria always told us, 'assassins aren't paid to have opinions, they're paid to kill', a cruel reminder of what I did for a living. 

As I was about to walk past another doorway, it opened, forcing me to step back. Another assassin, Cassandra, stepped out and saw me standing there. 

"What are you doing up? I thought you just completed a mission. Besides, you never get up early when you don't have to." She said with a smile. I scowled at her. Cassandra, or Cassie as I called her, always woke up extremely early. I on the other hand, stayed up extremely late. I never understood how she managed to get up. I sighed. 

"I was awakened by Mia, and accidentally pinned her to the wall. Maria wants to see me, though I have no idea why. And at this god awful time too." I said, muttering the last part. Cassie let out a loud laugh, clearly amused. I scowled again. "Not all of us are morning people you know." I said.

"I know." Cassie said with a chuckle. "Good luck with whatever Maria wants." She walked away, and I sighed again. I straightened my expression and made my way to Maria's office. Knocking on the door twice, Maria's smooth voice calling me in. 

I opened the door and walked in, seeing Maria sitting at her desk and a stranger standing behind her. Already odd, as we rarely met our clients. Maria was normally the one who took care of all that. The man seemed almost familiar, but I didn't think I'd ever met him before. I finally looked into his eyes. 

Icy blue eyes bored into mine, staring coldly. 

"Hello, Viviana."

Sorry for the really crappy chapter, but I just had no idea how to start this. I promise I'll try to update soon, but bear with me if I don't. 

Thank you for reading this!!!!!

-naturebookworm :)