The Huntress

Becoming an Assassin: Flashback

|December 14, 1908|
Everyone around me either wants to beat me, kill me, or be me. I better get used to it. I'm one challenge away from being an Apprentice. One challenge away from killing the King. One challenge away from becoming who I was meant to be.
I could feel the cold, hard stare of the boy. I had beaten him twice and tied once. If I won this challenge I beat him and become an Assassin. I realize that my ankles should be throbbing but I feel nothing. No emotion, no pain, just emptiness. Mentors lead me to the last challenge. Finally they hand me a bow and three arrows. I know what comes next. I either die or kill this boy. I can't back down for the sake of my sister. My arrows are black and tipped red, while his are black and silver. My bow fits my hands perfectly. I look to my competitor. He stands proud and strong but his eyes tell a different story. He's terrified. I can feel all eyes on me. The burly man's eyes burning holes into the boy as if saying, "Let her win or I kill you." I was only seven. This boy looked fourteen. Twice my age, half my experience. I flash a menacing look that sends chills down his back. His hands shake on his bow.
"This is the last chance to become a Bow Apprentice. Our two contestants, a young girl and a teenaged boy. The girl leads 3-1. This challenge is worth 3 points. Their are no rules. You must kill the other to win and you have to use the bow given. Last person standing wins," the Mentor sounds and the room goes quiet. The boy trembles in fear. He didn't know he'd have to kill me. He will die today. Never see his parents. His siblings. But that was his choice. He should have backed off. Now he will die. The gun sounds.
I figure by the shaking of his hands his arrow will be 4 inches off the mark. He has three shots. He will miss each. I stand completely still as he slowly draws his arrow. I feel the arrow fly by. I grab its shaft, spin and shoot. Rapid fire the arrows. First through his hand. He screams in pain. The next through his ankle. Another scream. Another through his knee pinning him to the wall behind him. I stand looking into his eyes watching the fading of his life.
I whisper, "This is for Ali." The arrow lets loose and pierces his forehead. Blood pours from his mouth and pools at his feet. He falls limp.
The Mentor stares in shock. The crowd stands wide-eyed. I smile and walk towards the Master.
"I believe I have won."
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|February 4, 1911|
"Apprentice Shadow?" a voice sounds. I smirk.
"Actually it's Master now." My hand was stained with blood. The Chief looked at me in shock.
"What happened to Master Merlyn?!" he asks looking a little scared.
"I challenged and defeated him," I replied. I was now ten. I had been in the League three years. Completed four hundred and twenty-four missions. Killed four thousand eighty horrible people. I was the second most powerful Assassin in the League. I was also the youngest and least trained. I was a threat. I was death itself.