The Shadow Assassin

Chapter 1

Rowan slipped through the trees, unnoticed by everyone and thing.

She had a mission and she couldn't fail.

She had to kill Olaf Gomen.

Or Salln would kill her.

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Rowan, now a young girl of fourteen years, had spent a good chunk of her early years of childhood learning how to move silently and swiftly. To use long knives gracefully and lethally. To follow orders directly and without question. She learned all of this from Enders, whom she studied under from day in to day out.

He was a merciless Tasks Master and never one to show weakness. He would keep Rowan working til she had no more strength to get up. Then, and only then, would he allow her a break.

His own power was often shown when he would practice fight with her. He always held back, not wanting to hurt her. Needless to say, he knew both his and her limits. As soon as he started using all of his skills, Rowan knew that she was getting better. Not that she dared to say anything to anyone about that.

In seven years of learning the way of the Shadows, Rowan had turned into a human weapon.

One that King Salln had no regrets about using.

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It was to be a staged death; Salln had it all mapped out. Rowan just had to make sure that it happened exactly according to plan. Or it would be her head.

Dressed as a poor, orphaned stable boy, Rowan made her way through the streets of Lysgard. She didn't stop for anyone, even though several vendors tried their hardest to get her to by clothing and useless trinkets. The girl dressed as a boy hurried to the Sir Gomen's stable.

She had to be there to get his prized horse ready.

Not that it was his horse to begin with. Daisy, the horse, was in fact Rowan's horse. She had trained her beautiful mare to the point where she would not let anyone but Rowan ride her. Which was a crucial part of King Salln plot.

Olaf was to be knighted today. Salln had regretted giving knighthood as the prize to the winner of the last Jousting Tournament. The winner happened to be Sir Gomen. So, to cover the fact of not giving him a knighthood, Salln's resolution was to have him killed.

It was ridiculous that that poor man was, Rowan reflected as she opened Daisy's stable's doors, to be killed over something so foolish.

She didn't continue this thought, for it would be treason.

A horn sounded, and Rowan looked up. Walking in all his splendor was Gomen. He was surrounded by guards and three footmen as he was marched to the stable, where he would mount his horse and ride through the town in a gaudy display of renowned power.

Men like him deserved to die, Rowan's earlier thoughts of sympathy vanished like the wind, Thinking they are higher above others.

Rowan, deep into her act, humbly handed the reins of her beloved mare to Olaf. He ripped them from her hands and pushed her into the dry dirt. Dust flew up into the air as he repeated kicked her in the ribs.

He deserves all that is coming to him, she reasoned, coughing up a small amount of blood and clutching her stomach.

Gomen mounted on top of Daisy and kicked his heals roughly into her flanks. Rowan gritted her teeth, the urge to stab him bubbling within her. Daisy grunted, but didn't move forward.

"Stubborn Beast!" he shouted, "Giddy-up!"

These were Sir Olaf Gomen's last words.

Daisy, not enjoying being called a beast, reared up and threw him off of her back. Gomen soared through the sky like bird. Of course, acting her part perfectly, Rowan ran after him, followed closely by the guards and footmen.

He lay, several feet away, in a crumpled heap; his neck twisted at an unnatural angle.

Rowan stood shock still as people cried out and shouted around. Swarms of people came to see the dead soon-to-be knight. People who came talked about Daisy being put to death; she wasn't particularly worried. Someone had already retrieved her horse.

She watched as some overly dressed-up men covered his dead form and carried Olaf away.

It wasn't until hours later that Rowan's boots carried her back to King Salln.

This was the second time she had killed and she knew that it would not be the last. The last kill wouldn't come.