Assasins shadow

Prologue

The silent silver moon hung low in the dark sky. Stars shone, twinkling merrily, ignoring the pain and suffering of the world below. Long shadows fell across short buildings, narrow alley ways, and broad cobblestone streets. Children slept in the gutters, dirty and starving. People in the few taverns up and running where yelling and fighting, and drinking. horses in nearby barns neighed restlessly. A fight in Coppersons alley broke out, quickly broken up by a squad of five knights in gritty armor. Nervome alley was several blocks away. The shadows were the thickest there, which was a bad omen. The quiet before the storm hung heavily in the air. A fat man was huffing along quickly, a package wrapped in brown paper clutched tightly to his chest. His silver hair was unusually clean and fluffy. He stopped, putting a hand on his dirty brown trousers to catch his breath. A teenage girl besides him urged him to keep going. Her brown hair was tied back with a piece of thin leather. Her hair was cleaner than the old mans.

"Come on Grandfather, it's dangerous out here!" She whispered, tugging on his thin white shirt sleeve. He shook his head, still breathless. "Take.... The... Package" he wheezed out, thrusting it at her. "You know he won't except it from me now come on! The knights could imprison us or worse an Assassin could come to take the package!" She tugged harder, and reluctantly he followed her down the narrow alley. She was a little ahead of him, when he tripped over a stone. "Ow" he moaned, pushing himself off the ground. "Grandfather!" The girl went back for him, kneeling besides him. "Grandfather are you all right?" His hands were searching the ground frantically. "May! May the package!" He was clearly in a state of panic. May jumped up and helped him search, growing more and more uneasy. "Is this what your looking for?" Whispered a low, soothing female voice. A dark clad woman towered over the crawling people. A long black cloak flowed around her in the sudden wind. Her black hair came loose from a braid, swirling around her and hiding her face. She held out the package. May scrambled back, choking back a scream. "You're.. You're an Assassin!" The woman nodded, and than there was a flash, and her grandfather, who had gotten to his feet, collapsed. May turned, and crouched by him, gasping. "Grandfather?! Grandfather what's wrong!?" He turned his face towards her, and she saw a small trickle of blood coming out of the corner of his mouth. He smiled gently, the light of the moon reflected in his eyes. ''I tried sweet grand daughter. I..'' He reached up a chubby hand to touch Mays face, and than the light left his eyes, his hand fell limp, and he was dead. "No! No grandfather come back! Don't leave me! Don't leave me too!" She sobbed, holding his dead body to her. A hand rested on her shoulder, and she stiffened. "Are you going to kill me too?" She choked out in a strangled whisper. Tears splashed onto her grandfathers already paling cheeks. Another hand reached down, and yanked a slender knife dripping blood from his heart. "No. May, we want you. So I'm going to take you to our home, and you'll become one of us. An Assassin." May twisted away. "No! I won't!" She cried out. She took a few steps, attempting to run. The woman's cold voice followed her. "Kill or be killed" May stopped. What was the point of this life? All she had ever felt was pain...Every one she had ever loved in any way was gone. There was no one to judge her, to disown her for being a monster. May slowly turned around, staring down the dark woman and her strange cloak. "Fine." The woman's hair left her face long enough for May to see a dark smile, and than a hood covered her face. The woman held out her hand, and hesitantly May took it. With her other hand she wiped away her tears and looked one last time at her grandfather.