The Assassin's Theif

Chapter 1

It was a rare thing for people to greet her so kindly. Then again, she had been one for almost a year. She nodded sweetly at each comment and kept walking, keeping her quick pace. Though it was early, most of the keep was awake and bustling all around. All but a few, and Aria was one of those few. 

She rapped on the door a few times before she heard the faint click of the lock. The door slid open and a groggy but lively girl opened the door. 

"Good to see you," she greeted, a rather large smile on her face. 

"Hunter!" Aria yelped, giving her a bear hug.  Though the hug was rather awkward due to such a height difference, Hunter appreciated it nontheless.  Aria was a tall girl. She had a long light brown hair and soulful blue eyes.  Her skin was glowing tan. She was truly beautiful. 

Hunter, however, was far different from her dearest friend. She had jaggedly cut black hair, reaching barely at her shoulder. She was shorter, her eyes deep green. She was a harsh looking character, a sweet one nontheless. 

"Has Echo or Grey yet seen you?" Aria asked, finally freing Hunter from her grasp. 

"No, I came to see you first," Hunter answered. 

"Wonderful, wonderful!" Aria yanked Hunter into her room and slid ninto more apporpriate clothing -clothes meant for people to see her in. A lavender silken tunic and dark pants matched her eyes and skin well. They all seemed to contrast in a wonderful sort of way. 

"Let's go. let's go," Aria squealed, "I can't believe it's been nine months already! I counted every day you know." 

"As have I," Hunter grinned. She followed Aria down the keep's stairs and to the second floor. The Keep held about three hundred people, everyone in the guild. The assassins guild. It was lavishly decorated, a wealthy few, of course. Hunter had completed the last of her training during those nine months away. She was finally at home and eligible to make a living off killing.

Aria violently knocked on room number seventy-two, the door squeaked open and Echo came stumbling out. 

"Go back to sleep, Aria," he groaned, about to slam the door in her face. They heard something crash int he background before, and soon another body appraoched in view. Kurloz Alivene. 

"I don't even get a hello?" Hunter teased, snickering at both him and Kurloz. They had caught them red-handed, after all. 

"Oh, Hunter," Echo smiled a bit, "Good to ahve you back. Now go to sleep." Echo shoved Kurlox back into the room and closed the door. 

"Rather anti-climactic," Aria groaned. 

"What can we do, he's always like that," Hunter replied, not letting the interaction dim her mood. 

As she waited fro Aria to speak again, an arm wrapped around her waist and one covered her mouth. She began to flail, trying  to escape the clutches of whoever held her. 

"Calm down," Aria laughed. Hunter stopped wrigglign and looked up, a smiling face grinning above her. He removed his hands and smiled a little wider. 

"Grey!" she called, jumping onto him. He twirled her around and set her down. 

"Good to see you again, scissors," he laughed. 

"I thought you'd be asleep," she replied. 

"You and Aria make so much noise," he replied, "not to mention the neighbors." He nodded his head towards Echo's room. 

"You moved?" Hunte quizzed. 

"All of the first floor did, it flooded after a storm. We were all relocted to upper rooms. They built a fourth floor and turned the first into a ballroom and music hall. Just to be sure no one's belongings were damaged again." 

"A good idea, I nod to Hollow in such sense," Hunter answered. 

"Though young he is indeed quite brilliant," Grey answered. 

"We should all head to breakfast, leave grumps behind with his girlfriend," Aria suggested. 

"Good idea, Ar," Grey answered. 

The three headed for the dining hall. 

Aria, Echo, and Grey were all older than Hunter, not by much though. They were all eighteen now, Hunter would turn seventeen soon. They had completed their training at fifteen, like all the assassins born into the guild, or taken in as orphans. Except, Hunter wasn't found until she was thirteen. So she completed all her training in three years. Though it wasn't as extensive, she had done it. 

The dining hall was filled with a few hungry occupants, but not many. They snagged a table and waited for the cooks to finish preparing the meal. So, instead, Hunter recanted tales of her time away from the guild. 

"I was sent to the wastes, to learn how to move swiftly. Like the magicians from Jeremine, I learned sword skills from a ex-knight. Not to mention the art of silence from the monks. It was quite a journey, a rather different one, too," she said. 

"I never did anything like that," Aria joked. "They sent me out with Finn and we just made a mess of things because there was no need for me to actually know what I was doing. Of course with Hollow and my parents, that was a no-deal." 

Aria's parents were well known assassins in the country. They made a fourtune for each kill, bringing Aria up in wealth. She would inherit every last penny form them, leaving her to never work. She had no interest in the art of killing, so she faked all her training and got her papers signed. This way her parents would still treat her well. 

"I spent four months planing one murder, a night commiting it, and five months running from it. Let's say Ferrent and I didn't much know how much of a big deal the guy was," Grey joked. The tree laughed. 

"It was an amazing experience, really," Hunter sighed, "though a quiet one." 

"What's wrong?" Grey asked, "Miss being on the road?" 

"I won't forget the landscapes, I wish I had brought something to draw them in. the sunsets over the wastes, the stars in the mountains, the overcast clouds with peaking sunlight in the city streets. There will not be a moment I don't miss it," Hunter answered. 

"You'll go back," Aria assured her. "If you love it so much, go there. Take a month off and go back." 

"I took a nine month break," Hunter returned. "I want to stay home for a while, too."

"I want you home, too," Grey answered. "I think we all do." 

Hunter gave a slight smile. 

"So sccissors, what are your plans for tomorrow?" Grey asked. 

Hunter couldn't help but smile at the sound of her nickname, scissors. It had been given to her by Grey himself. Nine months before the trip she jaggedly cut off all her hair with a pair of scissors. Aria just about cired watching it, Grey laughed, and Echo just sat disappointed in her. She didn't want to have to deal with the extremely long hair she had before. So she got rid of it. Ever since her hair had been uneven and short. The nickname just seemed to stick. 

"I didn't really have any," Hunter replied. "Just settle in."

"Good, I have plans for us," Grey answered, "and you're gonna love it."