[On Hold] The Assassin's New Beginning

2

It's been 3 nights and 2 days since she was away from her home. Her rich, golden hair was now dull and matted with dirt and sweat. She was filled with fatigue and her body was now thin and fragile from the lack of food. Oh, food. She spent her days gathering berries and nuts, barely enough to satisfy her stomach.

          She kept going. She was so used to the rhythm of placing one foot in front of the other that she didn't need to worry about it anymore. She was almost losing faith, but the only thing that's kept her going was her reasons.

          The sunlight wrapped around her as she run across the fields. She was all giddy with joy. Her parents were holding a party. All noblemen of Terrasen were coming, but what she was excited about the most were the fae.

They were beautiful creatures, who could almost be mistaken as humans if not for their elegant ears and sharper features. They were of a different race and had a variety of powers; which caused the world to shift and change. It was almost a natural thing.

She laid on the forest bed as she watched the famous faerie, Rena Goldsmith hum a tune as she ran her long, deft fingers through the strings of the harp. Her heart fluttered as she listened to the airy and sweet tunes Rena sang out. Rena's voice filled the air and animals came near to listen the melody and they swayed softly to it.

When she was just about to fall asleep to Rena's sweet voice, a rustle brought her attention to another kind of magic. Two girls ran through the fields as fast as horses and blew the grass into the air. Then they circled around each other to cause a small tornado to form in the middle. Pieces of grass and petals of flower twirled into the air.

She ran closer to watch the girls' work. Even though she wasn't anywhere near them, her loose locks of hair from her ponytail flew towards the wind and she could feel the strong current trying to drag her in.

When they stopped spinning, the tornado exploded like a firework and bright pink petals flew everywhere. Within a few second, her head was covered with a crown of golden grass and a few petals forming a flower.

She turned around to find an old fae smilingat her. He had wrinkled skin that was dark from the sun and his hair was grey with streaks of white. Despite of that, his eyes shone merrily as he twirled his finger and created a small pouch right out of thin air.

"For our young and beautiful heir," He said bowing down while hand her the pouch. "To keep her safe and happy no matter where she goes." Her ivory skin turned into a hue a red as she thanked the fae for his present.

As she walked back to her mansion, she studied the little bag. It was made of some bark she couldn't recognize. It was covered with symbols of a language she couldn't detect, but likely it was fae's way of warding off evil.

When she opened it, she noticed an object. It was long and thin, but small enough to hide in her dress. It was made of wood and there were intricate carvings on it. It fitted well in her hand. She unsheathed it to find steel glinting in the sun. The faerie had given her a dagger!

She smiled at the thought of it. Giving a 9 year old a dagger. But she guess she did need it in case of Adarlan taking Terrasen. Even at the age of 9, she knew about the bloody war, where the king of Adarlan was trying to take over the neighboring countries and much more. So far Terrasen was well guarded, but who knew for how long.

She sighed. The feast was only a few days ago. She reached down to graze the smooth wooden handle. She had the dagger with her at least. But the thought about her country, about the people, about the fae, made her stomach churn. What would become of them? Of course, word likely got out that her parents were assassinated and Adarlan would take this opportunity to strike.

          She knew Adarlan's hatred of magic and the stories about the fae that fell into the king's hands. Fear ran through her as she thought about the cruel things the soldiers will do to the fae. It was all her fault that they couldn't be saved. She shouldn't have left without telling someone.

          No, the truth was she had no choice but to leave. If she told anyone, she would have lost her chance to survive.

She sat down by the body of water as she recounted that dreadful night.

          She was awoken by a large bang. She had a nightmare again. Her face was covered with sweat and tears as she entered her parents' bedroom.

          The window was slightly open and moonlight penetrated through the cracks. It was raining and the cool breeze flew in. She felt much safer in her parent's room.

As she climbed on to the bed cover in velvet and other rich material, she noticed that it was damp. Likely from the rain, she yawned as she snuggled in between her parents.

          Not until morning was it that she discovered the mattress to be soaked with blood and her as well. When she looked at her parents, she saw two clean slits down their throat, enough to make them silent and die a slow death.

Her eyes seemed to betray her when she saw footprints matted onto the thick carpet. They were killed. And the killer missed her, but he was likely coming back for her. She left the place immediately. Worry and sorrow filled her eyes. A 12 year old shouldn't be seeing a cruel death; much less her parents' death. What was to become of her?

She ran her fingers through the water, watching the waves glide to cause ripples. She then looked at the reflection of her in the water.

Her face was pale and she had dark circles around her eyes. Her eyes that had been once blue rimmed with gold now turned to a dull shade of gray. Dirt clinged onto her skin and every part of her body seemed to scream to get into the water. It was irresistible. She hasn't taken a bath for days and was building a stench. And the water was so clear and cool, with no animals to disturb the currents.

Relenting, she stripped out of her blood and mud cover dress and slipped into the water. Her skin tingled with delight as the coldness took away the pain. She closed her eyes and just listened to the peacefulness.

It was one of the nicest gifts she could have at the moment. Wait, gift; the dagger. Where did it go? She looked at the pile of clothing, but it wasn't there. It wasn't on her either. Then the sight of brown caught her eye. Her dagger; it was floating away into the middle of the lake. Relief washed over her. It had fae magic after all.

She swam to get it. She reached for the dagger and was able to slip it into her hair. But she was already exhausted from swimming to the middle of the lake. She began to swim back, but within every stroke she founded herself getting more and more tired until she was beginning to drown.

She didn't even fight. She just allowed the water to engulf her, hoping to reserve strength to boost herself up again. But she never found the time to.