The Prince's Assassin

Prologue

"Again!"

"But father-"The older man slapped the young girl in the face. The blindfolded girl stumbled to the ground on her hands and knees. The man threw a large stick at her hunched over form.

"Rise!" He yelled; this was for her own good. The young girl immediately stood up in a stance, stick ready to strike in her hand. The older man took a stance as well. "Now Rose, don't let the blindfold weaken you, let it enhance your other senses." Primrose gulped and steadied herself. She listened for any indication of her father's presence. The two sparred until nightfall, only retreating when the girl was victorious. Walking back inside of the small cottage, Primrose ran towards the table and sat cross legged in the chair. She was starving after a long day of sparring. Her bare feet were freezing and the warmth of her thighs proved useful. The older man chuckled at how boyish his daughter was. He cooked her favorite: beef stew; she deserved it after the good work she put in today. "You did well today Primrose." He said, not taking his eyes off the pot while he stirred. She beamed at him from the table.

"Thank you father, but perhaps I bested you only because you're getting old!" He chuckled.

"Mind your tongue young lady; I am not an old man yet. You bested me because of talent not age-don't doubt your skills." She smiled a toothy grin at her father. Her stomach growled, and she laughed. The smells of the beef stew filled the cottage and forced Primrose to work up a drool.

"Very well father." Her father poured her stew in bowl with his ladle. Primrose stared at the bowl with pure hunger in her eyes. As soon as he set the bowl down, she went to pick up the bowl with her grubby little hands so she could gulp the soup down. Her father slapped her hand away.

"Rose, mind your manners. There is a reason why we have spoons" He scolded her. Her sheepish grin earned her a chuckle from her father. "You will never give me grand children with your lack of manners." She crigned and then snorted.

"Father, patience is not your best suit. I am only fifth-teen; surely you would have to wait thousand years." He laughed heartily. Pleased with his laugh, she continued to eat like a barbarian, only this time using a spoon. He stared at his daughter.

"It would seem that you are only graceful when you are in battle, if only you could apply that to your everyday life." He chuckled. Primrose playfully glared at him, but he only smiled lovingly at her reaction.

During their meal, her father told her stories of Prince Thor and the Warriors Three. She hung on to every word. She hoped one day she could meet the God of thunder. Primrose begged her father to tell her about Loki, the God of mischief. Loki was her favorite of them all. After his stories, he poured her a small glass of mead and raised his in a toast. Primrose followed suit with a big smile on her face.

"What is the occasion father?" He smiled at his daughter.

"Let us hope that one day you will be as swift as your words and your blade as sharp as your tongue." They toasted and she gulped her mead down and slammed it on the table with force. She burped loudly, causing her and her father to erupt in laughter. There were moments like these that caused her father to regret ever taking the path of Dark Brotherhood. He knew no one ever leaves the Clan; his time was coming to an end, it was his job as a father to protect his daughter and keep her away from this life. He could only hope he lived long enough to see her marry and bear children; but he knew all too well, that it was false hope and his time was coming to a close.

After dinner, he tucked his daughter into bed and kissed her gently on the forehead. "Father?" She quietly spoke in a sad tone, looking up at the man tucking her in.

"What troubles you Rose?"

"Did I ruin your dream of becoming a higher rank in the Dark Brotherhood Clan?" He sighed and sat at the edge of her bed while staring into his daughters big green eyes.

"My dear Rose, you're my dream. I rather you have a father than risk my life for a higher rank. Besides I have my hunting business."

"But you waste your assassin talents on hunting rabbits." He scoffed.

"It's honest living. I rather despise my job than have you in the arms of the Clan and you will do well to remember that. It's not the life I want for you."

"Then why train me to fight?"

"It's about discipline, obedience, and honor not violence. I train you because I want you to be able to defend yourself, without relying on a man. Odin knows you will have trouble finding one with your barbaric ways." He said with amusement at the end. She said nothing more, letting her father walk out and close the door. Primrose got out of bed and took out her father's dagger from under her pillow. She gracefully stabbed her imaginary opponents, until she heard a disturbance coming from outside her door. She quietly tip-toed to the door and peeked through the crack; There, her father stood in front of three men. Two of the men dressed in black cloaks with their faces obscured and the one in the middle wore his hood down. He had a scar over his right eye, and his bald head shone bright like the fire that danced and cackled in the fire pit. Primrose knew it was the Dark Brotherhood clan from the moment she saw them. The bald man had the Dark Brotherhood crest on his cloak. She stared in awe; she had never seen a member of the clan this close. They only allow you to see them when they want you to. A uneasy feeling crept up on her.

"We have been waiting patiently Mr. Skorm." The man with the scar spoke with false pleasantries, and his words were laced with spite. She watched her father stand there with not a hint of fear and she smiled.

"She isn't ready."

"Let us hope she will be ready when the time is of the essence."

"After all I did for the clan... Please leave her be. She is my only child Talios." Talios smirked. He pulled out his dagger and put it to her father's neck. Primrose held her breath.

"And you're her only father. It would be a shame if something was to happen to you. What would she do then?" He faked the sympathy in his voice. Her father held his ground. Talios and her father glared daggers at each other until her father turned his back on Talios. Primrose smirked but it faded when she saw Talios thrust his blade through her father's back. "Your time away from the clan has weakened you old man." She stumbled back and covered her mouth so she wouldn't scream. "Find her." Talios shouted at his men. Primrose quickly tore a piece off her night gown and hung it on the tree outside her window. She hastily opened the closet and closed it behind her. Crawling into the secret hatch in the floor, she waited quietly. Tears forced down her cheeks, and she let out a small whimper. Primrose quickly covered her mouth as she heard the cloaked men burst into her bedchamber. She heard them shuffle around and throw things. Talios walked in cleaning his dagger of her father's blood. He watched as his subordinates ransack the little girl's room.

"Did you check the closet?" He asked slightly annoyed that the girl was not in her bed. One of his subordinates went to the closet to check. Primrose heard the footsteps coming towards the closet. She held her breath as the person continued to search the closet.

"Look Talios, there in tree." The other cloaked man shouted. Talios took the fabric in his hands.

"She could not possibly be that foolish as to leave evidence-"They heard a rustling noise outside. The cloaked men gracefully jumped out the window, Talios following close behind. She thanked Odin's beard for the distraction.

The Next morning Primrose woke up groggily and came out of her hiding place. Her face was crusted with dried tears. Reality hit her like a train when her father's last expression etched into her mind... She stumbled out of her bedchambers to sitting room. His body was gone. No tears came from her eyes; no sound came from her mouth. The thought of weakness stopped tears from spilling out of her eyes. She noticed a symbol on the floor made out in her father's blood. Upon her father's dying breath, he had given her a code in Dark Brotherhood language. She quickly took a piece of parchment and put it over the blood to imprint the code on it. Evidence to get revenge on Talios, she thought. She knew what she had to do.

Primrose went to the secret safe. The contents only consisted of three items: A letter, a pouch of gold, and her mother's wedding ring. She packed her bags, walked out the door; and didn't look back at her home in the woods. Vengeance fueled her and gave her strength to carry her to the inner city of Asgard. Grief could not reach her.

Okay this was only the Prologue. I hoped you guys enjoyed it. Please don't be a ghost reader. haha

Vote or comment please. It means the world to me. <3