A Moon's Sun

The Bell Tolls

The sun glistened over the sea of the harbor. Ships stacked with boxes full of merchandise for the colonies were docked near the land. Two figures moved silently through the dusk-colored forest. Their footsteps barely made the fallen leaves tremble.

About four hours later, quiet voices spoke in the woods by the harbor, "He's on the biggest ship, the Amarillo, right?" one pair of sharp green eyes appeared on a tree branch, glowing in the moonlit forest. The limb below quivered, and a second pair of eyes appeared, the right one gray, the left blue.

"That's correct, Serena. But that's all I can help you with from here on out." replied Lunaur (pronounced Lunar). "But remember, this is your last task with me as your mentor. Succeed, and you will then acquire the full title of an assassin. If you fail, and Samuel Merdock escapes, you either die on spot from the soldiers, kill an unnecessary number of soldiers to escape, or get out alive and train more as my apprentice. That would be a disappointment to me." Making sure there was no further conversation, she ended with "I'll be watching from that building." She tilted her head at a brick building at the end of the city before the docks. "You strike at the first light of dawn." The lower branch then shook, and one pair of eyes remained.

The girl in the white hooded assassin clothing perched on a clock tower attached to the building where her mentor was supposed to be. She took one last look around for her mentor who was nowhere to be seen. She took a deep breath, and focused on the biggest ship in the harbor. The sun started to rise against the horizon line of the ocean, turning the blue-green water to a murky reddish-pink state. "Just like the blood of my enemy." Serena murmured under her breath as she turned her forearm over and observed her hidden blade. She scanned the deck of the boat, looking for her target. She spied him, and smiled wickedly. Her legs tensed as she went from a squat position to crouched, then leaped off of the tower, into the water, performing a leap of faith.

Landing in the water with a perfect dive after the front flip, she came up, and surveyed her surroundings. A few colonists were already out this early, running a few quick errands or taking care of their animals. Most were most likely eating breakfast or preparing for the day's work.

Making sure her equipment was there and secure, she swam quietly through the calm ocean water, barely making a ripple. A skill that all Assassin's had to learn, and hopefully master, pretty early in their training, because it was used in later exercises.

The boat her target was located on was the biggest in the harbor, but it wasn't docked. It was anchored long ways between two parallel ships that were docked. She spied about five redcoats already on duty, or getting ready to exchange from their night duty on each boat. The Amarillo had a few more guards.

Swimming close to the bottom of the closest boat, she overheard a few men talking inside the boat. "They aren't going to unload the tea." was the only line she heard clearly.

Reaching the back of the Amarillo, she grabbed the side of the boat, and hauled herself onto the side. As she hung about a foot above the water, she glanced over her shoulder. The sun had risen a little, but the water remained reddish-pink.

Continuing up the side of the boat, she peered over the side. The redcoats were just changing shifts. The night soldiers were heading into the boat. She saw Samuel Merdock pass between the night soldiers.

He walked to the side of the boat facing Boston, and stood with his hands behind his back. She hauled herself over the side of the boat, and heard the doors open as the other soldiers started coming out. She darted to the nearest rope and climbed up. She knew she hadn't been seen. The soldiers were too sleepy to be aware of what was about to happen, let alone that she was on the boat.

Walking across the lowest platform, one platform away from the birds nest, she stopped, and looked at him over the edge. She smiled to herself and flexed her hands, then leaped down onto Samuel Merdock.

She let him break her fall. He collapsed under her weight. As he did, her blade sunk into the back of his neck. The few guards that were looking stood stunned for a second giving her time to retract her blade. She stood up and pivoted on her feet and made for the side of the boat. Placing her right foot on the side, left foot after, she pushed off, and dove into the water. About five guards rushed to the edge to see where she had went, but she vanished in the ocean current. Two guards were with Samuel's limp body on the deck of the ship, and the remaining guards ran to the edge of the ship to see if the assassin was anywhere to be seen.

She came up on the outer side of the docked boat where she heard the men talking. She paused a moment to look up at the clock tower where Lunaur was. She saw her white robe sweep over the roof to show she just moved.

She continued her swim to a nearby fishing dock, and climbed up onto it. She let the water drip off her for a second, and walked away into Boston. About two blocks into the colony, her mentor stepped out of a secondary roadway. They stopped, and Lunaur looked at her with a smrik and nodded in approval. "Looks like you didn't disappoint me." They continued walking as echoes of "Assassin! Assassin!" rang out behind them.