The Little Connections

Chapter One

Breath in, breath out, Calm the heart, Focus, and aim. Release. Clean kill.

"That was easier than I expected," I said in a hushed tone from the spot where I hid. Slowly, I extended my long limbs, carefully, to not wake the rest of the house. "They will pay good for this one," I snickered as I walked up to the man, now dead in his bed. " You know, you would think men like these in powerful positions would have better protection."

It was an easy job I had picked up from her master, who was too preoccupied with the upcoming rite, which I wasn't supposed to be out until after. None of the apprentices were. But I was lucky.

As I gathered what was required, a few teeth, some hair, and a few ideas of importance, I heard little footsteps coming up the hall. Dropping to the ground and rolling under the bed, I waited for the door to open. The first thing I saw was the tiny hand. The little feet, then a whole little girl came into view.

"Dada? Are you in here?" the girl sounded as though she had been crying. " I heard a monster. Dada?" She tiptoed over to the bed, not noticing the blood and crawling into it with the dead man. "Dada, you're so cold and wet. Do you need a blanket?" After pulling the blanket up to her chest, she fell asleep with a dead man next to her.

After waiting at least 30 minutes, I rolled out from under the bed to see was had happened. " Well, now that is just pitiful." I walked up to the bed and examined the little one with a close eye. "She would make a pretty penny on the market. No one will miss her; both of her parents are dead." I cackled to myself, gathered all of my stuff in my pack. Then I lifted the girl out of the bloody bed and started for the door.

It took only a few minutes the find my way back to where I had tired up my horse, Tempest. I brushed a hand over his dark coat as I walked to his side and set the girl down on the ground so that I could arrange my things. " Don't step on her," I said, pointing at the horse, " These one break easily." Tempest whinnied in response. The girl stirred on the ground. As she slowly sat up, she looked around, clearly confused and disorientated.
"Where am I?" Her voice was a whisper. "In the forest, are you stupid?" "No, I am just confused. Who are you?" Walking towards the girl, I dropped into a squat next to the child and stuck out a hand. " You may call me Harlow."

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Tempest ran fast through the forest, making quick work of the trip. On his back, I was stuck having a very long conversation. "And then I told joey that that wasn't proper and-" "Stop! Please, Dear God, shut your mouth! Do you never get tired of running that thing?" I had had enough. Not only had the child woken up, but she had been none stop talking for HOURS. "I'm sorry," The girl said in a very timid voice. "Oh, I never told you my name. How rude of me. I'm Anastasia, but my friends call me Ana."

"First off, we are not friends. Second, I need you to stop talking for a good couple of hours." As I looked ahead, I spotted a group of royal soldiers coming down the path. Quickly, I turned Tempest into the forest. After getting him a fair distance from the road, I hopped off. "Are they coming for us?" Ana asked for the back of the horse. It was hard to tell if she was scared or excited. "There is no us. Now stay here, keep quiet and watch over Tempest." Keeping low, I carefully approached the path with the now passing soldiers. A soon as the first got close, I attacked, jumping up onto his horse behind him and slit his throat. By the time I had finished, the other men were shouting in confusion at the ambush. Quick and nimble, I went from man to man, having no trouble kill each one. The last guy was shaking is his boats by the time I got to him. "Don't worry, I won't kill you," I whispered in his ear as I placed a kiss on his cheek. He visibly relaxed for a few seconds before I stabbed a knife in his heart. I let loose a wicked laugh as I walked away, "Men are so gullible."

I casually strolled back to where I had left Ana and Tempest to find Ana covering her eyes in fear. I look at myself, seeing all of the blood. "Well, Shit. I ruined my good shirt. That sucks." Finally looking up at me, Ana whispered, "Why did you do that? They had done nothing to us!" I chuckled, "Maybe I am just a horrible human being with no pity, no want to go to prison." I took a second to get a good look at her, "Plus, you don't look that innocent either. You are covered in blood."

I could see the tears that started to well in her eyes at the reminder. I had killed her father only a couple of hours ago. Did I feel pity for her? Not really. Was the crying going to get annoying? Most definitely. To try and stop it before it got too bad, I reached into my saddlebag and grabbed a piece of candy I had.

"Here." I threw it to her before she could react, causing it to hit her square in the forehead. I let out a short laugh before turning around and covering it with a cough. As she unwrapped it and stuck it in her mouth, she looked at me. "Where'd you get this candy." The question coming out with a lisp due to the morsel. "I made them with someone from where I live." "Ooooh! Is she kinder than you? If so, maybe I will like her." I would say that I was offended, but I hadn't been the nicest to her, so I let it slide.

"Get comfortable, cause we are riding till dark. Hopefully, that candy keeps your mouth shut." I tell her as I mount Tempest, mumbling the last part. "I feel like this is going to be a long ride.