Mirage // ONC 2023

Winter Sutton, a trained assassin, is sent to kill a mysterious someone who ends up enabling a whirlwind search for answers about their past.

All their life, they have been kept in the dark about much of their past. They've asked questions, but over the years, their silence has proven to have better outcomes. One night, when they're instructed to take down a secretive spy, they gain answers to a couple of their many questions concerning where they came from, but this only makes old feelings resurface.

For twenty five years, Winter worked to ignore the gut feeling that something wasn't right. Plus, all they've ever wanted is nearly everything this spy has.

Open Novella Contest 2023 Entry.

Prompt 33: They had their arrow aimed at their target's back, a perfect shot despite the crowded ballroom. Taking a deep, steadying breath, they pulled the bowstring taut and prepared to let the arrow fly. But then their target turned and looked directly at them, finding them in the eaves as if they'd known they were there all along. The target winked.

With a bit of prompt 69: "I had a marvelous time ruining everything" -Taylor Swift.