Prologue: A Dart and Rope.
Moonlight, soft whispering of wind, stars burning so bright.
Silence, nothing, absolutely nothing.
A young Ranger traveling through the night. His horse too tired too do his job. An awfully perfect combination.
Rangers- especially the young ones- were incredibly arrogant. They thought they were invincible. And to an average killer, they were. Raising the dart to her lips, the woman blew ever so lightly… and sent the Ranger tumbling from his saddle. Good. He was out. Now, time to get to work…
~(RA)~
She tied him up. He wasn't the one she wanted. She wanted his former mentor, the leader of the Corps, Gilan*. Get him, kill him, and gain control of the Rangers before anyone knew he was gone. Those were her orders. She just needed a little information first…
Her hands moved in deft, expert movements. She'd done this hundreds of times. Of course, all the other times, the Rangers had all been dead. This one was just unconscious. He'd wake up in a few hours time. Thinking about this, the assassin stuffed a rolled up cloth into the boy's mouth. Tying it up in the back, she glanced around. Working in the middle of the night was normal; she did that all the time. Out in the open, however, was not "just another day at the office," even for her.
Normally, she'd kill them in their own homes, then tie them up, and cut them up along where the rope was. Then she'd put the pieces in sacks and carry them out into the woods, would she would bury those assholes. She never cut the rope, however. She only had one, and she needed the son of a bitch. The rope really was just for measuring out where to cut them for easy transport, but it made her job easier.
Sadly, she and her mother needed this one. They needed him for information and so she couldn't cut him up. She could only tie him up. Thank God he had a horse. The damn creature would carry him for her.
She threw the asshole up onto the back of the horse. Then, she hopped up onto the horse's saddle. She was thrown off seconds later.
The girl was sent flying. She landed on her side, a sharp rock gouging into the leather bodice and through her skin. The cut grew as she rolled, her arm getting pretty beat up with it. Finally, she landed on her back, breathing hard. Thank God for her mother's training. Damn her for her own arrogance and stupidity. Damn, damn, damn. This is what she got for making a rookie mistake. Pain, tons of pain. Oh damn…just great…
The woman stood, holding her right side with her left arm. "Ow…" she hissed. "Bloody hell…" stumbling over to the Ranger horse, she pulled a small knife form her belt and held it to its neck. "
"Listen you son of a bitch, throw me off again and I'll kill you and your Ranger, ya hear me, beast? Both of ya," She warned the horse, making her intentions well known. Everyone that was smart knew Ranger horses were brighter than most beats. She knew he'd understand.
And he did. He nickered nervously in response, prancing nervously in place. "Good," she said and sheathed the knife.
~(RA)~
Fire.
Sparks.
The glow of the fire blinded the Ranger as he came too. Of course, he didn't have much time to get a look at his surroundings, as an instant later a blindfold covered his face.
"Give me the information I want, or I'll kill you, understand?" A voice hissed in his ear. He could hear the pain in her voice. It was female.
"You're in pain," he said.
"And you're in a shittier situation than I am. Start talking." He felt a knife touch his throat.
"I'm trained in first aid. I can help."
Silence. That was all that answered his offer. Then, there was a sigh, and the woman pulled off his blindfold.
And there, surrounded by the flames light in the background, was the most beautiful creature Daniel had ever seen.
A/N: So, what do you think? (Review wink wink*) My partner-in-crime will be writing the next installment, so hopefully, hopefully, she'll have it done and sent over to me this weekend so I can give you guys a better start than what (if you read the original) we had last time. Remember, guys, still on chapter 3? I know, I know I'm awful. Hopefully- no promises- I can post one every weekend. Or at least every other weekend. Like I said, no promises. Remember, reviews make my- and my partner's- day!
