Lillian had never been one to back down, even now as she found herself on the receiving end of the blade, once again.
"Where is the artefact?" Starrick questioned, making another deep gash across her arm.
"Go fuck yourself," she laughed.
Benjamin on the other hand was fairing less fortunate than her. He was barely hanging on. Starrick gave the go ahead to strike him again.
"Your friend there doesn't seem to be holding up," he frowned. "But you..."
She spat blood on his face, angrily he wiped it away before sharply backhanding her.
"You Assassins!" he growled. "You think you can come here and take me on!"
Lillian said nothing, simply looking over to see Benjamin just barely keeping his eyes open.
"Me!" he continued. "I am at the very top of the Order! The Grand Master! I will not fall to mere children!"
"But yet you don't know where the artefact..."
"Lillian," Benjamin panted, trying to stop her.
Starrick brought his blade down through her hand now. "Oh, do keep teasing." He glared as she cried out.
"Mr Starrick, sir." A man interrupted.
Starrick pulled his blade free of Lillian's hand, storming over to the man that had interrupted him, he struck him again and again.
"Don't interrupt me!"
"He's losing it," one of the Templars whispered to another.
"Hush," the other hissed.
Starrick now cleaned his blade, it would seem he was done for the day.
"Put them back," he barked.
Two Templars tended to Benjamin, untying him from his chair to then drag him back to his cell. While another two freed Lillian to send her back to her cell. She clutched at her bleeding hand, tearing off a piece of her clothing to wrap around it.
"Benny," she then called out.
"I'm still breathing," he coughed.
She couldn't help but smile.
"We'll get out of here," she reassured him. "Starrick won't hold us for long."
If only that were true. She curled up by the wall, never forgetting that awful day.
She stopped dead in her tracks as if frozen on the spot.
"Father!" she tried to call out, but for some reason she couldn't find her voice.
Her father, once a proud strong man, was now on his knees. He turned his face to her, blood seeping down his chin from his lip. "Lily!" he gasped. "Run! Go..."
But she couldn't run, couldn't scream, only stand there as the Templar drove his blade right through her father's chest.
Everything seemed to turn hazy until it all started to set in. "Father!" she now screamed, her body working on autopilot.
She found herself running at the man in a blind rage, kukri in hand ready to strike. He smirked as he kicked her father to the floor before turning his attention to her.
"Come, dear child!" the man laughed as he dodged her sloppy attack. "Is that the best you can do?"
"I will kill you!" she snarled, cutting through the air with her kukri.
He kicked her on the side of her knee making her stumble, but she quickly regained her footing, swinging her kukri at him she caught his arm.
The man jumped back with a hiss. "You cut me!" he snarled. "Now I will cut you!"
She attacked again, but he caught her arm and snapped her wrist. She dropped her weapon as she doubled over to cradle her injury. The Templar threw down his blade to then pick up her kukri. He ran his finger against the blade, drawing a little blood.
"Fine weapon," he sneered. "Wonder how it would feel about cutting its mistress?"
She now made the stupid mistake of looking up just as he brought her kukri down. Blood splattered to the floor, her own screams now ringing in her ears as she brought her good arm up to cover her face.
The Templar laughed as he looked the blade over. "I see it has no problems drawing your blood. Well then, let me end you with it!"
She wiped the blood from her left eye, pushing herself through the pain she dodged his next attack to then kick him in the knee. He dropped as his knee bent backwards, his screams now echoing.
"You little bitch!" he spat.
She took her kukri from him and rammed it right into his chest. His eyes widened as blood now seeped out around the blade.
"You deserve far worse!" she snarled as she then cut his throat with her left hidden blade.
After he was dealt with she now turned to her father, dropping to her knees next to him she eventually passed out. The only reward she got that day was the deep scar cutting across her face, from her right eyebrow right across to her left cheek.
xXx
"Lillian," Benjamin called to her in a whisper.
"Yes," she answered.
"I'm not too good," he coughed again.
"Benny..."
The sound of footsteps were heard and it wasn't long before Starrick came into view.
"Take him," he pointed to his captive. "I will show those two not to mess with someone like me."
Lillian yelled as Benjamin was dragged from his cell. They took him out of sight, ready to do who knows what to the poor man.
"Leave him!" she screamed.
Starrick sneered at her. "Your time will follow, my dear."
He turned to head back out, one of the Templar women glanced over at Lillian before following her master out like the good dogs they were.
"Benjamin!" she cried after him.
She spent hours thinking of a way out, but what was the point. Starrick would have her brought back down again and tortured.
xXx
A few days later, Starrick had decided to take his anger out on her once again.
"It seems they didn't take kindly to my warning," he fumed. "They've taken down yet another of my gang leaders."
Lillian said nothing as he kept on torturing her.
"No witty comments for me?" he asked displeased. "Send her back, I'm finished."
The Templars dropped her in her cell once more, locking the door securely behind them.
"Nighty night, princess." They laughed.
Everything was silent all apart from her own sobs, and the sound of a key in the lock. The door opened and a bag was thrown in, landing right beside her.
"What is this?" she sniffled.
"Your only way out," a woman replied, stepping in.
Lillian furrowed her brows until she was heaved off the floor, she barely had time to grab her belongings.
"What about Starrick?" she questioned.
"Quiet!" the woman growled.
She dragged her through the halls and over to the kitchen and out the back.
"Stay low," she warned, glancing up at the snipers on the roof. "We have one chance only."
Lillian was ready, despite the pain coursing through her body.
"Now," she signalled, dragging her over to the gates.
The pair took to the streets, the Templar making sure the coast was clear before moving on each and every time.
"How much further?" Lillian now panted, dropping to the floor.
The Templar looked disgusted as she walked off without her, coming back a few minutes later to drag her onto the streets again.
"Get in," she ordered, pushing Lillian into a carriage.
"Where are you taking me?" Lillian questioned her.
"You ask far too many questions for someone that can barely even talk."
Lillian frowned.
"I thought you Assassin's were much more, but after what I've seen you really are nothing."
"I was tortured!" Lillian snapped. "Days, weeks, months."
"A few weeks at most," the woman scoffed.
"I'd like to see you go through all I went through."
The woman opened her coat, lifted her under clothes to show a couple scars.
"Stabbed twice," she told her before pointing to her arm. "Bullet wound."
"Should I be impressed," Lillian sighed as she sank back into the seat, trying to get at least some comfort.
"Very," the woman smirked. "What about you?"
"What about me?" Lillian frowned, she was exhausted and wanted nothing more than to sleep.
"How'd you get that scar?"
Lillian just shook her head. "It's personal."
The Templar woman frowned in response as the carriage came to a halt.
"We're here," the driver announced gruffly.
"Out," she pointed.
Lillian was heaved onto her feet again and forced out of the carriage.
"I can't keep this up," she scowled.
"Quiet," the woman scolded as she paid the driver.
Lillian slid down the wall as she waited, the Templar now pulling her up once again.
"I'm tired," she whined.
"Stop acting like a child and move," the woman forced her.
Lillian had no idea she was heading into dangerous territory until people in green coats started to surround them.
"What's going on?" she whispered.
"No Templar walks onto our territory and leaves alive," a man in a top hat now threatened.
"I'm not here for a fight," the Templar warned them, while slowly reaching into her coat.
This got the gang to react by drawing their weapons on her now.
"Easy," she told them, throwing her gun to the ground.
A woman in a bowler hat walked over, snatching it from the floor to stick it in the back of her trousers.
"What do you want here, Templar?" the man asked again.
"She's an Assassin," the Templar informed them.
They all fell silent now.
"We only know of the Frye twins around here," he eyed her suspiciously.
"Check yourselves," she now told them as she threw Lillian's bag at them.
A woman emptied it, showing them all of her belongings.
"Kukri, hidden blades, throwing knives."
The man looked them over, while still keeping his eye on the pair. Lillian was almost ready to drop at any given moment, the only reason she was still standing was because of the Templar.
"Take them," he ordered.
The gang moved in and Lillian was finally free to collapse.
xXx
Giving a few or so hours she awoke again, this time to the same people in green coats.
"You're awake," a woman greeted.
She felt something tight around her chest as she tried to sit up.
"Doctor's tended to your wounds. You were in a worse condition than most of the Rook's here."
She looked over to a few of which seemed to have either black eyes or blooded noses or lips.
"Rooks are birds," she told her, still a little tired.
The woman smiled. "Yeah, and it's also our gang name courtesy of our boss."
At that she could hear footsteps and male voices.
"Templar says she's an Assassin."
"Any proof?"
"We got her belongings in the back."
"Show us," a woman was now heard.
She decided to close her eyes again, at least for a little while anyway until someone woke her again. A man in a long coat and top hat placed a chair down beside her to then straddle it, while a woman stayed standing next to him.
"Got some questions to ask you," he started.
Lillian gave a slight nod.
"How is it we didn't know of any other Assassin here in London," he questioned.
"You're the one's Starrick was speaking of I'm guessing," she remembered.
The man looked up at the woman, who now spoke.
"You speak of Starrick," she thought with furrowed brows. "Did he do this to you?"
Lillian nodded. "I...me and a friend of mine got caught by Starrick's lackey's."
They shared a look again.
"What of your friend?"
"They dragged him off, saying he'd teach you a lesson."
The woman spoke again. "Starrick had him hung. I'm sorry," she left out the rest of the gruesome details.
Lillian already knew.
"Your accent's Yorkshire, right?" the man asked.
She nodded.
"You're a long way from home."
She shrugged, then covered her eyes with her arm. The man now stood to let her rest, he then looked to the woman beside him.
"Time to question the Templar?"
She nodded, following him on.
"Oh, right," the Templar scowled, crossing her arms. "You're here to end me I suppose."
"Why'd you do it?" Jacob questioned.
"Do what?" she scowled.
"Bring her here. What's in it for you?"
"Death?" she shrugged with a smirk.
"That can be arranged."
"Jacob," the woman with him warned.
"You're a wanted woman now," Jacob went on. "Doesn't that bother you?"
"You pack animals could slaughter me right where I stand now."
"We don't work like that," the woman frowned.
"You're people of principal, are you?"
"Evie, can we?" Jacob asked, getting annoyed.
She ignored him. "We just want to know why you helped her?"
The woman sighed deeply. "So I could have a bounty on my head. I wanted to know how much I was worth."
"You'll need protection," Evie warned her.
"Evie," Jacob scowled.
"From him," she mocked.
Evie gave her a look.
"Fine, but I'm not dressing up like those circus freaks out there."
"You'll be fine to stay here," she told her instead.
"And do what?"
"Wait while we end Starrick's reign," Jacob shrugged mockingly.
"You're not..."
Evie gave a look to say he was right.
"I'm sure your friends would love to take you back with open arms," he teased as he headed out.
"We only recruit Blighters, never Templars." Evie informed her.
"What's my stature got to do with anything? I saved one of yours!"
"Yes, and that's why we're not going to kill you." She now smirked.
The Templar could only glare as the pair left her to it.