CHAPTER 1

I slipped into the dark room, silent as a shadow, and slid my knife out of it's sheath. Closer, closer. I crept up to the sleeping silhouette, laying in the bed almost perfectly still save for the rise and fall of the chest. Closer.

I leveled my blade with my target's throat as I approached. Any second now, it would pierce the soft flesh and blood would be dripping to the floor. I would leave before anyone would notice. This wasn't the first time I had killed like this, and it wouldn't be the last.

I took another step. Another. Another. A few more, and this would all be over. But I had miscalculated, and I failed to see the edge of the bed before my foot hit it hard. I let slip a gasp of pain. The eyes of my target snapped open to see my blade inches away from his face. There was no fear in them.

Before I could move, he batted the knife out of my hand and rolled away, springing onto his feet. I aimed a blow to his head, but overshot by more than I would like to admit. I blinked, confused. How had I missed? I'd been fighting for a year and a half, and I never missed.

But then I got a better look at my opponent, and I stepped back in surprise. He was only as tall as I was.

That may not sound so odd, except for the fact that I was only about 160 cm tall, and even as a girl I was considered short. The problem with him being so short was that I was trained to fight taller people, so out of habit I tended to aim higher.

Now overly aware of my every move, I struck out again and again. He blocked my every blow, and was quick enough to counter each time. I was soon on the defensive, trying to parry each of his lightning quick strikes.

Then, all at once, I saw an opening. I kicked up, aiming for his face. I could use the force of my kick to push me backwards and escape. I felt a rush as I got close. But he leaned back a fraction of an inch, and my foot connected with nothing. Just as I was about to throw my body back into a flip, he grabbed my ankle and pulled. I felt myself come crashing down, like it was all in slow motion. My head hit a desk behind me, and darkness seeped into the edges of my vision. I looked up at my target's face. He looked so bored. Had my attack even fazed him?

Before I could decide, the darkness took over, and I blacked out completely.

I awoke to handcuffs and a cell. A guard stood outside, looking drowsy. I wiggled my wrists a little, disappointed (but not surprised) to find that the cuffs were too tight to slip out of. So instead, I took a look around the cell. It was well constructed, but there was a weak spot. In the corner, down near the ground, was a big section of rust. It wasn't large enough to escape through, though I could see from it that the bars were hollow and thin. A well aimed kick would bend the bar up and allow me to get out.

But I didn't have time to do that. Three soldiers walked into the room, unlocked my cell, and roughly dragged me out of it. They offered no explanations, and I didn't ask. I knew where I was going: trial. My guess was that it wouldn't take very long, and that they were really only doing this as a formality; that and they'd probably try to get some information out of me.

We walked into a large room full of official looking people, where I was led to the centre and forced to kneel. The soldiers placed a constraining bar over my cuffs, and there I sat, waiting. Finally, the judge spoke.

"What is your name?" he asked, sounding tired. He probably was: tired of doing the same routine over and over again. I would be.

Everyone stared at me expectantly. I took a breath.

"Axis," I said. Silence. Then, "Your full name, please."

"That is my full name."

"That's your full name?"

"As far as I know."

The judge blinked, surprised, and mutters swept around the room. The judge raised his hand and the room quieted.

"What do you mean by that?" he asked. I shrugged.

"I don't remember my real name," I said, "So I go by Axis."

I could practically feel the tension in the room. Most people didn't believe me. Those that did would most likely be groaning on the inside. Memory loss in court probably wasn't the easiest situation.

"What city do you come from?" the judge asked, trying a different angle. I shook my head.

"I don't know," I said. Now there were audible groans. Well, if they continued to ask questions like these, they were going to get the same answer each time.

"How old are you?"

"If I had to guess, I'd say about 29," I answered, "Though I could be wrong." The judge sighed and rubbed his temples. If I wasn't in handcuffs on my knees, this would probably be highly amusing.

"Who do you work for?" he asked. I could tell he was trying to keep up his professional appearance, but it was getting difficult for him. Lucky for him, this was a question with a straight answer.

"They are known as the Thorn of the Rose," I said, "They are an underground organization."

"And why did they have you attempt to assassinate Captain Levi?"

"To be honest," I said, "I don't know." More groans, and then, "If you could guess?"

"My best guess," I held back a sigh, "Would be that they are working up the chain of command."

"Meaning...?"

"My first kill was an urchin in the street," I elaborated, "Next was a peasant Widow. After that, a Lower-class family of three. My most recent kill was a Baron, though I'm assuming he was listed as having died of a heart attack. That was my intention, after all."

Gasps swirled around the room like a vortex. I caught snatches of, "That was her?", "Poison, then?", and "But the doctors were so sure..."

The judge pounded his gavel on the podium and the whispering quieted.

"They are having you kill up the chain of command, in a way" he concluded, "So Captain Levi was next. Why? Have you killed a soldier before?"

"No, I haven't," I admitted, "They all seem pretty good at that themselves," shouts of rage and protest sounded and the judge pounded again, "I'm guessing that he was my target simply because The Thorn of the Rose is getting arrogant. They want to send the message that thy are powerful and unafraid."

"Where can we find their headquarters?"

"That's a good question," I said, "I don't know. I was drugged every time I was taken there, which was rare in and of itself, and when there, I would wear a blindfold. Usually someone comes to me to give me my assignment. And, before you ask, I don't have a guess. It could literally be anywhere. Good luck with that."

More muttering. These people seemed to like that a lot. The judge called a recess and he and the jury left to discuss my fate. I got to stay in my uncomfortable position with my hands stretched behind my back. It felt like an eternity before they came back, though, to be honest, it was probably less than ten minutes. I held my breath.

"Axis," the judge began loudly, "I find you guilty of four confirmed cases of murder and one confirmed case of attempted murder. I hereby sentence you to death. You will be executed by titan at sunrise tomorrow."

It was my turn to be shocked this time. Death by titan? What? How exactly did they plan to pull that off? A bunch of humans located in one place would attract them, but then they'd be putting themselves at risk. Or did they plan to stick me outside of the wall and leave me to my inevitable demise? What were they thinking? I burned with curiosity. Interestingly enough, I seemed to be more fascinated with how I would die than concerned with my actual death. I wasn't sure how I felt about that.

"This session is concluded," the judge slammed down his gavel, and I was dragged away. As I left the room, I happened to make eye contact with Captain Levi. His expression was exactly the same as it had been when we sparred: bored. He knew I was no threat to him. I felt my pride sting. I'd always been the best; I won every fight, succeeded in every mission. Until now. And all because I had miscalculated a single step.

Our brief moment of mutual acknowledgment broke, and my guards hauled me down to my cell where I was unceremoniously dumped onto the floor. And there I waited, trying not to think about my impending doom.

Eventually I fell asleep. I didn't dream; I never did. Everything was darkness.