So basically I decided to redo the chapter as I invented a few new characters yesterday during revision when my concentration started to lapse. I also realised I had been unfair to King Orrin and he had become slightly out of character. As a review of my first one told me I forgot to explain, this chapter does not actually have Murtagh in it so as a warning, he comes into the story in a later chapter.

I was on Pointe. My muscles were screaming. My toes were in agony. I slowly lifted my left leg up, straight, until it was parallel with the rest of my body and slowly started rotating on the spot, kicking my left leg out in sharp powerful jolts as I did. I then repeated this agonising excersise switching legs. It was excruciating, my toe nails were cracking, again. I briefly wondered if anybody else would be able to take this pain, especially considering I was bare foot. I lowered my leg until I was stood on point and looked up expectantly at him. My master. My capture. His bright, cunning eyes bored through my skull. I was staring up at Galbatorix. And that's when it happened, I collapsed, my nine year old body could take no more. I was a heap on the ground when I felt the sharp pain. Again and again the whip lashed my back, tearing into my skin, ripping my vest apart.

I woke up, a cold sweat coated my skin, I was simultaneously hot and cold. Shivering or shaking I could not tell. That beautiful blast from my past had been almost nine years ago now. His eyes still made me tremble with fear, made me want to run and never stop running until I was out of his gaze. My time 'serving' the old king had been horrible; the echoes of what I had endured still haunted me every night. Luckily I had gotten used to my terrors and didn't require very much sleep to actually function... there was a loud tapping at my door, jolting me out of my thoughts. The door then opened and I watched as a regal looking man walked into my room.

He was wearing rich robes, his nose was high and thin though his jaw was strong and his mouth finely carved and expressive. He was decent looking; however working in such closeness to the man had made him impossible to view in such a way. As he came closer the smell of alcohol became more and more pungent until it was over powering.

'Impes, I have made an exciting recovery.' He told me enthusiastically, before a long pause. I waited expectantly for him to continue, expecting some elaborate scientific discovery he had discovered. However he said nothing more just looked at me expectantly in the darkness of my room. I felt my irritation rise but got up and walked towards him, making sure my knives were where I had left them, and that the three children I shared my room with were still asleep as I went. I looked up at him for a moment before flicking my wrist and igniting various candles all over the room. I then turned and retrieved my finest chair, placing it in front of my exercise mat and stretching.

He walked in and sat in front of me, gazing at me with an appreciative eye. I started the daily routine of morning exercises I could not get out of, starting with the exercise from my dream. When my morning guest no sign of continuing and instead just stared at me I asked 'what is it my lord? What have you discovered?'

I watched the change in his demeanour as he settled into business mode. 'I have a new target for you. You are of course aware of the man who has been killing patrol guards and other imperial guards, yes?' He did not wait for an answer, why should he? Of course I knew what hye was on about, he had been complaining to me about it for weeks now. 'I believe I now know exactly who it is, and more importantly I have his scent for you.' he looked up just as my foot almost hit him in the face, almost.

'You are aware of what I am asking you to do, are you not?' He asked when I made no sign of replying to him.

I stopped my exercise and went still, I could feel the sense of dread washing over me. I was well aware of what he was asking of me. In fact I was more than aware. I was going to have to kill again. More blood on my young hands, but at least now I was killing off the bad, was I not? It was the only way I could justify my actions. I was doing it for the great of good, protecting the innocent people of the Kingdoms, was I not? 'Yes my lord, I understand what you are asking of me.' I finally replied.

'So you understand that this is my new assignment for you?'

'Yes Sire'

'Good, I have been waiting for a long time for this. The slaughtering of both mine and Nasuada's men has been going on for too long now, I would appreciate this man being brought to me dead, understood? I require no slip ups or compassion from you like with the Magners assignment, this man has brought too much grief to the Empire already. No more mistakes.' The man concluded.

I stiffened, how had he known?! I had not been able to kill the children on that case over a year ago. It had not seemed fair that they should be punished for their parent's actions. Instead I had calmed them down, slit their parent's throats and returned to them. I had told them that I had found the bodies, likely they had committed suicide for their crimes and lightly persuaded the children to come back home with me. I had slightly altered their appearances so they would not be recognisable and made them my little helpers. They spied for me, helped me look after my animals and helped me clean my weapons. They were invaluable to me. I was almost never seen without one of the three or another.

'Understand my lord' I managed to choke out. If I had been found out, would he know that my three loyal helpers were the children? Would they be taken away from me, or worse killed? In the year I had known them I had become attached, I doubt I would have been able to cope without them.

'Good.' Orrin told me, snapping me out of my thoughts, before adding on, 'As much as admire you, next mistake and someone you are close to dies.' He brought out a piece of cloth and handed it to me, he did not need to tell me what it was, I already knew. It contained the scent. I placed it carefully in a wooden box and returned to my visitor. When it became apparent he was not leaving, I resumed my exercises and listened as he now switched out of business mode and into his normal self. I was told about various scientific discoveries and of course new alcoholic produce he had found. Himself slowly getting more and more intoxicated.

Finally after over an hour of talking and drinking he stood up and stumbled leave and was just out of the door when he turned, remembering something and walked back in. 'Almost forgot, my dear. I need you to meet me in the throne room at noon tomorrow.' He slurred, now fully drunk due to me getting Thonas to get him his wine as requested.

'Is that all my lord' I asked. To which he took a step forward grabbing my waist and attempting to crush my lips with his own, failing and instead feeling his genitals being crushed by my knee. I realised he was fully drunk and almost laughed at my own stupidity, I should have insisted he drank water, not giving the alcoholic his much craved wine. He almost always made such advances when he was drunk.

I watched as he tried to storm off and failed miserably hitting his arm on the door and realised I would have to help him stumble off to wherever he was needed. I brought him back to the chair and sat him back down. I then hurried to change as I did not want to walk around the castle in my underwear helping this man walk, god knows what rumours that would cause. Finally in my beloved tan leather leggings and oversized male white shirt I helped him up and let him lean against me as we tried to find his destination, the three children following all now awake and dressed also.

It was sad to think that this once fully stimulating and powerful man was now mostly seen as a drunk eccentric. Despite his flaws, especially with women and my sense of dread and often hatred at what he asked me to do, I respected him and even enjoyed his chatter on his latest experiments. I still couldn't quite see why most women would love to be in my position, having the man seek them out for idle talks and even want them; I found it amazing how he could make them swoop. King Orrin.

After dropping the King off at his councilor, in the attempt to sober him up for the day, I walked over to the armory. I spent the rest of the morning in the armory throwing knives at pieces of string that were dangling at the other end of the room I was sat in, trying to sever them. Eleanor, Thomas and George were sat next to me. My little helpers. Every time I ran out of knives they would scatter off to try and collect them, a little competition emerged between the siblings to see which would collect me the most. Thomas the eldest at the age of nine almost always collected the most, closely followed by Eleanor of age six. Finally normally collecting me the grand total of one knife came little George, now aged four.

Around us the soldiers were making bets on my shots. Every time I threw the knife there were cries of joy and outrage and a constant exchange of money was taking place. I felt slightly sorry for the idiots who continued to doubt my abilities, but then again they were doubting me, so they deserved what they got. It was a fun activity for me and entertained both my little helpers and the bored soldiers. Over the space of five hours I hit every single piece of string, never once missing my target.

At around mid day George accidentally picked up the wrong end of the knife, his skin splitting under the sharp blade, and started crying. I got up from where I was sat and rushed over to him, carefully picking him up and looking at his hand. I sighed and tried to calm him down before moving to leave the room and find fix his bleeding hand. The Soldiers moaned as I walked out, one of them even shouted after me 'Why don't you let his sister take him and you and the other boy stay here?' This comment made me chuckle but I carried on anyway.

By the time we reached the kitchen the little fair haired boy had calmed down and perked up a bit. I bathed his hand in the cold water provided before using magic to heal it. I got the children some bread and left them under the cooks watchful gaze. I knew they would be fine as she did rather favor the three.

I walked straight to the stables after that. I opened the door to the stable my animal lived in and looked at her carefully, and walked in, shutting the door behind me. She walked towards me slowly, yawning as she did, exposing her long fangs and giant mouth. Once she had padded towards me she looked straight into my eyes, engaging me in her green irises then nuzzled my hand, begging me for attention. In front of me was the largest panther anyone would ever see, she was easily big as a horse but so much more magnificent and beautiful. Her thick glossy coat black coat had turned brown from the dust she had been rolling around in. Her head was almost twice as big as a normal panthers head, her body lean and muscular.

I sensed a familiar presence trying to enter my mind and let down my guard. I was instantly over whelmed by the sense of hunger and... guilt? I delved deeper into her mind skimming past urges of hunger, longings to run in the forests and catch little delicate birds until I found the source of the guilt, she had eaten a stable boy yesterday. I was mildly irritated at this, and I knew she had felt my shift of mood as she hesitated before nudging my hand again.

Why did you do that? I asked slowly and a wave of memories hit me, the vividness of her vision giving me a slight headache. I saw a stable boy walk in – despite the stay out sign. His brown eyes wide in surprise, fear settling into his expression. I felt the pride from my cat at the sight of his panic. Just as he tried to turn and leave, the feeling of hunger took over again and she pounced. I removed myself from the memory before the imagery got gory and sickening and sighed. It was his own fault, I concluded, he was nosing around and ignored the signs.

I stroked her and heard a satisfied purr. She then collapsed and rolled onto her back so what choice did I have but to stroke that furry tummy. About ten minutes later I heard her tummy rumble and reasoned that it was time to get her food. I walked out of her stable and into the king's kitchens casually picking up two pork carcasses and noticing the cook was busy making cakes and the three children were licking the bowls. Smiling, I walked back to her and threw the meat down in a corner with a thud. I sat by the door as Ulma gracefully attacked her meal, ripping it to shreds with pure force.

I spent the rest of the day with her, telling her about our new task, opening the little box and taking out the fabric, letting her sniff it and asking what she smelt. I was once more bombarded by her senses. The image of trees came rushing past, with other images she related to what she could smell rushing past until we had an accurate idea of where his man had been, and hit a new unfamiliar scent, his own personal scent. I then told her about how the king had found out about the failure of the Magners assignment, and my renewed fear for the children and the plan for tonight. She shared with me some of her delightful daydreams – they mostly consisted of breaking free and killing the farmer's sheep and cattle. I must say they did make me feel nauseous.

At some point around four there was a knock on the door and a voice informed me that it was time. I left my cat and walked into the kitchen to collect the children I had left there. I found them eating what I assumed was the cake I had seen being made earlier and waited for them to finish, watching the buzz of the now fully active kitchen preparing for tonight's celebration.

It did not take long for the children to finish and after they did, I scooped up George, who would not be able to keep up with my fast pace and returned to my room. Eleanor and Thomas having to almost run to keep up with me. When we finally walked into the room we found four posh outfits waiting for us. Accordingly I helped the younger children put their clothes on. I only had to help George with his socks and Eleanor with the zip at the back of her dress. I was determined to make them all learn how to dress properly and be independent. They sat and played with some little toys I had made whilst I myself got dressed.

I had been left a Posh black dress along with a little net veil that covered only my eyes. I rushed to get dressed and felt something itching my back... I then undressed and saw it was a note saying:

Impes

dear, we would not want you to cut your feet now would we? So there are also some shoes next to your bed, which I am sure you managed to miss. Also this is a special occasion as the dress suggests and I wish for you to make yourself look stunning, so there is some makeup next to your mirror, use it.

Orrin

Perfect. I took the dress back off and checked my leg strap was on tightly; making sure the dagger in it was in place. I looked at the mirror and sighed. God I hated makeup, a lot. I applied the charcoal around my eyes making them enhanced even more, applied the pink powder thing to my cheeks and then my least favorite of all, the lipstick. It was red and completely overwhelming. I slipped back into the dress which I noticed had a little discrete slit which was covered by a flap so I could easily reach that dagger. I picked up the shoes next. How delightful, they were 6 inches high, how was I meant to walk? They were however quite beautiful and cunning, they were also black, with a slight platform, which I noticed had a little slit and if I pushed down with my big toes, a knife appeared. The heal was also intriguing, I was just a knife blade, not even painted black. I smiled and put them on, hating the feel but loving the shoe now.

I walked with the children down the corridor to Orrin's chamber and up some stairs, across a hall and down another corridor. I knocked on the door in front of me and we entered. There was Orrin sat in a chair and a dark lady next to him, Nasuada. She looked at me unimpressed but smiled at the children. Yet another person they had managed to ensnare with their charms. I was then informed on what was to happen. I listened carefully and then helped her into her own dress-like she didn't have her own hands. The dress was a crimson colour emphasised her curves and complimented her skin tone, giving her an air of power. Arya and King Roran walked in also as a clock struck six and the group of us went out onto the balcony, the children behind, where a crowd had gathered beneath.

I was in the shadows behind Orrin. I didn't notice when he proposed, I was looking for an attacker, searching the crowds minds, as I was sure Arya also was. Happy, Jealous, Emotional, Happy, Concentration, Happy. Wait... concentration. I went back to that mind and found I was blocked, I had them. I saw the dart and found my suspect. I then realised I had seen a dart. Shit. I looked for it and found it on the floor, it had missed. I got into action, taking the blade out of its holder on my leg and threw it. I felt satisfied as I felt the man's consciousness fade and even more satisfied by the thud which echoed around the open space. I saw Nasuada look at me briefly, impressed whilst Arya gave a satisfied nod.

After a speech by the king to his people, we walked back into his chambers, and then down some stairs into the main hall. Brilliant. A ball had been arranged. In here were all his advisors, nobles and knights. I watched as the couple announced their proposal and walked down to join the guests. I stayed behind then realised I was meant to be protecting him and followed. The three children had run off at the sight of another child, Roran and Katrina's little girl, the four of them were playing around the food table, stealing bits of food. At some point music started and the room erupted into dance. Someone grabbed me and led me onto the dance floor. This happened many times, and each time the smell of alcohol on my partner's breaths got stronger.

It was about one in the morning when the royal couple departed, but the party carried on without them. I excused myself as quickly as I could and looked for the children. Both Eleanor and George were asleep Thomas had a sleepy look on his face. I stooped down and picked up the two sleeping children carrying one on each arm and slowly walked out, Thomas trailing behind me. I put them in their beds and walked out the room to the armoury. I made a few makeshift attackers, stripped to my corset and pants, and began. I had decided to become proficient in my new shoes. They were painful yes, but I got used to it. I dodged a blow, ducking and spinning on the floor, sending that one flying and turning to dust. I dodged, kicked, ran, flipped, jumped, flipped and slid for hours. I had made my spell so the attackers never ran out. I felt someone running at me and flipped over them, kicking up and stabbing them in the back with the shoes. Simple.

That was when I noticed the soldiers who had walked in, preparing to practice. I was being given looks of awe and also longing. I realised I was in my undergarments, not that they had never seen me in them before. I stopped the spell, walked to my dress, putting it back on. I was about to leave when someone shouted "Oi love, fancy throwing those knives again?"

I looked at the speaker for a second and replied "Why not, practice is practice" before sitting down on one side of the room and watching as the soldiers put up some string and brought me a large supply of throwing knives. At some point Thomas arrived and sat next to me, Eleanor and George no doubt asleep still. I was entertained to see bets being taken again, even after yesterday and sat there severing the ropes until noon, where I made my leave, to many disappointed moans when they realised it was now them who had to train. I then sent Thomas off to the kitchens to help.

I slowly walked to Orrin's thrown room after that. I waited until the clocks struck twelve and then knocked on the door. I was greeted by a powerful, "come in my dear". I walked in; taking in the finery in this room, everything from the velvet drapes to the marble floor was elaborate. The chair he sat in now was much more elaborate than the one he had sat in yesterday morning. I walked before him, kneeling, confused. He just signalled me to stand behind him which I proceeded to do. I walked to his right hand side, smelling last nights alcohol still on him, and watched as some soldiers brought in a man who had his head in a potato sack (a bit unnecessary really). I watched as Orrin signalled for the man to be executed, and the soldier behind the man stabbed him. The soldiers then left and it was just me, Orrin and the dying man in the room.

I must admit I was confused as to why the soldiers had not carried the body out and instantly had a bad feeling. Orrin grabbed my wrist, and pulled me towards the body. He theatrically pulled the sack off the man's head and using his foot turned the man over.

I let out a gasp, horrified. Before me lay the man I loved, dying in front of me. I gently turned him back over trying to close the wound but it wouldn't close. I sobbed and tried again, frantic I knew I was losing energy but I couldn't care less. He moved and turned over gasping as he did, took my hand in his and smiled. I tuned him back over trying again, he would not die but nothing I did would help him.

I smelt the seithr oil too late. He was gone. I looked up at Orrin tears in my eyes feeling anger slithering through my body. I attacked him, leaping over the body and at the same time loosening my dagger. I threw it at the man who had just sat back in his thrown, the man I had trusted. I ran at him, another dagger in my hand and attempted to stab him, straddling the king on the thrown before attacking.

My dagger flew out my hand and below me I felt something. What a pervert, he was engaged to Nasuada. I suddenly felt a hand grab my waist and pull me close breathe on my neck as he whispered "I am sorry my dear, but he was becoming a distraction to you and also since I cannot hurt you for that failure how else was I to set an example of what happens when my orders are ignored?"

I looked at the Kings face, sure enough regret and apologies were reflected in his eyes. I tore myself away, easily stronger than him and walked back over to the man I had fallen for. I felt broken and crushed. All this over a few innocent children, whom he had unknowingly become fond of. I picked my man up and dismissed myself walking out the room silently. I then carried on, running now, making people split as I tore through the corridors. Finally I made it to my room and put him on my bed, sobbing. My Jimmy was gone. I could not breathe and I felt myself hyperventilating. Out of energy completely I fainted next to his body, exhausted.

I hope you enjoyed it, I probably won't be able to post the next chapter for a while as my exams have now started and obviously I am revising as I really do not want to fail. I would love some feedback on it. Until the next chapter my valued reader.