The man ran. He ran even though he knew she was after him. He ran even though he knew it was pointless. He stumbled over boulders, slowing him down. The girl sat in a nearby tree, watching the man with amusement in her intense grey eyes.
She liked it when they ran, liked it when they threw insults at her and looked for a place to hide. And the begging, oh the begging, that was the best. She didn't mind the insults or the name calling, for who could blame them? After all, she was an assassin. She was paid to kill. And she was good at it, very good at it.
But this time it was different. She hadn't been paid to get rid of this man. A few hours ago, she had been walking the streets of a small village, looking for the man she had been ordered to destroy. Instead of finding her target, she had found a man who was terrified of her, even though she didn't know him. So instead of pursuing her original target, she followed this man who had taken flight just after she had taken a few steps towards him. Her original job forgotten, the girl hid and waited patiently in the tree for the man to make a fatal mistake. She didn't have to wait long.
The man stumbled again and this time did not rise. She grinned slowly, menacingly, as she leapt gracefully from the tree. She was tall and slim, a long braid of ebony hair trailing down her back and hell smoke grey eyes. Her long stride took her straight to the trembling man who was lying on his stomach, hands protectively covering his head. She rolled him over with her boot. He froze as she towered above him clad in black tunic and breeches. She wore knee high brown leather boots and had a sword sheathed at her side. She knelt beside the man and smiled coldly.
'Poor, poor little man,' she said sweetly as he shuddered, 'out here all alone with no one to help you.' The man opened and closed his mouth then opened it again.
'Cat got your tongue?' she asked, her voice still sickly sweet.
'What do you want?' the man squeaked. She smiled again.
'I want you to tell me who you are and why you are so afraid of me,' she answered, rising and unsheathing her sword, 'you ran away from me and I hadn't done a thing to you. Who are you and what do you know?' She tapped the tip of her sword against her boot as she waited for the reply.
'Well?'
'Nothing, I know nothing!'
'Little man, this is not a good time for pathetic little lies,' she answered, growing impatient, 'it will only take me a few seconds to remove your head from your body.' The man gulped audibly.
'I know nothing!' he repeated desperately, 'please, I know nothing!'
'LIAR!' she bellowed, 'tell me what you know or I'll kill you without a seconds hesitation!'
'You're looking for someone, someone who I happen to be business partners with,' he babbled, 'I know you were sent to that village to assassinate him. And as for how I know you, everyone knows who you are. Stories have been going around the villages of a young female assassin with long ebony hair. Rumour says that you have killed many people and are merciless. I knew instantly who you were by just giving you one glance. And that is why I ran.'
'Finished?' she asked in a bored tone. The man nodded.
'Well, it's not exactly what I wanted to hear but you did mention some interesting things.'
'And what were they?' the man asked.
'You said you are business partners with my target,' she said, 'is that true?' He nodded and she smiled coldly.
'Thank-you little man, you have been quite helpful,' she said cheerily, 'now it's time for you to die.' The man squawked and tried to scramble away from her. The girl laughed derisively and stepped on the mans cloak, stopping him from crawling further away from her.
'Please don't kill me!' the man pleaded. She laughed again.
'Little man, weren't you aware that you had signed your own death warrant the second you told me that you were business partners with my target?' she asked grinning broadly. The man shook his head. She laughed again then sobered. With a look of doom on her face she leant forward and whispered into his ear, 'rumour is right, I am merciless'. The mans eyes widened in shock as she stabbed her sword into his heart then pulled it out again. Just as his eyesight began to fade and the beat of his heart began to dim, the last thing he heard was the sound of a young girl laughing.
Samhain wandered through the streets aimlessly, stopping every now and then to look at something on a stand. He lived in a small town called Ollabandia that was situated on the edge of the Evannha Forest where few ventured. Samhain was tall and well built. He had white-blond hair that fell over his dark eyes and he had a fair face. He had lived in Ollabandia for only a few months after being told that his fathers life was in danger and they needed to go somewhere far from any city. And Ollabandia was definitely far from any city. Nothing interesting ever happened in the small town and Samhain often found himself becoming bored. But that had changed only a few hours ago when a strange man had ran shrieking down the main street with a young girl in hot pursuit. Many people had stopped and stared as this event took place but none bothered to help. The man still hadn't returned to the village, nor had the girl, which Samhain thought odd. The nearest village was a few days ride from Ollabandia and the nearest city was a week's ride away. Neither of them could have gotten far.
Samhain finished his walk then headed for home, which stood on the outskirts of the village. It was strange that they were living on the outskirts of the village when his father was in danger. He thought that they at least would've lived somewhere near the middle where it would be harder to find them. As he approached the house he heard the sound of girlish laughter and music and guessed that his three sisters were practising how to dance properly. As he walked through the front door, he was bombarded with questions and different coloured ribbons. By the look of all the dresses lying on the couch, they had been invited to a dance (which explained the music and laughter). Samhain headed for his room and locked the door. He walked over to his window and let the gentle breeze caress his face. He missed his old home, his friends and the bustle of a busy city. There was a quiet knock on his door and he mumbled, "Enter". There was a soft "click" as the door was unlocked and Samhains mother, Anthea, walked into the room and lay down his good clothes on the bed. Samhain moaned inwardly as he stared at the clothes.
'Tonight we are going to a party,' Anthea said as she smoothed out the creases in the jacket.
'I know,' Samhain answered, 'whose party?'
'Lord Ringwood has invited us to his ball as a way to meet more people,' Anthea said.
'Lord Ringwood? Who's that?' Samhain asked, not recognising the name.
'He's the mayor of the town,' his mother answered, 'apparently lots of people are going to be there.'
'Isn't that a bit dangerous?' Samhain asked.
'How's it dangerous?'
'Well isn't it a bit dangerous to go out and be around heaps of people?' Samhain asked, 'I mean, with Fathers life in danger and everything.'
'No, it won't be dangerous,' Anthea answered.
'But don't you think who ever wants to harm Father would be there and try to hurt him?'
'They wouldn't try to hurt him with so many people around as witnesses,' Anthea said and she left the room.
An hour later Samhain and his family were ready for the party. As they all got into the carriage, the hairs on the back of Samhains neck stood on end. He had a feeling that they were being watched. As the carriage rolled through the streets, Samhains mind would play tricks on him by turning all shadows into something that looked like it was about to attack. As they entered the town hall music, people and laughter surrounded them. Samhains parents walked up to the mayor and started talking while his sisters wandered off together leaving Samhain on his own. As he wandered through the crowd of people, he noticed a strange girl staring at him. She had long ebony hair and strange grey eyes. She wore a plain dress and tiny white silk slippers. Samhain thought he had seen her before but he wasn't sure. Her stare was starting to unnerve him when he finally realised who she was. She was the girl who had chased that man into the forest and had seemingly vanished. And now here she was, staring at him with a strange look on her face and walking towards him. Samhain took a few steps back then looked around for his family. He couldn't see any of them. He turned his attention back to the girl but she had vanished. Again.
She had watched them leave the house and get into their carriage. She had watched them enter the town hall and had followed them in. And now she was watching their oldest child, a boy around the age of sixteen, or so she had been told. He was tall and well built with white-blond hair that fell over his abnormally dark eyes. He walked around the room, taking in the surroundings. When his eyes met hers, she had to fight the urge not to run at him and stab him with the dagger that was hidden in the folds of her gown. She didn't usually wear a gown but the occasion demanded formal wear. So she had obliged. At first when he had looked at her, confusion was written all over his face but then recognition dawned and he looked alarmed. She guessed that he had either heard about the rumours or had seen her chase the man through the streets, and, when the man hadn't returned, assumed the worst. She began to walk towards him and settled for her second guess when he started to retreat from her. She saw him look wildly around for any of his family members. She was about to advance more when the people standing around her started to stare and whisper things. As more people started to turn and stare she decided it was safer for her to disappear for a while and come back later when they had forgotten about her.
Forty-five minutes later, the boy appeared outside. He leaned against a pillar and breathed deeply. His face was flushed from dancing. She watched his every move and waited for the right moment to strike. The boy took another deep breath and closed his eyes. She quickly moved out of the shadows then went and stood in front of the boy. He opened his eyes and shrieked.
Samhain had gone outside to get some air. He had been asked to dance by nearly every girl in the room. He still hadn't seen that strange girl since she vanished. He leaned against a pillar and sighed. He wanted to go home and get away from all this. He sighed again and closed his eyes, wishing he were back in the city. When he opened his eyes, the strange girl was standing right in front of him. Samhain shrieked and nearly toppled backwards. When he had regained his senses, he studied her. She was tall and slim, her ebony hair, which fell to her waist, had intricate little braids woven through it. Her strange grey eyes were fixed to his and he felt as though his life had just come to a sudden end.
'Who are you?' Samhain asked, his voice sounding confident, exactly the opposite of how he felt. The girl didn't answer, but continued to stare at him.
'Who are you? Tell me who you are!' he demanded. The girl blinked then answered, 'my name is Achroi.'
'What do you want?' Samhain asked.
'Nothing,' she answered, the same strange look plastered to her face.
'Why were you following me?' Samhain asked.
'Not following, but watching,' Achroi answered mysteriously.
'Why are you watching?'
'No reason.'
'Who are you watching?'
'You.'
'Why are you watching me?' Samhain asked, panic creeping into his voice.
'No reason,' she answered, a slight smile playing on her lips.
'What's with all the mysterious answers?' Samhain said. Achroi just shrugged. He continued to stare at her in silence only to be copied. After a few minutes she spoke.
'What's your name?'
'Samhain,' he answered.
'Samhain,' she repeated, 'strange name.'
'Well Achroi's a strange name,' Samhain retorted. The girl just merely shrugged.
'You had better watch your back Samhain,' Achroi warned as she started to walk away, 'you never know who might be watching.'
'What's that supposed to mean?' Samhain asked her retreating back. But there came no answer. Achrois words echoed through his mind, "You never know who might be watching." Samhain had no idea what she meant and little did he know that she would be the one watching him.
Samhain, reluctantly, returned to the Hall and tried to find his parents. He complained of a bad headache and had his family leave the party at once. His meeting with Achroi had unnerved him and he was wary of the fact that they would someday meet again. That night Samhain didn't sleep, but lay awake thinking about the danger that was supposedly meant to be coming for his father. But so far nothing had happened. Had it all been a way just to leave the city or was the danger very real and just hadn't decided to strike? Either way, Samhain no longer felt safe in the small, quiet village.
Achroi sat down on the bed and peeled off the white slippers that she was wearing. Her encounter with the boy, Samhain, had been amusing. She thought it funny the way he tried to act so brave in the face of danger, thought it funny the way he tried to decipher her riddled answers. He was a handsome boy, but not very bright. But that was just her opinion. She thought that it was strange that he hadn't even been slightly alarmed when she had told him that she was watching him. She also thought it strange that he hadn't told his parents about his encounter with her. That was something she hadn't expected. She walked across to the window and stared out at the empty street below. Three weeks ago, she had been hired to kill a man who had done something to horrible to mention, or so her employer had said. Now, three weeks later, she had located her target and was about to finish him off. But there was just one problem standing in her way. She wasn't sure how to go about the murder. Never before in her whole life as an assassin, had she not known what to do, not known how best to kill her next victim. Achroi let the gentle wind ruffle her hair and caress he face. She walked back over to the bed and huddled beneath the covers. She would dwell over the murder tomorrow, but for now, she wanted sleep. As she drifted off to sleep, she had one last thought of the boy and their encounter. He was a handsome boy but not very bright. Well, not bright enough to realise that he had just met his fathers contracted killer.