Chapter One
I woke to the sound of another blasted sandstorm. The wind lashed against the thin yet, hopefully, stable stone walls of my home. I rose swiftly and pulled on heavy black pants and a black shirt, both of which were custom-made. I rummaged around in the chest at the foot of my small bed and extracted a dark belt and a large bag. After strapping on the belt, I opened the bag and removed twelve blades varying in size from the length of my longest finger to a small short sword. The four smallest blades, barely four inches form hilt to tip, went into hidden sheaths on the sides of the bottom of my boots. Knives with blades the length of my hand slid into a hidden slit on the upper side of my boot, so the hilt could be reached easily just under my knee. Three daggers an inch longer than the shortest blades tucked into my wide, thick leather belt, while two more blades, each the length of my forearm, slid through an open yet invisible seam on my sleeves so I could easily reach either weapon with both hands. The final blade went into a sheath that fit against my spine between my shoulder blades. When I wore my cloak and shemgah, the hilt was hidden.
After wrapping myself up tightly in my cloak that fastened on my left shoulder and my shemgah to ward off the wind and sand, I quickly left my small home on the outskirts of Jiddah. I made my way through the slowly dying storm towards the large city. My 'boss', Leilah, asked me to see her as soon as possible, saying it was urgent. So I scurried up to the front gates, playing the part of a frightened citizen looking for shelter. The guards eyed me a little suspiciously, but let me pass un-harassed. This time.
I passed through the streets undetected, winding between the clay and stone buildings. I was tempted to climb up onto the rooftops and travel in that manner, but it would draw unwanted attention and the guards seemed on edge for some reason.
Ten minutes later, after an uneventful trek across the city, I arrived at my destination; Kahlai's Rugs and Tapestries. I slipped into the store, escaping the harsh, now sandless, wind. Tugging the shemgah off my mouth, I walked in and began to browse through the colorful wares. The only two customers in the store were in a corner, arguing over a particularly ghastly rug, so I decided to take advantage of the opportunity.
I strolled casually past the counter, nodded a greeting at Kahlai, and made my way to the far corner. Without hesitation, I pushed a tapestry hanging on the wall out of my way and slipped behind it.
I was in a small alcove. Plants and cushions littered the floor, and it in the middle was a discrete trapdoor with a lock on it. I knelt by the trapdoor and pulled a long chain fro around my neck. Dangling from the thin necklace was a small silver key. I bent and used the key, and with a tiny 'click', the trap door sprang open. I waited a few seconds and Kahlai came silently through the hidden doorway.
He was an older man, in his mid-fifties, with hair more white than black. Striking features and sharp blue eyes that always seemed to be watching you made it difficult to tell if he was handsome or extraordinary. Or both. Regardless, Kahlai had served as a fatherly figure after my mother's disappearance and most likely death. I messed her a lot…and despite the fact I was a bastard and the result of a rape, she had loved me very much.
"Fayruz!" Kahlai's voice sliced through my thoughts like a hot blade. I blinked and stared up at him.
"My apologies." I smiled, "I was getting nostalgic."
"That is all fine and well," he said, returning my smile, "but now is not the time for it I must return before my customers miss me."
"Yes, my liege." I bowed awkwardly with a grin. He slapped the back of my head playfully and I laughed before throwing the trapdoor all the way open. I swung myself onto the ladder and practically slid down, not waiting for Kahlai to close and lock the entrance behind me.
Leilah, our humble guildmaster, sat behind her desk across from me, a serious look on her face. I had waited a good amount of time for her to finish some other business and was now irritated; I had woken up at the crack of dawn, literally, and traveled through a sand storm to get to the guild's headquarters as early as possible, and I still had to wait two hours. If it wasn't for my oath, I may have left the guild forever then and there.
But Leilah didn't seem to sense my aggravation, which meant whatever was on her mind was serious. She was normally very perceptive. I don't know how long Leilah has been the master of our little guild, but it was long enough that she could read every member like a book, no matter how well they were guarding themselves.
She was well over sixty, with hair so white it was almost blue in certain lighting. Black eyes that usually sparkled with mischief were now sharp and dangerous. She raised her delicate hands to her thinning face. Leilah, however, was anything but delicate; she wasn't guildmaster for nothing. I watched in silence as she rubbed her temples wearily.
"I have a difficult mission for you." She finally said with a sigh. Ah. I wated. "This one will be particularly trivial, and I would do it myself, but there are many other important tasks that require my attention and…services. You are my best daughter, so I am sending you.."
I waited for her to continue but was greeted by silence. Leiglah did that sometimes; tried to be mysterious. It never worked and always resulted in me helping her to spit it out in a tedious manner, "Send me…where?"
"To Ar Riyad, my daughter." She said softly. I didn't miss the fact that she lowered her voice an octave and didn't tell me why I was going to the capital. I fought the urge to release an exasperated sigh.
"For…" I trailed off as Leilah produced a thin package from a hidden pocket in her caftan and slowly slid it across her desk to me. God, I hate it when she does this. Just tell me my target, no foreplay, and I'm happy. I picked up the packet, glanced at it, and raised an eyebrow at her.
"Wait until you are out of town before opening it." I nodded and got up to leave. Leilah gazed at me gravely. "Good luck, Fayruz."
I nodded again and left. Great, I thought as I made my way through the guild's underground haven. When Leilah says to wait until you are far from the city, it means the target is someone very important. I honestly didn't know whether to be excited, or frightened.
As soon as I was a few miles out of Jiddah, I steered my dapple-grey stallion off the dirt road and into the cover of a small grove of trees. Once there, I took out the packet and opened it eagerly to read what it said:
'Target: Asim Bahadur. You are to make the death appear to be a suicide. The people must believe Thakar Bahadur is such a bad ruler, that even his own son cannot tolerate being under his command. Do it quickly. Do it discretely. You MUST NOT BE SEEN.' It was signed by Leilah in one of her secret names. I honestly had to read the instructions about four times.
"Asim Bahadur." I breathed in awe. I couldn't believe Leilah had appointed such a grand task to me. I wondered why one of the larger guilds hadn't taken up this particular contract. Oh well, I would do it. But how…? My horse nickered softly and I blinked, sliding the packet out of sight and into a pocket in my belt. I lowered my head and made sure my shemgah was covering my mouth and nose before continuing down the road. My horse, Mazin, had been trained to alert me when he heard someone coming. I am grateful of this, for if the right person was to catch me with such instructions, I would surely be killed.
And so I continued on my way, past the guards who could have caught me, hoping I would reach the capital before nightfall so I could kill Asim Bahadur, the Prince of Saudi Arabia.
A/N: Okay, really short chapter, but I wanted to get it posted. The idea of the short sword hidden on her back came from the Anita Blake: Vampire Hunter series by Laurell K. Hamilton. So yeah. Not mine. Also, just to say it again, this story was inspired by Assassin's Creed and the Prince of Persia. None of the characters or plot is in this, but just the idea of assassins, running on rooftops, and all that fun stuff came from those. And I so don't own them, lol. Anyway, hope you enjoyed. This first one was a bit dull, but that's just because it was introducing characters and describing junk. It'll get good, I promise!!!