Eagles may fly, but kings will rule.
Chapter 1 – Killing Rainbows
She sat there, on the long narrow ledge, like a bird trying to spot out it's pray. Her target was yet to present himself to her and she waited patiently for that to happen because she knew it would, no-one escaped her. The height of her perch did not scare her, nor did it cause her to panic yet she could not help but feel a slight tingling sensation, like she was being watched. But, of course, that was highly unlikely.
The only thing that stirred up here was the wind, which played with her blood red locks to no visible end, however, where as many would curse the wind, the assassin took comfort that she at least could feel the sensation. It made her feel human, a rare feeling in her line of work. As bright green eyes viewed the ground below, trying to seek out her target, she spotted a familiar flash of white robe which in truth made her curious.
'What is he doing here?' The red head wondered, watching the man disappear round a corner, he seemed to be in a hurry. In the assassins moment of thought she forgot about the target she was meant to be following and smirked at her mind being distracted over something as trivial as Altair, yet the thought of him lingered in her mind.
Her green eyes returned to the grim looking courtyard bellow and she was amazed at how the yard could look so utterly dull. The courtyard was mainly made of gray crumbling stone and there was no plant life growing in the soil surrounding the benches, it was as if someone had scared it away and she had an idea who that could be.
Adham Hadad, the girl's target.
Taking the leap of faith into a nearby haystack and jumping out so quickly it actually startled a passing servant, she wondered close to her target. He wore a long robe that would put a rainbow to shame and so much gold and gems that the man sparkled in the glare of the scorching sun. It made the female sick. Pulling up her hood, the assassin noted how many guards there were. Only three, it was her lucky day. She wanted to get out of the singeing heat of the Jerusalem weather. Her English skin was not used to this sort of abuse, and certainly not used to major burns.
As Adham started walking down a secluded ally way the red head took her chance. Unsheathing her hidden blade with the quiet sound of metal scraping metal, she plunged it straight into the closest guards' neck with little remorse and lay him down softly so the other men wouldn't hear. After a few more steps the assassin threw a blade at each of the remaining guards, who crumpled to the ground unmistakably dead. So she ran, straight to her target as he slowly turned to see his only forms of protection missing.
She lunged, blade eager to make its mark on the old man's neck. Contact. Adham looked into the beautiful face of the assassin as she slowly laid him to rest upon the cold, dusty, concrete ground. The life ebbed away from the colourful man that had reminded her of a rainbow, yet the death of this rainbow was a glorious thing. He was a slave trader, snatching people from the safety of their home and the warmth of their families to be treated like mere pets. It was disgusting.
Saphira no longer wanted to be in the presence of the dead rainbow and started running low across roof tops to get to the bureau for some much deserved rest. When the slightly pink faced girl entered the bureau she found the man she had seen earlier. Altair.
"Well look what we have here?" the brunette said as he lay on some very comfortable looking pillows, which Saphira eyed with jealousy.
"Are you going to shut up and give your best friend a hug or are you going to lie there like a slob?" the Red head said a grin seeping onto her face as she watched the male assassin get up and hug her, lifting her feet off the ground slightly. Setting the girl down, giggling like a mad man, they hear a strict voice break the pleasant atmosphere like a hammer breaking bone. The Rafiq looked far from amused at the way the two teenagers were behaving.
"Have you finished your mission?" The older assassins asked curtly.
"Yes, I have." Saphira answered politely, setting down a small white feather, now soaked with her victims' blood, on the wooden counter.
"Good, now you can rest here or go back to Masyaf, just be still, the pair of you!" the Rafiq called after the teenagers. Both of them sat down on the colourful pillows and rested a couple hours before going home. They discussed their missions and exchanged small jokes while not trying to be too loud, they didn't want to upset the old man much more.
It was about midnight when they decided to leave, Altair's golden eyes shone in the moonlight but Saphira's lamp like green eyes practical glowed. Silently the couple made their way through the city gate to the area where they had their horses stationed, swiftly got on and galloped away leaving the brutal, overcrowded city for the calmer more silent home of Masyaf.
Saphira could not wait to see her two other best friends Malik and Kadar, but it was still and weeks ride and she had Altair to annoy so the journey would be a long and treacherous one.
The ride home was long; so long in fact that Saphira had run out of topics to annoy Altair with. The road that they took was dusty and occasional tufts of grass littered the edge of the path. The sun was high in the sky and as the sun decided to torture the rider and her companion, their heavy, white assassin robes did not help in the slightest. Too scared to unarm themselves, in case of passing guards, they had to suffer though the days, waiting to make camp later that night.
"Are we there yet? Are we there yet? Are we there yet?" Saphira asked a disgruntled looking Altair.
If looks could kill.
"Does it look like we are there?" Altair responded harshly to the bored looking red head next to him.
"Well no, that's why I asked!" She smirked at her clever response and Altair just sighed.
"You know your my best friend in the whole world, but you can be really annoying sometimes, you know that?"
"Thank you, I practice." Saphira smiled at the amused looking assassin. Altair looked up suddenly and laughed out in joy. Following his gaze her green eyes spotted the thing that made her best friend light up with glee. It was Masyaf, Looking strong and proud, standing on the mountain as it guarded the village below. Both teenagers willed their horses to gallop faster, racing each other to the steadily growing speck that was the castle.
"I win!" A very proud looking Altair yelled slapping the stone structure with his hand, out of breath. No far behind him was a flushed Saphira who hit the stone seconds after the older assassin did. They had abandoned their horses at the village gate and Saphira had been in the lead but Altair was faster on foot than the female and he knew it. Just what he needed, an ego boost but the girl just laughed and congratulated he on his small yet significant victory.
"Well done! You beat a girl." A sarcastic voice said loudly over the teens giggling. It was Abbas. Joy. He always tried to make them feel bad about something or mocked them in very discriminating ways. However the two friends didn't care and ignored the comment, pushing the young man aside and continuing into the castle. Abbas looked furious at being ignored like this and stalked off to find someone else to bother. Saphira was looking around to spot any sign of the two Al'Sayf brothers but it was like they had turned into ghosts.
"He's probably in the library." Altair suggested, giving the girl a sideways glance.
"Who?" Saphira asked confused.
"Malik! That who you're looking for right?" He answered, allowing a smirk to cross his scared lips as the teen blushed ever so slightly.
"Well, I was looking for Kadar too. I just haven't seen them in ages and I was lucky to come across you in Jerusalem." The red head mumbled just loud enough for Altair to hear.
"Well, why don't I look for Kadar and you look for Malik and we'll meet in the library in 10 minutes?" The eagle like assassin suggested to the slightly smaller form of Saphira. She nodded and started to jog off to the library where Malik resided. Altair on the other hand headed towards the fighting ring where Kadar usually trained.
The library was stuffy but well light during the day because of the large windows the giant wall held snugly in place. The library was quiet large and all assassins were taught how to read and write, however not many spent their time here; they were far too busy concentrating on fighting or swordsmanship. Saphira remember spending hours in here when she was a mere novice, reading large leather bond books or studying with Malik. The two always thought Altair was allergic to books because he was never seen anywhere near the library and it turned into an inside joke between the couple. Finally she saw who she was looking for. Malik's dark hair and tan skin made him so hard to find when he decided to read in corners, such as today, so he wouldn't be disturbed. The young assassin had his back to her and she got an idea. Tip-toeing as silently as she could, Saphira crept up behind Malik and grabbed his sides which made him jerk and almost elbow the smiling girl in the face, Saphira dodged easily enough and when she turned to face Malik, the boy had a murderous expression on his face. All Saphira could do was giggle and scratch the back of her head sheepishly.
"That... was really-"The boy began but was cut off.
"Good to see you too, Mal! Altair's gone to get Kadar, I've missed you both so much!" with that Saphira gave him her best puppy-dog eyes and Malik just sighed and got up from his chair to give his 16 year old friend a hug.
"So, how was the mission you were on?" Malik asked casually after she got settled into a cushioned chair opposite him.
"Just the same boring things, he was corrupt and he looked like a rainbow so now he's dead..." Saphira continued in a very sarcastic tone.
"I'm sorry; did you say he looked like a rainbow?" Malik asked curiously and Saphira went into a whole rant about how the guy's cloths were so hideous. At the end of the little tale both teens were trying to contain their laughter because a strict looking librarian kept giving then evil glances if they giggled to loud. Soon the couple was walking out in the sun watching the other assassins train and looking out for Kadar or Altair, who failed to show up within 10 minutes. After 5 minutes of searching, Malik spotted the smug eagle with Kadar in a head lock.
"Altair! Let my brother go!" Malik demanded. Altair looked at the other boy for a couple seconds, shrugged and let Kadar go.
"Saphira! Your back? When? How was the mission? Did you meet interesting people?" Kadar started asking a whole lot of questions the minute he had scowled at Altair and spotted the bright eyed girl. Kadar was only a 14 year old novice and wasn't allowed to go on unsupervised missions yet like the rest of the group, so whenever one of them go back from their duties he would bombard the teens with all sorts of random questions. Saphira and Malik who were 16 and Altair who had recently turned 17 amazed him with over exaggerated stories of battles and quick escapes. Whenever he heard them Kadar's boyish face would gape at you in awe. He was a very good audience though, gasping and booing in all the right places, it made Saphira wish she has sibling, it seemed good fun.
Then the alarm bells tolled...