Mist curled up in the air. It was early morning; dew still lay on the winter grass, glistening as the sun's bright light danced on them. The road was being dusted by the elhems. Trading was going on between thousands of people swarming over the market bargaining over the goods in the background, but the only noise she could hear as she walked was the noise of the kings ruthless demons in the pull-over's of guards whipping the elhems ruthlessly. The guard was whipping an old woman who was sweeping the dirty roads and did the mistake of asking for a goblet of water. The writhing woman rolling on the floor made her blood boil in anger as she clenched her fists and bit her lip, tasting her own blood. Her blue eyes scanned the area people were roaming around as if nothing in hell happened. None of them even gave the woman a glance. She drew all her strength to stay calm at her spot, not to lunge at the demonic guard and made him regret his last hours of life. What if she was an elhem? No human, not even an animal beaten like that. But this was their life. Not only for the old woman, but all other elhem slaves. What was the crime in being an elhem? All was fine and lovely, before the craziest king had taken over. She watched the woman beaten with fire burning her blue eyes. Her smooth golden locks of hair started to tremble. The elhems were a race of magical bloodline, leaving peacefully in their lands of Algen. In between the forest they were more peaceful then a flock of birds. There was magic in their blood of ancestors, they were pure, filled with pity and compassion, and no hatred. But eventually, the magic died out. Only a few extraordinary people could practise it. But, it still lurked deep down in their hearts, suppressed as if waiting for a moment to evoke out. Their race never killed an ant. And now the whole scenario had changed. The kings of exleria, the kingdom often known as the abode of warriors, crushed their peaceful commodity. She still remembered the day before nine years and a chill ran down her spine. She saw the murder of her parents before her own wide eyes. She saw their fearful eyes, fear not of death, but for their daughter's safety, and the sword plunged through their back. Cowards. She called them. A true warrior never attacks from back. The day was a day written in blood letters in the history. Half of the elhem population was killed, some escaped to kingdom like Narcom, where peace still dwelt, but some stayed. She was far too attached to her mother land to leave it. She had returned here at last. Last years taught her everything that they could. She still remembered the day when she ran as fast as she could carried by the small legs of hers and chased by soldiers ready to strike her into two as they had done to her parents. But then came dead-end. Flashback held her thoughts for a while as she was as still as a statue. The cliff. Death on both sides. She smiled. She will join her parents rather dying bravely jumping into the cliffs, rather than dying a filthy death by the hands of those demons. Yes, they were demos...perfectly.
She remembered her pride as she swiftly jumped over the cliff, drowning down into herself. She didn't know what saved her or how she was saved. When she woke up, she was in the forest, which forest, she didn't know. She strolled over the forest as a lost puppy, till she realised where she was. The kingdom of death, ruled by the king of assassins. Death again greeted her. She couldn't help but smile. An honoured death. She still remembered her horror and drastic stomach curling feeling that swept on her with every glare as the eyes of cold-hatred filled people snapped at her. Then she was approached by the cold stare from a ruthless man. He was her trainee. He filled her with hatred and revenge, made her small heart of stone, and made her a blood hungry demon. She wasn't weak but she was not any match for an elhem. They were filled with pity; she was merciless after all she was a cold blooded murderer, in fact the greatest assassin ever. The whole world knew her, but nobody knew who she was. At fifteen, she received the title. She didn't kill for survival. She killed for revenge, for satisfaction and mostly pleasure. Smooth face, mysterious personality, and malicious intentions, anyone knew her as that only. But still in a corner, there was she, the same eight year old little girl, running from those deadly demons, the same Marron Chestnut. She was an elhem, the promoter of peace and love, but an assassin. She was beautiful, still the most deadly monster, people gleamed happily when they saw her charming face but a chill ran down their spine when they know who she was. She is known as erithlia, the spirit of darkness, the deadliest assassin of the exleria, possibly the whole world. And now...she was helpless. She wanted to rip the man's head off, who was beating the woman but waited. Fire burnt inside her. The cries of the woman acting as the fuel and the sadistic and victorious grin acting as the air to fire burning within her.
Finally she swept forward, the woman had been held a slave because she was an elhem, and couldn't pay she sky-rocketing price setup especially for being an elhem, right? She thought as walked to the guard. She went forward and caught the whip, in her hand. Her blue eyes shone like two sapphires with burning fire inside, hiding all the pain inside. She reached with her other hand to a pocket in the robe as the guard tried pulling the whip with both his hands. She turned her eyes to watch the struggling guard and asked "how much debt did she miss?"
The guard eyed her in fear with wide eyed and gulped while answering into her deathly stare "that's none of your business my lady. You can leave without looking at this filth." She just stared at him murderously as he fumbled while answering "1000 gold coins my lady. But I still suggest you to mind..." there was something in her aura that snapped up all his strength. She shifted her gaze to the woman decorated in slash marks and her eyes melted from her stare into deep lovely ones filled with pity. She took a bag out of her robe and handed it to him. "Three thousand coins. Enough for her to live rest of her life without any need to give tax."
Then without giving the man a second glance, she lifted the woman up and supported her till they reached under the shade of a tree. Behind them the guard signed some paper work. She went into the market, bought a bottle of medicine and rubbed it slowly on the whip lashes on the body of the old woman. After that she took her hood above her face and said "now you can live your live peacefully. Go away and never come back to exleria."
The woman slowly got up and smiled. "I knew someday you'll come. The stars told me, they never lie Marron" she whispered as Marron's eyes widened in shock. "Now, I'll fulfil my aim of life. There's something that my destiny told me to accomplish. There's something with me that belongs to you." The woman told Marron as she pulled something out of her ragged clothes. It was an amulet. Decorated with a sapphire in the center, covered with a web of gold, a string of gold band studded with amethysts on it, it was ancient, too old but beautiful. It felt familiar. When she was young, her mother had told her that the royal bloodline wore them. These were protectors, and particularly chose their own wearers. They were very few, and most of them were gone, as these amulets broke when their masters died. The makers of these amulets were a very few. Most of those ancient mortals were killed cause of their talent. What did the woman meant that this belonged to Marron? She had no clue. The sapphire twinkled a bit when it came in contact with her hand. She slid it on her hand. It was her last reminding of her past at least. But now the woman had thousands of questions to answer. She turned her gaze back to where the woman was but she wasn't there. It was like she had disappeared into thin air.
She would mind that later, now she had different work to do. She again adjusted her hood and slowly turned towards the guard, a smile tugging her red lips. He was walking after his duty was finished into a lonely lane as she followed him as discreetly as his shadow, with the grace of a black cat in night. The crowd has faltered a bit as night settled in.
It was dark in full terms of night, nothing shone except the countless stars and the crescent moon. No sound could be heard but whispers and the sound of the air brushing against the leaves. It wasn't an unusual night for exleria, as nights were cold and silent. No one except drunken people and guards roamed the road. And the one she was following qualified both the qualities. She was totally disgusted. She slowly grinned a sadistic smile as she let her cape fell. The black cloak fell on the road and mixed as if invisible in the darkness of night. Her golden hair locks reached her waist. Black sleek shiny armour wrapped around her curvy body. Her legs were hugged by tight black pants and heeled boots. Her neck was barely decorated with her collar bones. But the most noticeable feature was the sapphire eyes and the two swords that were fixed at her back. Two hunting knives. Her heels clicking sound finally drew the attention of the half-conscious guard enough to turn behind. But when he turned his head to look behind, the only thing he saw was a gust of wind whirling the litter off the road.
He sighed and turned his head to his front to find a pair of blue orbs staring at him through the darkness. Before he could even let a scream of utter horror escape his mouth, in a flash of silver, he fell. Blood splattered on the ground. She took the coins, probably she could use them in freeing someone else. She cleaned the blood off her hunting knife as she cleaned her sword with her bare hands, eyes gleaming with satisfaction. Then suddenly in breeze of cold air, there was nothing left on the road, except a corpse lying in a bloody mess, a hood lying little behind him and the stillness of dark night and lurking shadows hiding secrets.