I was so fansinatied with everything. I practiced throwing kitchen knives and darts in my spare time, I learned to speak and read Arabic, and I was a decent archer. My heart ached to practice with a sword. I wanted to be an assassin, it was in my blood, my family was a long line of assassins. Well, my generation wasn't interested in that; my father wanted to forget everything about our ancestors. No one knew of my interest except for my mom, who supported it.
I shut my book and hid it carefully under my matress. If anyone else found out that I obsessed over it, let alone read it at all, I was toast. I strutted over to my closet and pulled a white robe out of the old wooden trunk. I'd never worn it before and the school Halloween party seemed like the perfect chance to do so without feeling strange. I fastened all the straps and struggled to put on the waist band. Then, for the final touch, I slipped on the grey hood. When I looked into the mirror, I saw a novice assassin staring back. The best part was, the clothes fit perfectly besides being a tad loose on my waist.
My mom smiled when she saw me walking toward her. She kissed my forehead and said,"Have fun, little assassin." I couldn't help but smile. Just as I reached for the door handle, mom tapped me on the shoulder.
"I've kept this a secret from your dad. It's the perfect accesory," She whispered while strapping the most wonderful thing I'd ever seen to my arm. It was the Hidden Blade used by assassins! I hugged mom with a small scream of delight. Mom opened the door and pushed me out with a chuckle. "You'd better get going or you'll never catch those Templars!" By the time she had finished her sentence, I had walked down the driveway.
Going to the high school was a short walk and after four years of taking the same route, it didn't even feel the length it was. I kept flicking the Hidden Blade in and out. A couple times I 'stabbed' an unsuspecting mailbox and walked away. I'm having too much fun with this. I should have been more serious with such a dealy weapon, so I straightened up.
The high school gym was packed and as soon as I walked, people marveled at my robes. I really didn't have a date or anything, I just wanted to be an assassin for a night. I heard my group of friends call over to me from the punch bowl. "Wow, Katherine, epic costume!" The voice had come from Ellen, my closest friend. She was dressed up in a Japanese kimono. Of course it was made of only black, grey, and white silk. She was just darker that way. We probably had the most darkly themed costumes there.
The party had gone well; the gym was trashed. I walked out last and turned to leave when something caught my eye. A piece of metal glimmered in the moon's light and I was drawn to walk over. I picked up a throwing knife with the assassin's symbol carved into its side. I stared at it, wondering how on earth it got placed next to the school's dumpsters. I placed it within a knife holder and continued on my way. Suddenly, I dropped to the ground feeling like I had to vomit. The stars disappeared and the world slowly began spinning around me. It got faster and faster until I couldn't bear to keep my eyes open. My whole body felt like it was being pinched and I screamed. No sound came out of my mouth. I plummeted down into pitch black; my eyes closed tighter. I felt myself falling faster. Then my face slammed into hard stone. I laid there while my head throbbed in waves of pain. "There he is, the assassin! Kill him!" Someone yelled in Arabic from behind me. I leapt on to my feet despite the pain and made a run for it. Since I had landed on a roof, I leapt over to another one. I didn't think of the height I could have fallen. The angry guards were still right behind me. I walked across a thin rotting plank that would have brought me to safety and it snapped while I was half way across. I did a small front roll to break my fall. I mentally thanked my dad for forcing me to take gymnastics. But now I was in full view of the public. And other guards. I swore under my breath and took off toward the city's exit. I almost made it, but there were guards at the entrance as well. One of them caught me by the back of my robes and tossed me into the ground. I gasped and rolled out of the way of his sword. I suddenly remembered the blade hidden under my sleeve. I jumped up, flicked the blade out of its hiding and stabbed my attacker in the neck. I twisted it a little, pulled it out, and he dropped dead. I realized that more of them were closing in and took off toward some saddled horses. Once again, someone caught me.
"Hault!" He told the others. "This one's not the assassin who has killed our noble leader. This one is too young and he has a grey hood, not a white one. We'll bring him to the castle for interrogation." I felt my arms bound behind me and my legs being tied as well. One of them threw me up unto his shoulder while I wiggled helplessly. I knew it was useless. I was going to be asked questions I didn't know the answers too and then I would be put through some horrible death. I wondered why they kept calling me a boy. Did the idiots not notice I had feminine curves? One of them refered to me as a boy again.
"I'm a girl!" I barked in Arabic. I was thrown to the ground and stared at by every single guard present. There were whispers and the leader of the group ordered me to be picked up again. It was very uncomfortable to be slung over someone's shoulder. I swore I would never do that to my little brother again. That was, if I ever saw my little brother again. I wondered where I was and started to look around, being I had nothing better to do.
The streets were busy with people dressed in so many different colored robes. Women were carrying pots, some men were lifting boxes, merchants were trying to persuade people to bye, and everything seemed so alive! I spotted a church that I recognized from somewhere. I gasped and remembered seeing the same church in my history book. The church was popular during 1191. I had somehow been brought back in time to 1191! I shook with excitment; perhaps I'd get to meet an assassin! Then, I stopped and remembered my situation. I wasn't going to be around long. After the guards found out I knew nothing, they'd kill me. Who was the true assassin they had been searching for? Just as they were going to bring me into the castle, the answer leaped down in front of me. My heart froze and my jaw dropped as I saw him approach. He was dressed in pure white robes and he was armed with many freshly polished weapons. The assassin pointed toward me.
"Release my brother." He commanded. The guard carrying me laughed and tossed me to the ground agai to drew his sword. I saw one flick of an arm and then everything happened so quickly and chaos consumed all. The assassin was outnumbered, so maybe he was not intending to save me. I had to get myself out of those ropes. I flicked out my hidden blade and sliced through the wrist binds and then easily cut through the ones around my legs. There was no where to run, the fighting cut off the stairs that lead into the streets. So I guess up was the way to go. I swung myself up onto a platform above and continued to climb. I kept the thought that if I stopped, I died. I dug my feet into windows and divets in the building. My hands frantically grabbed at anything I could use to pull myself up.
My whole body ached from the long climb to the towers of the castle. I sprinted from guard post to guard post, finding every single one empty. They had all gone to take care of the assassin. I looked down from the top of one the towers and gasped. It would mean death if I fell. I ran around to the opposite side of the castle that the fight was on. A ladder was placed conveniently against the exterior. It was a frightfully long way down, but the guards were starting to come back to their posts, so I scrambled down in a frenzy. I skipped the last ten steps and jumped. I was so worn out, my eyes sagged and my head hurt even more now. I wished I had grabbed some non-aspirin before leaving.
I climbed up another ladder to stand on the roof tops. My instincts told me I was safer up there. My legs couldn't stand any longer, so they colasped under me. If they found me, I wouldn't resist death. I didn't have the energy to do so. I usually would have plenty of spring left, but something about time travel wore a person out.
"It wouldn't be wise to sit now. We must leave the city," Said a firm voice behind me, I recognized it as the assassin's. He grabbed my arm and forced me to stand. Before I could say anything, he pulled me along with him. I had a hard time keeping up with my miserably sore feet. I forced myself to ignore the pain and walk just as fast as the assassin. He let go of my arm, expecting me to follow, which I did. He started scaling the city walls and I looked up, frowning. Another climb? I didn't know how much more I could take. But this was a chance of a life time, this was my dream. Pain and weariness weren't going to keep me from following him.
I reached the top were he was waiting patiently. I had a question, but just as I was about to ask it, he jumped off of the wall. I gasped and peered down. He'd landed in a cart of hay. He motioned for me to jump too. I jumped.
It was the most wonderful feeling in the world. The rush of the wind swirling around my head took away gathering sweat droplets. I felt enormous power as I landed into the soft and welcoming hay. I leaped out and joining the white robed assassin behind the cart. "Stay low," He whispered. He lead the way as we edged toward some horses nibbling on a grassy patch. They looked at us curiously but didn't make a sound. He mounted a very tall black stallion and I leaped up onto a cream colored mare about the same height. "There they are!" Someone shouted. I heard him bark orders, but we had taken off in a gallop, so I didn't have the time to translate what he said. Citizens dodged out of the way, dropping everything they were carrying and swore. I almost laughed at them, but I contained myself. Better to make a good first impression with this assassin. He didn't slow the pace of his horse until we were well away from that city. I felt lightheaded and almost fell off the saddle. Breaths came in sharp pains, yet I gasped for more air. A fire of pain spread from my head to my lungs and choked me. Both metally and physically. What was wrong with me?
The assassin noticed my horse had stopped and turned around. So much for first impressions. I had wanted to appear strong and I had failed. Shame washed over me and beat on my mind as he took me down. When he laid me on the ground, my hood slipped off. For a split second, I saw shock flash onto his face. Then it went back to an emotionless stare. He said something under his breath and walked away from my sight. He wasn't going to leave me here, was he?