A/N: Sorry that it's so long I didn't mean for it to be so long. Also this is my first Fanfic I hope you enjoy.
Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters apart from Kelsea in this Fanfic.
Kelsea Barrow sat in her humid cabin the Captain of this piss poor ship assigned her for the duration of her trip to Skull's Bay. Over an hour ago she pulled out her sketch book hoping to pass the time. She was only just finishing the outline of her home the Sessiz Suikast. Oh, how she missed the fortress and the friendly faces that lived within. She missed training with the master, she missed her friend Ilias, she even missed the 6-mile run through the scorching hot of the Red Desert. She's been on this rutting ship for a week and the heat was really starting to piss her off.
She'd been shut up in her cabin ever since she got on the ship to conceal her identity and the cabin only seemed to get hotter. Feeling her sweat drip down her back she shot out of her chair so fast that it flipped over. Disgusted and outraged she stormed over to the window, flung it open and leant her was into the breeze. Kelsea sighed as the wind kissed her face, flushed with heat and anger. You'd think that living in the Red Desert for most of her life that she'd be used to the heat but alas she was not and it still irritated her to no end.
She stared out towards the glistening turquoise ocean that matched the colour of her eyes the only difference being the ring of gold around Kelsea's pupils. She found herself gritting her teeth as she recalled the reason why she came on this retched trip into the heart of the Dead Islands.
It would seem that the Pirate Lord Rolfe is invested in the slave trade. It is absolutely disgusting how people think they can steal people from their homes and sell they off for profit regardless if they have rebelled against Adarlan or not. Naturally this didn't sit well with Kelsea so after requesting permission from the Master to leave the fortress she went to the nearest dock and inquired after a ship headed to Skull's Bay.
She hoped to help the slaves, perhaps even free them although her alone might not be enough even though she is the best of the best. There was no doubt within the Silent Assassins that she was the best of their numbers and at only the age of sixteen. She prided herself on this fact actually. The only person that really gave her a struggle apart from the Master himself was Ilias the Master's son and one of her small number of friends. Thinking of the best assassins brought the infamous Adarlan's Assassin to mind. Oh, how she loathed Celaena Sardothien and how she called herself the best assassin in all of Erilea. For a heartbeat, she let herself imagine what it would feel like to skewer Arobynn Hamel's protégé with her sword.
Smiling to herself she saw the massive chain that protects the bay come into view. Ship-Breaker was its name – an excellent source of defense that would break any mast of any ship that dared challenge its competency. Someone knocked on the door and Kelsea whirled to face it, irritated from the interruption of her thoughts she spoke through the door answering the knock.
"What?" Some of her irritation leaked into her voice causing it to sound sharper than she intended.
"Um, we'll be arriving within the hour miss. I just thought that I'd let you know." The member of the crew sounded startled by the sharpness in her tone and maybe even a little frightened. The whole crew knew they were transporting one of the deadliest assassins on the continent, which made it even easier to conceal her identity as no one dared to bother her throughout the entire trip.
"Fine." She snapped back and listened to the crewman's retreating footsteps and turned to face the small table in the room. Sighing through her nose she walked over to the table where her sketchbook sat and the chair lying on the floor from where she knocked it earlier in annoyance. Picking the chair up from the ground and placing it upright she started gathering her sketchbook and supplies. After everything was organized for her departure she flopped down onto the bed. Lying on her back she stared up at the ceiling and contemplated how she was going to approach the mission that she set for herself. Kelsea knew that she should concentrate all her focus onto planning but she couldn't help counting down the minutes until she was off the filthy ship. Thank the gods it was only another hour.
~⁂~
Kelsea stalked through the streets of Skull's Bay towards the tavern where a man on the docks said he saw the Pirate Lord Rolfe heading earlier. Dressed in head to toe black her cloak blew out behind her due to the quick walking pace that she set. The citizens gawked at her as she strode past them some even stumbled back in fear. She assumed she looked pretty intimidating in her black clothes especially when she was wearing this ridiculous mask to hide her features.
It was a pain in the ass to hide her appearance all the time as she always got to hot wearing all the layers but it was necessary if she wanted to go out into the world and be treated as a normal human being instead of cowered from. She loved to stroll through the streets of Xandria on market day and talk to some friendly stall owners and converse with society instead of everyone scared to death thinking that she was going to kill them. She probably could have come to talk to Rolfe under a different name but she wanted the strength and power that her name and reputation give her to have an edge on him.
Sighing through her nose which she immediately regretted as it heated her already smoldering face beneath her mask she spotted the tavern Kelsea quickened her pace eager to get this over with so she could go to the nearest inn and have a nice cold bath to cool herself down.
Approaching the tavern, the guards station at the doors exchanged an unsure glace upon taking in her appearance. The guards at the door stopped her and asked for her to hand over her weapons. Annoyed she handed them over because the guards no doubt wouldn't let her through with them without causing a fuss and she was already frustrated from this small delayed. After she finished handing over her weapons she pulled two silver coins out of her pocket and flipped one to each guard and continued in through the door.
The interior of the tavern wasn't much there wasn't anyone inside except for the barkeep behind bar cleaning glasses. Kelsea approached the barkeep determined on finding Rolfe so she could go have that cold bath that was looking even more appealing every second.
"Where's Rolfe?" Her voice came out low and gravely. Although the mask was torture to wear it did have its merits. One of them being the fact that it disguises the sound of her voice making it hard to determine how old Kelsea is.
"Who are you?" The barkeep demanded his voice sharp.
"Kelsea Barrow", she answered easily. "Now, where is Rolfe?" The barkeeps eyes widened and he stumbled back a step upon hearing her name. Behind her mask Kelsea smiled at the man's reaction. Yes, it was definitely a good idea to use her real name.
"H-He's b-busy."
"Where is he." Kelsea demanded growing irritated by the delay.
"U-upstairs." She turned on her heels and headed towards the stairs that no doubt lead to the Pirate Lord's office. "W-wait he's in a meeting!" The barkeep shouted frantically after her but she ignored him and strode up the stairs.
In a meeting! Who could he possibly be in a meeting with? Surely, hes heard by now that Ive arrived and am looking for him.
Kelsea strode towards the door at the end of the hall guarded by two men.
"Who are you!" they demanded at the same time. She rolled her eyes at the men then realized they couldn't see it due to the mask.
"Kelsea Barrow." The men exchange a wary glace upon hearing her name and one even put a hand on his sword. Kelsea continued her stride toward the door never faltering a step.
"What are you doing!" The guard on the right demanded as he sensed her intent to go into Rolfe's office. "You can't go in there!"
"Watch me." Kelsea punched one guard in the stomach who doubled over in pain heaving and tripped the other who's head slammed into the ground causing him black out.
Approaching the door, Kelsea extended her hand towards the knob deciding to be dramatic and open the door and walk in like she owned the place. Hell, she was Kelsea Barrow for gods' sake. What if the doors locked? Dismissing the thought Kelsea twisted the handle and was delighted to find that it wasn't indeed locked. She pushed the door open and stepped over the threshold. Upon entering she found three heads immediately whip towards her.
One was Rolfe seated in a chair behind a desk which was covered in paperwork who upon seeing her blinked in surprise then quickly collected himself and broke out into a grin. Obviously, he had heard that she was here and looking for him. The other two were seated in front of Rolfe and were completely unfamiliar. One to Kelsea's surprise, was dressed in head to toe black and wore a mask much like her own the other was handsome and had dark hair and brown eyes.
The one in black quickly shot out of their chair and took a step towards her. The other shot out of his chair but instead surveyed the area. Kelsea's eyes remained on the person in black surveying their intentions. Why was their face concealed while their companions was not? It looked like they were going to attack which suited Kelsea because she was actually dying for a fight right now, after a week trapped in a hot cabin with no one to talk to built up a lot of anger she was eager to release.
"Celaena." The dark haired one warned as he put a hand on the one clad in black's arm. Celaena? Could it be Celaena Sardothien? It would explain why they were concealing their features. How she would love to fight Celaena Sardothien and show her who really is the best. The dark figure – Celaena shook off the dark-haired one's hand. Kelsea wanting a fight cocked her head to the side as she surveyed Celaena egging her on. Celaena took the bait easily and took another step towards her snarling. Smirking to herself Kelsea bent her legs slightly preparing herself for the fight when a voice spoke up from behind the Celaena and her companion.
"Ladies." Rolfe said to them still seated in his chair behind the desk trying to calm the situation. Out of the corner of her eye she saw the dark haired one shoot Rolfe a grateful look. Kelsea held her position facing Celaena still ready for a fight. She could sense that Celaena felt the same way. "As interesting as it would be to see the two best assassins in Erilea face off against each other I really don't think that this is the ideal place for such a thing." Rolfe drawled trying again to calm the situation but still both assassins held their positions staring at each other.
Sounding surprised the dark-haired one asked "Best assassins?"
"I think an introduction is in order, don't you?" Rolfe asked nobody in particular. When nobody replied Rolfe sighed and went on rising from his chair and walking over to the three of them. "Sam Cortland, Celaena Sardothien meet Kelsea Barrow. Kelsea Barrow meet Sam Cortland and Celaena Sardothien."
"Kelsea Barrow." The dark haired one – Sam Cortland mumbled as he turned from Rolfe to look at her a single brow raised.
"Celaena." Sam Cortland tried again placing his hand on her arm again. Again, she shook it off but seem to calm down a little bit. "Now is not the time for a fight."
"Fine!" Celaena snapped at him not taking her eyes off of Kelsea. She couldn't help but let out a low chuckle. "You won't be laughing when I gut you Barrow." She spat at Kelsea.
"Such pleasantries, it's a pity that we haven't met sooner. You seem like such a ray of sunshine." Kelsea crooned letting out a small chuckle. Sardothien let out a growl which just made Kelsea laugh harder. Sam was surveying the assassins wearily when Rolfe spoke up. He addressed the two assassins in front of Kelsea.
"Alright then, I'll have the documents signed and returned to you tomorrow. For now…I have two rooms prepared for you", he then turned to Kelsea "and one for you"
"We only need one." Sardothien said. Rolfe raised his eyebrows suggestively, Cortland chocked on a laugh and Kelsea started cackling. "One room, two beds" when she said this it only made Kelsea laugh harder. Rolfe chuckled as he strode to the door and opened it for them. "As you wish. I'll have baths drawn for as well. You could all use one." He winked at them.
"Delightful." Kelsea said as she strode past Rolfe and continued walking until she was out of the tavern.
Please tell me if you think I should continue. If you have any suggestions or constructive criticism please tell me.