*There will be a translation of all foreign words and phrases at the bottom as well as slang. In real life, I myself am Greek. So Greek in fact that I have double US:Greece citizenship and that I was forced to go to Greek school as a child. In the future I may need help with other languages that are present, I'm using my high school French for the French present in this chapter so I apologize beforehand for any inaccuracies. *

My name is Alexandria Maria Markos, I am an assassin, and this is my story. I will warn you now it is no fairy tale. There are no knights in shining armor, my knights are broadly built and are without teeth here and there. There is no prince who will come and save me. The world is a cold and unforgiving place. I was so lucky as to learn this at a very young age…
Βαθύ, Σάμος, Ελλάδα-Η Οθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία-5 Σεπ. 1810
Vathy, Samos, Greece-The Ottoman Empire- September 5th, 1810
"Éla, mama, let's go." I ran ahead of my mother through the cobblestone streets, not a care in the world.
I heard her bell-like laugh behind me "Alright, Alright, ma cher. I am coming. Cette fille a plus d'énergie que ce qu'elle sait quoi faire avec …." She mumbled in French as her pace quickened. "Don't run too far ahead mon enfant!" she yelled after me.
I could not hear her though. My mind was a million miles away, wrapped in the excitement of the day. My birthday. It was the one day of the year I could feel truly happy. It was just me and mama. No older sister. No father. None of the strange men he surrounded himself with. It was perfect. Or so I thought…
Like so many other things in my life, this shred of happiness was soon to be torn from my grasp. Even with the haze of childhood clouding those days, I can remember that particular day in full clarity.
Like I said, it had begun perfect. Mama woke me early so that we could sneak out of the estate without awaking father. The sun shone brightly that day and the sky was perfectly clear and held no hint of ill fortune. The morning was filled with assorted fun and the afternoon did not disappoint. It was not till the sun sank below the horizon that it happened.
It is strange; I remember that day so vividly, even though I was just a child. We had started to walk home and had cut through an alley to save time. That is when it happened.

The oppression of the Ottoman Empire had left many Greeks without food and shelter and so desperate for money. I try all the time to justify the man's actions but I can't, all I feel for him is burning red hot hatred.
"Your portofóli kerma and kolié, now!" The man demanded. I can still remember the look in his eyes. It was mad, deranged and above all desperate. It was frightening; the knife in his hand didn't help either.
My mother raised her hands in defense; she had an odd sense of calm around her. I didn't understand why, I only clung desperately to the folds of her dress as if I hoped to melt into it. "Bein, D'accord." Her voice steady as she raised her hands to her neck "Just be calm."
He nodded but the distorted expression on his face stayed the same. For a moment it as though we may make it through this. If only the world were so kind….
What happened next remains a blur for me, the holes in my memory block out the gruesome details. I can remember something startling the man, mama screaming in pain, and him running out of slightly; a trail of red dots following him.
I knelt next to my mother, begging and pleading for her to be alright, to get up, for anything. She simply smiled at me, her own brown eyes quickly losing light and color "Shh, it is alright, ma petite fille," she wiped away the salty tears that now stained my face "I am happy…. Happy that you are unharmed… Do not weep for me; my time on this earth is over, the kingdom of heaven waits for me now."
"No! No! It is not fair!"As much as I tried, I could not stop the tears from flowing. It wasn't fair. It wasn't right.
"This world is seldom fair. Be strong ma fille. Don't lose hope. Keep your head up and smile. Do not let this reality break you." She took my hand firmly and looked me in the eye "Promise me that you will never let anyone take your spirit and crush your will, never give in to the corruption." I nodded. With this she bowed her head and closed her eyes; forever gone from this world…
Nothing was the same after that. As expected father through me out, after a few months of psychological and physical abuse. Every beating accompanied by the knowledge that what happened was my fault. When I was finally thrown out it first felt like a blessing more than punishment. But then the hunger set in and I was forced to steal to survive.
The world had been revealed to me as a cold and harsh place where most would rather help themselves then try to go out of their way. I saw no escape, no sanctuary from the madness…..But, then I met him…

Translatio Éla-Come on ma cher-my dear
portofóli kerma -coin purse Cette fille a plus d'énergie que ce qu'elle sait quoi faire avec-That girl has more energy than she knows what to do with….
kolié -necklace mon enfant-my child
Bein-ok
D'accord-Alright
My petite fille-my baby girl
*Notes* The time this story is set in is from the late 1700s to the about the mid 1800s. Many countries in Europe were fighting to achieve independence at this time EX. France, Russia and the one I'm focusing on Greece. This was also a time that religion played a heavy role in the lives of everyone The Christian church had already been split so most people in Greece were either Eastern orthodox or Muslims(this was mostly the Ottoman Turks though). As I hope has been made clear, the main character's mother is originally from France and so is a Catholic and since the character is closer to her mother, she is also.