Chapter 1
Her beauty made her the perfect assassin. She was often mistaken for a lustful, simpering wench, one who was willing to put the fire out in a man's loins. Oh, how wrong they were.
Phoenix was the daughter of nobility, one whose heritage was rich with honor and pride. Her father was the Lord of Ameria, one of the largest estates in the empire. HE was a kind and just man, whom Phoenix inherited most of her looks from. But her mixed skin, full lips, and hair color came from her mother. The Lady of Ameria was the daughter of a great chieftain who ruled the safari lands of Sinbadda. She was a tall, ebony woman with gleaming black hair and onyx eyes. A huntress since birth, the beautiful princess fell prey to the handsome Lord of Ameria. And from them came a fiery creature known as Phoenix.
Of course, she was not born an assassin, nor was she given the name Phoenix at birth. Sieglinde, her name had been Sieglinde. It meant soft, but she was far from that. At the early age of five, Sieglinde had demanded to be taken on the hunting expeditions conducted by her father and mother weekly. She became a master of wielding the bow and arrow and throwing knives. By twelve, she had surpassed her Lady Mother in sword skills and the use of an axe. And, oh, would she need those skills in the year to come…
"The job is done then?" a squeamish man asked after he closed the door behind him and his guest.
The ebony haired woman nodded quickly, her patience growing ever so thin.
The man eyed her, "And you did not leave a trace? You know, nothing that would link his death to me?"
Again, the lovely face bobbed up and down.
The man, better known as the Baron of Ducanter, sighed and threw Phoenix a bag of gold, which made a resounding clank on the marble floor. She bent down, strands of her lustrous hair falling over her shoulder, and picked up the loot. She looked over it, and with a satisfying nod, she moved toward the door.
"Oh, and Assassin."
She grimaced, hating him for calling her what she did, it was not her name.
"Make sure no one ever finds out about this, or I will have your head on a platter at my dinner table. Understand?"
She turned around; her hazel eyes locked on him like a target.
"Understand?" Phoenix repeated, her voice was soft but venomous, "Understand this, Baron. You, nor any of your men, could get close enough to touch me. You know why? Let me tell you. It is because you would already be dead, probably with a dagger threw your disgraceful, lying chest. Understand?"
Phoenix turned around and headed out he door, leaving behind a stunned, frightened noble. She exited the house, which was more like a palace, and hoped onto her faithful mare, Rohesia, and headed toward the city in search of more work.
She snorted, this is what her life consisted of, waiting for more nobles and merchants to hire her to do their dirty work. In the Baron's case, he had hired the Assassin Phoenix to kill the Lord of Banchester due to the fact that the Baron had gotten the Banchester Lady pregnant. Stupid man!—Phoenix thought angrily. All nobles could think about these days was their rich accounts and their blue blooded loins. Her parents weren't like that. No, her parents were good people, good people that died the most horrible death…
Phoenix arrived at the tavern promptly at two, she made it her business never to be late to anything. She put Rohesia into the stables, brushing down her black coat with care with care. Rohesia was the only thing the killer could rely on completely, the one thing that never failed her…
"Mama, you will never leave me will you?" a lovely little girl asker her beautiful, dark mother.
"Never, Sieglinde, never will I leave you." The dark beauty smiled down at her daughter, who was braiding flowers into her sable hair.
The world was filled with broken promises. Phoenix sighed and made her way into Tavern de la Rosa, her home, if you could call it that. She sat down at the bar, ordering a stiff drink, ne that would help the Assassin relax. She sighed, one hand propped on her tan, smooth check, the other on the handle of the glass. Her life amounted to nothing. She sipped her drink, closing her eyes and letting the ale take its course…
"Excuse me, miss?"
Phoenix turned to see a member of the Royal Guard looking at her. She lifted an arched brow quizzically. Now what, she thought.
"Yes?" She purred, tipping her head to one side.
He cleared his throat, "Are you mistress Phoenix?"
She took a sip of her ale, "Who wants to know?"
He held up a scroll, "The king as a warrant for your arrest, Phoenix. Please come with me."
She looked at him and smiled, flashing her pearly, white teeth, "I would but—"
In a move that was faster than lightening, she kicked the man in the face, forcing him to the ground.
"I have previous engagements," she finished and ran toward a back door, suspecting there were more guards outside.
Unbeknownst to the hazel eyed beauty, a man had been posted at the back exit. On seeing the door open, he quickly put a rag over the Assassins nose, bringing darkness into her dismal world…
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