Chapter 7
Meeting the assassins
"Sara-Beth!" Dag called out.
I turned and saw Dag and James run over to me. Aside from a few bruises and cuts on their person, these two didn't look too banged up.
"Whoa, you look like someone broke up with you," said Dag.
"What happened?" asked James.
"Apparently I've been declared a threat by Captain Blackheart," I said.
"A threat?" asked James.
I nodded.
"Apparently, me grazing him with that shot from my flintlock was enough to scare him," I said, "now he's deployed his lieutenants to keep an eye out and eliminate me if I show my face out in public."
Dag frowned.
"I was afraid of this," he said, "you shouldn't have fired on him Sara-Beth, if Blackheart is sending his lieutenants out to hunt you, then I won't get a chance to help hone your skills into a highly trained swords-woman."
"I wouldn't get to upset about this old man," said James, "sure she fired on a Templar Assassin Hunter and has been marked as a threat; but I see this as an opportunity."
"Opportunity? How?" asked Dag.
James turned and walked over to me.
"It's time we show you what we're all about Sara-Beth, time to see if you are indeed the daughter of the Raven Lord," said James.
I raised an eyebrow.
"James, no, we can't take her to the grand-master, she's not ready," said Dag.
"Not unless if we tell him about her first Templar kill," James said with a smile.
Dag grumbled under his breath and shook his head.
"Alright fine, you sneaky little weasel, I'll take her there," said Dag.
"Good man," said James.
James turned to me and gave me a soft pat on the cheek.
"You're good Sara-Beth, I like you, I really do," she said, "it's a shame I can't stay, I have more important matters to attend to."
"Um... okay," I said.
James chuckled and said, "Take good care of this one Dag, she seems like a keeper."
James walked off, leaving me and Dag standing by ourselves in silence for a good five minutes.
"I don't know why, but James kind of rubs me in a weird way," I said.
"She'll do that," said Dag.
We stayed in Nassau for a good fourteen days until we set sail once again, during my time in Nassau, Dag and some of his officers trained me in the ways of the sword, they taught me how to be a better marks-woman, I learned how to run faster, jump higher, and be more fluid in combat, the very key qualities that makes a person a deadly assassin; which by the way I took some time to ask Dag about whenever I wasn't training.
Since I've been inadvertently sucked into this so-called "war", I figured the least I could do is learn more about my enemy. Another two weeks passed, with not much excitement happening, during which I spent my free time training with more of Dag's officers, whom I found out were also members of this secret order of Assassins. The training was a tad brutal, but I've endured a lot of the punishment that was thrown my way.
Whenever training was over, I would go to my room and fall asleep for the rest of the day. One day, things finally got exciting... well, to a degree... let me explain. It all started on a warm, sunny day, things were going slow, so I thought I'd head up onto the deck and look out over the open water.
"The sea is so beautiful, I remember when my father would take me out on the sea when I was little," I thought to myself, "he would always hoist me up in the air and make me feel like I was flying."
I was starting to go deep into my thoughts as I felt the calm breeze against my face and smelt the salt of the sea waft into my nose, it wasn't until someone went and grabbed me by my ass, making me gasp and blush. I turned to see Balto look over the ship right beside me.
"Well, well, well, if it isn't the Templar killer," he said with a smile.
"Hi Balto," I said, "so you heard about what I did?"
"The whole crew knows," said Balto, they know about you killing that Templar, they know about Blackheart sending his lieutenants out to hunt you down and kill you, they even heard about you possibly joining some secret society of warriors called Assassins."
"Whoa, whoa, whoa, who told you guys all of that?" I asked.
"Dag did," said Balto.
"Right... that was a stupid question on my part," I said.
Balto gave me a warm smile.
"It wasn't stupid, you just didn't know, there's a difference kiddo," he said as he nudged me.
I smiled back at Balto. As much as I didn't want to tell anyone, I kinda liked the kid, sure he was a bit rude, crude, mean, and had a bit of a bad sense of humor; but he was also a bit charismatic and charming at times whenever he was with me. Unfortunately, I failed to notice that I was deep in thought and before I knew it, I heard Balto chuckle.
"What?" I asked.
"Nothing, it's just that you're turning almost as red as your hair," said Balto.
I let out a muffled gasp, I didn't even realize I was blushing. I looked away, Balto chuckled and moved closer.
"Don't be ashamed, it's cute," he said, "it shows people that there's a sweet and innocent girl under that grit."
I blushed deeply and let out a giggle. Okay, I really liked this kid, I mean I've never met a guy who was so sweet towards a girl like me. Everything was going really smoothly until I felt a hand on my shoulder. I turned and saw Dag standing behind me, there was something different about him though, he wasn't in his traditional "Captain's Attire", he was garbed in a set of armored hooded robes. Was this something that he's worn before he became a pirate captain? I honestly didn't know.
"We're here," he said, "Balto, you and the other officers watch the ship, we'll be right back."
"Whoa, wait, "we"?" I asked.
Dag didn't answer, instead he leaped from the ship and onto shore. I looked at Balto, who just gave me a shrug. I shook my head and jumped to shore as well, problem is I landed face first into the sand, unlike Dag, who tumbled onto the sand when he landed. I got up and dusted myself off.
"You okay?" asked Dag.
"Yeah, I love the taste of sand in my mouth," I said, "Dag, what is this place?"
"Patience Sara-Beth, all of your questions will be answered soon," said Dag, "now follow me, and stick close."
I shook my head and followed Dag into the marsh.
"Cén fáth go bhfuil sé chomh deacair a fháil freagra díreach amach as mo allies (Why is it so hard to get a straight answer out of my allies)?" I thought.
Dag and I quietly moved through the marsh, gingerly brushing through the dense vegetation, I was deathly confused, why the hell were we sneaking through this place? I didn't see any-
"Don't move," whispered Dag.
I stopped and looked around, I didn't see anyone or anything at first, until I saw someone across from Dag and I, the person was dressed like Dag; but he didn't appear to have much armor. I slowly reached for my flintlock and took aim...
"NO!" Dag ordered in a loud whisper.
"What?" I whispered.
"That's an Assassin," he said.
"Well that gives me all the more reason to drop the bastard," I said.
"Sara-Beth, no! If you shoot your flintlock, the Assassin's will be right on top of us," whispered Dag, "let me go in and draw their attention, you continue on ahead."
I was shocked!
"No! Wha-NO!" I protested, "I don't even know where to go Dag!"
"Don't worry, just let your instincts guide you," he said, "just find Captain Kidd, and I'll catch up later."
Before I could protest again, Dag took off, leaving me all alone. I groaned and shook my head.
"Why me? Why do you hate me fate?" I thought miserably.
I continued on without Dag, moving through the marsh quickly and quietly, making sure not to alert the other assassins of my presence. I must add that I was deeply tempted to just snap one of their necks while they weren't looking; however, I remembered what Dag told me, so I refrained from causing any deep shit to hit the ceiling. All things aside, I managed to finally find Captain Kidd, who was waiting gingerly at a nearby monument. I frowned.
"Well, well, I was afraid you wouldn't show," she said with a smirk.
"Wouldn't show!?" I demanded, "le haghaidh an grá cac (for the love of shit) Kidd, this place is crawling with your best friends, those... Assassins!"
James gave me a pat on the cheek.
"You're still here aren't you?" asked James.
"Well... yeah, but only because Dag would draw the first group of Assassin's attention," I said embarrassingly, "oh and by the way, what the fuck is this place?"
"The first and last place you'll ever want to be," said a voice.
I whirled around fast and saw another Assassin approach, without thinking, I drew my flintlock.
"Don't!" protested James.
The Assassin grabbed my wrist, twisted it, forced my arm behind my back, and knocked me over with a good kick to my stomach. I quickly got up and lunged at the Assassin with my right wrist blade, but my opponent caught my attack and forced me to my knees.
"Where did you get these weapons?" asked the Assassin.
"Argh!.. They're mine," I grimaced.
"Mentor, stop, this is the girl I told you about," said James, "the one Captain Blackheart's after."
"Mentor!?" I thought in disbelief.
The Assassin looked at me and let go, I jumped to my feet.
"Sara-Beth, this is my mentor, Ah Tabai," said James, "mentor, this is Sara-Beth Ravenswood."
"The daughter of The Raven Lord," said Ah Tabai.
Just then, Dag appeared out of nowhere and approached us, I gave him a hard look and folded my arms.
"Sara-Beth, you're still alive," he said with a smile.
"No thanks to you, ya ochtapas sleazy (ya sleazy octopus)," I said firmly.
Ah Tabai turned to Dag.
"Master Dag, you know this girl?" he asked.
"Master!?" I thought in disbelief, "Íosa Críost (Jesus Christ) he really is an Assassin."
"Yes, Mentor Tabai, she's a part of my crew," said Dag, "she might look young yes, but she's inherited her father's skills as a fighter, I and my other officers have been training her as much as possible to make her into a formidable fighter."
Ah Tabai looked at me, I looked down at the ground.
"And to answer your question, mentor, those hidden blades were my spares," said James, "I let her borrow them so she could kill a Templar scout."
Ah Tabai scoffed.
"You shouldn't have handed them to her," he said, "she's a child with unkempt skills and little to no training."
My cheeks went hot.
"Now wait just a second there, Mr. Sunshine," I said firmly.
"Sara-Beth, no, no," said Dag.
"Look, I respect you for being the leader of this group of roustabouts-"
"Uncalled for," interrupted James.
"-but I won't stand here while you criticize me for not being a deadly Assassin like my father you got it?" I asked, "I didn't ask to be an Assassin, I didn't ask to come here and meet you, I just wanted to make sure Captain Blackheart tastes justice for what he did to me and my family!"
There was an eerie silence, I looked around and saw a few more Assassins approach me. I looked at Dag, he had a concerned look on his face, I looked at James, who seemed a little concerned herself, finally I looked at Ah Tabai, who was giving me a blank stare. Finally, after five minutes, James stepped up.
"Mentor-"
Ah Tabai threw his hand up, turned, and left, along with the other assassins. I looked back at Dag and James.
"You guys are disappointed in me aren't you?" I asked.
Dag shook his head.
"Not okay," he said, "okay? Not okay."
James let out a sigh and shook her head too.
"Well... you've got some big brass ones for standing up to my mentor," she said, "however... I just hope that he doesn't think about throwing you behind bars for that line of disrespect."
"Give me some time to talk to Ah Tabai and tell him the situation," said Dag, "in the meantime, you stay with James. Oh, and another thing Sara-Beth.?"
"Yes?" I asked.
"Don't do or say anything reckless," said Dag.
Dag left, leaving me with James Kidd.
"So..." I said, swinging my arms back and forth.
"Come with me, I want to show you something," she said.
