Disclaimers apply :)

"Well, this is it," Valek said, stopping with me outside the gates of the Keep.

While we had been travelling through the Citadel, he had told me that this was the place that I needed to be, the place that was best for me, even though I didn't understand why yet. I trusted him, even though I desperately didn't want to and had agreed to let him take me here. Now, outside the closed, intimidating marble gates, I quaked. On second thought, did I want to get my memories back? What if I was some kind of murderess or cutthroat and having my memories back would make me kill more people?

Valek gripped my hand, making me jump a little. He then held it reassuringly, between both his own. "You'll be fine," he told me, as if he had read my mind. "This is what you wanted, isn't it? You'll be able to learn about your magic here, and regain your memories, hopefully."

"What magic?" I asked, horrified. Didn't I have enough problems to deal with already?

"You were travelling as a student to the Keep before Janco...er, made a slight miscalculation. "

"And you didn't tell me?" I screeched.

"The evidence was right in front of you," he countered. "Your letter of admission to the Keep was in your bag all along, you just didn't see it, or read it."

I made myself calm down. After all, this was the last time I would ever be able to see him. Assassins always travelled in the night, as far as I had heard, and didn't stay in one place for too long. There was little to no chance that we would ever encounter one another again, in this lifetime, at least.

Now I had trouble breathing. The thought of losing this man, the first memory that I had, made me panic. I also didn't know what to do without him. How would I be able to progress with my life normally as if nothing had happened without him? It would probably hurt me a lot, beyond what I had every experienced before.

"It will be alright," Valek told me, smiling at me quzizically. "You'll do fine in this place. From what I hear, most of the magically gifted in Sitia come here to get their training. You're going to be in good hands."

How was I going to explain that that didn't have anything to do with what I was feeling at the moment? How could I explain to this man, who was probably going to forget about me in a week? I stared down at the ground and willed myself not to cry.

"I'll be closer that you think," Valek murmured, then immediately looked like he was sorry he had said that.

What did he mean by that? I stared up at him, trying to memorize what his face looked like.

Valek looked as if he wanted to say more, but instead, quickly leaned in towards me. I could feel his lips press against my forehead, and my eyes closed. When they opened again, Valek was gone, replaced by a shallow gust of cool wind and the flickering shadows of a nearby tree branch.

And all I had left of him was a handful of crushed rose petals.

Valek POV:

"You finally got here!" my associate exclaimed in annoyance. "You are over three days late and I've had to make up countless excuses for you! Do you have any idea how incredulous First Magician was when I told her that you probably had to help your mother weed your garden before you came here?"

I chuckled. "Doran, nobody told you to say that. If you're going to lie, at least do it convincingly."

Doran was the worst liar that I had ever worked with. As a rule, I tended to either hire skilled liars or at least train them well enough to fool at least 90% of criminals. But with him, it was a very difficult task, almost an unachieveable one. His stories verged on the impossible and yet most people went along with what he had said. Perhaps it was because of his cautious and genuinely warm smile that made so many people around him like and trust him. I would have to look into that one day.

He sighed and sat down on a nearby decorative rock, rubbing his face with his hands. "I thought it sounded good at the time. After all, you are a gardener. And what good son wouldn't help out his mother from time to time?"

I could feel my brief amusement drain away like the last drops of rain in a desert well. I avoided thinking about my family, whenever possible. Too many memories, too much pain. And I couldn't have any distractions if I wanted this mission to be a success.

Speaking of distractions...Lena's face kept flashing across my mind. I couldn't seem to stop thinking about her. Was she afraid right now? Was she safe? Did she need me? I regretted not having distanced myself from her long before now. I couldn't afford to be attached, nor could anyone in my profession. It was the number one rule: Keep emotionless and detached, no matter what happens. If only it was as easy as it sounded.

Doran didn't seem to notice my strange mood, or at least didn't comment on it, for which I was grateful for. "Here, Valek. Your trusty spade and shovel. If you need more equipment, it's all in that red shed over there by the gate. And oh, before I forget, your new name is Leo."

I took what he gave me, trying to focus on what he was telling me. Damn, why did I have to feel his way now? On one of the most important missions of my life?

Distracted as I was, I still caught the end of that sentence. "My name is Leo?"

"Yup. Hope you like it." Doran shot a nervous glance at me. "If you don't, just know that it was the best I could come up with under those circumstances. Roze Featherstone is not someone that you have a friendly, casual conversation with." Shaking his head, and letting out a gusty breath, he turned and went to the other end of the manicured lawn, heading for the shed that he had pointed out.

Leo...Leo...Where had I heard that name before? I straightened immediately as I realised that it was one of the constellations that I had forgotten to mention to Lena. I could already tell that it was going to be one of those little details that persisted in plaguing you, no matter how insignificant it was. I gritted my teeth. It seemed that no matter what happened, I could not get her out of my mind.

My situation got worse when I turned and saw some rosebushes. Some red rosebushes, to be exact. Was some sort of higher being punishing me for all the lives that I had taken? If I didn't stop myself, I would soon be convincing myself to sneak a peek at her, hoping she wouldn't notice me when I did. My eyes widened. And now that that idea had popped into my brain, I couldn't get it out again. Wonderful. Just wonderful.

Yelena POV

Pounding on the heavy marble gates, I yelled for the guards to open up. After a while, clanging ensued as the heavy bolts and locks were taken care of. The door slid open smoothly and silently, as if the hinges had just been oiled.

"Who're you?" The guard that poked his head out through the crack stared at me in curiosity.

I felt intimidated. What if Valek was wrong? "I'm one of the new students at the Keep."

"Where's your letter?" The guard harrumphed as I searched for it and handed it to him. How had I not noticed it in my bag before? He scrutinised it, as if he wanted to get me in trouble. He sighed, probably in sadness, when he realised there was nothing wrong with it. "Come on in. Do you have anyone with you?"

"I did...but he left." I must have sounded sad, because the guard patted my arm reassuringly and led me inside.

Once in, I could do nothing but stare in awe. The buildings there also appeared to be made of costly polished marble, with no cracks. I marveled at the size of every structure, wondering how the builders managed to construct the walls without making cracks to piece together individual pieces of marble.

The guard chuckled. "Beautiful, isn't it? I never get tired of seeing it."

"Um...is there somewhere that I should go?"

The guard looked at me quizically. "Don't you know? Go to the government building to be registered and they'll send you someoen to take you to your rooms. It's that way."

I managed to smile at him. "Thank you,...er..."

"Cahil. Cahil Ixia."

Ixia? Visions of snow and glaciers passed before my eyes. Where was that place? Dazed, I went in the direction he pointed at and once I went inside, I felt as if I were being assaulted. There were probably dozens of people inside, all hard at work, and the amount of people there caused me to feel very small. I had never been around this many people before, at least, not since I had forgotten everything.

A petite, blond woman came along and laid her hand reassuringly on my arm. "Are you looking for someone?" she asked kindly.

"Um...no. I just need to be registered. I'm one of the new students." I fumbled with my words, overcome by the noise and commotion.

"That's fine. Follow me, please."

She then led me into a small room branching out from the main chamber. A man there asked me questions. What was my name? Lena. What clan was I in? I don't know. Where was the letter the Keep had sent out?

Sighing in relief at being able to give him that at least, I pulled it out and watched nervously as he examined it.

"You were supposed to give me your whole name, not a nickname." The man scowled in consternation.

"But...that was my whole name."

"Well, according to this letter, your full name is Yelena Liana Zaltana. You are part of Zaltana clan, eh? Plenty of special powers there..."

I felt my expression go blank as a blinding burst of pain exploded within my head. Bright, harsh colours swam in front of my eyes and I felt as if the air had been sucked out of the room. The floor felt as if it was tipping and turning like I was on board a ship in a storm. Yelena Liana Zaltana...and then everything went black.

Hey, I'm really sorry about not updating The Assassin's Second for quite a while. I am currently trying to work around a writer's block for that story. :(