Disclaimer: the characters, well some of them, some plots and minor detail, and large details are not mine, they belong to JK Rowling.
Warnings: Erm, language, and that's about it. Oh and Toby showing sentiment. -shudders-
Authors Note: Well, my writers block is over. But the title doesn't have all that much to do with the chapter yet. But it'll play out. And this is a bit of a short one. And two new main charries get introduced so be on the look out. Oh, and please review. I know, I know, its egotistical. But… PLEASE? Lol. Okay I was going to say something else… Right, this is a bit of just fluff and randomness, but it really is necessary.
Chapter Six: Rhyme and Treason
"Differ? I don't think that would be very clever," said Domingo, his eyes flashing in a wild, dangerous manner. He had leapt at her throat so quickly, whipping a knife out of nowhere, and pressing the metal daintily into her skin, as if teasing her.
"Oh, very nice and convincing, but you know. I don't think. That I. Feel my. Opinion. Changing much," she said, her voice uneven as he pushed his elbow into the soft spot beneath her ribs.
Levicorpus! She thought with an immense amount of force. Apparently she had taken him by surprise, because he dropped the knife and his body was lifted into the air.
"See? I told you to play nice," she said smugly. He glared at her, and reached for his wand.
"I don't think so," she simpered, casting the nonverbal summoning charm. His wand flew into her hands and she smirked at him.
Then he shocked her. He burst out laughing. "Alright girl, let me down, keep my wand and let me talk," he said, still roaring with laughter. Narrowing her grey eyes, she allowed him to crash into a heap in front of her feet.
"What now? Perhaps you'd like to move on to magic now? Or skip to the part where you decide how to kill me?" she asked, tauntingly twirling his wand in her fingers.
He didn't get up, but stayed sitting on the ground. When she snapped at him, he clenched and unclenched his fists, but a grimace of a smile stayed plastered onto his face.
"No. You have my wand. Now. To the talking bit," he said, pausing to make sure she wasn't going to fling him into the air again. When he saw that she settled against the wall, arms crossed skeptically, he grinned toothily at her.
"Right then. So. Your wanted. As an Assassin," he began ignoring her remark of, "Well, I gathered that bit, really." He went on apparently oblivious to her interjection. "So, I mean you're not really wanted. Well you are. But you've been drafted putting it nicely really. The Prince don't take well to rejections, hmm? Well anyways. Your pa said you never let him rest for a minute when you were younger. Always pushing your way into trouble, and then blaming others with such conviction he almost believed you every time. Anyways. Then there was that… thing you got yourself into last year. You proved yourself promising, so Tobias and your self were chosen. You'll report right to him. Now your mum really isn't pleased, and neither your father to be frank, but there you have it. So. You'll have to go and get your… feeble skills honed. Tobias already knows, and he was just about as happy as you look," the man said, his Scottish accent almost turning into a laugh as he saw her wicked smirk.
"Oh. I see, I suppose I really have a choice," she sighed, narrowing her eyes in spite of herself. Now an assassin. That would be fun, except for killing people.
"So do I actually kill people?" she asked airily, tossing his wand back to him.
"Nah, that's the real dirty work, not for assassins. That's for Body boys. You'll just help… convince some people that telling would really be their best option. Killing is left for a few, and your father would have all our blood in a breath if we even suggested. So I guess its really more of a spy thing, but assassin is your title," he sighed, reaching out and grabbing the ebony wand.
"These… 'lessons', when will they be? I do have to pass in school you know," she said haughtily.
"Once a week, sometimes twice. Now. You have to be marked as one of us. But the problem arose that the usual place is a bit stark obvious. So we have a proposal for you guinea pig assassins. Wouldn't it be nice if instead of branding you like pigs, we just put a nice little spell on you?" he asked sweetly.
"Frankly I'd rather not. How's about you just fuck off, and then I tell you its me and you believe me? There's a nice little plan," she simpered back, just as sweetly.
He scowled. "Think your so clever, eh girl? I don't think so. How's this feel?" he snarled, leaping forward, whipping his knife off the ground where it had been left to rest. This time however, Marina had been granted about half a second to gather her wits. She simply sidestepped, and snatched his knife out of his hands.
"Naughty, naughty," she sneered, nimbly jumping away from him. Though her tone was even, she wondered if he would go a bloody minute without attacking her.
He gaped at her for a moment, and then sat down on an empty box. "Fine. I'll calm down and play nice with the others," he snarled half heartedly.
"Good little bastard," she purred with an acid undertone.
"Alright. So I was saying, the brand. Nah, we're not going to mar your precious veela skin, or whatever. We've got a brand that only shows under the Prince's wand. No one else sees it. So, you gonna let us do it the nice way?" he asked, getting up.
She narrowed her eyes and inspected her fingernails. "Why would I do such a thing?" she asked in an uninterested tone.
He laughed again, and stepped towards her, extending his arm for his wand.
She grinned wolfishly at him, baring her teeth. "I don't think so. If anyone brands me its someone that cleaner. More pointedly only Toby's uncle," she said, flipping his wand to him.
He caught it and sighed. She half expected him to leap at her again, but he surprised her by holding out his arm.
"What? I'm not going to touch you," she said, looking disdainfully down at his offered arm. He grabbed her, and with a pop the pair disappeared.
Marina tossed her hair. She had just appeared at the crest of a huge hill. Tucked into the deep valley was an odd town. It looked as if it had started as a rural village, but then the population had grown. Once they could expand into the hills no more, the city had grown up wards, with houses perched on one another precariously. They had all stopped about halfway up the large hill, staying snugly pocketed in the dent in the earth.
A warm breeze blew past her, and she turned. She almost gasped, but didn't, when she saw the ocean line. She frowned, knowing they had apperated a long way.
"I can't be gone long, you know," she said, turning to her companion. He only rolled his eyes, and dragged her downwards towards the town.
"What is this place?" she asked, rolling her eyes back at him.
"Serpentia," he grunted.
She only grimaced in return. "Where the buggering hell are we?" she snapped. Being in some unknown town by a shoreline with a promising candidate to be the one to kill her was not reassuring. He roared with laughter, then towed her down the slope.
"Oh, you're being so specific. How do you manage it?" she asked sarcastically, her voice practically a hiss.
"Come on girl, the man has better things to do than sit around and wait for you," snarled the wizard, pulling her faster and faster.
"Well then why bother with me in the first place?" she snapped.
"Because I need some one, and you were almost ready made," said a cool voice. A man stood in front of them, at the corner of what seemed to be one of the three roads in the entire village. His hair was a greasy black, and his face was clean shaven. Age seemed to not have any effect on him, though he was as old as Marina's grandfather. His skin was a swallow color, and his eyes were a cold black. He was not tall, but held himself upright and that seemed to add to his height. His nose was hooked, but his teeth gleamed white, and his robes where new. This man was the man that had taken over the war against the ministry of magic, if rather forcibly, from one of the four greatest wizards of all time.
"Oh, I was a conveniently placed little girl that you were in great need of," she sneered.
"Yes actually, and though you are not all that young, I did need an adolescent," he said in a tone that suggested he was discussing goblin economies, or some other lethally dull subject.
"That was a really nicely done self esteem boost for me, thanks," she said dryly.
"Well done Domingo, off you go to get drunk or something," said the Prince, ignoring her completely.
"Come on then," he snapped to her, and set off, robes billowing dramatically.
He showed her where she would take her lessons, where she would have her lair, and where to apparate too. He also introduced her to the other three besides Toby that would be in her squad. He explained, if in a rather irritated tone, that she would work in a squad; two assassins, a body guard and a messenger. The body guard she would be working with was called Anthony Dolohov, and the messenger, though she wasn't sure what they did was named Angel. She had not been introduced with a last name, though she looked vaguely familiar. She had dark hair, pale skin, and blue eyes. Her chin was pointed, and her small nose was bleeding when they met. Though she fixed it with a wave of her wand, Marina still wondered how she had acquired a bloody nose. Dolohov had deep brown skin, a long face, and black hair. He was large, and his arms bulged with muscles.
She was shown her small apartment, or rather, was given directions. It seemed she was right when she had guessed that there were not a lot of roads, in face, only four ones existed. The roofs of houses were used as impromptu sidewalks, and once she finally found the place she was delighted. It was not huge, but had obviously been magically spelled to fit her needs. But then she remembered that she was needed at school. She snatched up the text book, disguised as an arithmancy text, and disaparated illegally back to school.
"Where have you been?" demanded Toby when he saw her walk down the dungeon corridor.
"Having a chat with some relatives of yours," she said coolly.
Instead or retorting, he grabbed her arm and dragged her along the passage way. They, well he walked and she was dragged, ended up on the seventh floor. He dragged her down a passage way and then began to retrace his steps. Then he went back down where they had gone, then they turned back, and to her great surprise, on a blank wall was an ebony door.
"What-' she began to demand, but he just shoved her roughly inside.
"What do you mean , you were chatting with my relatives?" he asked, his eyes narrowed.
"You know, people that are related to you? Really Toby, the concept's not that hard," she snapped. Being dragged all over the world by a murderer was something, but being shoved somewhere by a guy her age was not acceptable.
"I expect you know exactly who I'm talking about. Look at my new arithmancy book," she said, when said nothing. She shoved the book his uncle had given her at him. He only stared at her, holding the book dumbly in his hands. Then he hugged her.
"Wow, you're not alright are you?" she said. Toby had never been one of great affection, preferring just to call them by insulting pet names.
"My uncle had hinted he would be choosing a Hufflepuff! I didn't know whether he had been joking or not, thank god. At least you're brain works almost as fast as mine. Actually the other two are pretty damn fast thinkers too," he said, laughing.
She stared at him for another moment, before linking arms with him. "Well we're going to have to prove ourselves then, aren't we?"