**** 16 YEARS LATER****

Dock Girl

The sun reached high signalling midday and Celaena had only just found her target. She was given the description of a tall man with dark facial hair who wore green tunic, little did she know that Valenwood Navy was in port and their Naval Rig was also green. This had been harder than she thought.

She purchased her bread from the vendor on the dock front and stalked the man through the market. Her hood covered Celaenas face and most of her silver hair but she allowed a few strands to blow free in the breeze. Under her dark blue cloak she fingered the pommel of her silver blade, a blade that had taken so much life already but she relished at the thought of plunging this into her next victim.

They had taken him, taken Sam whilst she had been sent on a decoy assignment. They had taken him and done unthinkable things, she only found his broken body after they had stolen the life out of him. They had left it near the monument of Azura, close to their cabin they had been using. She had murdered the men who had been tasked with disposing of his body, but not before she had extracted the information from them about who had hired them to take his body.

Her grip on the hilt tightened as she allowed her emotions to take over. Celaena had various dealings with Rourke Farren whilst under the Assassins guild. She knew he was the infamous Crime lord of Cyrodiil but what she did not know was why she had taken him. She calmed her emotions, she would squeeze it out of him before she allowed him to take his last breath, she owed it to Sam.

The man she followed was apparently Farrens new top henchman, if you could call him that, and he had become quite brassen with his new role. He used it to intimidate people all around the city, mainly the docks. Celaena would use this arrogance to get what she needed, passage into the undercity where Farren resided.

The man turned left down an alley away from the docks. He made a vulgar comment to two ladies who passed by and they quickened their pace away from him. She moved to the alley entrance and she saw him pass into the tavern on the right. This task would be a lot easier if he was incapaciated some way and looks like he had just signed his own death certificate.

Celaena approached the tavern when suddenly a door opened and without either one realising, she collided with a man. She was knocked prone with the man on top of her.

"Oh, I am terribly sorry!" the man spluttered as he scrabbled to get up. "Here" he held out his hand "Let me help you".

"Just move" Celaena said as she pushed away his hand and jumped to her feet. "Just watch where you are going next time". She brushed the dirt and straw from her cloak but it had become wet in the brine formed in puddles on the floor"

"I will, again I am sorry. Can I help you?" The man tried to help brush the rest of the dirt off her.

"No, please just" she sighed "Please be on your way sir".

"Brynjolf" The man said as she turned to look at him. He was fairly tall, rugged looking with hair to his shoulders that matched his full facial hair that had been trimmed to an even length around his face. "The name is Brynjolf; but please let this clumsy man help a dock girl with her chores" he smiled. As he stepped forward she noticed his clothes to be similar to the thieves guild that she had worked with, yet they were not.

"This dock girl needs no help other than for you to stop pestering her" and Celaena turned and strided away

"Wait lass, your cloak" and he reached out to pull at a cluster of straw from her side but grabbed her dagger. Brynjolf raised an eyebrow as he pulled her closer "now what would a dock girl be needing with this?" a smile tugged at the corners of his mouth.

She pulled her cloak and dagger from his grasp and stepped into the small inlet between the building he had stepped out from and the tavern "It is none of your business, leave me alone before you find yourself with a pretty mark across your neck" she spat out between her teeth.

Taken aback, Brynjolf stuttered for a moment. He parted her cloak and saw the indisputable outfit of the assassins guild. "Lass, not in broad daylig-" but it was this moment that the man in green left the tavern. Both Brynjolf and Celaena looked up to see the man turn their way and walk back towards them. He was tossing a large purse of coins, clearly he was not in there for a drink.

Celaena backed into the shadows as he passed. He returned to the docks and turned left again, to find more market vendors to antagonise. She pushed past Brynjolf as he grabbed her arms "no lass, do you know who that is? It's not worth the gold you're being paid"

She shrugged him off "There is no gold" and moved back onto the docks herself.

She watched the man move from shop to stall to boat, taking gold as he went and whatever else they had on offer. The sun had begun to set and she was beginning to get inpatient. She wanted vengeance today.

He finally strolled to the edge of the docks shopping district, people began making their way home and sailors made their way to the various taverns that lined the docks. The man in green began walking to a small shack that looked weathered and stepped inside. She approached and waited for the body of people to thin on the dock to reduce the chance of her entering and leaving the shack being seen.

The dock was now lit by lamplight when she began to walk forward, yet she felt the presence of someone behind her. She slowed her walk and as the person got close she spun round, dagger out and pushed them between a cluster of crates.

"It's me, dock girl, from before" Brynjolf breathed heavily. "Lass if you go in there, you'll never come out"

"What makes you think I won't?" Celaena growled.

"That man belongs to the criminal underworld, you kill him they will only find you. I don't care if you're part of the assassins guild, they're stronger than that!"

"I don't belong to any guild. Not anymore, but let them come after me! Its the head of the snake I want, not the tail" She shifted her weight but dropped the dagger from his gut. "You don't even know me, why do you care?"

He looked at her, took a breath and replied "I don't know, but there is something in me that is urging me to get you to stop"

She looked at the door, then at Brynjolf. She sheathed her dagger and leaned in close to his ear "then tell that urge to shut up" and she kneed him in the abdomen and pushed him into the sea. She ran for the door before anyone could see the commotion or hear Brynjolf's cry for help.

The door was surprisingly unlocked and she collided with it, dagger out again as she turned to see the man in green smiling at her from his chair. "Took you long enough" he grinned and the door slammed shut. "Thought you would never join us".

"Pity for you I decided to come in" and she began striding forward.

"Pity for me?" he continued to stare "I don't think so" and suddenly a pain radiated from the base of her skull.

Celaena collapsed on the floor but spun around, dagger up to begin to attack whoever had caught her off guard. She wasn't fast enough. Another blow to her face as a foot connected with her jaw caused her to drop her dagger and lay on the floor. As she began to push herself up she heard the dart leave its holder before it hit her neck. She yanked it out but the damage was done. She tried to stand but caused herself to stumble forward into a bookshelf. The man in green stood up and walked over.

"Girl, you were never a contender in this war" he grinned. He grabbed a fist full of her hair and yanked her up "I would love to hear you scream like your boyfriend, but the price from the crown on your head alive is too good to pass up on and the boss would love a new outfit" he threw her head down and she began to lose all control of her limbs. She could feel blood trickle from her nose from the impact on the floor, she coughed and more blood left her mouth

"Boys!" the man in green yelled "bring the cart around, it's payday!"

Then everything went black.