Chapter 8- Max
I'm running, across rooftops, aimlessly. The guards seem to come out of nowhere, from ladders, around corners, jumping down from higher roofs. I'm stuck, I just killed a city guard, the penalty for that is death, I'm going to die, this is the end.
I clutch my skirt tighter in my hand and run harder, turn a corner, and dive into a roof garden, lying down on the floor, and clapping a hand over my mouth to quiet my breathing. Voices race past where I'm lying, and continue running, even though I'm positive they should be able to hear the blood pumping through my head. I wait, and things quiet down, no more running and shouting, but my pulse still thunders in my ears. I'm going to die if I move from here. They're going to kill me, I killed a man.
My brain is telling me that I should be crying, but I can't. I poke my head up from where I'm lying, and peer out over the rooftops, seeing no one. I crawl around the roof garden and look out, all directions, but there are still no guards. If I want to move and not be seen, I'm going to have to look less like me. I unlace my bodice and pull the blue skirt over my head, leaving me in my under dress and white skirts. I still look too clean, so I rub dirt into my skirts and over my sleeves, scooting across the floor of the garden and tearing my blue dress into strips and wrapping it around my hair to hide the color, and another strip around my chest and stomach. I probably look like shit, perfect.
With a little more confidence, I step out of the roof garden and into the hot, midday sun. Scurrying across the roof, I make my way towards where I know the city gate is, if it's unguarded, then maybe I can move towards another city where I won't be recognized. People don't recognize me, and I gain confidence, walking fast over the roofs. A guard stands, looking over the city from a high roof, and I cower and walk as wide a berth as I can around him, and stumble upon a roof, painted with the same symbol as the pin on Fangs robe. Was this another group of assassins?
I lingered around the entrance, a hole in the roof with what looked like a fountain beneath it, how was I even supposed to get down? Or was this not even the entrance? I crouched low to the entrance, and wrapped my fingers around the edge of the hole, the plaster and wood rough, but easier to grip than if it had been smooth. I took a slow breath, and tipped slowly over the edge, falling, screaming, and then losing my grip. I managed to land on my feet, but my knees buckled and I tipped forward and landed hard on my stomach.
"Oww." I whined, pushing myself up from the ground, and froze. Not Fang, but another white hooded figure was facing me, across from a fat man with a falcon on his shoulder who was standing behind a flat counter littered with items. For a few seconds, we just stared at each other, but the white figure eventually pushed his hood back away from his face and crossed the room, crouching down in front of me and peering down inquisitively.
"You know where you are, kid?" He asked, and I shook my head. He had the same robes and crossbow as Fang, but had sandy blonde orange hair and misty blue eyes, and much longer limbs.
"I'm looking for Fang." I mumbled, my voice shaky and scared. His eyebrows furrowed, and he stood up, me scrambling up after him.
"How do you know Fang?" He asked, and I crossed my arms over my stomach, feeling very uncomfortable under his gaze, and now the eyes of the fat man, who looked disdainful of me.
"We're friends." I mumbled, tugging at the wraps on my head, pulling them off and letting my hair loose.
"I cooked for him a few weeks ago." I mumbled, and his eyes widened and he grinned.
"Oh, of course. I don't know how I didn't recognize you!" He said loudly, and I recoiled.
"Sorry, I don't think I know you, but you have to help me." I told him, but he picked at things on the counter and ignored my request.
"That's not very nice of Fang, he and I are friends, you know, he should have mentioned me. You know, he's probably back at sanctuary." He says, eyes animated and excited. I grit my jaw, and grab his sleeve, shaking him as hard as I can to get him to shut up.
"Just take me to Fang! Right now!" I hiss, and he shuts his mouth, pulling his hood back over his hair.
"Yeah, okay kid. I'm Iggy, by the way." He tells me, and walks past me, motioning for me to follow, and climbs back out through the hole in the roof that I dropped through. I struggle to climb up after him, gripping with shaking fingers on water spouts and gaps in the brick. When I near the top, he laughs and yanks me up by the collar of my dress.
"You're pretty clumsy, huh?" He says playfully, and I wrap my hair back up as I try to collect myself, glaring at him, but he just keeps smiling.
"Not all of us spend their time climbing up vertical fountains." I spit back, and he just lets out a little laugh and turns to walk away. I follow him, keeping my head down and hunching my shoulders a little. I'm putting up an air of confidence, but I'm scared and shaken. Iggy looks over his shoulder at me a few times, walking slowly over the rooftops. The guards are back, and they keep wary eyes on us, to my terror.
"Come on, these guys might think something's up if we stay up here.' Iggy says, and motions towards a ladder on the side of a building that will lead to the ground. Iggy lets me down first, and follows after me once I'm on the ground.
"Come on. Follow me at a distance, if you don't want to look suspicious." He says, pulling his hood lower over his face, casting a shadow over his eyes and nose. I nod my head, and his mouth smiles a little at me from under the shadows under his hood and my eyes scan over the small nook in the walls where we dropped down into. There aren't any people back here, but you can hear them talking somewhere in the distance. Iggy disappears around a corner, and I follow after him shortly after, keeping track of him in the crowded streets. I keep a fist tightened around a handful of my skirt, keeping my eyes of the white cloak moving smoothly through the people, at a painfully slow pace.
Guards are becoming more present as we make our way up the hill towards the church, and it feels like they eye me suspiciously. Do I look suspicious? Iggy's the one who obviously looks like he kills people for a living. A guard wheels around a corner and I jump when he points a finger at me.
"Get her!" He shouts, and Iggy grabs me by the wrist and hauls me forward into a run before I can react. There's a shout, and a loud scuffle of boots, and my heart is hammering in my throat again. I run blindly after Iggy, weaving between buildings and knocking into people. When we're out of the sight of the guards, Iggy boosts me up into a wagon of hay and jumps in after me, the light, unpacked hay separating and surrounding us completely.
I breathe heavily through my nose as footsteps and loud voices go by, trying not to inhale any of the pieces of straw. I search through the hay with my hands, and I find Iggys belt, and cling onto it. He lets me breathe for a few seconds before he hauls me back out of the hay again. Once my feet are on the cobblestones he's brushing hay off me and I'm looking around frantically. People are just walking past like nothing has happened, and it unnerves me. I just killed a man, and no one knows about it, they're just filing past, not even looking at me. Iggy turns and motions for me to follow him up the hill, and I run after him, the church rolling into view. I pick up the pace, but Iggy slows down, and I almost collide with his back.
"Okay, calm down. They'll get suspicious if you keep looking like you've been electrocuted." He whispers, and I run a hand over my hair, and take a deep breath. The guards are already looking in my direction. We slip past the guards painfully slow, and inside the church he turns up the white marble stairs to the library I remember Fang walking through. We don't turn behind the shelves though, he takes me to a room where an older man is looking out a tall window that looks out over the courtyard.
"Sir, Maximum is here." Iggy says, and the man turns and regards me with solemn, disapproving eyes. Iggy slinks away into the shadows behind me, and I cross my arms and look down.
"Pleased to meet you." I mutter, trying to find some kind of confidence, but finding none. He steps to stand behind his desk, and motioned me forward.
"I've heard of you. Lady of Damascus has come to marry our dear governors son." He says in a lofty tone, with obvious bitterness. I look down at my toes, and he clicks his tongue.
"And you've killed a city guard." He says, now amused, and I look up. His eyes are twinkling, he's amused with me, the lady who is on the run for killing a city guard.
"I ask that you won't turn me in." I interject, and he lets out a thundering laugh, walking swiftly around his desk to stand next to me.
"No child. I plan on training you." He laughs, and I blanch. Train me to be an assassin? That can't be true, I haven't been conditioned for that sort of thing.
"I...I can't do that." I whisper, and he goes to a wardrobe, opening it to shelves of white tunics and belts like the one's Fang and Iggy wear. My father executed assassins, and I watched this happen since I was a child. What would my father say to me? Would he even recognize me as his child if I were to train?
"Don't disagree with me." He scolds. "I know about your knife catching stunt and you're plenty agile. You just lack the confidence." He reassures in a steely tone, and drops the white tunic and belt into my arms.
"You'll train in the courtyard in the morning. I'll meet you there." He tells me with a tone of finality, and turns back to the window. For a while, I just stand there in shock. Me? An assassin? I'm a girl, and I was raised a royal, gentle and quiet. But I guess I wasn't really any of those things. Iggy comes up from behind me, and takes my sleeve.
"Come on. We'll get you a room." He whispers, and I follow him up to the loft. he directs me to a room, and leaves before I can thank him. I change out of my white dress into the tunic and pants, buckling the heavy belt around my waist. The belt is heavy, but the tunic is light and comfortable. I sink down to sit cross legged, and peer around me. The room looks lived in, baskets of laundry and dresses are scattered around, and the straw bed is unmade.
I want to slip into Fang's room, but I don't feel like a guest here. I'm a student, or something along those lines, and I'm positive this isn't going to pleasant.