I, ASSASSIN

Chapter Two

The stairs to The Chamber wound downwards, steep, and uneven. The brown robes that were a staple of Thieves Guild attire in the The Chamber were uncomfortably hot and itchy; the material Remy was almost positive must have been woven from the pubic hair of a rather annoyed Oxen, perhaps the stuff had been mixed with steel thread to give it that extra jaggedness that made the hairs on the back of his neck prickle relentlessly.

"Fuck, I hate these stairs," said Henri, who was down in front, nearly tripping on the front of his robe, which had been a hand-me-down from a previous Guild member who had passed away some six years before. The Thief who had owned the robes before had obviously been closer to six foot six than Henri had.

"I hate these fuckin' robes," Remy mumbled, holding the front of his robes up a little, feeling slightly like a woman clutching the skirt of a ball gown while descending down a grand staircase. Cinderella goin' to the goddamn ball, he thought drearily. "It itchin' to goddamn hell."

"This is what havin' crabs feels like..." Henri announced bitterly, he scratched his neck uncomfortably.

"Oh?" Remy laughed.

"So I hear, anyway," Henri gave an embarrassed cough.

"Sounds like experience talkin' to me, mon frère," Remy remarked smugly.

"If I ever become Guild leader, these damn robes are gonna be the first thing I'm gonna get rid of," Henri announced.

"They'll never allow it," Remy replied, irritatedly, he rubbed the back of his neck, his knuckles scraping against the rough material of his hood. "It's tradition," he mocked his adoptive father angrily.

Henri pushed down his hood and turned to look at Remy, "the Assassins don't got to wear this shit. Why should we?!"

Remy sighed. It was true. The Assassins Guild had much nicer robes, black wool lined with silk, even the hoods were lined beautifully, the thread was shimmering black. They looked expensive and tailored in comparison to the Thieves robes which seemed closer to potato sacks home-made in a dark room by someone with poor motor skills working in candle light. Remy glanced at the fraying edges of his sleeve in the torch light of the spiral staircase leading down toward The Chamber tunnels.

It seemed to Remy that professional Thieves who constantly came into money would at least have more sophisticated robes for their guild instead of itchy potato sacks. "One day..." he shook his head in dismay but decided against finishing the sentence. He'd had this conversation too many times before already to be bothered with it any more. "So...what you think this meetin' is about anyway?"

"Not sure," Henri admitted, he caught himself after almost tripping again, he held onto the roped hand-hold for dear life and sighed, "I heard father whisperin' about the Guild feud with a few of the Elders before they leave early for the meetin'."

"You think they can stop us all fightin'?" Remy queried. Admittedly, he doubted it could be done. These feuds had been going on for centuries; if it wasn't turf they were fighting over, it was over whom had killed whom, whom had wronged whom. Remy had never cared for the feud; he'd kept his nose out of it and his head down when it came to the fighting and the arguments, but those who were blood to the Guild and born Thieves felt much more strongly regarding these matters, and took it much more seriously than Remy felt he was able to. It was only due to the gratitude he owed Jean-Luc for taking him in that he felt any remote obligation to hate the rival Guild, but truthfully he'd never felt any ill-will towards any of them - except from Bella Donna's older brother Julien of course, for many various reasons.

"Honestly," Henri confessed, "No. I don't. What time is it?"

Remy retrieved his cellphone from the inside of his robe and glanced at it. "Fuck...it's already after eight! You said we'd make it in time!"

"I thought we would," Henri grunted as he dragged the front of his robes up to his hips and began to run down the stairs, nearly tripping.

The two arrived to the upper mezzanine of The Chamber just as a speech was being made. Four Assassins were standing in a semi-circle, one was kneeling before them, hood down, head low.

Marius Bordreaux, was standing aside, a branding iron in his hand was being pressed into a brazier; the fire light seemed to reflect in his cold blue eyes and make them seem as if they too were burning.

"It's an initiation," whispered Henri to Remy as they took their places on the balcony next to their many cousins.

Remy studied the view; he'd never witnessed an Assassin initiation before; initiations were usually private between guilds. "Who they initiatin'?" he wondered under his breath. All he could see from where he stood was the back of the initiate, completely hooded from view.

Marius took the branding iron quickly from the brazier and spoke, "silence is a virtue that each Assassin must honour."

Henri leaned closer to Remy to utter under his breath, "it's a test," he explained.

Remy leaned against the iron rail of the balcony to look down into the circular chamber, the initiate's arm was being raised, the sleeve pushed down to reveal the tanned skin beneath. "Test of what?" he asked quietly.

"Endurance," Henri answered in a hush. "You got to take the pain silently, or it's an instant fail."

Remy remembered his own initiation, and it didn't involve any kind of pain. Tedious tests, problem solving, skill and speed, but never pain. "How you know?"

"It's why Julien didn' officially join their Guild 'til last winter. He apparently has a low pain threshold," Henri chuckled.

"Who is that anyway? I thought the whole family was initiated now?" Remy pondered.

"Few of the second cousins apparently just come of age," Henri responded in a whisper.

Marius pressed the hot end of the branding iron against the underside of the initiate's wrist. There was a sharp breath, an inhale of pain, but no cry, no whimper. Remy watched the arm trembling; was that pink nail polish he spied on those slim tapered fingers?

"No way..." Henri gasped, "they're initiatin' a woman?!"

"That's forbidden isn't it?" Remy growled, "they wouldn't...never."

Marius Boudreaux put the branding iron back into the brazier, and he ceremoniously lowered the hood of the initiate to reveal shimmering blonde curls beneath. Remy felt a sudden drop in his stomach as he realised at once who the new addition to the Assassins guild was.

"Oh my God," Henri gave something between a gasp of shock and a laugh, "Bella Donna...they're initiatin' Bella Donna?!" he kept his voice low.

Remy sucked his breath through his teeth. Instant disgust he was sure must have seeped from ever fibre of his being. How could they do this? How could Marius make his own daughter into a killer?!

"Isn't this...against the code?" Henri wondered in a hushed voice. "I mean...when did she train? She's not even eighteen..."

One of the distant LeBeau cousins (Remy had a hard time remembering the man's name), spoke up at the side of Henri. "She's fifth generation Assassin, she's eligible for initiation."

"But she's a girl," Remy gritted his teeth.

"Far as I know, they found a loophole in the laws. I overheard them say long as she can take the endurance test and has two sponsors, she's eligible," explained their cousin.

"I'm guessin' her daddy and her grandpa sponsored her," Henri reasoned.

Marius kissed Bella Donna upon the head, and helped her to her feet, "rise, Assassin," he instructed as he did so.

There were three more initiations following Bella Donna's, male members of the family whom had recently come of age. Remy glanced down towards Bella Donna, who was standing to the side, hooded, wearing her brand new Assassins uniform. Remy couldn't help but feel she looked deadly; it sickened him to his stomach. Although she barely moved, Remy could sense how painful the burn was just by how tense she stood there.

"Hah," said Henri, smacking Remy's arm amusedly, "you know what this mean, right?"

"Hmm?"

"You're really enemies now," Henri explained. "You're doomed if you go off with her now."

Remy turned away from the view down into the pit of the chamber, he let his back rest against the iron rail and folded his arms. He was too sick to look at this; instead, he listened to each initiation take place, listened to the sharp breath of pain as each new Assassin was branded. It was after the final initiation, that he heard his Father, Jean-Luc, arrive in the Chamber, and the meeting truly began.

"You have all been called here to witness the birth of a new age," said Jean-Luc. Remy always thought it was disgusting the way the man would suddenly speak with such authority and such resonance the moment he entered this chamber. He had that knack of certainly being able to make himself sound like someone worthy of respect when Remy felt it was the furthest thing from the truth. "The age when Thief and Assassin learn to live as one."

Remy glanced down to his feet; his modern boots looked odd in comparison to the ancient robes he was wearing, which could have easily been older than time itself. "Yeah, that's gonna happen," he muttered unhappily.

"The feud has gone on for too many centuries. Thief attack Assassin, Assassin kill Thief. It goes in a never ending circle," lamented Marius, unhappily. "Many have died through the years. As of recent, two of our own have died due to this feud."

Henri grunted, "who died?"

"Travis got stabbed by one of the Assassins last week," said one of the cousins, Remy could only vaguely remember his name might be 'Michael' or 'Mitchell'. It didn't really seem to matter. He couldn't even remember who this Travis was. He supposed he was one of the very distant cousins he'd never taken the time to know. "Then his lil' brother Raymond ran off and shot the bastard in the head with a semi-automatic..."

"Silence!" yelled Jean-Luc up towards the three, "there have already been enough mutterings up there. We shall have no more!"

"Whatever," Remy grumbled.

"A pact has been made," Marius spoke up, "between Thief and Assassin that shall ensure the two do not turn against each other again. For turning against one another would be turning against themselves."

Henri whispered, "what they talkin' about?"

"It has been decided," said Marius, "that an Assassin shall be initiated into the Thieves Guild in three months time, as a Thief shall join the Assasssins."

Remy raised his head, had he just heard what he thought he had heard? There was a rumble of whispers in the room. Regardless of what the leaders of the Guilds might have agreed upon, apparently no one else had been informed.

"Thief shall train with the Assassins and learn to be one of us," explained Marius, "As Assassin will learn from Thief. Each will remain beside the Guild Leader and be taught in the ways of our worlds. In ninety days, a permanent initiation will take place."

"And this is gonna stop us from fightin'?" asked one of the other cousins from the other side of the mezzanine, sounding most baffled indeed.

"Would you turn against your own?" asked Marius curiously.

There was no answer. Remy shook his head at the ridiculousness of such an idea. This was doomed to fail.

"So which of us is joinin' the band of killers, then?" called another cousin from somewhere below.

Jean-Luc responded, "the chosen are to be the ones of most...potential. The most highly skilled, the best their generation has to offer."

Marius continued for him, "My son Julien will join the Thieves and train with Jean-Luc LeBeau," he explained, he gestured to his son, standing there looking like a dangerous shadow in his fine robes.

Remy pushed himself away from the iron rail, "fuck this. I'm outta here," he announced angrily. He'd had enough. Initiating a girl into the Assassins was one thing – initiating the girl he was attracted to and at some point, definitely intended to conquer was yet another. The icing was that Julien Boudreaux, Bella Donna's older and incredibly hostile older brother, was to be invited into their lives and to be trained in their ways...well...this was a cake Remy definitely didn't want to wait and enjoy a piece of. The boy was hardly the best his generation had to offer and the thought of him being invited into their home to learn from them was definitely the last straw.

Where'll I go though, thought Remy as he took a step towards the arch leading to the staircase. There were always more options he supposed than to stay here and put up with this; he could go back to Bayville, seek out an employer needing his special skills. Hell, even joining the Goody-two-shoes X-Men would be significantly better than this.

"And the Thief who shall be joining us..." Maris was continuing, sounding almost proud, leaving Remy with nothing but disgust for the entire venture.

Remy glanced over his shoulder at Henri, "Congratulations," he said, positive that he was the best the generation had to offer, that he was the only candidate for this initiation. "Good luck with the Assassins, mon frère. You're gonna need it," he punched him lightly in the shoulder before he stepped into the tunnel leading towards the spiral staircase leading up to the ground.

"Remy LeBeau!" called Marius.

Remy wasn't sure why every hair on the back of his neck stood on end; perhaps it was the brush of that uncomfortable fabric of the hood, or perhaps it was just the disgrace of Marius Bourdreaux ever calling his name in such a way.

Stopping, Remy turned and looked towards Henri in confusion. What was going on? Why did they call his name? Wasn't Henri the one with the most potential? The tinkerer, the skilled Thief, the one with all the plans, the precision, the logic? And Henri...oh, he looked so incredibly...what was that expression? Bewildered? Aghast? He was definitely confused and he wasn't the only one.

"Remy!" Jean-Luc called this time, sounding angry.

Remy frowned as he entered into the tunnel and took the turn that lead down to the pit of the chamber. It was strange, how it seemed smaller from down here than it did from up on the observation balcony. The stone bricks of the walls seemed to close in, the ceiling seemed low and the rails seemed much closer to the ceremonial circle than they had from above.

Standing there, Remy seriously wanted to demand if Jean-Luc might be losing his mind. Perhaps he'd taken a blow to the head? This wasn't the decision of a sane person, surely.

Under his breath, Remy uttered, "what the fuck-?" at Jean-Luc.

"You're the one with the most...talent in this family," Jean-Luc placed a hand upon Remy's shoulder; Remy could smell a whiff of Scotch from his father's breath. Him and Marius probably toasted to their brilliant plan before we got here, Remy thought in disgrace.

"Because I'm a mutant?" Remy frowned.

"Because you're good at what you do," Jean-Luc reached up and lowered Remy's hood; Remy was thankful that the fabric was no longer touching his neck, but he reached up and scratched uneasily at the flesh just the same.

There were no cheers as the choices had been made and Remy was forced to stand next to Julien Boudreaux much to his disdain. There were just blank stares of confusion and a rumble of mumbling and grunts. And Henri...well, as Remy glanced up at his adoptive brother, all he saw was a strange expression of betrayal there. It wasn't necessarily that Henri had wanted to join the Assassins and learn all of their secrets...it was more the principle of it that he seemed to have been overlooked for his younger brother...one who was not even related by blood. The Brother that he had helped to train.

Oh that had to sting...

Remy glanced down to the dirty stone floor uneasily, he didn't like the hurt expression in Henri's face. Avoiding looking at anyone, Remy listened closely to the rules as they were explained – there were many. He would go to stay with Marius, he would be forbidden to contact his family during the three months of extensive training. He would be immediately assassinated should he decide at any point to share the Assassins secrets with the Thieves. He would eventually be tested before granted initiation into the Guild and therefore he would be no longer Thief but Assassin instead.

When Remy finally worked up the nerve to glance up to see his brother again, hoping for some kind of sympathy or a supportive glance, he found him to be gone. One of his cousins was standing in his place, and he gave a shrug as if he didn't know where Henri had taken off to.

As the meeting was officially called to a close, Remy felt a hand clasp around his arm, and he turned to see Bella Donna there. He had almost forgotten she was standing somewhere to the left of his back. He'd become so distracted with rules, and dismay of what was being asked of him.

"Welcome to the Assassins," she said quietly, a smile curled on her rose petal lips. Remy felt his cheeks drain of colour at her words, and as he watched her leaving – the swish of her robes following her – he felt as doomed as his brother had warned him he would be.

End of Chapter Two

Hope everyone has enjoyed the first to chapters. :) Thanks for taking the time to read :)