Assassination

The moon glimmered faintly as Marina galloped speedily over the fields. The horse dashed swiftly, yet gently, making barely a sound. She clutched the ropes tightly. The horse reacted kindly to Marina’s generosity, stopping to rest. It lay down on a small hill, tired. Marina pulled a ripe, red apple out of her satchel that hung loosely at her side. She held it in the palm of her cupped hand and lowered it in front of the horse, immediately getting a response from him. It bit hungrily into the apple, Marina still holding it. After only the apple core remained, Marina pulled out the seed and threw it onto the deep green grass as it was shadowed by the night. She then disposed of the apple by dropping it at her feet and walking to her horse. Marina gave him a liberal stroke on the neck. Slowly, she slipped back onto the horse, clasping the rope once again, after the horse had had its drink in the nearby stream. The horse’s energy had been replenished and it was eager to press on. By its behaviour, Marina suspected it had been treated rather harshly by its original owner. Marina trotted slowly at first, getting faster and sooner than she knew it, the horse was already scaling past the grass and on its rather long journey to ‘Dissimulo’.
The wind had picked up on their journey and the day had arrived. As the pair climbed up onto upper-ground, Marina noticed the town. It seemed more like a city from a distance. She slowly cantered down the hill and into the village, looking around. The black haired girl pulled down her hood, revealing her face. Her cold eyes glanced at people on the pavements that passed her. People shivered at the sight of her. Marina wasn’t affected, as she’d been treated all her life in the same way. She continued on. There seemed to be a small commotion further up the cobbled and dull street. She wasn’t the only one on horse. There was a group of men, riding around wearing heavy looking armour. They had swords hanging from their sides, and the horses seemed to be struggling. Marina pitied the horses. She moved on, ignoring the horses cries of pain. As her horse seemed to be relaxed that it wasn’t one of them. She pet it reassuringly, telling him that she would never do such a foul act. She turned into a dusty and dirty alleyway. Along the route, she met a man, begging for help. There was an ill woman lying by his side. Marina sighed; the man seemed like a good person. The teenage girl jumped off her horse carefully. Waddling over, she asked the man what was wrong with her. He replied with a hesitant “I don’t know exactly, b-but she say’s there is a horrible pain in her legs and she can’t move! She’s been like this for days! No one has bothered to even take a look at her!”
The green-eyed girl rolled her eyes. She already knew the cause. Marina politely requested to the man to carry the old woman into the house. He nodded stiffly, and followed out her order. She shoved her hand into leather satchel and pulled out a small glass bottle, which was filled with a black substance. Afterwards, the young girl sauntered into the home.
She didn’t glance away and focused on the woman. Marina borrowed the old black and bumpy stove. Grabbing the pan, she poured a bit of the liquid into it and lit a match, creating the fire. Marina boiled the liquid, and slowly, it began to purify into a crystal clear fluid. She quickly poured it into a tin cup and passed it to the woman. “Drink it quickly, the scolding is essential. I forbid you to wait for it to cool down, otherwise the medicine won’t work…”Marina instructed. The woman nodded painfully and drunk it almost immediately. A loud shriek was heard from the woman as she swallowed it. “Do you feel better? You’ll have to wait a few day’s for it to fully heal…”
The man thanked Marina. He pleaded for her to do one more favour. “My eldest son hasn’t been home for a few days, and food is so very scarce! If you could do me the favour of searching for my son, then I would forever be in your debt! You see, my son is always the one to return with food! And if I were to fetch him, he would surely not return…please, I beg of you, please bring my son home!”
Marina felt a sharp sting in her side. She’d felt like she’d been in a similar situation before and subconsciously nodded, feeling it was her destiny to help this man. “Where may I find this son?”
“He told Maria, his mother, that he would be headed due east, towards the large forest…though, I believe something unbearable has occurred! Please, if he doesn’t want to return, remind him of his siblings that he adores…and we, his parents, please…” Marina accepted confidently. She may not be accepted in the assassin’s bureau, but this seemed more serious. She could easily take the exam again. She couldn’t think twice about this family. Marina had always wanted to share the feelings of being in a loving family, and had an attachment to it. Saying her goodbyes, she turned back towards the door. She then heard the happy sounds of a child’s laugh. She turned towards it, seeing two children, running around excitedly. They were cheering and chasing each other. Marina felt like she was standing under a great big grey cloud, and had been showered in loneliness. She sadly trudged away, back onto her horse. Her horse neighed, asking her what was wrong. She replied with a fake smile. “Nothing…” She muttered. The horse shook a little, and then slowly ambled out of the street. Marina sighed and dragged her compass out of her pocket. The arrow pointed to the left of them. She dropped it back into her bag and gripped the ropes again. Bucking her feet a little, the white horse sped up.
They hurried through the streets, passing shops, markets and houses. Eventually, she came close to the river. A narrow wooden bridge sat on top. It looked unbelievably dangerous. Marina didn’t have the time and headed straight towards it. The horse whined to a stop. It shook his head, refusing to go on. Marina caressed the horse’s neck, calming it down. The horse responded by slowly approaching the bridge. Its hoof gradually landed on the bridge. A small creak was heard and the horse jerked backwards, Marina a little surprised and almost falling off. She slithered off the horse and held the ropes, guiding it over the bridge. It trusted Marina and followed, wary of it’s surroundings, especially the bridge. Marina could already see the forest, so decided she would bring the boy back. The girl pulled her cloak off as the sun beamed down strongly at Marina. She threw it onto the horse. Beneath her cloak was a rather intricate design. She wore white shorts. As a top she wore a jet black corset which was covered in more armour. It was much lighter than the type she had seen on the men before, but did serve as some protection. Round her neck sat pure white goggles. Followed by large black boots that were made of leather. The clothes were rather revealing, but her abnormal strength shielded herself from others. There were no other people crossing the bridge. Marina decided to prove to the horse it was safe. She released the rope and walked along casually. Marina stopped halfway and looked over the edge and watched the water sweep below the bridge rapidly. She moved on. Slowly, she stepped her foot out. Suddenly, there was a loud smash, and a hole appeared beneath Marina big enough to completely swallow her. She leapt forward into a hand stand and flipped over the hole. Her horse was spooked and raced backwards. The horse didn’t dare to cross, and because of the hole, Marina couldn’t return to get her items. The horse stayed, as Marina decided to urge on.