Shadowed Destinies

That morning was rather quiet, nothing big was going on in town (which was actually rather strange) so I had no jobs to do; and I was still brooding over the fact that Wolf said that apparently I can’t handle any of the jobs he had. This was absurd since I was one of the best assassins he had in his damned company. I walked down the streets quietly, minding my own and observing the citizens in their daily trudge throughout this sticky town. Noxton, in itself, was really not the happiest town to live in. It was poor, dirty and corrupt. The only people who lived here usually didn’t have much of a choice; and if they did stay it with either for too noble a reason or for the fact that it had the richest black market in the province of Faholeium. I stayed because I simply had nowhere else to go. My hometown of Pauleum wasn’t an option after the state I left it in, and my job was here; as dark as it was to admit, I’d made murder my trade, and to hell if I wasn’t good at it!

As I walked down the street I heard a few people talking about the sudden death of Constable Jones that night, and it was hard not to smirk. That had been my mark last night. Apparently he was blackmailing one of our clients, having obtained evidence that would shut down his whole business in selling and transporting dark magical articles and send him to the noose if the rest of the police force found out. It wasn’t difficult to track him down, here in Noxton, the police had loose lips and it was easy to buy them out to get copy of Jones’ patrol schedule. It did take less time than a normal job, but I thought it was absurd that everyone thought it should have taken more time. But then again, most of the guys just liked to head out to the guy’s house and nab him there, but I preferred a more public-style murder. Fear was the only publicity we could afford in this town, and home invasions were not that scary compared to the target dropping before your eyes in broad daylight. To know we can kill you at any time we want is what has kept this company alive for so long, and I seem to be one of the only members implementing that tool of intimidation.

I headed to the market, anxious to get some food to eat for the next few days. My coin purse was heavy with gold coins and I knew I could afford whatever I wanted. It was expensive stuff, to hire professional assassins, and even with the meager I got compared to the initial price I had more than enough gold for my lifestyle.

I spotted an Alchemy stand, or not really the stand but more the man sitting by the stand. His name was Harry, I believe, a sailor from the harbour. We were acquaintances, or at least, we knew each other enough for him to develop quite the adorable crush on me. I didn’t mind much, I seemed to have the eye of every young boy in the crowd now-a-days. Probably since I was in the last stages of my youth and still wasn’t betrothed or married. Harry was different though, sweet and chivalrous.

He dipped his hat to me, “Mornin’ Ms. Shadow. Care that I ask what your real name be?” he asked, his smoky eyes sparkling. It was a joke we played whenever we met, I told everyone to call me Shadow, as it was my identity, but he seemed dissatisfied with this fact. So now he asks whenever I see him, and I always reply.

“Perhaps, Good sir, one day I may. Try me again in the next sunrise.” I smiled at him turned to the stand that held the alchemy supplies, “Morning Harry! Is there anything new in today?”

Harry shook his head, “Not since yesterday, milady. I told you, the shipment from Ivy Valley isn’t coming in for another two or three days. Patience is a virtue.”

I smiled and shrugged, “Since when have I been known as virtuous, Harry?”

“There is a first time for everything.” He laughed and gave a sigh, “I guess you’ll be off then?”

“Sorry, Harry. You know I have things to do…”

“…and people to see. I know, I know. I just wish you stay for a while.”

“Not today. I’m sorry, I promise-tomorrow I’ll chat with you for a good long while, you’ll see.” I began to move to the produce aisle.

“Yeah… That’s what you said last time.” I heard him say to himself. I sighed and began to pick out my dinner.

---

I headed back down Saint Tierney St., the dark street on which the inn that the company operated within was located. The whole street was dank, with tall buildings on either side of you looming over like cats over a mouse. Smoke ran throughout the city throughout but here it was like a constant storm cloud. I entered and greeted Gerry quickly as I went to start eating something before my stomach crawled out of my belly and started eating the fish raw.

I was never a very good cook, and today was no exception. This was okay with me, because I didn’t care for eating fancy foods that actually had names besides ‘stew’ or ‘chicken’ or ‘fish’. I ate it, and it kept me alive and healthy; simple as that. I began to cook the fish on a stick over the fireplace on the second floor when Hound, Orion and another assassin, Lark came in. Lark was rather new to the business and Orion was his mentor. He was short with stubby brown hair, and couldn’t be older than sixteen years of age. I never understood how or why he got into this business, but our past lives were rarely a happy topic around here and were usually avoided. We were secretive people, not even giving out our real names to our fellow company members. It was common courtesy here not to pry.

“Afternoon, Shadow.” Orion greeted me with a friendly tone.

“Yeah, good afternoon Shadow.” Hound said in his seductive purr, “Not as good as last night though.”

Lark’s eyes widened but I merely laughed, “only in your dreams, hon’.” I said with a smile as I looked over my toasted fish. I could understand Lark’s surprise though; although I had kissed many of the guys out of sheer entertainment, I’d never actually slept with any of them. Nor did I plan to anytime soon.

Hound rolled his eyes, walking up to me and hugging me lightly from behind and placing his and on my waist, whispering into my ear “Oh, you know you want to.”.

I gave him a sharp shove with my elbow into his gut and he staggered backwards with a cough. “Yes, I did want to do that.” I said with amusement ringing in my voice. I sat down at a table and began to finish eating my fish-on-a-stick.

Lark and Orion chuckled as well, but Hound glared at them and they attempted to stifle them. Orion sat at the table beside me and leaned back, “Oh, yeah. Wolf was looking for you earlier. He seemed a little agitated. You didn’t do anything to upset him, did you?”

I shrugged slowly, “Maybe I did… maybe I didn’t…” I sighed and began to finish my fish quietly while Orion and Lark discussed training routines and Hound glared at me from afar. After a little bit, I headed down to the basement to meet up with Wolf.

“Good evening, Wolf!” I said enthusiastically as I hopped down on the chair in his office. “What’s up?”

“Where have you been? I’ve been looking for you for hours!” he growled, “You really should be more responsible you know!”

“Oh, come on! Can’t I use my day off to just relax a little?” I replied with an amused whine. “And I’d like to get back to that relaxing unless you have something to tell me?”

Wolf looked at me and gave a sigh and a shrug, rolling his shoulders as he shifted through a stack of papers on his desk. “I’ve been speaking with the leaders of the other companies, and they seem to be impressed with your work.”

My eyes widened, I’d been waiting for this day for years, hoping for it since I was fourteen years old! I jumped from the chair like a tiger pouncing on its prey in the forests of the Dark Territory. I placed my hands firmly on the sides of his desk and leaned over to loom over his work, “Really? Really?! What did they say about my proposition? Did they like it?”

Wolf chuckled at my response, but what did he expect? He had been the first one I had admitted my dream to as his apprentice all those years ago.

--

“See! Like this, Samantha! Are you watching?” Wolf growled, shaking his head.

“Don’t call me Samantha! You said I didn’t have to be Samantha anymore!”

“You can’t just be someone else, you have to become one! So pay attention!” He tossed me a throwing knife and I caught it by the handle. “You try.”

I gritted my teeth and aimed at the target, getting in the ring three away from the center, not too bad. I smiled and Wolf rolled his eyes, “Amateur, but satisfactory. We’ll try again tomorrow.” He turned to sit down in the corner of the dank training room at the table. I trotted over and sat beside him.

I was fifteen years old at the time, and I had been at the company for just under two years and was finishing my basic training. Soon I would be starting my advanced training, specializing in my talents, which at the moment were stealth, poison crafting, archery and researching. I was excited to start my final exam soon, which would involve my first actual job. Wolf had said I was one of the youngest members to start her exam in the Noxton Company’s history.

“Wolf, can I tell you something?” I asked.

“That wasn’t you that ate all the cookies for Hound’s birthday party, was it?” Wolf asked with a laugh as he stretched back in his chair.

“No, no; of course not, that was Orion! Didn’t you hear? No this is about something else.”

“What then?”

I paused, biting the side of my lip as I thought about how to say it, “I’ve always wanted to visit Maegvium; specifically Crystalvyn to be precise.” I looked to him with curious eyes, wondering what he’d think.

Wolf eyed me suspiciously, “Why? There isn’t even a company in Crystalvyn.”

I brightened, “Yes, I know! I was thinking, once I passed my advanced training, I could try and open one up there! It’d be amazing and wonderful!” I sighed and trailed off, “I know I can do it, Wolf.”

Wolf laughed, “Just focus on your training now, Samantha.” We didn’t speak about it again for years, but from then on he always had a twinkle in his eye when he looked at me. I knew he wanted this for me as much as I wanted it for myself, and from that day I spent every moment trying to prove I was able to take whatever came onto me.

--

“They said your track record is nice, especially for your age. I put in my good word, and…” he paused, sifting through a few papers “Director Leaf of Iv’i Vally in Maegvium says she has a code black job in Crystalvyn. She wants you to take it.”

I beamed, “Really? How? There isn’t even a company in Crystalvyn!” I squealed and jumped up and down like a two year old.

Wolf sighed, “Wait a minute, Samantha. Just wait. I don’t even know if I’m sending you.”

I stopped, staring at him with a betrayed expression, “What?! Wolf, you know no one wants this more than I do! I’ve worked towards this my entire career!”

“I know no one wants this more than you do but I don’t know… I don’t know if you can handle it.” His voice was sympathetic and soft, but I felt a fiery resentment burning up in my chest for him.

“What? This again?! I can handle it, Wolf! I’m still alive, aren’t I? I’m still up and fighting and killing and I do my job just fine thank you very much!”

“Yes, but you’ve never done a code black job before.” He stated firmly.

“Well, if I want to start up my own branch of the company I should probably try one, shouldn’t I? It’s not like I haven’t been prepared at all.” That was a stupid reason; yes I’d never done one but I had learned plenty about them. I learnt plenty about them in advanced training, since several of my fields focused on them. There were several codes of jobs, a red job meant capture-and-extract. Things like capturing people and extracting information from them before doing them in. It was Hound’s specialty and a common request here in Noxton. There was code yellow, which meant a quiet death, something that could be mistaken for a suicide or mugging-gone-wrong. That was Pa’wor’s specialty. There was also code green, which meant a public death that spread fear and news; that was Orion’s specialty, as he was great in long-distance kills. Then code blue, which often meant that we had to steal something from the victim as well, such as documents or stolen goods. That was Wolf’s specialty. Last but not least, code black. These were not at all common in Noxton, which usually ran on public deaths that spread fear of us throughout. Code black jobs were long-term, and usually involved spy-work. Since there were no spying organizations in the country then the company often took these jobs. Code black jobs meant going undercover and discovering things from secrets to locations and such, without revealing your identity. Often times the victim is killed in the end, but sometimes not. I was trained to be an expert at code black jobs, which required stealth as well as research behind the victim. I had wanted one my entire life, and to have one in Crystalvyn? It was like a dream come true.

“I know, I know, but Shadow. I’ve read the file, this will be a very difficult job and it’ll take months before you’re even ready to start it up. It’s something usually reserved for the seasoned assassins, and even then it’s a serious job. If you mess up Shadow, you could be killed… or worse.”

“That’s the same with any other job, Wolf! I can do this!” I paused, adding a little more desperation into my voice, “I need this.”

Wolf gave a long, thoughtful sigh as he looked up at me from the file he now had sitting in front of him. “I know.” Wolf repeated under his breath. After the five longest seconds of my life he gave another sigh and handed me the folder. “Give this a read; we’ll talk in the morning.” I took the papers from him greedily and flipped open and started reading through the description just before he added, “Now, out. I still have other work to do. It’s not all cherries and pie being a company director.” He gave me a smile and a friendly wink as I turned heel and trotted up towards the first floor. Excitement flared up inside me and I felt myself jumping for joy.

I hurried up the stairs and flopped down on the couch by the fireplace, curling up as if I was getting ready for a long night of cocoa and sweet sea crisps, a delicious southern Faholeium delicacy made of a type of seaweed found in the waters of the Dark Sea. I opened the folder slowly, and began to read.

THE FOLLOW DOCUMENTS ARE CONFIDENTIAL
MAY FATE KEEP YOUR SOUL IF YOU DARE READ THIS WITHOUT AUTHOURISATION

CODE NAME: Black.Alpha.01.Cryv

CLIENT NAME: Jeason Sequene

TARGET(S): UNIDENTIFIED! Possible Targets-Tomas Andelli, Doh’ra Andelli, Shea’mas Andelli, Sand’ra Andelli, Toh’nee Park, Au’ra Jackobson, Timothee Knight.

ASSIGNED TO:

OBJECTIVE: To enter the Andelli household and find out whom has been sabotaging Jeason Sequene’s business.

DESCRIPTION: Jeason Sequene runs a black-magic market within Iv’i Vally, Glasse’faux, Redfrost and Crystalvyn alike. He has found out that someone within Crystalvyn is sabotaging his business by raiding his carts and alerting the local police of his work. The perpetrator has then been profiting by taking the goods and selling them for lower prices. Recently, the same perpetrator has stolen a large amount of jewels from one of Jeason’s stashes. Jeason has agreed to pay dearly for the death of this perpetrator, and has pointed us to the house of Andelli. Unfortunately, however, he is not sure who in the house is committing these crimes. It is the job of the assigned to determine which of the household members the perpetrator is, locate the stolen jewels and exterminate the determined target.

NOTE: this perpetrator is considered extremely dangerous, and willing to kill.

My heart raced as I read; this was everything I had been looking for in a job. I realized there was a note addressed to me in the folder under the general description.

Shadow,
I was very impressed by the copy of your file Wolf sent over with a rather stunning recommendation about your proposition to start a company branch over in Crystalvyn. I have decided to take up your dream. I have already told headquarters about your intentions, and they promised that if I can honestly send in a review as stunning as Wolf’s, that they will send you the resources to open up the Crystalvyn company as well as promote you to director! This job was going to be taken by Eagle, but he has planned to retire soon and instead will instruct you on this last job. I expect you by the end of the second month from today, if not please send your decline by mail.
Behind you all the way,
Director Leaf

I grinned widely. Director Leaf of the Iv’i Vally Company was very famous amongst the assassins. She was the first female director of her time, known for her great bravery and intelligence in her field. I had been a great fan of hers ever since I had to learn the history of the company in basic studies, a branch of the basic training everyone had taken. My hands quivered as I reread the note, she was going to take me under her wing! My hands touched the spot she had written my name, and I couldn’t have been happier. Everything was coming together. I sighed and began to shift through the rest of the file.