Assassin

Alis saw me as he was heading towards the other row of tents on the opposite side of the camp. He turned his head and held out his arm.

"Ah! Sal, I was looking for you," he said. His hand fell upon my shoulder. I smiled up at him.

"What is going on?" I asked, looking at the two brothers carrying the box. "What is in there?"

I gestured to the box. A strange look flashed over his face. He turned to the box, paused as if he were deciding whether he wanted to tell me the truth, and then looked back at me. I waited for him to show a sign of what may hiding in the box that was so precious that he couldn't tell me. I respected that Alis had many secrets. I already knew that it was not right of me to ask about anything of his past. It was also not right of me to ask why he joined the Brotherhood and had never tried to have a family of his own. Those were the types of questions that weren't allowed.

The lives of a thief and assassin weren't to be spoken about so freely.

He moved his hand to my shoulder and turned me away from the box. He led me away. We headed towards the empty tent that he'd just emerged from.

"There are some things we need to discuss."

"Nothing about that box though."

He gave me a small smile. "Right, you are. Clever fox."

I made a face. "Don't call me that."

Even though I said it, I could tell he didn't take me seriously. I was always going to be his student, no matter how skilled I became. It didn't bother me as much as it did when I was younger. When I had to defend myself daily from the teasings of the older brothers, I had made a promise to myself that I would take everything seriously. I wouldn't let anyone boss me around or try and put me down. I would become the strongest in the entire Brotherhood, no matter what it took to get there.

After years I being under Alis' careful training and teachings, I found that it was comforting to know that Alis would always treat me the same. It meant that he would be here to always care for me when things didn't work out as planned. I had trouble, in the beginning, knowing that and still did sometimes, but I was getting better at it.

I couldn't show that side to anyone else. That was a simple secret between student and teacher. He could know that I was a little soft for him and that I had a special intuition that made our shared missions go better, but that couldn't ever be leaked to anyone else.

It was not only dangerous for me but also for him. Not to mention that the Brotherhood would be more a target if word got out that the deadly bandits were harboring a girl who had an ability.

They called girls like that witches and burned them at the stake.

We entered the tent. The small space was only large enough for a small portable desk and chair as well as a roll out bed. The ground was covered by a second layer of quilts that Alis had recently stolen from a merchant. He claimed most of the treasures from another raid last week which had been enough to supply him with another cot. He'd been nice enough to give his old one to me.

There wasn't anything special in Alis' tent. That box the brothers had carried off had never made its way towards me. I assumed it was new or it belonged to someone else in the camp. Alis had no personal items I could see, but anyone in the Brotherhood knew it was better to not get attached to anything. That even included inanimate objects.

To be fair, it was hard to get attached to something when we had nothing to begin with. Yes, it was our job and life goal to steal from others, reaping the benefits from socialites and other rich folks. But it didn't mean we had everything in the world.

The only things I ever carried me were my blades, two short daggers that Alis had gifted me when he'd killed one of the assassins from another Brotherhood. They were engraved with roses on each side of the silver blade and were wrapped in beautiful leather on the handle. Besides my weapons, I carried a small journal and pen that was smaller than my palm. I'd practiced with many books Alis had in his collection on my own when we were practicing our stealth and pickpocketing. I had gotten so good at printing my letters that Alis let me write the official letters to send to the leading brother when he was too tired.

"Something great has come about," Alis said as he sat down on the small wooden chair. He pulled out a piece of parchment and held it out for me to take. "A message for you."

I couldn't help it this time. A smile broke across my face. It was hard to keep serious when I swear I might actually get a true mission. Or even an order to join the next raid!

Filled with glee, I skimmed the first sentence of the message.

Brother Sal is to be assigned…

My eyes paused at the words. I couldn't believe them the first time I read them. I kept reading them, but it seemed too impossible for me to actually be seeing this.

"This isn't a joke, is it?" I looked up from the page.

Alis pursed his lips. "Do I look to be the type to joke?"

He was a man of seriousness, but I knew when he was playing around with me. But he was right. He wouldn't joke about something this serious, especially when he knew it meant so much to me.

It looked like I was being sent on a solo mission.

Finally.