The Assassin

Elanna stared down, her gaze unwavering and piercing. The red slowly faded, and the icy blue colour returned. She wondered what was going through the human's mind, perhaps she thought the half-blood was going to kill her, or sacrifice her in some decadent ritual; not that Elanna knew any. But that was hardly a point taken into consideration among those who would wish her dead.

Apparently, because she was a half-demon, that meant she obviously knew every demonic spell in existence. Sure, since Elanna preferred to use blades and get up close and personal, when she could simply summon a plague of locusts in her targets room to strip their flesh away.

This wasn't the case, she didn't know any magic. She had tried to use magic, but the best that came out of that attempt was anger, spent gold and another dead elf. She didn't have the aptitude for it.

You couldn't really say she didn't have the patience; she could wait on a target for days in the same spot.

"You going to get me burned, hanged or anything else equally bothersome?" she finally said, breaking the silence. The young woman she was standing over shook her head quickly.

Elanna nodded in appraisal and knelt down, putting her hand on the maiden's shoulder. She flinched. "Hey, don't be afraid. Who are you and where do you live? I doubt you want to stay in this filthy alley?"

"M-My name is Sira; Sira Courland," the girl mumbled, not really looking at Elanna. The half-blood quirked an eyebrow, "Courland? Huh, no wonder those two were trying to spirit you away. Your family's quite wealthy."

Sira looked at the older woman sharply, a look of fear in her eyes. She was afraid Elanna would have the same thought as those two men.

Elanna cocked her head to the side, "I've no intention of doing that. Though I am running low on money lately," she smirked and leaned close, running the tip of her index finger along Sira's delicate jaw. "I could simply kill for that."

Sira shivered in fear, noticing the subtle mechanic components under Elanna's leather vambrace. She could see the point of a blade. White robes, hood, hidden blade; half-demon. "Assassin..." she breathed, visibly paling.

Elanna smirked again, "oh, so my reputation even carries to the noble's of Mizad? I'm very flattered that they tell their dear little children of such morbid things." Sira pulled a face, "I'm not a child!" Elanna chuckled, "your pouting says otherwise." She grabbed Sira's arm and pulled her up as she stood. "But anyway, I have to return you to your parents, if you don't mind."

She easily pulled the girl along, she was hardly strong enough to make Elanna let go of her.

Half way to the noble's quarter of the city, Sira had grown very quiet; she'd stopped struggling at least. Elanna usually enjoyed it when someone in her grasp squirmed, but other times it was just irksome.

She could feel Sira's gaze on her however, boring into the back of her head, taking in what she could see of her appearance; which wasn't much since she was trying to look at her face. Hidden as it was in the darkness of her hood.

Elanna swore sharply as Sira suddenly bit her hand, pulling away as soon as Elanna let go and bolting through the crowd. "You little bitch!" she hissed, her eyes sinking into red. Elanna quickly gave chase, easily picking out the girl as she shoved through the crowd; however, she soon disappeared down a back alley. Elanna growled under her breath and turned down the same way, following Sira's scent.

A few more turns and she saw the girl stop all of a sudden, backing away from some unseen enemy around the next corner.

Soldiers made themselves known, clad in their well maintained armour. Their bore the Courland emblem on their surcoats; so why was Sira backing away from them instead of running to them for cover?

Elanna narrowed her eyes, coming up behind the girl and grabbing her by her shoulders. She froze up, stuck between two forces she didn't want to contend with. "Let me make an 'educated' guess...your father's new wife doesn't like you?" Elanna murmured, slowly backing away with the girl. Sira bit her lip, looking down. "I didn't even do anything to her..."

Lord Courland had lost his first wife - Sira's mother - years ago; only recently marrying a younger bride. On the surface things seemed smooth and perfect, but Elanna wasn't all that surprised. This 'story' had played out many times in the history of man. The children of the original family pushed out for the new bride's own flesh and blood. It sickened her.

Elanna's face set in a hard look of disdain, her gaze switching to the oncoming guards as they drew their weapons. "So, she wants you dead just because you exist?" she asked coldly. Sira only nodded. Elanna pulled the girl behind her without another word uttered, her mouth pulling into a silent snarl. Reaching behind her, she unsheathed one of her dual crescent blades, hidden under her half cloak on the small of her back.

The guards paused, and their Captain stepped forward. "Seems those ruffians we bribed couldn't get the job done." He eyed Elanna up, noticing the blood on the cuffs of her sleeves. "Heh, got some help of your own, Sira? Step aside, filth, we don't need you to muddy the waters even more; I don't expect rabble to understand what we're-" he didn't get the chance to finish as Elanna threw a smoke bomb down on the ground, engulfing them all in a cloud of the stuff. As the guards started panicking, she weaved her way through them, grabbing the captain by the back of his hauberk. She leaned close, her mouth next to his ear as she pressed her knife to his throat. "Actually, I understand better than you think, and more than I care to explain to savages like you," she whispered, before moving her hand up into his hair and yanking his head back, slitting his throat.

Dropping him, she darted from guard to guard, killing them swiftly and efficiently.

Sira couldn't see a thing in the smoke cloud, but she could hear the men screaming in panic, their yells being sharply cut off as Elanna reached them. When all was silent, Sira started to back away, afraid again. But Elanna suddenly darted out of the cloud, grabbing Sira by her arm and dragging her along again. "We have to get out of here."

Sira stared at the half-blood. "Wh-What? Where are you taking me?!"

Elanna stopped and turned on the girl. "Keep your voice down girl! We need to leave this city - now!" she started running again, and Sira managed to keep her feet under her this time. What was going on? Suddenly the half-blood wanted to get her to safety? "Y-You're protecting me?"

Elanna didn't look back at her this time, just continued weaving their path through back alleys. "In a sense..."

Sira felt relief flood through her, she didn't care if this would be dangerous, she didn't care what Elanna did or was. Trusted guards, so-called friends, and even her beloved father had all been swayed by that evil witch. 'And suddenly a total stranger wants to keep me safe in spite of the trouble that could bring upon her?' she thought, a faint smile coming to her lips.

But then she frowned, why? Why was this stranger helping her? She was the infamous Assassin, the only one in her 'profession' to be exclusively given that title by the people and higher castes alike. On top of that, she was a half-demon, hated by everyone, and only tolerated because of her skills. So why?

Maybe she would reveal her reasons at a later date, but for now, Sira would be content that someone cared for her well being.