The Assassins' Guild
By ChildProdigy17

Chapter 1

“Reya, the master wants to see you,” a messenger prompted as he bowed to the assassin.
What is it now? Reya thought as she closed the book she was reading.
She followed the stout little man to a large room in which the master was sitting.
“Thank you, Jenson,” the master said as he turned around to face them.
Jenson left the room, and the master gestured for Reya to take a seat.
“One of the dukes wants the lord killed,” he advised the young maiden.  “Because of your position in the guild, I have decided that you should take this mission on complete disregard to the Elders’ orders.”
“Of course, Master,” Reya replied.
“You will have to be very careful this time; we don’t need one of our finest assassins getting turned in for a bounty,” he told her.
“I’m always careful,” Reya snickered.
“Well, you weren’t last time.  Now, the lord’s palace is in the Kinnling Valley.  Swordsmen are stationed in and around the palace grounds,” the master explained.  “It will be very difficult to get into the palace.”
“That’s nothing I’ve never dealt with before,” Reya replied, “now, if you’ll excuse me, I must go make preparations.”
“Yes, of course you do.  Dismissed,” the master said.
Reya lowered her head in respect to the man, and then slipped out of the room.
She walked down the dim corridor that wound its way to the assassins’ quarters.  Reya stopped at the first door and opened it.
Inside the small room sat her sister, Amaya.
“Reya, what are you doing?” the curious girl asked as she watched her sister take a dark wooden bow from its place on the wall.
“Isn’t it obvious?” the sister teased as she put her quiver over her shoulder.  “I have a mission.”
“But the Elders said-”
“I don’t care what those idiots said about going back into action,” Reya snapped, “I have orders to carry out.”
“But you said you would help me get better at archery!” the younger sister exclaimed.
Reya stooped down to her sister’s level and said, “I haven’t forgotten about that, and you know it.  It’s just…well, these orders were given to me by Master himself, and he’s counting on me to get the job done.  You don’t want me to come back the way I did last time, do you?”
Cringing at the thought of her sister’s wounds, Amaya answered “No.”
“Good.  While I’m away, will you please practice using your bow and arrows?” Reya asked as she gestured to the remaining bow on the wall.
“Yes,” the girl answered feebly.
Reya kissed her sister on the forehead and said, “I’ll be back soon.  And please, don’t get into any trouble.”
Amaya smiled and said, “You know that’ll never happen, right?”
“Yeah.”  Reya gave her younger sister another kiss before leaving the room.
The assassin walked down the deserted hallway to the guild’s front doors.  The doors creaked open, and she walked through, quickly closing them behind her.
Reya was greeted by the crisp night air and the light of a full moon.  Sounds of wild animals filled the night as she walked away from the guild.
Wind whipped through the mountain pass, gathering snow.  The girl shivered from the cold, but continued trudging through the knee-deep snow to the other end of the pass.
Reya looked up and saw the shadowy figures of bats dotting the night sky.
It’s not much further to the valley, she thought as she continued her trek using her bare arms to protect her face.
The wind died away, and a valley opened up before the girl.  A light dusting of snow encased everything in pure white, including the palace.  
Reya walked closer, being careful not to be seen.  
Sentries patrolled the outside of the great palace, leaving almost no opening for Reya to get through.
Realizing the sentries were not patrolling the forest, she headed towards it and hid in the trees.  From there, she had a clear shot into the palace.  
A single lantern lit a small room in one of the towers.  Giving it a closer look, Reya saw a man that looked to be the lord.  
She fitted an arrow to the string and raised her bow.  Pulling back on the string, she aimed at the lord’s head.
The sounds of barking dogs startled her, causing her to let go of the string.  Thankfully, the arrow went to its target and killed the man instantly.  
People rushed from every part of the palace to the man’s room, and guards came rushing out of a hidden door.  Dogs raced into the forest, heading straight for where Reya was hiding.
She quickly fled the scene, trying to get away from there as fast as she possibly could.  She didn’t dare try to cover her tracks, knowing there would be no time for something like that.
A loud hissing sound filled the air, and Reya glanced back at the palace.  
A row of archers had assembled on the rooftop, clearly visible in the rising sun.
Arrows rained upon her, and she began to run faster.  The shower of arrows continued as long as she was in sight of the palace.
Finally, when Reya reached the mountain pass, the shower of arrows was no more.  Breathing heavily, she decided to stop and rest, and also assess any damage the arrows could’ve inflicted.
She found a small cave just big enough for her to be comfortable, but not large enough to be easily found.  Setting her things on the cold stone floor, the assassin sat down to catch her breath.  Looking at her weapons, the only damage she saw was a single arrow lodged her quiver.
She pulled it out, then put in her own, knowing that she’d need it some day.
The pounding of hooves filled the crisp air.  Fearing for her life, Reya sunk back into the cave as the chestnut horses pounded past her.
“I know I saw that girl come this way,” one of the men said.
“She’s not here now, and the snow’s too deep for our horses to continue.  Besides, her footprints have been erased by this snow,” another added, “we’d better go back to the palace.”
The two men galloped away on horseback, and when the sound of hooves had died away, Reya knew she needed to leave the cave immediately.
Grabbing her quiver and bow, she rushed out of the cave.  
The snow blinded her for a moment when she stepped outside.  When she could finally see, she trudged through the snow to the Sunstone guild.
The large iron gates guarding the guild from the outside world were open, and Reya sprinted into the courtyard, and then into the house itself.
She fell to her knees as soon as she came into the warm foyer.  Thankfully, her younger sister was waiting for her arrival.
“Reya, are you alright?” the worried girl asked.
“I should be,” Reya answered as she got up.  “I just need to rest.”
She shifted her weight from foot to foot, and then began walking to the other end of the guild house to her quarters.
People were rushing from room to room as Reya walked down the corridor, but nobody seemed to notice her.  Most of the people were the assistants, those assigned to help the assassins with anything they needed.  Every once in a while, one of the dark hunters would come into the hall, but most were only calling for their assistants to hurry.
Wondering what was going on, Reya stopped one of the assistants as he raced across the hall.
“What’s going on here?” Reya asked as she put her hand on the wall for support.
“The master wants every assassin to report to the mess hall for a special ceremony,” the man told her.
“Hmm,” Reya said as she let the man return to his work.
She continued walking down the hallway, and soon her quarters were within sight.  Pulling a small brass key from her pocket, she unlocked the door, then went inside.
The master assassin collapsed on the bed, but only after did her two assistants come in.
“Reya, you’re going to be late if you don’t hurry,” one of them, Maria, said as she tried to rouse the girl.
“Reya, you must wake up!” the other, Sara, exclaimed as she shook the sleeping girl.
“Both of you go away,” Reya told her assistants.
“But Reya-”
“I said go away,” the drowsy assassin repeated.
The two girls left Reya alone and went to the mess hall to enjoy the festivities.