Quiet World

“Someone’s following us.” Tanil said as he threw on his hood and unsheathed his knives.

“What?!” Valla shouted, quickly turning around to see if Tanil was telling the truth. She couldn’t see anything however, as the light of the moon was covered by the chimney they hid behind. 

It was late in the night, and the pair of assassins were perched atop of a house, not wanting to move again till they were sure it was safe. It was Valla’s first mission, and Tanil served as her master for the night. He was assigned by the Alliance, but if she did get the choice, Valla would have picked him. He was a legend.

Tanil shushed her as he darted into the moonlight and leaped off of one roof to the next. In the heart of the city, the alleyways in between houses and buildings were small, so the gaps between roofs were nothing to worry about. But still, Valla found herself hesitating before she jumped. She ran to the edge but slowed down noticeably before hopping from one roof to the next. 

He was getting farther away now, and even the light of the moons seemed to be losing him in the shadows, but Valla tried her best to keep up. Eventually, he got to a roof and waited for her to join him at its crest. She ran to him and stopped to catch her breath, leaning over and attempting to control her breathing.

“Valla.” He began, “you still hesitate before each jump.”

“I still jump!” She said, in between breaths. 

“Yes but hesitation is the death of our people. Hesitate with one kill, one movement, one jump, and it’s your life that is now lost, all because you spent those seconds questioning, and not acting.”

Valla didn’t even have the energy to roll her eyes in disagreement. Instead, she leaned back up and let out one last breath and said, “I’ll try.” 

He nodded. “That’s all it takes.” 

They then continued to move, but this time Tanil kept pace with her, while also pushing her. He made it to where she could move in tandem with him, move with the greatest assassin in the Alliance. And if she could move with him, then she could move past him. So Valla pushed herself to hesitate a little less with her jumps.

This, of course, was all part of Tanil’s plan. He could have left her behind a while ago, but what kind of master leaves his pupil? 

“Did we lose them?” Valla asked, once again huffing from the roof hopping excursion they just took. 

Tanil glanced over the edge of the house they currently stood atop. The streets were mostly empty aside from the occasional evicted drunk, but there were shadows moving through the alleys. Shadows that followed Tanil and his student. 

As soon as he moved to see the alley in between the houses, a knife point reached up from the darkness, followed by the hand holding it. Tanil swiftly moved his head back, knife reflecting the moonlight onto his dark skin.

Valla watched all this happen between breaths. But though she may be slow to jump, she certainly isn’t slow to duck. From behind her she heard a knife being drawn and in response she dropped to the tile on the roof, nearly sliding down its slanted edge. A throwing knife flew over her head and into the star filled sky as her body hit the roof.

She used the roof's edge to her advantage and let gravity carry her down to where the second hunter now climbed, throwing himself up an over onto the tile with one arm. 

These guys are pros. She thought, but I’m a pro in training! 

She swung her legs away from the assassin and swiftly used the weight from moving her lower half to carry her into the air and land back on her feet. Before her feet even hit the ground her weapons were drawn from their sheaths strapped to her waist. She hit the ground and neither assassin wasted time in moving for the first strike. 

Valla’s blades were specially designed. The one on her left was longer, though not quite a sword, it couldn’t simply be demeaned to a dagger either. The one on her right side was a traditional dagger most assassins used. She found this pairing the easiest for her to work with.

The mystery assassin struck with his right hand moving up and his left moving in from the side, but Valla used the long knife in her left hand to block both, the flat edge of the blade catching his right hand and the point of her blade catching his left. The knife in her right hand instantly went through his wrist in the moment of shock that slowed his reaction by just a fraction of a second.

Her opponent jumped to the side without so much as a grunt of pain. Valla turned to meet him and even though his eyes were hidden by a hood, she could tell he was in pain. She had now created a weak point, a factor in the fight she could abuse to her heart's content. His left side was now significantly weaker, and she planned to use that.

They rushed each other once more and Valla decided to make the first move this time and threw her shorter knife, aiming directly for his left eye. However he had anticipated this and used the knife in his right hand to deflect Valla’s attack, sending her weapon up into the air.

Just as she planned. 

Valla didn’t stop moving forward as she brought the longer blade around, clashing with the assassin's right side. He brought his left arm around in a wide arc clearly aiming for her throat, but moved her right leg in between his and brought it back towards her, causing him to fall on the tile.

As his body hit the roof, the knife Valla threw came back down and she caught it with her right hand and brought it down to her opponent's neck. 

She hesitated. She had never killed before. This was her first mission. And though it wasn’t her first time fighting somebody this was her first time with the option to end the life of the one she fought. The weight of existence then pressed down on her.

Tanil sunk his knife into the man who was foolish enough to choose him as a target, and kicked his body over the edge sending it tumbling into the abyss below the city’s rooftops. He then walked over to the other side of the roof to see Valla.

Valla’s attacker used the hesitation she let slow her down and kicked out her leg from under her, the same move she had used on him. He didn’t get a chance to see her fall though, as Tanil’s knife was already in his neck before her body even fell.

She caught herself on the roof with her hands. Valla stayed there, still from shock. She had almost killed someone. Too many times throughout her life has she watched people’s lives be taken away from them, and she detested the people who made that happen. Could she really become one of them? 

“You hesitated. Again.” Tanil's voice sounded disappointed. That made her disappointed as well. The moon shone from behind him, covering his body in shadow. But she knew what his face looked like, and she was more thankful for the moon’s presence tonight than any previous one.

“I’m sorry.” Valla started, stuttering as she struggled to get the words out. “I just haven’t killed anyone before.”

In a surprising move, Tanil lowered himself onto one knee, meeting her eye level. He sighed, then said, “That’s how everyone is their first try. I don’t think anyone truly wants to take a life, but sometimes we have to. And we’re the ones who will have to bear that burden, so the rest of the world may sleep still.” He stood up, then continued. “Four seconds Valla, That’s all it takes for you to make the decision and act. It may not get easier, but once it’s done, you realize that you can do it, and that this is your way of making a difference.”

“For a Quiet World.” Valla said, now standing too.

Tanil smiled, his teeth shining in the dark. “For a Quiet World.” He returned, “Now come on, we have somewhere to be.”

Before she followed after Tanil, Valla kneeled down beside the attacker once more, checking for any signs of who they were. She began checking the stitching inside jackets and shirts. She then checked his wrists and arms for any tattoos. But when she lifted the shirt, revealing his back, she found what she was looking for, but not what she was expecting.

It was the sigil of the Alliance.

Her own guild? Why would the guild they both pledged loyalty to send assassins after them? There was always the possibility this was a fake, meant to distract her from the real culprit, but Valla considered both possibilities equally. She would not be fooled again.

She turned to follow after Tanil but only caught a glimpse of him before he dropped in between two houses a couple hundred feet away from where she stood. 

It took only a minute for Valla to reach the alley Tanil dropped into, in which she scaled down the wall instead of straight jumping like Tanil did. She still thought there was a fine line between courage and stupidity. Jumping from the top of a house into darkness was very much over the line and into stupidity for her. 

After she reached the hard stone of the road below, Valla looked around to see if she was being followed, and then further descended into the alley. It was pitch black, she had to put her hand against the wall and follow it to the end. 

She hit the end of the alley and began to feel around some more. There was a change of texture from the smooth wood of the buildings surrounding her to a rough and splintery feeling at the end of the alley. She felt around this area till she felt a handle. 

Valla grabbed the handle and pulled, opening a hidden door. Directly behind it was a thick cloth as black as obsidian, probably used to block the light coming from inside. She shoved it aside and was blinded by countless different candles shining from the hidden room. There was the sound of laughter and drinks clanking and people dancing. Did Tanil really just take her to a pub?

She continued on inside and saw Tanil with a group of people. They were all laughing and patting him on the back. She couldn’t hear what they were saying so Valla approached the table and realized Tanil was laughing too. She had never seen that before. As she made her way to the table, Tanil noticed her and waved for her to join them, and the people Tanil was with began to point and nod their heads, some even smiled in a friendly way, which was creepier than smiling in a predatory way, like most people in pubs did.

Valla joined her master at the table but refused a drink when a barmaid tried to bring her one. She didn’t want to be distracted. The mission obviously wasn’t what she thought it to be, and Valla intended to figure out the true nature of it. Whether that was worse or better than what she was expecting, she needed the truth, and she needed it now.

Their gazes met across the table, and she made her expression questioning so that Tanil understood what she wanted. “Give us a moment, guys.” He said, waving his entourage off. 

It was silent for a couple moments before Valla spoke. “What’s going on?”

“We’re here for the mission.” He replied.

Valla didn’t budge. “The attackers back there, they were Alliance members. Why are our own hunting us?” She didn’t know if he had the answers. But it was worth a-

“So you noticed.”

She didn’t know how to respond anymore. He knew? Valla felt a deepening shadow being cast over her heart and mind. She had no idea what was going to happen next, and she felt like letting herself be consumed by the shadow, unfeeling and unknowing. But Valla knew that if she wanted to make it out of this alive, she couldn’t let Tanil know this. So she remained awake and focused, hopefully fooling the greatest assassin she has ever known.

“Of course I noticed,” Valla hissed, “Assassins wearing our own sigil trying to kill us? It makes no sense, Tanil. So please, make it make sense.”

Tanil placed his drink down and leaned forward onto the table. “The Alliance isn’t what you think it is. Not anymore at least. We were trained to do bad things for the right reasons, but along the way, those bad things started to be done for the wrong reasons. But no one tries to stop them, because no one knows that there is something that needs to be stopped.

“So, that’s why we exist.” He said, gesturing to the people in the room. “Some of us are ex-Alliance, some we have recruited through being victims of the corruption that has wrapped its fingers around the throat of our duty.” He then pointed a finger at Valla, “And you are one of the most promising students I have seen. One that I will not let be used for the wrong reasons.”

“And that’s why you brought me along?” She asked, hurt that she was lied to. Not just by Tanil, but the Alliance as well. 

“Yes.” Tanil said, taking a sip from his drink. “You want to do some good, right? Well, here’s your chance.” He stood up and moved to where Valla sat and placed a hand on her shoulder. “Don’t hesitate on this decision, little one.” Tanil then moved into the crowd of people.

Valla remained seated. She didn’t know what to do. She had friends back at the alliance, people who she cared for and loved. If what Tanil said was true, then they may be in danger, but if she joined this new group, then Valla may be forced to kill those people she grew up with. She doubted they would spare any time trying to save their enemy.

And there were the words Tanil left Valla with. He had said not to hesitate on this decision. He had also said hesitation meant death. The implication was clear. All it took was four seconds for her life to change forever.

Valla knew what she had to do.

The student stood to go find her master. After wading through the crowd of people, she saw him standing near the door they had entered earlier, talking with a new group of people who sat at a table. 

Tanil once again noticed her approaching, but this time seemed tense, and the whole table fell quiet along with him. Does everyone know of her reason for being brought here? Valla felt like she was an animal being shown off to the most judgemental of butchers. 

“I’ll do it.” She said, and Tanil noticeably relaxed and smiled at her. 

“I knew you would.” He told her, almost seeming proud. Maybe he was proud. That broke Valla’s heart more.

Her master moved to stand in front of the door and Valla followed behind him, shying behind his tall stature. Tanil then grabbed everyone’s attention. “My friends!” He started, “Tonight, we welcome a new member. Valla! She is one of the most promising assassins I have ever met and will prove to be a vital asset in our cause.” 

They all erupted into cheers and hoots and hollers.

Four seconds.

“For a Quiet World!” Tanil shouted back, and they returned the phrase.

Four seconds.

Valla drew her knives, not making a sound, and as Tanil turned to present her, she prepared to show them just the promising student she was.

His foot didn’t even set down before her knife was deep into his throat.

Their eyes connected one last time. His eyes, now red with blood, and hers, wet with tears. She removed the knife and let him drop to the floor. She looked down and could not find the words to say to her master. The room was silent. No one could find the words.

Valla dashed out through the door, throwing on her hood, and scaling the building before anyone could find the words.

Shouts echoed down in the alleys below, and scrapes along the wood and stone signaled their pursuit. Valla didn’t waste any time and leaped across the city's roofs. She zig-zagged her path, and kept her body low so that way she blended into the night a little better.

Eventually, the shouts and scrapes faded. Whoever was in that group, they were not as skilled as she was. With her hesitation now broken, and a more decisive attitude, Valla stood on the edge of a building that overlooked the city and watched the lights of people still awake shift around in their homes. 

She might never know the warmth of a night by the fire at home again. But that didn’t matter. Now an outlaw to Tanil’s group, and probably even her own family back at the alliance, she began moving again, the light of the moon now serving as her only guide.