Natalia

The teenage boy led Natalia to her quarters. He was dressed in gray rags, and his blond hair was a mess. There were ashes on his face, and his clothes looked worn out. Natalia was a keen observer, and she noticed that he walked silently, like a cat in the night. Every footfall made no sound, and every move looked calculated. He took a few turns before stopping before a door with the numbers 110 written over it. Then he turned towards the little girl and said, "Well, here you are, My Lady." He bowed a little as he said the words.

An ugly expression appeared on Natalia's face. "Don't call me that!" she said, which were the first words she had uttered since she got here. "I am NOT a lady!"

The teenage boy smiled. "Yes, you sure are, My Lady."

"I am not highborn," she said in a small voice. "What makes you say that?"

The boy grinned at her and patted the little girl's braided red hair. "I know a Moniyan Noble when I see one, and just because you dyed your hair doesn't mean you're no noble." The boy stared at her crystal blue eyes before he dropped his hand and bowed once more. "I shall take my leave,

My Lady."

Irritated, Natalia pursed her lips. "Wait, please don't tell—"

The teenager laughed a little. "Of course, My Lady. There are neither nobles nor peasants here in the Monastery, only orphans and Imperial Men. He turned his back from the girl and started to walk away.

"Wait, sir," said Natalia, holding her hand out. "How do you know all these about nobles and men?"

The boy stopped, and said to her without looking, "I am a trained assassin of the Church of Light, My Lady, not a 'sir' of any household." The boy then faced Natalia. "I've travelled many a-lands and served many a-Lords and Ladies, all for the service of the Empire."

Natalia was silent for a moment, then she asked, "I thought there were no nobles in the Monastery. Why are you addressing me like so?"

All he said was a simple reply. "Because I want to."

Natalia shifted on her feet. "Well, I don't want it."

"Then so be it," said the boy as he nodded. He looked at the clock on the end of the hallway and said, "I should be going." For the second time, he began to leave.

"Wait, before you go," said Natalia. "I want to ask you for a favor, if you will."

"What favor?"

"Will you… will you teach me?" she asked hesitantly. She shifted on her feet, and felt heat on her little head.

A small smile broke on the teenager's face. "Teach you what, then?"

"Things," she said. "About the Monastery, about the Church… about…"

"Being an assassin?" the boy filled in.

"Yes. I want to be… an assassin." She smiled for the first time. "I want to kill those who murdered my parents."

"Then so be it," he said again. "In one condition, though," he added as he raised an eyebrow.

Natalia's little eyes shined with spirit. "What is it?"

He walked closer to the little girl, as his golden-brown eyes darkened like the setting sun. "Tomorrow, when you wake up, and before you sleep at night, I want you to find me first."

"Find you?"

"Yes, find me." He took a step back. "If you are so driven to be an assassin, then you'll have to find me amongst the gray children and dark shadows that inhabit the Monastery. Find me, and then I'll show you the Light."

Natalia nodded fiercely, so sure that she could do such a simple task. Back at the Capital, she mastered the city by heart and knew every nook and cranny to find and hide from people. She knew places and discovered hidden paths and rooms like it was the back of her hand. She figured she should put her talents to good use. "I will find you for sure."

The boy shook his head. "Such determination, little girl. I hope you do not disappoint." He held out his hand. "I will remain within the walls of the Monastery, and not anywhere beyond it. If you do not find me before sundown, you would have failed. If you do fail, then the Church will never accept you as an assassin, and you will live the rest of your life as an orphan in this Monastery. Do you understand my terms?"

"Yes," replied the little girl with a new light in her eyes. She took his hand in hers and shook it hard. "I accept your challenge, sir," she said silently.

Afterwards, the boy took his arm and placed it by his side, bowed his head lightly, and finally turned his back on the girl. The boy chuckled as he walked across the other end of the hallway. "I told you, I am no sir," he said, and then he was gone.

Natalia stood there as she watched him recede into the shadows, hearing no footsteps as he walked. Then, she shifted her attention on the simple door before her.

She took a deep breath and opened the wooden door. The first thing she smelled was the aroma of lemon pies wafting in the air, then the foul scent of decay oozing from the corpse of a dead, white cat directly on top of the carpet. It stared at her, as if gazing deeply at her soul with its dead red eyes, unmoving yet unnerving.

Natalia was no stranger to dead animals, and cats especially, since the Capital was packed with a little of them. However, this one bothered her.

She closed her eyes, and stopped over it while carrying her bags. After she quickly placed all her belongings inside the small room, she opened her eyes to looked around. She saw a simple room, and a bunker bed. The room seemed bare and unoccupied, while dust settled on some places. It seemed as if no one else lived on the room.

She spied a small closet and looked inside. She always preferred to swear simple clothes, so she ditched her pink dress and changed into some gray clothing she found within. Then, she saw a small table with some lemon pies on top of it. She approached it and saw a note.

'Welcome to the Monastery of Light,' it said. Natalia had no clue who wrote it, but she knew only one person who knew she loved lemon pies, and that was her mother. Her mother died months ago, and some soldiers said it was demons that killed her. Claw marks were found all over her body, they said. Natalia never saw her body, but only her tomb when they buried her.

Mystified, Natalia grabbed a small piece of lemon pie anyway and tasted it – it was the best meal she had ever had in weeks. It tasted just like how her mother used to make them. It only made her more confused. 'Who made these pies?'

Then, remembering the challenge she had just accepted, she stepped outside with the intent to get to know the place better. She grabbed another pie as she went.

Natalia had already walked a few feet across the hallway when she realized she had not seen the dead cat on her way out. Surely, she went back and checked, and found no rotting corpse anywhere, and her carpet looked perfectly fine. The only proof that lingered was the foul smell that suddenly clung to her like a dead man's perfume.