#1: The Runaway Kid

It was a new moon night, the sky above was pitch black. The area was only illuminated by the lights of the red-light district a bit further from the river. The laughter and noise of people filled the place, It was a perfect cover for the black market and shady deals. Many nobles frequent this town in disguises either for the pleasures or priceless goods which are found only in these districts. The town was famous for its black market which contains weird collections of slaves, precious jewels, rare metals, forbidden tapestries and poisons for assassinations.

With such activity, Few knights were positioned near the entry of the district to just make sure the crowd doesn't go out of control. Though this night they were sleepy and drunk letting the dangerous deals run without fear. After all, it was the founding day of the Empire, Everyone was in a good mood. Therefore, the streets of the town were filled with people all dressed in dark-colored attire circling about different venues.

The brothels were auctioning their prized collections, a new batch of young women, the spoils of the recent war. In this hustle and bustle, the people were unaware of the huge group of assassins chasing after a young girl.

As she ran the splish-splash sounds of puddles gave away her location to her hunters. Her hair was wrapped in a black cloth her face masked, her light blue frilly dress was cut near the frills and covered in mud showing her bare feet totally scratched and bleeding. She was no more than 7 years old, yet her eyes filled with a fire that would put a knight to shame. She ran and blended into the crowd, most of whom had worn a black cloth covering their hair as a disguise.

The assassins clicked their tongue as it was the third time they lost the sight of her and were annoyed at their inability to kill a kid. They had been chasing her from two hours, if it hadn't been a s-ranked mission, they would have left the kid with pity. But their sponsor had given 30 million just for the assassination of the girl..

They were going to be killed by their master if they wouldn't get her head back. The Leader of the group, Silverfang was the best killer in town, Yet he couldn't match to her speed, she was as tiny as an ant and as annoying as a housefly. She would somehow escape from them.

Silverfang was not a fan of murdering children, he would kill the adults whether innocent or guilty but the kids, he couldn't. He would provide false evidence and let them go. He planned the same for this young girl but his master had already warned him, This time, it had to be done. No matter what, If not he would be killed along with his family.

The sponsor this time wasn't a normal one...

The girl was shivering, not from the cold, but from fear. She thought she was used to fear, but no, it wasn't easy. The moment she felt no eyes on her, she let out a sigh. She had barely breathed the whole time. A tiny bit of relief washed upon her face, but she didn't let her guard down. She crept in the shadows, she knew, they hadn't left. She saw the perfect hideout, the storage barn, she went slowly and was about to hide when a man bumped into her and caught her by her collar, letting her black cloth fall showing, her golden- blonde hair. The man himself was caught off-guard, he froze for a second as blonde hair was limited to aristocrats.

He caught her and was judging how much she would sell for, he tried to take her away. She panicked and struggled to get away from his grip but no matter what she did, it was a grown man she was fighting her already exhausted body couldn't do anything but a few occasional scratches and bites on his hand to let her go.

Kidnapping and selling of young children was this man's business. He was a contributor to the black market's 'goods', he was immune to the scratches and pleadings of a young child, he became inhumane in the greed and desire of money.

The girl didn't give up, she didn't escape from a group of killers just to be sold, she mustered all her strength her broke his pinky finger and he momentarily loosened his grip but now there were two other men who held her and were taking her, They wrapped a cloth to cover her hair and were about to gag her with a cloth when she screamed,

"HERE I AM!!! COME AND GET ME SILVERFANG!",

She heard the killers call their leader Silverfang, it was a dangerous gamble, but she felt confident in her decision, she placed all her hopes in the killers. Only they would save her. Only to kill her next but she could escape them somehow. Deep down, she knew though, Being killed was better than being a slave and sold to nobles. Somehow, the killers had more humanity in their eyes than this man and his henchmen.

Silverfang did hear, He turned and sure enough noticed the bright blonde hair peeking out of the black cloth. He signaled his team to surround and attack. They fought with the men and scared them away, leaving the young girl who twisted her ankle escaping from those traffickers.

Her eyes were red due to the smoke from a nearby fire. Silverfang approached her, holding his blade towards her. Her reflection on his sword made him tremble. It was impossible. He couldn't hurt a child. He closed his eyes. He knew, If not for him, someone else would be assigned to kill her. At least, maybe, he could make sure she meets her end peacefully. He evaluated the best move to make her end painless.

The young girl locked eyes with each of the assassin, she finally looked at Silverfang, She smiled. A smile without any joy. She then mumbled to herself, "No way will I give up after coming this far!", She got up though her leg throbbed, She was cornered. Behind her was the storage barn and in front of her a big group of assassins not even leaving a tiny gap.

She gulped. Her breathing became hoarse and she couldn't even see clearly. Everything was blur except the eyes of assassins, few cold, few with pity and a very few with determination.

The assassins moved closer slowly as though she would fly off if they came in a hurry. They inched slowly their knives and swords ready slowly crouching to meet her height. They were near the end. The child's head will be in their hands. However, Unlike their expectations, She walked forward slowly increasing her speed, when Silverfang and she were just a few centimeters apart, she jumped onto the thigh of Silverfang who had knelt to slit her throat, from there she climbed onto the shoulder of Silverfang and jumped over the shoulders of the assassins swift and desperate.

Silverfang was shocked. He turned to catch her. His eyes stared in disbelief as she almost escaped again. But fatigue took over the girl, she couldn't see clearly and the severe pain from her ankle made her feel that her whole body weighed more than a ton. She couldn't jump away and took a wrong step. She ended up right in the hands of an assassin. If she could escape him, she would be free. She tried moving and running away but the assassin caught her firmly by her arms. He took his knife and almost chopped off the girl's head. Silverfang ran, he placed himself between the girl and knife. The knife scraped his thigh.

The junior looked up questioning the intentions of the leader.

"Sir, we have to do our job.", Junior said.

"I.. I won't let you.", Silverfang said confused of his own words.

"Silverfang, You do remember what The Dealer said, no exception this time... You know the consequences.", Kyle, a friend of the leader said. The girl just froze. She thought she had lost her life. She looked up at the leader who stood as if to protect her. She was so tired she fainted then. Unable to open eyes, she thought she may never open them again. She began regretting everything that brought her to this state. She didn't want all of this. She just wanted to live!

"I know, But I can't let this mission go on, I certainly can't let you kill her.", Silverfang.

"No, you can't , Do you think the Dealer will let you go? We aren't the only men under his absolute command, We have 3 more branches!", Jamie pleaded.

"I know...", Silverfang looked at his friend apologetically and took on a defensive stance.

"Are you going to even risk Riya?? She is with child you idiot! Don't do things which will make you regret!", Kyle tried reasoning, but the answer was clear, the rest of the assassins got it clearly they got their weapons ready. They had to fight.

"I won't... Riya... She will forgive me, Unlike us, she is an angel... She will know why I did this.", Silver fang said.

"I.... I hate you.", Kyle said before joining Silverfang. He stood his back covering the little girl, His blade pointing their juniors. Kyle and Silverfang had been the childhood friends both who lost their parents and livelihood to war. They were almost brothers.

"Seniors.. Isn't the joke going too far?", a junior said.

"You guys may not fear Dealer, but we do, We have families!", Another said.

"Then come at us.", Kyle said trembling.

The juniors didn't wait. They fought so hard and for so long. It was clear, two against 13 is not a good ratio. Kyle could see it clearly. It was a suicide mission. In front of him were the very best assassins, he should know, he trained them. They all had families who are probably under Dealer's threats and could be killed if this mission fails so there was no scope for them to take pity or even think rationally. They would do anything to protect their kin, even if it meant killing their master. He knew what he had to do. It wasn't like he had anyone waiting for him. If anything, He would miss Riya and Silverfang and his unborn nephew/niece. But it is better than to let Silverfang die....

"Take the girl and go.", Kyle said.

"What? Don't talk bullshit!", Silverfang grunted while fighting.

"It's either all of us die or you both escape. I ain't losing my life for nothing.", Kyle said.

"I... I will see you at my child's birth.", Silverfang said.

"Yes yes, Take care of Riya for me.", Kyle said as his eyes turned a bit moist.

"So long brother.", Silverfang took the little girl and escaped. He escaped to a nearby town, it would take a while for the word of his betrayal to reach the Dealer. The city was quite far from here, It would take a day on foot and half a day with a carriage.

He carried the sleeping girl and went on travelling. Thanks to the war, the amount of knights stationed within the town were quite a few. Silverfang ran without taking a single break. He didn't stop for water or food. It was a really big risk which he took back there. Betraying Dealer had been on his mind for quite a while... but risking his family and best friend for that... He thought he was mad. But the only thing that didn't make him miserable was that he saved this young girl. The young girl whom the sponsor was so desperate to kill that they sent 15 skilled assassins of the biggest mercenary group of the country.

He soon approached the borders of the capital. His family, i.e. he and his wife, Riya, a fellow mercenary lived nearby the borders. He came to his house and was about to knock on the door when he realized that the door was open. He shivered thinking of the possibility... Did the word reach already? Was he too late?

He opened the door and saw, three men dressed in black carrying the Dealer's crest on their chest. Their knives drawn and dripping blood.