A night of revelation

It was a particularly damp and dreary night. These conditions were most favourable to me as they tended to keep indoors all those who had no urgent business to bring them outside. Clouds passed slowly across the moon aiding my efforts to remain out of sight. I picked my way carefully through the streets, often choosing routes which were considered best avoided by the greater portion of the city’s populace. It never crossed my mind to be afraid, but then fear was an affliction of the weak. I brushed my hand against my thigh. The blade strapped in place still remained, ready to be called upon when the moment came.

  Earlier that day I had been summoned to visit Master Cauder in his chamber. I had not seen the interior of his quarters since the previous week and so felt great excitement. I hurried to meet him and waited impatiently at his door to be called in. When at last my name was shouted I entered his room and went straight to him.
  “You sent for me Sir?” I asked politely. Master Cauder motioned for me to sit and we both sat cross legged upon cushions scattered on the floor. In the moments that passed I was given my contract for the forth coming night. The target was a woman. In most cases when the job was female I was sent to complete the task. I think everyone thought that it was easier to send a woman after another woman. My fraternity was home to many men but amongst all my brothers I was the only one to be called sister. In truth it mattered not to me whom the contract was for. In that respect all were equal in my eyes.
  As I walked back to my own room I glanced at the written note the Master had given me. It contained the information I required to complete my task in a few hours time. Upon it was listed an address and description of the woman I was to visit. I made sure to memorise it exactly as I set alight the paper over the flame of a candle in my chamber. One of the many tenets of our organisation was to never leave any trace of evidence which may present a brother in poor light. I lay upon my bed and rested until the hour came to go to work.

  The rain was coming down heavier now. I pulled my hood over my head partly to shelter myself but also because I entered a street with few shadowy retreats. The house was not much further. I recollected the written note from that afternoon and visualised the address. In this line of work there was no margin for error. One had to follow orders to every minute detail. It was not my place to ask questions. Not once had I ever enquired after the circumstances leading to a target’s selection. I never allowed my mind to be troubled by curiosity or guilt but I did strive to be the best. The target’s home stood before me now. It was a fairly small abode and all on one floor. Many years had obviously passed since its building owing to the state of disrepair it found itself in. It was entirely wooden and rotting away in places. High society would not be losing one of its members on this night that was for sure. Less fuss was made when we struck one of the poor at least. I stood in the shadow of a tree opposite the house and surveyed it. The air had turned cold and I could see my breath each time I slowly exhaled. It was exceptionally important to take the time to consider all of the available options. One had to be sure of the best way to gain access and more importantly the best way to leave a property. A dim light flickered from a small window. At this hour I would have expected the lady to have retired to bed. I let my eyes dart quickly over the building, collecting information as they went. I spotted a small hole in the roof stuffed with thatch. A smile formed across my face in the dark. This couldn’t be made any easier.  I glanced up and down the street. There was no sound, no movement. I moved quickly to the side of the house and paused briefly looking for a way up. There were a number of small holes in the wood which served as hand and foot holds by which to climb to the roof. Once I sat atop the house I slowly made my way to the small hole by which I intended to make my entrance. The thatch had been poorly laid in place and it was easily pulled free.  When enough had been discarded I slipped through and crouched upon a wooden beam running the length of the house. As my eyes adjusted to the little light available I could make out the sparsely furnished interior. One half of the house contained a small wooden table and chair. Nearby there was a cooking hearth with accompanying pots and dishes. In the remaining half of the home there stood a small cabinet beside an old bed with an animal skin rug on the floor before it. I fixed my attention here for upon the bed lay a woman sleeping on her stomach under a blanket. Instinctively I checked again for the blade before advancing slowly and carefully along the rafter. I came to rest directly above my sleeping target. It was my intent to drop upon the woman and slit her throat before she even had time to wake. I took one final glance at the room noting the position of the door and the placement of the lock. With my eyes focussed back on the unsuspecting lady I pulled the dagger free of its hilt and grasped it firmly. With a deep breath I swooped from the beam and landed over my prey, pinning her to the bed. She woke with a start and screamed fiercely. I needed to silence her but her wriggling knocked me off balance and I couldn’t strike effectively. I pushed her face into the bed to muffle her shouts whilst I recovered my balance. All the while she screamed for her life and although I was more than used to hearing it something familiar made a memory flash into my mind. I spun her around. She looked at me and the lightening fast flicker of recognition was as visible in her eyes as it was in mine. The noise stopped and silent shock took its place.
  “Mother?” I gasped. The look on the woman’s face confirmed my question.
  “Where have you been all these years?” She replied in a whisper.
  “Don’t pretend you care. You left me there at the mercy of that monster!”
  “I didn’t mean to. I was scared. I just ran.”
  “And left your child to die. He tried to violate me. He was going to kill me!”
She wept violently for a moment. I let her compose herself. She opened her arms to me and leant forward to embrace me. I moved towards her. I had reached adulthood never knowing the love and nurture of a mother and now here she was returned to me. I had dreamt of this moment for many years never believing I would see its actuality. Countless times had a played out the scenario of reunion in my head and every time I envisioned the same climax.
  The blade ran smoothly across the pale skin of her throat before hot blood escaped in a torrent of red. In the last seconds of her life she looked at me with eyes full of sadness and regret. I looked back and felt nothing. I let her limp body slump back on to the bed. In my eyes my mother had died long ago on the night we were cornered by a drunk piece of filth stumbling home from the tavern. He knocked my mother to the ground as though she was no more than a brush handle and advanced towards me. I looked to her for salvation and watched in disbelief as she scrambled to her feet and fled away from me into the night. All the while I could hear a slurry of threats spilling from our attacker’s foul mouth of what he was going to do to me. I tried to back away from him as he loosened his buckle. In the darkness I tripped and landed on my back on the ground. He laughed. I tried desperately to return to my feet but he was on me before I could make it. I whimpered as he bore down on me and felt around the ground for anything which could offer me defence. At last my fingertips connected with a piece of rock and I stretched with all my might to bring it tightly to my grasp. His breath was vile. I could taste it as he tried to kiss me. With all the strength in my young body I brought down the rock on his skull and the sudden impact made him reel back. I struck again with the sharp edge and he rolled over on to the earth. I was filled with the need to survive and so I let loose a barrage of smashes against his head until he took his last breath. In the darkness I sat over his corpse breathing deeply and shivering with fear. Little did I know that I was not alone in that moment. The act was witnessed by a brother who saw great potential in that young girl. That is how I came to be where I am today. I was born anew on that night.
 
I wiped the blood from my blade on the blanket from the bed before throwing it over the body of the woman who had given me life. Everything was still and I walked calmly to the door. Very quietly I opened the lock and glanced back. A form of peace came over me. I felt like I had achieved a kind of justice. I closed the door behind me and with a feeling of great relief slipped away silently into the night.