Notorious

I was forced to kill my own parents at the age of 10. I was young and my trainer said it was that or she would do it herself. It was just after I had joined the keep. Robyn wanted to test my loyalty to her. I hated the thought of my parent’s blood spilling by my hands but if I had to watch Robyn do it I would have killed her and the entire keep would hunt me down.

I crept outside, preparing myself for what was to come. Clouds eerily formed in front of a full moon. I felt a shiver go down my spine. Tonight was the last night Robyn had given me. If I didn't do it now they would die a slow and torturous death. I finally took a deep breath and went inside to retrieve my daggers. I slinked past my parent’s door to my room where I sharpened my daggers further to make sure they would feel no pain before they were executed. I slowly slinked back down the empty and eerily quiet hallway to my parent’s bedroom door, which I had strategically left open as I pretended to look for something just as they were getting into bed, and opened it just a little more to check they were still sleeping. I heard my father’s heavy breathing which meant basically nothing I could do now would wake him.

I sat at the entry to their bedroom for a long moment and listened to the breathing and occasional movement of one of them. I looked at the clock hanging on the wall. Soon it would be 12 am and that clock would wake my mother up and she would get out of bed to stop the stupid chicken clock from waking everyone in the house. I knew I had to work fast. I started to creep into the doorway, daggers by my side. I had just gotten to the side of the bed where my mother was asleep, taking her final breaths, when I suddenly felt like there was no air in my lungs. I had to get out. I started towards the door but I remembered the clock. It was now or they would die horrifically. I turned back to where I could see the slight outline of my mother’s head. I walked over and tried not to think about what my daggers were going to do to her. I cherished the last few breaths that escaped her. I refused to look at her, my dagger somehow found its way into her neck and I held it there, hoping she went instantly with no pain. I heard a stir from my father’s side of the bed and quickly found the shape of him starting to sit up. I panicked and threw the remaining dagger by my side into his throat. He slumped back into the bed, lifeless.

I don’t know how long I sat there, wishing it had of been me in their place. I felt like I was drowning. Like the world around me was spinning. I was underwater and couldn't escape. I couldn't believe what I had just done. I sat there until the sun rose, until I felt nothing, until I was sure I could face Robyn without breaking down at her feet. I hated myself.

When I heard a knock at the door I panicked. I thought it was someone coming to take me away for what I had done. Robyn said she had taken care of everything. What was going to happen to me? I carefully approached the front door. There was another knock. I opened the door and when I saw it was Robyn I let out a breath I didn't realise I was holding.

“Big mistake opening the door with all that blood on your hands.” Robyn said with that stupid grin of hers. “Are you ready?”

“Ready for what?” I asked, pissed that she seemed to find what she had made me do funny.

“Your training.” She said, right before she barged past me and into my parent’s bedroom, where there cold, lifeless bodies lay. “You have to be able to hide a body, or in this case, two.” She smiled again and we worked together to dump the bodies in a forest miles away from Akara.

From there I was forced to join Robyn and let her train me into her perfect little protégé. She used the murder of my parents to desensitise me. I am now Akara's most notorious killer. I am Sam Sardothien.



The phone rang, violently snapping me out of my dazed state. I grabbed the nearest dagger and threw it to where the phone was sitting, ending the obnoxious ringtone that had constantly been in my ears for the past few days. I glanced at my mother’s chicken shaped clock hanging on the wall. 6 pm! I was supposed to meet Robyn at 5 pm. Man, was I going to get a beating tonight. I slowly started to get dressed - what was the point in hurrying when I was already screwed? - And set off to the keep. Robyn was going to kill me in training tonight.

I walked to the entrance of the keep. I felt eyes burning into me as I walked towards the training hall. It hit me the moment after it was too late. I felt a knee in my spine and an arm wrap around my neck. I hit the ground, almost breaking my jaw.

"I was wondering when you were going to show up." Alicia whispered in my ear. I fumbled to the side to stop her from breaking my neck or spine.

“I swear to god if you don’t get the hell off me I'm going to kill you!” I said in a harsh whisper.

“Oh, shut up. I was only joking.” Alicia said as she lifted my head slightly to free her arm and stood up. I hastily got to my feet and shot her a glare that would make the gods fall to their knees. It worked and I watched as she hurried off to do whatever Alicia did. I stalked off to find Robyn, pissed that I let Alicia take me down so easily.

I found Robyn sitting in the empty training hall, facing away from the entry where I stood. All of the daggers, spears and swords were still on the wall on the left side of the room, so I knew we were doing hand-to-hand combat tonight. I started towards her, nervous of what to expect. Was I getting tied to a training dummy and forced to fight without my arms? Was I going to be used as a target for the junior’s daggers tomorrow morning? Was she going to beat me herself? Who knew what Robyn was going to do to me.

“I see you have finally decided to show up,” She said, not bothering to turn towards me. “go home, Sam.”

“What? No punishment?” I thought you would be delighted to have me show up late just so you could cause me pain.” I said feeling very annoyed.

“Not having a training session is punishment enough. You'll see.” She said in her matter-of-fact voice. I breathed a sigh of frustration and walked home again.



I got a call from Robyn at 4 am the next morning. She told me there was a competition at the keep and that I had the choice to either enter or give up training at the keep and live the rest of my life as a normal Akaran citizen. I wanted to stop the training at the keep but I hated the thought of being another sheep in the herd of society. I told her I'd be there.

The competition started at 5 am. It was the earliest I've had to get up in weeks. I walked through the over-dramatic archway entry to the courtyard Robyn had told me the competition would be held. The courtyard was packed full of young aspiring assassins just like me, and although I was one of the oldest I felt like a child in the midst of all these people warming up for their battle. None of us knew what lay ahead. Sometimes these competitions were easy and sometimes people died.

"The day has finally come," Robyn said in her loud formal tone, "when we separate the strong from the weak and the brave from the meek. You will all go through strenuous tests of strength, agility and courage. Your task for today is to kill whatever creature is released. Whoever remains after the beast is dead will move on to the next activity which will be held here at 6 am sharp tomorrow morning. Good luck to you all. Let it begin!" As she hurried out of the courtyard the iron gates under the archway closed and the wooden gates at the other end of the courtyard were opened, revealing a creature I had never seen before. It was almost as tall as a two story building with the talons of a dragon and the golden feathers of a phoenix. It's eyes somehow seemed to hold the oceans of heaven and the flames of hell all in one. It was beautiful in a strange and sublime way. Everyone hurried to the edges of the room to choose their weapon. I went along with them and decided on a long narrow double edged sword which was almost twice my height in length. I figured because the creature was so tall having the length would be useful. I saw everybody rushing away from the creature and wondered what I had missed from last nights training.

I watched as everybody charged at the beast all at once from all different angles and I joined, not wanting to seem like I had no idea what was going on. Everybody looked so organised in the way they were fighting. Swords, daggers, spears and blades all seeming to move as one. Then I seemed to be getting in everyone's way.