Assassin's Eye

Chapter 9.

Lucy stood outside of the huge castle like building gazing up at it with shock. She hadn't been here in so long, and had forgotten how intimidating it was. The Organization of Assassins: the one place she didn't want to go, yet the one to which she went, despite that feeling in her stomach telling her to flee in terror. The cool morning air bit at her nose, and a drop of water dripped down onto her nose from a pine tree far above her head. Spring was approaching, and she wished she would live to see it.

The building was ginormous, made from stone blocks cemented together. A single door was the only way in—or out. A wall surrounded the area inside, which was filled with barracks and had a large billboard in the center for selecting jobs. Two tall towers sprouted from the ground, and arced to form pathways leading to the important part of the building. Held up only by the two pathways and a pillar in the center, another building was suspended in the air. Gothic looking pillars went around the exterior of the wall, adding to the impressive features. Something new was here though, something that hasn't been here the last time Lucy had come, a year ago. An extra platform lay to the right of the building, on which cages seemed to be bolted down. Shadows moved in the interior of the cages. Guards moved all about the premises, occasionally stopping to glance around the area. Lucy grit her teeth and began to walk reluctantly toward the building.

One man tensed as she approached. "Who approaches?" He called.

Lucy took a deep breath, regaining her courage. "Lucy August, Level Two. I've come to turn myself in for execution that is scheduled to occur in two days, in exchange for the prisoners' lives."

One man looked at the other, who gave a nod of reassurance, then took a step toward Lucy. "This way," he said, motioning her to follow. She did so, and was led through the door and around the perimeter of the inside of the wall and around the barracks. The man in front of her disappeared through a doorway in the wall, and she followed, climbing stairs until she couldn't feel her legs. The man behind her kept thrusting the hilt of his sword into her back, barking, "Move faster," and "Walk, prisoner!" Lucy was getting quite annoyed by him at this point.

They made it to the top of the stairs and found themselves in a room that had windows tall enough to fit a person through lining the walls. Lucy glanced out one of the windows, hoping it wouldn't be her last view of the forest. The plan they had laid out had been sketchy, and could result in her either getting everyone out alive or having everyone killed along with her, and at that point, she'd offer a new deal—one they couldn't pass up. Hopefully, it wouldn't come to that one, though. The group went through a door and across one of the two walkways leading to the central room. Lucy's heart sped up. She hadn't been here since... She stopped herself. Best not to remember things long forgotten, in her experience. Across the walkway was another doorway, a giant oak door concealing the inside.

The door sound open with a creak, and Lucy stepped inside. The image she saw was one she could never forget. Nemos was there, which made her heart leap out of her chest, but the look he wore on his face was one so filled with anguish that it physically pained her. She never wanted to see that look again. Nemos was wearing a fine white shirt and black dress pants, and black loafers, and his green hair was slicked back, not sticking up the way it naturally did. Lucy's hand flew to her mouth as she saw who sat next to him in a throne. The throne was black, covered in gothic spirals and designs. The person sitting in the throne, however, looked even more extravagant. It was a girl who looked about twenty at a first glance, her light brown hair cascading down her shoulders into wavy locks. She had black eyes, however, that gave her an impending quality for some reason, making it feel like she was about to strike constantly. The girl stared off at the wall, blinking every few seconds. She spoke.