Sasha moved forward and tried to comfort me. "It is ok. None of us think less of you." She was trying to be nice but it only made me angrier.

Grif spoke next, "Did you really kill orcs with only a rabbit? How? You are only ten. Did someone teach you to fight before?"

I had never really thought about it till now. I shook my head. "No. I only reacted. I was so angry. I wanted to hit them with something. All I had was the rabbit. I was just lucky."

They all starred at me but said nothing else. Time in the mountain seemed to flow differently for us. It was like we were in another world. Training was the highlight of our lives. That was all we soon cared for. All we wanted.

Master Sim taught us how to fight, how to make and use poisons. He often tested us by filling cups with wine and a random poison. We would then have to figure out which of them was in the cups by ordering them from least to most poisonous. The test ended with us drinking what we thought was the least. Whoever chose wrong was given an antidote but only after making them suffer. Then I was forced to drink the same. Many days came and went.

My team seemed to grow closer over that time. We trusted each other. They trusted me to lead. We were taught lessons in hiding, stalking, sneaking, trained in all manner of weapons and fighting. It didn't take long for my name to spread. The one chosen by Master Thrass.

The Rabbit Killer, though Masters were the only ones ever to call me that. I knew I changed more over the time I spent inside the mountain. I felt something in me slowly die, or hide away. When I looked at people I saw where to strike them. How to best go for the kill. I proved beyond a doubt that Thrass putting me in charge of the group was the best move. I was called a Genius when it came to being an Assassin.

Something I was born and bred to do. It was the end of the second year of training. I had mastered all forms of poison, knives, lock picking, and stealth. I was never seen unless I wanted to be. I only struggled with the bow. Sure I was good but it never felt a part of me like everything else did. It felt foreign. Each time one of my team failed a task I was forced into the same punishment as them. Sometimes I was punished instead of them. But I was never punished for something I did.

I never failed. We eventually were pitted against other teams in mock battles or assassination missions. One team would be the Assassins and the other would be the mark with his guards. My team became feared among the Ores. We worked together flawlessly. We never lost our Mark and we never failed to kill theirs. We were perfect, until Grif made a mistake.

He forgot the timing for our plan. He was our current mark we had to guard and things were going well till he moved out of his cover sooner then expected. The other team killed him cleanly with a well placed bow shot. "Damn it Grif." Sasha stormed out to him and poked his chest.

"Our perfect record is ruined." Grif was red and he couldn't look us in the eyes. I walked out of my hiding place and looked at him. "You disregarded your orders and got yourself killed." I said. Grif looked ashamed and mumbled an apology. "Sorry Boss."

My team had taken to calling me boss after the first year of training. I sighed and shook my head. Master Sim came to collect us and I was whipped for Grif's failure to follow orders and his subsequent death. Once I was tended for the lash marks by Tomiko, who was very skilled in healing and poisons, we were collected to meet up in the Assembly Cavern.

"Listen up. From here on you are on your own. You will stay in your groups but each of you will be tested and evaluated individually." We were gathered in the Assembly Cavern, the large cavern we arrived in the first day here. The Master speaking looked us over as if he wasn't sure if we were cut out to be here, though his eyes never passed over me.

"After Mess you will be given your first missions. Do your best. Complete the mission. You might even come back alive." Everyone stood before the Stage with a mix of satisfaction to have reached this point, and a healthy dose of fear at how we would complete our first missions. Two years have already passed. Two more are still to follow, we were Blades now. The only way to become assassins was to prove that we deserved to be here, and live long enough to prove it. Near me my team shifted from foot to foot. As we gathered together I decided that it would be unwise to get any closer to them.

As the Master said, this was no longer meant for teams. We were alone now. A master would take us to our missions and evaluate our individual skills. We were dismissed for training and Thrass came to collect me. Grif and the girls were weary around Thrass and for good reason. He had no reservations on damaging someone as punishment. For my first mission I had to take my first life since coming to the mountain. I had to do it and mean for it to happen.

Thrass lead me from the mountain without a word. This was the first time I felt fresh air in three years. He did not speak to me as usual, only doing so if something must be said. We traveled weeks away from the Mountain to a medium city that felt as crowded as any other. People walked the streets. Vendors trying to sell their wares.

It was normal, for now. I followed silently and kept my eyes open. We rented a room in a tavern by the name of The Mares Saddle. It was the first tavern I had ever visited. Once in our room with the door locked Thrass spoke to me.

"Listen closely. Your mission should be simple. The target is a Lord's son. He is illegitimate and born from a competing Lord. If it is found out then the boy will have both titles and lands. You are to kill him with poison. Make it seem like a food allergy. That is it." Thrass went on to describe what the child looked like and where it may be easiest to find him. I was given two days to prepare and scout the location.

When the deadline was up I was forced to go ahead, though in truth I was far from ready. I made my way in the shadows to the mansion the son was living. Slipping passed guards and servants as I made my way to the targets room there were few people moving about and it was rather easy but I knew not to let my guard down.

Opening the door with little more than a slight scrape of the latch on the hold, I moved inside. The poison was prepared with enough time to set on my dagger. It would be easy enough to force it in the targets mouth to lick the blade and the subsequent poison off of its metal. My feet were light as I neared his bed. Then my eyes fully adjusted to the dark room, the target was not only a child. But no more than a baby.

I looked down and the little boy curled up in his blankets. He had his fist in his mouth and gently sucked as babies often did. I closed my eyes and looked away. How was I supposed to do this? My first mission? My breathing was slow and I opened my eyes once more to the child.

"I am sorry. I wish there was another way. If you see my mother, please ask her to forgive me. I know you never will." Gently I opened the babies mouth and had the tip of the blade rub the flat against his tongue. Once done the baby began to grow fussy. I did not have much time before the crying would begin. My heart slowly broke as I looked at him. This was wrong. Moving out was just as easy as going in.

The child began to cry as I was leaving the house he lived in. Then the cries grew faint and stopped. Screams and new cries from the servants picked up afterward. By then I was gone. Thrass looked at me when I approached and he smiled the dark way he usually did. I did not speak.

Did not look at him. The next missions he gave me were much the same. Children, babies, little boys and girls. None were over the age of five and because of me none would ever be. I felt something cold and dark grow inside me during that year with Thrass. When he saw no reactions from those missions he moved me on to adults.

Nobodies, Lords, Ladies, and at the end of the year he gave me a king. By far that was the most difficult. When he told me of my mission I did not believe him.

"I never took you for a joker Master Thrass. How can I kill a king?"

Thrass nodded and smiled and looked at me. "My little Rabbit Killer. After today you will become a King Slayer. And if your fortunes hold a Kingmaker. Many will hire you to kill their rivals to make them kings." I held my tongue. He admitted it to be true and arguing would only get me beaten.

I bowed my head and listened to his plan. There was not one. This one I had to figure out and execute on my own. The client did not care how the king died as long as the king, his wife, and their family was all killed at the same time. Men, women and children. Lucky me. I took my time to figure out the ways it may be possible. I watched the targets and planned for every possible failure.

In the end it happened by pure chance. The royal family rode by carriage down a mountain path. With a well placed knife the horses took off and the carriage careened over the edge of a cliff. Thrass was the most pleased I had seen him. As a reward for my success he gave me leave to be on my own for the remainder of training.

I took the offer with suspicion but took it none the less. I lived in the tavern where we were staying. Using separate room to avoid seeing my master. It was after a week I found a second surprise. Tomiko walked down the stairs as I ate my morning meal. She was dressed in simple travel cloths and for the first time I noticed her as a young woman. I felt something stir in me. She sat in a corner and ordered her own meal. I rose and moved to join her.

"Tomiko." my voice was soft. She looked up and gasped in shock. She rushed to her feet and grabbed me in a tight hug. I returned it hesitantly.

"I am sorry I know you don't like to be touched. But it is good to see you." I held her a moment longer. I felt my body react to her closeness. We were nearing our fourteenth year and the feel of her body under such thin clothing, she was indeed a woman now. That moment I spent as much time as I could with her. She was here on mission with her master as well. She talked more than I remembered but I enjoyed it. Things were going well.

Until one night as we walked together a pair of men cut us off. The simple roguish types, they demanded money to allow us to pass safe or turns with Tomiko, as they noticed her. We both laughed at the absurdity of the situation. The men didn't like that and attacked us.

We each took out a man. The rogues stood no chance against us, but in that moment I stood no chance against Tomiko. On instinct I grabbed her and pulled her body against mine. Lips crushing against hers. Our bodies seemed to meld together like puzzle pieces. Almost. It did not fit perfectly. We wasted no time returning to the tavern.

The night was quick to fill with Tomiko's voice. My own sounds filtering in once in a while. This became routine. Days with her master and nights with me. But it all ended too soon as I had to return to the mountain with Thrass. I hid everything from the evil man as best I could. Once we returned and he gave his consent to pass me to the next phase I felt a little weight lift from me.

That year of missions took their toll. The evil I inflicted. The lives lost. But Tomiko healed that a little. The Grandmaster decided that he wanted to test this years group together. The final test would be postponed till the others returned. Some were in various stages. Needing to remain out on missions longer than planned.

A few months passed and a message arrived. It was in Tomiko's writing and it only said four words.

You have a daughter. My mind spun and I felt the mountain closing in. I had to find out more. I didn't know where she was but a messenger would find and deliver my reply. "Come to me."

A few long months later she did. A baby in her arms in our team room. I looked at my daughters face for the first time and new she was mine.

Knew things may have just changed. She had my eyes. Her hair was straight like her mothers but her face was the same as well. She was beautiful. I held her and rocked her. As we waited for everyone else to return we became a family.

Lingering glances at the mother of my child. A caress here, a gesture there. She never told anyone who the father was. She pretended she got pregnant on a mission seducing the target. Forgetting to take the medicine to prevent such things. Eventually Sara and Sam returned and loved the baby. Griff was the last of us. Once everyone returned the final trials began.