Josefina Ortega was, once again, hungry. The crowded streets of Genovesa offered little in the way of food that was easily acquired. The tight, half-timber buildings housed many different shops, holding weapons, armor, gems, clothing, and most importantly; food.
This hadn't always been the way. Not before her father, Bacari, had been killed. He had been one of the legendary Genovesan Assassins, but a fat man hired him and two others as bodyguards. No assassin should be used as a bodyguard. Apparently, they had been killed, one by one, by some Araluen archers.
Josefina dodged between the people in the street, of which there were many. Thieves, merchants, guards, warriors, peddlers, travelling salesmen, women of loose morals, men of high stature. All with better luck and more meals then her.
But there! A food stall, with the owner busy arguing with a man across the counter! Perfect. She dodged between several people, and while the two men argued, she snuck a hand out and grabbed a large loaf of bread, quick as a flash. She spun on her heel, short left-sided cloak spinning with her, and disappeared through the busy morning crowd.
==-==
Josefina opened the door to her father's old tower home, situated close the the fortress Elini of Genovesa. She climbed the spiral stairs up to the second level, which led onto a large balcony that spanned two roofs on either side of the tower. Inside the tower, she ripped off a chunk of bread and stored the rest safely in a sack, hung from a hook. She went out onto the balcony and picked up a crossbow.
The crossbow had been a present her father had gotten her, a year before he died and a year and a half she had had it. It had been made by the lead crossbow builder of the Assassin's order, and it was a beautiful weapon. Made of a polished, curved oak handle, and graceful steel arms, it was capable of smashing through full armor, and good for 50 meters. Every day since she had got it, she had practiced, over and over again, more then a hundred bolts a day, on the balcony. Some days, her father even took her to the Assassin's Hall, where targets came up at random, testing the accuracy, speed, and reload time of the assassins. She had come close the the second best assassin in the order, hitting 9/10 targets in one and a half minutes.
Now, with her father dead, she had devoted herself to the weapon, as well as studying his books and listening to the teachers in the Assassin hall. It was because of them she was still alive, as they had taught her how to steal food and fend for herself. And though it was a hard life, apparently the Order had sent for a man from Araluen, who was supposed to be able to teach her even more.
When the knock came at the door, the expected person was not what she expected.
To be continued.
