Fairy Tale Assassin - Chapter 13

Becoming a Member

Chapter 13

The following days galloped by me. The training schedule put together by Gretel kept me fighting, or more accurately, getting beat up most of the time. Hansel trained Ruby in another part of the guild, which made me uneasy. However, I realized she was better off with one-on-one training. Either way, staying inside the guild was the best for us, since the capital remained in an uproar with my murder of a prominent noble.

On the first day, I got to know Gretel better. I’d never trust her, but she gave me information. Gilbert’s murder caught the king’s attention, and his guards swept through the streets looking for the murderer. Apparently, the servants and others inside the manor house scattered like roaches. The ones they gathered added to the dungeon cell population. Rumors filled the taverns about Gilbert’s past. Talk among the nobles forced the royal court into an uncomfortable, if silent, acknowledgement of Gilbert’s crimes against commoners. However, the king and his nobles required someone to pay in order to save face.

“With so many enemies, it’s easier for the king’s guards to find someone who didn’t want him dead,” she told me. “They’ll find someone to hang for the crime. That’s what nobility does best.”

With a nod to her sarcastic statement, I asked about the person who put out the contract. She shook her head.

“We’ll probably never know,” the pretty girl explained. “My guess is another noble who wanted his manor. That’s how petty they are. Contracts seldom tell you who ordered the work. Still, I’m happy to take the gold for your kill.”

Her smug words pissed me off a bit as she took me to the training area. Gretel smirked at my anger while she led me to the training area. Then she surprised me by suddenly asking about my past. After giving a somewhat honest but entirely vague answer, I quickly diverted the conversation. I carried plenty of questions about the guild and operations.

It’s surprising to discover that most of the assassin’s guild’s work had nothing to do with assassinating people. Instead, the members typically worked as spies gathering intelligence for certain houses or rich merchants. Also, a fair number of contracts focused on developing unique poisons or special onetime magic spells. Other contracts included finding the right ingredients for such poisons in various corners of the kingdom or beyond if the price was right.

When we entered the training room, I found an enormous creature waiting for us. At first glance, the thing looked like a bizarre cross between an ogre and Frankenstein’s monster. Before I had a chance to ask, Gretel gave me the answer.

“The guild master has plans for you. This is one of her creations.” She tossed me a training spear.

“You won’t be so emotional destroying this,” she smirked while heading to the side of the room.

The spear was nothing more than a pole about my height, with a dull point at the end. I looked it over, then shot her a glare. On the table was a sand clock, which she turned over.

“You must destroy this golem before the sand runs out!”

I wasn’t sure of the process, but somehow the golem activated automatically. Before I could understand the threat, the damn creature hit me in the belly and sent me tumbling across the sandy floor.

“You might want to get up! It won’t stop until you destroy it or it kills you!”

I heard her words while trying to keep from puking up my breakfast. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw the golem coming again.

Screw you, bitch!

My body took one hell of a beating on the first day. After finally destroying the creature, Gretel sent me against two more golems with nothing more than an iron bar. By mid-morning, the golems came close to ending me. I was sure I was no more than an inch away from death when my training partner came over and gave me an elixir of some type. That’s when she pointed out how to defeat the golems more effectively. I needed to stab them in vital spots, similar to how you kill a human.

“It would have been nice if they told me that sooner!” I sneered at her.

“Well, sometimes you need to learn the hard way.”

Her response made me seriously consider cutting her throat that night. Fortunately, the elixir brought me back to life. The bad news was I had to fight on during the afternoon. By the time I found my cot, my aching muscles told me my revenge would need to wait. Then I passed out without even thinking about eating dinner.

A few days later, black-and-blue bruises covered my face and body. Still, I considered it a win since I noticeably improved my swordsmanship and my throwing dagger capability. While I had too little strength to keep going for long attacks, I could at least defend myself up close using my weapons. Defeating golems became somewhat easier. Then the morning schedule changed to focus on my getting beaten by three golems while using only my daggers. In the afternoon, I had the added treat of having Gretel beating me down using her superior skills with a wooden sword. In her defense, we also worked on tactics, hiding, and other useful techniques for infiltration and escape.

During one session, both of us slid down the wall, heaving from the exertion. Sweat covered us from several rounds of hand-to-hand sword and dagger training. Gretal slipped out of the tunic she wore. Her fine body held my eyes for a moment. I’m a guy after all.

“It’s too hot,” she complained. “I work better at night.”

“Well, get the management to put in air conditioning,” I huffed out before taking a swig of lukewarm water from the leather flask we shared.

“What’s that?” she looked over with interest.

“Just an idea,” I replied with a shrug. “Anyway, this training is getting boring.”

“You’re getting better,” Gretel said. “Since you’re bored, I’ll give you a prize to shoot for now. If you can disarm me, I’ll let you bed me!”

My reaction caused her to smile.

“What? Too much for you?”

Her tone caused me to scoff.

“Tempting, but I don’t trust you enough to put my pole into you.”

She threw her wet shirt into my face.

“Here’s my scent for you to dream about tonight,” she replied as she stole the flask and took a drink.

“Doubtful,” I sneered.

Ruby and I found time to hook up each night for quiet sex time amid the snores around our cots. Even if you’re worn out, such fun keeps the motivation going during these days of intense training.

By the end of the first week, Gretel informed me I was done with the basic knife and sword skills. While I failed to stop both golems completely while she attacked me at the same time, I guess she thought I was close enough. Still, I believed she had an alternative motive. My conversations with Ruby confirmed our suspicions about the brother and sister. You’d have to be a blind man to not see that was coming soon. Somehow, Hansel and I would come into conflict. I realized she wanted her brother to hold the advantage in our upcoming conflict. I felt it in the pit of my stomach, but I had no idea when our showdown would occur.

Gretel asked me to settle on a key weapon. To her surprise, I chose the longbow which I had basic knowledge of how to use from my past. I’d kept my eye on several bows hanging from the walls in the training area.

“That’s an interesting choice,” she told me. “Are you trying to become skilled in multiple weapons?”

I shook my head.

“No, that’s not me. I just prefer to stand off to do the damage. Besides, I’ve used a bow before.”