AN: This is my first fan fic, so have mercy on me. You should know that I'm from Sweden so please excuse my bad English and poor grammar. I hope you will enjoy it! Oh and I have rated it mature to be safe.

Chapter One

The sound of her running steps bounced off the walls. Everything was dark, and she could hardly see where she was running anymore. The sound of the guards chasing after her was driving her almost to the edge of panic, but she knew if she stopped or if they, god forbid, caught up with her, it would be the end. She could taste blood in her mouth and her heart was beating like crazy, every beat was like a punch. Her breathing was fast and sharp.

She needed somewhere to hide, just long enough for her to catch her breath, so she could see where she was and figure out how she was going to get to safety. The guards were getting closer and she could hear them yell to each other. A jolt of fear ripped through her and she forced her body to move faster. She took a sharp turn to the left, then right and left again. Her legs were going numb underneath her and she could barely feel them anymore.

Then suddenly there was a movement to the left and she jumped back, reflexively, holding her breath. In the dim light she could see the shape of a person. A man. He was dressed in a white robe and had a hood over his head but she could still feel his burning eyes staring at her. The man was dressed as a scholar but was clearly no such thing.

She felt like prey before this man, so weak and powerless. But she would not go down without a fight. She had made that promise to herself as she escaped from them. She took a deep breath and clenched her fists. The man before her smirked, slowly, like he knew what she was thinking. She could feel the rage boil inside. Who did this man think he was? Just because she was a woman did not make her weak. But no, anger in a fight would only dull her judgment. She needed to calm herself.

Then he moved, only there wasn't any movement. One second he was right before her, the other he slammed her against the wall. She gasped in pain when her back made contact with the wall and she saw little stars dance before her eyes. This man was strong and very fast, and, above all, very dangerous. He had placed a hand over her mouth to prevent her from screaming, and, his arm around her waist, started to drag her into a pitch-black ally.

No, not again. She thought, and started to struggle in his embrace. He only answered by pressing her closer to his body. Damn this man and his power, she hated to feel powerless and weak. She stared to hit him in the side with her elbow, trying to loosen his hold. He snarled, and then she felt a knife against her one side, almost piercing the skin.

"Keep quiet and stop fighting, or do you want the guards to find us?" his voice was low and raw and she felt a flicker of fear. Did this man want to help her? Why would he do that? She stopped her fight and stood still and then she heard it, the sounds of the guards coming closer. She could feel the man behind her tense and he pulled her silently deeper in to the ally.

She had so many questions running through her head that she began to feel dizzy, then lightheaded. Her body was in so much pain after the escape that she wished that she could just faint or something. She just wanted to escape the reality for a while, but then again she was in the arms of a stranger. She needed to be strong, even if she was tired and hurt.

The guards were getting restless in their fruitless search, and she knew that they would give up pretty soon. But not for long. They wouldn't give up until they had found her and put her back in that cage again by force. And she would rather die than going back to them. Hell, she even preferred this man, and she didn't even know want he was going to do with her.

As the guards begun to scatter, the man did not release his hold on her, still firmly squeezing her against him. She could feel his stomach move in and out as he breathed. He was still on high alert, listening and waiting for any kind of sound or movement and she began to feel restless. How long were they going to stand here? She had to get going, get further away from this place and those people. But where should she go? She didn't know anyone in this city or this country. And the way the women were treated here she didn't want to stay for that long.

But where should she go? The best choice was to lie low and fake her death in some sort of way, but that would cost another human life, and she did not want more innocent blood on her hands. Her thoughts were interrupted by his voice.

"I'm going to remove my hand from your mouth, do you promise not to scream? Because if you do I will not hesitate to kill you." his voice were still low and raw and she trembled by the power in it. She nodded, and he removed his hand slowly from her mouth. He still had a strong grip on her waist, and she fought the impulse to fight him off, knowing that it would only probably end up with her smashed up against the wall again.

"Why were the guards chasing you?" when he spoke she could feel his hot breath on her neck and it made the hair on her arms raise. How much could she say without revealing herself? She didn't know how much this man knew from the beginning. Should she lie? Yeah, that was probably a good idea.

"I bumped into one of the guards by accident, and then they began chasing me with their swords in hand." her voice was still weak from the run, but she was tense. Would he buy it? It felt like a good reason to why the guards were chasing her. Then he turned her around and stared into her eyes.

He was beautiful, he had a strong jaw line, a straight nose and honey colored eyes. But as beautiful he may be, he was still a dangerous opponent and she needed to be focused. What he looked for and what he found in her eyes did not show in his face. It felt like he could see into her soul, his eyes were like burning pits of fire and she begun to feel uneasy under his watch.

"You are lying to me." his voice was now low and sweet and that felt even more intense than before. He pressed her up against the wall and took a hold of her throat, moved his lips to her left ear and whispered, "I thought you would be smarter than that, but I will give you one more chance to answer my question. And this time, answer it truthfully."

She felt the knife again against her side. She closed her eyes and swallowed hard. This was no joke, he would kill her if she would not tell him the truth. But maybe she was better off dead. If she were dead she would be no longer a threat, and she would be free. But then all those lives that had been taken because of her would go to waste, all those people that had died trying to protect her would have died for nothing. She needed to keep going, for them. But she was so tired, her body and mind were so heavy and full of pain. She could feel his grip on her throat harden as he grew impatient with her and her silence.

"Are you not going to answer me?" his cold voice sliced through the silence and the question hung in the cool night air. She quivered, but she didn't know if it was from the tone of his voice or the chill. Maybe both. She opened her eyes once again, the look in his eyes made her gasp for air.

They were so cold and lifeless. So this is the eyes of a killer. She thought. But she wouldn't back down, not now, not ever. She had a plan now. Even if it was a risky one... it was still worth trying.

She gathered all the power she still had left in her body and slammed her leg right between his with all she was worth. He groaned and his hold of her slackened. He bent over to his knees and she shoved him away, already running as he hit the ground.

What the hell should she do now? She had no idea where she was or which way to go. She had guards chasing after her and now probably that man would come after her life too. Just great. This was just a great day. She loved days like these. She slowed down, and began to scan the area.

This was one nasty city. Here and there lay dead bodies, and it looked like the whole place was a ghost town. The houses were rundown, and it smelled bad too. She had seen many different towns and places but this one was definitely on the list of most disgusting. But, somehow, it still had its own charm, something she couldn't put her finger on.

She looked up in the sky and felt her heart skip a beat. It was almost day! She needed to get a new pair of clothes and some food, and that was so easier to obtain when it was night. She could probably not walk the streets of this city in day time for a while. The guards would be on high alert and it would just be stupid to take the risk of getting captured again. And even if they weren't she stood out with her looks, tall, wheat-blonde hair and sky-blue eyes. She was an easy find. But first she needed a safe place to rest and tend to her wounds.

"THERE SHE IS!"

She snapped her head to the right and felt her heart stop for a second. There was a guard running at full speed against her. SHIT. She thought, and turned around only to see more guards charging towards her. She looked around in panic for a place to run, but she was surrounded. They made a circle around her.

"Has the birdie lost her wings?" "Aren't so tough now are we?" the guards were mocking her and she hissed. Crap, she had no plan whatsoever and she had no power left to run, or fight for that matter.

"Why don't you just surrender now so we can skip the whole scene of us beating you down and dragging you back?" one of the guards said and started to walk forward to her. He had a cocky smile on his lips and she just wanted to smack it off his face. He stopped about two steps from her and waited for her response.

She looked around and counted. It was up to eight guards and it would be more the longer she stayed. She took a deep breath and centred herself in her mind. This was not going to be an easy fight, and there was almost no chance of her succeeding, but she would fight to her last breath. The guard's smile faltered a bit and she smirked to him. Rage rushed through his eyes and he started to draw his sword when she closed the space between them and kicked him between his legs.

He made a sound and tipped forward to his knees. She took hold of his sword as he fell, yanking it out. It was a lot heavier than she expected but she had no time to think - only to act. Now it was just a matter of survival. She sliced the man before her in his throat and he was dead before he hit the ground. Now there was a deadly silence, the other guards in shock. They had not expected her to fight back. But they snapped out of it, took their swords and began to move forward to her.

"Remember boys, don't kill her."

She was wounded in her leg now and it would only be a matter of minutes or seconds before she was down. She had managed to kill two more guards but five to one was more than she could handle. Her blood loss made her dizzy and slower and it became harder to block the attacks. She focused on a movement to the left but an attack never came. She turned around as she heard a thud and she froze.

Shit. He had found her. She was more afraid of this man than all the other guards put together. The man in the white robes had just kill one of the guards.

"Wh-what the hell?" now the other guards had noticed "Take him down!"

"He's an assassin! Kill him!" and they started to attack him.

She was paralyzed. An assassin? Really? Oh boy, she was in trouble. Not only had she a small army after her but now she had kicked an assassin in the crown jewels.

This was just a great day indeed.

AN: Did you like it? O.O Please say if I should continue or not, I have a bad habit to stop write on stories when I lose interest in them.