My eyes darted around the room as I held my sword up. I knew that there was no way for me to win in a head-on fight. Naturally, that left only one option: escape. My eyes kept moving across the room as I tried to find an escape route, but nothing came to mind. So I had to stall.

"Will you at least do me the courtesy of telling me who wanted me dead?" I asked even though I knew the answer.

"I wouldn't be a good assassin if I revealed their secrets," He said, giving a knowing and bloodthirsty grin.

"At least tell me why?" I asked as I backed up a few inches. "I mean, I can't imagine you kill adolescents often."

The assassin chuckled. "No, I can't say that I do it often. However, that doesn't mean that I won't … relish your struggle."

Despite what my mind said, I subconsciously gulped, showing my fear. He started to release a crazed laughter. I continued looking around the room in desperation, searching for something, anything that I could use before I was drawn to the oil lamp.

"Well, you've just made my week," The assassin said. "Unfortunately, it's getting late. So either you attack or I will."

As he was speaking, my arm ran across the table, causing the oil lamp to fall. I quickly got some of the oil on my sword, and the fire ignited the rest, causing a small fireball. I ripped up part of my suit jacket and dropped it into the fire, fueling it even more. This all happened in a few short seconds, startling even the assassin.

"If I'm going down in here, I'm taking you with me, asshole," I said as I moved my sword closer to the darkness that surrounded us. I had a theory that the fire would dissipate the darkness, and I was right. A small portion of the darkness disappeared and revealed the door. But it was small. I needed a bigger fire.

"Have it your way," He said as he got into a fighting stance. The fire was in between the two of us, so it forced him to go around. In the blink of an eye, he started moving towards me in a full sprint.

'Shit' I thought. As if the gap in experience wasn't big enough, the difference in our sword's length was massive. Offensive was all but impossible, and defense was going to be extremely difficult. But considering the alternative of death, I would have to try my best.

I began sprinting backward towards my bed, not keeping my eye off him. The fire was growing on both the floor and my sword, but it still wasn't bright enough. Carbon dioxide would kill the two of us soon if I couldn't get out.

As soon as I saw him start to start turning to me, I held up my sword in anticipation of his attack. As he approached me and I saw his arm start to move, I shifted my sword slightly. In a split second, our swords collided, releasing a loud clinking sound. But most significantly, sparks flew and caused the fire on my sword to grow.

I smiled after seeing the sparks. I could keep using them to grow the fire big enough to escape. The heat of the sword forced the assassin to move back. Adrenaline was pumping through my veins as I became more aware of everything around me and my senses increased.

The assassin went in for another strike, and I was able to block it, making even more sparks and growing the fire. However, unlike last time, the assassin went in for more rapid and powerful attacks. If it weren't for adrenaline, I wouldn't be able to keep up. I could feel his sword causing cuts on my chest and arms, yet I couldn't feel the pain.

After a series of attacks, he moved back due to the heat. Sweat was starting to appear at the top of his head. "You're quite resilient for someone so young."

"Thanks for the c-" I said before he started charging at me again. I couldn't move my arm in time, so I had to bend my body as I went with my sword to try to redirect the strike. His sword started to make a cut on my side. It got about halfway before my khopesh made contact and started to push it back.

I looked down to see my white dress shirt now stained red with my blood. 'It's do or die now.' I thought as I looked at the fire on my sword. I wasn't sure if it was enough, but I had bigger problems now. Blood loss, carbon dioxide, and decapitation are the biggest three.

I was on the other side of the fire from when I started and I was presented with two options. I could try to break the window and jump out, or take my chances to run to the door and go into the hallway.

The former had the issue where I would be alone and bleeding out for a while. He would most definitely try following me, so I'd have to try to outrun a fucking assassin. Not very good odds.

The latter seemed more promising until I thought about it more. Assuming I lived, there was a chance that I could get help if I ran fast enough to reach someone. And assuming I could reach someone was unlikely. My guards being gone meant that this was an inside job.

And that left my siblings. The two youngest siblings probably couldn't beat the assassin. There was a chance Leah could, but I couldn't really count on it. Dominick would let me die, so that's not an option.

Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

All these thoughts went through my head in fractions of a second before I came up with my decision.

I chose the former and began running towards the window. I had no time to look back, so I ran to the window with my sword fully extended. The fire dissipated the darkness that surrounded the window. I moved my sword back and stabbed the edge of the glass as hard as I could.

A few sections of the glass shattered, and I had to run through the rest. As gravity started to take hold, I saw some guards at the entrance turn towards the window. I shifted my focus toward the approaching ground. As I was about to make contact, I got into a rolling position to reduce impact.

"Guards!" I yelled out while panting heavily and running. "There's an assassin!"

Their eyes widened as I began running towards them and they began running towards me. When I looked back, I saw that the assassin had jumped down. With renewed vigor, I began running even faster towards the guards.

"Are you okay master?" The guards asked.

"The fuck do you think?" I responded as I looked down at the cut I received. The whole left side of my shirt was soaked in blood. I started to feel dizzy due to the blood loss and realized I had to do something.

The guards looked at each other before assuming a fighting stance. The assassin started to clap. "I respect the loyalty! However, if you just let me get to him, I'll let you two live."

I lifted my shirt up and waved my sword back and forth rapidly to extinguish the flame. My khopesh was bright red, and my hands were shaking as I brought it closer to my cut.

"We won't betray our master!" The guards declared. The assassin sighed. "Very well, have it your way," The assassin began sprinting forward to attack.

I heard the swords make contact, but that was all of the fight I was able to focus on.

'Come on, come on. Don't be a wuss.' I thought to myself as I kept moving it closer and closer to my cut. Every time I got close enough to feel the heat, my hands stopped moving closer. I inhaled as I moved it back and brought it to my cut swiftly.

"AUGHHH!" I yelled out as I felt my skin start to burn. I held on for three seconds before it became too unbearable, feeling like my skin and organs were melting off, and I moved the sword away. I looked down and my wound was closed.

The pain jolted any drowsiness that I felt away and my energy began to return. I turned around, and to my dismay, one of the guards was lying limp on the floor.

'Fuck.' I thought. Should I run inside now? No, I didn't know for sure if I was going to find help in time, and the people I would run into would be servants and thus collateral damage. So, I opted to run into town.

I ran like my life depended on it for the mile-and-a-half trail to the town. And on my way there, I worked on a very crude disguise. I made my hair messier with some added dirt. I took off my vest and fashioned it into a sling. To most people, our brains subconsciously avoid looking at crippled or homeless people. I hoped the assassin would as well.

I also covered up my white shirt with dirt in an attempt to make the blood less noticeable. The dirt on me, combined with the sweat, turned my appearance from a rich kid to someone who had been living on the streets.

I kept on running into town until I arrived at a familiar run-down shop. Curiosities and Relics. The lights were still on, so I entered. The shop owner had a smile on his face before he opened his eyes and saw me.

"And here I was hoping it was a customer," He grumbled. The owner slowly began to inspect me and noticed my odd state. "You look horrible."

"Thanks so much, man, I really appreciate it," I said sarcastically.

The old man sighed as he rubbed his head. "I know I'm going to regret asking this, but are you okay?"

"Someone sent an assassin after me," I told him. "I'm sorry for coming in here, but it's the only place that I trust."

"Pfft, I think that's the first time I've heard that!" The old man said, laughing at the end.

I gave a small smile. He was motivated by money, so either he was my biggest friend or an enemy. But at this point, it didn't matter.

I lifted up my shirt to inspect the wound. It had stopped bleeding by now, and there didn't appear to be anything wrong with it. I breathed a sigh of relief at this. Then, I focused on my bigger issue.

"How much money would it take for me to stay the night?" I asked.

"Hmmm," He said as he looked into space. "Seven gold coins."

"Three," I countered.

"I don't think you're in a position to negotiate, kid," He said.

"Well, I am," I said, tilting my head. "If I stay alive, that means that I can continue to sell and buy from you."

"That's a good point, however, I have other customers," He replied with a smirk.

"You're other customers are criminals or rich people. Both groups love to show off how much money they have by buying luxury items," I began. "Now, you buy the watches and other items I steal at a lower price than anyone else, which means you can sell them at a lower price and still make a profit."

The old man considered my words before breaking into a fit of hearty laughter. "This is why I do business with you kid; you're smart!"

It took a few moments for him to collect himself before he spoke again. "Tell you what, make it five."

I gave a smile as we landed on the original price I had in mind. I took them out of my pocket and handed them to him. He snatched it up as it landed on the table and pocketed it.

"One more thing," I said. The old man raised his eyebrows. "I need a custom weapon designed. Do you know anyone who can do it?"

"A weapon like a sword, bow, or wand?" He asked.

"It's something … more unique," I said slowly. "Do you have paper? I can draw out the blueprints," He muttered an incantation before a piece of paper and a quill appeared in his hands. He placed it on the table and turned them over to me.

As I began drawing the weapon on the paper, his eyes watched with curiosity and intrigue. The shop was silent, with the only noise being the feather tip hitting the table through the paper.

It took around five minutes before I finally stopped. His eyes turned from the paper to me as I put the quill down. "What a novel idea. It looks very impressive."

"So do you know of anyone that can do it?" I asked.

"This is Atlantis level engineering," He said.

"A-Atlantis?" I asked. 'It exists here?'

The old man ignored my question. He seemed lost in thought for a while before he finally nodded his head. "I know someone who can do this."

"How much will it be?" I asked.

"Ten gold coins."

"Done," I said almost immediately as I handed over the coins. He pocketed them once again, and I took a step back and began looking around for a place to sleep.

"What do you call this weapon?" He asked as I walked around the store.

"A gun," I answered.