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Lilith slipped out of the city under the cover of dark, keeping to the ground to avoid being spotted. The patrols did their regular rounds, alert for any headed towards the city. She used the darkness to her advantage, knowing what it was like to be unnoticed, unseen. Her whole life had been practice. She darted swiftly from shadow to shadow, aware of each guard and their location. Seeing a minuscule break in their pattern she made a dash, using her powers to dart past as one of them scanned a portion of sky.

He paused and looked towards the dark shadow she was in, she slammed her eyes shut to eliminate any glare. She could feel her pounding heartbeats, a rhythm of four as she imagined his eyes staring. She could hear steps as he moved, possibly approaching.

After a minute had passed she opened an eye just a crack, relieved to see that he had moved on in his patrols. She had forgotten that the strong blood of nobility offered increased vision amongst other benefits. Her dark black coloration, the same as nearly every other changeling, was perfect for stealth. Her nearly blood red hair was a gift from her grandmother. The only thing different appearance wise, compared to her mother's side of the family, were her eyes; a cobalt blue. Her father's eyes.

After escaping the sight of any additional guards Lilith made good progress, reaching the desert's edge before daybreak. She continued her trek, sparingly drinking her water as the temperature began to rise.

When the desert sands began to burn at her hooves she found a slab of stone jutting from the sandy landscape. She crawled beneath, laying in silence as she enjoyed the still cool sand beneath her.

Soon enough she began to drift away, her tired body taking what rest it could.

~

Lilith awoke with a shiver, the desert's temperature having drastically dropped while she slept. The night was upon her, and that wasn't the last of her problems.

Just within sight a small campfire, composed of dried desert brush burned brightly.

She made to slowly move away, hoping that whoever was there had not seen her.

"I would not move if I were you right now." A voice called, its owner dropping down from the top of the rock.

He was a rugged looking changeling, not far from her age. The unusual part of him was his garb. He wore a light cloak, and had an array of knives and other small tools strapped around him.

"An assassin, how quaint. Do they really want me gone that badly?"

Her muscles tensed, ready to spring away.

"You made your bed in a scorpions nest, you would be dead already if your situation wasn't so laughable."

Lilith paused as she felt something crawling up her back leg.

"Stay still, and move when I tell you."

He moved some of the burning tinder with magic, what seemed like hundreds of tiny scorpions skittered away from the flaming debris.

"This knife," he slipped one from a band on his hoof, "is not for you. Stay still."

He eyed her back leg where one of the largest scorpions was perched, flicking the knife from his hoof with one swift motion. The scorpion's armored shell gave a crunch as it was impaled, the knife dragging it away.

"Now."

Lilith took the opportunity to tap into her power, taking a gap beside the assassin as her opportunity. As she zipped through she felt a hoof grab onto her saddlebag, her momentum lost she came crashing down.

"You're fast, for a changeling. But not for someone trained from birth to hunt them. Sit, explain to me why I was hired to kill one so young."

Lilith kept an eye on the shady figure, brushing herself off and reluctantly sitting by the flames. "A story for a story, how did you become an assassin? You don't seem to be any older than I."

"I suppose there is no harm in one final tale. I was stolen from my parents and raised amongst a secret and shadowy group of assassins. My captor was my master, and he let me know nearly every day that he had stolen me from a happy life of peace.

He thought that vengeance would be the best teacher... For a time, I admit that I was consumed in the pursuit of such. His promise was that the day I could beat him was the day he would accept death by my hooves.

I went through my trials. I killed whoever needed killing. And when my abilities had fully manifested I surpassed my master. He wanted to die, but I spared him. "

He trailed off in thought and Lilith shifted uncomfortably.

"So, your turn." He said, coming back to full reality.

Lilith took a deep sighing breath.

"My life is a secret, or was a secret until now. The... conditions behind my birth made it so my mother had to hide me away. I was unfortunately discovered upon witnessing the murder of the one who slowly poisoned my mother to death.

I managed to slip away and that leads to here. I have my own vengeance to live for, so don't expect me to die easily!"

Lilith stood up and tensely stared at him, ready for even the slightest hint of hostility.

"Your mother. It's Ardith isn't it? It was rumored that she was hiding a child..."

Lilith shifted a little, enough to make the answer clear to him.

"I thought so."

One of his ears perked up. "Go, quickly. I will give you time to flee..."

The reason for his alarm reached her ears a second later. At least three pairs of wings could be heard bearing down on their location. She risked a quick glance to check, she almost didn't need her enhanced vision to make out their forms in the night sky.

"Go!" He commanded. "If one of us dies today I would rather it be me. Your lineage won't matter to the minions of the scarred one."

"What's his name?" Lilith hastily asked as she prepared to bolt away, she didn't know why but she felt that she could trust this young and mysterious assassin.

"Drauth."

The name weighed heavily upon her. It was the name of the hideous monster that she vowed to one day slay.

The wings of her sudden ally could be heard behind her as he flew out to buy time for her escape. She felt guilty; she didn't even know his name, the name of someone who would willingly sacrifice themselves for something as simple as her mother's dream.

Lilith flew at top speeds, making sure she wasn't followed. She turned towards the approximate location of the Everfree, an expansive and rumored to be deadly forest. She hoped that the legends behind it would keep anyone from further chasing her.

Another night of travel and she would reach the desert river, the halfway point to the Everfree.

Author's Note:

Thanks for reading!