School of the Crown Assassins

21

"Did you add poison in my milk?" I asked her.

She placed her hand in her pocket. "I d-"

"Mom, don't worry. Dad already said I learned the lesson well enough. You don't have to keep testing me," I said and smiled.

She pushed a strand of hair out of my face and said, "Well, I can never be too careful."

I shrugged it off and carried the plates and glasses to the kitchen sink to clean. Just as I turned on the faucet, a cloth covered my mouth. I struggled against the strong grip I was put in as the vivid scent wafted into my nose. I held my breath as long as I could, trying to keep the dizziness at bay.

Finally, I managed to push us both back into the other kitchen counter and grab a metal spatula that was still cooling. I slapped it against the arm holding me in place and it loosened just long enough for me to twist away.

My mother stood in front of me, nursing the hand which was now bright red, with the white cloth at her feet.

"What are you doing?" I asked, breathless.

"Indigo, I-"

And then she lunged, hands aimed for my neck. I jumped out of the way just in time, the spatula slipping out of my hands as I did so.

"You're actually trying to kill me," I realized. Her eyes flickered and then set in a determined line and she scooped up the spatula with her foot, letting it fly into her hands, and attacking me with it. I rolled over the countertop, grabbing a knife in the process, and crashed into the ground. My mother followed, jumping over and landing right beside me.

She brought the spatula down and I dodged, getting to my feet. I thrust the knife in the direction of her torso, but she easily caught my wrist and twisted, trying to disarm me. I attempted one of the tricks father taught me to get out of a disarming move, but my mother expected that and pushed my arm up to counter. The knife scraped my collarbone, just missing my neck.

I kicked her legs and she tripped long enough for me to crawl backwards, clutching my wound. She got back to her feet and I raced for the backdoor, screaming for my father.

I dashed out onto the black and white grounds, searing through the storm that had just begun, trying to get away from my murderous mother, pushing my legs faster than I ever had. But she had far more assassin training than I ever did. She tackled me to the ground at the edge of the hill, and we rolled down in a torrent of punches and kicks until we hit the cool water of the lake. I paddled my feet, floating to the top, when I felt a weight push down against my body, a hand keeping me firmly under water.

My body writhed, trying to get out of the grip, trying to get a bit of air. The murky water surrounded me, stinging my eyes with mud, pressing against my sealed lips, teasing it to open. I could see nothing, feel nothing besides my mother's firm grip and the determination she was pressing me down with, how much she wanted me to feel dead.

My lungs screamed. Everything around me was just water, water, water. I needed to get out, I needed to get out, I needed to get out. I clawed at the hands pressing me down, but they wouldn't let go. The murky world was starting to fade, faster than I wanted. Faster and faster it was leaving no matter how much I screamed for it to come back. It was drowning in the murky waters and I was soaring high above.

Then the pressure was jerked away and I broke through the surface, gasping for as much air as my body could fill. I thrashed in the water aimlessly, trying to find the shore through my muddied vision. Finally, I found the edge of the lake and I stumbled to the ground. I blinked, trying to find my mother through the brown haze. I couldn't hear anything either except the rain pounding against my ears.