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Within the belly of the ship lay a red fox within a hammock rocking back and forth thanks to the waves. She was dressed only in undergarments as she thrashed in her sleep, and suddenly awoke sitting up, panting and sweating. The same dream again she thought to herself. She hopped out of the hammock and whipped the sweat from her brow as her breathing slowed. Her fingers gently lowered down her body to trace that ugly scar she had no recollection of. She sighed as she suddenly stopped at her sopping wet crotch, causing her to growl loudly. She ruined another set of undergarments with her juices.

"Great..." she moaned aloud to herself as she quickly began changing them.

"The Dream again?" chimed a wise old voice coming from the opposite corner of the private room she was in.

She looked behind her to see the only man she trusted at this point. Malcalm Pedigauge, an elderly rat wearing simply blue silk garbs and leg wraps. He held a knarled tree branch in which he used as a cane. He had a long what could only be described as a black beard underneath his chin. His blue eyes met hers as she stopped dressing.

"Yes!" she said with a growl. "This makes 12 times over the last 3 weeks."

He nodded and slowly stood up, using the cane to help him up. "You know Rose, dreams can potentially unlock keys to your true identity." He calmly said. "Tell me about them."

She huffed silently as she put on the fresh undergarments. Over the last 2 years, Malcalm was like a father to her. He gave her a place to stay and a second chance at life. If he hadn't found her in that dark alleyway alone and half dead, there'd no telling what she would be at this point. But, there are things that she didn't want him to know. Like the fact that she's on the run from the Assassin's Guild because of the filthy claws of the currently leader, Nigel Longfellow. She shook her head and looked to the kind rat.

"I don't wanna talk about it." She finally replied.

He smirked a bit. "Now now Rose, I know the dreams are of a sexual nature," he cackled lightly. "Think not of me as a perverted old rat, but a concerned old friend who happens to be doing your laundry and would like to know what's causing you to go through undergarments like mad!"

She growled loudly, "I do not want to talk about it!"

"Suit yourself," He said softly as he sat back down. "Just letting you know though that we are still a few hours out from Milan"

She sighed a bit and looked to him, "Why move from The Red Court?" she finally asked. "I thought you hated being in the mainland thanks to the politics and such."

He sighed a bit, "The Red Court holds no love for the Assassin's guild."

She stopped dressing and slowly turned to him, blushing a bit. "How did you know?"

He gave a smile and picked up one of her bracers and tossed it to her. Upon the said bracer was the embose of a raven upon it, the very sign of the Assassin's Guild. "Found that a long time ago. Truth be told, I was the one who guided you to them."

She put on her leather armor and tightly strapped it onto her body as she continued the conversation. "You mean you knew I'd end up an assassin?"

He nodded, "I was the Grand Master when you found me" he said softly. "I put another gentleman in charge to see how he would do. It's been about a full year now, I thought it was about time I gave him a visit."

She grumbled as she put on her leather pants and tied them tightly. "I think I'll pass, Nigel and I haven't been on the same page as of late."

"Really?" he asked with great interest. "What pray tell is that?"

She began strapping on her leather boots as she sighed a bit. "Nigel though that he and I would make a perfect couple. I disagreed, we had a fight, I ended up scarring his right eye, he took offence and wanted my either me alive or my head. So, he spread rumors through Lioden and put me on the most wanted list. 5 mil Talens alive, 1 mil dead."

He sighed a bit, "Already I do not like what I hear. Nigel was supposed to use his contacts for the advancement of the guild and what we stand for."

She shook her head and looked to him smirking, "Really? And what's that supposed to be?"

"We are to be a failsafe for the king of Lioden that if he gets more power hungry, we are to assassinate him. Until that time arises, we are to protect the kingdom from outside forces." He said calmly.

"Yeah, well that turned out great..." she said sarcastically as she clips on her belt which held pouches and holsters for her two daggers and other tools. "King Marik hasn't exactly been that nice lately. Forcing his son to marry the queen of Ceras, something smells fishy about the entire arrangement. I especially don't like the fact that Marik has been attacking surrounding kingdoms lately. Avindar is the only kingdom that's keeping up thanks to their guns and powder; they can stay far away from arrows whilst they fired from above. If those avians know anything, it is battle tactics!"

Malcalm nodded, "Are your sources reliable?" he asked.

She turned after she strapped her belt on and narrowed her eyes, "I'd trust them with my life..."

Malcalm knew how hard she was to trust new people. She was always a good judge of character. He slowly stood up again and looked to her, "I may need some more information, when we arrive to Lioden, I will need to pull in my resources."

"Whoa!" screamed Rose as she waved her hands, "What part of I'm wanted in Lioden do you not understand?! Have you gone feeble minded on me old man?"

He shot a stern look to her and nodded, "I'm as sharp as I was back in my assassination days, you will be coming with me. Your name is now Maya and you my personal guard!"

She huffed, "Nothing I can say can change that can I?"

Before Malcalm could speak, a young otter popped his head into their quarters. He wore the simple sailor merchantile outfit that was normally seen on his type.

"Sir, Ma'am?" he said softly, "We are about an hour's out from the port."

Malcalm nodded with a warm smile, as if the conversation the two had didn't even happen. "Thank you kind sir!" he replied.

As the otter left the quarter, Rose threw on her hooded cloak quickly and sighed. She already knew she was going to be in a lot of hell. She knew a lot of people in and around Lioden, so she knew that her presence will eventually get to King Marek Gavin. Chances are, he will want her dead. Just another day in the life of an assassin on the run...