daniiee

Synopsis - A young female assassin is captured and bound, but manages to escape, after which a lethal  battle with her captor ensues.

I wrote this story a couple of years ago for a young writer's short story competition, and I thought I'd share it on livejournal. Enjoy!

Realistic Dreams

Biting my bottom lip in pain, I bent and twisted my hands again in an effort to wrench free of the ropes tightly binding my wrists together. I let out a frustrated huff as it turned out to be another futile attempt. My wrists were raw and bleeding, but still, I persisted.

With my legs also tied to the wooden chair I was seated upon, my movements were restricted. Squeezing my eyes shut tightly, I pulled my arms with all my might. I had managed to loosen the bindings slightly, and with the sweat on my palms to reduce the friction, the rope slowly slid over my hands.

Grimacing in pain, I quickly pulled the rope off my hands, and began to work on my ankles. They had underestimated me, and for that, I was grateful. Clearly, they didn’t think a fragile, petite girl like me would be able to break free of the ropes.

They didn’t know who they were dealing with.

Now free of the bindings, I stood and sighed in satisfaction as I stretched my sore limbs. Eyeing the only window in the room, I smiled as I noticed that the metal bars were crooked and bent, allowing just enough space for my slim figure to slide through.

Backing myself against the far wall opposite the window, I gave myself room for a run-up. Taking a deep breath, I sprinted towards the window, then leapt into the air, arms outstretched.

At the tender age of seven, I began taking martial arts lessons, and by the time I reached fifteen, I was an accomplished blackbelt. That was five years ago. Since then, I completed mission after mission of espionage and assassination. Failure was never an option for me. That is, until my own people turned against me, and landed me in this cell.

My fingers latched onto the edge of the window sill, and my arm muscles flexed as I hoisted my body up. Gripping onto the metal bars of the window, I slowly pushed my body through the bars.

Looking down from where I was currently situated, I estimated that I was approximately thirty metres from ground level. Upon studying the walls of the building, I noted that I could easily climb them. Having completed extensive training in the past involving rock climbing without harnesses, I began my descent down the stone wall.

With each passing second, my heartbeat sped up in anticipation of the sweet revenge that I would deliver. The person I had come to trust, to look up to, had betrayed me. The only person I had ever loved, ever cherished, had turned his back on me.

They were foolish to underestimate me.

Rapidly, I continued to climb downwards until I reached a balcony. Dropping onto the ground stealthily, I surveyed my surroundings.

It was a luxurious room, one that I was highly familiar with, having resided in it many times myself. It appeared to be empty, with a faint glow of golden light from the setting sun. As I stepped into the room from the balcony, the doorknob turned. I swiftly hid myself behind the wall-length curtains hanging from the open balcony. I heard the door open, close, and then all was silent.

Slowly and cautiously, I peered into the room. My eyes scanned the area, but found nothing. Then, suddenly, I felt the presence of a body behind me, and a knife at my throat.

“Why?” I asked softly.

I quickly turned and knocked the knife out of the hands of my challenger, before swiftly delivering a back kick at my opponent. He dodged, and went into the offensive. He was fast, very fast, his movements precise and calculating. Uppercuts, overhands, elbow strikes, back fists - all utilized with the flair of a professional.

I could keep up with his speed for now, but I knew that soon, my stamina would let me down, and then the battle would be over. But I would not give in. Not until I had an answer. I wanted to know. I needed to know.

My movements were slowing down, beads of perspiration glistening on my forehead. My opponent delivered a low roundhouse kick, and before I could react, I was swept off my feet, landing painfully on my back. Before I could get back on my feet, strong hands pinned my arms above my head, a heavy body keeping me down. I peered up into the striking blue-grey eyes of my opponent.

“Why?” I repeated, my breathing ragged and my heart beating rapidly.

Slowly, he released one of my hands and gently caressed my cheek, still saying nothing.

“Why?!” I screamed in desperation.

---

Gasping, I woke up.

My breathing was heavy, my heartbeat irregular. Scanning my surroundings quickly, I sighed, closing my eyes and breathing deeply.

It was only a dream…

An arm tightened around my waist, pulling me closer to a warm body. My arms instinctively wrapped around his neck, and I absent-mindedly stroked his soft hair.

It was then that I noticed something peculiar.

My wrists were bleeding…

“What’s wrong?” a voice beside me asked.

The striking blue-grey eyes of my lover watched me carefully...