DAMIEN

The three of us snuck through the streets of Cressida. It's supposed to be the most secure city in the world and here we are, a couple of Heir assassins sneaking around like the annoying giggling first years of Evandor. God, I'm so happy I'm out of that prison.

To be fair, Cressida is also a prison, just one with deadlier things and less teen drama. All "City of Gold" drama is usually more serious and world-ending, which is more my taste. Plus, there's just something about being in a city hovering a mile above a former city of great renown and dumps all of its sewage into said former great city while also being planted a gold so bright, it's practically a second sun that really strokes your ego.

And, honestly, I can't resist such compliments to my ego, no matter how blinding the place is in daylight.

Xavier, Arielle, and I swerved to the right and into a small street leading through the sprawling Assassin houses. Their walls and towers reached the sky, each house with its own unique design—something I could appreciate—though the base colors of the designs stayed the same blue and gold. It was a shallow way to show one's appreciation for the Crown as if just spraying colors on a wall would show their innate loyalty. And it was more idiotic for the Unassailable crowns to eat it all up. 

But what a waste of good design it is. All of them trying to blend in with the rest while covertly sticking out, trying to seem special in the vast sea of assassins kissing our asses. I had respect for the Assassins of Cressida's covert plea to power, but the fact that they wasted a perfectly good blank house on the same exact shade of blue and gold as everyone else irked me. There were so many other designs one could use, so many different colors, so many ways to represent themselves and their beliefs. It was a giant canvas of innovation and ideas wasted.

The three of us passed by a few late-night walkers without giving them a second glance. I don't think they recognized us in the dark. The grand glass walkway leading across the skymoat to the golden palace came into view. Four guards stood at the ready, guns drawn and visible, protecting the only entrance to the most powerful place in Concorde. The grand golden marble doors rose in the distance.

But, instead of walking towards the main glass walkway, we veered to the right and down a backstreet for the houses surrounding skymoat. We were emptied out into a courtyard lined with houses and a fountain in the middle. Scurrying across the courtyard, heads down, we entered another alley, though this one was more narrow and not quite as sophisticated. In the distance ahead, the drop off the floating city was visible. Numerous doors in the sides of the houses faced into the alley, each with one obnoxious light hanging above it, flickering. These were the servants doors where the Streeters entered and exited and took out the trash among other things. Halfway down the alley were steps leading underground. We bounded down them and there was a moment of darkness until we reached Level 2 of Cressida.

Level 2 was where most of the vegetation was produced alongside sprawling gardens and underground estates. Some of the lower Assassins and wealthy Streeters living in Cressida preferred to stay down here as it provided more space for each house, more plantlife, and cover from the blinding light of the gold. I personally though it was the most fascinating level.

The architects built small windows into the level 2 ceiling, so small that no one would notice them on level 1 unless they were looking for them. The windows were placed in exact positions where the golden structures on level 1 would reflect light down through the windows. The windows were shaped almost like a prism, so that when light passed through it shone brighter and extended over a large area of level 2. The whole layout provided the underground level with almost as much natural light as an open sky, allowing the large gardens to blossom.

But level 2 was always its best at night, especially during a full moon. Much like everything else, Cressida reflects what little light comes from the moon and amplifies it on level 1. And then it reaches the level 2 prisms and passes through, now amplified even more. It basked the entire level in the silver moonlight, the leaves looking as if that was their original color. The mist sprayed from the ceilings glittered silver, hanging in the air before floating down in a flurry of jems.

Cressida might be known as the City of Gold, but everyone knew level 2 as the City of Silver.

We walked down one of the numerous trails between a denser part of the trees. Estates and houses peaked up above trees, their sides coated in silver so strong that it was impossible to tell what colors they were painted, though it was easy to predict what colors they were. Numerous other staircases swirled from the ceiling and down into level 2. They would continue through all four levels of Cressida, though the lower two were exclusively for working Streeters and maintainenance. 

At last, Xavier looked back and forth to make sure no one else was on the trail before verging off the path and melting into the trees. We followed him, careful not to trip over roots or run into the numerous animals placed in the skyforest. At last, we reached the very edge of the trees and were met with a stone wall. It curved in a convex direction, just as the lake in level 1 did. I could hear the gallons of water roaring as it slipped passed the rocks just on the other side of the wall.

To our left, a large door sat in the shadows of a tree. Ducking under its branches, Xavier ducked under the branches and spun the large wheel with spokes lodged into the door. There were a series of numbers, though written in the language of the Old Days, around the wheel. Xavier spun it to match a certain combo and pushed the door open. Only the Crowns knew the combination, although it was hard for me not to learn after I saw them do it a few times.

The three of stepped through the door and Arielle pushed it shut. I looked around for a moment, taking in the view.

All around us, water crashed down, roaring and shaking, threatening to shatter the glass which stood here for hundreds of years. I never understood how it managed to stay up for so long. Even the thickest glass should've shattered underneath the pressure of a waterfall. And, even more confounding, the glass was so clear and thin that one couldn't even see it. It was as if we were in thin air. How the hell did they do it?

No amount of time spent in the library or pestering my parents got me anywhere. No one knew, not even Evander or Xavier. And the hours I spent as a child just sitting ontop of the glass passages, just trying to inspect every angle of them, did nothing. The most famous aspect of my home remained a mystery.

I sighed, dispelling the flurry of thoughts that rushed to my mind every time I stepped onto one of the pathways. We journeyed down the second, unknown entrance to the golden palace. It was in plain sight, but nearly invisible with it's perfectly clear glass. If anyone looked down, they would think were walking on air, but no one bothered, unfortunately. It would've been hilarious to see their reaction.

The path was perpendicular to the official entrance to the golden palace, though the two never directly intersected. The main path was visible from our vantage point—above and to the right. None of the guards noticed us walking by as their backs were turned to us and their gazes remained straight ahead.

The secret glass passage would lead to one of the lower levels of the glass passage. It was placed as a fail-safe for the Crown and Royal family to get in and out in case the main path was somehow destroyed or blocked. As such, only we knew of it.

This was the same passage old Arielle—I guess it's Phoenix now—used to escape Cressida. After that little stunt, our parents blockaded the door, though it did nothing to stop us from opening it up again a few years later when they forgot about it.

When we reached the middle, Arielle lifted her hand, as always, and touched the ceiling of the passage as if to make sure it existed. When her fingers dropped away, there wasn't a smudge left. That was another mystery. There was no maintenance for the pathway, at least not this one, but there was no sign of it ever being used for hundreds of years.

How the hell did it stay clean enough? How is it that the water and mud I tracked from our activities not stain the glass? How could you be standing right on top of it and look down to see the city extended miles and miles below, the image so clear and spotless that you went dizzy as you wondered if there was even anything beneath your feet?

"Damien," Arielle called over her shoulder. I looked up to find them far ahead. I had slowed down as I became engrossed in thought.

I jogged to catch up and used the privacy to speak for the first time since we reached Cressida.

"So," I started as soon as I reached them. "When's your coronation?"

"Hopefully not anytime soon," Arielle muttered.

"Why not? Phoenix clearly isn't going to join us so you might as well get it over with."

"No. She will come back and she'll take the Crown."

I frowned. "But she said no."

"I'll make her."

I lifted an eyebrow. "I don't get why you don't want the Crown."

"I just don't want it."

"Why not?"

Arielle hesitated. "It's not mine to take. And what kind of ruler would I make if I carry the crown wearing a name that isn't even mine?"

"Well, if you don't want it, I'll take it."

"The Kingston Crown's already full. You can't take Arielle's."

"I'm a Kingston," I replied. "I'll find a way."

"You wouldn't get the chance anyway," Arielle argued. "I'm going to make sure Arielle claims it."

"And how does the genius of the group plan to do that."

"I don't know," Arielle admitted. "I just need time to-"

"November," Xavier announced. "Our coronation will be in November."

Arielle turned to him, eyes wide. "How do you know?"

Why does she even attempt to ask him anymore? As expected, Xavier just shrugged and kept his eyes ahead.

"Wait, then we only have a month and a half to convince Arielle to come back," she said. After the two took the Crown, there was no turning around. The Crown would be her's even if Phoenix came back and proved her claim.

"If you're planning to make your stubborn older sister do the one thing she doesn't want to, you better do it fast, Ari," I told her, though it was quite obvious. I just felt the need to be theatrical at this pivotal moment of her life. Xavier's not the only one who could be dramatic.

She glared at me, before sharing a fleeting doe-eyed glance with Xavier. It was a short moment of eye contact, the subtlest romantic gesture that made all the difference. One so pure and heart-warming that Xavier couldn't resist the way his lips pulled up at the corners for a fraction of a second. I rolled my eyes.

We reached the other side and were covered from the rest of the city by the smaller waterfall cascading around us. Xavier twisted the large doorknob to make a different combination and pushed it open. We tiptoed into a dark hallway in the lower levels of the palace, all thoughts of a conversation halting. I hoped my mom didn't barge into my room, as she had a bad habit of doing, and discover me gone. At the very least, I hoped the glass passage would remain forgotten and my mother would just think I was sneaking around the palace.

The three of us crept through the pitch black, staying as quiet as possible. I could only hear the shift of cloth and light breathing of my brother and me, but it was as if Arielle wasn't with us. There wasn't a single rustle of fabric, not a mouse's footstep against the stone ground. I reached out and found her arm, holding onto it to make sure she was still there. She made no move to shake me off.

At last, we reached the door at the end of the hall and pushed it open. A swift breeze rushed into the hall as light spilled in, illuminating the area around us. I stepped out of the gloomy, cobweb filled hall and was content to be back in the gold and white swirling walls, my shoes tapping against the golden marble floor.

The door fell shut behind us and we journeyed down the hall. I couldn't stop the small skip in my feet until I remembered how Nydia was always skipping around school and resumed to regular walking. I refused to let Nydia Raphaella rub off on me. I paused for a moment. What the hell happened to her anyway? After graduation, she just disappeared without much explanation in typical Nydia fashion, but I expected her to resurface somewhere. She always does. But, after four years of torment, she seemed gone for good.

Still, I found myself craving one of her sugar cookies. She had a way of effortlessly adjusting to everyone's taste.

We climbed up steps at the end of the hall and reached the main floor.

"You know," I started, now that we were in the clear, "I'm really craving a cookie before bed. Do you wanna go to the kitch-"

I halted mid-word when I rounded the corner and almost ran into my father.

The three of us came to a stop as we stared at our four parents who stood in the middle of the hallway, staring back. My father stood with his hands behind his back, eyes staring straight into mine in a challenge. Edsel, Arielle's father, stood directly behind him, the anger clear in his eyes. Gladys, Arielle's mother, stood right beside him, looking between her husband and her daughter. My mother, on the other hand, was leaning against the wall, casting us a half-bored expression which was honestly much more frightening than the other three combined.

"Hey," I began. "We were just-"

"-sneaking out of the glass passage which we sealed off?" Gladys interrupted. My mouth fell shut, any lie I was about to form dying away.

"What were you doing out there?"Gladys questioned.

Arielle's opened her mouth her to speak, but no words came. Her eyes were wide and disarrayed as she looked between her parents. Deciding her silence was doing nothing to help our case, I went to her rescue.

"We wanted to see how the residents of New York City were doing," I blurted.

There was a long pause before Edsel asked, "The Streeters? What the hell do you want with the Streeters?"

I shrugged. "We wanted to see how they were doing."

It was the only excuse I could come up with which would explain the stench still hanging on our clothes.

"You wanted to see how the Streeters were doing?" Edsel spat, turning back to his daughter.

Arielle looked to me and finally caught on. She turned back to her father and held her head high in a challenge, delivering the same look I watched her give the assassins at Evandor.

"We're going to be the Crowns soon and found it necessary to understand the conditions of the people living below us."

Edsel studied her for a moment before looking to his fellow monarch. "Evander, what do you think of this?"

My father's gaze drifted from to Xavier. Xavier waited a moment before answering, "A ruler should know his people."

He studied Xavier for a few moments before decreeing, "He is correct."

Since when did my father grow fond of pointing out the obvious?

Gladys narrowed her eyes at me. "But what were you doing? You're not a Crown Heir."

"I'm moral support. Besides, one could say I'm both and neither," I smiled. No one smiled back.

Edsel shook his head, still enraged, though I wasn't really concerned. Something was always pissing him off.

"You should've told us before leaving. All of you. We would've sent someone to accompany you or, something!" Edsel threw his hands in the air.

I blinked. Something wasn't right. I expected Edsel to be more concerned with the weak image we would've presented if we were spotted and recognized in Streeter rags, walking along with their filth. But now he was more concerned with our well-being. Why? What happened while we were gone?

"You three should be taught a lesson," he finished, blue eyes darkened.

"We will take care of that," my mother said, finally speaking up as she pushed off the wall. "I believe you two have a meeting to attend early tomorrow morning. Perhaps, Alistair and Dominic could guide you back to bed."

"We're Kings, not invalids," Edsel scoffed.

"Then I trust you can take all necessary actions to preserve your health without further reminder," she said, voice calm.

Edsel, getting the cue, gave Arielle one last glare and warned, "You are not allowed to leave Cressida without our permission, and if you even try leaving these walls, a troop of guards will be accompanying you, so don't even think about trying. You will remain here until your coronation. I already lost one path to keeping our family power. I will not lose another."

Then he set his glare on Xavier. "I forgave your affliction due to your ability to use it as an instrument of fear, but if you do anything to ruin the image you've built-"

"Edsel," my father interrupted. "I can take care of my son."

"Of course," Edsel said, his voice strained. "Just voicing my opinion."

With that he turned on his heel and walked out of sight, looking very much like a cranky child. God, I was so happy to not be born an Unassailable. Gladys held out a hand and Arielle took it, the two of them following their father as they exchanged unintelligible whispers.

My father simply raised an eyebrow at the two of us before saying, "Good night."

We repeated the phrase and he walked in the opposite direction, heading towards his favorite library, leaving us with our mother. As soon as the others were gone, a wide smile broke across her face, her brown eyes sparkling.

"Well, haven't you fools been up to no good," she said as she looped an arm around our shoulders and guided us through the halls at a leisure pace.

"We're always up to no good," I joked, though it was a bit strained. One never knew when my mother was mad or truly didn't care until she delivered her punishment. After growing up with her for years, I knew better than to believe she didn't mind it all.

Xavier leaned his head against her shoulder as we walked.

"Come now," she said, patting his hair. "Edsel didn't mean anything he said."

"I know," Xavier responded, his voice strong and chilly as he glared at her for even suggesting he was affected by Edsel's words.

"Of course you do," she smiled and turned to me. "How about we get you that cookie?"

She veered us in the direction of the nearest kitchen. Dominic was waiting around the corner, small guns hanging from his belt as he stood guard. He followed us at a distance.

"Mother?" I asked.

"Yes?"

"Why was Edsel so afraid?"

She sighed. "Do you remember the men you discovered on your last mission? The one's with the bird tattoo?"

I nodded.

"Well, your brother was right. They're called the Ravens and some of our field operatives informed us that there had been rumors of them among the Streeters for the past few years, though no one ever found any proof of their existence.

"After your mission, the Crowns sent a few of our Shadow Assassins to use their undercover identities and investigate the Ravens. They hadn't contacted us these past four months until this evening, when a High Court member found their bodies delivered to her doorstep. The Raven's symbol was carved across their chest and there was clear signs of torture. We informed just an hour ago and I went to your room to warn you, but all three of you were gone, disappeared without a single note."

She turned to me. "Of course he was afraid. We all were."

"And their leader?" Xavier asked.

She shook her head. "We know nothing about him or her, or whether it's a single person or a group."

I thought about the Ravens. They were looming in the shadows, a conspiracy who crept upon us all. I could still see the image of my oldest friend hanging from the ceiling like a puppet, his eyes torn out of their sockets, blood spilling from multiple wounds. I had to stand on a stool to take out the knives holding him in place, had to touch his cold, withered hands, had to smell his rotten corpse as I dragged him back to the school in hopes of giving a proper funeral as if it would fix everything.

"Maybe I can help," I told her.

"Help?"

"I can make something. Maybe create some sort of tracking device or a weapon to find them and kill them. Or maybe I could code a virus that just needs to find one member of the Ravens to follow and spread into all the security cameras and devices surrounding them. It would help track them down. We could find the leader or leaders and kill them. End all of it."

"Damien, this fight doesn't involve you."

"Like hell, it doesn't." I untangled myself from her grasp. "They killed Knox."

"I know," she sighed. "And we're all mourning his death."

"It's been four months. Screw mourning him. It's time for results."

"These are dangerous people, Damien."

"If you're not going to let me fight them, what was all my training for. What was the point of Evandor?"

"The point was for you to help your brother rule. For you to help family."

"Knox was family!" I shouted. "Alistair cares for us as only family would and Dominic has protected us since we were in diapers! And we brought Knox in, let him eat at our table, let him fight by our side, train by our side, play by our side. Whenever we got in trouble, he got in trouble with us. He may have been an Unassailable, but he was a Kingston. He was our brother."

"And if in trying to avenge Knox, you get yourself killed? Would all of this have been worth it?"

"I'm only a Royal, not a Crown Heir. Who cares if I die?"

"Damien!"

I turned my back, knowing I wouldn't be changing her mind anytime soon.

"I'm not hungry anymore. I'm going to bed," I mumbled.

"Don't do anything stupid!" she called after me.

I didn't respond, just kept walking, my head hanging down. As Dominic, Knox's stepfather, followed me in silence my resolve only grew. I wanted the Ravens to fall. I needed them dead and gone. It was the least I could do for the friend who always had my side.

But, just like Arielle, I needed to complete the task before the November coronation. As soon as my brother takes the Crown, I will be placed under a bigger spotlight than I am now. The Ravens would be more prepared for me when I'm allowed to call my own shots. I need to destroy them before then, evading my parent's eye and using the very same shadows the Ravens used against them.

I will destroy them, swiftly and completely.

Hey guys! I made a personality quiz where you can discover if you're an Unassailable or Intellect. I made it under a free trial for a website though, so I'm pretty sure it's limited time only and I have no idea if they have a free version, so complete it fast if you're interested. And don't forget to let us know what you got!

Link (Also in comments):
https://app.ex.co/stories/creativew10/which-assassin-class-do-you-belong-in-

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Love you all! Til' next time!

~Sreenija Paruchuri