Regina stood at the graveyard, suspiciously eyeing all around her. She darted to her left, barely avoiding a knife that flew past the side of her neck and stuck itself right under her dead mother's name. Instantly switching to a fighting stance she ran towards the tree, climbing it swiftly from its backside. The tree was thick and deep rooted, it seemed to have been there for many years untouched in the graveyard. Peeking from behind a branch, she tried to spot the person who threw the knife.
~I know its him, he must be trying to test me...~
Another knife landed beside her ear, it came from somewhere on the ground below. She climbed up the tree, as she would have greater advantage from a height and threw a smoke bomb down in the direction of her enemy. She took this chance of his blindness to jump to the top of the tree beside him and threw a few knives in the direction she believed he would be.
None of them hit their intended target. Slightly frustrated, she decided to jump down the tree and do what she was actually trained to, use her main close distance weapon rather than playing around with knives from long distances. She pulled her machetes out and sliced the thinner tree he shot a knife from, by striking at once with both her machetes in different directions.
She ran back towards her mother's grave, facing the trees in order to lure her enemy out into the open as she defensively held both her machetes in front of her. Any knives he would throw could easily be deflected by them now that she could see them coming her way. He jumped high from the top of a tree, landing in front of her wearing a black and white mask along with a full body loose hooded attire. Waving the knives, he hurled another at her and as she deflected it, dove under her other arm throwing another knife at her leg as she jumped back.
She hurled both machetes at him and he ducked, receiving a kick by her other leg hurling him backwards. Not wasting a second, she instantly held one machete to his throat, the other to his heart.
"Hm, not bad kid."
She recognized his voice. However, she couldn't be sure the test had ended.
"The test has ended, you passed... I expected better though, considering how I went easy on you."
~Just as I thought...~
" Follow me."
Regina pulled the knife out of her leg and slapped a band aid on it, cursing herself to be idiotic enough to let herself be injured within not more than 10 minutes of her father's test. Not once glancing at her wound, he turned around and walked in the direction of the trees. Swiftly climbing one, jumped from one tree to another for a long time finally landing in front of a small house built in the midst of a wide expanse of trees whose crowns shielded the house from view.
Jumping from tree to tree was not something Regina did everyday, however her training had led her to develop enough muscle to handle the impacts. She knew her father obviously knew quite a bit of fighting styles but unlike him, she had never learned martial arts and was not used to jumping about trees like a monkey god with a forest of his own. Regina silently chuckled again, imagining her father like a monkey.
He gestured her to come inside the house and they both sat down on two chairs. The house wasn't anything special, barely visible to outsiders, anyone looking at it from outside may have disregarded it as an old abandoned wooden house. From the inside it seemed like it too. The wood was old and the nails rusty, most of the house creaked like it was wailing of being torturously overused despite the low amount of maintenance.
~This house hurts my ears. Pretty sure doing a little maintenance wouldn't have killed dad.~
The stainless shiny machetes she had been waving around a while ago, now lay sheathed back inside her dress as if resting till the next fight. Regina's mind was still slightly preoccupied analyzing everything that happened from the moment she stood at the grave till now.
~It seems he has an affinity for knives, however he was just playing around with me by giving me the easiest test possible to see how well I'll do. I don't think I did very well but what am I to do when he tested my skill rather than my strength! Sharpening my strength is effortless, my body moves on its own to exercise, however, skill comes with experience and brain storming. Surely he did not have such high expectations as to expect me to be a sharpened assassin already?~
She could not hold back any further as the curiosity was nibbling on her, and she let her question slip out.
"Won't you take your mask off?"
"I prefer not to."
His reply was slightly unexpected, but assuming he must've had his own reasons for acting as such Regina let it be with a nod of acknowledgement. His posture was as perfect as hers, with his back straight and entire body showing signs of his alertness. Regina knew nothing at all about her father, to the point that it almost embarrassed herself, she always told others her father had died when she was young.
" So what are you? You have a job? "
" Assassin "
~Lovely. Why didn't I guess? Obviously, a man who moves and acts like an assassin wouldn't be a shopkeeper or some dull job such as that!~
Finally, after some contemplation her father decided to break the silence and say something on his own instead of replying blandly with one word answers to her dumb questions, most of which's answers she could've guessed and yet she obviously asked them so that she would not have to deal with the awkward silence.
~Silence is never awkward, it is always bliss no matter where, when, and with whom.~
He thought. Regina would've begged to disagree though, especially when she asks someone if they are alive and there's silence that certainly would not be bliss. He didn't really have anyone he cared for though, anyone who's life or death may interrupt his life, so his thought process was understandable.
" You have strength. "
He said. He would've noticed Regina slightly puffing her chest like a puppy proud of itself for something it has accomplished but he simple continued to stare at an empty corner of the room, he did not care for her silly reactions. He had more important matters to deal with, once he was done with her he would finally be free to deal with them rather than sitting in silence with this ignorant young woman.
" You do not have skill. "
He continued, after a short pause. Regina's puffed chest now seemed to somewhat unpuff, slightly slouching her back in hopelessness. She immediately straightened up, and exclaimed
" Then teach me. I do not have the skills of an assassin, but surely if I work hard with you I may someday be stronger than you "
Her father chuckled, as if the very thought of her ever growing stronger than him was an absurd thing of her to think of, was it not obvious, the difference in all their strength, skills and experience were humongous!
" Sure, I'll try. "
He answered, sincerely. Regina knew that as her father, since he had always planned for this to happen he would not refuse and yet she released a small sigh of relief that she had not known she had been holding when he agreed. Her mind already seemed to be running around the world imagining all kinds of scenarios that could happen. She liked those best where she had a father who cared for her, growing stronger together with her and her mother who also lived with them, like a perfect happy family.
~That's what everyone wishes for right? A simple, happy family.~
She was thankful to her stepmother for raising her the way she did, she was patient, loving, encouraging, caring and she could not ask for anything more in a desired parent. However, she knew that it could never be as good as it could've been with both her father and mother. A family that was... complete.
~Not broken... like mine is...~
" First of all, tell me what were you thinking when you took a short distance weapon, a medium distance weapon, and an area coverage weapon but not a long distance weapon? "
Saying this, he sighed and continued.
" I expected something like this, I've watched you grow. You know how to aim and shoot but you've only ever been interested in your Machetes. "
~He's watched me grow?... Well didn't ever think of dropping a hi, did you? Why'd you even look then... Probably just to assess my movements, so that I'd be able to do this job now, why do I even expect you to care one bit about me...~
Ending his statement, he headed to one of the rusty old cupboards and inserted a rusty old key inside, clicking it open. His back hid from Regina what he brought to show or give her, so she patiently sat there waiting for it to be brought to the table.
He brought a weapon that looked somewhat like a bow, slightly more complicated but smaller. He showed her how to make it portable easily.
~A retractable crossbow! Well.. not bad..~
She tucked the retractable crossbow at the side of her belt on the inside, it hid inside her skirt. She slightly smiled at her father and thanked him. He hummed in response and headed to cupboard once again. He handed her... a mascara bottle. It was a peachy golden and of a cylindrical shape, however the bottle was slightly thicker than most.
" I may not have brought a mascara bottle but I do still have one at home, okay! "
She retorted, glaring at the bottle and then at him. He only chuckled, as if to say ' silly child ! '
" It's not just a Mascara bottle.. "
" Oh. Oops. "
He held his thumb on top of the bottle, within three seconds it began to emit a white light, and slowly lengthening. It stopped at whatever length he took his thumb off of it.
" You may need it in emergencies, keep it at all times with you, even when you are not wearing your suit and do not have your big Machetes. "
Regina nodded her head quickly like a good disciple, grabbing the bottle she had previously scoffed at as if it was now a treasure! She stuffed it inside one of her empty compartments in her belt. Her father instructed her to familiarize herself with the crossbow and interesting mascara bottle, also that she may practice in the woods surrounding his house whenever she feels so inclined to.
" No one would notice if a few trees disappear round these areas! "
He said, mischievously winking at her and she lightly smiled in understanding.
" Well, there is something else of utmost importance I must show and teach you of "
He said, heading towards the racks with dusty papers, books and things crammed on top of each other, all the racks seemed to be in desperate need of a good dusting.