The Assassin’s Mate

She stared at me like she had seen a ghost and tears started pouring from her eyes. I grabbed a towel from her rock table and gave it to her so she could dry her them, while trying to keep her calm at the same time. Since when did you become such a softie? I shook my head knowing she was right but there was something about this girl that made me feel protective of her. She was warm and sweet, but I could tell she had a dark side and if I were a betting woman, I would say our newly elected King had something to do with her breakdown. She sat there for a moment trying to collect herself when she jumped up and ran to the back of the cave. She came back holding a small leather photo album that was faded and tattered on the edges with an R stamped on it. Her eyes were glassy from more unshed tears as she handed me the book. I took it from her and sat back down as she curled up next to me.

"Those are the only memories I have left of my family." She said as she pointed to the brown book.

It wasn't much to look at, but I could see it held so much value to her and I was extremely overwhelmed at the gesture. I looked down at it and ran my fingers over the lines on the cover, taking in the stains that had marked the once beautiful, velvety, smooth material. I opened it and was met with the most beautiful eyes of a newborn baby I had ever seen. I looked up at her and she smiled, and I knew this was her. I continued flipping through the album when a small newspaper clipping fell out. I picked it up and looked at the headline "Mysterious women found in national forest believed to have escaped from sex trafficking ring."

She stood up and walked towards the entrance. I placed the book down then followed her. "Jane? Why did you show me the album?"

She shrugged and exhaled a long breath before turning and looking at me "I just...I don't know. I've been a Rogue for so long it's nice to finally be able to be normal? And call me crazy but there is something about you that I can relate to." She said before turning back around and walking further outside.

I sighed and said "Jane, I'm not a good person. I've done a lot of things that I wish I didn't do but I can't change who I am. I agree, we are a lot alike but that still doesn't explain the album and the newspaper. Are you the girl in the article?"

She didn't say anything and if I weren't watching her so closely I never would have known that she nodded her head. My fists clenched at my side and I felt my body heat rising as the anger inside me threatened to come out. She was involved in that disgusting operation. Was she a victim? Did she have inside information that could help us to finally take them down? My mind was filled with questions and soon her small voice started trembling as she spoke.

"Years ago, I was abducted outside of my house by three men in suits. My father was an important man so I thought that this had something to do with him. At first I thought they wanted money so I begged and pleaded for them to let me go telling them he would give them anything they wanted but instead they brought me to a huge warehouse and lined me up, with dozens of other girls my age, along a wall and gave us each a number. We were scared and confused as each girl was sent through a door and stood in front of a one-way mirror. After a short time, we were shuttled through another door and out into a van that took us to another location. This occurred for a while, I didn't even know how much time had passed until one day I was taken to the leader's office and asked to be their recruiter. I was mortified and disgusted that he would imply that I could get girls to come to this place and be sold for their barbaric reasons.

He threatened me and told me that he would kill my entire family if I didn't do what he wanted me to do. So, I agreed to help him but only with acclimating the girls to the place and being their support. He reluctantly agreed and soon I was training them how to act and what the rules were. I did that for a while before I was brought to his home and trained to be a Madame. I had become so numb to the rape and the violence going on, that anything I could do to get away from it was an improvement. While I was there someone tried to invade the house but unfortunately he was killed along with all of the other people downstairs. After realizing what happened I knew it was my one and only chance to escape and before I could change my mind I jumped out my window and ran into the woods behind his house. I shifted and ran for miles and miles until I got to the border. I slipped past the guards with ease and days later made it to my best friends pack in Washington." She started wiping the tears that were now flowing freely down her cheeks. She paused for a while, staring off into the distance as if waiting for me to persuade her to continue talking.

"Jane, it's ok if you don't want to tell me the rest."

"No, there's more." She said as she turned around and looked at me again. "It wasn't until my friend told me the story about a man trying to save his daughter from the place that I started putting the pieces together. He died trying to save her from those heathens."

"I don't understand, I thought you said someone invaded the building."

"That's what I thought but the truth was, it was an angry father trying to save his child. I couldn't help them and because of me they lost their lives. He lost his life. But you being here will give me another chance to fix it. We were destined to meet, don't you see. You can help me, you can help shut that horrible operation down."

"Jane you're not making any sense. How can I help you?"

She ran back into the cave and came back out with the album. She flipped the pages and landed on a photo of two kids sitting on a swing, humungous smiles on each of their faces. I looked closer at the photo and back at her several times before the wheels in my brain started turning.

"Olivia?" I said in utter disbelief.

"Queen Reeves!" She said as she smiled from ear to ear.