The Alleyway

Her sleek red dress, slashed with black, billowed as she spun. She had ducked into the dingy town alleyway, flanked by stout wooden businesses, to avoid attention. The slender blade slipped in below the breastbone, upward, preventing any screaming. With a twist, she pulled it free. Blood gushed out in strong pulses, and he looked up at her with a stupidly shocked expression. She cleaned the stiletto on the man’s cloak, and replaced it in the sheath in her sleeve, strapped to her forearm. Her close red curls bounced as she shook off the dangerous sharpness in her grey eyes.