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Part 1
“When you go in for the kill,“ Johan instructed, “never yell like a maniac, you come up quick and quietly from behind an-”
“And make a quick, clean slice to the throat. I know, I know.” Kiera cut him off. “You’ve told me that about a million times.”
Kiera was a seventeen year old girl learning the art of thieving from Johan. She was nice and caring during the day, but when the sun went down, she was a monster. Her eyes were a dazzling red, but her dark hair was almost always covering her left eye.
“Okay, I get it, it isn‘t like you‘ve never killed before,”
Johan was a tall, thin man in his mid-sixties. He was a retired assassin teaching Kiera how to kill without being seen. Johan normally wore a lot of baggy black clothes and black shoes. He had short grey hair and solid black eyes.
Kiera and Johan were walking along the forest edge. The trees were just starting to bloom but it would still be a few weeks until the forest was an explosion of color. “Johan? I know you've told me a thousand times, but how did my parents die? It always seems like you're keeping something from me,” Kiera asked.
“I honestly don't know, Kiera. I found you on my doorstep when I went out to get groceries at the market,” Johan hesitated for a long time then sighed... “But that’s not all. When I found you, there was a note next to your dagger.” he continued, “It said,"
"I’m sorry to put this burden on you, but my beloved wife died yesterday evening and I am very poor and I fear my sickness is getting worse. I don’t have the money or knowledge to care for little Kiera here. I have put my dagger in the blankets for her to use for protection when she is older. Again I am terribly sorry for any hassle."
"For the next few days I knocked on everyone’s door but no one knew who you were or who you might belong to.”
Kiera took out her dagger and gazed at its beauty. It was a knife like no other, the blade was as dark as night with a serrated adge and a beautiful ivory handle. “So your saying this dagger belonged to my father? I thought it was just one of your old ones.” she breathed in disbelief.
“Nope, that was your father’s, and odds are it was probably his father’s, too. Besides, I‘ve had only two daggers in my life and you know what happened to the other one.”
“Thanks, Johan, for telling me the truth.” Kiera concealed her dagger in her sash. “We should probably start heading home.” So she set off toward the town with the ends of her scarf swaying in the breeze.
Night fell and Johan and Kiera were back at their house
“So, are you going out tonight?” Johan asked while pouring two bowls of soup.
“Yeah, tonight I’m going for at least twenty gold coins. I figure that should take about seven to ten middle class men.”
“Attagirl, progressing every night, you might even pass my record of fourteen people in one night here pretty soon.”
“Well, your out of the job, someone has to put dinner on the table,” Kiera chuckled.
“Ha ha, make fun of the old guy,” he fumed sarcastically, but ended up laughing himself.
After finishing her squirrel stew, Kiera called from the doorway, “Okay I’m heading out, anything specific you want me to get? Some shoes or a bag?”
“No, no, I’m fine. See you tomorrow.”
And with that, Kiera left. It was a cool spring night, perfect for a thief at work. Kiera took a deep breath then pulled her scarf above her mouth and her headband close to her eyes. She flipped up onto the roof and started running quietly towards a different side of town. At night, Kiera was like a cat; swift, silent, and decisive. She poised herself on the corner of a roof, motionless. Someone was coming, she waited for him to pass then jumped down behind him.
With one arm she grabbed his wrist behind him and with the other put the dagger up to his throat and whispered into his ear “This doesn’t have to get messy, drop all of your gold and anything else of value. Try anything stupid and it will be the last thing you ever do!”
“Ha, like I'd give up my gold as easy as that,” he laughed in a defiant voice, and stood strong.
“What did you say to me?!?” Her blade started to cut into his throat, blood dripped down the man’s neck.
“I said you're not gettin my gold!”
“Okay then, I’ll just take your life!” Kiera slit the man’s throat and let the body drop to the ground. She took his sack of gold and looked back at him. “He had it coming,” she grunted, and walked away from the bleeding body that was as cold and lifeless as the ground it lied upon on.
Kiera jumped up onto the nearest rooftop and counted her gold. Ten gold coins, jackpot, she’d get more than what she had expected to get.
Back at the house, Kiera was counting her gold “twenty-five, twenty-six, twenty-seven and twenty-eight. Hmm, I’ll tell Johan in the morning.” That was a pretty good amount considering it took most people two weeks to get that much, where it only took her one night. She made sure not to think about if people had family, if they had family she couldn’t make herself do anything to them and get their money, thieves have to eat too. Kiera took her money, put it back in the bag and headed for her room.
She walked over and sat on the bed, gazing at her dagger. So many questions were going through her head right now. “Who were my parents? If they hadn’t have died, would I still be who I am now? And would I have known Johan?” Still thinking about these questions, Kiera put her dagger under the mattress and lied down. She would ask Johan these questions in the morning, but for now, she closed her eyes and drifted to sleep.
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characters introduced
Kiera (17)
(omg, my failed attempt at mspaint! this is what kiera is supposed to looke like)
Johan (63)
 Ember1257 · Sat Aug 09, 2008 @ 04:53pm · 6 Comments |
