The Strings in the Shadows

Chapter One- In Which Jack and Kaira get rudely awoken

The base of her hat post.

Breaking the base, Kaira gripped the now free stem and flipped it gracefully through the air, as if it were a staff, the extra limbs that held hats sliding off of the stem pole. The assassin's green eyes widened as he realized it was a staff, with tempered steel on both ends. Kaira swung the heavy oak wood at the assailant's head, missing by a hair as he ducked. The next minute passed in a blurr as the two danced the dance only fighters know. Kaira couldn't manage more than two glancing blows on her attacker, which both thrilled and frustrated her. Usually she could kill five in the time she was taking to kill this one.

It was during this self-evaluation that the man made a mistake. He had intianally worn stockings to quiet his footsteps to sneak up on her, but now these clothingarticles betrayed him as his feet slipped on the smooth marble floor of the castle. He lost his balance for only a second, but it was enough. Kaira stepped fluidly pass his shakey guard, drew the small sword from his belt, and held it against his throat.

"Now," she said,"why don't you tell me who sent you? If you do, I promise your deathto be quick and reletively painless." The axes clattered to the floor as the man released them.

"No. I don't think you've earned that, lady." The man spoke for the first time.

"No?" Kaira frowned. She had won, this man was about to die, and he had told her no.

"Look down." Still frowning, Kaira took her eyes of him for a second when she realized there was a prickling sensation by her ribs. Two prickling sensations. Her eyes widened when she realized he had two wrist knives posed to stick her on both sides of her chest cavity.

"Damn. I was so close," Kaira whispered, but not quietly enough.

"Close?" The man laughed. "I had you on the ropes, Kai." Still laughing , the man lowered his knives and Kaira ruefully took the weapon away from his throat.

"I was close, and you know it, Luke." Kaira said grumpily to her brother as he continued to laugh. "And what's with the ridiculous mask? i knew it was you the second I saw your eyes."

"I thought it would spice things up a little," he admitted with a mischeivepus glint in his eyes, removing the black cloth from his face, revealing his shocking yellow hair, the only one of their father's children to take after their mother's own golden locks.

Kaira looked outside at the still dark sky and noted the stars posistions. "At four thirty in the morning? You attacked me at four thirty in the morning but added a mask because you thought it would make it more exciting than fighting for your life before you have even proparly woken up?!"

"Yes," he said, still cheerful, and every bit as annoying as her eighteen year old brother had ever been. "Besides," he added a little more seriously," assassins haven't tried to kill you for over a month. You needed the practice."

"Oh, that was practice? I thought we were playing." She retorted, smiling. It was hard to stay mad at Luke for long.

"Is that why you did that unecessary spinning kick? You could have just picked up the staff instead of all that twisting," Luke huffed. Kaira knew he was slightly miffed; he wasn't as flexible as her and a lot of Kaira's kicks he couldn't do.

"What'd be the fun on that?"

"That's my girl," Luke said, ruffling her black hair.

"Now get out, brother dearest," she teased, "I'm going back to bed." Then she remembered. "I'm going back to the window seat, as my bed is temporarily unavailable," she amended, followed by, "And I will need to find a way to explain this mess," she gestured to her destroyed bed,splintered hat stand, and the gouges in the walls from his weapons," to Hyda."