Kiena was grinning like a cat with a bird. She considered her first assignment alone a resounding success. Even though the city guard was hot on their tails.

“There they are!” hollered a solider close behind.

“Oh, don’t act like you’re not proud!” huffed Kiena. She weaved through the unsuspecting townsfolk, staying within arm’s reach of him. “You told me to retrieve the stolen item. I saw an opportunity; I took it! Look, I’ve got the bloody book!”

Having completed a month’s worth of hand to hand combat, because her skills were ‘severely lacking and an embarrassment’, Dane finally sent her off on an assignment unsupervised. Apparently, a priest had stolen an important book from a nobleman. What was the world coming to when one couldn’t even trust the priests?

She entered the cathedral under the guise of a homely churchgoer and saw the priest pocket the book while heading for a confessional. However, once she laid hands on it, the man cried wolf and guards nearly came out of the walls. The surprised man took an elbow to the nose and fell like a bag of bricks, then she ran for the entrance where Dane was waiting covertly as a beggar.

“The whole point was to not be detected! Did you even do any surveillance?” he puffed, more winded than he wanted to be at this time of day. “Turn there!” he called to her as a narrow alley came into view.

Fast as rabbits they dipped into the alleyway and watched as the soldiers raced past them. But then a pair slowed up and began to retrace their steps, suspicious.

“Lose the scarf,” ordered Dane. Kiena ripped the telltale accessory from her hair and threw it toward a pile of discarded wooden crates. She saw an abandoned ladder and ran to stand it against the building. Dane helped hold it steady as she scurried up to the snow laden rooftop. Dane followed closely on her heels. Once he hoisted himself up the pair of soldiers wandered into the alley, snooped around and left.

“What a shit show,” panted Dane trying to catch his breath. He leaned heavily back into the snow of the rooftop.

Kiena guffawed, wheezing with hiccupping laughter.

“It isn’t funny,” Dane restrained his smile almost painfully. “I swear you won’t take this seriously until I’m picking arrows out of your carcass.”

“I haven’t had this much fun in – well I never have!” she chortled.

“Can you sober up, please? And you failed in case you haven’t noticed,” he said.

Her laughter quieted. That got her attention. If there was one thing he could count on, it was her self-serving desire for perfection.  He hadn’t yet decided whether it would save her or kill her in the end.

“Yeah, the point of the assignment was reconnaissance. I didn’t expect you to actually get the book right away! I thought you’d pick up on that. Maybe if you had, we wouldn’t be flying down the boulevard like headless chickens!”

She rolled her eyes.

“Here,” she said tossing the palm sized tome toward him. “What is this stupid book that a priest would steal it? He didn’t really look like a priest actually…”

“It doesn’t matter. It’s not my business; which means it isn’t yours. Now that we’ve got admirers, thanks to your flighty escapades, we’ll have to lay low. We’ll split up. Meet me at the bathhouse after sunset.”

“Oh, Master, I told myself never again, not with a mentor,” Kiena shook her head for emphasis.

“Oh, shut it! Not with the likes of you, you pasty git. Off with you. Fucksake, try to stay out of sight until then? Can you? If you can’t make it till sundown, I’m washing my hands of you I swear it. I won’t even look for the body.”

“God, okay, okay. Sundown.” Kiena sneered and stood to take a running start then pitched herself off the other side of the building to the cobbled ground below.

Dane held his left temple, a slow smile growing on his face. That girl was stupider than fat fly in a bog. But at the same time, she was slicker than a snake. And twice as cunning. He knew she’d come from nobility, which lent itself to her greatest abilities and downfalls. She was intelligent and witty; quick to spin a tale. But could wander into a trap for lack of street smarts. At least she learned fast. She was bloody reckless. But it was fun. He hadn’t enjoyed mentoring this much since his first student.

Methias.

His smile faded. He wanted so much to erase those eight months. That boy was nigh on perfect except for his aversion to killing. In retrospect, Dane couldn’t understand why he was so infuriated by the boy’s regard for life. And the boy had wholeheartedly believed that his job could be done without killing. Before long, Dane had made killing the object of every assignment, the goal of every lesson. Kill.

Methias the Murderer.

Until the boy was painted into a corner, seemingly of his own doing, and had no choice. Oh, but the boy spilled blood. And it shattered him a way that made Dane nauseous to think of it. More so than killing all the men he’d ever laid a knife to.

Dane dug his nails into his brow. Kiena was different. She didn’t fear death. And she wasn’t afraid to deal it out. Although she had obviously never taken a life, her recklessness was refreshing, if not concerning. She chomped at the bit, giddy with bloodlust if that was what would make her the best.  She seemed steeled to the idea of it, but he would test her yet. Dane had killed enough to understand that it was a line that you could not uncross. This time, he would make sure she was ready.

***

Thank you so much to everyone who is reading this. I really appreciate all of you. Please tell me how you feel about the characters. I felt a bit wired for this scene, maybe becasue of the mountain dew, but I really wanted to show their personalities in more detail. It you think it seems sporadic let me know. All of this is to help me become a better writer. And to have fun. But mostly for practice. All of your feedback is really just what I need; good or bad. Much love, all.