The spy

There was the sound of a knife being drawn, slowly out of a sheeth. Kyra's breath came out in hard, slow breaths, her heart beat quickened with each second his cold gloved hand remained on the back of her neck. Sweat beaded up on her forehead, the cool air of night helped a bit, but not much. She found her eyes slowly closing, bracing herself for the blow, then there was a loud humph! Kyra wondered if that was her that had made the noise, she felt no pain, it was rather peaceful for dying, then she found her eyes were still in her power and she opened them, turning slowly around, afraid of what she would see. A scream escaped her lips as she saw the dark figure huddled in a ball on the cold ground, blood dripping down his face, there was another figure there standing above him, he was tall, but slender, young, she could tell by the way his hair was cropped short, but he was strong still and he had saved her, was it because he only wanted to do the kill himself? Or could someone actually care that much, he reached his hand out slowly as if he wished to touch her, then he turned and ran off, as he ran Kyra caught a glimpse of emerald green, the color of his long cloak, it was the enemy's color. She stood frozen there in the cold air, shivering in the nights chill, she looked on the other stranger, the one dressed in the dark blue of Tren, the encampment on the far end of their lands, he was a spy, spies were not warriors, not meant to kill, this one had a motive, he would not have dared try to kill her unless he knew he had to, unless there was no one else to do the deed, unless he knew a secret, a secret about her so terrible that she deserved to die for it, though she knew not what it was, Kyra shuddered once more than ran quickly into the warmth of her house.

The night sky

The stale air inside the house smelled more musty than usual, her father and mother discussed adult affairs in the other room, Kyra sat on her bed staring at the floor, this would be the place she would be doomed to the rest of her life, doomed to smell only the musty stale air of the indoors and be trapped in the endless smoke from cooking fires. She supposed one day she could marry a warrior only to clean his shoes and cook his meals, never to be respected in the way she would be, if only they'd chosen her. Slowly she stood up, the wooden planks that made up the floor felt hard beneath her bare feet. She walked slowly, with that somber attitude that many have when so completely disappointed and depressed you feel as if life holds no purpose, as if you need not live any longer. Kyra halted at the small mirror set on the dusty desk in the corner, she moved over to it taking the brush up in her unwilling hand and running it painfully through her tangled hair. She grimaced at herself in the mirror, she finished by tying it back out of her face, a few pieces escaped, the downside to having shorter hair. Kyra brushed them back behind her ears, staring at reflection for a few moments before turning out the door. She slipped easily past her distracted parents as they discussed urgent matters, her father was no warrior, he was not honored, in fact the opposite, for when he was Kyra's age he disgraced the warriors by stealing their food, they were not rich never were, but they could survive in their small three room home. Outside the cool air brushed across her face filling her with life, she suddenly did not feel so depressed as long as she kept the terrible thoughts from entering in. Kyra relized to late she had forgotten shoes as she stepped onto the frozen ground, the cold shocked her for a moment yet she did not wish to go back for shoes, her feet would numb after a few minutes. A rustle in the bushes beside her caused Kyra to turn, but there was nothing there, nothing she could see int he moons dim light. Kyra stared at the stars through bewitched eyes, they were amazing how they twinkled and shined, she wished only to reach up and grasp one. Another rustle snapped her attention back towards the bushes, when she felt a cold gloved hand creeping along her neck.