Here's the first chapter in the story, enjoy!
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Chapter One: The Sleeping Dragon
Kaira sat in a chair in the "Sleeping Dragon" Inn in Palanthas, bended over a bowl of hot vegetable soup, slices of bread and cheese to the bowls left and a plate of various meats to its right.
As hunched over her bowl as she was, she didn't see te dark robed figure in the far corner, watchn her from beneath its black hood.
She also didn't notice the large, burly man that was standing in front of her, until he reached out and grabbed her chin, forcing her to look into his big brown eyes.
Kaira snatched herself backwards and wiped the soupp from her mouth. "What?" She demanded irritably.
"Give me your money and be my woman," he said in a thick accent she knew to be southern Solamnic.
She eyed him curiously, then she shrugged, noticing the other men behind him. She reached down and pulled out a sack of money from her bag and threw it at him. Then she bent back down over her soup, moving the other two plates closer to her and eating at the same time.
The man pushed her bowl of soup off the table.
"Hey!" Kaira exclaimed, standing up angrily.
The man grabbed her wrist and yanked her around the table to him. Bending down to her delicate face, making her cringe (not only from his strong grip on her wrist and backside, but from his foul breath that smelled like a Kender slipped something foul or dead into it at night). His lips were so close to her, that she tensed.
Unnoticably, the mysterious robed figure stood up.
"You forgot the second part of my 'request.'" The big man sneered. "Why don't we, let's say, 'go upstairs?'" The other men behind him laughed and hooted.
Kaira felt uncomfortable being so close to the man in her unnapropiate clothing. After all, a simple yank could tear off her short, silver-beaded lioncloth and short, silver-beaded lioncloth-like shirt.
Twitching angrily at the man's suggestion, she hissed, "No, you fat slob."
The man's grip on her wrist tightened and the other hand slapped her across the face, making her unwillingly let out a yelp of pain.
The black robed figure took a step closer, holding its staff tightly.
Kaira, finally aware of the robed figure's pressence, decided that the person was going to try and "save her." So, instead of letting the person be chilverous, Kaira reached behind her and pulled one of the two swords off her back. Shifting the silver bladed and hilted sword in her hand slightly so the hilt was on the opposite side her thumb was on, she jammed the swords butt into the side of the man's head as hard as she could.
He crumbled to the floor, unconcious, letting go of Kaira's wrist. Feeling, with relief, the blood flowing back into her wrist, she bent down and carefully yanked her bag of money from the man's pocket, her sword still in hand. The other men had stopped laughing and hooting, and when Kaira stood up straight and glared at them, they yelped and ran away.
Steppinh over the man's body, she put her sword back into its original X shape on her back. She sat down in her chair and looked across the room to see that the robed figure had disappeared.
Shrugging, she bent over her trmaining foos she had and ate.
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After Kaira had finished eating, she dcided to go rto bed. She hoisted her bags off the ground, tipped the cook, and walked up the stairs to the room she was assigned, leaving the unconcious man on the floor for the "stronger" men (who could barely lift the man's arm, to Kaira's amusement). As she turned the corner at the top of the stairs, a hand closed around hers and yanked her into a room, closing the door.
Thinking it was one of that man's croonies, Kaira eached for her sword. Another hand closed around her other wrist. FLinching, for the fingers burned her skin, she turned to see the same black robed figure from earlier. As she relaxed, the person let her go.
"So, Magi, is there something you want?" Kaira asked. "Because if it's money, you can have it."
Even though she couldn't see the face, she could tell the mage was smirking.
"Money? I don't want money," came the voice of a male.
"Then what do you want? Sex? Because if it is, I'll knock you out right now!"
"I'm not a pig like the man downstairs," he replied, clearly amused.
"Then what do you want?!" Kaira demanded angrily. She had better things to do (like sleep!) then deal with foolish young mages.
The man reached up and pulled back his hoos to reveal young features, but a head of gray hair.
But what shocked Kaira even more than the noticably gold tinted skin and gray hair, was his eyes: all gold with hourglass shaped pupils.
"I want power," he replied.
"From ME. What do you want from ME?" She asked.
"Knowledge," the man said, amused.
Kaira snorted. "The only knowledge I have, is of thiefing Kenders in towns and of rebelling Solamnic knights who have decided to grow their beards SO long, that they trip over it and die in battle."
This only amused the mage further.
"I'm a WARRIOR, I know fighting, not politics and aritmatic and such." Kaira finished.
The man smiled. "I know a Kender, and I use to know a Solamnic knight, very proud of his beared he was." The mage replied.
Kaira shrugged, avoiding the man's penetrating eyes. "yeah, well, like I said, beards are dangerous."
The man smirked, "You said you were a warrior, where'd you learn at?"
He's avoiding my question! Kaira realized.
"Solace," she replied, with no hint that she cared.
This surprised the man, "Solace?... By any chance, do you know if you were in school with a certain Caramon?" He asked.
"Caramon? Caramon what?" She asked, confused by the importance of this question.
Apparently the mage was confused too, but about what she meant, not his own question.
"Caramon what?" She repeated. "There's many Caramons. What's his last name?"
"Majere,"
"Majere... Caramon Majere... Hmmm..." She pondered over the name. "Oh yes! Caramon, he was in my class, and was the twin of a sickly boy magi everyone picked on... Oh..." She had caught the angry glare in his eyes that instantly vanished. "YOU'RE his twin, aren't you? Raistlin Majere, correct?"
"Correct," he growled.
She flushed in embarrasement.
"If you went to school with him, that means you're one of the children who picked on me constantly... Correct?" He asked almost inaudiably.
"Um, you're steering the conversation away from its true point... What do you, er, wnat from me?" She asked nervously, trying to change the topic.
"CORRECT?" Raistlin pressed on.
"Um... You already know the answer!" Kaira exclaimed. "Now, can you tell me what you want with me? Or can I go to my room, because I'm tired! After all, I lost a valuable locket to a Kender today; got lost in the streets of this huge town; found the Kender again and got my locket back; was led to this Inn because the Kinder was 'sorry' that he 'found' my locket; ate a buttload of food; knocked out a pervert; and, to top it all off, got abducted by the most feared man on all of Krynn."
Raistlin regained his compossure and put on a mocking grin. "'Ate a buttload of food,' yes, so much like my brother. You two would get along well."
"If he's anything like you, thanks but no thanks."
Raistlin's smirk widened. "I think he might say the same about you." Then something seemed to dawn on him and his smirk turned into a frown. "A Kender?" Kaira nodded.
"Yes, I met a Kender today."
"A Kender, ther's only one Kender I've known to have come to Palanthas more than elsewhere." He mumbled. Then he looked at Kaira and asked, louder, "Did he tell you his name?"
"Something about a tassle and a bare foot," she replied, frowning.
"Tasslehoff Burrfoot, and that means my sope of a brother's here too... He'd never leave Tasslehoff alone, even if it meant his death. Great, that moron might come here at any sec-" he paused. Kaira saw him look at the door and she heard footsteps.
"Underneath the bed, quick," Raistlin hissed. "This isn't my room."
"Should've figured as much," she sighed, irritated.
But, as told, she climbed under one of the two beds, Raistlin under the other.
"Tass, slow down!" Came a puffing voice.
Kaira looked at Raistlin to see him swearing silently.
"But we have to find that woman, Caramon!" Came the voice of the Kender. "She's beautiful I tell you!"
"Tass, I'm tired! Can't we at least stop for a rest first?"
"Oh fine," came the reply, clearly disappointed.
The next second the door opened and two pairs of boots emerged: one very small, the other very large.
"Hurry up and rest!" The Kender exclaimed.
Caramon sighed and walked toward the bed where Raistlin was under, stillsilently swearing in full colors. Tasslehoff, who was much lighter to Kaira's relief (even though she worried Caramon might crush his twin unknowingly), plopped down on the bed above her.
"I hope she doesn't leave before you're done," Tass said.
"Who?" Caramon asked, noisily taking off his unnessesary armor (even though something unnessesary was wandering through Raistlin's mind that involved a his hidden silver dagger and Caramon's heart).
"The woman I found, you'd look perfect together!" Tass exclaimed.
"Tass, I'm in love with Tika," Caramon informed as his last bit of armor hit the floor with a loud thunk. "Hey, Tass, could you go get me food?"
"But you just ate!" Tasslehoff replied, exasperated.
"But I'm still hungary!" Caramon protested.
Raistlin looked at Kaira, as if to tell her, "I told you you two were alike." Kaira stuck her tounge out at him.
"Oh fine, nevermind," mumbled Caramon, sitting down on the bed above Raistlin and making it sink like five inches. "Hey, where'd you get that?"
"This?" Tass asked. Apparently he held something up, because Caramon said yes. "Oh, I foundit laying on a shelf all alone in a store around town, someone must have miss placed it. Why? You want it?"
Caramon sighed. "No Tass, I don't want it. Keep it, because there's no point returning it now."
"Oops," said Tass as a tound, spherical ruby hit the floor and convienetly rolled under Caramon's bed. "I'll get it!"
Raistlin tensed as Tasslehoff's feet hit the ground and he bent down, coming face to face with him.
"Oh, hi there!" Tass said.
"Tass, who are you talking to?" Caramon asked.
"Ra-"
Raistlin pulled the Kender closer by his collar and quietly hissed, "No, Burrfoot!"
"Who Tass?"
"Um, no one," Tasslehoff replied nervouly. "Just my, um, ruby."
Caramon sighed and layed down. Tass quickly snatched up the ruby, as if Raistlin would steal it, and got onto his own bed.
"Is there somthing under my bed? You look like you just saw a ghost," Caramon said in a muffled voice (apparently he had found food).
"No," Tass laughed nervously. "Not a ghost, just your brother... Oops..."
Raistlin audiably sighed and Caramon shrieked.
"Raist? He's under my bed?!" Caramon asked nervously, apparently he hadn't heard Raistlin sigh.
"No!" Tass shrieked, a little too shrilly.
Caramon got off the bed and bent down.
Unexpectadly, and quite immature for the dark wizard, Raistlin childishly hissed, "No one's home, try again tomorrow."
Caramon paused and Raistlin sighed, climbing out from under the bed. Kaira climbed out too, much to Tass's delight. She smiled fondly at the Kender.
But the twins, however, didn't smile.
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Dragonlance © Margret Weis and Tracy Hickman
Everything not in the book belongs to me
Ask before using... and you can if you ask
Wow... Those twins aren't happy campers, are they?... Too bad I've stopped here, I wonder what will happen next time?!
Next time on When The Dark Arises: Angry Words
When the twins meet and eyes lock together, they aren't happy. What will the brothers say that will ruin their relationship even further?