Twilight's Agents
By: Heyvid21
Disclaimer: I do not own Ranger's Apprentice. That honor belongs to John Flanagan. This story only takes place in the world he created.
WARINING: This fic contains a few spoilers from AFTER Oakleaf Bearers. I'm pretty sure that book is no out in the US yet, but you can find it online here in America. If you go to the right site, you won't have to pay overseas shipping if you want to buy it.
PRELUDE:
Kyran's heart hammered in his chest, and probably for the hundredth time, he reflected on the madness of the situation. Although his joints ached, he didn't move a muscle. Within the shadows, no, more like a part of the shadows, he looked down at the room below him. His breathing was muffled by the thin piece of dark cloth that covered his face below the eyes.
Absently, he realized it was far too late to turn back now. It had been his idea to pick this target, and Tori had agreed wholeheartedly when he had convinced her he was serious.
He grinned beneath his mask. The sheer audacity of this plan was something that appealed to them both. That was one thing that made the two of them such a great team. The way they both thought was as if one could read the other's mind.
Voices suddenly brought his mind back to the present reality, and his grin vanished as his green eyes narrowed in anticipation.
"I'll be out as soon as I change," the soft, feminine voice called to someone else outside the room where Kyran waited in the rafters.
"That should only take a few hours," a more rough but still youthful voice replied with a laugh.
"Careful, Horace," a third voice teased, "She'll have you scrubbing the stables if you carry on like that."
"Or worse," the first voice again, "I've heard the kitchens could use another potato peeler for the feast's preparations. Just think, you'd be down there for hours and hours."
There was a laugh followed by a fourth person's voice. This one another girl, "I don't think that would be much of a punishment for Horace. He's been sneaking off to the kitchens to see a certain someone every chance he gets."
Kyran ignored the blustering from Horace that followed this statement, and instinctively matched the names to the voices and filed them away in his brain. The last voice had belonged to Alyss, a royal courier of some renown. Said the be the direct apprentice of Lady Pauline. She was one to be wary of.
The first male voice had belonged to Horace. A young, recently appointed Knight of the Castle Arulan. It was said that he was the prize student of Sir Rodney from Castle Redmount. Kyran would have to be very careful with him so close by as well.
However, it was the second boy's voice that Kyran knew held the most threat to the current mission. Will Treaty. Ranger Apprentice to none other than Halt, the legendary Ranger. There were whispers throughout the kingdom, that Will was quickly becoming as skilled as his teacher. There was no room for mistakes with one such as him around.
Just then, the door to the room in which Kyran hid, opened, and the bearer of the first voice entered. Her long blond hair was clasped behind her neck with a simple, yet somehow elegant, silver clasp. Her lips were still upturned at the corners in a smile, as she closed the door behind her and looked around.
In spite of why he was here, and the seriousness of the situation, Kyran could not help but notice how beautiful the girl was. Even dressed in her riding clothes, she seemed to radiate her presence into the entire room.
"Helga?" the girl called as she glanced around again, surprised not to see the maid rushing forward to help her out of her clothes.
The blond sighed as she spotted her maid slumped over the knitting table in one of the corners. A half empty bottle of wine was still clutched in her unconscious right hand, and two more empty bottles littered the floor.
The girl started walking towards the sleeping woman. Kyran had planned this. He had positioned himself so that the girl would have to pass directly under his concealed position in the rafters to reach her maid.
Quickly and without a sound, he drew a small dagger from his waist, and as she passed beneath him, Kyran dropped to the floor. In one fluid movement, he grabbed the girl's arms and pinned her hands together in his left.
With his right, he pressed the the dagger to her neck and whispered in her ear, "It's an honor to meet you, Princess Cassandra. If it's not too much to ask, I'd like it if you could accompany me to for a walk tonight."
AUTHOR'S NOTE: There's the Prelude. A new OC, and the original crew, stay tuned for the first chapter. I should have it up this week sometime.