Just a note: Much as I'd love to, I don't own any of Tamora Pierce's characters. I only own Kylaina. I trust that you can remember this, so I don't need to write this again, unless I make a new character that I own. Then, well, of course I'll claim them:)
Alianne, or Aly, spymaster of the Copper Isles looked at her 17-year-old daughter, her forehead creased with concern. Kylaina was tall like her father, but her green eyes flecked with gold were from her mother. She wore her crow-black hair up out of her face using a darking called Bean.
"I think you need to go to Tortall. You can stay with your grandparents for the time being, and when this has all blown over, you can come back."
"Mother," Ky protested, "I don't want to run. I—"
"Do you really want another kidnapping attempt? I most certainly don't."
Ky paused and sighed. "No. You're right."
She had been walking to her rooms after dining with her family, and was just outside her rooms when someone grabbed her from behind. Fortunately, she had trained extensively in hand-to-hand combat, as well as training with whatever weapons she could get her hands on. She grabbed the attackers arm and pulled him over her shoulder. As she did so, she slid her wrist knives out of their sheaths and wounded him in the shoulder. At the sound of laughter, she wheeled around and saw another. He had seen his companion go down, and snorted loudly.
"Acharn had told him not to underestimate you. Apolo here didn't believe him. I won't make that mistake."
Kylaina gasped. Acharn Uniunu was a noble who had been courting her for several months, until she realized how conceited he was. He was snobbish and haughty, though extremely good looking. She had tried to be gentle when she ended things, but he took it harder than she had expected. Nevertheless, she hadn't expected him to try something crazy like this.
From a sheath on his back, the man pulled a monstrous sword with apparent ease. Ky gulped. She wouldn't last long against that. She backed up and ran into a wall. She was trapped.
"Now, let's cooperate, shall we?" the man asked.
At his words, Bean sprang from the top of her head and plastered itself over her attacker's face. He dropped his sword, clawing at his face, and Kylaina picked it up and lunged, running him through. As he fell, Bean rolled off her face and trickled up Ky's leg to stop on her shoulder.
"Mother and Father come, with guards," it said into Ky's ear. She leaned wearily against the wall for a moment, and then looked back to where the other man had fallen. She cursed loudly. All that remained was a dark stain; the man had run while she was distracted. She heard footsteps down the corridor to her left and turned, holding the sword in front of her, only to see her parents rushing down the hall towards her.
"Are you all right?" her father asked, anger and concern in his voice as he saw his eldest daughter covered in blood.
"I'm fine," she told them, "but one of them got away. I wounded him in the shoulder, but he ran while I was distracted by the other."
Nawat turned and told the guards to search the halls, and then the three of them walked into Kylaina's rooms.
"Who did this, do you know?" Aly inquired of Ky after shutting the door to her rooms, raising an eyebrow. Ky, however, knew it for a façade. Her mother was scared out of her wits.
"Acharn Uniunu," Kylaina said quietly, and proceeded to tell them.
REVIEW! I need to know if this is a good idea or not... so please review if you read this and I'll try to upload the next chapter in about a week if I'm not overloaded with softball and homework.
