Disclaimer; I don't own Tolkien (unfortunately)

A/N: When Kiera was born...I haven't really decided yet. First I thought, somewhere around 1636 of the Second Age when the Great Plague comes to Gondor, but then I thought...well, since we don't really know when Legolas was born (We know he was a few thousand years old at the War of the Ring) I decided to read up on that particular subject and found that it was thought he may have been born sometime after Dol Guldur was formed in 1050 S.A. So I'm thinking I'd like Kiera to be born around 2045 or so before the Watchful Peace began.

This is my first fanfiction story. Be gentle.

She wore a cloak of woven shadows, and a tunic of deepest dark. No one saw her…no one ever did. Not even the quickest of elven eyes could spot the gleam of her twin swords as they flashed through the darkness, killing her enemies, and protecting her friends. Well, not friends. She didn't have many of those, and those she considered friends were far away. She protected those she considered worth protecting.

Curious? Really? She doesn't like curiosity unfortunately. Most people that come across as curious she decapitates. She doesn't like people knowing much about her for various reasons, the top one being that she is a wanted thief in at least three different cities, including her current home.

Mirkwood.

For some reason unknown to her, she had a feeling that the elves were worth protecting...like they should have as few problems as possible because they deserved better. When she was little she begged her mother to tell her of elves and dragons and little hairy men of the mountains. She began to feel a longing for something new and exciting. And when she was older one day, she followed that longing to Rohan and then around Lorien to Mirkwood.

And so, she began to spy on the elves, and began to feel pity for them. So she began to hunt the evil that resided there. How did she learn the necessary skills? She watched the guards train their apprentices out in a clearing not far from the castle. She hid, and watched, and practiced for many years. And then...then she decided to employ those skills.

The fact that she found it amusing to stand on the sidelines and watch the guards make fools of themselves trying to find out who murdered the orcs about to break down the gate is hardly valid…but I'll tell you anyway.

She never liked guards. The ones in Gondor were too alert, too gruff, and they smelled bad. They were the same in Rohan. So she figured that the Mirkwood guards must be the same.

I'll address the first issue…alertness. As you can see, that would be undesirable considering who she is. A spy, a thief…you can expect a little irritation on their part, that being the case.

And they were too gruff. She always liked to get to know her victims before they died. If she were in the mood, she'd tell them a little bit about herself.

She'd employ one of her more charming phrases such as, "Really? You have a brother? I have one to. Never liked him much…he was such a bloody annoying git, not to mention he resembled a drowned orc…on good days. Can't say I blame the guy who killed him for taking a stab at something as ugly as that. After all…it was his fault he was walking down one of the more dangerous streets of Gondor in the dark."

She wasn't exactly the sort of person you'd like to invite for tea and cakes, but these were orcs she was conversing with, she didn't need to be civil.

And the last issue…they smelled.

They smelled like yesterday's leftovers rolled around in sweat and dirt. Of course, being the delightful character she is, she was always quick to point that out.

She always made a point to stay clean and fresh smelling even if she'd just been splattered with orc guts. She always smelled like sweet pea, which meant 'goodbye' or 'thank you for a lovely time'. She had always enjoyed the irony.

She had a quick wit, and biting humor, and those who got in the way of her tongue could die just as if they'd gotten in the way of her daggers.

So, just keep going…or swimming…and roll right on to the first chapter. Oh, and don't forget to click that little purple button.