Chapter 3
Switching Places
"Damn it," muttered Shadow-ka under his breath as he stared at the setting sun. He was currently hidden underneath a balcony as he kept an eye on the young princess as she played croquet with her mother.
"You were suppose to be here an hour ago," said Shadow-ka to nobody in particular as he continued to watch. It was the Queen's turn and she gave the ball a perfect a smack right through a wicket. As the princess went to take her turn, Shadow-ka caught a sense of foreboding. Looking below him, he saw the gardener below him slowly come up to a kneeling position. He pulled back his wide-brimmed hat and with a smooth motion reached for a knife hidden in his boots. Pulling back his arm, the gardener prepared to strike at the Princess.
"Oh no!" yelled out Shadow-ka in his head as he dropped down to attack this man.
Before he even finished letting go of the minute grips he had been using, he heard the sound of a sharp string come flying through the air. He watched in amazement as an almost transparent string wrapped itself around the man's arm, keeping him from throwing the dagger. A second string appeared and wrapped itself around the neck and lifted him up into the air. Stunned Shadow-ka watched as the assassin spasmed a few inches above the ground trying to scream. Shadow-ka had seen enough and scrambled up the balcony to see who had saved his charge.
"Hey there Shadow-ka, fancy meeting you here," said Cirrus lazily as he gave the wires around his hands one last tug and then let the body go.
"You saved the princess?" asked a stunned Shadow-ka.
"No, it was some other magical guardian," said Cirrus sarcastically, "Your time is up. I'll take her for the next seven years. You need to rest."
"Are you sure?" asked Shadow-ka, "How will you hide?"
"See these big white feathery things on my back," said Cirrus as he turned around, "They're called wings. I can hide in the rafters."
"Okay, just a few things though. Sometimes in the middle of the night she'll start to stir. If you sing her a lullaby it will put her back to sleep. Um, her math is kind of hard and so I've been leaving little notes of help. She thinks that they're from her nurse. Don't worry if she goes to jump off the craters with her friends, I've checked the water and it's deep enough."
"Um Shadow-ka, really it's okay," said Cirrus reassuringly, "Just leave it to me. I can handle it."
"Alright, I'm going to sleep," said Shadow-ka as he absorbed himself back into the shadows and headed off to the crystals.
"I hope it's not always this exciting," said Cirrus to himself as he silently swooped down to hide the body of the newest failed assassin.