Drakon

shadow queen

[⚔k i a  d r a k e⚔]

I ran. I thought they would never catch me, but they did, somehow. I found myself scaling buildings like a lizard, streaking over rooftops like a dark shadow. My heart pumped wildly in my chest, my legs screaming for me to stop. Usually, I'd find peace when the sprawling city of Lukar was below my feet, but not today. I kept running, fear and adrenaline pushing me forwards with every step.

I tip-toed over to the old woman with a purse dangling out of her bag. She gripped a cane in her flimsy hand, her bag casually slung over a shoulder. She was haggling with the local greengrocer for a bunch of fruits, completely oblivious to my approach. Growing up in the dark and dirty alleys of Lukar, the chance to get gold- or any other form of money- was irresistible. I stretched a long arm out, ready to snatch her purse and disappear like I always do. However the purse lay tantalisingly out of reach, and I had to take a step forward to get to it. I held my breath in order not to alert her to my presence. Unfortunately, my actions had aroused the suspicions of another person. The baker, who had an eye for detail. "THIEF!" I froze on the spot, caught like a deer in the headlights. The old lady whirled around, her bag lashing out and knocking me to the floor. I took a closer look at her face, and saw the youthful glint in her eyes, the wrinkles simply made of makeup.

I swore under my breath. How could I have been so stupid? It was evening and everybody was in a hurry to pack up and go home, but that didn't mean that nobody could see me. Unlike the other bandits of the night, I had never been caught before, and their nickname for me was "The Queen of Shadows". Some stared at me with distaste and jealousy, but others looked with admiration and respect. In their eyes, I was queen, the one who would never be caught. But today, my reputation had been ruined, by nothing other than my own mistake. "You can run, but you can't hide, thief." I stiffened. I wasn't spooked easily by threats, but her sentence terrified me. Who was she to threaten me? I looked around me, and to my relief the marketplace was in utter chaos, civilians screaming and yelling, the guards barging through children and elderly alike. I used the disorder to my advantage, squeezing through the crowd and disappearing into the night.

I leaped over the gap between the last two buildings, sprinting towards the shabby alley I called 'home'. I gasped for breath, taking in the night air in big gulps. I risked a glance behind me, hearing the shouts and clumsy footfalls of the guards at least five buildings away. I was going to make it. Or so I thought, until I slammed into a wall that was never there before. "Ouch!" I yelped, frantically windmilling my arms in an effort to prevent myself from falling on my arse. That was what distraction did to people.

"Next time you decide to go on a run, do watch where you're going." I heard the smirk in the wall's voice, and realized I hadn't crashed into a wall, but a person. Unfortunately, it hurt all the same. Whirling around, I realized the 'wall' was blocking my only exit. I tried to turn back, but the person grabbed the back of my hood, ponytail included.

I growled, attempting to pry his-or her- fingers off my hood. "Let go of my hair."

"Stop fighting me, I'm just trying to talk to you!" A masculine voice exclaimed.  It was a boy, then. A boy who probably didn't know what was good for him.

I pulled a small dagger out of my pocket, aligning it against his wrist. "Let me go, or I'll slice off your hand." I snarled threateningly.

He let go of my hair, and I spun around, dagger poised in position. The stranger wore a hood not too different from mine, and he raised both hands up in the air. "Good lord, Cecil never told me women were so violent."

I shrugged. "Maybe it's just you being unfortunate."

I couldn't see his eyes beneath his hood, but I could sense the eye-roll. "Stop sassing me. Anyway, I have a mission for you, Miss Drake."

I narrowed my eyes. "That's not my name, stranger. For all I know, you could be one of the palace guards in that castle- what's it called again? Right. Lukar Palace.  It's not even a castle! Anyway, tell me your name, and maybe I'll listen." In a dog eat dog world, it's hard to trust people you don't know. Trust me, I learned that the hard way. Now, I don't trust nobody and nobody trusts me.

"Russell." He replied curtly. "That's all about me that I'm telling you. Anyway, I want you to go and meet me at the palace tomorrow at daybreak." He smiled coolly. "You're going to figure how to get there yourself. And for the Miss Drake not being your name? That's true, because you call yourself Kia Drake." He took a step off the the side of the building, and I swore I heard the flapping of leathery wings. By the time I had mustered the courage to look over, proof of the stranger in the hood was gone.

Muttering, I leapt off the roof, landing safely on a tarpaulin. There was a muffled splash below me, and I sighed. "Hawkeye, I know you're right behind me."

Hawkeye wasn't his real name. His name was Ashton Reeves, but he had brilliant eyesight, so I called him Hawkeye once and the name stuck. "Dammit Shadow, how are you always able to sense where I am?" Oh yes, Ashton was also my partner in crime-both literally and figuratively. We had been stealing things together since I was four and he was five, and he had taken care of me like a brother whenever I needed him. He was my best friend, and I don't know what person I'd be without him.

I snorted. "Ash, you always step in puddles. I know you too well." It was almost like every time he walked, he stepped in a puddle that never evaporated.

Ash grumbled angrily. "Anyway, how was your encounter with the prince?"

"My encounter with the what?!"

My friend looked stunned. "You were standing right in front of Prince Alistair Selwyn, and you didn't even realize it?"

"I'm going to kill him! He told me his name was Russell! That-" I let out a slew of colorful profanities and other things that would not have been very polite.

Ash burst into laughter. "I'd gladly help you." He smiled tightly. "'Cause we're friends, right?"

I laughed in agreement, then stopped with a sudden frown. "Ash? Do you know how to get into Lukar Palace?"

The boy paused, a guarded expression crossing his features. "What do you want with that place? Why would you want to go there?"

I shrugged. "I'm actually have no idea. The prince," I hissed with distaste, "told me to meet him there and didn't tell me how."

Ash looked positively crushed.  "You're leaving me? You're leaving the empire we built together from scratch?" My heart shattered at his expression.  His damp brown hair glistened - how it was wet, I had no idea- in the moonlight, baby blue eyes shining with both hope and despair.  I stuttered, not knowing what to say.  We were always together, two metaphorical peas in a metaphorical pod. It was never Kia, or Ashton, it was always Kia and Ashton.

How could I possibly answer him without breaking his heart? And mine too, in the process?

I took a deep breath, trying to reassure him that everything was going to be alright. "It's only for a while. Hopefully, I'll be back as soon as I can." An idea came to my mind, and I winked at him. "If I'm not back by the end of this month, I give you full permission to storm the castle."

Ash still looked crestfallen. "But... I'll miss you." I'll miss you too, my mind whispered, yearning to reach out to him.

I smiled sadly. "I'll come back, I promise." Hesitantly, I gave him a feather-light kiss on the cheek. "Goodbye, Ashton." I would return, I was sure of it. So why did that sound so much like a final goodbye?

I fled into the dark, far enough to hope that Ashton wouldn't hear me break down.

image: india eisley as kia drake