Kaladin's POV

When I was not but ten years old, I was driven from my village for murdering my uncle.

They actually hadn't discovered that I did it until after I was gone, as I was smarter than to stick around until they found the dinner knife stuck into the side of his throat.

Why would a ten year old boy kill the only blood they have left? My uncle liked little boys, and I won't say anything more. He liked to threaten me with his horrid Vann Hest, saying that he would let it eat me. I believed him.

Once I had ridden for as long as I could, after all of my provisions where gone, I was forced to stop in a town on the outskirts of Manölir. This so happened to be the riches and most highly populated out of all seven Kingdoms.

I kept my head down, stealing bread and other things from the streets, and I was certain that no one noticed me.

One day, a man in his forties stopped me in an alley way, his hands up in the air to show he would not harm me. He said that he had been watching me go on stealing for days, and was impressed that no one had ever noticed.

He startled me when he brought up that he knew what I did. To this day I am not sure how he knew, but he did. He knew that I murdered the Chancellor of Aränal.

He also said that he wanted to make me an offer. He would house, feed and cloth me, if I would become his apprentice. He, I would soon find out, was an assassin. And four years later, I was doing the same job better than any of the rest.

But other assassins weren't keen on a child stealing their jobs, their money and reputations.

I killed four of them before I ran again; none of them have been able to track me since, and why should they bother? I was out of their working lives and I helped eliminate competition.

So that is why scaling this tower without a rope or any other sort of assistance is not a problem. Its been a while, but my hands and feet find their placement in the stone as if it were a second language.

I've humbled up since my assassinating days, but that was only because I had two children looking up to me. It was a few years later that Jed came along.

He came to us in a way I would never prefer, and he actually found us by accident. We were living on the road by then, going from town to town looking for work- I had long since taught Syl and Adolin the skills of a mercenary, and he stumbled into the woods, nearly right into our camp site.

He was broken looking, with a black eye the size of a horse's hoof, bruises, and bleeding every were. I remember being so surprised that he made it that far in his condition.

He passed out right in our laps, and he never once asked for our help. He never even took the food we offered, the little we had. In the middle of the night, after Sly had done her best with his wounds, he tried to slink away.

I was not asleep, and I caught him by the collar of his tunic. I told him I would let him go, but that I wanted to question him first.

He eventually squealed. He said his older brother and father punished him for neglecting to feed the hogs they apparently kept, while his mother stood idly by.

Jed was trying to go back to them, back to that life. He was far too loyal.

I told him he could stay and be a part of our family. He's been with us ever since.

I hear a guard some were down below, and I press myself to the stone and shadow of the castle wall.

I recognize the man by his golden hair and the color of his armor, also gold, that shines in the fire light of the torch in his grasp. He is the head of Lyra's Personal Guard.

The image of the fear and concern on his face as he took her from my arms flashes to memory.

He seems to truly care about her.

He has two others behind him, dressed in the normal colors of lower ranking guards.

The guard pauses just below me, giving a silent order with a raised fist to the other two, who immediately turn into the definition of stealth.

The golden haired Guard turns his head to listen, then turns to look behind the small party.

None of them find anything, so they continue, the Head of the Guard whispering orders to the other two.

I actually give him props, as he treads lightly on his feet and stays stealthy enough. I wonder briefly if he is as light footed in battle as well.

Once they turn the corner I scan the area once more before continuing my trek.

It is unwise to be doing this with heightened security at every corner of the castle, but my matter is more urgent than the risk of being caught.

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Lyra's POV

I am not fully asleep yet, so when a figure appears at my window, my eyes widen.

Had the mercenaries slipped passed my guards and come for me?

The figure has a hood over his face, and I slowly reach for the small dagger that is hidden under my pillow as the he scans the empty bed.

Of course I trust Hana, but I know the likes of mercenaries; sneaky bastards. I took the weapon from my night stand drawer just in case and kept it close.

I quietly crawl onto my hands and knees, and move slowly to the edge of the corner of my bed.

I peer around it as the figure starts to look around, checking stupidly behind the curtains as if I were a child playing a game.

While his back is turned, I climb to my bare feet and stalk up behind, dagger in front of me, ready to use.

Its strange holding a knife to a man's throat when you are so short, but I do it anyways, my head hardly reaching his shoulder.

"Who are you? " I ask, voice low and threatening.

The figure is ridged a moment, before easily knocking the knife from my grasp by hitting that arm against the wall.

He quickly has my back against the same wall, pinning both of the arms above my head, preventing struggle.

I am about to yell for my guards, when he puts a hand over my mouth, a malicious grin coming to his face.
"You never cease to surprise me, Lyra."

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Shorter chapter, but it was mainly focused on Kaladin's back story for those who asked!

Keep up the amazing work guys, love your votes and comments

All the loves,

-A.