Chapter 4

-Eir-

I didn't tell my father about the encounter. He would probably curse me for not finishing the person off. It wasn't in my mission brief and so I didn't think it was necessary. My father would shake his head and send me to do some sort of punishment. He wasn't a fair man with a lot of consideration. I had once been forced to stand on one leg holding trays of lit candles until they had completely burnt out, that one wasn't the worst, but it was among them.

Jain Kuang, or Kuang Jain as he preferred to be called, was the leader of assassins and con-artists. We gathered information and got rid of sources when they outlived their uses. He didn't care for family attachments, but being his daughter had its perks. I got my own room in the Dragon's lair, as well as being untouchable. Many people have tried to attack me throughout my years of living, but I had always been one step ahead. Apart from when I was younger, that was back when I had my sister's protection.

I shook my head at the thought of my sister. She's probably dead by now. Our father had many enemies, none of which would spare the life of a Kuang. If I wasn't on a mission, I would've gone to the training room to teach some bags of sand not to be so readily available and punchable. However, that wasn't the case.

I was resting in an alleyway with an atrocious pain in my side. I had been trying to distract myself with thoughts of the past whilst catching my breath. It wasn't something that was recommended, quite the opposite. I didn't like to be present whilst my side felt like there was someone inside, kicking at the organs.

I had completed the job, it had gone rather well until they started to fight back. Nobody told me that this person used to be a skilled fighter, past tense as they are no longer breathing. They managed to get two very good hits on me, one on my side, and another on my back.

She must have been expecting it, why else would anyone wear those hideously painful heels?

Footsteps became audible and I pulled my legs to my chest, wincing at the pain. It would subside soon, I told myself. The footsteps kept getting louder and louder, it can't be a threat, any threat would know to be silent.

"What do we have here?" a familiar voice asked from above.

I craned my neck up to see very little, due to the overhang of the roof they were standing on.

"It seems like someone's out of commission." A shadow flew over my head and the person landed on the roof opposite. "Nice hair," the person said. It was the same person I had seen in Steinroot's place. "Is it natural?"

I scoffed and glared at her. "What do you think?" I stretched my legs out again. She must have pretty good eyes. "Why would anyone in our world want to have this hair?"

She hummed and crouched down, her black hair curled around her chin. "If you are a Dragon, you must be related to the leader." She scoffed slightly. "Unless he had an upgrade."

I shuddered at the idea of my father turning himself into me. "You are about thirty years off, my friend." I pushed myself against the wall, forcing me to stand up straight. "What do you want?"

"Personally? A specific black dress with white spider webs decorating it. Occupationally? I'm here on a mission."

I tilted my head to the left. "Then why are you conversing with me? Surely your master would have your head if you missed your target?" I gave a dry chuckle. "Unless I've already taken care of them again for you. You really ought to start doing your job on time."

The girl let out a laugh. "Well, my target is a mysterious woman, who I've only seen once. She's very difficult to track."

"You're flattering me," I said. I was her target, that's an interesting development. "And you are now at an advantage. I'm injured, so surely this should be easy for you." I lowered my arms from where they were holding my stomach. "I won't fight back, take your shot." I smirked behind my face-covering.

A blade glistened in the minimal light, the shine of a dagger twirling in her hand. "No," she denied. "That would make it unfair. I'm not one for injustice."

I tilted my head back as I laughed, not caring much for the mask which fell around my neck. My face was completely uncovered, even a few strands of white hair fell around my face. "See the poor animal that you're sparing? Don't you think she'd much better suit the dagger in your hand?" I pushed myself off the wall and towards her. "It wouldn't be very messy, I made sure of that with dark and thick clothes."

The girl backed away, but a smile played on her lips. "I don't slaughter animals, I slaughter opponents. It's cowardice facing an opponent who is at a disadvantage."

I laughed again. "You wouldn't last a minute in the Dragon's lair." I didn't stop until her dagger was directly in front of my throat. "Why not take your chance?"

She swallowed, the movement of her neck caught my eye. I could see her face clearly now, something I had only just realised. She had rich brown eyes and pale skin. Her hair was chin-length and a black which made it hard to distinguish inside her hood.

"What's your name?" she asked.

I blinked in confusion. I was trying to be intimidating, welcoming my death, and she just asked me for my name. "Eir," I stated.

"Eir," she said as though she was tasting the word. "Haven't heard of that name before,"

I snorted. "I do believe that was my father's intention."

She narrowed her eyes at me. "Well, Eir, I'm Xen."

I half-expected her to hold out a hand for a handshake. What had gotten into her? She was sent out to kill me and now we're having a conversation.

"You are annoying me," I stated.

She flinched. I didn't quite believe that she had flinched until she rubbed her arm nervously. "Why am I annoying you?" She was giving me many mixed messages.

"Are you here to kill me? Or to have a tea party?" I lifted my chin. "Surely, you had a plan when you started to talk."

She shook her head, not caring for my condescending tone. "You really overestimated me, Eir."

I liked the way that my name came out of her mouth. I only ever hear it shouted or snarled.

"Get on with whatever you're doing then." I was being hypocritical, as I didn't have any sort of plan either. "Oh, valiant and just murderer."

"I'm glad that you're willing to comply, bloodthirsty killer," she spoke with a hint of sarcasm.

I dived to the left as she pulled out a spray can of unknown contents. She shook it up, causing the can to make a clicking sound. I had trapped myself in a corner, but she may still be escapable.

"That's not being compliant," she said. Her feet were shoulder width apart, her arms were away from her torso. Good.

"I never said I was," I commented. I tried to duck under her arm, only to be met with a leg kicking me back.

I coughed and quickly launched for the opening on her other side. I successfully escaped and ran towards the street. The pain in my side was like a metal clamp was closing down on it, crushing my ribs. I could taste metal, I probably bit my lip when she kicked me.

I was stupid. She jumped down in front of me and sprayed whatever it was in my eyes. Tears immediately gathered and dripped down my face. I tried to blink them away, but every time my eyelids shut, it was harder to open them.

"Thank you for being compliant." Were the last things I heard before passing out.

The first thing I noticed when I woke up was the fact that my hands were bound in front of me. The second thing was that I couldn't open my eyes. My head was wrapped tightly with some sort of fabric, minimising what I could hear and meaning I couldn't even move my eyes comfortably.

I was sitting on a very uncomfortable chair. What I assumed to be plastic didn't give any support or comfort. Though. I was sure that probably wasn't what it was created for. My neck was stiff and there was a tingling pain on the side of my right hand.

I couldn't panic, this could be a test, or something easy to get out of. I last remember Xen in front of me, so it must have something to do with her. The worst scenario could be that she works for my father, and they were judging my actions. The worst I would get would be demotion, or some sort of punishment which I already experienced. I could still be killed, but I didn't think that Xen had the guts to do that.

"Someone's pretending not to be awake," Xen said from somewhere on my left. "Sorry about the blindfold." She didn't sound at all sorry.

I chuckled and shook my head. "Maybe try making it tighter next time; my head might explode."

Footsteps came closer to me. "That'd be too messy. It'll explode like a watermelon," Xen said with her breath tickling my face.

I resisted the urge to shudder as goosebumps pricked my skin. "Even though this situation is very...suggestive," I paused for a moment, "Take it off please."

She made a noise which sounded like a cat being strangled. The right side of my mouth twitched upwards, but any kind of smirk vanished when I saw the surroundings.

The door was taunting me as it was directly across from me. I was in a cabin. Other than a single closed-off square in the corner, all the necessities were here. A small kitchen was to the right of me, and a settee was to the left. A large circular wooden table stretched across the space in front of me, blocking some of my vision due to the obnoxiously white pillows on the chairs. I assume I was sitting on a chair like those, but without the luxury of a cushion. Two sets of bunk beds were further back, along with a deflated air mattress on the floor.

"Neat place," I complimented. I thought it was a bit of a rustic dump, but I thought it was a good idea to be nice. It did have a bit of a cosy feel. "Does it get cold here?"

Xen narrowed her eyes at me. It was only when I found my neck hurting as I looked up at her, that I noticed she was far too close for most people's comfort zones. "There's a fire pit outside, and that's why we have blankets."

I huffed, not at anything she'd said, but at the fact we were having a pleasant conversation again. "Why did you bring me here? I see no bloodstained floors. You know if you kill somebody on the streets, you're not required to clean it up."

She stepped backwards, crossing her arms. "You are a very vile person, you know that?" The air of disapproval hit me like warm air leaving an oven door.

"No, I never would've thought that what I do and say could be considered vile." I didn't quite know the meaning of the word, so it was fair. I knew she meant something negative, so I relied on my greatest weapon, sarcasm.

Xen lingered in front of me, her eyes scanning me up and down. My hair was already out of its hood, as it was when we were in the alleyway. I didn't have to worry about hiding any of my features, which was a first.

"You're very pretty," she said.

It was so sudden and blunt that it made me choke on my saliva. "What?"

She grinned in satisfaction, a gleam in her eyes. "You're very pretty, would you like it in writing?" She leant forward, her hair hanging in front of her face. "I'm very good at calligraphy."

I shuffled awkwardly in my seat. This was a new strategy which I hadn't experienced before. I wasn't used to words being used, more so fists and weapons.

"What is your intention?" I asked, feeling repetitive. "I don't even know who you work for."

Xen clicked her tongue and moved to the makeshift kitchen. She picked up a pot of something and stirred the utensil a few times. "I think I'm smart enough to know I shouldn't tell you that."

I was going to talk but banging on the door meant the words got stuck in my throat. I narrowed my eyes at Xen, a scowl on my face.

"Back-up has arrived," I said.

I was quickly shushed by a pale-looking Xen. She reached around the counter and pulled out a wooden bat which was just outside of my view. Such an object wouldn't be unusual in a cabin like this. I had the feeling it wasn't there in case they wanted a game of baseball.

She swung the bat a few times before holding it in a batting position. The door made another horrendous noise.

"Open up!" came from the other side of the door. It was a male's voice. It was gruff and was full of urgency.

Xen hesitated before throwing the door open. She readied the bat to strike at the person, but then threw it to the side hurriedly. "Dag? What happened?"

I couldn't see very well, due to Xen and the table blocking my view. But the person who was at the door was a giant. He had long down hair, tan skin, and wore dark clothes which nearly matched Xen's. He was clutching at his stomach, blood coating his hand.

"Damn Dragons," he mumbled. "Help me inside."

Xen did so without complaint, taking his other arm in hers and letting him lean on her. I didn't know how I felt about the phrase 'damn Dragons'. On the surface, I felt like I should be proud that they had caused this person to bleed, they had probably done their job. But wouldn't I have felt that if it were true?

I shook my head the best I could, observing the two as the man, who I assume is called Dag, was placed on the settee. He groaned as he leant back, still clutching his wound.

"A knife happened," Dag said.

My lip twitched but then I started to worry. I crossed my legs and felt nothing, but fabric graze my leg. Xen was smarter than I had thought, she took at least some weapons off me.

"And why did a knife happen?" Xen scurried around the cabin, grabbing a black box and hurried back to Dag.

"I don't know. I don't claim to speak dragon," Dag replied. I found his response humorous; it was nearly exactly what Xen told me when we first met.

I had definitely run into an interesting pair.