Kyria of the Streets
She looked down at the people walking through the crowded streets and sighed. She wasn't particularly noticeable, wearing simple brown linen trousers and a loose cloth shirt. Boring and loose clothing hid not only her gender, but also allowed people to not really pay any attention to her. She gently brushed her brown bangs out of her eyes and gently bit her lower lip as she concentrated. Her gray eyes stared intently at the lock on the door as she finally heard the gratifying click of her tools finding the proper position. Glancing swiftly down, she saw that no one was paying any attention to the young girl leaning against an upper doorway.
With a quick twist of the knob, she opened the door and slipped herself inside. With a smile, she looked around the room and nodded. “Excellent.” she whispered as she walked slowly over to the house's bedroom. The rooms of the house were nicely furnished, clearly a higher up officer of the Empire lived here. When they were in town that is. Having watched this house go unattended for a few days, Kyria figured it was the perfect spot to hide out and live for a few days while figuring out what to do next. The fact that the guild had given her the address helped as well in ensuring that she wouldn't be interrupted or come upon unawares.
Life in the capital had been getting more interesting lately. Word of war in the southern forests of the Lacula Wilds had been spreading swiftly despite the best efforts of the Emperor to stop them. Not that it effected her life much, as Kyria tended to not leave the capital if she could avoid it. Even with the Emperor's palace sitting in the middle of the city like a festering wound, she belonged to the guild for a while longer yet. Besides, she enjoyed her life and job...not many nowadays could say that honestly.
Rumor that did effect her life was that soldiers of the Empire had been going around rounding up vagrants and homeless folk (like herself) and taking them to the palace. Official word is that they are being put to work and given food and a place to sleep. But Kyria had her doubts...and doubts are what kept you alive when you grew up on the streets. She was not one to turn down a free meal, however she preferred it to be on her own terms.
As she padded softly into the bedroom, she smiled at the sight of a large feather bed sitting in one corner. Also a large vanity mirror and closet lined the walls of the room. She opened the closet, only to shut it at the sight of poofy dresses lined with lace and frills. Worthless in her line of work, she preferred her simple attire. Plus, thanks to her figure and choice of clothing, she was able to continue hiding her gender from any of the others in the street. A small contingency plan her brother had taught her when she was young. “If you ever get spotted, it is better for them to be looking for a boy then a girl, yes?” he had always said. “Though best to never get spotted.” she had always responded.
Running her fingers over the fabric of the sheets on the bed, she blinked away bitter tears at the thought of her brother, Henrick. She mustn't allow herself to miss him...but it hurt sometimes. He had been one of the first that the Emperor had picked up during the half-elf purges several years back. She hadn't seen him since, but she knew that he must likely be dead. No one ever came back from the palace...no one.
She had spent months searching for him, asking everyone they had known and questioning all of her contacts. The only solid piece of information she had heard was that all the elves and half-elves in the city were fleeing the persecution, and that those who refused to leave were taken in the night by soldiers. Kyria had been blessed with only her almond shaped and oddly colored eyes as evidence of her half-elven heritage...Henrick had not been so lucky. She had always made fun of his pointed ears when they were little, now...they had been his death sentence.
Shaking her head, she refused to dwell on it. Kyria lay down on the bed and let out a soft moan of enjoyment. It had been a while since she had the luxury of sleeping on a real bed and not a hard pallet in a flop-house or tavern. Forcing herself up, she moved into the kitchen. She didn't really expect there to be any fresh food, but possibly preserves or dry goods may still be in the pantry. Opening the door, she was quite pleased to find a wide variety of dry goods and preserves to be had.
She grabbed a small wheel of cheese, a bottle of wine and some dried meat that was hanging from the ceiling back to the bedroom. This would be the first decent meal she had eaten in months. Times had been hard, she mused as she took out one of her daggers and sliced off a wedge of cheese. Nibbling slowly at it, she savored the taste. Once finished, she then cut off a section of the meat and ate that with equal relish. The wine was an excellent vintage as well; all in all it was a meal that she was not used to having, small as it was. Even with all the food in the pantry, she only ate small portions and set them carefully aside when done with them.
Picking her dagger up, she let it roll around her hand for a bit before flipping it up and deftly catching it by the blade side. After years of practice, she was amazingly adapt with her daggers, even the masters at the guild commented on it. Smiling, she swiftly threw the dagger through the air. It lodged itself firmly into the door of the closet. Hilt quivering, she threw another and another. Soon the door had five daggers lodged in it, all in a perfect circle. “Good.” she said as she crossed over and pulled them out and placed them back into the small leather loops hidden under her shirt.
Once finished, she decided that sleep would be the best thing. Re-corking the bottle of wine, she quickly moved to the door she had entered by and locked it. Satisfied she went back to the bed and undressed, making sure that her belt of daggers was within reach. Lying amongst the soft sheets and letting out a soft sigh of contentment, she smilingly drifted off to sleep. She murmured gently to herself before closing her eyes, “At least I won't feel so bad about killing this mark...”
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