_Valencia Royal Palace_
Two shadows stood watching at the window of the most important person in the kingdom under the cover of the starless sky. Today was our fifteenth day observing and we already knew by heart the rigid timetable followed by the eunuchs and guards in that part of the palace. Everything was according to habit: two eunuchs passed by the front walkway, one with a lamp, the other with a bundle which I was sure contained freshly laundered robes to be worn by the king the next morning. They were both bent over, starring down at the ground a little too attentively, as if there were any cobbles in their path.
''They'll be back right about...now," wispered Iria in my ear, her hot breath fanning my neck. I could see the vein in her neck pulsating a little too rapidly, but I knew my sister was not afraid. She was the bravest and brashest person I knew, eyes like daggers, she would never relent. I knew she inherited this trait from my mother, as with her looks: long silver hair, very dark skinned, tall as a pole, lithe and springy.
The eunuchs had returned, still with bent heads, the lamp swinging from the second ones' hand.
"Now!" Iria yelled suddenly, and I narrowed my eyes at the bundle, which I was certain now contained used clothes. Willing and subduing my mind into concentration, I released the force building up in my head at them.
BLAST!
Both eunuchs were thrown back as a result of the explosion, and they landed with a crash on the flight of stairs leading up to the king's quarters. Iria gave me a thumbs up sign.
"What's that?! What happened?!" several guards came running from nearby, where they kept sentry. They circled the flame which has started to burn the bundle of clothes and the lamp.
"It ...came from over there *cough, cough*" the eunuch was holding his head while the other was unconscious, a trail of blood snaking down the staircase. "My head! Ahh!" cried the other.
The guards were looking at the flame in horror. After consuming the clothes it turned silver and continued to burn suspended in the air.
"This is..."said the guards to one another fearfully "magic!"
The commander took charge, crying out loud: "Assassins!! Protect his Majesty!!"
The commander took charge, crying out loud: "Assassins!! Protect his Majesty!!"
Beside me, Iria pulled out her broadsword. It glinted in the starlight. This was no ordinary sword- this was Kraharn, passed down who knows how many generations in my father's family. It had been passed to Iria by my father on her tenth birthday, the day her magic powers came to the fore. Barely two years after, he was dead, alongside mother and the rest of our clan....
"It's time, Nei,"
I pulled two things from the several pouches belted to my waist.
"Ready," I told my sister.
With a spring and a dash, the two of us were flying through the air at s terrific speed towards the palace guards. They were caught by surprise but quickly readied themselves for our attack.
Iria lunged for the commander. With a downward dip one outstretched foot touched the ground for barely a second while the other and the blade of her sword connected with the commander's chest. Blood seeped from the slash and he tried in vain to parry the rest of her blows.
One guard came near me, even though the fear was evident in his face, and tried to slash at my feet, which aided my flying by simulating running through the air. I cupped a small black pod the size of a pea in my hand, then shot it at him like a projectile. The side of his face which the pod hit immediately became raw flesh, burning.
"Aaaaarrrrgggghh!" he screamed. They were all screaming, my sister and I capitalizing on their fear and using the edge of our magic.
From the corner of my eye, still flying, I noticed that the king had been escorted from his sleeping quarters by some guards and eunuchs, who all had drawn swords, lookong for a way to escape.
"Can't you stop two girl assassins?!" The king was livid. I narrowed my eyes at the step beneath the one on which he stood, surrounded by the guards, who were starring petrified at the two people in all black in the air.
"Your majesty!!" One of them looked down when he heard sickening cracking noises at his feet. "Be careful!"
The ground started to vibrate. I could not feel it because I was in the air but I could see the tremor and the cracks lenghtening and I smiled to myself and lanuched several projectiles at the king's guard.
The ground split open into two with the several eunuchs and soilders fell into the chasm from which rose thickly coated blue poisonous gas.
Everyone in the vicinity covered their noses, while the ones who were too late started to cough, their eyes loosing focus , lost their balance and fell into the chasm.
Suddenly I felt a pair of strong arms grab me from behind and cart me away from the scene.
"They musnt escape!" hollered the king and so doing, he inhaled some of the gas which had now seeped from the chasm into the atmosphere. He gesticulated wildly while coughing and fell unconscious onto one of his servants.
Twang!
An arrow came from nowhere and hit Iria in her shoulder. I knew because I felt her pain, being connected to my sister in more ways than one, and her short cry.
"Aah!"
I dipped my hand into another pouch and dropped a pinch of the powder from it to the ground.
The explosion that followed shook the palace to it's very foundations and magic flame started spreading from building to building. I turned round in the air, grabbed both of my sister's hands in mine and closed my eyes tight. With a blinding flash, we vanished.
.....
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