Run

A/N: I do not own Kickin' It.

Swoosh.

The sound of an arrow raced through the night, slicing the silent atmosphere. Up snapped a doe's head as it began to feel alerted of the sound. It quickly turned on its heel to run.

Only, it was too late.

"All hail Queen Josephine of Gerida!" an announcer screamed, causing a young blonde to wince and her brother to scowl.

How many times had they done this? Was it three times? Or was it five? Maybe it was nine, and they had forgotten? Damn, they had lost count, and all interest. The blonde gazed at the crowd, boredom and dread flashing through her eyes, as they cheered on loudly.

"All hail King Bradley of Gerida!" the announcer screeched once more.

The blonde winced and gave him a dark glare. Was he joking? Could he not have spoken a wee bit lower?

"All hail Princess Kimberly of Gerida, and her twin, Prince Nicholas of Gerida!" he screamed, his voice going a bit hoarse.

Kimberly smirked and Nicholas just looked satisfied. If he screamed any louder, he would not have a voice for the upcoming ball. She scowled just thinking of it. The ball, she thought. That witch is planning on marrying us off. I can just feel it. She watched as the Queen of her homeland walked forward, cradling a small child. Kim felt a sneer arising. That stupid baby is the bane of my existence.

Smiling brightly, and extremely fake, as Kim noticed, and held out the baby. Kim sniggered. The small human looked like its head was going to drop off as it lolled to the side. "Attention, my loyal subjects! I am proud to introduce the newest princess…" The crowd began to get rowdy and wild with excite. Both Kim and Nicholas grimaced. "My daughter and your new royalty – all hail Princess Victoria of Gerida!" Josephine screamed.

Screams and shouts of joy rang out throughout the kingdom, deepening the frowns on Nicholas and Kim's face. They just did not get it. A baby had been born, yes. But why the hell was this child's birth exciting? It was just a baby, the third in line for the throne of Gerida.

Something was off, and they could sense it. They looked to their father, but his blank eyes stared ahead, unfocused.

Kim downed her fourth glass of sweet wine as she glared at anyone who tried to make conversation with her. They all walked and talked like they were higher than everyone. Wait a minute, they were. A ball full of noblemen – Dukes, Duchesses, Kings, Queens, Princesses and Princes – Kim felt like she was suffocating. She knew it was a blessing that she had been born in to one of high status, but she hated it. It was suffocating and everyone was a snob. They ridiculed those who bowed to them and worshipped them like the highest of the high because they were poor. Kim had thought that it had not made them any less of humans. However, to these higher ups, she was wrong. They were scum, disgusting humans that needed to die.

Kim sighed. But they did not kill them. Why? Humans were the perfect sacrifice for their bellies to be full. "Kim, Darling, we have a human–"

"I do not eat humans," she scowled, slouching unladylike in her chair.

The person, a woman with pink hair, grinned knowingly at her. "Ah yes," she said, winking at the blonde. "I brought you a giant chicken thigh, which I put a spell on. No worries, everyone who looks your way will think it is a human thigh."

Kim looked up and smiled gratefully at the woman. It was people like her, chefs who thought humans could be their allies, not foes or food. She took the plate and smiled brightly at the woman. "Thank you, Nina. I have no idea what I would–"

"I have an announcement to make!" Josephine hollered, smiling wickedly. Everyone froze and Nicholas walked up to his sister, resting a hand on her shoulder. "I am proud to announce the futures for my beautiful step-son and daughter." Loud cheers erupted from the people all around, but Kim and Nicholas were tense.

Their father stepped up, and cleared his throat. "Kimberly shall be married off to Duke Bryson of the Northern Kingdom, Demus." A wicked gleam entered the Queen's eyes as she listened to her husband. "And Nicholas shall be put to death for treason against the Queen."

The crowd went quiet and Kim grasped her brother's hand, looking up at him. His eyes were void with emotion and the crowd began to murmur, looking at the said criminal. "The Prince committed treason against the Queen?"

"No doubt her did, probably the Princess, too. After all, they are the children of Siren."

"Disgusting, like mother, like son. He should die. And so should the so-called Princess."

Looking extremely satisfied, the Queen spoke again, "By dawn of tomorrow morning, he shall be beheaded. We do not–"

"And may I ask, mother, what my brother has done?" Kim hissed, fury swirling in her eyes.

The Queen glared darkly at Kim. She had forgotten about the blonde's little mouth. "Anyone dares to plot to kill the Queen is to be put to death." She gave Kim a sharp glare before smiling sweetly. "No worries, though, he will be allowed to sleep in his room, one last time. After the beheading, you are to shipped off to the North to meet your future husband."

Kim paced around her brother's room, hand on chin. "What are we going to do?" she murmured.

"Run."

Kim looked up at her brother in shock and raised a brow. "Run? Nicholas, we have to st–"

"I know. But we need time to gather our thoughts and come up with a plan. I am not running into this blindly, Kim."

Nicholas walked out of his closet, holding two pairs of leather pants. One was obviously for a man, and the other, a woman. He tossed her the leather pants and a long shirt. "We run and after we are gone, we are no longer Prince and Princess. We are warriors, Kim. He had not trained us for nothing. He had foreseen this. This, this, is our destiny."

Kim pursed her lips and gave her brother a tense nod. Quickly, she peeled her clothing off and dressed. She sighed and relaxed. It had been so long since she wore her hunting clothing. Now, this was a warrior's outfit.

And she was a damn warrior.

She sneaked down the hallway – well, Kim did, Nicholas walked like no one was going to kill him – twin knives were strapped against Nicholas' back, a bow and arrows on Kim's. Both had twin daggers in each boot, and Kim a knife in her cleavage. They were prepared for whatever may come at them.

Kim looked at Nicholas' back and raised a brow. She was at a lost. Where were they going to? "Nic–"

He shushed her and pushed open the kitchen door. The staffs looked at them and nodded, receiving a nod from Nicholas himself. "Are Nightwalker and Sting prepared to leave?" he asked.

They nodded and a short plump lady handed them a large bag. "Here is some food for your travels. Stay safe, loves. We will miss you and we have faith that you will come back."

Nicholas nodded and grabbed Kim's wrist and the bag of food. He raced out of the kitchen as Kim looked back, tears stinging her eyes. Nina looked at her, running a hand through her hair. 'I will miss you,' she mouthed to Kim.

Kim nodded and gave her a weak smile before being pulled out of her vision altogether.

Kim cooed at her horse, Nightwalker, and smiled. He was so obedient, and was not really a horse. More like a black unicorn. Nicholas had strapped the food to Sting's body, and jumped on his unicorn. He looked back, waiting for Kim. "I am going to miss the staff, Nic," she whispered quietly.

Nicholas nodded stiffly and watched as his sister hopped on Nightwalker in one fell jump. "Are you ready?" he asked.

Kim nodded and he took off, racing through the night. She looked back once more and smiled sadly. Bye everyone. She turned around and composed herself, before following Nicholas' path.

The Queen smirked darkly. Her stepchildren had escaped. And she found it amusing. She ran a hand over the glass globe, showing the children racing off in to the night. "Wherever you go, my sweets, I will always find you," she whispered.

She stood up and walked towards her husband, the King. "My love," she whispered. She ran a hand down his body, reveling in how cold it felt. "It had to be done. I need this power for myself." She gently kissed his cheek and walked by him. She stopped in front of a guard and sighed. "Put my love with the rest of the stone statues."

The guard nodded and dragged him to a dark and mysterious room. He lit it up, and watched as light illuminated the room. He sighed and looked warily at the King. Just wait for the young Prince and Princess. They will protect us. He placed him beside a familiar stone and smiled sadly. Pressing his lips against the stone's lips, he whispered, "And I swear, my lovely mate, I will get you back."

Nina, I love you, and hang on, you and the rest of the kitchen staff.

She sat in a hot spring, frustrated and upset. How could the woman want to kill off someone as pure as Nicholas? 'It is because the wicked are fueled by hate for the pure, Kim. Remember, you and Nicholas are strong and can do anything,' her mother's words filtered through her mind.

Like most parents, who were not human, they took off when their children were too young to understand the world. Kim and Nicholas had been lucky enough to be born into royalty, because they always saw their dad.

She bit her lip, remembering the slaves of supernatural creatures, – adults, elders, and children – being filtered in to the Kingdom. She had always thought that Gerida treated everyone like equals. Until her father mated with another, Josephine, and those supernatural beings of lower status became slaves for both humans, and higher supernatural beings.

She remembered the screams and tears of children being torn apart from their mothers and fathers, and mates being taken away from mates.

She remembered begging her father and Josephine to let them go because Gerida was nothing like the Northern lands. It was peaceful. Everyone lived in harmony. They had flat out refused and Kim cried, and cried. It was heartbreaking. It was not until the ball of her and Nicholas' birthday when she realized how much the Kings and Queens, the Duchesses and Dukes, the Princes and Princesses from the Eastern and Western lands hated the Northern and Southern lands because of this.

A tear slipped from her eyes as she tried to shake away the bad memories. 'Kim, I know this is hard. I understand how you feel, so do me a favour, as you and your brother continue to grow, learn to decipher good from evil, and fight against the evil. Fight against this,' his words flowed through her mind, causing her muscles to relax. He was right.

She stared into the crackling fire. "I thought about what he and mom had told us before," Kim whispered.

Nicholas looked up at his sister, his hand holding his cooked corn a couple of inches away from his mouth. He cleared his throat and lowered his arms. "And what was that?" he asked, sadness seeping into his voice.

Kim smiled at his antics and rolled her eyes. Nicholas had been a pig when it came to food. "What they had said about evil. I understand. But, must we kill to successfully get rid of it?" she asked.

Nicholas smiled and shook his head. "Not at all, sometimes all we need to do is drive it out." He looked up at the star filled sky. "However, we can never rid of evil. It is everywhere."

Kim nodded and stood up, dusting off her pants. "I am going for a walk," she whispered.

Nicholas nodded absentmindedly and went back to devouring his corn greedily. She snorted and walked away briskly, not even looking back.

She thought about her past and sighed. I wonder how mom looks now. I wonder how he is. Is he safe, or did they find him? Her heart raced at the unspoken question and the silent answer. She sniffled and rubbed her nose. Think positively, Kim. You do not want to get hurt.

The wind blew, whipping her hair upwards and across her face. It stopped and Kim felt an eerie presence around her. "Who is there?" she spoke up loudly.

Another gust of wind came through, but this time, harder. Kim gasped and turned out, trying to leave. I am weaponless, she thought, fear running through her bones. As she began to walk, something solid ran in to her, knocking her body into a tree. Kim groaned as black spots filled her vision and she sighed.

Her heart was racing with fear and she tried to move. Only, she was paralyzed. "Kim," an eerie voice whispered. She looked around and saw nothing. She tried to move again, but her body would not listen. "Kimberly, it will be you. You are the chosen one."

A black figure materialized in front of her and she gasped. It lunged towards her and her breath left her body as it entered it. A silent scream was released from her lips as her body erupted in pain. Heat licked at her fingers and toes. It felt like she was being consumed by fire.

Soon, the pain became unbearable and before Kim knew it, she had blacked out.

"– Kim, it is me, so wake up," someone hissed in her ear.

They shook her violently and she startled awake, slapping the person hard across their face. Her body shaking and she felt cold. Why did she feel cold? A hand touched her forehead and she sighed. It was hot. And she needed that warmth. "You are burning – Kim!"

She had passed out again.

When Kim woke up again, her whole body felt heavy. She grimaced as she felt sticky. At least my body temperature returned to normal, she thought. She slowly opened her eyes and screamed as a pair of dark blue eyes looked down at her. A hand slapped itself against her mouth and she began to thrash about. She bit the hand and the person yelped, moving away from her. "Calm down, dammit! It is just me! Nicholas!" he yelled.

Kim froze and looked at her brother, eyes wide in horror. "I – I – oh goodness, I saw – it entered – Nicholas," she wailed.

Nicholas looked at her as if she were the weirdest creature alive. He cradled his bitten hand before grabbing a canteen full of water and gently pouring some over his wound. Kim watched with bitter satisfaction as his bloody wound healed, leaving no trace of a scar. "Damn, you bit me so hard I saw stars, and then my own damn blood," he hissed at her.

Kim smiled sheepishly at him and fell back down on her makeshift bed. Her stomach grumbled and she sighed. "I am so hungry," she whispered.

Nicholas snorted. "I would expect that from you. You were knocked out for three days straight. Hell, Nightwalker head butted me," he scowled. "Twice." He dumped some vegetables on her lap and gestured for her to eat it.

Kim wasted no time in devour it. "Now, what the hell happened? I found you passed out against a tree, in the middle of the forest. Hell, wolves were sniffing you down."

Kim froze. She was highly aware she probably smelled a bit like a fish, considering her mother was Siren. "Werewolves or just regular ole wolves?" she asked.

Nicholas smirked. "Just regular ones, so you got lucky." There was brief pregnant pause. "But seriously, what happened?" Nicholas frowned, confused.

Kim sighed, suddenly losing her appetite. She looked at her hands and shrugged. "I have no idea. I was taking a walk and thinking when I felt such an eerie presence." She paused and shivered. "Something attacked me. Hell, I still feel that eerie presence, right now. It is tainted. And so damn evil."

Nicholas nodded and looked warily at his sister. "I feel that same presence. Only, I feel it coming from you. Like waves of some sort."

Kim tensed and her breath seized. "Is it because that thing attacked me?" she asked him.

Nicholas shrugged and sighed. "Maybe, we cannot be for sure. However, I found something weird during these past days…" Kim looked at him expectantly when he looked nervous. "You – you have another part you now. It was weird. The second time I tried waking you up, you did not look human and that was saying a lot because you are only a half breed. Your eyes were… red. The sclera was red. Your irises turned gold, Kim. It scared me."

Kim looked confused and instead of replying, she bit into a carrot. Nicholas sensed her unease and sighed. "Forget it. Let us just continue our journey." Kim smiled and nodded, but it faded when Nicholas crinkled his nose. "We may not be half breeds of wolves and things like that, but you smell horrible. I am sure the – OUCH!"

Kim scowled at him and stormed off in the direction of the hot spring.

"Where are we going?" Kim asked. "East, West, North?"

Nicholas sighed, and brought his unicorn to a slow trot. "Neither of those places. We are staying in neutral territory, hence why we never left the forest."

Kim nodded. That made sense. If they went North, they would take Nicholas back to be beheaded. East and West were out of the question. If they found out that Kim and Nicholas were on their lands, they would die. Kim sighed and used one hand to rub her face none too gently. "I do not understand why the Lord and Lady had not overthrown Josephine and stopped her reign?"

Nicholas' face twisted in to one of anger. "Because they are missing." Kim looked at him in shock. "The Lord and Lady have not been commanding anyone or anything in years. Instead, we have fakes. And they are pure, unadulterated evil."

Kim pursed her lips. Lords and Ladies, every land had one. They were at the top of every land and could choose to overthrow any king or queen that saw fit. However, if the Lord and Lady of a certain land were no longer present, or they went into hiding, the land would most likely go into chaos. And now that Kim knew this, it was understandable. It must have been that the Lord and Lady of both the Southern and Northern lands were gone or something bad has happened.

Lords and Ladies were the most pure beings alive. They were the white witches. The ones that could tell good from evil instantly, they were the reason there was peace in lands. Without them to protect these lands … Kim shivered. She did not want to think of that. She could not. She had a prickly feeling that Josephine and King Arthur and Queen Frieda of the Northern kingdom Demus were behind all of this.

And that made Kim shiver.

Nicholas abruptly stopped his horse and Kim blinked confusedly, also stopping. "Nic, is there–?"

A group of people jumped out trees and bushes, surrounding them. They were heavily armed and there were too many for Nicholas and Kim to take on by themselves. Nicholas stared blankly ahead and past the three people in front of him. Kim followed his gaze and watched as a tall man walked out from behind the people. His brown hair covered a good amount his eyes. And it did not help that he was wearing a cloak.

He had on baggy pants, that were stained with dirt and an equally dirty shirt that had the sleeves ripped off them. A scar ran down his right arm and both hands clenched two thins swords. Kim gulped. He was dangerous, no doubt about it. He clenched the swords tighter and fire ran down them. Kim gasped and in a flash, he was in front of her, a hot, fiery sword pressed up against her neck.

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw that he had Nicholas in the same position. Unlike her, Nicholas was passive and unfazed, while she was frightened.

"What the hell are you doing around these parts?" the mysterious man hissed.

Damn, guess who that was? That is right! Anyways, this is the revised version of Chemei-Tekina Hana. The first chapter is incredibly different, but still seems like the first chapter of the other book… I hope…