The sun was hidden over the castle of Herrin. It was a dreary, rainy day, the kind that most people would avoid being out in at all costs. More than that, it was hot, and the rain did nothing to alleviate the heat. It was also extremely unseasonable weather for the area, and the common people cursed the gods for burdening them with such an awful day.

A few of the peasants chose a different target for their rage though. They were a more superstitious lot than most and tended to blame every little thing that went wrong on some kind of evil or malignant spirit. This was one of the few times that they did not blame one of those things though.

Most humans knew of the nothing. They were a species of magic, like the spirits and the elves. They were shape shifters, unlike any other species out there. No one was certain what their true shapes were, for they never showed them, or at least never made it known that they were showing them, and this was the origin of their name. Most people had no problems with them, or with them trying to live in human society like the elves did. But, about 1 out of every 10 humans hated them with a passion.

These were often the more superstitious peasants. The ones who were afraid of evil spirits were often the ones to think that the nothing were going to take over the human race. They were the paranoid ones. Of course, every now and then some of the more learned humans developed this irrational fear as well. They tended to pass it on to their descendents, and many of them banded together in the end. These people, who formed a very widespread group, called themselves the hunters, because they swore to hunt down each and every last nothing and kill them.

The local group of hunters contained the people who didn't curse the gods for the unseasonable weather. They knew that the king was a nothing in human form, and they blamed him for the rain and heat. At the time though, they were celebrating. They had received word that the hunter group in Merion had sent out their special assassin to take care of the king. They were eagerly awaiting news of the king's death.

Meanwhile, in the castle, Nadie was making her way toward the king's quarters. A hunter spy in the castle had granted her access to the building without having to go through any of the guards, and no one else had noticed her walking through the halls. Wearing a plain white nightgown, as she was, made people think she was a simple servant girl who couldn't afford more clothing than what she was wearing.

She could feel the nothing in the castle as a strong pull in her mind. It was a guide for her, saying "go this way" to her as she walked. It was also just one of the many things that made her the hunter's best assassin. She followed it, since she had no idea where the king's chambers were located.

As she neared the correct place, the steward of the castle noticed her. Unlike everyone else, who had just assumed she was another servant girl, he knew all of the servants in the castle's employ, and he did not recognize this little girl in the white nightgown. She walked forward as if she belonged there and was on some sort of errand for someone, but he knew better.

"Hey, you," he called, stepping in front of the girl. She stopped before she collided with him and looked up, her face expressionless. "What are you doing in here? Are you lost?"

"...no," she said softly.

"Then how did you get in here?" he said. "Didn't the guards stop you?"

"...i am here to see the king," she said. "...move."

"I'm afraid I can't do that," he said. "The king doesn't have time to play with you. He's a very busy man. Now, why don't we get you out of here and find your parents?"

"...no," she said. "...you will be terminated if you do not let me through."

"What are you talking about?" he asked, laughing.

"...you have been warned," she said. "...will you continue to stop me." It did not sound like a question.

Before the steward had a chance to answer a man came running up to the two. He looked as if he had hurried to get to them. He was young, in his twenties, and the steward looked at him with veiled distaste. He had bright blonde, almost golden, hair, grown long as was the fashion among some of the younger nobles, but tied back like a working man would wear his hair. His eyes were bright blue and his skin was light, setting him apart from the dark skinned, dark haired, dark eyed people of the area. His clothing was that of a fairly well off man, but certainly not anything like a young nobleman's clothing.

"Ah, I'm glad I found you!" the young man exclaimed in between breaths.

"You..." the steward noted. He was barely polite, his distaste for the young man even more evident when he spoke than when he looked at him.

"Thank you so much for finding her!" the young man continued. "She's with me, but she got away, and I've been searching all over for her. Don't mind anything she might have said. She's just a little girl, and her imagination tends to run away with her every now and then."

"Why in heaven's name did you bring her here then?" the steward asked.

"I couldn't find anyone to watch her for me," the young man replied. "I'll take care of her now. You can go back to your work."

"Very well then," the steward said. With one last look of veiled disgust, the steward turned away from the young man and little girl and returned to his duties around the castle. The young man sighed and sagged in relief, then grabbed Nadie's arm and started walking down the hall, dragging the girl behind him.

"...let go," she said.

"Fine, fine," he said, letting go of her arm and turning to face her, a smile on his face. "A young girl like you really shouldn't be sneaking into strange castles, you know."

"...i am here for the king," she said.

"I know," he said, leaning against the wall nonchalantly. He stared at Nadie with an odd intensity, despite his casual pose.

"...why are you here," she continued.

"I think that would be obvious," he said. She hesitated before replying, though expression stayed the same the whole time, non-existent.

"...you plan on stopping me," she said, and he nodded.

"That's what I'm being paid for," he said.

"...you are nothing," she said.

"Yes, that I am," he replied. "I don't suppose we could take this conversation somewhere a little less open, could we? The whole castle doesn't need to know what you're here for after all."

"...yes," she said. She knew that she could find the king whenever she wished, just as she had been tracking him before.

The young man started down the hallway, Nadie following behind him. He lead her to an unoccupied room, presumably a guest bedroom. Once inside, he took a chair and motioned for Nadie to do the same. She remained standing and instead decided to continue the conversation from the hallway.

"...you are not my target," she said. "...though you are nothing, you will be spared for now if you let me through."

"I'm afraid I can't do that," he said, leaning back in the chair. "The king here is well liked, you know. The only people who don't like him are the hunters. It's best for the kingdom for you to stop now."

"...i must complete my mission," she said.

"Then you'll have to go through me first," he said.

"...if you will not let me through, then you must die," she said, completing the phrase that triggered her killing power.

All other times she had uttered those three words, "you must die," the power had been almost invisible. The only indication that it was working was the slow fading of the victim. This time was different, as the power around her flared pale red.

It flowed from her to surround the young man in what appeared to be washed out red flames. They did not approach him though, but instead were stopped by a bright blue barrier. He gave Nadie a sunny smile as the pale violet glow surrounding him, caused by the mixture of red and blue, faded first to blue, and then to nothing.

"Did I forget to mention that your little trick doesn't work on me?" he asked, as a flash of surprise worked its way across Nadie's face, only to be quickly wiped away by her customary expressionless stare.

She stayed silent, seemingly not able to decide whether to say something in return or just try and ignore him. They stood for a while, staring at each other, until another man walked into the room. He was older, with a kind and gentle look to his face. As he passed through the doorway, the young man's face fell, and Nadie turned to face him.

"What is going on in here Alguien?" he said to the young man while failing to notice Nadie staring at him. "I felt something from this room. You'd been gone for quite a while, so I decided to see what was going on."

"That probably wasn't wise," the young man said. "Considering the girl who was sent to kill you is right in front of you now. How am I supposed to protect you if you walk right into her power?"

"Oh, sorry," the older man, presumably the king, said.

"...you are nothing as well," the girl said, and the king paled. He'd heard about the girl who had been killing nothing like him for the past year. He knew that the young man in the room was supposedly able to protect him, but he was still afraid of what the girl had already done to countless of his kind before him.

"It's useless to try, you know," the young man said to Nadie. She ignored him and continued on.

"...i am no one..." she said. "...i kill nothing..."

The king turned to run from the room. He might have hired the young man to protect him, but when faced with the little girl he'd only heard rumors of, he had no faith in the powers the young man claimed to have. The girl then moved, putting out a surprisingly strong slender hand to catch his arm and stop him from running farther.

"...you must die," the girl said, once again activating the power that she had.

As had happened before, when she used the power on the young man, the air around her flared pale red. Again, it moved to surround her target, this time the king. The blue shield again stopped the pale red fire, surrounding the king with a violet glow again. The young man smiled as the violet faded to blue, and then to nothing, leaving a terrified king staring at both the girl and the young man. A puddle surrounded the king's feet, where he had wet himself.

"Told you so," the young man said, his tone light. The king chose this moment to flee the room, since Nadie had let go of his arm as soon as she had uttered the final words.

The girl's face showed shock, more than had been evident when the young man had blocked her attack on him. She continued to stare after the king for a few more moments, unable to comprehend how the young man had managed to block her power for a person other than himself. Then, her expression still one of shock, she turned and ran from the room.

"See you next time, chibi," the young man called after her as she fled through the halls of the castle.