Killing had always felt like one of the most easiest things to Kai. 

   To a person like him, killing was second nature. He was skilled in every weapon that could be thought of: a sword, a bow and arrow, a mace, a flail, a two-headed axe, a chain, a whip, a pipe that shot out poisonous darts - any sort of weaponry one could conjure up in one's mind. He could not only kill swiftly and painlessly, but slowly and torturously, while he watched silently as his victim's life faded from their eyes.

   He was as dark and inconspicuous as the night and shadows, as swift and obscure as  a panther. As the son of the King's best knight, he might as well be. 

   From a young age, he had been trained arduously to become a professional assassin. His father, Kim Junmyeon, had been his trainer as a child, though since his sudden disappearance, he never practiced with him now. The last years of his training consisted of instruction from many different people, all of whom were experienced and trained killers. They had taught him many things: the study of anthropology - the analyzation of the human behaviour, how to wield a mass number of weaponry, how to be stealthy and keep to the shadows at all times. He had been forced to practice throughout day and night, without rest. The reason he was chosen to take this obligation however, was mainly because of one simple fact. 

   Kai had the power of teleportation. 

   He had the ability to vanish completely in less than a second and appear elsewhere instantaneously. When he had first teleported, he had been scared. He did not know why he had this ability; he was not born of Araesia, nor did his father have any sort of supernatural genes. 

   He still remembered the first time that he had unintentionally utilized his power. 

   Kai ran as fast as his little 6-year-old legs could take him. He had bumped into one of the castle tables, where one of the late Queen's vases had fallen and broken into a thousand china blue shards. He knew that his slip-up would not go without consequence, for all in the kingdom understood that the topic of the King's dead wife was a touchy one. And he had broken a memoir of something she had made with her own hands.

   Where was his father? He was the only one who would be willing to protect him from his faulty actions. If anyone else were to find him, he would be beaten again. Kai did not like to be beaten. It was never the simple smack on the rear as other children received. It was always a punishment far crueler, which would leave him bleeding and forced to recover without medicinal care from an infliction that would inevitably leave another scar on his young body. Another scar that he did not need, nor want. 

   He ran past dark, gray hallways and closed iron doors and up multiple castle stairways, hoping to reach his father's quarters before anyone were to spot him. There had already been a handful of knights that witnessed his mistake; he did not need more. 

   "You! Come here!" a gruff voice yelled at him. 

   Kai placed the voice immediately. It was one of the knights that was positioned near the castle doors, the one whom he feared the most in the castle. He was tall and wide with muscles, hair shaven to his scalp like it was cut with a longsword. He was also one of the men who saw him bump into the table. 

   Kai, his heart accelerating even faster than how it had previously, pumped his legs even faster. In the corner of his mind, he heard the sound of the knight's hard breathing as he chased him down, gaining on him closer and closer. 

   What was he going to do? He couldn't get caught, he would die if he did, he would die, he would die.....

   Suddenly Kai felt his stomach drop out from under him, his breath halting instantly. For a frightening moment, all Kai could see was a flash of white, blinding light - 

   And he landed heavily on the stone floors on his hands and knees. 

   His heart was pounding like anvils in his temples, and his breaths were coming out in constricted gasps. He felt as if a hammer were at his head, smashing into his brain unrelentlessly. He felt like throwing up. What had just happened? 

   Scared and trembling like a rabbit, Kai raised his head and surveyed his surroundings. He was not in the same hallway that he was in merely seconds before, but in a bedroom dimly lit by candlelight. A bed resided in the corner of the room, along with a plain desk, books and scrolls laid across its expanse. 

   And seated the desk was his father, Suho, staring at him with an expression that made it seem as if he had just seen a ghost. 

   "Jongin," he whispered, eyes unbelieving. "What..." 

   Who was Jongin? He was Kai. Before Kai could correct him, his father stood up and scooped him up in his arms, gently settling him atop his bed.

   "Kai," he said, his voice choked. "How...how could you have done such a thing? How did you appear out of nowhere?" 

   Kai looked up at his father with big eyes. "I don't know, Appa...I just...did." 

   His father looked at him for a long while afterwards. After what seemed like hours but was merely minutes, his father's expression darkened and he shut his eyes tightly. 

   "Kai," he said slowly, "What are we going to do with you now..." 

   He was a very important weapon to the King. After he had first learned of his ability, his father became very frightened. Kai remembered his father coming into his room in the middle of the night, carrying a sack of both of their belongings and a separate bundle full of food and other necessities. He told him that they had to leave together, that night. 

   But before Kai could even inquire of his father's intentions, his bedroom door had burst open and a number of knights had piled inside of his room, expressions stern and demanding. Kai remembered reveling at the way his father expertly kicked the bags under his bed and out of sight a second before the knights could fully assess the room. 

   They told Kai and his father that they needed to come with them, right at that moment, for the King wished to see them. 

   They'd followed the knights to the throneroom, where the King sat upon his throne in his bedclothes. He'd looked to his father at first, making Kai startled at the acidity of his scrutiny. Then he'd looked at Kai, and his expression changed completely. 

   His training began the next day. 

   And from that day onward, he never saw his father again.

~~~

   "You," the voice spat, "What do you think you're doing right now? Get back to your room." 

   Kai looked up at the tall knight. He was one of the few men in the castle that knew who he was, and what his job was. He knew that Kai wasn't allowed to be out where people could see him, for he was one of the biggest secrets that the King had, the one huge trick hidden in his sleeve. Unless he was out doing a job that the King instructed him to do, he had to be confined to his room, or his private training room, where no one was to see him.

   But Kai was tired of having to stay in the same place throughout the span of his life. He remembered how he would freely roam the castle as a child, exploring all of its secrets and passageways, devoid of any instruction or restriction. He missed those days. 

   It was a mystery how this knight could even have spotted him in the first place. Kai was good at keeping to the shadows and not being noticed when he sneaked out of his quarters. 

   He looked at the scowling man and cocked his head to the side. There was an uneaten apple in his right hand. It was bright and red, and probably delicious.

   The knight's face grew red. "Well, what are you waiting for? Go on then."

   Kai stared at him for a moment longer. 

   Then, finally, he spoke. 

   "No," he said. 

   And then he vanished completely into thin air before the knight's eyes.

   Sehun sensed Kai's presence immediately. His brother had the sort of stare that you could feel the moment it set their attention to you. As if their intensity could easily bore a hole through your very skin. 

   Still, he continued to shoot his arrows at the target, as if he were completely unaware. 

   After he hit the center of the target seven times in a row, Kai spoke. 

   "You should ask for a new target," he said indifferently. "Or maybe just a new center. That's practically the only place that's been hit, anyway. The rest looks brand new."

   Sehun smiled and looked back at his brother, setting his freshly nocked arrow back into the quiver upon his back. Kai was sitting casually atop a tree branch, a bright red apple in his hand. There was only one tree in the training room, which Kai always teleported to whenever he wished to escape someplace. 

   "That almost sounded like a compliment," Sehun said. 

   "Well, your ears must need some tending to, for I was merely commenting on the well-being of the poor target." Kai swooped down from the tree branch, taking a hearty bite out of his apple. He glanced at Sehun for a moment and stuck out his hand, as if he were questioning whether he wanted some or not. When Sehun shook his head no, he shrugged and took another bite. 

   "Where did you get that?' Sehun asked, watching him as he brushed past his shoulder. 

   "It was a gift," he said. Suddenly he vanished from Sehun's sight, reappearing instantly next to the target. He pulled the multiple arrows out from its center, then teleported back to Sehun's side immediately. 

   "That is probably a lie, but I won't pester you on it this time," Sehun said as he accepted the arrows. "Thank you for gathering my arrows. It would have been a pain to retrieve them myself."

   "It was my pleasure," Kai said, taking another bite from his apple. "Now, I should get going. The knight I stole this apple from is probably alerting someone of my defiance."

   Sehun grinned and shook his head. "Of course," he said. "Hurry back. I'll see you later tonight."

   "See you," Kai said back. For a moment, he lingered by Sehun's side. Then he gave him a grim smile and ruffled his hair, making it fall over his eyes in tangled tufts. And then he disappeared. 

   Sehun touched his hair softly, then felt his face. It was burning hot, and he suspected that his face had already turned to a bright red. 

   He did not know when he began harbouring such feelings for his older brother; it was possibly not that long after their father told him very delicately as a child that Kai was indeed not really his brother, at least not by blood.  He would never admit his feelings, however, not to anyone. 

   Sehun loved his older brother very much. He'd always found it unfair that his time with him was always restricted. Ever since their father disappeared, Sehun needed someone to turn to for comfort. His mother had died after giving birth to him, and he had no other family but Kai. But right after his father's sudden departure, Kai was put directly into training, and he was rarely allowed to see him. He would never admit it to anyone, but Sehun felt a bit grudging towards the King for taking favour in Kai's ability. He did not even know what his brother was needed for, just that it was secret and that the knowledge itself might cost him his life. 

   Sighing, Sehun turned and started making his way from the training arena. He had not a single idea what he was to do now. Perhaps read a book? He had already practically read the entire castle library. Ask a knight to train with him? They all thought him too young for a worthy battle. 

   Just as he was considering leaving the castle to spend some time at the market or some place else, he heard a loud shout sound from around the corner. 

   "There you are! Stay right there!"

   Trying to remain as silent as he could, he crept slowly towards where the shout had originated. Peering from behind a wall, he made out the figure of a knight, one with long black hair that was swept into a dark braid and his left ear missing its top half. Sehun recognized him as Kyungjin, one of the King's closest warriors. 

   At the corner of the hallway sat Kai, his apple already consumed down to the core.

   He stared at the knight expressionlessly, waiting silently for him to speak.

   "The King wishes to see you," he said. His voice was raspy and blunt, as if he had swallowed a glassful of acid. "There is another job that you must carry out. You should go to the throneroom immediately."

   Kai continued to stare at him, his hand slowly twirling the apple core in a way that almost seemed provoking. 

   Kyungjin balled his hands into fists at his sides. "Well, what are you waiting fo - " 

   Kai disappeared before the knight could finish his scolding. Sehun watched as Kyungjin let out an offended scoff before he stomped away, boots thudding against the stone floors.

     The throneroom! That must be where the King gave his orders to his brother. If Sehun could get there in time, he might be able to overhear their conversation. It was not far from where he was anyway. 

   Filled to the brim with his curiosity, Sehun broke into a sprint towards the throneroom, wondering at the back of his mind if he really wanted to know what his Hyung did for the King or not.

A/N: Thank you for reading :) I hope it's not too boring for you guys, I'm just trying to get all of these introductions and stuff out of the way (T_T) For those who are reading, I am truly grateful to all of you :3 Please leave a comment at the bottom xD I really like feedback~ Subscribe if you'd like :)

                              And oh my goodnes three people already upvoted!

You don't know how much that means to me, really (>w<) You guys are the best! Jjang! 
I'm really touched ~ (But if you could leave a comment too, it would be nice, LOL xD I love those things more than anything~)

(P.S., sorry if this updated more than once, I keep clicking Hide Chapter on the wrong chapter! - lol, if that makes sense xD - but I write the next chapters on the side, so I don't have to worry about missing update days. But anyway, really sorry if you're expecting an update and then there's not one! Really sorry! (>w<) )