A Stolen Heart

O .N .E

As the sun began to ease itself under the horizon the shadows began to lengthen and the light began to recede. Graced with life, darkness began dancing beneath the fading candle light. From far off, a faint howling painted the sky with emotions. It told the unknown story of grief: a mother who had lost her son, a sister who had lost her brother, a wife who had lost her husband. But, legends born will always reach an ending.

Mother earth seemed to speak within itself. The trees swayed and the sky glistened, as if it was painted by the stroke of a single hand. A breath of wind rustled a group flirtatious leaves, teasing and coaxing them to swirls.

The crunch of a twig, a pause. The Shadow moved quickly, taking advantage of nature’s cover. He began to move. Disappearing within the trees, there was only a pair of icy blue eyes left visible. Soon, those quickly faded into darkness. Within fifteen minutes, the Shadow reached artificial light, streaming from the windows of a rich baron. He had learned much about the baron before coming here.

The baron's name was Godrou, Harry Godrou. In the past, the name Godrou had been altogether glorious. Godrou's ancestors had begun the town that lay beneath him. Because of it, he was very spoiled as a boy. Many knew that Harry received anything that he asked for, and fetched anybody he wanted. As the years went by, Godrou grew more pompus and greedy as he aged. And with him, the name of his family began to diminish.

Owner of many priceless artifacts, the baron had only a handful in which he was extremely protective of. But the true value of objects lay outside of the baron's closed mind. Although it was extremely valuable, the artifact the Shadow was intent on was forgotten in the baron’s greed. Early within the day, he had sent the baron a notice, with a heartfelt quote from Shakespeare’s Othello, and a note from himself:

“‘Good name in man and woman, dear my lord,
Is the immediate jewel of their souls.’
Your name, is not one to be considered.
Tonight I take what ‘shant be yours.
-The Shadow”

Most would deem him cocky, and the note absurd, but that was the style of the Shadow. This was his way of convincing himself that what he did was fair. Though most of the time, his warning was ignored and mocked. He always gave the owner just as fair of a chance of catching him as he had stealing the artifact.

If they had chosen to ignore his war cry, then they would regret it. After all, it was all a game.

To him, it was all a game.One that was only to be played with such cunning skill, that the excitement for a challenge always brought him back. He quickly learned to savor the heist as if it was an addiction like no other.

This time, the Shadow was ecstatic. He had been called to steal an object, once thought to be lost. The 1902 Empire Nephrite Egg, was one of the many eggs created by Miek Fabergé, and one of the few eggs known to be missing.

Earlier that month he had been handed the sheet of paper by an anonymous businessman with all the information tucked safely in code. It wasn’t always businessmen though. On countless occasions he had gotten visits from strange people, ranging from the neighborhood hobo to a part-time working clown. The mysteries of the higher-ups were not something to be pondered, and the Shadow thought nothing of it. Instead, he had gone over the blueprints until they were seared into his head, visited the land multiple times, and looked directly at every possibility of failure. There was no way he would lose this egg.

---~---------------~

Catelyne Harrison, better known as Catie, stood in front of a small round table placed in the outside part of a café. She had been working there for the past month with a steady income. Her life was taking a turn; soon she would be done with college and start teaching, hopefully. As she reached down to pick up a spoon that had fallen on the ground she felt eyes staring into her back and quickly stood up, tense.

She had always attracted some attention. She was petite, just a little bit over five feet with sweet, big, honey brown eyes. She always got compliments from her friends, both the guys and the girls. But she never felt in anyway attractive; why else would she have stayed single her whole life? Her friends insisted differently; saying she had the perfect petite figure, nice curves, and the cutest face. Catie didn’t believe them.

She loved to play with her dark brown hair, ranging from pigtails, ponytails, braids, buns, and anything possible that framed her face nicely. It was in a loose pigtail that morning, something she felt was comfortable and easy to work with.

A request in the back of the café snapped her out of her trance and attracted her attention. Grace Roberts waved excitedly at Catie with unmatched excitement “Hey Catie! Table over here for three”

Catie glanced back at Grace and two other strangers, hands fumbling to flip open her pad. “Be there in a sec, hold on,” she waved her free hand around in carelessness, “it’s not every day we get this busy.”

"But, Catie-" Grace whined, desperate to get her best friend's attention.

"Hold on!" Catie turned her head, waving her free hand around in carelessness, “it’s not every day we get this busy. Geez.”

Catie turned her attention back to the middle aged couple now seated in front of her and gave a practiced smile, pen poised, “What would you two like?”

Before she could continue, a crash in the back of the patio resounded across the café, interrupting the couple’s order. Momentarily distracted, the entire café turned towards the direction of the crash, curiosity drawing them towards the cause of the mess. As Catie snapped her head back however, she noticed in the corner of her eyes a blur of a hand.

Within moments, the purse besides the woman’s feet disappeared. Before her mind could clearly register the information Catie was already scanning the crowd for a thief, instantly locking in onto a strange, outcast figure running with a colorful coach bag. She took off.

“HEY!” Catie sped down the street, finally grateful for all the years of running track and Tae Kwon Do. Handy for daily situations, she grinned. How many opportunities do you get to utilize Tae Kwon Do in real life, anyways?

She stopped her yelling and concentrated on following the bag, hurriedly apologizing as she ran between a couple holding hands. One sharp turn after another, Catie found herself in the Dump, the poorest section of the city.

Her mind began to wander, focusing on the grime of the place. The condition of the neighborhood was terrible; it stank of rotten meat, mold, and blood. Catie shook her head, remembering the reason she had come. It was then that she realized she had lost the purse as soon as she forgot about it.

"Damnit!" She started running in the direction her instincts took her and forced herself to look for the purse.

She slowed down as she glimpsed the edge of the bag, turning into an alleyway. Catie walked now, know that there was no other way to turn. She followed the path of the alley, turned and almost ran into a small abandoned apartment. Catie pinched her nose as she caught a putrid stench, coughing in disgust.

Catie anxiously edged towards the lone apartment she knew the thief had entered. She passed the empty doorway and looked up at the stairs. They were a dull grey, cracked and unstable. Before she could think twice, Catie burst up the stairs two at a time.

It was one of the biggest mistakes she ever made in her life.