The Prince and the Thief

I’m in the kitchen, gathering leftovers from the night before, when I feel a presence behind me. I don’t have to turn to know that it’s Cecil, the queen. I turn and bow at the waist respectfully. She’s dismissed most of the girls last night, only about five are left, and I knew she would be finding me soon.

“Ma’am. How are you this morning?” I ask politely. a kitchen attendant touches my shoulder to get my attention, and I turn to see he’s holding the bag I had asked for almost every day since we had began this charade. My father had sent me to this place in hopes that I would catch the eye of this woman, so that I could be the next queen of Grenwit, the country she, and soon her son, ruled. I was hoping that she wasn’t going to pick me however, because I had better things to do than to sit and listen to her son complain about manners and attitude.

“I’m very well, thank you. It’s a bit early for you to be up, isn’t it, Brynn?” She asks as she eyes the bag I sling over my shoulder. It was heavier than what it had been the past few days, but I didn’t let that show on my face.

“No ma’am, this is about the time I wake every day.” I admit. I glance out at the sky, just now raising to where you could see it through the trees. I don’t catch but the very end of her surprised look.

“Oh my, if I would have known I would have made sure the cooks had something made for you.” She says in a concerned voice. I smile slightly at this. She’s concerned for those she could see, at least.

“I’m fine ma’am, really. They make sure I have what I need.” I say. I shift on my feet, glancing behind her to the door. She was blocking my exit, and I wanted to leave before everyone else woke up.

“Well, how long will it be until you’re returning with… whatever it is you’re doing?” she asks.

“Not until at least Dining hour.” I admit. If she was dismissing me, I would be dishonoring her by staying around for so long.

“Well, I planned on announcing who would be staying at breakfast. Do you mind me dismissing everyone else while you’re away?” She asks. I’m shocked, so much so that I drop the bag with a loud noise onto the floor.

“You… What?” I say, and she laughs at me. Not a condoning laugh, but it shakes me enough to focus on what she’s saying again.
“I’ve chose you, Brynn. I believe you’ll do well with my son, and Grenwit.”

I was still reeling from this information when I was walking down the path a few minutes later. I’d been polite, of course, it was an honor to be chosen. I’d told her of course it’s fine, and she’d let me go. But I wasn’t ok with it, and I needed to talk to Richard, immediately.

A noise to my left made my head snap in that direction. I wouldn’t have heard it normally, but this trip had me hyper aware of everything around me. I pause, and listen. Someone was walking, away from the path. I had a split second where I almost found it more important to continue on to town, but curiosity always won over me in the end. I followed the noise into the woods. I drop the bag a few feet from the path, and walk into the woods. They swallowed me immediately, and it was still dark enough for me to fear being smacked with a low hanging branch or snag my foot on a root sticking above the ground. I followed the person silently, and after a few minutes I found the small path they were taking. If I wasn’t following the person, I would have missed it. I sped up so that I could see who it was, and was shocked to see that it was Toben, the queen’s son.

He was the only one of the three to have her Brown hair, The other two had black. He was taller than most of the people around here as well, so it was easy to tell who it was. I almost stop following him, just because of who he was, until I feel the familiar thrum in my skin that tells me something is wrong. I follow him slower again, at a pace that there’s no way that he would know that I was following him. After another few feet, I notice what the prince hadn’t- there was a snag trap in the path. Someone must have found it and thought it was an animal making the tiny line in the woods. He was going to walk right into it, and I grinned at the mental image of the prince hanging from his leg from a tree for who knows how long. But he could risk losing his leg if it was laced with metal. The country didn’t need that. So I crouch down, focus, close my eyes.

An instant later an invisible spark is lit, and I jump at the feel of it like I always do. as usual, I put too much into it and instead of merely tripping the wire, I make it spring up from the ground like an animal was caught in it. the prince cries out, the cord inches from his face, and flies backward, onto his ass. I bite the inside of my cheek to stop from giggling at the sight. I can hear his confused murmurs from my spot in the woods, and he spends a good deal of time studying the trap before shrugging it off and continuing on. I finish following him to a tree, of all things, that he climbs up into and settles down in. Once I’m sure he’s not going to focus his eyes my way, I move back to the path quickly. I shoulder the bag again, and continue on to the otherside of town, an hour or so walk through the streets. I stop to buy a sack of apples as well, and a jug of water that the outside vendors are peddling. I don’t speak, and I have the hood attached to my vest pulled up to hide most of my face. most of these people wouldn’t sell to someone like me, who has money. They want to help their people, not the well off. I eventually make it to my destination, the Abandoned Children home. I was late, so the kids were crowded in the gated front yard. I see a wave of relief wash over their faces as I step onto the path headed their way.

I knew what it was like in an Abandoned Children home. My father, being too busy to take care of me, would drop me off with his sister, who owned one. The food, water, and size of the house was ridiculous for the amount of kids that was in each one. So I make an effort to help when I can. I stop at the locked gate and wait for the woman attendee to appear on the porch. I stand there, waiting, like every other day. I don’t ever speak, but I don’t have to. At first she was terrified of me, and the first two days I handed the food through the gate. Now, she let me in. I spread the contents on a small table that the twenty some odd kids crowded around, grabbing at the leftovers and apples. the jug was passed around, a new addition to what I usually brought with me. I pull an apple from the table, and a piece of meat that was in tact, and went over to the attendee, silently handing it over. She thanks me, and I stand by the gate and wait until all the food has been consumed. the first few days it took no time at all, but now it took almost an hour. I was already running late from my detour, though I must admit that watching the prince fall on his ass was priceless and I was glad I had witnessed it. I found myself smirking to myself as I collect my bag. I begin to leave, and several of the kids wave frantically at me as I go.

“You’re late.” Richard tells me as I walk into the shack. It was falling apart, he was lucky it hadn’t rained lately. all of his things would be soaked. there was only one section of the tiny home’s roof that was still in tact. He was lying on the ground, a bag full of corn his pillow. I never asked how he got it, figuring he had stole it from some poor farmer on the side of the road.

“I didn’t realize there was a set time I should have shown up.” I say as I set the now full again bag onto the table. It wobbled under the weight, because it only had three legs to it. Richard springs up from his seat and his eyes light up as he sees what I’ve brought for him.

I don’t ever strictly steal from someone. I’ve been told what I do is stealing, but I only ever take what was already being thrown out. Today I’ve managed to swipe a broken, very expensive, set of jewelry. a woman must of figured throwing it out was easier than getting it repaired. I found clothes that was still wearable, and even some trinkets that could be traded or sold. Richard looked excited, and I waited for him to sift through it all, leaning against the door frame.

Richard had been a boy at the Abandoned Children's home that my aunt had owned. His parents had left him there after he was attacked by a dog and was left blind in one eye, with the left side of his face extremely maimed. He didn’t go outside often in the daylight, and grew his hair as long as mine was to cover it. He’s the one who introduced me to the trade after he ran away at 15, and set me up with the people I needed to know at a young age so that I could deal with him. He stole things out right, I found what I needed elsewhere, and we pawned, sold, or gave away everything we got this way to the people who needed it more than anyone- the children, the poor, the ill, the old.

“This is good for a last haul. I’ll have it passed out tonight, and I’ll start heading home as soon as I’m done.” He’s excited. I don’t reply and instead slide my gloves that I wore when filtering through someone’s things off. He turns to look at me, his one good brown eye focused where my face would be behind my hood.

“Brynny?” He says, pulling out a nickname he’s had for me since we were children. I stuff the gloves in an inside pocket on my vest and cross my arms.

“The queen decided that I was a perfect fit for her son.” I say softly. I watch the shock filter across his face.

We had planned this out pretty easily. I was rash, and rude, and didn’t take attitude from anyone. We didn’t think I had a chance to be chosen, but my father was forcing me to go. So, of course, I purposed to Richard that we use this as an opportunity to expand business. we’d met a few thieving clans in the area, and they’ve started trading with people of our own. When I met with them, I was sure not to speak or show my face, in case they saw me in public for whatever reason and decided to rat me out. Theft, no matter how small, was a huge issue among countries and most of them, including Grenwit, had a death penalty on it. We’d done much better than I expected in a month’s time.

And now I was stuck. Because you couldn’t tell the Queen of Grenwit no. My mother and father would be delighted. Kip, my oldest brother, would be ecstatic. My four other older brother’s wouldn’t care.

“So what, you’re stuck here now?” He asked in an almost accusing tone of voice. I straighten up and walk to the only chair in the room. I straddle it as I rest my arms on the back of it, pressing my forehead to it as well.

“I don’t know Richard. I don’t know how to get out of it. I can’t leave. Kip will bring my things down, all too eager to meet the extended family. I can’t say out right no, father would kill me if the queen didn’t.” I say. I’m frustrated with this, because I’ve gone over a dozen different scenarios and not a single one of them ends with me living.
“Hey, Brynny.” he pulls my hood off my head and makes me sit up straighter so he knew he had my full attention.

“You know I can’t stay.” he starts. I’d already figured that. He liked Ralik too much to hang around here too much longer. And the man he left in charge wasn’t the man I would have trusted to the job. Vince was focused on making wealthy people pay, not helping the poor.

“I’ll send someone out. I’ll come down when I can. I don’t see any way out of this either, but think about it this way, alright?” he stops when I straighten my arms, putting distance between the two of us. I didn’t like what he was staying. I knew it was the only option, but I had been such a solid part of Ralik that I couldn’t not be a part of it again.

“You are in a prime position to help these people. Not just these people. This entire country. You can help them more now than you ever could have underground.” he tries to reassure me, but he knows nothing about legal statuses. he believes that because I’ll be queen I can help the Abandoned children's funds, and the poor. It wasn’t up to me. The royal families where a farce. the elite where what ruled everything. If I wanted to do anything, I would have to be elected onto the elite 8. That means one of them would have to die, and I would have to prove I was a powerful mage.

That was a secret even Richard didn’t know.

No one in my family had mage blood. But somehow, I’ve managed to get it. As a kid, the staff had blamed the magical bursts in the house on my nurse's son, who was my age and constantly at my side. when I learned that a woman had never been a mage, I was terrified. even as small as I was I knew that the elite got rid of anything that wasn’t the norm for them. So I hid it, away from everyone. buried it deep until it burst forth, until I learned to use it when I was alone and to help people, like I had for Toben.

That thought made me look out the empty door frame sharply.

“I have to go.” I murmur. I stand and I’m engulfed in a tight hug. I couldn’t remember the last time that someone had hugged me. probably my brothers wedding four years ago.

“I’m going to miss you Brynny. I’m serious. as soon as I can, I’ll be back.” He reassures me as he lets me go. I smile away his comment and collect my empty bag. I sling it over my shoulder and step into the thick woods outside town.

The walk back to the show home was much longer than the walk from it. I was lost in thought through most of it, so lost that I often would realize that I had stopped walking while thinking. I thought about what Richard had said. I could make a change. And I could. I would. I began forming the beginning of a plan, a list of things that I could do and how I could go about doing them. Some of them I would have to discuss with Cecil.

Some of them would have to be discussed with Toben.

I’m still thinking this over when I enter the showroom, so at first I don’t realize that I’m being watched. I thank the staff for helping me, and I head for the steps. a good rinse off with water was what I needed. I pause, finally feeling the two pairs of eyes on me, and see Cecil and Toben watching me with open interest on Cecil’s face, and disgust on her sons. He has his hair pulled back from his face, something he must have done while in the woods because it was a disheveled mess. I lock my knees and bow lowly at the waist, smirking again as a flash of Toben on his ass, shock written across his face, flies through my head. Then I climb the stairs and close my door, letting out a long breath.

I couldn’t put up with him being across the room for five seconds, how was I going to manage a lifetime of his annoyance? he obviously didn’t like me. The queen was definitely not a match maker.