Kidnapping the Prince Installment I

Kidnapping the Prince Installment I

"Faster. Faster!" I barked at the sixteen year old boy crouched in front of me. Sweat ran down his pale face as he worked with the lock I had provided. I leaned back against the barrel of mead and closed my eyes partially, but kept them open enough to see the glare and look of annoyance Ryan cast at me. I smirked. It amused me how easily frustrated he was.

"Come now, Ryan, dearie, you'll never get to my level if you can't even pick a lock," I said, leaning forward to examine his (slow) progress. It had been more than five minutes and he hadn’t even tumbled the third tumbler yet.

"Well, maybe I could if you actually showed me how!" he retorted angrily. I shrugged and got up, snatching up the heavy lock from his hands. Pulling a lock pick out of my dress pocket, I had the lock open before Ryan had stood up. Hanging the lock on one finger, I cocked my head at him, my other hand on my hip.

"Questions?" I asked sweetly. He looked as if he wanted to punch me. I laughed.

"All right. That's enough for today. Let's go now; Marse is expecting us," I said, throwing the lock back at him. Ryan caught it deftly and I gave a nod of approval before grabbing the lamp off its hook and leading him up the stairs and out of the wine cellar. At the top of the stairs a trap door opened up to reveal the bustling kitchen of a typical Third Quarter tavern.

"Good evenin' to you Lynx, Ryan," a plump woman greeted us as we emerged from the cellar. She had a tray full of steaming rolls balanced on one hip while another hand held a giant glass pitcher filled with a strong, frothy brown liquid. She was the tavern owner, my landlady, and one of the few people who knew what I did for a living. "Off for a job tonight?"

"Ugh, what is that stuff Ada?," I asked, wrinkling my nose at the pitcher.

"This?" she raised the pitcher carelessly, causing some of the brown stuff to splash onto the floor close to my feet. I took a step back. "Some new fancy drink from Vranthyania, 'parently s'been pretty popular 'round hereabouts."

"Goddesses, who would want to drink that?" I eyed the pitcher warily one last time before grabbing Ryan by the arm and leading him out of the kitchen.

"Remember Lynx, don' get caught an' don' get careless!" Ada shouted after us.

"I never get caught!" I called back to her over my shoulder.

In the main room of the tavern, it was the usual scene of people making merry on a nice evening in After-Winter. All the tables were full; one group of men were holding tankards full of foaming beer gambling in one corner, in another some patrolling soldiers had come in for some refreshments and were tearing into Ada's famous pies.

"Hey Lynx! Fancy a drink with us?" A big man with an eye patch and a glinting gold earring shouted across the room amid laughter. I itched to leap across the room and take his earring. It would be easy; he wouldn’t even notice I had taken it until he was far away at home. And I was sure it was real gold. . .

"Not tonight! Business to attend to," I said vaguely with a wink as I continued to drag Ryan towards the door. Wolf whistles followed us out the door. I knew what they were thinking: I was probably off to play mistress to some poor cheating fool, which, I can swear on my lock picks, that I wasn’t. But I really didn’t care what they thought. Better they think badly of me and staying out of the way than them knowing what I did and getting in the way.

Out on the grimy dirt streets, I immediately felt better. Sighing contentedly, I set off at a brisk pace with Ryan trailing sulkily behind me.

"No use being upset Ryan; it's a great night for us! We'll have sunlight for at least another half hour, and then it's Bright Moon tonight!" I said cheerily over my shoulder as I snuck a few coins from an unassuming passerby's pocket. I flipped one of the coppers up in the air and then snatched it out of the air. Grinning at Ryan, I pocketed it. He looked even surlier.

"Come on, lighten up. You'll be a grown man soon and no one wants to marry a frowny face like yours!" I chuckled, throwing an arm around his shoulders and pulling his face into a twisted grimace with my hand. He glared at me, shoving my arm off his shoulders. I flipped my long, curly black hair over my shoulder and laughed again, louder this time, causing some evening strollers to look my way questioningly.

"How are you so happy right now?" Ryan grumbled, his hands in his pockets, as he caught up with me. "After what happened, you would think you would be at least slightly put out. . ." At this I spun around to face him, all joy lost from my face.

"Listen up Ryan," I said in a low voice so only he could hear, "I made a mistake, and I acknowledge it, but I am not going to ruin my life over it. Lucas. Is. Gone," I hissed harshly, “and there’s nothing you or I can do about it! It’s been a month already; we need to get over him and move on! And I’m not going to get myself or you thrown into prison as well trying to save him.” He stared back at me evenly, a trace of skepticism in his green eyes. I knew he didn’t believe me at all. I didn’t quite believe myself either.

"Come along now, Dearie!" I trilled cheerfully, bounding down the street again. He shook his head at me but followed. I led him through the Third Quarter streets until we got to Queen's Road, the only road that connected all four Quarters of Pentedwell. It also went through the Divine Circle, but no one was allowed in there except the royal family and the Holy Twins and their disciples so it didn't really count.

I dragged Ryan down a hardly noticeable alley right before the intersection of Queen's Road and the dirty street we had been on. The sun's weak evening rays were blocked completely, throwing us into darkness. Just the way I liked it. Only a sliver of dusky light was visible straight above us between the slanted walls on either side. As we entered the alleyway, the dank and musty smell of rotting wood and mold greeted our nostrils. The alley was narrow with just enough room for two people to walk past each other.

Ryan followed closely behind me; he still didn't know the way to Marse's residence yet, and most people who got lost in the Maze usually didn't make it back out. I had learned my way around by examining the Maze from the rooftops of the buildings whose walls made up the Maze.

"Are we there yet?" Ryan couldn't help whining. I smiled; he was still a boy after all.

"Not quite, Dearie. Try memorizing the route, it just might come in handy," I suggested slyly as I quickened my footsteps. His response was to grasp my shoulder tighter. I laughed. The sound was out of place in the dark alleys though, and I quickly stopped. The Maze could suppress even me. As we went deeper, it was like light had been sucked right out of the air. I almost felt like I was breathing in darkness. And I didn't like it one bit.

Finally, we reached a dead end that was slightly wider than the rest of the Maze; perhaps three people would have been able to stand shoulder-to-shoulder here instead of two. At the very back of the impasse was a large mountain of junk. The pile was made up of crates mostly, with some random bits of furniture thrown into the mix. The point of the tower of crates was to make a quick getaway easier. You never knew when you would need to get out of a place like this hastily. Just climb up the crates and you're on the roof, free to go wherever you please. I liked traveling by roof so much better than the streets; it made me feel free.

A few feet into the impasse was a dark door that blended in almost perfectly with the dark alley wall. I knocked thrice fast, a pause, and then twice more, another pause, and then three more knocks in quick secession. A second later the door opened and Ryan and I slipped in quickly.

Stepping into the candle-lit room, I spotted the face of one of my. . . co-workers, I guess you could say. She provided the jobs, I carried them out. You couldn't really call us friends although she was close; I didn't have too many friends, and none of them were exactly law-abiding. Marse sat behind a large desk covered with papers. Her glasses were perched on her nose and her bright red hair was tied loosely behind her back. She regarded me with that calculating gaze so typical of Marse. I grinned.

"Hello Marse. What job do you have for me and Dearie tonight?" I asked, settling myself at a cushioned chair on the opposite side of the cluttered desk. Ryan sat stiffly next to me. Marse smiled at us.

"Well, I hope you're in for a challenge," she began, a mischievous glint in her blue eyes and a smirk on her lips. I recognized that look, and I loved it.

"Oh, Goddesses, I live for challenges," I grinned. Ryan looked between us, apprehensive. This was going to be a fun night.

Author's Note

Thanks so much for reading! Please tell me what you think, and don't hesitate to point out anything that needs fixing. This story is still being edited. :)