The Simple Thief

With my internship and the club I go to the day became long again. So this is why the story is so late(Or early, I've heard from some people that when they subscribe via email they get the posts a day late.) I got the number of a cute girl, so all ended well I guess!

Anyway, onto the day's story:

The Simple Thief

          The thief didn't care for art, artifacts or treasure, no matter how much of it he stole. The only thing he cared about was the money that went from the hands of his clients into his own. He robbed the homes of the rich and museums all the same. Though beyond his greed he was a gentle soul that always said please and thank you. He would smile at everyone and never hurt a living thing. His smile contrasted his sorrowful black skin that blended into the shadows he lurked in. His brown eyes had the shine that matched the full moon.

          He never got a request like this one though. A few years back the king of the magic kingdom of Xalen passed away and his brother took power. Recently though the princess reached the age where she could marry and her husband and her would take the power of the throne. So the current king used a spell to pull all love from the princess so she wouldn't marry. The love became a rain blue crystal that the king hid in a vault deep in the castle. The princess's sister hired the thief to steal back the princess's love so she would have the will to marry.

          Evading all the guards was easy for the practiced thief. The vault itself had been filled with bright red, glowing runes intended to ward off all unwanted magic. He didn't need magic to steal the love, only his light feet and careful fingers.

          The crystallized love laid in a golden cage in the middle of the vault. He could smoke coming off the cage. He had run into this kind of trap before, an enchantment that burnt the hands of anyone as if it was a match to paper. His thick leather gloves protected his hand as he quickly pulled the crystal from the cage. He heard a light rumble and out of the floor of the vault a stone snake emerged. He knew the current king had incredible magic skills, but he didn't expect such a creature.

         The thief had much more intelligence than courage so he ran without looking back at the creature. He dashed in front of the guards instead of avoiding them like he did before. The snake had no heart of its own so it crashed through the guards in the hall. It didn't care that it crushed them into the walls as it weaved through the hall.

         The thief ran up the stairs to the higher floors of the castle, still holding onto the crystallized love. The stone snake had an odd shape so the stairs slowed it down more than the thief. The thief lured the snake to a balcony on one of the upper floors.

         After the snake went onto the large balcony the thief saw that the princess was there too. She stared up at the full moon without any love in her eyes. He called her name, “Annabelle”, and tossed the crystallized love to her. She grabbed it and the crystal broke, her love going back into her heart in a white light. Without a purpose the stone snake's magic vanished and it fell to the ground.

         “Who are you?” asked the princess, still stunned by the emotions running through her.

         “Just a humble thief.” he responded and bowed. “If you ever need my talents come to the town square during a night when the crescent moon hangs in the sky. I'll be waiting.” The thief then left the balcony into the castle to vanish in the corridors.