6Shizzzz, I almost forgot about this! I really need to start checking my email more! xD
Well I've always been a fan of YB and Anzu, but I wanted a proper premise for their relationship. I mean he can't just totally ant to claw her clothes of without reason...
Okay fine, only for the 50000000 horny fangirls of the shipping. But no other reason.
She eyed him warily; how was she supposed to trust a thief to follow rules, much less the self-proclaimed King of Thieves?
"What kind of game?" she began, bright eyes flickering rapidly between his, struggling to catch any bluff.
"Relax princess, nothing too complicated or it just mind blow your pretty empty head apart," he drawled, examining the bracelet in the last light of the setting sun. "But we still need to make it a little fun though.. So there's going to be some risks…"
"What kind of risks?" she demanded, glaring at him. The sooner she got this over with, the better. She harbored no desires to spend any more time with him than was absolutely necessary. She needed to get back to the caravan after all, and-
Realization slammed into her full-force.
She had absolutely no idea where she was. Not. One. Clue.
Anuket had jumped into a single-minded purusit after him with only the bracelet in mind, but she hadn't give a single thought to getting back to her family. She would save the bracelet, but who would save her?
She scoured the are, desperately trying to catch some landmark, some semblance of home…
Nothing. The gutters brimming with trash, the mud-colored walls, the narrow, winding alleys were all foreign to her. The guards, the merchants, the customers were all gone. She had never seen this face of the city before.
His animal cunning, well honed with years spent fighting to survive in the streets, hardly failed to pick up on her fault.
"Ahh, so I see you've never graced these parts before have you?" he purred darkly. With feline agility he sprung from the rafters, landing squarely before her. She staggered back in surprise, drawing a leg behind her to brace herself.
"Well," he murmured, "I'd hate to be a poor host, so I'll let you have the first turn. We're going to play "jackal and the hound", and before you complain there will be boundaries. We'll use that old building over there, see?" he pointed out a decrepit, crumbling inn a few paces behind him. The doors and windows were latched, sloppily boarded up. Cheap paint crept up the sides like gnarled fingers. The brick roof threatened to give way at any moment. She couldn't imagine who in their right mind would ever enter in the first place.
"It's empty, the tenants have all fled, and its gonna be demolished any day now, so they'll be no one to intrude on our little game. If you can find the bracelt within seven minutes, its is yours, no questions asked. But if you fail…," his beady eyes watched her intently, "alone, lost, and helpless…you may lose more than just an ugly trinket..."
The insult to her father's craftsmanship stung her fiercely. How dare he, the grimy street rat! Her father had spent days, nights, poured his blood sweat, and tears… Business had not been well this season, and the entire family's survival lay on the hopes of that one bracelet. Worked in an exotic, elegant metal it was bound to sell for a pretty penny, at least cover food for a while. What would this creep know of hard work, or honor, or family?! He cared for no one but himself!
"You've got taste, I'll give you that, since you snatched that piece," she snarled. "I'll play your game, and if you don't fork over my bracelet when I win, you'll wish you would have spent the night starving instead!"
"Confident aren't we?" he countered. "Then I suppose you won't mind giving me a little headstart!" Before she could blink he had tore up the side of the building and disappeared into the cracks of one of the windows.
She burst into a sprint, the soles of her sandals slapping the pavement as she flew by. Using her momentum, she threw herself at the building, sending the door flying of its rusty hinges.
The second she took a look around, she cursed herself for being so naïve. Of course the jerk would have a sly trick up his sleeve. There could have been four elephants in the room for all she knew; the foyer was lit only by the whatever last scraps of light managed to peer into the boarded up windows. Her eyes would be of no use to her here.
She had to work fast. Night was falling, time was running out- every second past made him that much closer to winning. She'd have to rely on her other senses.
Shutting her eyes, she strained her ears.
Nothing. No ancient floorboards creaking, no rhythmic breathing, nothing.
She took a breath, and tip-toed forward.
Nothing.
She took another, then a few more…
Soon, she could make out a staircase that looked anything but safe, at the far end of the foyer. Holding her breath, she slowly ascended…
Right foot, then left, one more, so close-
The ground was ripped from beneath her. Suddenly she was on air, spiraling downward toward-
With speed she didn't know she had she lunged for the railing, watching the staircase collapse under her.
Her ears perked up. She could have sworn she heard laughter…
He was close. She could feel it.
Anuket crawled up the railing, slipping off at the second floor landing. At the end of the hall one window lay wide open, probably the one he had clawed his way through. It was obvious he wouldn't stay here then; if he had heard her fiasco on the stairs.
A spark caught her eye.
She spun around, greedily scanning the room.
Had it been her mind playing tricks on her?
No, no she was sure of it! She had seen some sort of spark!
She gasped.
There, at the furthest corner of the room, stashed messily behind a dusty curtain, was the bracelet.
Relief washed over her like a monsoon. She couldn't believe he stuck to his word! She couldn't believe she'd done it! She'd actually done it! She beat the thief at his own game! She broke out laughing; she could hug him she was so relieved-
"This is no place for little girls to play.."
Her heart stopped.
The voice was deep, menacing…She didn't- she didn't know that voice. It wasn't the thief… They weren't alone!
She whirled around. Three pairs of eyes assaulted her; she felt attacked. There robes, gossamer perhaps, were of a much finer making than the thief's, they couldn't lead ordinary lives. Rings of precious stones lined their knuckles, glimmering in the faint light. Their bodies were rippling with muscle, toned with what had to be years of physical labor. She racked her brain. No one who was forced to do manual labor to earn a living could make enough money to wear robes as exquisitely crafted as theirs, much less afford priceless jewelry At least none that she knew.
The only possible way they could be swimming in pools of money is if that money wasn't theirs.
She could practically feel her face drain of any color.
They were bounty hunters.
