The Phantom Thief

Chapter One

“Shut up.” I hissed at Levi.

The knight approached us. “My Lords.” He nodded to us and motioned us to follow him with a gloved hand.

I followed as gracefully as I could, harder than you think when you have a, full grown man I should mention, following behind you mumbling and fidgeting.

“Shut up.” I whispered to him again. If we played it cool, the King couldn’t suspect anything.

Did it bother me that Lord Livion was the cousin of his highness? Yeah, we were screwed.

It wouldn’t have usually mattered because all the Lords are somehow related to the King. He is my third cousin, two times removed, or something like that. Our relationship is tenuous at best… okay I’ve ever spoken to the man, hey, he’s probably really busy.

Anyways, Lord Livion and the King are very tightly knit, you know, they kind where they invite each other to dinner and presumably do very dirty things to each other at night. Okay, that’s a rumor, one that has been high gossip with the nobles for the longest time, but never proven that they were lovers. Eh, I had more important things to do with my time than speculate an affair.

“He knows, Ashque, he knows.” Levi turned to me with a panicked expression, huge blue eyes boring into my face. I lost the urge to slap him. He was too damn pretty for his own good… and too nervous. The moment the king saw him he would suspect something. I had to do something.

I caught up with the knight and tapped his shoulder; he turned to me with a blank expression on his face, but almost annoyed.

“Yeah sorry, but my cousin here really needs to use the restroom.” I beamed at him. “Is it possible that we got that in order before we saw the King.” I said in my best pleading voice.

He looked at Levi, who was chewing his nails and looking suspiciously to his left and right, and an expression of distaste flickered across his face “Very well.”

I fought the urge to snicker, letting out a delicate cough instead.

“Follow me.” He sighed and turned left into a plush red-carpeted hallway. He motioned to a door and stood outside of it.

I pushed Levi in and for a moment I was stunned. If I had bathrooms like this, I’d never leave them.

White and blue patterned tiled walls. Huge baths and paintings of nude men and women on the walls, candles on shelves and large mirrors on every side.

“Now this is a visit to the latrine that you’ll never forget my friend.” I laughed at Levi’s horrified face.

“Why would you do this?” he let out. “Bathrooms are not meant to be a place where people have orgies.”

I laughed again, but then sobered.

“Levi, you need to calm down, that knight suspected something and so will the King. Showing up with a guilty look on your face will not help us get out of this without any trouble.”

Levi looked at me distressed. “Are you telling me that you’re not even a little scared, I mean, he probably asked the King to nicely get rid of us so he didn’t have to do it himself.”

“Of course I’m scared, but unlike you I’m putting all emotion behind an opaque wall in my mind and I kindly ask you to do the same thing.” Exasperation colouring my voice, “just follow my lead and do your whole silent and deadly act while slowly dying inside, alright?”

“I’m not worried about that you fool, I’m worried about my assignment from a certain robe wearing deity if you’ve forgotten. We can’t be killed until we push that little future of yours out of the picture, because trust me, if we fail.” He paused for a moment. “What we’ll be facing will be a lot worse than Lord Livions wrath.”