Kings and Thieves

Chapter 1

Hi, guys. I'm pretty new here, and I've never posted any of my work before-- so here goes. fingers crossed!!!

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Chapter 1

The sky was dark.

The sun had just barely set, dipping down behind the sand dunes of Ladreinesse. With the last of the salmon pink receding down the horizon, the world had turned the deep color of a ripened plum. A few gallant stars braved the sky, though most slipped shyly behind the clouds like children to their mothers' skirts. Cherry blossoms twisted their way to the cobblestones below, shuffled off of their branches by the wind.

In other words, night had fallen, and this a was good thing; otherwise everyone would have roasted in the humidity, and it would have been much more difficult to accomplish the task at hand.

The Captain's plan was relatively straightforward.

Step one was, simply; the girl.

A Miss Dimitri, to be exact: she was dark-haired, with silver slippers, and hitching her skirts to her ankles as she tottered along the boat docks. She stood out like a flickering star in contrast to the purple evening in a white daygown that swished when she walked. It was laced in the back and adorned with ruffles on the skirts, gathering at the sleeves in bunches of loose fabric.

A deft brush of wind nearly blew her from her feet, plucking her from her thoughts and back into the present. Sweat was collecting on the insides of her palms and on her rouged cheeks. She pressed a gloved hand to her forehead, a frown marring her dimples.

"Time?" Miss Dimitri requested in a brusque tone, adjusting her wristsleeves. Her voice was soprano and delicate, but when she spoke, people listened.

Her escort hurriedly dug into his pocket. "A quarter after the hour, lady."

Fashionably late, then. Miss Dimitri brushed her escort aside with a simple flick of her hand as she approached a large saloon teetering on stilts just offshore. Maroon paint flicked up its wood, and unassuming brown slats criss-crossed the roof. Yellow light and drunken laughter seeped through the open windows. The noise grew as Miss Dimitri's escort opened the door for her.

She raised one eyebrow, the only movement in an otherwise impassive face. Her escort hurriedly left the way he'd came, and she faced the room alone.

It was neither quite crowded nor empty in the place; most of the inhabitants were dirty-faced and whispering confidentially to each other over spilt mugs. The candles were poorly lit; a few candelabras snuffed out in their individual centerpieces. In the corner a creaking staircase climbed in winding circles to a second floor.

Hardly anyone looked her way as the door opened, barely even sparing her a glance despite her delicately beautiful features. Nodding briefly at the bartender, Miss Dimitri allowed the brownish tips of her skirts to drag along the floor as she crossed the room to the stairs and began the ascent.

At the top of the stairs there was a beige door with a rusted bronze handle and a burly looking man standing in front. She stopped expectantly in front of the entrance, and he let her in.

"Ah, Miss Dimitri!" In the center of a gray-walled room, a mustached man in a maroon overcoat stood from his velvet armchair as the door opened, crossing the room to offer his arm. "We have been expecting you."

Her returning smile was radiant, almost artificial as she studied the room disinterestedly and straightened her glove. She stood on a Persian carpet in the middle of a dimmed room- the only source of light being the fireplace and the small company of well-dressed people who wore bright, gaudy colors and shiny buttons with rough fabrics. Each had flushed cheeks and held a nearly empty wineglass.