Ink

Prologue

"I didn't do anything!" a young blond man cried, struggling to free himself from a strong looking woman's grasp.

It was dark out. The sun had set, and it was hard to see the blond, who was wearing all black. They were in an alleyway, the young man held against a building's muddy yellow wall.

The woman had long black hair tied back into a braid and wore a cloak. Her sharp green eyes narrowed and she wrapped her arms around the blond's neck.

All of a sudden, her sleeved arms glowed a vibrant emerald color. The blond's eyes widened in fear and he squirmed further, but to no avail.

"I really didn't do anything!" he yelled again.

"You stole from just about everyone in town," the woman said calmly. "You're a criminal."

The blond froze. He looked up at the woman nervously. "Well, yeah, but-"

"There's a wanted poster of you. Cortez, isn't it?"

Cortez continued trying to escape frantically.

"I'm casting a spell," the woman continued, smirking.

"You think I don't know that, sweetie?" Cortez snarked, still trying to slip out.

"You think being rude is going to get you out of this, sweetie?"

The woman let her arms go, and Cortez was left floating in mid air. He was shorter than the mage, and when she had grabbed him, he had been lifted off the ground. Now, he was stuck where he had been, not able to move his body.

"Well, being nice isn't going to get me out of this, either - is it?" gasped Cortez, sounding out of breath. "Whoever you are."

The woman shook her head. "Nope. And I'm Arian, a baker. You took my little sister's cookies, along with a few of my muffins."

"I didn't know!" Cortez spat.

"'I didn't this, I didn't that' - you're trying to be innocent, huh?" asked Arian.

Cortez twitched. "I am," he said.

"Yeah, and I'm trying to keep my family happy while this country falls to pieces. Where are the cookies? Give them back and leave town, and I won't kill you or turn you in."

"I ate them," sighed Cortez. "Can't you make more?"

"We used the last of our baking supplies to cheer my sister up after our dad got sick. It'll take another week for the new ingredients to get here."

The blond winced. His face was flooded with guilt. "I'm sorry," he apologized. "But I'll leave town, if that's what you want."

"Return everything you stole," Arian demanded.

"I can't!" Cortez retorted. "I need it!"

Arian frowned. Her hand glowed the same bright green it had glowed before, and Cortez started coughing.

"What do you need all that stuff for? All that stuff that others worked hard for to get, all that stuff that other people need?"

"I just-" Cortez coughed. "Need-" He hacked again. "It!"

"Guess I'll turn you in, then," Arian said.

"Wait, no!" the blond wheezed. "All that stuff is in my bag, just let me go and take it!"

Arian didn't look convinced. "Do I really have to let you go first?" she asked.

"You have to, otherwise, I'll- I'll . . ." Cortez hawked, then continued coughing.

"You'll what?"

"I'll cough on you!" threatened Cortez.

The baker grinned. "Or, I could just take the curse off you, then I can take all that stuff back."

"I'll never leave town!"

"And I'll just catch you again."

Cortez glared at her, looking angry. "I'll kill you!" he screamed. "I'll kill your family! Your sister, your dad, your whatever!"

Arian's grin turned into a scowl. "I can murder you right here," she told him.

"You want that on your conscience forever? You'd have killed a guy in cold blood!" Cortez retaliated. "You seem like a courageous person, but are you really willing to kill me, a scummy lowlife? My blood on your hands, stained forever in your brain. You don't even know if I'm doing this for my own family!"

Arian froze. She looked worried, somewhat scared by Cortez's words. "Are you doing this for your family?" she asked.

"Am I?"

"If I let you down, you can't run away! I'm taking back all the things you stole and returning them," Arian said firmly. "If your family really depends on you, then I can try and lend you money." Her voice then became softer as she spoke about lending the thief money.

Cortez's face was blank. "Okay. I won't run," he agreed.

Arian put her hand on  top of Cortez's head, and the blond slowly floated back to the ground. The mage kept her hand aglow, looking ready to capture Cortez again.
But the thief did nothing. He didn't even look ready to run at all. No hint of emotion was on his face.

Cortez took off his satchel and started to sift through it. Arian kept close watch of him.

"Here we go, the first thing," Cortez murmured quietly. He lifted out a small leather bag, and, before Arian could ask who he had stolen it from, the blond threw it at her and sprinted off.

Arian, looking furious, held her palm out at Cortez as he ran off, a beam of green light shooting at him. The light struck him a moment before he could turn the corner of the alleyway. He stumbled, but kept on going.

It wasn't going to be enough to stop him, but Arian knew it'd be a real bother.

She turned around to see what was inside the bag Cortez had thrown at her. Bending down, she picked up the rough leather sack and felt it. It seemed as though she was trying to make sure nothing dangerous was inside it. She pulled at the red string that tied it together, and quietly gasped when she saw what was inside.

Arian lifted out a muffin - one of her muffins, to be exact - from the bag. It was crumbling and had a piece taken out of it. Then, she took out about five medium sized pearls, which looked expensive, and could probably be sold at a good price.

The baker had a look of confusion on her face. She looked back to where the blond had run away from her, then at the sack.

She didn't seem to know what to think.