"Lissor, you got it! Oh, it'll look just lovely on me!" Lune put on the necklace, and she was right. It complimented her dark features perfectly. Lune had been asking for the string of beads for a few weeks now, but Lissor had been staying low after he stole from a man who was notorious for being merciless toward thieves. He didn't steal as much as he originally planned to, though, so despite the necklace being cheap they couldn't afford it. In the end, he had just stolen it and left a golden ring in the shop. The ring was worth a lot more, but it's not like he could sell it without people getting suspicious. It was also hideously ugly.

His sister twirled in front of a broken mirror, taking in the sight of her new treasure. Lune was covered in dirt and grime and yet she was gorgeous. She always was. Her cropped ebony hair hung just under her chin and her sharp features made her look elegant. If she wasn't so filthy, she could walk into the royal castle and men would fall on their hands and knees, thinking her a goddess.

"Ah, Liss, you'll never believe it! I talked to the baker, and she said she would consider mentoring me! I could own a bakery someday! Could you imagine?" She stepped away from the mirror and fell backward into the bed. Lissor had taken a seat on the bed earlier and found himself looking down at her sister while she smiled like a fool.

"That's lovely and all, but you'd better watch out for her son. I swear, that boy has no shame. He's practically drooling over you." Lune frowned at this, previously unaware of the baker's son's wandering eyes.

"Then, I suppose," She paused, thinking about what she supposed, "I suppose I'll act very snotty toward him. I'll say things like, 'You are below me, boy, and don't you forget that.' Surely that'd scare him off." She laughed at her own words.

"Lune, I love you, but I don't think you have it in you to be horrible and snotty." He patted the top of her head and left her to her own devices. Lissor closed the door behind him, careful to lock it, and took an abandoned trail to Keries' Lake.

The grey light of dusk fell over the scene, and it felt ominous and comfortable at the same time. He pulled off his boots so he could dig his toes into the sand. Lissor came here a lot, mostly to clear his head and think about his thieving.

Lissor was good at what he did. If he really wanted, he could steal a ring off someone's finger (and he had done that once before) but he didn't really enjoy it. Everything he did was for his sister.

Eight months back, their father had disowned them. He was nearing the end of his downward spiral, a middle-aged drunkard who completely depended on his children. He was pathetic: a horrible father, a manipulative husband, and an even worse employee. Since he was 13, Lissor was the breadwinner in the family.

Lissor and Lune had always known their father hated them. The way his glares felt just a little too personal and his drunken ramblings a tiny bit too specific tipped them off. The feeling was mutual. The things he'd say about them, his friends, his ex-wife, anybody around him, were irredeemable.

The incident that spurred them being disowned happened just before Lune's fifteenth birthday, July 25. It was nearing the week of the summer festival, and everyone was preparing; making dresses and suits, crafting jewelry, baking sweet treats. Lissor had only managed to get enough fabric for a dress, so he and Lune got to work making a lovely, yet simple, gown for her to wear. Come the day before the festival started, three days from Lune's birthday, their father wanted them to make him a suit. Most likely, he wanted to find a younger woman to...occupy his time, and he needed to look nice.

Lissor, having just used all of the fabric to make Lune's dress, refused. Their dad became enraged, demanding Lissor take apart the gown and make him a suit. He once again refused, but that only made his father angrier. He knocked down everything in the house that could be knocked down, yelled some obscenities, and left them for the town bar. Later that night, in his drunken state, he would claim they weren't even his biologically and publicly disown them.

As Lissor recalled these events, he pulled up his sleeve to look at a long, jagged scar on his forearm. His father gave him this the night he turned 16, by dragging a glass shard across his skin. Supposedly he deserved it, as he was being "uncooperative" when his father tried to steal his money to go drinking.

Lissor stepped into the murky waters of the lake and swung his foot back and forth across the surface. The chill bit at his toes, but he ignored it and let himself sit at the bank with his feet in the water. Sometimes all he needed was a little bit of relaxation.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

"Lune? Are you asleep already?" Lissor called out into their house, not really expecting to get an answer. He heard a slight echo before she called out.

"No, I'm- I'm awake." Her voice sounded tense, almost as if she had been crying. He poked his head through her doorway and looked for her figure on the bed.

Instead, he saw her crumpled on the floor with a man holding back her arms. The cold metal of a knife pressed against his throat, forcing him to look to his right, at the man who held it. A toothy grin was spread across his face and it sent chills down Lissor's spine.

His face seemed familiar but Lissor couldn't place it before the man started hissing, "Remember me, asshole? You fucked me over, and now your little bitch of a sister is gonna get cut up because you can't keep your grubby hands to your own shit." Lissor's mind immediately caught up to the situation, recognizing him as the man he had stolen from weeks before. The one who had no pity for thieves or their families. Gods, why had he stolen from him? He couldn't let Lune get hurt. She had so much ahead of her.

He dropped to his knees and stared up the man. His name was Gaedus Sellow, and he was as scary as they came. A dozen scars littered his face, which looked pissed. He was a large man, taller than Lissor, which was saying something. Lissor felt tiny compared to him and felt utterly pathetic when he uttered, "Please don't hurt her. She's innocent- I'll do anything. Anything at all, just don't hurt her. Please."

The unnerving smile appeared on the man's face again, and he grabbed Lissor's shoulder in a false gesture of comradery.

"Hm. Lucky for you, I'm feeling awfully generous today. On top of that, One of my boys said that he was ditchin' us. Can you believe that? I thought I was just about screwed, but if you really are willing to do anything..." He looked to Lissor, who quickly nodded despite his confusion, "Good. Welcome aboard then, kid. You can't back out now."

Lissor stood up and cast a wary glance over to Sellow. "What did I just join, exactly? What are we doing?" This prompted a hearty laugh, followed by a more nefarious chuckle.

"Don't worry about it, kid." Lissor was worried, horrified, even, but he would deal with whatever it was. He had to, for Lune. It was his fault that she was wrapped up in this, and he would not let her suffer. He'd cross a million oceans for his sister, whatever Sellow had planned, he could do it.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Despite his determination, Lissor's resolve slowly dissolved when the fortress came into view. He wasn't an idiot, he knew Sellow most likely was going to make him do something illegal. But this was the royal castle. Surely, Sellow wasn't stupid enough to try to rob the royal family? He kept his mouth shut though because asking too many questions didn't seem wise.

The wagon he and a few of Sellow's men were in eventually slowed to a stop when they got close to the castle. He could hear an orchestra play faintly in the background and people talking in Treanese. He knew a few words, but they mainly consisted of greetings, and whatever the people inside the castle were saying went over his head.

Lissor vaguely remembered a few of the people in town mentioning Prince Adras' ball for picking his wife. He assumed that was why there was so much noise coming from the castle.

A few of Sellow's lackeys got out of the wagon and began scaling the outer walls. Lissor was shocked, to say the least, as roughly two dozen people reached the top of the wall.

"Boy," Sellow's rough baritone caught the thief's attention, "All you gotta do is wait here with Benny until we bring him out. Then you guys tie him up. You know your knots?" Lissor nodded and Sellow stalked off after a few of his other men.

Lissor looked over to the man he presumed was Benny. He was pretty short, only to Lissor's shoulder. That didn't change the fact that he was ridiculously muscly. Benny looked over to him and rolled his eyes.

"Figures boss'd stick me with you." He sighed, raked his hair back, and sat down on the edge of the wagon. He patted the spot next to him and offered Lissor some water. "You got a name, kid?"

He warily drank the water, nodding, "Lissor. You're Benny, right?" The older man nodded and they fell into a comfortable silence. Lissor leaned back and stared upward. The sun had just finished setting, painting the sky a beautiful black, speckled with collections of stars.

"Hey, so what exactly are we doing? Who was Sellow talking about? Who are we tying up?" The thief's question seemed to take Benny by surprise, because he scrunched up his face and didn't answer for a solid minute.

"We're a revolutionist group. We're going to kidnap Prince Adras and use him as leverage against the royal family. I'm surprised boss didn't tell you." Lissor's eyes widened, his breath hitched. There's no way. No fucking way he had just managed to screw himself over so bad he ended up committing treason.

Before he had enough time to have eight consecutive panic attacks, he heard a myriad of screams accompanied by the smashing of glass. In under ten seconds, people were sprinting out of the castle, crying, tripping over themselves, and yelling things in Treanese that Lissor didn't understand. His head started swimming and he looked to Benny for help, but he didn't seem to be bothered by the mess they were causing.

After what felt like an eternity, he could make out two people barreling toward them, one carrying something over their shoulder. As they sped closer, he figured the sack held over the first man's shoulder held the prince. He swallowed hard and got out the rope.

Prince Adras' body was pulled out of the bag and haphazardly tossed to the ground. At first, due to the lack of response from him and the worrying amount of blood coming out of his head, Lissor thought he was dead, but he picked up on slow breathing coming from the prince.

He quickly tied the prince's hands behind his back while Benny tied up his feet. Gazing at the wound on the prince's forehead, he patted Benny's shoulder to get his attention, "Hey, do you think we should clean up his wound? Just to stop the bleeding, I mean. So it won't make a mess." Benny looked suspicious but gave him bandages and cloth.

The thief soaked up the blood that coated the boy's hair and got to work wrapping the wound in the bandages.

"Gods," he murmured to himself, "What in Hell's name have I gotten myself into?"