Disclaimer: Even though I wish with all of my heart I could own cleffy *hugs clef* and the fellow MKR characters, I don't. I'm also not taking full credit for the idea of Umi being a thief, considering I read a fic about her being a thief a while ago. I'm not going to repeat this disclaimer throughout the story, so yeah.

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"Umi, we are running low on funds." said a girl with very dark brown hair that fell into her bright green eyes every few seconds. There was a steady drip of water coming down from the ceiling of their makeshift home.
"We are very low, to be exact!" Umi corrected. "I checked on the younger ones and they are all very thin. You can see their ribs clearly, Regan!" Umi snapped. "We have to do something! I'm going to get us some money." she said, whirling around. She fastened her dagger in a hidden sheath on her arm and grabbed her infamous sword that had a dark blue dragon as the guard. She fastened her precious sword on her left hip. Umi pulled on a leather jacket and some black boots that came up to her knees. They were nice and warm on the inside and durable leather with laces up the front. She was wearing all black clothes that were tight around her so that she could be virtually unseen and unheard.
"Just be careful!" Regan pleaded as Umi turned to go out the door.
"It's me, you know I won't get hurt! Stealth is my specialty." she said with a wink of one of her cerulean eyes.
The brunette looked doubtful. "Well your blue hair isn't exactly concealed." Regan huffed at the taller girl. Regan was older, but Umi was taller by a few inches.
The bluette pulled on some black fingerless gloves, for grip. She sighed and used a black bandana to tie her bangs out of her face. "This way I'm not as obvious from the front... You happy?"
"No." The brunette honestly replied.
"Well happy or not, I'm going." Umi hastily snapped and spun on her heel to leave. She walked out the door. She felt bad for snapping at her friend, but was feeling quite irritable today.
It was pitch black and silent out, which were ideal conditions in Umi's opinion. She was truly a master of stealth and as silent and agile as a cat. Umi relied on her keen night eyesight and acute hearing. She needed to get enough money to earn her group leader's respect. Everyone thought that just because she was only 18, she couldn't do anything worthwhile. The girl smirked. /I can do so much more than they think I can do./ she thought. She was headed to the castle where the King and Queen of Cephiro resided. The castle was indeed heavily guarded, but that wasn't a problem. She planned on just slipping past them, right under their ignorant little noses and nabbing some jewels or something valuable of the sorts. She would sell the goods and use the money to help pay for food in her clan.

Her clan was made up of orphans that showed much potential or came to the group wishing to join. Her parents were murdered when she was very young, 10 perhaps. She lived all alone and fended for herself until a month later when she met a girl much like her, whose parents went missing and were never found.

The girl had a mop of ivy green hair on her head and lovely hazel eyes. Even after living a life of hardship, she didn't bear any scars. She had a small frame, yet she was a fierce swordswoman who used a broadsword. The girl, her name was Tsuru, saved her life from an angry monster once and then they became partners and best friends. They hunted and fought together, teaching each other tips and sharing knowledge. Until one day, on Umi's 12th birthday, Tsuru was kidnapped by a snarling dark lion, who disappeared into a portal of darkness. She had never seen her best friend since then. Umi had fallen into a deep depression because she figured her friend was preyed on by that lion creature, and she wasn't able to save her. She had sobbed and felt lifeless, drained of energy. Umi couldn't hunt because of her depression and was slowly withering away.

Regan found her in this deep depressed state, so she took her in and fed her. She stayed with them until she finally got over it, but she decided to join the clan permanently. Regan taught her many things to sharpen up her (already natural) sword skills. She also taught the girl hunting, how to use a dagger, evasive actions, stealth (which also came natural), and many other useful skills. So she had been with the group since that time, more than six years ago. Umi felt very thankful and she wanted to give back to the people who aided her. She was walking through the dark, empty streets and a single tear slipped down her cheek with the memory of Tsuru. A small downpour started as soon as the tear touched the ground. "A thief doesn't cry." she whispered to herself. Umi sniffed a couple of times and took a deep breath that shuttered as she slowly let it out.

The castle was in view now. The main gates were about a quarter of a mile away. She could see the shadows of two burly guards standing at attention near the entrance. They were holding 7 foot long spears that looked very intimidating.
/Not getting past them./ Umi flatly said in her mind. The guards looked in her direction, so she ducked behind a very leafy bush. She peered out from between the branches and waited. Umi surveyed the castle for about a half hour, reciting to herself /Patience is stealth's key./ She took mental note that there were two guards circling the castle's perimeter and there was a two minute gap between them. Then there were the two guards at the main entrance and she was sure there were archers poised at the top. There were most likely patrols often inside the castle. The bluette took the time and positioned herself in a tree near the entrance to the stable room connected to the castle. She waited for the patrol to vanish from sight and then leaped off the branch she was perched on and rolled. Staying low was the key. She ducked behind the nearest bush and then melted into the shadows of the castle wall.

Her outfit was definitely doing a good job of hiding her, but Umi only had one minute until the next patrol came by. She slipped through the entrance and heard footsteps. /Oh no they are ahead of schedule!/ She thought. Umi looked around hastily for a hiding place. She smoothly leaped the gate to one of the horse's stalls and rolled, staying low. /Don't kick me, don't whinny! Don't kick me, don't whinny!/ she chanted in her head. The girl listened until the footsteps were gone. She abruptly stood up and petted the horse. It was a midnight black mustang with a grey splotch on his left hindquarters. Her eyes widened /I'm surprised you didn't kick me./

Umi quickly kissed the horse on its snout and made her way over to the entrance to the castle. The girl had always loved horses and had a special bond with them. She was a skilled rider, but she never got to ride. She peered through the entrance and saw that the stables led to a hallway. She cautiously stepped into the corridor and saw there were two doorways on each side of her and randomly chose one. She found herself in the kitchens and nearly got run over by a very busy chef who was carrying a stack of pans he couldn't see around. Umi got low and rolled to the side behind a counter. She attempted to stifle her breathing, which was greatened by the adrenaline rush. Once the coast was absolutely clear, she quickly did a half-crouched walk and got out of the room. The bluette was now in a very large corridor, which was extremely elaborate. She wandered the halls until suddenly, she had a very sharp pain in her side. Umi looked down and there was a dagger in her side. She put her hand over the wound quickly, feeling a warm liquid seep into her clothes. /Oh great./ She whirled around to locate her attacker, and was surprised to see a girl who was about her age rushing towards her.
The girl had shaggy red hair and a single braid running down her back. She had red armor on and bright ruby eyes. The girl rushed at her and tackled her down. Umi was very surprised at this, but managed to roll out of the small girl's grasp and popped back up. She unsheathed her dragon-hilted sword from the scabbard on her left hip and the crimson haired girl made hers appear in a flash of red. Umi was shocked at a hunk of metal just appearing like that, but decided not to dwell on this fact.

The girl brought her sword, which was a tad longer and had a thicker blade down over her head and Umi raised her own thin blade to meet it. The swords clashed with a 'clang' that echoed down the empty walls. Icy cerulean eyes met blazing ruby ones as the girls fought for the advantage in battle. The braided girl put up a good fight, but Umi threw her off and the girl fell on the floor, rolling roughly from the impact. The girl hastily got up and glared at Umi with a determined look in her eye.
"Hono no yaa!" echoed down the hallway in the girl's loud voice. Umi shrieked as a blast of fire consumed her and she fell on the ground and coughed. Her flesh surprisingly didn't feel the searing pain of a burn. She closed her eyes and heard the girl's running footsteps come closer and closer. The bluette opened her eyes slightly and saw the girl's ruby ones looking down at her. Then her head swam into unconsciousness.

-.-.-.-.-

"She's finally waking up!" squealed the red haired girl's voice. She was talking to someone, but there was no reply so the person must have nodded and said nothing. She dared to open her eyes a slit and found herself tied up. Umi was sitting in a stone room with a tall man with dark hair and eyes and the red haired girl. She tried to lift a hand and found her wrists were bound behind her back. Her legs were tied together also.
"Where am I? Who are you? What happened?" the bluette babbled out all of the questions floating in her head.
"First, we have to ask you a few questions." the dark man said. "Who are you and what are you doing in the palace?"
"I'm not telling you!" Umi defied, turning her head.
The red head now stepped forward and looked at the dark man over her shoulder. "I'll try a different approach." she whispered to him and he nodded his approval. She turned back to Umi. "My name's Hikaru and this is Lantis." she said, gesturing to the man. Umi refused to speak. "We are the lead of the castle guard. What were you doing here?"
"The name's Umi." she said, glaring at them with icy blue eyes.
"What were you doing here?" Hikaru repeated calmly.
Umi's temper was finally starting to bubble to the surface. She mumbled something that neither of the members of the room heard.
"Huh?" Hikaru said.
"I said I was getting jewels!" Umi snapped, finally losing patience.
"Why did you need them?" Hikaru asked.
"My clan is starving! While you castle inhabitants stuff your faces, we are starving!" Umi yelled at Hikaru, glaring. The redhead seemed generally concerned, which was an odd reaction to Umi's temper fit.
Lantis then stepped forward. "Even if your clan is starving, it is not right to steal." he calmly said.
Umi then was close to tears. "Thieving is the only thing I can do. My clan took care of me when my best friend died, and I am forever in their debt. They saved me from death when no one took me in." She said in a very small voice, suddenly deflating.
"That's enough." Lantis said with a monotone. "Take her to the dungeons to wait for further questioning and trials." Two large soldiers took her by the arms and brought her into a room with no windows and bars for the door. They plopped her down on the floor and she sat there until an opportunity came that she desperately needed.

From hearing parts of the hasty conversation between groups of guards, she found out that a small group of monsters appeared in the courtyard and they needed backup to slay them. Umi waited until they were gone and smirked as she slipped her dagger from its armband. She maneuvered it in her hands until it was positioned between her wrists and carefully cut the binding. The girl then sliced her ankles free and stood up. Umi flicked her hair out of her face and over her shoulder in satisfaction with herself. She then paused and listened for any sign of a human nearby and there was none so she walked up to the barred door. The bluette used the tip of her dagger and hastily picked the lock. She winced when the lock clicked loudly. She sighed and pushed the door open and cringed when it creaked open loudly. /Stupid enough to not search for hidden weapons./ She smirked and tiptoed out.

She spotted her sword and its sheath leaning against one of the stone walls. Umi grabbed them and positioned the sheath on her left hip and put the sword in thankfully. The weight of it was always there, so she felt very empty without it. She padded out of the room quickly and quietly. Umi rubbed her wrists which were sore from whatever binding the guards had used. For some reason, she knew Hikaru hadn't bound her because the girl seemed too nice. But she was fierce at the same time. The Lantis guy seemed very quiet but Hikaru and Lantis seemed to share a bond other than just sharing the role as head guards. But that wasn't the time to think about that.

She quietly and quickly searched for an exit from the Palace. Sure, she would go home empty handed, but she was okay. Umi eventually found a door and ran outside. She was being rather careless and didn't remember the archers poised near the top of the Palace, until it was too late. There was a sharp jab of pain in her left arm. The arrow shot her in the upper arm. She gasped and collapsed, clutching the wound. Her head was yet again swimming into unconsciousness, because the arrow was covered by a sleep powder. She only remembered one thing from when she opened her eyes a crack. Umi saw a girl with emerald green eyes and short blonde hair peering down at her.

-.-.-.-

Umi awoke when a spider scurried across her arm. She screeched at the sight of it and flailed to get it off. Sure, she was a trained thief, but her absolute worst fear was bugs. She killed the arachnid by stomping on it repeatedly and then a few more times for good measure. Okay, so maybe the last few weren't called for, but she hadn't gotten over her freak out from waking up that way. She found herself in the same dungeon as before, the sword leaned against the wall, accompanied by its sheath. The sword was just out of reach. Then she reached for her dagger in its hidden arm band. The guard had removed that too. She tried to reach for her dagger, because it was within reach outside the cell, but when her hand came past the metal bars of the cell, a sharp shock sent her back to the back wall of her cell. She shook her hand to rid the stinging needles feeling in it and now her arm ached. But then Umi realized that she reached out with her right hand, so her left arm shouldn't be hurting.

Then, she remembered what happened to put her back in the prison. The bluette then remembered the images of the female archer from before she passed out. The blonde haired girl also seemed about her age, like the Head Guard Hikaru. The blonde haired girl didn't seem like a guard though. She was wearing casual clothes and no armor, as if she was practicing before she shot Umi. Her thoughts were interrupted when Hikaru and Lantis stopped outside her cell.
"We are taking you to the Master Mage and the King." Hikaru said.

Hey, minna-San! ^.^ I had a couple requests to fix the formatting on this chapter and I did so. Please review on this story because reviews help me so much to get inspired.
Until then, luff ya and ja ne!
-Water Dragon's Wing