I Got Captured by You
Briar Moss, age 18. Golden-brown skin, black hair, gray-green eyes, Western nose. Tattered clothes, no shoes. Thief. If you see him, please contact the police immediately.
That was what it said on the newspaper in the morning when Sandry woke up. Everything was typical for her that day. Wake up, get dressed, eat a pleasant breakfast in her rich, airy, bright, grand mansion on a ranch. But even though it was on a ranch, Paris was only about twenty miles away. And everything was fine, absolutely fine. That is, until the newspaper touched her hand.
"My lady, do you think you should put up extra guards around the place?" Rosethorn, Sandry's friend and gardener asked. Even though Rosethorn was older than the young woman by at least twenty years, she was as young and as pretty as any average woman model there was.
"Whatever for?" came the reply from Sandry, flipping through some fashion magazine. Sandry mindlessly crunched on some chips.
Rosethorn raised one of her eyebrows. "Why, some dangerous suspect named Briar Moss is on the loose! It says here that he has robbed a rich lady only about twenty miles from here. He also broke into a bank and stole practically all the money, and that's sixteen miles away! My lady, if that dangerous criminal comes here, think of the danger!"
"Rosethorn," Sandry flapped her hand, "I am positive no one will dare to penetrate my territory. And besides, we have enough guards around here. We don't want a careless man stomping on my precious plants and you hard work, now would we?" asked Sandry, smiling.
"No, we wouldn't," Rosethorn sighed. "But I do wish you could think about being more careful."
"She's right, lady." Lark, a tutor of Sandry for threadcraft, appeared. "I just got informed by your close friend Daja that her neighbor, Tris, just got robbed by that Moss fellow. She asked me to ask you if they could come and stay for a few weeks. Tris and Daja are scared out of their minds."
Sandry giggled. Then she put back her sober face, though there was a smile tugging at the corner. "Well, sure, anyone that is a friend of mine's is welcome here. But I don't see why they are so scared."
Lark widened her eyes. "My lady, think of the terror! Imagine a figure breaking into your beautiful, well guarded home, and stealing some money! No, excuse me, over half of your own money! And that Tris had lightning traps and laser beams set all over. In my opinion, my lady, that fellow thief is dangerous! Tris saw that he carried three knives! If it hadn't been for her friend Daja's staff smacking that fellow, we would have never heard from Tris again!"
"Yes, yes," Sandry sighed. "Well, I must go design some more clothes for my line of fashion."
"Seriously, ma'am," Lark was on the edge of pleading. "I know that your sense of style and fashion for your fashion company RosePleat is unbelievable, but please, think about the danger!"
"Go call up Daja and Tris and tell them they may come. I still don't see the danger..." Sandry shook her head and walked out.
Lark and Rosethorn looked at each other, sighed, and went off to their work.
~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~
Briar Moss, scratching his thigh where he got hit from a stick or something (Briar couldn't figure what it was), was mad. He had been careful, very careful indeed, but somehow that young woman found him out. Well, at least he stole about seven billion dollars. He was dragging the sack of money around.
"Where should I put this? I can't go around dragging this sack! People would be suspicious," Briar thought.
Just then, he came to the edge of a ranch. Briar was amazed at what he saw. There were horses (perfect ones for stealing and riding), farm animals, a rich looking house (which he knew would be a jackpot), and a huge backyard with a pool, a basketball court, and as much fun as you could imagine. But there was one thing that caught his eye. A garden. Not a small twenty feet squared one, but a big one. A garden that grew all plants, trees, and flowers of every kind. Briar was stunned. No one he had ever robbed had so much luxuries and a beautiful garden. His brain went click, he had hit the jackpot.
He was going to steal money, some animals, and probably a plant or two, if he could. Oh, this is heaven. Just then, he realized something. He had never seen anything like it. He wanted to take it all. But how could he if that person was rich, that person had to famous. How can he make everything his and not be caught? Then, an idea came.
"I'm not going to be stealing this time. Oh, no. This time I'm going to kill the owner, say the guy was poisoned by someone, and say that I am the closest relative living here," Briar grinned. He loved the idea, he loved it.
~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~
Sandry was weaving a rug for her living room when a banging, kicking, punching, shouting, and doorbell ringing smacked her out of it. Sandry dropped her work, ran over to the door, and opened it. In came Tris and Daja and some other fellows she did not know.
"Close the door, close the door, CLOSE THE DOOR!" Tris shouted.
Sandry quickly slammed the door shut, with a bewildered expression on her face. "Why the rush?"
Daja's face was pale, and she spoke with a quivering tone, "Tris here heard a sound that sounded like when someone was trying to sneak into a house!"
"If someone were to sneak into a house, they wouldn't make any noise," Sandry objected.
"True," Tris replied, "but you miss the fact that if a burglar is sly, so when her walks he tries to make as little noise as possible, but he is slow because he is unsure. If you are slow, you tend to make more noise. My ears are as good as a blind bat's. And besides, I just have an uneasy feeling."
Sandry smirked, "If there was a burglar, he wouldn't come at three in the afternoon. He would come at night."
"Yes, but this Moss fellow is like no other. He catches you off guard," Daja said. Tris nodded in reply.
Sandry shook her head. "I don't believe you. He can't-"
"My lady, MY LADY! A thief is here! A THIEF! QUICK, CAPTURE HIM!" a voice cried.
Sandry yanked open the door and the door slammed into the wall.
"No, don't let him get away!"
"After him!"
"Run faster!"
"Stop!"
"Come back!"
"Thief! Thief! Somebody, contact the police! NOW!"
All the hired servants were running around madly. They seemed to be chasing a young man with golden-brown skin, black hair, and who had dodging feet. He wore no shirt, just some ripped cloth pants. Sandry clicked her tongue in disgust of the clothes.
Rosethorn and Lark chased after him too. Seeing them, the two young men that came with Tris and Daja helped with the chase.
"Stop thief!" came the cries of protests.
The man turned his head to look back. They didn't seem to be far enough. He whipped his head back and ran around the mansion. He looked back again. They were almost out of sight. Maybe he could outrun them. Maybe...
BAM!
The man groaned in pain as he hit the wall that served as a fence for the front of the piece of land.
"Got him!" a man in his early forties held his arm. Another man held tightly to his other arm.
Sandry heard the "got him" and came rounding the side of the house.
Sandry took in the sight of the thief, then said, "Sir, I do not know your name. Neither do I know yours," she nodded towards the two men that captured the thief.
The man who caught Briar first bowed. "I am Niklaren Goldeye, and here is Frostpine. I am the tutor of Tris. I teach her weather and the seas, as she is the best weather witch I've ever known," Tris blushed at this, "and Frostpine here is Daja's tutor on metal."
Sandry nodded her head slowly. "I see. Well, thank you for capturing this thief."
Frostpine yanked the bag full of money out of Briar's hands and handed it back to Sandry. Sandry shook her head. "You can keep it, for thanks of your bravery. Share half with Niklaren."
"Lady, you can call me Niko," Niklaren/ Niko winked.
Sandry smiled, then she faced the thief again.
"Would you like him in court? I will take this thief to the police if you wish," Frostpine inquired.
Sandry was about to say "yes," but then she caught the thief's eyes. Something about those gray-green eyes gave her a message. They seem to be defeated, sad, desperate for love. Just like an orphaned child, and Sandry knew exactly how it felt.
"No," Sandry replied, "I will take him in as a helper."
Everyone stared at her in shock.
"But, my lady, he... he's a thief!" Rosethorn cried.
Sandry stared coldly at her, "I say he is a helper of this house. In fact, seeing that you are so worried, why don't I make him your personal assistant? Or, should I say, apprentice? I will tell the police that he will stay here." Sandry walked over to the thief. "What is your name?"
The thief met her eyes, blushed, then said, "Briar. Briar Moss."
A collective gasp went up from the crowd. Sandry ignored it. "Rosethorn, give Briar a pair of pants and a shirt from my workroom. I think a dark green shirt, a velvet forest jacket, and a pair of golden-yellow silk cloth pants would do. Then Ben," Sandry pointed to a twenty-year old man, "show him where the bathroom is and give him towels, soap, sponge, toothpaste, toothbrush, and all the necessary items. Cook Slainty," Sandry nodded towards her cook, "Give this man as many plates of food as he needs. Then Ben, show Briar to my workroom and we will have a plan planned out for Briar."
Sandry then walked back to her house. Everyone was still.
"Well, then, boy," Rosethorn broke the silence, "come with me. I will get your clothes as you take a bath and make yourself presentable. Now, get back to work." she nodded at the rest and led Ben and Briar into the house.
"Well, it's better than being a thief and being hungry all the time," Briar thought. That Lady Sandry seemed nice. She was like no other girl he ever met. She was definitely the first accepting him. But something else was making him feel more attached to Sandry. He just didn't know what.