Yosh! Hello, ! :) -gasps and ducks thrown fruit- H-hey, c'mon now, guys! I know you're all still a bit peeved about all of those old, unfinished ficlets of mine... heh heh... OAO;; -dodges thrown objects- SERIOUSLY!!! DX No need for violence! Make peace, not war! Love conquers all- -hit in the head with a brick and passes out- x~# Ya... ya got me... Muses? Mary? L-little help?
Pink: -giggling uncontrollably-
Yellow: ... -munches on thrown fruit-
Blue: You brought this upon yourself, you know.
Mary: -laughing her ass off- XD
Me: T~# Gee, guys, thanks for the support. -sigh- Anyway, back to business. I'm not gonna guarantee that this fic will be any different from all the rest. It may go unfinished, or it may be my first finished masterpiece. Only time will tell. In the meantime, I hope you'll read it for fun if you loved the movie The Thief/Princess and the Cobbler as much as I did. Thank you.

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the three versions of this movie aka The Thief and the Cobbler, The Princess and the Cobbler, or Arabian Knight. I don't own Tack, or One-Eye, or his army, or the city of Baghdad, or the moon, or the desert, or even the three golden balls. You wanna know what I own? Three cats, a battered old laptop named Rose, and my two OC's here: Kahn and Rosalia. Trust me, I ain't worth suin'.

P.S. I also own the lullaby. Came up with it all by myself. :D

It was a dark and stormy night. A fitting night for the great and mighty General One-Eye to put his years of planning into motion, plans that would make the powerful One-Eyes nation ruler over all the world. As he watched his men make camp for the night in the mountains above their first target, his eye filled with glee at the thought of taking over one place in particular.

"Baghdad... the Golden City... it shall be MINE..." he growled in his grating voice. The muttered words were followed by a peal of vicious laughter that made many a One-Eye grin in delight, and many a woodland creature cower in their hovel.

Meanwhile, across the mountains and the seemingly endless dunes of sand, the storms were left behind and the night was lit by the beautiful, luminescent moon. Little did the great general and his army know that on this very night, their doom would be set down on the doorstep of an impoverished couple. A quick knock on the door and hurried footsteps were the only sounds this late at night, for the city of Baghdad slept soundly under the protection of its three golden balls. More footsteps followed, a candle was lit, and the old, wooden door was pried open by frail, delicate hands.

"Now who could it be this late at nigh- oh my goodness! Kahn! Come quickly!!" gasped a feminine voice.

Heavier footsteps followed, as the woman standing in the doorway bent down to pick up the bundle from the basket. By the time her husband was by her side, face fraught with worry, she was gently rocking the bundle in her free arm. Shaded from the radiant moon's light by the roof, little of the scene could be seen clearly in the dim candlelight. The chiseled, tanned face of a man with a black mustache and goatee, as well as sleep-filled green eyes. The smooth, round, tanned face of a woman with rosy pink lips and warm brown eyes, holding the little bundle of dirty, raggedy blankets.

"Wh-what is it, Rosalia?" stammered the man, obviously "Kahn." He rubbed at his bleary, green eyes, trying to get a better look at what his wife held in her arms.

The woman, obviously "Rosalia," smiled softly and answered with a humming chuckle before speaking. "It's... a baby, Kahn. Look... pull away some of the blankets. Have you ever seen anything so wonderful?" she asked, voice cracking with emotion. While the man's voice was strong and baritone, the woman's was gentle and twittering, like birdsong.

Doing as his wife told, Kahn reached down and carefully pulled back some of the blankets with his large, sausage-like fingers. Instantly, a small, round face as pale as the moon shone a light golden in the candlelight. It was indeed a babe, and newborn at that; tiny mouth, button nose, tuft of black hair, and...

"My goodness... Rosalia, look at his eyes...!" Kahn gasped as the babe opened them, somehow catching the moonlight drifting down from above. They were the most lovely shade of blue either had ever seen, as light as the sky yet as glowing as a pair of sapphires.

Rosalia drew in a stunned breath. "They are beautiful... as beautiful as he is... Kahn, this must be a blessing. A sign... though my own child is gone, I am still destined to be a mother... and you, a father..." she murmured, continuing to rock the child. She hummed softly as she did so, a little lullaby to send the babe off to dreamland.

Kahn, shocked and speechless, scratched the top of his head with one of his large, calloused hands. He remembered the grief and longing his wife had been feeling, that he had felt himself when their own little baby died. To have been given a second chance... he didn't know about any blessing, but he knew it was one of those rare, special events that only happen once in a lifetime. Besides, Kahn knew he couldn't say no to his beloved Rosalia, especially when she seemed so happy.

"...Very well, my rose. We may keep the babe. Little Blue-Eyes... Whether you are sky-sent or simply a poor stray, I do not know. But now... you are a part of our family. Come, Rosalia. We should get back to bed," he stated with a smile and a nod.

"I'm coming, Kahn. You go ahead. I'll be right there in a moment..." Rosalia replied, staring lovingly down at her child as he looked up at her with those large, sparkling eyes. Once she was certain her husband was gone, she stepped out of the shadows of the doorway and into the moonlight. Form fully revealed, her body was lithe and thin, but still attractive. Brown hair cascaded down past her shoulders, rubbing against the rough, red clothing she wore.

Parting her magenta lips, she rocked "Little Blue-Eyes" and spun slightly in the moonlight as she sang the lullaby she had been humming.

"Baby, baby...
Hush, hush, don't you cry.
Mama is here now,
no need to fear now.
Look up at the moon so bright.

Baby, baby...
There is no need to fear.
Look up, look up,
see the pretty gold?
So long as it shimmers,
so long as it shines,
you'll be safe, oh child of mine.

Baby, baby...
Please, let me dry your tears.
I will hold you so tight,
here in my arms.
All snug and warm,
I'll kiss you goodnight.
Baby, baby...
And you'll...
have sweet dreams...
tonight..."

Rosalia smiled when she looked down to find the babe fast asleep, and her steps were light as she headed back inside the small home. Closing the door with her foot, she moved to the bedroom where her husband had already fallen asleep. Chuckling softly at this, she set the candle down on a table beside the bed and climbed in. Gently placing Little Blue-Eyes on the bed between them, Rosalia placed a kiss as soft as rose petals upon his forehead.

"Goodnight, my Little Blue-Eyes. Pleasant dreams..." she whispered, blowing out the candle.

And so the kingdom of Baghdad, the Golden City, drifted back into a peaceful slumber. Oblivious to either of the two events, it would remain that way until it was almost too late. An evil general, a powerful army, a poor child, and the simplest of treasures.

So the story begins...

There. The prologue is all finished up, and it's past midnight. So I'm going to bed, and hopefully I'll still be obsessed enough over this movie to work on chapter one.

For those of you who are wondering what this is, it's basically my own version of the movie. As you can probably tell, the baby is Tack, and this is what I feel his past may have been like. We'll gradually work up into the years until we reach the stage he was in at the beginning of the movie, a poor cobbler. As a warning, there will be more OC's, some who will play a significant role in the story. You have been warned.

Next chapter show us how Tack got his name, and some of his early childhood under the care of his surrogate parents. Be ready for some adorable baby Tack! :3

Reviews feed my muses and Mary! Pink gets the sweet ones, Yellow gets the crazies, Blue gets the lengthy ones, and Mary? You know she loves those flames. Silly pyro. ;)