I slide easily between the two buildings. „Glaw where are you?" Archer whispers. I sigh, before i work my way back to him. He's stuck in a bush.

"If you want to sneak into the palace, then you have to be silent," I snap at him.

"I'm sorry. I can never be as silent as you," he complains.

"Fine then stay here," I tell him.

"Fine, I'll meet you back at the headquarters in four hours," he says happily.

"I'll be back eventually," I tell him. He gets a look like he wants to argue, so I put my fists up. His face drains of color, and he bolts back down the alleyway. I shake my head at him, before sliding back through the buildings.

I slam my bedroom door. Why my father insists I date such an airhead. Oh yeah, that's right 'she's wealthy and you'll want that later on in life' he likes to say. I blow out my candles. Man if she weren't the kings daughter, I would have left her ages ago. I think better in the dark. I sit carefully in a corner, so no body trips over me. Time to meditate.

I move like a shadow through the castle grounds. No one sees me as usual, but then I'm really good at this. I climb up a wall, and in through an open window. It's dark in here. Where do these people keep their candles? There they are1 I light the candles with a small spell, and a touch of my fingers.

It's a ladies room. It's easy to tell by the scent of all the perfumes. I search the room, for some clothes that will fit me. Good thing this lady is out. I dig through the closet, and pull out a sinful light blue gown. Perfect! I absolutely love this color.

I strip out of my street clothes, and make use of the warm tub of water sitting in the corner. I bath quickly, and thoroughly. Once clean I dry off, before pulling on that beautiful dress. I twirl happily as the dress fans out. I do up the matching corset as best I can. Damn this is hard to do without help.

I find the mirror and look over my shoulder as I get the last few hooks. About time too, I can hear music coming from downstairs. A party! Lovely timing I should crash it. I fix my hair so that it drapes gracefully down my back, and covers my shoulders. I dig through this girls jewels. Awesome! I pull everything out and fill my bag. I strip the entire room quickly, before hiding my bag. I'll be back for it later. I exit the room, and head off to crash a party.

Once I am calm again, I leave my room to rejoin the party. My sword hits the floor. Damn I pick it up, and reattach it properly to my belt. I smile as it hangs as it should. Someone bumps into me from behind, and I hear a soft feminine oomph. Crap probably one of serenity's nosy friends. I glance behind me, to see which one it is. Wait that is not one of serenity's friends. I would have remembered those deliciously pouty, full lips, those deep stormy eyes, or that fountain of chocolate hair that just cascades down over porcelain shoulders.

Nope definitely not someone I would easily forget. Shoot she's gonna be haunting my dreams from now on. I quickly reach down to help her up.

Wow is he handsome. "My apologies, my lord. I was admiring the windows," I tell him politely. He bursts out laughing. "What? Did I say something wrong, my lord?" I ask him.

"No, no, it's just that your the first person I ever met that actually likes glass like this," he explains. I feel my face flush.

"sorry to have offended you, my lord," I say politely with a low curtsy.

"Why do you keep calling me a lord?" he asks.

I look him up and down. He has on a dark blue suit. He has a sword on his belt. I study his face, but can see no sign of damage. He had only slightly rough hands, but that comes with learning the art of the sword. "Aren't you a nobleman?" I ask in confusion.

"I'm the captain in the kings army. Not a nobleman, but if you would like me to be one I'm sure I could oblige for a beauty such as yourself," he says with a bow.

She gives me a curious look, before turning away and proceeding down the hall. I hurry to catch up with her. "May I escort you?" I ask her.

"But sir you don't know where it is that I'm going," she says coyly.

"I would still like to escort you there anyways," I tell her.

I watch as her cheeks turn a light red. I put my arm out to her, and she shyly places her hand on it. "Don't look so terrified. I'm not the big bad wolf. I won't eat you up," I tease. She turns a deeper shade of red.

She leads us to the party. I look down at her skeptically. She doesn't talk like a noble lady, she doesn't act like a noble lady, she doesn't even walk like a noble lady. Oh but how she attracts my attention like a magnet. "Shall I ask you for a dance?" I ask her.

"I would love too dance with you," she says with a bright smile. I feel my heart beat in a way it never did for serenity.

He takes my hand, and leads me to the dance floor. He wraps an arm around my waist, while with the other he hold my hand still. My face heats, as he pulls me flush against him. He won't stop looking me in the eye. He has such gorgeous green eyes. We dance through a few songs, before he goes to get me a drink.

"Attention please! The king is going to make an announcement," a Harold yells.

Interested I move closer to investigate. Up there on the thrown is a pretty petite blonde girl in a dazzling pink dress, and standing to her is the man I've been dancing with. Next to the man is the prince, who is eyeballing me up and down. I wave my fingers at him. Next to the girl is the king.

"My daughter has finally decided to settle down with a good man," the king announces.

I stare at the man that made my heart jump. He looks panicked. I turn around, and hurry from the room. I can't stay here. I don't belong. I run through the halls, until a strong hand catches my wrist. I turn around, and come face to face with the prince himself. "What's the rush? I was hoping to dance with you. You really are quite beautiful you know, like a rose," he says huskily.

"Yes, your majesty, but all roses have thorns. Please let go, I must be getting home," I tell him.

"Your parents wouldn't care if you held my seed, as so many others have. Stay the night with me. If you bare a child I will wed you. Your parents would be thrilled, so won't you please stay?" he asks. I look away from him. Giving him the impression that I'm thinking about it.

"But your majesty, I'm a virgin," I tell him.

"Then it would be my honor to take that title from you," he says happily.

"But sire, it is not my title to give, and only my fiance's to take. You would need his permission, before taking his jewel," I try to tell him.

He gets a sort of angry look on his face. Probably no other girl has ever given him this much trouble. "What is his name, and where does he live? I shall ride out and ask him," the prince suggests.

Ah! An opening. "His name is Bruce, and he runs the butchers shop in the square," I tell him enthusiastically.

"Then I shall be back soon with permission to take your innocence," he says with a bow. I watch as he saunters away. He seems certain to have won, but what he does not know about Bruce is that he has a short temper. The fat asshole will find himself in prison by morning for attacking the prince. I smile happily at the idea.

"You look happy to be the princes next screw," a honey rich voice says from behind me. "Why didn't you mention you were engaged to the princess?" I ask him.

"Why didn't you?" he asks me back.

"I'm not engaged, I just told him that to get him to leave me alone. Bruce will get upset, because he does not know what the prince will be talking about. He won't even know that it is the prince, and e will most likely attack. Thus ending up in prison, where he can no longer beat his son for no reason," I explain.

"And by the time the prince returns with a black eye, you'll be home in bed, sleeping. Very clever,' he compliments me.

"That doesn't tell me why you kept it to yourself that you were engaged," I tell him. Those deep green eyes. I could just fall right into them.

"Because until just a moment ago she was just a girlfriend. I was unaware of what she had told her father. The only reason I'm with her is because my father practically sold me to the king in return for more farming land. I would have left her long ago, but for fear of what her father would to me if I did," he explains.

I look into those beautiful green eyes, and wish that I had met him earlier in life. Before master had taken me in, and taught me what he learned from the ancient assassins. What I know is enough to be killed on sight by any soldier. Here before me is the leader of the kings guards. If he knew, I would be dead in seconds.

The look that crosses her eyes is cold. Weird, up until now all I could see was her beauty. Now I see that only her eyes reflect what she is truly thinking. She shows no expressions unless she wishes to. "Would you like me to escort you to your room?" I ask her.

She smiles a little, and gets a sad look in her eyes. "Sure that would be nice, so long as you do not inform the prince of my sleeping chambers," she teases lightly.

I bow down low to her. "Your wish my dear lady, is most definitely my command. His royal snob shall hear nothing of your were bouts from my lips," he says teasingly.

"And what lovely lips you have indeed," she says. I can tell that from her red cheeks, she did not mean to say that. I escort her to her room. Outside of her door I decide to tease her a little.

"What did you say before about y lips?" I ask her.

"Nothing much, I just informed you that you have very nice lips," she says with her cheeks on fire. I lean in closer to her.

"Why do you think they are nice?" I ask. She looks up into my eyes.

"Because they are so full, and they make me want..." she stops talking, and looks away.

I lightly grip her chin in my hands, and turn her to look into my eyes again. I lean further, and kiss her. Her lips are so wonderful. Her small arm wrap around my neck, as she deepens the kiss. I chuckle a little. She makes a very cat like sound. So cute! I want more of her delicious taste, so I lick her lips. She pushes me away, and covers her mouth with her hand.

I can't believe I let that happen! I can feel that my cheeks are red, but I can't look away from those green eyes. Their so hypnotic. "Would you accompany me back to the party?" he asks. I can tell the kiss effected him as well. He's breathing heavier then he was before we kissed. My heart won't stop pounding.

"Just let me go change," I tell him. He must be pretty out of it, because he agrees. I enter the room i climbed into, and immediately start to change out of the dress. I can not be so close to him again. My entire body is tingling from that kiss. I pull on my street clothes. This time though I put my hair up, and shove it under a cap. This way I can hide from both the man outside waiting for me, and archer. I grab my bag and disappear silently out the window.

"Demetrius? What are you doing?" I hear Serenity's annoying voice. I look at my fiance as she approaches. Nope not even a faster heart beat. She does nothing for me.

"I was just waiting for my friend to finish changing, before I escorted her back to the party," I tell her simply.

"Then why are you standing outside my bedroom door?" she asks.

"Your bedroom?" I ask her.

"Yes my room. Don't tell me she's trying on my clothes?" she asks angrily.

She pushes me away from the door, and enters the room. I follow her in, and look around in confusion. There's nobody in the room. The blue dress is lying on the bed. "I knew that dress looked familiar. That tramp you were with wore my favorite dress," she yells. She storms around the room.

"And she even stole my jewels. Some friend you got there. Go find her, and arrest her for stealing my things," she yells at me.

I hurry from the castle, and to the guards barracks. "Lets move out, a civilian snuck into the palace, and stole the princess's jewels. We need to find her, and imprison her," I tell my soldiers. They look at me funny. "I don't really want to either, but her highness insists that we go after this civilian," I tell them truthfully.

They roll over in their beds. "if you do this I'll let you flirt with any woman that catches your fancy," I tell them. They jump up quickly for that one. I don't know what they are going to do when war comes. The king will be having many men hanged for slowness. I saddle my horse, and ride out with my men. No way I'll ever forget what she looked, or tasted like.

I slow my pace down to a casual stroll. No need to hurry, because he'll be looking for a beautiful young woman. Not a page boy with a possible message. After all it's against the law to harry a page boy. I pull out an apple, and munch on it as I walk. Behind me I hear the gates to the palace open. I ignore it, and simply move over to one side.

The soldiers move by me without a second glance. In the corner of my eye, I see the man I kissed riding a horse. I look up at him. He glances in my direction briefly, before dismissing me. I smile, and take a big bite of my apple. One of the soldiers stops to stare at me. I dig in my bag, and toss an apple at him. With a smile, and a nod of thanks he continues on.

That's all I am to them right now. A page boy who shares apples. In fact most of them have received apples from me. On my routes, I make sure to bring extras, in case I run into one of them. Everyone in this city loves my apples. They are the richest, sweetest, juiciest, in the area. They even grace the table of the royal family. My secret? I grow the trees directly at the source for the entire city. To get the best of any food, give the plant the best quality of water. A little magic doesn't hurt either.

I stop because I'm surrounded by soldiers asking for an apple. "Please! One at a time! There's plenty to go around," I tell them. I pull out apple after apple, until the hands disappear. I sigh in relief, until another hand shows up. I look up to see the man I kissed. My heart skips a few beats. I dig in my bag, and come up with the last one. I gently hand it to him. He smiles kindly at me, before feeding the apple to his horse.

"Hey that there be people food, why you feeding it to the horse?" I yell at him.

"Demetrius doesn't like to eat apples himself, so whenever he gets one he always gives it to the horse," one of the passing soldiers says.

"Alright guys, she has long chocolate hair, and stands to about my chest, with stormy blue eyes," Demetrius tells the soldiers.

"who are you looking for?" I ask him curiously.

"A woman that stole from the princess," he tell me, as he mounts his horse.

"What did the princess do to deserve that?" I ask curiously.

"breathe, being born, sleeping with anything that has a dick, take your pick, and you'll have a winner," he says angrily.

If he hates her why is he marrying her? "I feel bad for whoever she marries," I tell him. I keep pace beside his horse surrounded by a sea of soldiers.

"Your telling me. I get that privilege in the next few weeks. Man how can I possibly get out of wedding such a tramp?" he asks no one in particular.

"Well faking your death can work," I suggest.

I look down at this young page. Why is he talking to me any way? They are usually very quiet. "Is all well with you page?" I ask

"Of course. It's not every day that I get to talk to people. Others seem to think we want to be alone, but we really welcome human contact," he says simply.

"So your telling me that the next time I see a page I should talk to him?" I ask him.

"Only if we're walking, if we're running then we have a message that we need to deliver. The faster we deliver messages the more we get paid," he says. I look up again. This page is very smart. He will be good to have within reach should war come to us.

"What is your name page?" I ask.

I stay silent for a moment. What name should I give him? Oh I know! "My name is Gryphon," I tell him happily.

"you already know my name right?" he asks.

"of course Demetrius, who does not eat apples," I say easily. The sound of his name feels too good.

He laughs loudly at my joke. I chuckle quietly. I smile up at him. "Thanks for talking to me Demetrius, but my home's here and I've already delivered all of my messages. Perhaps I'll see you some other time," I tell him, before disappearing down an alley.

I stare at the mouth of the alley. Why does it feel like a part of my heart has been killed, now that the page has left. "You feel it too right commander?" a soldier asks. I look down at him. Joseph is his name.

"Feel what Joe?" I ask.

"That page, Gryphon, he makes everyone feel safe, and warm. Almost like by him just being near you, it feels like the sun is shining on you,"Joe says with a thoughtful look on his face. I look back up towards the alley.

"Joe, remind me to summon him the next time I need a message delivered," I tell the soldier. He nods in understanding. We continue on with our search. I need to at least make a small attempt to find this girl. After all, I don't know her name.

I lock my door behind me. Man it was weird talking to him as Gryphon. I remove my cap, and release my fountain of curls. Man is it great to be home or what? I walk down into the darkness I have come to love, cherish. I know right where everything is, so I am not concerned about tripping. I strip, and collapse onto my hammock. Time to get some sleep, tomorrow I need to go see the cobbler, the butcher, and the baker. Sleep comes quickly, and carries me to a place where I can be with Demetrius freely.

"What?!" Serenity shrieks at me.

"You heard me! I couldn't find her. You can stop yelling at me now. I'm tired, so good night," I tell her firmly.

She crumbles to the floor, crying her eyes out. I ignore her, and crawl into bed. "Father will hear about this," she threatens me.

"Go ahead, I am the only person who has been with you for more than three nights. Not to mention I will not bind you to me Serenity. After we are married, I care not who you sleep with. I never wanted to marry in the first place. Just leave me to my own devices, and I will leave you to your own," I tell her simply.

"You mean you are not planning to force me to only love you?" she asks me quietly.

"Of course not. I know that you are a free spirit, and I do not plan on taming you," I tell her.

She jumps on the bed, and tries to kiss me. "Lets get one thing straight right now," I tell her while keeping her at arms length.

"Yes honey?" she asks curiously.

"I do not love you. I do not like you. For the sake of your image, I will make everyone believe that we are a happily married couple in public. I will not have sex with you. I will never have sex with you. We do not like each other enough to only love each other, so I will not sleep with you," I explain to her.

She pouts a little, before getting off the bed. "So long as daddy thinks we are in love, that is all I care about," she says almost evilly.

"Then we have an accord. Good night Serenity," I say almost coldly, as she walks out of the room.

I close my eyes, and see a smiling girl, with full pouty lips, stormy blue eyes, and a fountain of chocolate curls. I feel my lower member stir. Man I am in some deep trouble. I sigh, and rub a hand down my face. If I can't get her out of my mind I'll be in some serious trouble. I sit up in bed, and assume the first position for meditating. Maybe this will help me. I begin to chant, and all that happens is that I think more about her. Crap! I flop back on my bed, and wrap the covers around me tightly. Hopefully I can get some sleep.

I stretch sleepily. I haven't slept that good in years. I wonder what caused it? I remember kissing Demetrius, and blush. I sit up too fast, and the hammock tips. I catch myself, before I hit the ground. Man he's still effecting me. This is not good. I thought that after that dream, a shiver races down my spine at the thought of what my mind came up wit last night. I shake my head, and run a hand through my hair. Gotta get ready. I have a lot of chores to do today. I get up, and put on my street clothes. Lucky me, today is my day off.

I make sure my hair is completely covered under my cap, before I hurry to the exit. I pause just behind the door, and whisper a spell. I can see the alley outside. An old dog is eating trash, and a soldier is searching the alley. "I'm sorry Demetrius, I don't see any way out of this alley other then the way we came in," the soldier says over his shoulder. I turn my magical eye to the entrance of the alley.

My breathe catches at the sight of Demetrius, and then my brain scolds me for being so foolish. "How is that even possible? We saw him come down here on his way home last night. How could he have gotten home if this alley is a dead end?" Demetrius asks of no one in particular. They walk to the end of the alley. I take my chance, and squeeze silently out of my door. I cast a quick spell to make sure my door

"You looking for me?" I ask them both. They whip around, and stare at me.

"Where did you come from?" Demetrius asks me in surprise.

"The roofs. It makes for faster traveling when I have messages. It's fun, so I like to do it on my days off also," I tell him simply.

"Yes, Demetrius was looking for you," the soldier says.

I look at him with a question in my look. The soldier blushes, before hurrying out of the alley. I take a few steps towards Demetrius. His eyes follow my every move. I'm almost shaking in my boots. "You wanted me for something, sir?" I ask him curiously.

For some reason my heart won't stop pounding. "Yeah, I wanted you to spread word that we are looking for a girl. She broke into the palace, and stole the jewels of the princess," I tell Gryphon. He lightly touches the strap on his bag. Something went dark in those blue eyes, but what put it there?

"What does she look like?" he asks me.

"She has stormy blue eyes, porcelain white skin. Not a peasant, she was too clean to be low on the food chain. She had long hair, down to her backside. Very curly, and the color of the finest chocolate imported from France. I need to catch her, and punish her for my fiance," I explain.

"According to your description, I'm looking for an angel?" he asks me skeptically.

I watch as he chews on that thought for a moment. I laugh through my nose at him. "What?" he asks indignantly.

"An angel wouldn't steal. So it couldn't have been an angel at all," I tell Demetrius.

"How do you know what an angel would or wouldn't do?" he asks me.

I look him up and down. "As far as I can tell, your the closest I've ever seen here on earth. Would you have stolen the jewels?" I ask him.

He blushes nicely. "What do you mean by that?" he asks.

"Your kind to people others shun. Your men both love and respect you. You are do to be wed to the princess, which means that your lot in life is meant to be far greater then where you are now. Yet here you are, probably with the same men you grew up with. I have things to do today, and it's my day off. I can spread the word out tomorrow," I tell him.

His blush deepens. I smile at him, before walking past him. "What things do you have to do today?" he asks me curiously.

"If you can keep up, you'll find out," I tease him over my shoulder.

I watch as he immediately takes to the roofs. "No fair! I can't follow you there," I yell. I can hear his laughter drift down to me. I mount my horse, and look in all directions, but there is no sign of Gryphon anywhere.

I hurry as fast as I can to the bakers house. I look in every direction to make sure that Demetrius is no where to be seen, before I jump down into the back alley of the bakers house. I knock at the door. I hear some slight movement, before the door opens a crack. Daniel peeks out at me. "What you want Glaw? We told you last time, we do not give bread for free," he says with an annoyed voice.

I dig in my bag, and pull out a string of pearls. He opens the door wider, and grabs them. He studies them for a minute, before smiling up at me. "I'll get straight to work. Half cooked, and half uncooked right?" he asks. I nod silently. "Alright it will be done in about half an hour, so come back then," he tells me, before shutting the door.

I leap onto the roofs, and race to the butchers. I check the alley, before I jump down. I knock at the backdoor. It opens up to a happy Johnathan. I smile at him, and he frowns slightly. "What's up Glaw? Dad's not here right now. He went to prison for assaulting the prince," he tells me.

"I know that. I got the prince to come here, knowing your dad would attack him. Now he can't hit you anymore," I say happily.

"That's real sweet of you, but how are we supposed to make ends meat now?" he asks.

"I know you know how to cut up the meat," I tell him.

"That's true, but I can't give you any free cause you got rid of my dad," he says a little sadly.

"I know that silly. I got some goods to trade with," I tell him. He nods, before stepping aside so I can enter. I sit on a tall stool, and pull out an emerald necklace. He whistles, before studying it, and putting it under the counter. He goes into the back, and grabs some meats. He knows that I like all different kinds. I watch as he cleans, and cuts the varies meats up. The front door opens, but I ignore it.

I never thought I would see him again today. I watch as Gryphon stares intensely at the meat. I've never seen anyone look at meat that way. I walk in further, and sit down next to him. He looks up at me briefly, before looking back at the meat, and then whipping back around to stare at me. "I'm shocked as well. I did not expect to find you here," I tell him.

He blushes a little, before accepting the wrapped meats, and placing them in his bag. "Can I help you sir?" the butcher asks.

"Yeah I need three pounds of thigh meat, please," I tell him.