Author's Note: I do not own any of the characters and other ideas that are owned by Squaresoft and blah blah blah… you guys know how it goes.

---A King and Thief---

"On your feet thief!" the jailer spat into the far cell. In what little light there was, a lone figure sat on the cold stone ground with his back towards the bars. "The king wants to speak to you."

"You can tell him to go to hell!" the prisoner snapped back.

"Well you can tell him yourself then, because he's right here." The jailer turned and then took a step back, allowing the monarch to step up to the prison bars. He was in his customary elegant and flowing robs, a far cry in comparison to the criminal he was addressing.

"Now now," the king began, "what's with all these vicious slurs and hostilities? It's more than unusual for a king like me to make an appearance down here at all let alone to seek out a specific criminal. You should consider yourself lucky."

"I would be most lucky if you would shut your mouth." The prisoner kept his back to the king, staring into the darkness. If it were not for the anger in his voice one might think the figure in the cell was dead.

The King laughed light-heartedly and turned to the jailer, "Ahh… an actual witty and intelligent one. This could prove to be most entertaining after all."

Finally the prisoner leapt from the floor and rushed to the jail bars, smashing into them with such force that the whole cell seemed to shake. "Is that all I am to you? Just some sort of cruel entertainment for what would normally be a dull evening?"

"Of course not," the king kept his free and easy composure. "I came down here for business, but unlike how the old sayings go, I like to take any opportunity I can to mix business with pleasure."

"I'm just a common petty criminal, what kind of business do you want from me?" The prisoner let the edge from his tone slip, not expecting this twist. "You don't even know who I am."

"Ahh… but Locke, I do… and that's why I have come down here to seek you out. As I have heard it, you are one of the world's most premier thieves."

Locke turned around again and starred back into the darkness, the anger creeping back into him. "Then you have the wrong guy because I'm not thief, I'm a treasure hunter!"

The king laughed again, "Call it what you will then, thieving, treasure hunting, it makes no difference to me. My offer's still on the table, but it was meant for Locke Cole and if I am not in his presence then I shall be taking myself off to hell as you had wished me earlier."

"Wait!" The prisoner turned around and looked back at the king, again the edge in his voice disappearing. "You haven't told me what this offer is."

"Glad that you've decided to listen." The king took a few paces back and forth near the cell, never getting out of Locke's vision. He spoke with a smile and a friendly demeanor as if the two had been long time buddies. "The offer is a simple barter agreement. You do something for me, and I let you out scott free with no record here to speak of."

"How do I know I can trust you on that? After all, it is your kingdom that has thrown me in jail."

"I think the better question would be how can I trust you? After all, you are a thief who has been thrown in my jail."

"I'm no thief! I'm a treasure hunter!" Locke gave the king a hard glance but couldn't shake off the easy and friendly posture of the monarch. "Fine then, your turn to entertain me. How can you trust me, a lowly criminal?"

"Because the way I've heard it, the Locke Cole I know is the world's finest treasure hunter with a heart of gold. Not exactly the qualification for being a lowly criminal. Do you know how hated you have become down here in my prison of thieves for beating them time and time again to the world's greatest treasures, all while you were thinking of everyone else but yourself? The stories I've heard about you! There was the one about the cave near Zozo, there's the story about the Tzen Ruby of course… oh! and the latest one about a little incident involving one of the richest men in Jidoor."

For the first time, Locke finally cracked and gave a smile with a laugh, "Yeah… that was a good one. That old man probably still doesn't know what happened."

"Jailer, open the esteemed Mr. Cole's cell. Get him some proper food and clean him up before you send him to my chambers. We have some business to discuss."