Hi fellow Thief Lordians! So, yeah, I started a new fic. Um, I'm still bad at updating, and everything, so, yeah. But I will try! So, I hope you enjoy the story.

Disclaimer: I don't own the Thief Lord.

All I heard was my heavy breathing and the sound of my footsteps splashing through rain puddles as I ran. I spotted a deserted doorway and dove into it, curling into a little ball. Heavy footsteps lumbered past, making me curl up even tighter, if that was possible. Once I was sure the owner of the footsteps was gone, I stretched out and looked around. I was in the doorway of a deserted house in the pouring rain. In Venice. Joy.

"Oh well," I thought. "At least I'm drier here."

I sat back down again, and redid my ponytail before opening my backpack to take inventory. A few shirts, socks, hygiene products, and a whole lot of money. I had been saving my allowance for nine years for an opportunity like this. To get away from them. I zipped it shut, and leaned back against the wall, sighing in relief. Finally, I was free. No sooner than I had thought that, a great, hulking figure loomed over me, and said,

"I've got you now, girlie."

I shrieked loudly as he tried to grab me, but I slipped under his arms and darted out into the pouring rain. I ran as fast as I could, but I could still hear him behind me. A small opening between two buildings caught my eye, and I slipped into it. I found myself in a maze of alleyways, perfect to lose a pursuer. And myself. Left, right, backtrack, right again. I took so many turns that I lost count, and finally his footsteps retreated for good. I walked a little bit further, trying to calm my racing heart, and sat down on the steps of an old house. Unfortunately, they weren't dry at all, and provided no coverage from the rain. But it would have to do.

Now that the adrenaline rush was wearing off, I was starting to feel the cold keenly. It was freezing, and it wouldn't be long before I froze too. I shivered violently, and blew on my fingers as I tried to make myself more comfortable. I was exhausted, cold, and wet. The best thing for me to do probably wasn't to fall asleep, but I was so tired. Maybe just one short nap. I shuffled around, laid my head on my backpack, and fell into an uneasy sleep.

"Hey, hey girl. Wake up, you have to wake up!"

Someone was shaking my shoulder. I snapped open my eyes, and sat up quickly. I saw a boy, who looked about my age, 17. Well, as far as I could tell from behind his long nosed mask.

"Who are you?" I asked.

He looked at me, relieved I was awake, and answered,

"The Thief Lord. And you need to come with me, now!"

He held out his hand, waiting for me to take it.

"Why should I go anywhere with you?" I questioned, immediately on my guard.

"Because, Miss, the owner of that house is about to come home, and trust me, you really don't want to be here when he gets back. Especially because you're a girl. Now, please, please, come with me."

He sounded pretty desperate, so I decided to review my options. Go with a teenage boy somewhere I don't know, or stay here in the rain, where a grown man lived who could hurt me. Without any more hesitation, I stood up. If the situation arose, I could defend myself against a teenage boy a lot better than an adult.

"Let's go."

He smiled at me, and there was a look of profound relief in his dark eyes. He held out his hand for me, and I took it. As soon as I did, he took off, sprinting as fast as he possibly could. He was mostly dragging me, as I could barely keep up. I stumbled a few times, and he slowed his pace enough for me to get back on my feet, then we were running as fast as we were before.

"Where are we going?" I asked once we had stopped to rest.

"The Fantasia."

Was all he said, and then we were off, running again until we stopped in front of an old, boarded up movie theater. A neon sign hung above it, saying Fantasia, but the "n" had fallen off. The Thief Lord let go of my hand and pushed the garbage blocking the entrance away to reveal a door. He pulled out a small key, and opened the door after looking around to see if anyone was watching. We walked inside, shoving away random garbage that was floating around. When we reached to auditorium, I gasped. It was absolutely gorgeous! There was blue velvet and silver everywhere! I looked up to see glittery objects hanging at regular intervals, emitting a faint light. The curtain at the far end was a deep blue, and it had silver swirls embroidered onto it.

I laughed, and spun around with my arms spread wide, taking everything in. I turned to face the Thief Lord, who was looking amusedly at me.

"How did you find this place, Thief Lord?" I asked happily.

"Just call me Scipio," he said, removing his mask. "And I make it my business to know the best hiding places of this city."

"Well," I said. "My name is Livya. Thank you for bringing me here. What happens now?"

"I, for one, am going to go to sleep soon. I'll find a mattress for you, if you want to pick were you want to sleep."

He wandered off, and I decided to explore. There weren't too many places with light, and the darkness looked slightly foreboding. I walked upstairs, and immediately missed the small glittery things. There were a few windows, but it was pitch black outside, so no light entered the hallway. I couldn't see a lot, and it was starting to freak me out. I decided to go back downstairs to the auditorium. Where there was light, and I could see, and no scary things. Two little red lights appeared, and I suppose they must have been a smoke thing, but I squeaked and started walking faster towards the stairs.

*SQUEAK*

I screamed, and ran down the stairs, two at a time. When I reached the auditorium, I looked behind me, and shrieked again. I stumbled, and someone caught me around my waist from behind. I spun around, and saw Scipio's dark eyes. He was laughing at me, the twit!

"Um," I said. "I'm scared of the dark and I have an overactive imagination?"

He snorted, and let me go.

"Alright, you can stay in the auditorium with me. Remind me to get some candles tomorrow."

I nodded sheepishly, and let him lead me over to the mattresses he had pulled into the room while I was scaring myself. There was a large sack in the space between them, and as I sat down, he dumped its contents next to me. Clothes! Dry, clean clothes! Awesome, because I was still soaked. My glee must have shown on my face, because he laughed at me. Then he asked if I had anything useful in my backpack. I nodded, and dumped it out onto the floor. His eyes lit up, and he exclaimed,

"This is great! You've got soap! But your clothes are all wet, so you better get something dry on before you get sick."

I nodded in fervent agreement. I was still pretty cold, even though we were inside. I reached over, and started sifting through the pile of clothes. A black and white striped shirt caught my eye, and I snatched it, along with a pair of jeans and a black jacket.

"Scipio?" I asked, standing up. "Can you show me where the bathroom is?"

He nodded, also standing up. His eyes flickered to the shirt I had in my hand, and he blushed so faintly I barely noticed. But he recovered with an impressive smirk.

"What?"

He waved off my question, and showed me the bathroom door. Before I went in, I asked him if there was a working shower.

"Well," he said, rubbing the back of his neck. "kind of. It's got warm water and everything, but there isn't a door."

I didn't really care, so I said,

"Lead the way then."