The Greatest Thieves in Corona
Chapter 2
Eugene blinked blearily, trying to make sense of the world around him. His ears were ringing and his head hurt so badly his vision refused to focus. Closing his eyes against the pain, he tried to assess the situation. He was sitting in a chair, facing a window through which bright light was shining. Behind him, he thought he could hear the sound of footsteps.
After a few minutes the ringing in Eugene's ears dimmed enough to let him think. He remembered the tower. He remembered the sudden appearance of a rope, a means to escape, after weeks and weeks of imprisonment. Last of all, he remembered something painfully solid smashing into his face.
He should have been afraid, but Eugene was seriously offended.
As awful as being imprisoned for a crime he hadn't committed was, he was at least supposed to be safe! He scowled. Here he was minding his own business, paying someone else's debt to society, and he gets attacked! At least when the Royal Guards had dragged him out of his bookshop they hadn't knocked him unconscious.
Annoyance giving him a new resolve, Eugene squinted through the pain, searching the room for his attacker.
A petite girl stood by the window. The golden rope he had seen earlier was wound around her shoulder. On her other shoulder sat something small and green. She absently twirled a round…something…as she murmured to herself.
Eugene tried to move, but found his arms and legs tied tight to the chair. The chair creaked as he tugged, and the girl whirled around, brandishing what, now that it was inches from his face, Eugene recognized as a frying pan.
"So," the girl demanded, "where is it?"
