The Princess and The Thief

By Heather Martell

Author's Note: Thank you for the reviews! (Does the Irish Jig) Okay, in this chapter you'll learn a little about Luna's past and her secret abilities. Enjoy and please review!

CHAPTER THREE

I wasn't sure how long I was asleep but I was literally smacked into wakefulness. I bolted strait up rubbing my sore cheek.

"What the hell?" I muttered. "Larxene?"

I turned to see that Larxene was thrashing around in her sleep and screaming, "No! Get back!"

"Larxene, wake up! You're having a nightmare!"

WHACK! Her fist met with my sore cheek again. I gritted my teeth.

"Larxene, wake up, please!" I grabbed her shoulders as she thrashed around, still screaming.

"Dammit!" I let go of her to turn the light on. I turned back to face her to see crystal tears running down her cheeks. I picked up Larxene and held her in my arms. I wiped the tears away gently as she cried in her sleep.

"Larxene," I whispered soothingly. "Wake up, sweetie. It's time to wake up."

Larxene stopped thrashing around but didn't wake up. Her harsh breathing slowly returned to normal. I rubbed the side of her face with my thumb. Larxene moaned and leaned into my caress. Her eyes fluttered opened and met with my worried red ones. I smiled in relief.

"Your hurt," Larxene said and gently touched my bruised cheek.

"It's fine. I was worried for a second there. You have one hell of a right hook, princess."

She smirked. "Don't you think you should put some ice on that?"

"It'll be fine."

I frowned. "What was the dream about?"

Larxene looked away. I saw the flash of fear in her eyes and my worry grew. I gently placed a hand on her cheek and turned her head to face me. I smiled kindly at her.

"It's okay if you want to talk about it. I'll listen."

"It's nothing. I just want to go back to bed."

I nodded. "Very well."

Larxene sat up and snuggled under the covers. I leaned down on my side and rested a hand on her arm, squeezing it gently. Larxene sighed, inching backwards till her back touched my chest. I wrapped an arm around her and rested my chin on her shoulder.

"I'm here if you need me, Larxene."

"I know."

I kissed the back of her head gently and turned to shut off the light. I pulled the covers up to my chin and closed my eyes. Larxene rested her head on my chest and wrapping an arm around my waist. I smiled and wrapped my arm around her shoulders.

"Try to get some sleep, okay?"

"Okay."

We drifted off to sleep. In the back of my mind I wondered what caused Larxene to have the nightmare in the first place and why she refused to talk about it. Turns out, I wouldn't find till a lot later.

Morning....

I sat up in bed, stretched and yawned. I rubbed my eyes and turned to see that Larxene is still asleep. She hasn't woken once since the nightmare. For some reason I had a bad feeling about the family life in the palace. I stood up and headed to the bathroom to change. I came back out and saw Larxene was still asleep. I sighed and headed to the living room, shutting the bedroom door behind me.

I sat at the table, drinking a mug of tea and reading the daily newspaper. My reading glasses rested on the bridge of my nose.

Knock. Knock.

I got up from the table to answer the door. I opened it.

"Morning, Luna," Xigbar greeted me. "How is the princess?"

"Asleep," I answered as I backed up to let him in. I closed the door behind him. "Tea or Coffee?"

"Coffee is good. What happened to your face?" Xigbar sat at the table while I was at the counter fixing him some coffee.

"Accident. Larxene was having a violent nightmare last night. She punched me in the face, twice." I set the mug in front of him.

Xigbar snorted in laughter. "The Great Luna gets punched in the face by a princess. Getting soft in your old age?"

I slapped him in the back of the head. "Puh-leaze. I'm only twenty-five."

"Anyway," I said sitting across from him. "I can't afford to get soft. Why do you think I haven't settled down yet?"

Xigbar nodded in agreement, looking serious. "I know. Especially with him watching like a hawk."

I gripped my mug tightly.

"Luna I have to ask you something that could endanger not just yourself but also the princess."

I looked up at him, calmly. My gut was churning in worry but I refused to show it. "Shoot."

"Do you l-Princess!" Xigbar began but stopped shortly when the door to the bedroom opened and out came Larxene, rubbing her eye and yawning softly behind her other hand. I turned and smiled, ignoring the pain in my cheek. She was wearing one of my old baggy shirts as a nightgown. I had to admit it looked good on her. It looked better than those see through things that women sometimes wear but that's jut my opinion. If Larxene wore them, fine by me. As long as I wasn't forced to wear them than I'm good.

"Morning," I greeted her. "How did you sleep?"

Larxene yawned again. "Fine," she answered and looked up to see that we had company. "Oh! Hello. You're that guy from yesterday, right?"

Xigbar smirked. "Sure am. I'm also Miss Luna's partner in crime."

Larxene narrowed her eyes at him. "So, you helped her kidnap me?" she demanded.

I stared between them, hoping they wouldn't start fighting. I stood up from the table and headed to the fridge. I grabbed a few things and turned to see that Larxene was standing at the table, glaring at Xigbar who glared back. I continued to watch them as they had their glaring contest. I sighed and went to the counter to make breakfast; French toast and sausages. Larxene and Xigbar were still glaring at each other when I finished setting the table for three and placing the food on the plates.

"Enough already!" I yelled.

Larxene and Xigbar turned toward me, stunned. It was my turn to glare at them and pointed at the food on the table.

"Eat before it gets cold."

"Yes, ma'am!" Both of them began to eat. I smirked and sat down to eat my food.

"Wow!" Larxene said. "This is good!"

"Luna is the best cook in the village. She doesn't know it but a lot of men fawn over her, trying to win her guarded heart," Xigbar said as he took a bit of the sausage. I threw him a dirty look.

"They only like me because of my cooking, nothing else," I hissed, folding my arms across my chest. "Why would I want a man in my life that only cares for my cooking? Why do you think I single?"

Larxene raised a brow. "I was wondering why you weren't married with kids yet. Do you prefer to be single or are you lesbian?"

"Uh-oh," Xigbar muttered. "Bad move, princess."

I turn my hard gaze on her. "What I am is none of your goddamn business, understood?"

Larxene winced from the tone of my voice. Since she's been here, I rarely used that tone of voice with her. Larxene hide her feelings behind a blank mask but she silently admitted she was hurt.

I glared at her for a few more minutes before turning to Xigbar. "I'm done. You finish up and watch the princess. I have somewhere I have to be." I grabbed my plate and utensils and stood up to head to the sink. I washed them and headed out the door, slamming it behind me.

Silence....

Xigbar sighed. "Nice going, girlie. Rule#1 when asking Luna about her preference in life partners; don't just ask her right out. She tends to get very testy."

Larxene shrugged. "So she is..."

He nodded. "Yes."

"Ah. So mind telling me why she hates my father so much? I know personally he's not the easiest of person to get along with."

"She hasn't told you?

"No."

Xigbar chuckled. "I'm not surprised, really. Luna tends not to dwell in the past much."

"What did my father do?" Larxene asked, curiously. She wanted to know more about the woman even if she didn't want to admit it.

"To sum it up, your father killed her entire family."

Larxene felt like she was punched in the gut. All she could do was gasp in surprise and absolute horror. Xigbar smirked darkly at her expression.

"You act as if you didn't know," he stated.

"I-I didn't know," she stuttered, looking down at her plate. "She never told me. Luna only hinted yesterday that she didn't like him."

"Luna has a deep hatred for the man. She'll never forgive him. Ever."

"Was she ever married?"

"No but she did have a fiancée named Namine. She was killed along with Luna's parents, her five brothers and three sisters."

"Wow. I didn't know Luna came from a big family."

Xigbar smiled. "She's the oldest and helped when she could. Luna would love to have a big family of her own but...certain events came up and prevented that." Xigbar practically hissed the last part.

Larxene sat there, thinking about what she heard. "But why would my father kill her entire family? He wouldn't do something like that unless there was a reason."

"Very good, princess. I knew you looked smarter that I thought you were."

Larxene scowled at him.

"The reason why he killed Luna's family is because of her powers."

"What powers?"

"Luna has the power to over throw your father."

"What do you mean?" Larxene asked seriously. "How can she be that powerful?"

Xigbar shrugged. "I'm not sure. I've only seen her use the power once but that was enough to make Xaldin and me nervous whenever she's pissed."

"But what is her power?"

Xigbar sat at the table, wondering if he should say. He knew that my power is dangerous, very dangerous. He also wondered how I would react if he told the princess. Xigbar could tell that I was slowly starting to care for her in the same way I cared for Namine.

"Her power is..."

To Be Continued...

Author's Note: Cliff Hanger! Sorry but you'll have to wait till the next chapter to find out what Luna's power is. I know, I'm a big meanie. Sorry! Please review!