The Thief Lord is not mine. But its characters will appear in the story soon. I promise!

We drove to the nearest post office and waited in line in front of the passport desk. When it was our turn, we sat in three plastic chairs and waited for the man that sat there until he handed us a stack of papers for us to fill them out. Linette thanked him warmly and handed some to me to fill out. "You need a last name," she whispered to me.

"Such as?" I asked.

"I don't know. Make one up."

I thought for a while. What name should I choose? Definitely something different from my former last name, Hayman. I tapped my chin. Something that isn't too unique.

My face brightened suddenly and I signed the paper Pena Lucius with a flourish. Perfect, I thought.

Linette caught my eye and gave me a small smile. "Are you done, Pena?"

"I think so."

The man at the desk took the papers from me and glanced over them before nodding and gesturing to a chair in front of a screen to my right. "Sit over there and I'll take your picture," he told me. I complied and smiled at the camera. "Thank you. Your passport will come in a few days. Next, please," he monotoned as we stepped away from the desk.

The next few days flew past as I enjoyed spending time with Adeline and Linette. We prepared for our trip by packing our bags and finding someone to care for the house while we were gone, all the while laughing and teasing each other. I felt myself grow to be a part of this family, though I knew that I would have to leave them when we got to Venice. A runaway such as I was no company for two such generous, kind people, and I knew as much.

I also knew that those days were the happiest I'd had since Mama died, and it made me love Adeline and Linette even more. Their family had plenty of money from Adeline's parents' successful jobs, and they gave me so much… I knew that I was forever in their debt, for taking me in, flying me to Venice, buying me clothes and a haircut, getting me a passport, and above all else, lessening my sorrow.

My passport arrived in the mail three days after we had gone to the postal office for it. I felt a flood of excitement cover me as I thought, Tomorrow we go to Venice!

I could see that Linette and Adeline were as excited as I was when they spoke of our trip. Adeline's eyes would sparkle in delight and her face would shine, and Linette would smile widely and laugh more freely whenever Venice was mentioned.

I didn't know if they understood that I wouldn't be staying with them in Venice, but I decided to mention it later, not wanting to spoil their fun as we planned where we would go.

That night, Adeline and I were in our beds, talking about how much fun Venice would be.

"We can ride in gondolas, and eat pasta, and visit the Bridge of Sighs, and visit Saint Marcos Square, and-"

"Slow down!" I laughed. "You'll plan the whole trip!"

I saw Adeline roll her eyes in the little bit of light. "And we have to watch out for pickpockets," she sounded like seeing a pickpocket would be the most exciting thing of all.

"The pickpockets probably won't bother us, Adeline."

Adeline pouted.

"They'll probably focus on other tourists," I shrugged.

"I don't know. I think it would be an adventure to see a pickpocket. Oh! What if we were pickpockets?"

I smiled at her enthusiasm. "That doesn't sound very good. I'm not a thief."

"Neither am I, but think how exhilarating it would be!"

I sighed. "Yeah," I finally admitted. I heard Adeline begin to snore softly. "Yeah, it would be exciting."

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Note:

Next chapter: Pena, Adeline, and Linette get to Venice!

Okay, so I got a PM saying some nasty things about my poor little Pena. Such as "shez a mary-sue" and "shez stupid" and "she shud like die." I would very much appreciate someone sending me a list of traits of a Mary-Sue, so that I may compare my beloved character to the despised Mary-Sue. Then I will be able to clarify that poor, scared Pena is not a twisted creature or a reincarnation of myself into a fanfic for my own romantic purposes. –rolls eyes–

I have posted my email address so that those without accounts can send me story requests. Hopefully that will help out a bit!

Reviews are amazing! So review. Because then, you're amazing, too. RHYMING IS FUN!