A/N: YAY FOR REVIEWS! I'm glad y'all enjoyed the last chapter. That last bit was fun to write. I hope you enjoy this chapter. I'll have a surprise for you in the next one...(Hint, hint ::nudge, nudge:: *wink* *wink* To Bryt: HUSH!)

You know what I just realized...I just realized that Temptress never reviewed my first story. I'm kinda hurt actually. ::sob::

DISCLAIMER: I own the characters but Tortall and it's surrounding areas are owned by Tamora Pierce.

Lady Ribyyn of Hadic

Chapter 6 - The Art of Thieving

"First rule in th' art o' thievin'," Hayden told Ribyyn in a hushed whisper, "is don't get caught."

Ribyyn raised a brow. "Gee," she said sarcastically, "Thanks fer tellin' me that 'Ayden. I'd have never known otherwise."

"Rule number two is never mock yer teacher. Now hush and watch th' master at work!"

It wasn't Ribyyn's first time breaking into a house. She'd done it quite frequently over the past four years since she'd arrived at Port Caynn. This was, however, the first time she was breaking into a house without Slyde or Roank around. The two men had decided that it was time to send the "younglin's" on their own little mission. Ribyyn was not sure how good of an idea this was.

"Ye aren't the master. Yer brother is."

Hayden shot her a dirty look. "Do ye want yer 17th birthday present?"

"Yes. But I don't want it to be somethin' you stole."

"Then hush!" He turned back to picking the window latch. There was a click and the window swung open silently. Hayden shook his head, a smirk on his face. "Stupid nobles. Oilin' the hinges." He pulled himself into the home and then reached behind him to help Ribyyn in.

The two snuck through the dark hallway. Ribyyn was thankful that there was nothing in the way for her to run into. She'd bruised her shins and knees far too many times by walking into chairs or protruding tables. Hayden took her hand and led her around a corner, into a room that was still dimly lit with candles.

"Kids forgot t' blow 'em out," he noted with a grin. He dropped her hand and walked over to a desk, pulling a box off of it. Lifting the lid he pulled out a necklace and a bracelet. He left the other objects. He then dug around in the other drawers, pulling out purses of money and other expensive things.

Meanwhile, Ribyyn looked at the books. She had found out, over the past few years, that people tended to keep their expensive jewelry in the library or the lord's study. In fact, she remembered from her own home that the things her father treasured were kept in his study, locked in the bottom drawer of his desk.

The thought of her family hurt. Even after four years she refused to speak of it. In fact, the Alexzander family, who had taken her in and all but gotten an official adoption, knew very little about what had happened to her. They knew her family was killed by Scanran raiders. They knew her mother had died in childbirth. And they knew she'd had an older brother, and three younger half-brothers. Anything beyond that was a mystery.

Ribyyn still had her birth papers and ownership rights to the fief; the ones she had taken from her father's desk drawer. She kept them locked in the trunk at the foot of her bed, wondering if she would ever use them. She also still had her mother's wedding ring which she wore around her neck on a chain with the silver heart her mother had owned. She had sold the remainder of her mothers jewels for her own spending money.

"Hey Rib!" Hayden called in a hushed voice. "Wake up! We gotta go!" She looked over her shoulder and her eye caught a book sitting on the shelf.

"Hang on a bit," she said quietly, walking over to the bookshelf.

She picked up the book and examined it. It was a plain, brown leather cover. The writing on the front, perhaps once written in a magnificent gold, was now faded. So faded, in fact, that it was hardly readable in the dimly lit room. Determined to find out the title Ribyyn ran her finger over the place where the letters should have been, trying to read the title as a blind man would have. However, it was hard to read the swirling script.

Hayden sighed, annoyed. Then suddenly, from out in the hallway he heard a feminine giggle. "Alden stop!" came a lady's laugh. The nobles were home. "Alden, the children are asleep. Stop it!" There were the sounds of footsteps coming up the stairs and a couple thumps. "Alden!" cried the lady again. There was a man's laugh and then the sound of hushed giggles.

"Ribyyn!" Hayden hissed at her. "Rib, th' nobles 'r home. We gotta go!"

From down the hall a woman sighed. "Your daughter left the candles burning again. When will she learn? I swear, one of these days she's going to burn down the house!" Alden chuckled.

The footsteps came closer to the room and Hayden went into a sudden panic mode. "Quick Ribyyn, they're coming! Hide!" He grabbed her wrist and tried to pull her under the desk, but she just stood there, rooted to her spot. "Fine then!" he cried in an angry whisper. "Get caught! See if I care!" And with that he carelessly dove under the desk, bumping his head on the underside of it with a loud thump.

"What was that?" asked the lady from the hallway.

"Probably Jessalyn. She fell asleep in there the other day." The footsteps neared. Ribyyn dove for a nearby armchair. Softly slipping the book onto the floor she flipped open the cover, making it look as if it had fallen off her lap. She curled up on the overstuffed cushion and grabbed the blanket that lay on the back of the chair. Throwing it over herself, she made sure she covered her body and her hair, leaving her face in the open to make breathing easier. Turning so that her face was towards the back of the armchair she managed to hide it in the shadows.

"She fell asleep in the chair?" the lady was clearly shocked. "You didn't put her to bed?"

"She's 15. I would have thought she'd known to put herself to bed." And with that the man and his lady entered the room. The lord sighed. "See. Sound asleep."

"Well then," the lady said in a huff. "Let's not wake her." She wrapped her arms around Alden's neck and proceeded to kiss him soundly on the lips. From his hiding spot Hayden grimaced.

"Go to my room. I'll be right in." The lady nodded and left. Alden went over to his desk and blew out the candles. Walking around the room he blew out the remaining candles until he came to the one that was right above the large armchair.

"Goodnight sweetheart," he said quietly in his deep, baritone voice. Leaning down he kissed her on the forehead. Then carefully, so as not to wake his sleeping child, he picked up the blanket and pulled it away from her face. When he saw the black-red locks, instead of the golden curls of his daughter he froze.

Ribyyn's eyes popped open and she stiffened visibly. Hayden felt his heart stop and he knew for a fact that he was no longer breathing. He watched the man closely, ready to jump at him if he meant to harm the young girl. Alden smirked and leaned over to whisper something in Ribyyn's ear.

"You are not my daughter," he said to her in a kindly voice. It was almost a question, but not quite. Ribyyn nodded her head stiffly. "Alright. Just checking." She turned over and stared into his dark friendly eyes, and then he smiled at her. "You may stay as long as you like, so long as you are gone before anybody else knows you are here." She blinked in amazement. This was completely unexpected. He tweaked her nose, gave her hair an affectionate ruffle, grinned at her, and then left the room.

Hayden finally crawled out from his hiding spot just as Ribyyn sat up. "Well," he said, amazement showing through his sarcastic tone. "That was th' strangest thing I've seen all day." He glanced back at his friend and partner. "I s'pose yer goin' t' tell me t' return the loot, eh?" She nodded, still in a state of shock.

Hayden sighed and walked back over to the desk, dropping the jewels and coins back into the box. Ribyyn bent down and picked up the book, finally able to read the title. The Adventures of Sir Roland. That was why it had looked so familiar; Kalvin had read it to her dozens of times. She stroked the cover affectionately and then placed it back in it's spot on the shelf.

As she wiped her hands off on her breeches she heard a shriek from behind her. "PAPA!" cried a girl. Ribyyn whirled around and met the eyes of Lord Alden's true daughter, 15 year old Jessalyn.

Hayden grabbed Ribyyn's hand and dashed out into the hallway, turning towards the window they had used to enter the house. Behind them they heard a door crash open. Hayden turned his head to see Alden standing in the doorway, his hair mussed and his breeches thrown on in a hurry. When he had finally taken in the whole scene he began to laugh.

"PAPA!" the girl screamed again. "Papa they're thieves!"

Hayden dropped Ribyyn's hand and ran full out for the window. He quickly shimmied down the side of the house. "Rib!" he called up. "Hurry! Before they get the guard!"

Ribyyn began to climb out the window, but perched herself on the edge to watch what was happening. "Papa, d'you think they stole anything? They were in the library and the boy was going through Mama's jewels. You don't think he took her jewels, do you?" As Ribyyn listened she recognized the tone of the girl's voice. The lady Alden had come home with was not her mother. Ribyyn could recall speaking that way with Kalvin about their mother when she was little. She sighed and bit her lip, relieved that they hadn't taken the jewels after all.

Alden entered the library for a moment. Ribyyn could only assume that he was going through his late wife's jewels. He came out with a slightly awed expression on his face. "No Jessa," he said quietly. "Nothing's missing."

Lord Alden turned towards the window and saw Ribyyn resting on the window ledge. "Thank you," he mouthed, and smiled at her. Then out loud he said, "Go to bed Jessa. I'll see you in the morning."

The girl walked down the hallway but her father still stood there. He turned back towards Ribyyn and held his hand out. In the moonlight she saw something shine. Reaching up she felt at her neck and realized that her necklace was missing. She turned back to look at the lord and saw that he was standing a mere three feet away from her. Her breath caught in her throat.

He held the necklace out to her. "I don't think you meant to give this to me."

She stepped back into the house and reached her hand out, accepting her mother's jewelry from him. "Thank you, my lord," she whispered and then curtsied. His eyes widened when he saw the accuracy of it, but he said nothing. Ribyyn turned around and climbed back out the window.

"Goodnight child," he said to her with a smile. He paused to think about something for only a second and then leaned forward to kiss her on the cheek. His mustache tickled her and for a moment a pang of sadness wrenched at her heart.

"Goodnight sir," she replied. And with that she shimmied down the side of the house.

From his home, Lord Alden of Goldenlake watched the young girl and her friend climb over the fence and into the dark streets of Port Caynn. "Good luck," he whispered before turning back down the hallway and walking to his room.

~*~

The alleyways were dark as Ribyyn and Hayden made their way through them.

"That was th' strangest thing I've ever seen. I wonder what he'd have done t' ye if we had robbed him." Hayden was practically skipping with happiness. He'd been caught robbing a house, and been let off the hook. Sure he didn't have any gain from it, but he did have a great story to tell.

He wouldn't have returned my necklace that's for sure, Ribyyn thought. She was lagging behind him a bit, her mind still muddled from the encounter.

The two were so caught up in their thoughts that they didn't hear the footsteps behind them until it was too late. Somebody grabbed Ribyyn's arm and she was pulled against a large, warm, body. She began to struggle but stopped immediately when she felt the cool blade of a knife rest on her neck.

"Well, well, well," came a hiss. "Long time, no see."

Ribyyn gasped in annoyance. "Dasher."

Hayden sighed, "Leggo 'o her, man. There ain't any need t' do this."

"On th' contrary, I believe there is," the older boy told them in his cool, commanding voice. "Ye see 'Lex, yer older brother got m' friends arrested th' other night. Thanks t' him, m' friends owe a great sum 'o money, of which we don't have. I do believe it's fitting that ye contribute with what ye retrieved from that noble's home, don't ye?"

"We didn't get anythin' from there," Ribyyn told him quietly, trying to lean away from the knife. "We got caught."

"Sure. An' that's why there ain't any guards about."

"He didn't call th' guards. He let us go." Hayden was annoyed. He'd had yet to eat tonight, and it was late. To be blunt, he was snippy.

Dasher merely raised an eyebrow. "Let ye go, eh? Who d'ye think I am? I ain't gonna fall fer a trick like that."

"It's not a trick," Ribyyn snapped. She was sick of being pushed around by Dasher and his gang. No matter where she went, one of them was always nearby. In fact, they had attacked her twice before when she was alone. Now she tended to go out only if there were many people around or if she was with someone.

"Humph." Dasher whirled her around and shoved her into the wall so that she was facing him. "Ye'll give me what ye took, or ye'll suffer th' consequences."

Hayden lunged at the young man, intending to help his friend but the rest of the gang held him back. So Ribyyn spit in his face.

Dasher wiped the spit of and glared at her. Then, without a second thought, he plastered his lips to hers. Ribyyn tried to squirm away, but the wall prevented her from moving back and away, while his arms kept her pinned where she was.

"Bite 'im Ribyyn!" Hayden cried as he struggled to get to her. One of the boys pulled his hand back connecting it with Hayden's jaw.

Ribyyn bit down on Dasher's lower lip. He screamed but she didn't release him until she felt her teeth touch together. When he pulled away his face was a bloody mess. He stared at her in shock. Her own lips were no doubt covered in blood, she could almost taste it. He opened his mouth, with the intent to call her something obscene but Ribyyn cut him off by kneeing him in the groin.

He instantly doubled over in pain. His gang members were in such shock that they released Hayden immediately. Ribyyn jumped over the fallen Dasher, grabbed her companion by the arm and took off down the alleyway, not pausing to look back.

~*~

The two teenagers only slowed down when they neared The Bard. It was Slyde and Ronak's favorite inn, as the two of them had been close friends with the owner since they were young. They paused out back for breath.

"They've never tried that 'afore have they?" Hayden asked her, concerned.

Ribyyn shook her head. "No. Never." She grimaced and then swiped her hand across her mouth. Hayden watched as her skin slowly took on a green tint. Suddenly she dove for the bushes and began to throw up all that she'd had for dinner. Slowly, Hayden walked over to her and pulled her hair away from her face.

As soon as she was done she began to spit the taste out of her mouth. Hayden walked over to the door and took the pail of water over to her. She smiled grimly and stuck her hand in it, splashing water on her face, and then rinsing her mouth out.

"He's that vile eh?"

Her smile turned into a grin as she looked up at Hayden. "Yer still standing here. I'm amazed. Slyde woulda run out on me a while ago."

"Yeah, well," he searched for an appropriate answer, "Deep down Slyde's a real jerk. I'm sure of it."

"Is that an observation or d'you have proof t' back that up?"

"Well, he ain't standin' out here watchin' ye heave is he?" He smirked down at her and then knelt in front of her so that their faces were level.

She stared at him for a moment, trying to figure out if there was a hidden meaning in his words. However, she was unable to find any in his eyes or face. She blinked, and then bit her lip, unsure of herself. Quickly she leaned over and gave Hayden a quick kiss on the lips.

He was taken aback. She hadn't shown any romantic interest in him at all. In fact, he had been her confident when she thought she was developing a crush on his older brother, which, of course, was just a crush. And he, in return, hadn't voiced any romantic feelings for her, at least not since that time she had punched him years ago. He realized now that he was completely unaware of where he stood with her. Were they friends and partners, or something more? He had always thought that if their relationship was anything more than friendship, it was the kind that siblings shared. Perhaps he was wrong.

Ribyyn, realizing that Hayden was merely staring at her, got up and began to walk to the door. When she reached it she looked back at her friend who was still staring blankly out into space. She couldn't help herself; she started to laugh.

Her laughter was what made him jump out of his stupor. He looked back at her and scowled. "I s'pose you enjoyed that," he said, getting up and walking towards her.

"Yes, actually. I surprisingly did."

"Well then, I s'pose ye'll enjoy this as well." And he walked right up to her, grabbed her chin, and placed his lips on hers. They stood like that for a moment and then he let go. "Happy Birthday Ribyyn," he told her and then turned around and walked inside, his hands in his pockets and a grin on his face.

Ribyyn blinked and then ran after her friend. "I hope that wasn't the only present you were goin' t' give me!" she called after him. He just began to whistle a tune.

~*~

Roank and Slyde sat at their usual table in the corner of their favorite inn. In front of them was a large pitcher of ale, and two half full tankards as well as two empty ones. In between the two was a piece of paper; a letter addressed to Roank. Over the past four years, Roank had moved up in the thieving world, he now was the head of the thieves in Port Caynn. Slyde was his second.

R--, the letter began.

R--,

It has come to my attention that you've been having a bit of trouble in your area with a gang. The problem, though you've tried to handle it on your own, seems to have gotten a bit out of hand. I'm sending down a trusted "friend" of mine to help you out with the problem. He'll arrive in a few days.

--D.S. Rogue--

Roank sighed. "Great," he said to Slyde, "Just what we need. Royalty."

Slyde smiled at his friend. "Don't get so upset Roank. Feed 'im a good glass o' wine and he'll be happy. He's the replacement remember. Only been Rogue for a few years. 'Bout time he sent someone down though. Wonder what he's been doin'."

"Reinforcing his rule in Corus," Roank said to him, picking up one of the half full tankards and downing the rest of it in one gulp. From across the room he spied Ribyyn and Hayden walking towards their table.

"Welcome back kids," Slyde said with a grin. "What have ye got fer us today?"

"Nothin'." Hayden said as he plopped down in his seat and reached for the pitcher. Slyde slapped his hand away.

"What d'ye mean 'nothin'?" asked Roank. "How could ye be out fer two hours an' get nothin'?"

"Simple," Ribyyn answered for him. "It took as a half hour to get there, ten minutes to break in, ten minutes to walk down the hall, five minutes to find what we wanted-"

"Five minutes of standing silent while the nobles walked down the hall, ten minutes of trickery and hiding while they were in the room," Hayden interrupted her. She glared at him and he grinned. "Twenty minutes to get out of the house all together because Ribyyn decided that the lord was actually quite handsome (Ribyyn snorted at this), and the rest of the time to get home."

"I'll assume that since ye were almost caught ye ran all th' way here," Slyde said. "What kept ye?"

"Well, we were almost caught, but he didn't call th' guard or anythin'," Ribyyn explained. "Lord Alden was actually quite nice."

"Ye tried t' rob Lord Alden? Lord Alden of Goldenlake?" Slyde stared at the young girl, amazed that she would be so bold as to try something like that.

"Hmm, thought th' name was familiar," she mused and then continued. "But anyway, on our way back we ran into Dasher."

"Which brings us back t' where we started," Roank groaned. Hayden and Ribyyn gave the men confused looks so Slyde handed the letter over to them.

"Well," Hayden noted, "It should make fer an interestin' week at least."

Ribyyn yawned and stretched. "Yep. I'm lookin' forward to it. But fer now, I'm goin' home and t' bed." She turned to Hayden. "Ye comin'?" He nodded and stood up. Together the two walked out the door and down the street towards the Alexzander household.

A/N: Wow. Another long chapter. ::pats herself on the back:: And written in two days. Some parts were written twice (Horrible computer! Crashing on me right when I go to save!) Go review! (And now I'm begging again.) I'm uploading, and then I'm going to bed!

Moments Later: ::SCREAM!:: I go to upload the chapter and they tell me I can't! AAAAAAH!!!!