Jing edged his way down to the first floor, being as quiet as he possibly could. He didn't hear anything coming from the kitchen or the dining room, so the young theif went right to the source of the disturbance - the safe downstairs in the cellar. He climbed down the stairs cautiously, praying that the floorboards wouldn't creak and give away his presence.
Jing's eyes slowly adjusted to the dim lighting in the cellar, and he eased his way around the jumble of boxes and other items stored down in the room, making his way toward the safe... to find it - much to his surprise - opened!
'Now how?' He wondered silently to himself, readying his wrist blade in case it came down to a fight. He tip-toed toward the vault door and peered inside.
Inside he saw a tall figure suited all in black, from the top of their head to the soles of their shoes. From the buld of the thief Jing hazarded a guess that the thief was, in fact, a young woman. His eyes narrowed as a thought struck him. 'Could it be?' he wondered. He watched as she reached into a felt lined box and removed an ornately crafted silver locket, holding it up to examine it in candlelight.
"Quite a beautiful peace isn't it?" Jing questioned, a tiny smile quirking at the corners of his mouth as he watched the thief jump.
"Who are you?" a high, soprano voice demanded, confirming Jing's suspiscions that the thief was indeed a woman.
"Oh, no one really," Jing answered casually, leaning against the door, his blade in sight. "Just the babysitter."
The woman's eyes narrowed. "Out of my way, kid," she ordered harshly.
"Now, now, no need to be so rude," Jing replied. "I'll let you go, but I'm afraid I'll have to take that." He gestured to the silver locket that the girl-thief was holding.
"As if!" the girl snarled, her own blade appearing in her hand, as if she'd conjured it from thin air. She rushed at Jing, who ducked her stab at him, then sidestepped, making his own counter attack. When the two parted, both paused, as if to assess any damage done. "Very nice," the girl remarked as her mask fell from her face, having been cut by Jing's knife.
"I appreciate the compliment," Jing preened, now clutching the silver locket. He watched the as the girl turned around, and he felt his eyes widen with shock as he saw her face. There was no mistaking it; Jing could see too many similarities between her face and the face he had seen in the photograph.
"Marguerite?!"
The woman looked stunned. "How did you know?"
"You were in the photograph with Zyni. It's the only photo I've seen her smile in. You two must have been realy close."
"We were," Marguerite answered. "But Father didn't appreciate my choice in professions and he really didn't approve of my mentor, I'm sure you can imagine. So I left. But that locket is mine, it belongs to me, so I'll be taking it back!"
"I don't-"
A high pitched and panicked scream cut them off.
"Jing!"
"Zyni!" Jing pocketed the Silver Star without thinking about it, and dashed up the stairs, Maguerite on his heels. As he made his way to the stairs leading to the second floor he tripped over something tied up in a pillowcase. It muffled when kicked, and the curses belonged to one very irate albatross.
"Kir, what happened?" Jing demanded after letting the bird go.
"He has Zyni!" Kir answered, slightly dazed.
"Who?" Marguerite demanded, snatching the talking albatross out of Jing's hand. "Who has Zyni? Who, damnit?!"
A cruel laugh that could have cut stone answered the Bandit King's question.
"I do."
Marguerite's eyes widened with shock abd bewilderment. "Morgan! What do you think you're doing? Let her go!"
Morgan's eyes narrowed coldly, and his grip tightened around Zyni's wrist. The little girl struggled, but her capto held tight. "And why should I?" he sneered. "You've come to claim your little treasure, something that's valuable enough that its ransom could make you as rich as a queen. And what do I get for teaching you all the tricks of the trade? Nothing! So I'm going to ransom off my own treasure. I'll become the King of Bandits with the wealth I aquire."
"Feh," Kir snorted, his beak forming into a smirk. "There's only one King of Bandits, and it isn't you!"
Kir and Jing both rushed at the kidnapper, and Morgan threw Zyni aside in order to dodge Jing's blade. Maguerite rushed forward and scooped her sister up protectively, moving to a corner away from the fighting. The two thieves moved in a dance of blades as they both fought, knife against knife.
"Kir, let's finish this," Jing called to his friend. Kir nodded, attatching himself to Jing's arm, a green light beginning to eminate from his beak. Jing aimed Kir at Morgan, and yelled, "Give me a Kir ROYALE!" The green light focused, firing from Kir's beak right at the would-be-kidnapper, sending him flying right out the window.
"Jing, you did it!" Zyni exclaimed, running up to him and throwing her arms around him. "You saved me!" She gave him a peck on the cheek, then ran back over to her sister, whom she hugged very tightly. "Promise you won't leave me again?"
"I promise," Marguerite whispered tenderly, hugging her sister back.
"That's so sweet," Kir remarked with a touch of sarcasm on his voice. "I'm starting to get sick. Can we leave now?"
"Zyni?" a masculine voice called from downstairs. "Zyni?"
"Zynifendel, are you alright?" echoed a panicked female voive.
"We'd better make our exit," Kir advised as both parents ran up the stairs.
Jing reached into his pocket, pulling out the silver star, just as both parents came into view. He grinned. "Thanks for the lovely gem, I appreciate it." He winked at Zyni, saluted to Maguerite, then jumped out of the window that Morgan had been tossed from.
Marguerite's eyes had widened when he'd saluted to her. There was no mistaking HIM for who he was either.
"Stop! Thief!" Zyni's father was shouting from the window.
"Let it go,Dad," Zyni stated in a bossy tone. "It's just a piece of jewelry! We have an even better treasure now!" she added, clutching Marguerite's hand.
Marguerite grinned at her stunned father. "You'd never catch him anyways," she stated, a slightly dreamy look on her face. "After all, no one can catch the King of Bandits."
A/n: well, that wraps it up. do you like / dislike? let me know! and I'd like to thank everyone who has reviewd before this, I appreciate it, and its people like you who make me want to finish my stories. so thank you!