Author's Note: I'm feeling really shitty right now and decided to write a new fic… I know I start a lot of fics that I might not even finish, but I just needed to write it.

Summary: Kenshin is a lonely prince who has been kidnapped… Kaoru is a thief that saves his life, is a relationship between royalty and criminals possible? Can Kaoru be what Kenshin was waiting for…?

Disclaimer: I only own the plot… -_-

A Thief's Dream

Chapter One: Meeting You

Knowing me, knowing you,

There is much that we can do.

Knowing me, knowing you,

It's about time we flew.  

-Abba!

Once upon a time… there was a cocky prince that took all he had for granted. He never once thought of the people that didn't have what he had. He never thought of his poor subjects who worked all day and did not get any richer.

Kenshin Himura wasn't a very great guy to mess with… actually messing with him might mean the end of your life, so most of the servants in the castle avoided him as much as possible.

This story begins in Kenshin's adolescence years.

"Kenshin! You have to marry soon! I want to see the bride you get and the children you have…"

King Hiko was fuming about his foster son's irresponsibility, again. All the servants kept their distance, knowing that Hiko could get really violent when he was angry. Kenshin just leisurely walked around Hiko. For some reason, Kenshin's amber eyes unsettled him.

He was an unusual boy. Kenshin always seemed to be able to surprise him with the simplest things. Hiko found Kenshin when one of his villages had burned down. He had gone down there to examine the ruins and get an idea about who committed this crime.

Hiko found Kenshin in the middle of all the debris hugging a sword close to his chest. Kenshin was fast asleep and whenever Hiko asked Kenshin about the attack, Kenshin would just look up at him and shrug. Hiko then adopted him to be his son and the heir to the throne.

Kenshin then seemed to shed his innocence and he became more uncontrollable. He seemed to get away with everything that he did and soon it resulted in his rebellious attitude.

"Hiko-sama… I said that I will marry when I meet her."

"And, who is this she that you refer to?"

Kenshin shrugged.

"I'll know her when I see her… I guess."

"Kenshin… it's not a matter of destiny or fate, this is about producing an heir and keeping the throne in the family."

Kenshin just shrugged again and snapped at a servant.

"Bring me a drink."

The servant nodded quickly and scurried off in fright.

Kenshin suddenly became pensive.

"If I don't find a bride in the next two weeks, you may choose her."

Hiko looked at Kenshin and smirked.

"In the next week."

Kenshin nodded absent mindedly. "Deal."

"On the samurai honor."

Kenshin grinned, "I'm not a samurai, I'm the prince."

Hiko laughed and patted Kenshin's back.

"You better pick and quickly or I get to."

Kenshin just nodded and grabbed his goblet from the trembling slave. He drank it all in one gulp and placed the cup on a near by table. He grabbed his cloak from a velvet chair and fastened it around his neck.

"I'm going to the market."

Before Hiko could say anything, Kenshin was gone.

Hiko smiled to himself and shook his head.

********

Kenshin arrived at the market place and it seemed that none of the peasants recognized him as the prince. He knew that they could tell that he was very wealthy with the clothes he was wearing. Kenshin looked over booths and finally decided to just walk. He didn't know who he wanted to marry.

He could have any person in this country, rich or not. He just didn't know what he wanted her to be like.

Kenshin could hear people calling out their merchandise to him. Suddenly, shouting erupted and a group of people seemed to be running his way. They were soldiers and a figure clad in a long green cloak. Kenshin couldn't tell if it was a man or a woman, all he knew was that it was a thief.

How couldn't you know when you could hear the shouting everywhere?

"Stop thief!"

"Damn! That bastard can run!"

Kenshin watched with amusement. He had never seen what the soldiers did as their real jobs outside of war.

Kenshin watched as the figure tripped and fell to the ground, but before colliding with it, the figure flipped and landed gracefully on their feet. Kenshin could hear the people around him gasp in amazement. Kenshin watched as they passed and started walking the opposite way.

Kenshin wandered aimlessly in the market place and before he knew it, he was pushed from behind, causing him to loose his and the person's balance. He saw a flash of green and saw that it was the person that could flip gracefully, but couldn't swerve to avoid bumping into anyone.

Kenshin quickly regained his footing and instinctively reached out and caught the person in his arms. He felt the person's weight relax in his arms. He looked down and found himself staring into pools of deep blue. Kenshin took in the whole appearance and saw that in his arms he held a woman.

Suddenly, the girl broke from his embrace and was about to run again, but then one of the guards tackled her to the ground. She let out a shriek and fell with a huge bulky body over hers.

Kenshin watched with wonder.

They pulled a pouch from under her green cloak. It was a small pouch and when they opened it, showers of jewelry fell from the mouth. Kenshin looked down at the girl who stared angrily at the ground. The guards bound her hands with a rope that one of the peasants supplied.

The girl turned to Kenshin and glared long and hard at him.

"Damn you! You got in my way! If it wasn't for your rich ass, I would have been long gone…" She trailed off. One of the soldiers had just slapped her.

"That is no way you talk to your majesty." The soldiers put a hand over their hearts and kneeled before him. The soldier who had spoken forced Kaoru to kneel too.

"Apologize to your prince."

"I give you my humble apology." She said, stretching out the words with a low, disrespecting drawl. She gagged and spit at Kenshin's boots.

Kenshin felt anger well within him. How dare this girl! He was royalty and here was a common criminal treating him like dirt.

"Lord, do you want us to put an end to this girl's nuisance?" He looked down at her and shook his head.

"No, that is too good a punishment. Take her to my quarters and situate her there. From this day on, she is my personal slave."

The girl's head snapped up with anger. She muttered under her breath and stood up with her head held up high, while all the soldiers led her to the castle.

Kenshin smiled in satisfactory. This would be very interesting, he could tell.

********

Kaoru groaned inwardly. This was going to be torture… she could tell. She just met the prince and already she despised him. Kaoru started to struggle against her bonds when she was left in a big room all alone.

She tried to bite it off with her teeth, but the rope was smartly knotted and extremely thick.

Kaoru bit and bit, but it didn't work. The door opened and revealed a little, brunette girl. The girl approached Kaoru with her head bowed.

"The lord likes to keep his servants well dressed."

Kaoru smirked. The only reason they did that was to show how wealthy they were. If they could clothe themselves and their servants well, then they were extremely wealthy.

The small girl placed a green gown in front of Kaoru.

Kaoru looked down at the gown. It was beautiful, but it just wouldn't seem right on her. It's been a while since she had anything that was worth a lot. It's been a long time since she held something of value in her calloused hands.

Her mother had disowned her when her father died. She claimed that Kaoru didn't attract any rich suitors and that she was an extra mouth to feed.

So Kaoru left with nothing, but the clothes on her back, her father's sakabatou, and her dignity.

Her calloused hands gently stroked the flimsy fabric.

"I can't."

"This gown isn't of any real importance. It once belonged to the prince's betrothed, but it seems that she ran away with a young duke. Kaoru looked up at the small girl and smiled.

"I can tell why she ran away."

"My lady, it is treason to speak in such a matter."

"It is only treason when you are caught speaking that way." Kaoru winked at the girl and gently laid a hand on her shoulder.

"I don't think I will be able to accept this gown. It is much too beautiful for me to take."

The little girl smiled.

Kaoru smiled back at the small girl and continued to finger the gown.

"I guess it wouldn't hurt to wear it. I mean they did offer it to me, it would be rude to just reject a present…"

TO BE CONTINUED…

How was it? This idea just hit me when I was really mad… I hope it's okay… If it is, I guess I should get mad more often! LOL!

Quote of the chapter!

Without sleep, a man cannot work.

Without work, the sleep gives no benefit.

-Chinese Proverbs!

I loved that quote and I just wanted to post it up on something. I feel really disappointed because my first story is about to end… -_-

If you haven't read it, it is King's Box! I'm planning for this to be a short story, but you never know. It might turn out long too.

I hope it does. I enjoy writing. I'm planning to put about five more chapters on my Fruits Basket fic till it's finished… I already thought about the end, it's going to be really sad.

I hope I can make people cry with it. LOL! (o^.^o)(=^.^=)(*^.^*)

Why couldn't this be a no fighting world… -_- That was random. Don't mind me, I just had m&m's! I love the ones with the peanuts inside! Those are the best.