Author's Note: WOW! ALMOST 30 REVIEWS FOR THE FIRST CHAPTER! O_O I'm feeling great right now! Thanks for all the reviews… it made me feel so much better! Christmas is coming up! Happy Early Christmas!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I hope everyone enjoys their Christmas! Me, I'm just staying home and be lazy. LOL! ^_^ Happy days! I'm sorry I didn't change the format. I just feel comfortable with it like that. LOL! Part of this story might seem like my other one… just because I can't find a better plot… HELP ME! NEED IDEAS!

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… -_- THE PART WITH THE SPY… IT'S KIND OF LIKE A PART READ IN ANOTHER STORY… IT'S KIND OF LIKE UNIQUE-STARFISH'S! -_-

A Thief's Dream

Chapter Two: Princess Megumi

You make me feel,

Like a star, oh baby!

You say stay, baby stay,

Just the way you are.

-Can't remember! LOL!

Kaoru fell asleep on the bed. She had put on the green gown and found that it looked exceptionally well on her. The little girl that she talked to was Tsubame. She was a very sweet girl.

Kaoru later paced the room and when she got bored, she lay on the bed and soon fell asleep.

Kenshin opened to wooden door to his chambers and suddenly, everything stopped. He looked on the bed and there was a beautifully figured woman sleeping on it.

At first he thought that Hiko-sama was trying to get him a wife, but on future inspection found that the woman was the thief he had met earlier that day.

Kenshin grinned. She looked so peaceful when she was asleep. Her face wasn't scrunched up in a growl or snarl; instead it was calm and innocent. Kenshin wondered what drove this girl to thievery. She looked so young.

She started moaning. Kenshin looked down at her as she moved and stretched. Finally she opened her eyes.

******

"Rebellion. That's what this is. We must dethrone the king and kill his only son."

"Yes, bastards all!"

Both men spoke with hatred in their voices. Their faces were concealed in darkness. The flickering of a weak candle could not light up this dark night on which these men chose to lurk.

"Lord Shishio, everything is ready. We will set up an ambush."

"Yes… the king will see what he did to me. He will see it through his son's sufferings."

A man stepped into the flickering light of the torch. The other man gasped and dropped to his knees for he has seen the demon's within his lord's soul. The blood red eyes narrowed and with a bandaged hand he lifted the head of his servant and struck him with a fierce punch.

"We need more than an ambush to get this prince. He will be protected by the best knights and footmen. He's going to travel with a small militia."

The man who was on his knees before his lord whimpered.

"I will do as you say, my lord. I serve no one but you."

The man shivered as hard, cold eyes stared him down. He could feel the anger burn into his heart. Footsteps grew louder as Shishio walked closer to the trembling swordsman.

"Why does it feel like something is wrong? Tell me, Raenef, are you frightened?"

"No, my lord. I am excited. It's been awhile since my blade has tasted sweet flesh." Raenef fingered the hilt of his katana.

Shishio grinned as his red eyes flashed. "Fire. That's what caused this. I was the previous king's best hitokiri, but that damned son of his pursued his crazy idea of peace."

Shishio glared at Raenef. "Do you know what he did to me?"

Raenef shook his head, but kept it politely bowed. "He burned me! The fires of hell reached up and engulfed me. And-"

Shishio suddenly cut off. A pause hung over the two men. Shishio lowered his voice to a fierce whisper. "And, all I did was laugh."

Shishio smiled menacingly. His voice grew louder with a savage cry.

"All I did was laugh!" He stretched out the word, as if daring Raenef to laugh. Shishio snarled.

"They betrayed me. All my footmen… they bowed to that damned Seijouro Hiko… and we were the same age."

Raenef snarled weakly.

"It's disgusting."

Raenef looked up at Shishio and his eyes were burning red in the dim, flickering light of the candle. It was like staring at the devil's eyes. They were bright red like the cursed fire in which he was burned. Raenef whimpered slightly, but tried his best to stay quiet.

"You are disgusting Raenef."

"My lord…?"

Shishio gripped the hilt of his sword tighter. His bandaged face tilted to the moonlight. He let the gentle light wash over his burnt body, which was now covered in bandages. Then, with the sudden speed as a gentle breeze, Raenef was dead. His head rolled and the dead body fell to the ground still twitching with blood pouring from his neck. Shishio kneeled down to look at the detached head.

"A spy is what you are."

With that said Shishio kicked the head and watched as it rolled a little. The head stopped and in the moon light it was easy to see the fear in his eyes. "And that is disgusting." Shishio sheathed his bloody sword and fled into the dark arms of night.

Darkness and Shishio were companions that worked in the silence of each other's presence.

******

Kaoru moved a bit and stretched. She was sleeping on a very soft mattress. It's been a while since she had a good night of sleep. Kaoru opened her eyes. Two spheres of amber were staring hard at her. They seemed to say that she was in big trouble. Kaoru scrambled from the bed, but only succeeded on collapsing to the floor, full force. Kaoru groaned as she peeled herself from the hard marble floor. Kenshin watched her with curiosity.

He's never seen a lady act so… so unladylike.

Kaoru stood up and dusted off the skirt of her gown. It was then that Kenshin noticed that her hands were still bound with the rope. He made a move towards, but she stepped back with every step he took towards her. Kenshin grinned and took two steps forwards. Kaoru took two steps back. Again and again… till Kaoru fell on the bed.

Kaoru was sprawled on the bed in the beautiful green gown. Kenshin's grin just grew larger.

"My, my, my… what do we have here?"

Kaoru glared up at him and stood on her feet. She stood to her full height, even though it was still a little shorter than Kenshin's.

If it was possible, Kenshin's grin just grew larger. He cupped her chin and forced her to look at him.

"What is your name?"

Kaoru was tempted to spit in his face, but she valued her life more than his humiliation. She just contented herself with glaring at him. Kenshin looked deep into her eyes, as if trying to find the person inside. Kaoru trembled slightly as she looked into his amber depths. They were so bright and threatening. Elegant and narrow like a cat, but menacing and terrible like a monster.

"My name is none of your concern." Kaoru wanted to cross her arms, but she didn't want to risk touching him since they were so close. She could feel his breath brush against her face. Hate seethed within her. She didn't want to be treated like a concubine. She wasn't one!

"That's not the way you should speak to your prince, personally I like being called your highness… but, prince Himura just rolls off the tongue, doesn't it?"

Was he trying to seduce her?

"Prince Himura…" She coughed a little and muttered 'bastard' under her breath. What she didn't know was that Kenshin heard her. He was trained in the Hiten Mitsurugi and therefore had exception senses.

"I wouldn't fool yourself. I have no interest in you." Kenshin laughed at her offended look. "Get yourself down for dinner. The royal family and their personal servants eat together."

Kenshin turned his back and left the room with an extremely red Kaoru.

That girl really confused him. Shouldn't she be learning the art of calligraphy and manners instead of thievery and cursing. She was an enigma to him and all he wanted to do was figure her out.

******

Kenshin was right. The whole family was there with their slaves. She looked around and all the slaves were dressed in beautiful gowns. Kaoru noticed that many of the servants were beautiful and graceful. She suddenly felt very self-conscious. She didn't know why. She could normally deal with being different, but being there in a hall filled with elegant beauties was a little… unnerving. She didn't know how to describe it!

Kaoru noticed that all of the royalty family wore purple, since it was a very expensive dye. It came from snails from the ocean (a/n: I'm not sure about it… but, it's something like that…). She saw that the servants sat next to their host. Kaoru saw Kenshin on near the head of the table and made her way to him. He sat on King Hiko's right side because he was the heir.

Kaoru sat next to Kenshin. She smoothed out her gown and observed all the servants to see what she should do.

They reached for the sake, so Kaoru did the same thing. They gently held the bottom of the small jar with both hands and tilted it downwards. Kaoru copied them, but she wasn't watching what she was doing. The next thing she knew was that Prince Himura banged the table and cursed loudly.

Kaoru looked down at the jar she was holding and saw that she had poured the sake all over Kenshin…

Hiko grinned.

"Baka deshi… Kenshin. Tomorrow I want you to meet the princess of one of our neighboring countries."

"Who might this princess be?" Kenshin asked as he patted himself dry with a handkerchief.

"Princess Megumi Takani…" Kenshin nodded thoughtfully.

Kaoru knew Princess Megumi… actually she knew her more than other people would expect. Kaoru was Megumi's younger sister… The Queen had disowned Kaoru because of her lack of suitors and her stubborn attitude.

Many times her mom would try to get her a tutor, but every time she found one... Kaoru would somehow be able to scare them away. She either brought animals into the library or she annoyed the tutor with annoying ghost stories. Kaoru always knew that Megumi would be known for…

"She is well known for her beauty and elegance."

Megumi wanted to be a doctor, but she's the oldest and their father never had a son, so Megumi was the heir to the throne even though she was woman. Kaoru often felt sorry for Megumi because she wanted to be something she knew the queen would never allow. Kenshin looked at Hiko.

"Might as well go…"

Hiko smiled.

"This is wonderful. I will see that everything for your journey is prepared." Kenshin nodded and sat back down in his chair. He glared at Kaoru and started eating his food.

'Damn woman! She ruined my best tunic!'

Kenshin just silently fumed while Kaoru watched with amusement. She looked around and saw that everyone was just eating so she comfortably leaned over and politely ate her food.

Kenshin could sense that something was wrong. She was acting so mannerly that it scared him. She was plotting something, he could feel it. Kenshin moved his seat a little way from her. He didn't really want to be embarrassed in front of the whole family.

The whole family ate without any interruptions and soon, Kenshin began to relax. He wasn't expecting Kaoru to do what she did…

TO BE CONTINUED…

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Quote of the chapter:

Thou call'st me dog before though hadst cause,

But since I am a dog, beware my fangs.

-Shakespeare