Author's Note: Okay! Not really happy, but not really feeling bad either… -_- I guess I'm just a little tired. Oh well… I'm not really sure if this will be a great chapter, I just hope you all like it! I tried to put more humor in the story. Does anyone know where I can get the manga called "Tsubasa Wo Matsu Mono?" I really need to read the third chappie! I only downloaded the first 2 chapters and fell in love with it… -_- I need MORE!!!!! Oh well, just send me some info! Check out my other fic that I just finished! I'm so happy that it's finally done! I kind of think that it went downhill, but some people still liked it so everything is okay! I have to read to Odyssey even though I've read it before…-_-

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: BAH HUMBUG! Their not mine and I'm mad! o( . )o

A Thief's Dream

Chapter Eight: On Your Knees!

Ring the bell, Ring the bell,

If I lie, I'll go to hell.

- Got it from a book/ The King's Garden…

Kenshin woke up to sharp constant nudges. The continuity of the small pushes started to irritate him, but he tried to ignore it; a man can only live to a certain point… Kenshin's amber eyes cracked open and he saw that it was NOT Kaoru who was struggling next to him, but the bandit that she had claimed she wanted to kill first. Kenshin gasped and wildly looked around. Where was Kaoru?!

Don't tell me she left me here!

Kenshin started wiggling furiously to escape his bonds. Suddenly, Kaoru appeared before him.

"You finally woke up! I was planning to leave you, but I knew you would 'punish' me when you somehow escape…"

Kaoru smiled mockingly at Kenshin.

"Just GET ME OUT of these bonds." Kaoru stroked her chin as if contemplating whether she should or she should not.

"Only if you do what I tell you!" Kenshin looked up at her.

"What?"

"You heard me, just do what I say and you'll be free… well, not really. But, you won't be tied to the tree!"

"Okay, whatever. What do you want?"

"When I release the bonds I want you to apologize to me."

"That's all?"

Kaoru smiled. "On you knees."

"What?!"

Kaoru knew it would be shameful for Kenshin to do that for he would be bowing to a thief and he's the PRINCE! Kaoru resisted the urge to laugh.

"Apologize to me on your knees."

"On… on the ground!"

"On the sky, if you want to make it harder!"

"Okay, fine!"

Kaoru smiled and took out a dagger that was hidden in her sleeve. She cut through Kenshin's bond and stood in front of him expectantly.

"Well?"

"Oh, right."

Kenshin slowly got on his knees, but recoiled when his knees touched the dirt. "It's dirty!"

"Deal with it."

"My clothes will be ruined."

"Do I care?"

"You should, you're the one who's going to clean them."

"How 'bout I get the other bandits here?"

Kenshin looked at her with wide eyes. She was crazy! She looked up at him with her piercing blue eyes and took a deep breath. Kenshin's eyes widened… she wouldn't… would she? Suddenly, she emitted a small screech before Kenshin's hand slapped over her mouth, smothering her scream.

"Okay, okay! You win…" Kenshin got on the floor. "I'm sorry," he said dully.

"You have to be more enthusiastic."

"I'm so sorry!" Kenshin replied with a singsong voice.

"Okay, let's go."

She turned and left. Kenshin followed her into the thicket. They started walking aimlessly in the woods.

Kenshin stared at Kaoru's back. She was being unusually quiet. "It's your fault we were caught!"

Kaoru looked back at Kenshin… my fault? Kenshin grinned and continued… "If you had arrived at the inn sooner, we would be at the castle right now! But, no… you had to take your sweet, precious time!"

"Damn it! You had a SHORT CUT!"

"That's no excuse." Kenshin crossed his arms and turned his head away with his nose pointed upwards.

"I'm seriously going to hurt you if you don't stop."

Kenshin just looked at her mockingly.

That's it!

"DAMN YOU!" Kaoru leapt on Kenshin with her hands ready to punch him. Kenshin immediately dodged to the side, but Kaoru followed him with a powerful kick which caused Kenshin to fall into a puddle of mud.

How could he underestimate her like that?! Kenshin spat some mud out and tried to wipe his face with his hands.

"You're seriously going to be in big trouble."

Kaoru just laughed at him. Then suddenly she stopped. "What's wrong now?"

Kaoru looked at him. "I just realized something."

"What?"

"Wouldn't you like to know?" She chirped as she looked up at his, rapidly batting her eyelashes.

"WHAT?!" Kenshin grabbed Kaoru and put her in a strong headlock. "Tell me!"

"It's a secret!" Kenshin angrily ruffled her hair.

"What is it?"

"It wouldn't be a secret if I told you!" Kaoru winked up at Kenshin, who just ruffled her hair harder.

"What the hell is wrong with you?"

"Nothing, just the fact that you're being a freakin' monkey."

"I'm serious, tell me!"

"Why do you want to know so badly?!"

"Stop evading my questions!"

"Oh! Big word…"

Kenshin looked down at Kaoru when she trailed off. She seemed to be staring at something in the forest. "I seriously feel like I've been here before… That's all…"

Suddenly everything seemed so serious. Kenshin let Kaoru go and she collapsed on her knees. "You're hurt!"

"I'm not! It's just… this place…"

"I never want to see you come to the castle again!"

"… it brings back… something I want to forget…"

"You are worthless! I tried to give you everything I could, but you threw it back in my face! "

"I never… I never wanted…"

"You are no longer my daughter. Although I brought you into this world, you have trampled everything I worked for."

"to be… to be left…"

"You worthless, ungrateful child! Why couldn't you understand what I wanted for you?"

"Behind…"

Kaoru looked up at Kenshin and attempted to smile to lighten the mood, but he just frowned at her. Kenshin kneeled down, getting his already dirty clothes even dirtier.

"So that's why you became a thief?"

"Yes…"

"Who left you?"

"My mother." Kenshin looked down at her surprised. He had expected her to shout at him to mind his own business.

"Who was your mother? What was she like?"

"I always thought she was an angel. A wonderful angel… she was the most wonderful person in the world to me."

A three year old Kaoru runs up the stairs and latches on her mother's skirt.

"Look what I caught, mommy!" Kaoru held up a little rabbit. It was still dirty, but that didn't matter to the little toddler. Kaoru smiled up at her mother with little sparkles in her hair.

"That's nice, dear. Come give mommy a hug."

"I… I'm not exactly who you think I am… I'm…"

"You're nothing without the crown! Kaoru, why can't you become more like your sister Megumi?! You're driving all of your suitors away… and at the rate that this is going, you'll never be married! You'll grow old and never bear any children!"

"I'm someone that will never fit in…"

"Wait! Those bandits are coming! I can hear them…" Kenshin stood up and looked around. His eyes narrowed and flashed a dangerous amber color. He took a glance at Kaoru and his gave softened.

"Girl, we have to go…" Kaoru attempted to get up, but collapsed back down. Kenshin looked down at her leg and saw that she probably slipped on a patch of mud. The voices of the bandits grew louder.

"Please don't get mad…"

Kaoru was about to ask why, when suddenly Kenshin scooped her up in his arms. Kaoru let out a screech. There was a sudden rustle and it was quite evident that the bandits had heard Kaoru's scream.

"Stupid girl! Why?!" Kenshin suddenly spurred away with a struggling Kaoru in his arms. "Trust me, it's faster this way."

Kaoru looked at the passing trees and saw that they were going inhumanly fast. "Ho-how…?"

Kaoru looked behind them and saw that the bandits were getting smaller and smaller. Kaoru looked up Kenshin and saw how determined he looked. He was breathing heavily and his bangs fell across his face. Kaoru felt the sudden urge to brush them away, but held back.

He's so handsome.

Kaoru blushed red when this though passed her mind. They were in danger and all she could think about was how handsome he was. Kaoru mentally slapped herself for having taken the slightest interest in Kenshin. He was such an arrogant bastard. Kenshin suddenly stopped. He looked around as if to contemplate which way to go. It was suddenly silence because they had just lost all the bandits. Kenshin made a move to put Kaoru down when suddenly a man jumped out from the behind the bushes. Behind him were more men who were ready for a fight. Kenshin quickly put Kaoru down and made a move to grip his sword… it was then he noticed that he didn't have one.

Kaoru saw a sturdy looking stick on the ground and picked it up. She held the long branch with her hands. All the bandits laughed, thinking that she wouldn't be able to hurt them with a piece of wood. One of the men came towards Kaoru with his short sword. In one swift motion, Kaoru blocked the blade with her dagger that was hidden in her sleeve. She crouched down and swung her stick beneath the man's legs causing him to fall. Kaoru caught the sword that was thrown upwards and tossed it towards Kenshin. The sword landed a few feet away from actually hitting Kenshin.

He grabbed the sword by the hilt and got ready to attack. He held the sword to the side and charged into to battle. He used his godlike speed and was seen only as a red blur to everyone.

One man laid dying on the ground. His hand covered his wound as his blood gushed out. He gasped loudly as he shifted his weight. He tried in vain to escape, but the pain he felt was so overwhelming. He watched as Kaoru grabbed a sword from one of the corpses and stabbed it through a man behind her. He watched as Kenshin slashed at men from different angles. From the sky, from bellow, from behind… He was everywhere. "They fight like demons…" Kenshin heard his voice and looked down at the man.

Kenshin frowned and turned in time to see Kaoru kill the last of the bandits.

"Who do you work for?"

"I… I'm not telling." The bandit gasped as Kenshin punched him in the face.

"Why are you after me?"

"To dethrone… the king and… end his reign…" Kenshin shouted angrily as the man went limp and died. They had killed so many men. Whoever these men worked for, they wanted him dead. Kenshin glanced at Kaoru who was staring wide eyed at the dead bodies.

This is the first time she killed?

It didn't seem so for she fought wonderfully. She seemed so experienced, but yet as she stood there with a horror stricken face, it seemed so improbable.

TO BE CONTINUED…

I'm sorry for the long update… it's just that I didn't have time to work on this, but aren't you just happy that I did update?! Okay, this chapter was also too serious. I'm sorry about that, but this was meant to be an action fic, but I just strayed a little to the humor side. Oh well, I just hope you really liked and that my bad grammar didn't upset anyone. I know a few people who hate my grammar… -_- That's sad. But! I want to thank everyone who made the eighth chapter possible. MY WONDERFUL REVIEWERS, of course. Thank you, everyone who reviewed thank you! I love you all and hope that you won't be disappointed with my story and I say it again, flames are welcomed. I love to know what I am doing wrong. And if my fic sucks, will you please tell me why so that I can improve.

I just went to some Mardi Gras ball and I have to say that it was okay… I didn't really dance, only the line dances and that was it. Those are really fun! I found out what the Spaghetti dance was and let me tell you something, it's just like dirty dancing… ew… I was just walking to the dance floor to join it when all of a sudden people were doing weird things that I just don't like… so I walked away. I made a few friends and that was fun, but everything else was… duh… LOL! They even camera it… I know I look really weird in the dances we had to do!

I hope that you aren't mad that this chapter was a little depressing and that there was a little too much drama, but I just needed to hint out that Kaoru was falling for Kenshin! I hope that the chapter was okay and that I see more reviews. I want lots of them… or else… dun dun dun! Just kidding! Oh wellz, I'll just sit here and wait… and wait… and wait… is anyone going to review now?!

Ja ne!!! (Is that how you spell it?! OMG I don't know how to spell it!!)