Okay so here is chapter 2. I know it's taking a bit to pick up momentum but I think it's important to try to lay a solid foundation. That's my story and I'm stickin' to it.

Chapter 2: New Apprentice

As soon as she was out the door Alia hit a dead run down the roads. She couldn't be silent, not in the high heels she was wearing, but her servants uniform made her practically invisible to the other citizens of The City. She waited until she was a good way away from the pub, and found a dark alley to stop and catch her breath in. As her heart slowed and her breathing became regular she closed her eyes and listened. There were no shouts for guards or other signs of an uproar. Good. The Thief Taker General hadn't noticed that the ring was gone.

She smirked to herself. She knew the Master Thief was in the rafters, watching everything. She knew that he saw her purposely fall and spill the tray on the Pig General, which means he saw her slide the ring off his fat finger while she wiped down his arm with the towel she now kept pressed to her chest. She undid the folds and gasped. There it was. The Baron's ring. The twirled the delicate little trinket in her fingers. This was her ticket to finally have someone teach her to be a real thief, and a master no less.

She of course had some semblance of natural talent or when she found herself destitute 2 years ago she would have gone to work at the Blooming Rose like all the other down on their luck women. But she found that she was better at stealing valuables then men's affections. And so far she had managed to stay alive with measly pickpocketing and lifting things from people's rooms. But she didn't want to just stay alive. She wanted to live. And that meant finding someone that knows the business, to teach her the business. There's only so much you can teach yourself.

She quickly undid the long, thin chain around her neck, looped the ring onto it, and put it back on, hiding her treasure under her clothes and between her breasts. She straightened herself up and emerged from the alley, a broad smile of victory on her face as she made her way back to the bad end of town and to her small apartment. She knew Garrett would catch up to her (if he hadn't already) and probably follow her home, in fact, she was planning on it.

Later on into the night Alia sat on her bed, facing the window and waited. The wind was kicking up, getting ready to bring on the rain. She hoped that he would hurry up or he was going to track water in when he came. Just as she was about to get nervous she saw just a glimpse of a shadow. He was peeking in on her.

"It's open." She called out to him and stood to greet him.

This was the first time she saw him in decent lighting as he stepped over the window pane and into her small room. He was tall, about a foot taller than her. Even under all his leather she could tell he was covered in lean muscle made for quick, silent movements. His dark eyes narrowed under his hood and cowl at her. If she didn't have an image to protect she would have shown that he absolutely terrified her, but if he knew that he would never teach her, and right now he was her only hope.

"Glad you could make it. Have a seat." She said, gesturing to a chair in the corner. His eyes scanned the room, including the chair, but he didn't move.

"Give me the ring." He growled, more annoyed than anything.

She smirked. "You know my price, Garrett." For whatever reason it gave her confidence that she knew his name. Even though he offered her the information back in the kitchens.

His eyes shone in amusement in the candlelight. "I'm a thief. I don't pay for anything."

She raised an eyebrow at him, her steely eyes capturing his. "But you know you messed up, right?" She almost shrunk at his angry gaze, but she knew she had to hold strong if she was going to get what she wanted. "You underestimated me once and it gave me the upper hand. Don't do it again." She tried to sound smooth and confident, and she hoped it was working.

Ever since that night at the inn she couldn't get him out of her head. His skill was so impressive, she never even heard him move back at the inn or the pub. Once he was in the shadows it was like he completely disappeared. He had a skill that she desired. Most girls her age admired rich nobles or famous warriors or beautiful regal women, but here she was, gushing over a master thief that probably saw her as a common cockroach. But she knew deep down if she could just have some proper training she could make even a man like Garrett see her worth.

She could see him turning thoughts over in his head. He crossed his arms over his chest. "How do you know that you can trust the word of a criminal? Let's say I agree to train you, take the ring, and you never see me again?" She couldn't see most of his face but she knew he was snickering at her.

"I guess I don't know. Not for sure. But you said you're a thief, not a liar. And if I hope to be worth anything then I need you to train me. So all I can do is hope that you keep your promises."

Before she could take her next breath he had her pinned to the wall. She had found a small chink in his armor-his pride. He had one hand on her chin and the other held her wrist back. She was right in a sense; he shouldn't have underestimated her. If he hadn't then he wouldn't be in this predicament right now. He was angry; at her, at himself, at this whole fucked situation. She matched his glare as he kept her imprisoned against the wall, he could feel her tensing, she was afraid of him. But he wasn't a murderer and maybe deep down she knew that and that's why she continued to press his buttons.

His eyes slowly drifted from her face to her chest. His hand released her wrists and he trailed his long slender fingers down the pale skin of her neck to the front of her blouse. He saw the rise and fall of her chest quicken at his touch and he would be lying to himself it he said it didn't make him smirk devilishly. He carefully grabbed the chain and gently pulled the ring up from in between her bosom. He had to admit that it was smarter to keep it on her person then to try to hide it where he would most definitely find it.

With a quick jerk of his hand he broke the flimsy chain around her neck. She winced slightly but didn't make a sound besides a sharp inhale. He still held her chin with his other hand and he forced her to look at him.

"Don't look for me. I'll find you. If this is going to happen it will be on my schedule. Got it?" He looked her in the eyes, the blush on her face accenting her cheekbones and pouty mouth. She was pleased. Scared, but pleased.

"You won't regret this. I swear it." She said, barely a whisper. Those grey eyes held his own steadily.

"For your sake, I would hope so." He snarled. He released her and was out the window and into the rain before he could change his mind and decide that yes, just for today he was a murderer, and throw that trouble making woman off the top of his clock tower.

He rushed back to his hideout before the storm got too bad. He didn't have to hide himself so well because everyone, including The Watch, was trying to escape the rain; and that saved him a lot of time. As he dodged his own traps and made his way up to the top of the tower he just got madder and madder at himself. What the hell was he thinking? He shouldn't have told her he would train her. He should have just lied to her. What did he care if one little rat from the slums thought that he was a liar?

He shrugged the quiver off his back and removed his cowl and hood. He ran his fingers through his hair and sighed while sitting on his small bed in the corner. The mechanisms of the giant clock he lived behind creaked as the storm began to hit. Garrett rubbed his eyes, the dawn was going to break soon even if the clouds wouldn't allow it to be seen. And to a thief, the sun and moon are opposites. He was tired and he needed to sleep, he needed to refresh his mind and then maybe he could find some way out of this deal with that woman.

He stripped away his harness, belt, and his shirts, then sat down on the bed to unlace his boots. He threw them one by one on the floor at the foot of his old rickety bed. He should probably take up some odd jobs and get a new one. He swung his legs up and over on to the bed and laced his hands behind his head, looking up at the stone ceiling. He took in a deep breath and held it just a while before letting it out, trying to let the tension in his body leave with it.

He closed his eyes and saw a pair of grey ones staring back at him. They were intense with a hidden fire in them. Then he saw her pouty lips as she gasped when he snapped the chain form her neck. He saw that smirk when she snatched that ring right off the Thief Taker General's hand. He opened his eyes. Now he was just annoyed. But he couldn't deny that she had raw ability. But she was loud, sloppy, and he couldn't see her hands having the dexterity to pick locks.

His chest tightened. What repulsed him most about the idea was that he didn't want a repeat of Erin. He couldn't make another thief out there that was messy and killed people without impunity. Even though the guards and The Watch were technically his enemies, what with them all being on the opposite side of the law as him, they weren't this evil that needed to be extinguished. They were mostly decent people just doing their jobs. Even Garrett could see that. So why couldn't he make Erin see? He knew Erin had problems when he picked her up. He knew she had a deep seeded anger for authority. But he thought she would get over that and she just never did.

But the fire in Alia's eyes wasn't anger, it was something else. Not necessarily any less dangerous, but something much more controlled. He rolled to his side, his thoughts were troubled. Erin turned into a nightmare and he regretted ever taking her in. But Garrett trained her, made her into the monster that she is.

Didn't he?

He closed his eyes again, this time his mind closed off all thoughts and let him slip into the beautiful silence of sleep.

It was four days before he decided to go see Basso again. He had dropped off that ring days ago when he knew his old friend wouldn't be home. He wasn't quite ready to talk about the situation he had gotten himself into. He knew it was bad himself because as well as putting off a face to face he was putting off getting paid. And that's something he just never did.

"Garrett!" Basso greeted him when he saw him emerge from the shadows. "Where the hell have you been? I got the ring but you never got your coin what's going on with you?"

Garrett felt a small smile lift the corners of his mouth as he lowered his cowl. "I've got a problem Basso. I don't know if you can help or not. But I've got a big problem."

Garrett then told Basso everything. From the night at the inn, the kitchens, Alia's apartment and then he even shared his thoughts about Erin. Basso knew her just as well as he did and he deserved to know of his concerns.

Basso fed his magpie Jenevive a cracker as he mulled everything over. "You know Garrett… You can't blame yourself for Erin. Now I've got nothing but love for her, you know I do. But she was a ticking time bomb from the start. You did your best, my friend. We all know you did your best."

Garrett didn't answer, just watched his friends face to make sure he took in every emotion that came with his words.

Basso sighed. "But if this girl is as determined as you say, who are we to deny her at least a chance? If she doesn't work out, then we'll deal with it then."

Garrett chuckled and took a long swig of the ale they were sharing. "You've always had a soft spot for dames my friend. Even the silly ones."

"I would like to meet the little lass." Basso said, putting his face in his hands. "You should bring her by. I'll start stocking up little jobs. We'll start her out small."

Garrett was already throwing his hood back over his head and heading out to leave. "Have something ready by tomorrow night." And with that he disappeared into the darkness.

That same night he sat on the rooftop of a small store across the street from the girls' apartment. He was just a stone's throw away from her window. As always, he kept himself concealed in the darkness. He watched through her window, waiting for her to get back. He didn't know where he was, didn't really care. But he was running out of moonlight and he sure as hell wasn't going to hang out on the rooftops once the sun started to rise. Just then he saw movement, a door opened and closed and he saw her walk in. She removed her coat and unbuttoned her over shirt, leaving her in tight pants and a tank top. She kicked her boots off and threw herself, face down onto the bed.

He scowled as he made the running leap to her buildings' roof. He crouched down and gave her window a light tap.

"Come in." She groaned. He slipped in quietly and stood there with his arms crossed as she rolled herself into a sitting position. She had dark circles under her eyes that only made her irises look brighter. She looked at him tiredly. "Please don't tell me we start now."

"No. But tonight." He said, studying her.

"Okay then." She perked up slightly from excitement.

"Here are the initial rules." He said, taking the time to roam through her room. She either didn't care if he did it or was too tired to argue with him. Neither of which made a difference to him. "I'm a thief. Not a murderer. You kill someone without a damn good reason and I'll kill you."

She looked at him with a worried glance. "I've no intention of hurting anything but people's pocketbooks."

"Good." He said. "You do what I say, when I say it. You don't do anything without my approval. Got it?"

She nodded her head. "You got it, boss." Her gaze was steady and it calmed his nerves. Erin would fight his authority tooth and nail. This… might actually work.

He turned to face her. "Any questions?"

She shook her head, her hair swaying around her shoulders with a big stupid grin on her face.

"Be ready at nightfall. I'll come get you." He said making his way back to the window.

"Such a gentleman!" She exclaimed sarcastically as she laid back down and he disappeared into the early morning light.

Yaaaaaay chapter 2. I'm really digging writing Garret's character. I'm just fangirling over here.