My eyes flutter shut as I bite down softly on a thickly glazed cinnamon roll. The flavors explode on my tongue, and the sweet glaze stains my lips. Absolutely divine. I chew softly and slowly. I have come to the conclusion that Leslie's Bakery's cinnamon rolls taste twice as good when stolen. This is the best possible reward, along with the shiny ruby necklace snuggled in my pocket of course. Sadly, my celebration is terribly short-lived. "I've seen her! That rotten mutt! I seen her go over there!" His bellowing voice is barely tolerable.

Well, there's no better signal than a fat hollering baker right?

I eye the cinnamon roll with regret, then shove the whole delicacy in my mouth. It barely fits, not that I mind, it tastes amazing! I dust my hands and chew ferociously. I can hear the guards hollering for me, not to mention the baker. I'm telling you, he'll burst his vocals if he screeches the word mutt one more time. I roll my eyes and stretch my legs. I'm estimating the guards will chase me for a good 1.5 miles before they collapse. Actually, now that there's money for my head, who knows? All the better to lose them in the market.

Before I take off, I cast a lingering look at Leslie's Bakery. Leslie stands in front, his knuckles are practically white on the cruel looking stick. His face is so red, he could be mistaken for a tomato. I laugh outright, and his head practically twists off his neck. "You MUTT!" He screeches, he points his chubby finger at me and hollers for the guards. Now I'm really laughing, and before I make my grand escape, I blow him a mocking kiss and wink. I didn't think he could get any redder or holler any louder. Clearly, I was wrong. Time to start running, Hooray!

Shouting guards and horse hooves thunder behind me. In my 16 years of life, I've never been caught. That's not gonna change anytime soon.

I zip past young and elderly, under roofs and over them. All while laughing and whistling for the guards to know exactly where I am. Funny, I give them so many clues, yet I've never seen the inside of a cell. I jump from a rather unsteady roof, and fall on my side. A burst of pain rises through my ribs, but I'm well used to this kind of thing by now. Oh yes! The bazaar! Being a skilled thief in a busy bazaar is like being a child opening a door to candy land. Sweet and easy.

I slow my pace and snatch a cloak off the nearest market stall. Too easy. It's over my head and shoulders before the seller blinks. I take special care making sure my unruly brown hair is carefully tucked in. While pushing it beneath the hood, I pull out some dried dirt and grass. Ignoring it, I toss them on the ground and pull the hood higher. Now it's a matter of whatever pride I have.

I can see the docks from here, I know I'll make it before the guards. Still, I'm gonna miss this place. Afterall, it was my temporary home for 6 months. With a shrug I start jogging to the dock. Then out of nowhere, I hit a wall.

Wait a minute, not a wall. A person. A scarily tall person. I crank my neck back and focus on the curious grey eyes looking down at me. I see shock, then a quick flush in his cheeks. I practically sag with relief. He's not a guard, he's just some random guy. A random guy I've never seen before, that's oddly suspicious. I back away and apologize. What? A thief can't have manners? "Er, sorry about that." I try to move around him, the docks are so close. He blocks me. Dread washed over me, oh dear. I don't care for explanation, if he's a guard without a uniform, I'm toast.

Thankfully, I know exactly what to do. I grip both his shoulders with an iron grip and smash my knee into his groin. Several times actually. He screams and falls to his knees once I release him.
"Sorry sugar, I can't take any chances." I step over him while he groans and curses. I try not to tsk but it comes out anyway. I make it safely to the dock and unlatch my ship. You probably think I'm heartless, but I really cannot have any surprise guards again. As I'm sailing away, I turn my neck one last time. This time, I can see the strangely tall market boy, leaning against a stall and grinning. It's more of a happy wince, but he's still smiling. Then he holds up a peculiar ruby necklace.

Heck no. No no no no no. He took it! That… that…. thief?