Steal the Stars [REWRITING]

Annabelle - I am a Blessing on This Earth

If I could choose to be anywhere right now, it would not be back in the palace's gardens. For one, it was freezing, and I wasn't wearing a jacket. I was never wearing a jacket. Or a watch. I really needed to work on that. Secondly, I really just wanted to be done with this and go home, where there was food.

Food sounded really good right now.

In front of Leo and I lay empty fields, the gate in the distance. Once we crossed that, we'd pretty much be free. Assuming we weren't stopped in the city itself, and then we'd have to deliver the jewels. I wasn't looking forward to seeing the man who'd given us the job again. He gave me the creeps.

"On three?"

I nodded. "On three."

"One," Leo began. "Two. Three."

We started running across the field–in full view of several of the guard towers. It wasn't the greatest plan, but it was all we had. Besides, I'd found that, when in doubt, running for your life was pretty effective.

Neither of us could climb like Nicole, but our only way out was going over the gate. I nearly fell multiple times as I pulled myself up the slippery stones, and decided I was never ever doing this again. If anything needed to be climbed, I was sending Nicole.

I half-jumped half-fell the last several feet to the ground, miraculously not twisting an ankle. There were no guards in sight; most of them were probably still trying to figure out what had happened in the ballroom, and the hallways where the bomb had gone off. Good. They could stay that way.

Leo and I entered the city. It was nearly pouring now, way harder than anyone had expected. That was good, too. We would be less visible and they would probably give up sooner. The guard's had never been known for their perseverance, which was why someone should put me in charge. Itari was way too vulnerable.

Also, I was just generally awesome.

"There," Leo said, gesturing across the square, but before I could make anything out he was gone.

"Thanks," I grumbled, following him reluctantly. It turned out running in a dress is already hard, but running in a dress that's soaking wet is even harder.

James and Nicole were standing under a storefront's cover, both of them already soaked. "You're late," James said when I reached them. "Really, Annabelle, I expected better of you."

"No, you don't."

"You're right. I don't."

Leo laced his fingers with Nicole's, glancing out at the rain. "Are you sure we can't take a carriage? Everyone looks crazy soaking wet, anyway, it's not like we look much worse."

"We don't need to look weirder," Nicole said. She'd pulled her hair out of the ponytail, and her cheeks looked pinker from the cold.

Leo pulled a few coins out of his pocket and handed them to her. "This should be enough, then. Make sure James doesn't spend it all."

"Hey!"

They disappeared into the store together, leaving Leo and I out in the freezing cold. For someone who'd been stabbed less than an hour ago, he actually looked pretty good, which I credited myself with. Clearly, I was brilliant, and could probably find a way to turn it into a career.

One that didn't involve stealing things, though, I had to admit, it was pretty fun.

James and Nicole emerged a minute later (though, it felt like hours), and passed a new shirt to Leo and an entirely new outfit to me. Surprisingly, it was actually something I'd wear myself, so I figured that James definitely hadn't picked it.

"Don't be mad," Nicole said, "but I let James get candy. There was enough money left over, and...sorry. I can see if they'll refund me." She handed Leo the remaining coins and dug the toe of her boot into the ground.

"I'm not mad. You could've gotten whatever you wanted and I wouldn't have been mad. It doesn't matter." He took the coins from her, tucking them back in his wallet before changing into the new shirt. "Are we good, then?"

"No," I said, "and I'm going to go inside for a minute, because I'm not just going to change right out here. If the clerk calls the guards on me, tell them I'm innocent."

"But you're not," James said, confused.

"I really hope you're never interrogated."

...

Five minutes later, we sat in the warm interior of a carriage on our way back to the inn, and, surprisingly, alive. Now, it was just a few days back, and that felt almost short. If we weren't killed on the way back, or double-crossed by the weird guy, we would have our money in just a few days, too.

Eventually, the panic in the capital would die down–Itari had bigger things to worry about right now. Everything was failing. They'd have a clever story in a couple days, and the jewels quietly replaced with a fake. Only a few people would ever know the truth, and I was sure they would like it if we weren't on that list.

Unluckily for them, we were. But we couldn't go around and brag about it, or we'd be locked up for the rest of our lives, or killed to make an example of. People would know, though. Every criminal in that inn would figure out that, right as we got a job and disappeared, the jewels disappeared, too. They wouldn't say anything, either, but we'd probably get a lot more respect, which would boost James's ego, at least.

Not that it needed it.

Leo leaned against the window and fell asleep, his arm around Nicole, who leaned against him and stared blankly out the window at the rain. She looked ready to fall asleep, too, but everytime she closed her eyes she snapped them back open. Apparently, the scenery was really fascinating.

I was too excited to sleep. Instead, I helpfully annoyed James, who looked like he wished he could throw me on the street. Unfortunately for him, I was a wonderful, hardworking, and valuable member of the team.

Obviously.

Word Count: 1,028

Short chapter, but the next one's longer, so that's good, I guess?

Anyway, almost done :D