Chapter One

Aerilyn

Aerilyn never considered the idea that she would one day become a thief.

The thought might have even made her laugh if it had ever crossed her mind.

She had dreamt of being a painter or a florist when she was a child.

She hadn’t become either of those things.

The world took that innocent mindset from her.

Everything had changed and those childish dreams no longer existed.

Especially as she slipped through the unguarded entrance of the palace that was only used by the servants.

The small entrance gave access to the connecting hallways beneath the palace where most of the servants worked throughout the day.

She’d memorized the shift changes and when most of the workers left for the night over the course of a week before she’d snuck in for the first time.

She pulled her cloak tighter to her body, keeping as much of her face hidden as she could in the shadows of the hood.

She had done this several times before, it had become an easy task.

She had become used to the exact route to take and the best time to enter without being caught.

Stealing from those in the village made her feel guilty.

They were all as poor as she was and it didn’t seem fair to be selfish towards others who were struggling.

The palace on the other hand was full of treasures that the royals would never notice were missing. They had enough gold that they could wipe their ass with the finest silk.

The hallways were a maze of connections that led to places like the kitchen and laundry rooms where the servants cleaned any dirty linen from the palace.

The hallways had short ceilings and minimal lighting, making maneuvering through them a somewhat difficult task.

Though, the darkness of the pathways were often an advantage for her.

Aerilyn heard the soft footsteps of a servant padding down the long hallway, she whipped her head around to find the nearest place to hide.

She slid down another hallway that branched off the main one and pressed her back into the wall in hopes of concealing herself in the darkness.

The black cloak did wonders to keep her identity hidden, but it didn’t possess the magical ability to hide her entirely.

She held her breath as she listened to the steps slowly fade away, not allowing herself to move an inch until then.

The palace was a maze, to say the least.

All of its hallways and numerous doors could easily cause one to be overwhelmed and lost in a matter of moments.

Aerilyn had felt that way when she first encountered the place, but now it was simple to understand the complexity of it all.

She found herself taking the same path as she usually did, following the scent of the freshly baked food.

The combination of the spices made her mouth water, itching for a taste of the rich foods that she could never afford.

She kept her pace quick and cautious as she moved swiftly through the halls, listening for any signs of life besides her own.

Without much time passing, she found herself standing before the entrance to what she knew belonged to the kitchen.

Usually, it was bursting with life, but at this hour dinner had already passed and most of the servants were heading home to their families.

She pressed her ear against the door as she listened beyond to determine if it was safe to enter.

When she confirmed the silence, she pushed through the door cautiously.

The moment she stepped into the room, she felt her cheeks warm from the heat which she assumed had been from the ovens running while running all day to keep the royals fed.

She glanced over her shoulder once more before fully entering the space.

Her gaze slid across the large room to take it all in.

The kitchen was large enough that her entire home could fit inside of it.

It was fit to cook for more than just a royal family.

She could only imagine the amount of food that was cooked within the walls each day.

There were more cupboards than she could count.

She assumed each housed even more food and ingredients, but she was fearful that taking from those stashes of food would lead to someone noticing the missing items.

The food left over was always dumped into a large crate in the corner of the kitchen to be burned every few days.

The waste of it made Aerilyn sick to her stomach.

She’d witnessed how much food was wasted by royals who were too selfish and arrogant to help their people who were starving just beyond their palace walls.

She made her way to the bin, studying the remaining food packed into the crate.

She could only take what fit within her small satchel, but that was always enough to feed her for a few days.

She tended to eat sparingly and never wasted what she could get her hands on.

She slipped her satchel out from her cloak and pulled out the small cloth to keep the food within.

She quickly slid to her knees as she began to scoop up the food in her hands, grabbing all the food she could manage.

Here she was, eating their scraps while they lay in their fancy beds or took baths in hot running water.

She hated them because of that thought alone.

As she brought herself to stand, she tucked the satchel back within her cloak and adjusted the material over her head to make sure it was secure.

The guards’ next rotation would be within several more minutes, giving her a time clock on how long she had in the palace before she needed to make a run for it.

“What are you doing here at this hour?”

The voice made her stomach twist in knots, knowing it was just behind her.

It belonged to a man.

The smell of sweet citrus tickled her nose, mixing with a hint of vanilla.

It was a unique scent, one she hadn’t smelt before.

It overpowered the spices of the food before her.

She swallowed hard, not replying to the person who could be the reason she was thrown into the dungeons and punished for her crimes.

She learned as a child to never trust anyone besides herself. She stuck to that rule every day and it had gotten her far.

“Excuse me?”

The voice began again, the annoyance of being ignored pulled through in his tone.

With that, she felt a hand on her shoulder, making every inch of her body tense.

Her hand slipped toward the dagger that rested in the waistband of her slacks.

She felt the familiar cool handle in her fingertips as she turned suddenly, her blade lifted to the throat of the stranger behind her.

He was an average height, not more than a head taller than her, making him less intimidating.

His curly brown hair fell over his face, concealing most of it in shadows.

His dark eyes could only be compared to chocolate or even the dirt she found in the gardens.

He had his cloak on as if he too were sneaking around where he shouldn’t be.

His features easily showed his age, one that had to be close to her own.

Those same features contoured with fear and confusion as he noticed the blade resting against his throat.

Her hand wasn’t shaking, so sure of the way the weight felt in her palm.

He was speechless, the man didn’t say anything as he slowly lifted his hands in surrender. She could tell he was staring at her, his eyes scanning her features as she had done to him.

“Let me pass and I won’t have to hurt you,”

her voice felt dry and foreign as the threat rolled off of her tongue. His eyes widened, obviously not used to being stuck in a situation like this. “Who the hell are you?”

His voice shook, and Aerilyn almost felt bad for scaring the man. “That doesn’t matter, just forget you saw me here and we won’t have a problem,”

she smiled at him, but it wasn't a pleasant one. His lips pressed together into a tight line before he slowly began to nod. “Only if you tell me what you just stole,”

his gaze moved towards the spot in her cloak that bulged from the satchel.

“Dinner.”

His expression changed as if he understood what she was saying and she took that as a sign.

She slowly stepped around him, keeping the blade against his skin.

As soon as she had a straight shot towards the exit she pulled the dagger away and ran for her life.

She knew this man saw too much of her face, but she didn’t want to end his life.

It didn’t seem fair to hurt someone who hadn't done anything to deserve it.

He was simply in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Aerilyn had never run so quickly in her life.

She didn’t glance behind her to see if the man was following her, praying that he took her threat seriously.

Her footsteps pounded through the echoing hallway until her shoulder met the door that led to the world beyond the palace.

Even when the fresh nighttime breeze struck her, she kept running.

If she stopped for even a moment to catch her breath, it could be the difference in life or death.

The king would surely keep her prisoner or have her head for sneaking into his palace and stealing.

Even if the food was meant to be rid of and held no value to him, it was still a crime he wouldn’t forgive.

She’d seen people hanged for lesser crimes.

Majority of the kingdom had grown quiet, leaving the streets mostly empty as she ran through them.

The occasional stumbling drunk heading home from the tavern passed her, but none of them were aware enough of their surroundings for it to matter.

The streets just outside of the palace were lined by large houses that were owned by the few lucky people who had been born into rich families.

Those houses surely had running water and plenty of food on their table.

As she continued to run through the darkened cobblestone streets, those large houses began to turn into smaller ones.

Many of the buildings could barely be considered a house any longer due to the way time has worn the infrastructure down.

The heart of the city was full of the rich while the outskirts were left to the poor.

It felt as if the placement was done purposely.

If there were a hound attack, the poor people would be the ones to take most of the attack.

By the time she reached her home, Aerilyn was gasping for air.

Her lungs burned as she tried to take in breaths to calm herself down.

She was happy to note that there wasn't anyone following her.

She was alone on the very outskirts of the town, an area that had become abandoned some time ago.

The only thing that lay beyond her home were the fields meant for growing the crops and the looming wall not too far past that.

She slipped inside the building, seeing all of her things exactly where she’d left them.

She felt safe the moment she was in the secluded darkness.

The moonlight from the holes in the roof of her home lit up the space enough for her to find her way to her makeshift bed.

She had debated finding ways to cover the small openings, but instead decided that she enjoyed the sight of the night sky whilst she was falling asleep.

It brought her a small bit of peace to count the stars until sleep took her.

She dropped herself down onto them as she began slipping the cloak off of her body.

The moment she sat down she could feel the burning in all of her muscles, reminding her of everything she had just experienced.

She could’ve been dead, instead, she made it home safely.

She moved the satchel to the front of her as she pulled it over her head, her fingers blindly reaching into the bag to find something to quiet her grumbling stomach.

She pulled a handful of meat from within and promised herself she would only eat a small portion.

She didn’t know how long it would be until she could get back into the castle, so she truly had to savor everything this time.

As soon as the food touched her tongue, she couldn't help but let out a small groan of relief.

It had been three days since she’d properly eaten anything besides stolen seeds.

There were many times where she was unable to get the food she needed and was left hungry until she made her next trip to the palace.

She tried to make it a habit to do so every few weeks so that she never became truly starving.

The few bites she took were enough to sate her stomach from its internal earthquakes.

At least for the time being.

The events of encountering the man continued to replay in her mind as she laid her head on the ground, curling herself into a small ball.

The sound of the town around her was quiet in the night, everyone was now tucked away in their beds to seek sleep from their exhausting day.

The only thing that Aerilyn could hear was the screeches of the creatures beyond the wall piercing through the night.