Disclaimer: I do not own any of JK Rowling's work, or characters, so anything you see in my story that is in her story is hers.

Summary: Lily is personal servant, body guard, and best friend to Amial, princess of Spain. When Lily hears of a possible attempt at Amial, she must use her wit to save the princess...and herself. She must race against time, Dark Powers, deceit, the King of Thieves...a particularly good-looking man..., and love to save her kingdom. L/J AU

Of Fire and Thieves

Interests Awakened

The warm water felt delicious against Lily's dirty skin. She splashed quietly in the tub, enjoying the attention her hair was receiving from her own, massaging hands. On the floor to the left sprawled the woman's discarded finery, and to the right stood Rosemerta, dutifully guarding the door.

A relaxing sense of calm filled Lily's mind, and her heart beat slowed down, her eyes drifting shut.

She was in the capture of thieves. It was unheard of for THE King of Thieves to kidnap for anyone but himself (he didn't take orders from nobles or needy country-men). So therefore, he wanted the supposed princess for his own purposes. What they were, Lily could only guess.

Seeing as she hadn't yet come to too much harm (as far as her honor and virtue was concerned) it was unlikely that he had captured her for reasons pertaining to that aspect.

The only reason she could come up with as to why thieves wanted the Princess of Spain was for blackmail against the King. Any person in their right mind, had they been in the King's position of having the Princess of Spain under their capture, would use Amial against her father to either gain a seat on the thrown or in court.

But why would a King of Thieves want to deal with such affairs as a Royal Court did? Thieves were ruffians; penniless people who stole from others to make a living. Sure, being King of a COUNTRY sounded high and mighty, but from what Lily had deduced, the King of Thieves was a smart man.

Any smart man would know that there is more to being King than meets the eye.

Lily sighed and dunked her soapy hair under the water. Her mind was running circles around her. She just couldn't find an answer!

Reemerging from the now dirty tub of water Lily thought, This time, I won't run away. I will see where they take me and keep my wits about me. I can't be used for blackmail if I am not the proper princess.

Stepping from the tub, Lily wrapped herself in a plain, rough towel given to her by Rosemerta.

She dried herself quickly and dawned on the garments handed to her by the elder lady—she would apparently not be wearing her old clothes again, for which Lily was thankful.

The new dress she slipped on was plain brown cotton, and had no corset to trap Lily. The skirt was parted, and Lily immediately gathered that she would be riding a horse.

Rosemerta stepped back, her sharp, approving eyes roving Lily like a mother would her grown daughter and said, "Not meaning to be rude, but I fair favor these plain clothes on you over that fancy jig you had on earlier; you look more free,"

Lily had been thinking the same thing, but chose silence over speech. She kept her mouth shut.

Turning to the small mirror, Lily frowned at her face. Her eyebrows, truth to be told, were much darker than her white blonde hair.

It is a good thing my captors are unobservant and don't take notice of such things, she thought. I will be happy when this is over. I hate this hair!

Lily sighed again and turned to Rosemerta. Rosemerta's stance was thoughtful. She pondered Lily for a minute, then said,

"Girl, they asked me to give you a disguise. Obviously they don't want to be using a shielding charm because any good wizard or witch knows how to cancel them, and every good wizard and witch will be looking for you," she paused, and Lily could see where this was going. It was dangerous, she knew, but Rosemerta could loose her lips at any moment and tell her captors she wasn't the true princess.

"I am asking you to change you hair back to its natural color," Lily made to protest, but Rosemerta cut her off. "My boys will think I performed a nifty spell on you. They won't even suspect that it's your natural color,"

Lily looked down at the floor. She couldn't see a way out of this. And, she thought, cursing the part of her mind that was betraying Amial by saying this, I will be glad to have my normal hair back.

Looking back up at the beautiful woman, Lily muttered, "Rollofom."

With a stutter, and then a flourish, Lily's hair burst into color and curl, glad to escape its former pale, straight bonds.

Rosemerta half-gasped, a hand covering her mouth.

Lily smiled crookedly at the woman, "You like?" she asked.

Rosemerta finally managed to nod, a smile suddenly sweeping across her face. "Wow. You have a wild beauty. I never would have guessed with that blonde hair, but this just fits you,"

Lily managed a smile, a blush rushing to her cheeks; it was rare that she was complimented about her beauty. She had always thought herself plain, maybe even pretty, but she had rarely been complimented. She had always stood dutifully in the shadow of Amial.

A knock sounded at the door. "Rosemerta, is she ready?"

Rosemerta smiled to Lily. "Knock 'em dead, my girl,"

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James had been pranked only a few times in his life, for usually it was he who was doing the pranking. Even he would have to admit that what the princess had done to him was genius and cruel. And, as much as he was loath to confess; the action had caught him totally by surprise.

These thoughts, however, merely brushed his conscience briefly. His total and complete concentration was focused on his itching skin. It had started as a small annoyance, like an ill-placed bug-bite, on the back of his neck. But no bump marred his skin as an insect bite would, had that been the cause of his distress.

It occurred to him of what it was somewhere between the point when his entire upper body began itching insanely and when he tipped over the table on the Brans Brothers out of annoyance; he had been doused in itchwort.

Now, sixty two swearwords, seven spontaneous curses upon the Brans Brothers and Peter, and an hour later, James sat moodily in the saddle of his large warhorse.

His black hair was mused in such a way that it gave him the appearance of a ruffled crow, and his darkened hazel eyes spoke of frustration.

"Aww…" crooned Sirius from next to him, "poor Jamsie was pranked by a princess,"

No noise escaped James' clenched throat, but the distressed man turned his glare to his friend. His skin crawled all over, and his hands trembled from the effort of keeping them from scratching his body.

He had bathed (scrubbing hard at his reddened body) and changed clothes, but to no avail. The herb had set into his skin, and it would be a good ten hours before it let up.

The King finally let out a low moan and attempted to scratch himself. The itching did not cease, only intensified, and his scratched skin began to burn.

A roll of laughter met his ears, and James turned to find Remus walking towards them. James huffed and crossed his arms grumpily. "Is the princess almost ready?" he questioned.

Remus nodded, then said, "And I think I'll keep you two distanced for today. I'm not sure a confrontation would be the best idea at this moment." This time Sirius laughed. James glowered even more, dragging his dull fingernails across his irritated skin.

Choosing to ignore his friends, lest he say something he would later regret, James turned to the open yard, looking across the small company.

The yard was filled with horses and caravans and people. Most of them were Spaniards, but some were wandering groups who had joined their cause. The appearance set off was that of gypsies, for many of the people wore clothes roughly put together with much imagination. Many of them wore weapons, men, women, and children alike, and each person held a secret story of hardship behind their eyes.

A hand tugged on James' pant leg, and the man looked down into the face of a young boy. "Sir, Peter sent me to tell you everything is ready to move out,"

James forced a smile out through his burning face and called out; "Dani-aza is our destination. Let us reach it before the morrow!"

A cheer went up, and James spurred his big grey roan into action.

As he trotted out of the yard and onto the back-country road, James' eye caught a flash of red amber. He whipped his head around, trying to find the source of the luxurious color, but his view was obstructed by one of the caravans.

Sighing, he faced forward and began the long trek home. Hopefully, he thought to himself, for the last time.

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Lily looked around herself in wonder. Everyone was dressed so freely and the caravans were so colorful! Had she been in any other position, she would have felt immediately at home. Unfortunately, she was a captive.

She had been given a horse, Lynx was his name, but he had been tied to Remus's steed, making it impossible for Lily to escape on horseback. The number of people around her was such that if she had wanted to escape by foot, she would be incapable. Any man, woman, or child would be easily able to reach out a hand to grab her.

Lynx was a beautiful creature. Deep mahogany brown hair glistened in the bright sunlight, much as Lily's own hair did. Her nose was velvety and pink, and white socks adorned three of her feet.

Lily smiled and reached down a tender hand to pat her neck.

The werewolf beside her chuckled and looked on ahead. "You gave James quite the difficulty," he said lightly, glancing toward the captive.

Lily's eyes shone with a silent question. "James?"

"Our King is in a current state of hysteria. The itchwort you poured mercilessly on him seems to have taken affect,"

Lily threw back her head and laughed. "You believe me to have pulled a prank on your dear King? A princess? Pull a prank?"

The man shrugged, "You didn't deny it."

Lily smirked, fully allowing the werewolf to see her smugness. "Do you have a name? Or am I just to call you 'henchmen'?"

It was his turn to smile now. Bowing from the waist in his saddle he said, "Princess, it is a pleasure to meet you. My name is Remus, and I shall be your escort for the rest of the day."

His voice was light and friendly, not superior, not arrogant. Lily rather liked this man. She carried on friendly conversation with him, trying to be impersonal, so as not to reveal anything that might give her away.

The afternoon sun was dipping low on the horizon in front of them and cast a red glow about the traveling group. Lynx walked placidly beneath Lily, her head up and alert.

"We should reach Dani-aza within the hour. It is merely a resting point on our journey to the coast. From there, we will be taking a ship to Spain, or somewhere around there. James will be pleased that we made such quick time,"

At the mention of the King's name, Lily's mind strayed. Thinking back almost too readily to her earlier run-in with the well-toned body of the King, Lily blushed.

Lily could almost feel his skin under her fingertips. She remembered the shiny scar on his left breast, most probably a long-healed wound from ages past. But Lily couldn't help but wonder where it came from and why anyone would want to hurt such a…

"—will attach an irremovable tracking device to you to make sure you won't run away. After the stunt you pulled last night and this morning, Sirius has got it out for you." Remus finished speaking.

Lily heaved a sigh, realizing Remus had just been talking to her. Lynx's ears flipped back at the sound of her mistress's distress, curious as to what it was.

Patting her mare's head Lily nodded, suddenly animatedly, in order to cover up her lack of attention towards Remus. Doing such brought her memories of Moody. He would, not often, but sometimes, ramble on about subjects that held absolutely no interest for Lily. Subjects mostly obtaining to the Royal family, or what used to be the Royal family; King Harold and his queen and their son. In any case, Lily would nod off, thinking of a particularly hard spell or potion or move.

Quickly realizing Remus and her had lapsed into an uncomfortable silence (uncomfortable on his end), Lily tried to strike up a conversation, still partly disoriented from her mind's lack of control.

"So," Lily looked about herself, "are all these people your type?" She cringed inwardly at her wording for the people traveling with her. What she had said was discriminating against both Remus, who was kind (though undoubtedly a thief), and the others, who had neither been outwardly friendly toward her, but neither had they been hostile. And yet, Lily had played her part; a princess under kidnap would have said something similarly prejudice.

Remus seemed to pick up on what she had implied, but his face was a mask of composure. Lily silently applauded him on his tactfulness.

"They are not thieves, if that is what you are suggesting,"

Lily appraised him coolly, "Not at all. I was merely wondering whose banner they stood under,"

A loud laugh brought Lily's head swinging around. Her eyes fell to rest on Fido, who, in turn, swung his horse around to walk alongside Lily and Remus. "We are not standing under any banner of your type, lady," he mocked Lily's wording from earlier. "The only banner we stand under is that of King James. And it's a good one; let me tell you that, for sure,"

"Oh?" Lily inquired coolly, "And what makes it so good? The fact that you can steal whatever you need? That doesn't sound like much of a living to me!"

The black haired man's eyes narrowed. "I wouldn't be talking about stealing if I were the daughter of that dog-of-a King you call Father!" he bellowed, causing many heads to turn, "After what he did to—"

"That's quite enough, Sirius," Remus broke in quietly. "I'm sure the Princess doesn't enjoy being shouted at. And I'm also sure she doesn't need to know," he said pointedly.

Sirius ground his teeth together.

Lily was stunned in to silence.

She had some thinking to do.

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A chapter that pretty much got me no where. School and soccer have started (I'm on Varsity!) so it will be harder to update. I'll try my hardest, but be patient.

Reviews would be appreciated!