Chapter One

Serafina woke with a jolt. The young thief looked around her surroundings suspiciously and frowned—once again she managed to get caught on the job. She knew where she was, the cell in the basement of the Village Watch quarters. The thief smiled to herself when she saw the guard who was supposed to be ensuring she would not escape this time—he was snoring. Judging from the empty bottle in his hand he had drunk himself to oblivion.

Slightly pleased that she was relatively uninjured—excluding the lump on the back of her head, Serafina decided it was time to escape. Raised in the slums of Gondor and being capable of escaping Gondorian guards and their prisons, this little Village Watch in Bree was a mere hiccough in her routine. However, Serafina knew that all hope of completing the job was beyond her now, they would be watching. 'Perhaps' she thought to herself, 'perhaps, it is time to move on'. Being as impulsive as she was, she knew she would leave the village of Bree behind before the week died.

Pulling some pins from her hair, Serafina swiftly picked the lock, removed the keys from the sleeping guards belt, creped through the Village Watch quarters and slipped unseen into the night.

…………………………

Once in the main street of Bree, the thief frowned again. There was something not right about the night. However unsettled the night made her, Serafina drew comfort from the rain—she was less likely to be recognised due to the reduced visibility the downpour had awarded. Turning into the dark alley that she had slept in the night before, she ran quickly to the bin she had stowed her rucksack in.

"Leaving so soon?" came a low voice behind her.

Serafina cursed her carelessness as she outweighed her options. There did not seem to be many to weigh. Tuning to face the ringleader of the band of criminals she had been working for, Garth, Serafina found it difficult to keep a smooth face.

"Yes, you see I thought it best." She replied tartly.

"Oh you did, did you?"

"Yes"

"I do not concur with you decision. Because the way I see it, you failed."

Serafina was scared, this rouge was someone she doubted the Gods would be quick to anger, but she knew she didn't get to where she was today by quailing in his face, or the face of anyone she had worked for and failed. Mentally squaring her shoulders she turned her back on him to pick up her rucksack. She wasn't stupid, turning your back on this man was definitely not the most desirable course of action but it showed Garth she wasn't afraid of him, it conveyed she had nothing to hide, no reason to fear him—all of it lies.

When she was facing him again she saw him smiling. She would rather see him glowering.

"Did I do something to amuse you? Perhaps I should give up thieving and become a court jester? Do you think?"

"No I do not think you should be a jester, no court would have you. Although Lady, you amuse me." He paused his eyes holding the mirth. Serafina braced herself, "You have completed far more complex jobs for me and my tardy bunch, and yet this was a simple robbery, you were given the times the owners would be absent, and offered a more then generous reward…still you were caught. Now pardon me my lady, I've never been one for numbers and such but that doesn't add up."

The wheels in Serafina's head spun. Garth didn't waste time stating the obvious, nor dwelling on what happened but on what happens next, so why was he wasting his time telling her this? Unless…

"You set me up." Serafina stated through gritted teeth.

"Yes, yes I did." Garth said chuckling. "But then you outsmarted me. You escaped."

Garth was no longer chuckling. Serafina was growing confident, it had seemed she'd got the better of him.

"Well then it looks like I've won…don't it?" Garth chuckled again and Serafina's confidence waned. "You've known me a long time Garth, I know how to escape capture, I've known it since Gondor. It's the best backup plan I've ever had. What did you think I wouldn't have a backup plan?" the girl's confidence was restored, she even considered she might live to see the morning. Garth looked down the alleyway and smiled.

"I see." Garth said smiling, no grinning. He was grinning.

Serafina looked in the direction he had just before. Through the rain and mist she could make out a mob of large men walking slowly towards them.

"Are they…?" She asked quivering.

"Thugs? Oh yes they are thugs. A few of them are assassins you know, just my tardy bunch." He smiled maliciously at her face: she was scared. "What did you think I wouldn't have a backup plan?"

Realisation dawned. Serafina swore loudly at Garth and bolted. Before she turned the corner she heard his laughter, cold and cruel.

…………………………

Mind, heart and feet racing, Serafina flew through the village of Bree. She knew she could move quicker than a bunch of ten or so men, and she used it to her advantage. Thinking fast she knew the gates to the village would be closed, and there was no way she could sleep in the street, not if she wanted to wake up in the morning anyway. Her best bet was an inn.

She realised she was thinking too much when she tripped over the handle of a wagon lying abandoned in the road. Picking herself out of the mud she tasted blood in her mouth. She wasn't concerned about the split lip. However there was a stinging pain in her side glancing down at the wagon she saw she fell on a broken handle with splinters protruding that now carried her blood. Cursing lightly as not to draw attention to herself she began to jog towards the crowds of people she knew would be in the next street. Rounding the corner she slowed her jog to a walk, this was a far cleaner part of town, and although there were still scoundrels in this area Serafina did not want to get caught for simply looking suspicious. Pulling a clean cloak from her rucksack, Serafina used it to cover not only her identity, but also her wound and muddy clothing. Glancing around quickly to make sure she was not being followed she stepped into the best inn in town: The Prancing Pony.