Some of you know that 11alliswan11 had her story up for adoption and I was lucky enough to adopt it. So review after you're done reading and tell me what you think about it. :D

Meggie ran through the unknown desert in a desperate attempt to escape the men chasing her. Mo had read her into the book Tales From A Thousand Nights when he had been forced to read for Capricorn. Unfortunately for her, she had just interrupted a group of robbers that found a cavern full of treasure. Thinking she had been the one who made it go away, they chased after her.

Of all the books to be read into, it had to be this one. Meggie thought to herself bitterly as she continued to run.

Just above the dune she had ran onto there was a small rock. Meggie only looked back over her shoulder for just a brief second, but it was long enough for her to not notice the rock in her path. She cried out as she tripped over the rock, landing face first in the sand. As she stood up, a man grabbed her arm and pulled her closer to him. He was obviously the leader by the way he asserted himself

"Where do you think you're going, princess?" He sneered. "It isn't safe out here in the desert; especially to someone who has stolen our gold. I'll just take you back to our camp and have you punished in my tent."

Meggie didn't like the sound of his voice one bit, nor the fact that she knew where he was going with this. She pulled her arm away and spat at him.

"I didn't take any of your gold." She snapped. "Besides, I wouldn't dare touch something a pig got his grubby hands on."

"That was the wrong reply." He snickered and threw her over his shoulder.

The other men in his group of thieves followed him with whoops and hollers as Meggie pounded her fists into his back. Meggie never stopped, hoping he would let her go, but it hardly affected him. She eventually gave up when she realized she needed to save her energy.

Maybe I can get away when we reach the camp, She thought.

Reality slowly sank in and she realized what was going to be done to her. She was going to be violated and taken advantage of. There was no one to protect her here, which meant nothing would stop the men from hurting her. Silent tears started to flow and more came with each step the man took. However her crying did not stay silent for long because soon the thieves' camp came into view. It was nothing more than a few tents and a fire at the edge of a town, but to Meggie it was the most threatening place ever. A sob escape her throat and the man threw her onto the ground roughly.

"Girl, you better stop crying. I'm not going to hurt you, but I'm going to reconsider it if you don't shut up." The man barked and Meggie put her hand over her mouth. He grabbed her other arm and continued to lead her along.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Most of the thieves had gone along with their leader, but a few had stayed behind. A boy named Farid was part of that few. He sat by the fire, looking at it longingly. Farid wished he could touch the flames without burning himself, but he knew it was only a silly dream. The boy heard noise in the distance and turned his gaze out to the horizon.

They must be returning, he thought.

Farid walked to the edge of their camp to wait for Dariad, who was their leader, and the others. Farid was the youngest of the thieves so it was his job to "run the errands" as Dariad put it, but in reality he was a servant. He had joined this group to learn how to be a real thief, but so far he only knew how to steal some food once in a while.

The noise gradually grew louder and the shapes of the men went from a blob on the horizon to a detailed picture of each man. All the thieves spread out around the campfire as Dariad stopped in front of Farid. Farid withheld a gasp as he realized Dariad was tugging along a girl behind him.

"I don't know what kind of punishment this gold stealer should go through, so she'll be staying with you until I can figure it out." Dariad instructed and threw the girl into Farid's arms.

"Where's the gold she stole?" Farid asked.

"We had just found the cave when all the treasure vanished and she was there in its place. I know she has something to do with this." Dariad replied.

Farid was about to add something else, but Dariad had pulled Farid and the girl into Farid's tent. He tied the girl up to one of the tent pole's as Farid watched with shock clearly visible on his face.

"Do what you want with the girl; I'm sure she'd give you a good time." Dariad said as he left. "You've earned it for all errands you've ran for us."

"What's your name?" Farid asked once Dariad was out of hearing distance.

He approached the girl, which caused her to gasp and try to break free from her bonds. Farid knew that she probably thought he would violate her due to what Dariad had said.

"I'm not going to take advantage of you." He whispered. "You can trust me."

When the girl didn't reply, he sighed and turned away from her.

"My name is Meggie." The girl replied softly.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Mo stopped reading as gold cascaded out of the book. As Capricorn and his men gathered up the gold, Mo looked down to see what Meggie's reaction was. His heart began to beat rapidly when he realized that Meggie was not there.

"Meggie?" He called out, but there was no response.

"Meggie, where are you?!" He cried, more urgent than before.

Suddenly, realization dawned on him and he looked down at the book in his hands. He had read his own daughter into a book, just as he had with his wife. He collapsed to floor, clutching the book to his chest.

"What have I done?" He whispered.

This being said, Mo let the tears flow down his face. They splattered like little rain drops on the stone floor of Capricorn's church as the people around him cheered. Elinor bent down next to him and put her arm around him once she also realized what had happened.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

"Well you can call me Farid, Meggie." The boy said.

With the reassurance that Farid was not going to hurt her, Meggie relaxed and Farid plopped down beside her. She turned to him and took in his features. He was very tan and had deep brown eyes that she could get lost in. He looked to be about fifteen and he was only wearing shorts and a brightly colored vest. A turban was on his hair and pieces of black hair were sticking out from underneath it.

"Will you run away if I untie you?" Farid asked, breaking through her thoughts.

"…No." She replied after careful thinking.

"Why!?" He gasped.

"Because I have no where else to go. I don't belong here," She sighed.

"If you don't belong here, where do you belong?" He asked, reaching behind Meggie in order to release her.

"In a different world." She replied. Farid had now completely undone the knots and Meggie rubbed her wrist, trying to get the circulation flowing again. Farid sat down next to her and leaned back against the pole.

"What's different about it?" He asked. The curiosity was clear in his tone.

"A lot of things, Farid." She said. "Parts of my world look like this while other parts have sweeping green hills and forests. Some parts even have lakes that stretch out for miles."

Meggie pictured Elinor's house and let out a sigh It was right beside a lake and it only made her feel worse about this whole situation.

Oh Mo, She thought. Please find a way to bring me back home.

She didn't want to talk about home anymore. It made her wish for it more than when she did while thinking about it. Meggie had been in this world no more than a few hours and she was already homesick.

"So..." Meggie said trying to change the topic. Farid looked at her expectantly, but she couldn't think of new topic. "Never mind, I lost it."

"You look weary; do you need to sleep?" Farid suggested. Meggie hadn't realized up until then, but she was indeed very tired.

"Actually, I am." She murmured.

"Go ahead then," Farid gestured to his bed, which was more like a pile of blankets to Meggie, but she was too tired to object.

"Thank you." Meggie whispered and laid on her side, resting her head on Farid's lap. The boy blushed slightly, but he let her head stay there once he realized she had fallen asleep.

She is rather pretty, He thought.

Farid studied her features and an urge to touch her skin overcame him. He reached our to caress her cheek, but he pulled his hand back immediately.

She can't be older than twelve, He thought to himself. But that means she's old enough to marry.

This time Farid did not resist; he gently stroked Meggie's cheek with his thumb. Her talk of another world interested him as well. He wondered how the grass would feel under his toes, how cool it would be under the trees in the forest, and how refreshing it would be to swim in a lake for miles and miles. Farid smiled as he imagined the paradise and he eventually dozed off, one arm around Meggie's waist and his free hand resting on her cheek.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

The leader of the thieves watched the boy as he interacted with the girl. He was curious as to what Farid would do. He didn't actually think that Farid would take advantage of the girl, but he wanted to know all the same and his thoughts were confirmed as Farid told the girl that he wouldn't hurt her.

Meggie, Dariad thought. Such a peculiar name…

"You look weary; do you need to sleep?" He heard Farid say.

Dariad watched as Meggie agreed then laid down, her head resting on the boy's lap. Once she was asleep he watched Farid examine her carefully as if she was as fragile as glass.

What is that look in his eyes? Dariad thought. Is it caring? No, it can't be caring. Caring isn't in the nature of thieves.

Dariad watched the boy reach out and touch the girl's cheek.

Yes, it is caring. He thought. That is sort of sweet. It's too bad that I'll have to discipline the girl tomorrow.

Dariad smiled at the thought of the pain he would deliver. His last thought before sleep overcame him was whether to use the whip or the knife.