Stolen

By: RebekahWSD

Some people have a knack for finding strange things. Strange things always seem to find Zane Legends. He had expected it to be calmer out here in the countryside though, surrounded only by lakes, trees, and the animals. Of course, he did have to go to town every once in awhile to get supplies, but even the town here was generally quiet.

Except when he got there, there was quite the commotion going on. Looking around, he sighed. It was just Mrs. Marb and Mrs. Garren gossiping quite a bit. They were always gossiping, in their large bustles and heavy fabric flown in from exotic locales. He tried to ignore them every time he came to town, as they were just wont to gossip about him, how he lived by himself, and how he hadn't found a nice lady to settle down with.

That was when they weren't trying to set him up with various ladies. And while he loved them, not a single one of them knew how to cook.

And so, he continued to live alone, doing his own cooking. At least he could stand that.

Today though, today the ladies seemed even more in a tizzy about some going ons. He rolled his eyes but listened in, doing his best to not grab their attention, because otherwise they might actually try and talk to him.

"Did you see the entourage? It was magnificent! But that court magician...oh he's a fancy one," one of the two said. To be honest, he couldn't tell them apart. They always seemed so similar to him, he just grouped them together in his mind.

Just as she was about to say something else, she gasped, pulling her fan up to her face. Zane looked over, noticing a new person had entered the square.

This must be the court magician he thought, amused. They were quite right with how fancy he was, the fact he was wearing a long purple cape, hair done up in some fancy style he had never seen, and had striking blue eyes.

"No wonder they're smitten," Zane murmured, quiet enough to be unheard.

"Are they?" the magician said as he appeared next to Zane. Zane flailed about slightly as he frowned at him, trying to figure out how the magician had gotten so close to him, so quickly.

"Yes. You're apparently all the talk today. Know any magic tricks, or is it just alchemy and star gazing for you?" Zane said, suddenly incredibly aware of just how dirty and disheveled compared to the magician he was. He was also acutely aware of how the ladies had moved a bit away, and were gossiping even louder, most likely about the two of them. Frowning, he stood up straight, staring at the amused magician.

"I know how to steal a heart, apparently," the magician said, eyes sparkling.

Zane rolled his eyes slightly, sighing. "Their hearts are easy to steal."

"I wasn't talking about their hearts," he said, leaning closer.

Zane looked confused for a moment, just staring at the magician. Was he suggesting he...?

"Shall we give them even more to talk about? The entourage is going to dinner soon, join me. We've brought our own chef, trained to cook for the King even..." the magician said, offering his hand to Zane.

Zane pondered the offer for a moment before his stomach growled, making the decision for him. The magician chuckled as Zane took his hand, shaking it as he nodded.

"Very good!"

Zane was pleasantly surprised to see that the King was not part of the group. Truth be told, he usually wasn't, as he was very busy during the spring. But since it was a group from the courts, he quite easily could have been part of it.

Zane sat down just as they started pulling food out, almost missing the conversation happening next to him as he started to eat.

"So you see dear princess, I think you'll find this young gentleman quite perfect if you wish to upset the King greatly," the magician was saying to the lovely damask clad princess next to him.

The sentence slowly worked through the fog of food as he realized what was said.

"...you want me to upset the King? Oh nooo," Zane managed to say as he took a long drink of water.

"Oh, it's not for long. And I'll reward you greatly," the princess said, batting her eyes at him. "Not to mention, you really have no choice, now do you?" she said, smile still soft, even if her eyes were amused. He looked at the magician who was now smirking at him.

"I steal more than just hearts. Should have called me the court thief instead," the magician said, earning the amused laugh of the princess.

"Oh bother," Zane said quietly as he continued to eat. At least he wouldn't have to hear the ladies gossiping again.