Love's Names

It was almost like old times again, just her and Shade hanging out with nothing better to do but lay out under the trees and stars. She was closer to him then anyone she'd ever really known, sometimes she forgot that they weren't even related by blood. Not that it mattered, he was her little brother, no matter what. 1

It'd made her happy when he'd accepted her back like he did, she had abandoned him with out so much as a goodbye, leaving him in the capable hands of her thieving friends. He appeared to not resent her for it, that didn't mean she couldn't resent herself. She would never forgive herself for that, ever. It'd been so long she couldn't even remember what journey she was supposed to have been on. Perhaps it was one to find herself, God knows she needed to. She was beyond lost as to what her purpose in life was. 2

Six-year-old Shade gave a small sigh next to her. She watched him, heart glowing in maternal love for the boy. He'd grown so much in a year. Shade of course wasn't his real name, that was something they just called him, all the members of the thief guild had their street names, She was Mousy. His real name was something only the two and the Thief Lord knew, she wondered sometimes if Shade even remembered it. Mouse had left hers behind along with her old life. There was only one who knew her name, it had become lost to even her by now, She was Mousy, at least among the thieves, that name had become weighed with sorrow too. Her new companions knew her as Starr. She knew it'd thrown them off when they'd arrived, she had so many names. 3

Shade was lucky he only had two, his street name and his real name, should he ever want to be called Trait again. 4

The moon was starting to set below the trees, they'd have to leave soon. 5

"I've been hoping to meet you again." A voice icy cold cut through Mousy's happy little reunion. Shade jumped up at the sound and she pushed him back to the ground. 6

"Stay hidden." She warned. "What do you want Lyeic?" Mousy stood and drew her sword, this wasn't good. 7

"Is that how you greet an old friend?" He mocked. She shifted her balance making sure her body was in front of Shade. 8

"I don't want a fight go away." Shade didn't need to see this he was too young. 9

"I have orders to capture you and Jayden, where is he anyway?" Lyeic glanced around as if trying to spot his brother among the trees. 10

"Not here." She tightened her grip on her weapon. 11

"Fine you'll do then." 12

She cursed as he lunged at her, Mousy pulled her sword up to block. They exchanged blows for a bit, she did her best to move the fight away from Shade, neither one landing a hit. She held back, and oddly enough he did too. Shade didn't need to see this. 13

Mouse's mind was too focused on Shade and not on the fight. With a well aimed thrust and a bad block on her part, he sliced her wrist, forcing her to let go of the weapon. 14

"You're beat." He smirked carefully positioning the point of his blade under her chin as she backed away and finally trapped herself between a tree and his sword. 15

"Don't do this." she pleaded, eyes searching for the little boy she knew was hiding somewhere, watching everything. 16

"I have to, he controls me now, I have no say in any of this." Distain was clear in his voice, Lyeic wasn't fond of his new 'master.' 17

"You always have a choice." Mousy whimpered. 18

"You were the one holding back, I've fought you before I know how skilled you are and that battle just now was a poor imitation." He frowned. "What's up with that?" 19

"I'm tired." She lied quickly. 20

"Too bad, I was hoping for a more challenging kill." 21

"Kill?" She shrieked. "You said you were ordered to capture me." 22

"I lied, kind of like what you just did. Truth is you and yours are too much of a threat, he wants you dead." 23

"You can't kill me! You wouldn't! What about all we've been through Lyeic, once upon a time we were friends, more then friends." Mousy was pleading now. Shade was watching, she didn't want him to have to witness her death. 24

"And once upon a time I might have been allowed to care." He drew back for his final blow. This is how she was going to die, by a fluke of luck and a reluctance to fight. If he hadn't caught her out with Shade, she guarantee their positions would have been reversed. Although she still didn't think she could have brought herself to kill him, she loved him once. She loved him still. 25

"Not here." Mousy pleaded again, looking up and searching his deep brown eyes for any compassion, he kept his emotions well hidden. "Please, not here." 26

"And why not?" 27

She was about to open her mouth to spit out some stupid lie but Shade charged out of the surrounding forest and latched himself around Leyic's waist, using all his strength to pull the man away from her. "Leave my Mousy alone!" He sobbed salty tears striking down his dirty face. 28

"Shade go home." Mousy ordered. 29

"NO!" He continued to try and save her. 30

"Who are you, and what's a mousy?" Lyeic's guard dropped only a bit but his blade was still trained to her, as he tried to pry the child off him. 31

"Leave my Mousy alone!" Shade's voice broke in desperation. "You can't kill her." 32

"Kid go home, this isn't any of your business." Leyic gave him a shove and Shade fell to his bum. He pressed the blade back to Mouse's neck and a thin line of blood swelled under it. 33

"Mousy!" Her little brother started to cry into his hands. 34

"Shhhh, it's okay, go home Shade, I'll be fine." It was the worst lie she'd ever told him. She wasn't going to be alright when he left. She only hoped his little mind couldn't comprehend the lethality of the situation she was in, what was important was keeping him safe. He continued to sob as if he'd never heard her. 35

"What is a mousy and who are you?" Lyeic asked again. 36

"Me," She chocked, "I'm Mousy." 37

"Starr?" He betrayed his confusion. 38

"That's not her name!" Shade yelled. "It's Mousy!" 39

"What does he mean." Lyeic demanded. 40

"I was Mousy before I was Starr and I had other names before even that. He and the rest of the thieves' guild know me as Mousy. He's my brother." 41

"You never mentioned you were a thief." He accused. "Or that you had a brother." 42

"You never asked." She coughed, the cut had been deeper then Mousy had first thought, it was still bleeding in a steady stream. 43

"Starr?" He questioned seeing her eye lids flutter and red ooze from the corner of her mouth. "Oh shit Starr." Maybe he did still care about her. 44

"Hawke." She called to her familiar. A large wolf emerged out of the shadows, teeth barred and hackles raised. He was Hawke, Mouse's familiar. 45

A familiar, is a person who had an elemental ability's animal partner. They were few and kept their familiar's hidden and used them only as a last resort. If they were killed it was like a part of your soul was ripped from your body, if they were captured as Lyeic's had been, they could be used as leverage. Any pain inflicted on the familiar was felt by it's partner, and death of one most surely resulted in the death of the other. That's why Lyeic was a traitor now, his familiar, a large falcon by the name of Oberon, was being held against him by their enemy, the King Garington, who himself was an elemental. 46

'Do you want me to tear his head off?' The wolf's voice growled in her head. 47

'No,' Mousy shook her head, 'Just get Shade out of here.' 48

Hawke nudged the small boy until he looked up wearily. "Go with Hawke Shade." she urged. "I'll be right behind." Mousy watched her brother nod and clamber on to the wolf's back. "Shade." He turned to look at her. "I love you, remember that." She uttered knowing it would be the last time she saw him 49

"I love you too sister." He wiped his eyes and he and Hawke disappeared into the woods. 50

~..µ..~51

"Master Shadow." Shade whined jumping off the now slowly moving wolf and running to the Thief Lord Shadow. He was in his early twenties, roughly the same age as 52

Shade's adoptive sister, Mousy. "Shadow!" He cried running to the man who paused in his talking. He sat at a table chatting with the newcomer who had arrived with Mouse. A man a year or two younger then her, his name was Jayden, he was an elemental too, his familiar was a large white dog by the name of Ice.53

"What's wrong Shade?" Shadow seemed a little worried at the small boy's frantic state and he hadn't failed to notice that the ever constant Mouse wasn't near by, or the fact that her familiar was now walking drunkenly towards them. Shadow stood and his strait black hair fell into his face. 54

"Mousy, it's Mousy." He cried. This caught Jayden's attention too and he spotted the wolf.55

"This isn't good." He groaned going to the wolf. 56

"What's wrong with Mouse?" Shadow was a more then frantic. Once, a long time ago he'd cared for her. He'd however blown it and he knew even if she hadn't admitted it that he was part of the reason she'd left. She'd made it clear upon returning that she didn't have those feelings for him any more, but he still did. 57

"She's hurt, there was a man in the forest." Shade was crying again. 58

Shadow's face paled and he turned to Jayden who was inspecting the wolf. "Hawke's not hurt Shadow, his condition can only be caused by one other thing…" 59

'She's hurt, you have to find he before he…' Hawke's echoing voice died in the boys' heads and he collapsed to the ground. 60

"Shadow we have to go now." Jayden's voice was calm but he was shaking badly. 61

"Shade where were you?" 62

"The woods." 63

"The usual spot?" 64

"Uh-hu." The little boy nodded. 65

"Follow me." Shadow took of at a quick run drawing his own sword Jayden and Ice close behind. 66

They got there too late. Mouse was slouched against a tree blood leaking from her mouth as she breathed in short shallow breaths, her eyes open only a sliver. "Shit Mouse what happened?" Shadow ripped his shirt and tried to bandage the wound in her neck, knowing full well that the attempt was futile. 67

"Lyeic." She rasped and a fresh flow of blood stained her lips. 68

"Bastard. Where did he go?" Jayden was going to get him for this. Unlike Starr or rather Mouse, he didn't forgive so easily, he took Leyic's betrayal hard. 69

Mouse made an attempt to speak but failed and slipped into unconsciousness, going limp in Shadow's arms. "Can we save her?" He pleaded with Jayden. 70

"She's lost too much blood, I don't think we can…" 71

A tear slipped from Shadow's eye. He loved her, even if she'd moved on. He lowered his mouth to hers and gave her a sweet kiss, one like they hadn't shared in years. She smiled weakly as he pulled away, eyes closing as her breathing stopped. She was gone. This time for good. 72

Jayden came up behind Shadow, and placed a comforting hand on his shoulder holding back tears of his own. The thief lord cried freely now, and Jay knew that no matter how close he himself had been to the girl it would never compare to the way Shadow had felt, and Shade would be no better, Mouse had practically raised him. 73

"We're going to take her body back and bury her in the catacombs, with the other fallen members." 74

"The catacombs?" 75

"She was after all the Princess of Thieves." He muttered. "We always burry the greatest in the catacombs, and I don't think any will object to her being there." Shadow muttered as he gingerly picked up her body. "Hawke is welcome to be with her. He would have died too correct." 76

Jayden nodded a yes. "What about Shade? What do we tell him?" 77

"We tell him she left. He is not to know of her death, nor see the body, or be present at the funeral. I know she'd want him protected from all this, and it wouldn't be the first time she's done this. She's a runaway, that hates being tied down for too long, he might not understand, but it's better then the guilt he’ll feel from the truth." 78

"Of course." Jay agreed standing back a little bit. 79

Shadow looked at the girl in his arms and brushed a strand of fire red hair from her colorless face. "April." He murmured, "That's her real name, I don't even know if she knew I knew it. I always liked it better then Mouse." Love shone in his eyes. "She's beautiful even wrapped in death." 80

"You loved her." Jayden observed, he'd known the two had past but didn't realize how deep it had been. 81

"Too bad she didn't feel the same." He sighed, "It was my fault really, I suppose, but she met someone, didn't she." 82

"Yeah." Jay's voice grew bitter. "She fell hard for Lyeic, even after his betrayal she loved him." 83

"Lyeic? Isn't he the one who killed her?" 84

"It would seem so." 85

"Why him?" His tone was venomous. 86

"I couldn't tell you." Silence passed between them, "We should get going." 87

"Yeah… right." Shadow agreed slowly, to upset to be angry. The two trudged back with the girl's body. 88

The scene of when they first met played over in his head.89

~..µ..~90

"What kind of thief get's caught?" The girl huffed, taking deep breaths of air. The boy she'd just rescued from the guards, collapsed out of breath beside her. He was probably only a couple years older then her thirteen, with straight black hair falling into his bright eyes. 91

"I had everything under control." He scowled. 92

"Yeah, I bet." She scoffed. 93

"I did! You'll see I'll be the thief lord one day." He declared a great big smirk on his face. 94

"Well almighty thief lord, tell me, were you planning on escaping before or after they finished laughing at you." 95

He flushed and remained silent. After a moment he got to his feet and staggered out of the alley and into a well dressed woman passing by. He grabbed on to her arm to stop himself falling. "Get off urchin!" She shrieked shaking her arm lose. The boy let go and stumbled away, back to the girl in the alley. 96

"Not so good on your feet." She remarked97

He grabbed her hand and forced something into it. "Hey…wha…what?" She held up a thin silver rope bracelet. 98

"I think it would look much better on you then her." He jerked his head in the woman's direction. 99

"What's your name?" She asked clasping it on her wrist. 100

"Shadow." He smiled, "And yours?" 101

"I don't have a name." She said causally, shaking her wrist and watching the bracelet shift around it. "Shadow, huh, that's unusual, you're a thief." It wasn't a question, but an observation. 102

"Don't have a name, that's a lie, and so what if I'm a thief." 103

"Well you're not very good, as I pointed out before, and I doubt any mother would name her son Shadow, that's something the thieves guild does, lets the members pick their own name." 104

"I can't see a mother not naming her child. Come on you must be called something." He prodded. 105

"Nope." She dismissed him simply. 106

"So, where do you live." 107

"No where." 108

"Interesting." He stood, "Walk with me."109

"Why?" 110

"I'm not going to leave a little girl defenseless on the streets." 111

"I'm not little or defenseless." She snapped her eyes to him annoyed. "Who's the one that just saved your but, Mr. 'thief lord'?" She mocked.112

"What else do you have to do?" He shrugged. "Since you have no where to go, why not become a thief, you seem to have the skills." 113

She tilted her head in thought for a minuet. "You know what, you're right. What the hell, it's not like I'm going any where on the streets." 114

"Perfect, you can be my second in command when I'm the thief lord." 115

"Keep dreaming, thief boy." She shoved him lightly as they strode out of the alley. 116

~..µ..~117

Shadow blinked away more tears, of course he'd relive that memory, after she'd died. It was the first time they'd met. She'd distracted the guards who'd captured him and then broke him loose from their grasp. He'd have gone to jail that day if it hadn't been for her. The girl with no name. 118

"Hey Shadow, what's…going…on…God is that Mouse?" Shadow's new second in command, a scraggly teenage boy under that name Dove, ran out to meet them, stopping when he saw the body in Shadow's arms. He had a mane of light brown hair and was drowning in clothes that were too big for him. His baby blue eyes that normally sparkled with humor were now weighed in confusion and sadness. "Shit, is she…is she….what the hell happened?" 119

He took a step closer. 120

"Dove, is Shade around?" 121

"Yeah he's waiting for….man what happened, please don't tell me she's dead." 122

"Donaven, listen to me, we need to distract Shade, he…he can't see her, he can't know. Understand." Shadow was close to tears again. 123

"I…man…what happened?" 124

"Dove now!" He barked. 125

"Yeah, okay, alright." He turned to leave. 126

"Wait." Jay stopped him. "Where's Hawke, the wolf?" 127

"The big black one? He's with Shade, sleeping I think, he freaked out a while ago." 128

"I got Mouse, you take care of Hawke, and Dove, get Shade out of here." Shadow commanded. 129

"Going." Dove answered, he and Jay entered the building. Shadow remained outside until Jayden appeared at the doorway with the wolf weighing heavily in his arms. 130

"He's dead too, it's common for a familiar to die when their partner does. Dove's taken Shade somewhere, I'm not sure where, but he's gone." 131

"Good, we have to do this fast. We'll get them to the catacombs and organize a funeral for another time." The two boys entered the building and the curious guild members still present froze when they caught sight of their lord and what he held in his hands. 132

"Shadow, what happened?" They all started to ask. 133

"Later, not now, we have to get her to the catacombs before Dove returns with Shade." 134

"Let me help, you should go clean up." A burly thief offered to take Mouse form Shadow. 135

"NO!" He said a little to forcefully. "I mean I got it." 136

The man nodded in understanding and left the thief lord be. "Do what you need to." 137

A series of secret tunnels that only the thieves had mapped ran under nearly every part of the city and lead to the underground cemetery of catacombs used as tombs for the thieves. Shadow brought Mouse to an empty tomb the concrete lid askew and laid her in it Jay place Hawke next to her. 138

Jayden looked around and took in his surroundings. The maze of arches and tunnels were lit by ever burning torches. The underground stone cooling off the entire atmosphere left them slightly chilled. And the fact that it was indeed a burial ground lined with bones and tombs sent eerie shivers down his back. It was no surprise that the Thief Lord had been able to navigate the tunnels without a map, in fact there were no actual maps of the tunnels and catacombs, the thieves didn't want there secret roadways invaded by others. Few people ventured here, it was as easy as turning around to get lost down. But the thieves had their tricks and most needed no help to find their way. 139

"She'll be laid to rest here. The funeral will be tomorrow night at dusk, you of course being her friend are welcome to attend and you are now a friend of the guild as long as you hold loyal to our friendship towards you. I warn you if you betray us you won't live to tell the tale." Shadow's grim mood frightened Jay to no end. "I'll give you a badge clarifying your standing in this guild, it's like a pass among the thieves, and when they see it's from me you're sure to have little trouble with the loyal members." He nodded to himself. "We should head back." He took one last longing look at Mouse's body and led Jay out of the twisting paths of tunnels and back to the tavern like building that was the main headquarters for the thieves' guild. 140

~..µ..~141

He walked in the room, and lit a candle on the bedside table dropping a small rope bracelet beside it, a small ruby charm glittered in the light. His room was small and under furnished, unlike the last Thief Lord he cared more for the members then himself and took only a small percentage of the larger heists to keep. You don't become a thief because you're rich. It was this compassion that had allowed him such a long time on the throne, most only lasted a few years, Shadow was going into his fifth. 142

He was twenty five now. Mouse would have been Twenty three. He still couldn't believe she was dead. They'd been friends and then some over the years, if it wasn't for Mouse he wouldn't even be the thief Lord, she had been right, he wasn't a good thief. She was amazing however. There was no thief that could best her in skill, speed, or tactic. 143

She had a guiltless conscious when it came to stealing, but was merciful and never left a member of her team to the dogs. She'd broken more then one guild member form jail in the years she spent here. They all loved her and had affectionately named her the Princess of Thieves. 144

He was going to miss that girl. They all were, but what's done was done and there is no undoing it. Could he take revenge on the man his love had loved enough to let him kill her?