Guild of Thieves (Book 1) ✓

𝓒𝓱.7 ~ 𝓜𝓸𝓿𝓲𝓷𝓰 𝓣𝓸𝓸 𝓕𝓪𝓼𝓽

Shortly after Arianna moved into the Guild, Caine asked for her hand in marriage and the pair wedded in secret. They were moving too fast, but Arianna couldn't help her feelings as they grew each minute spent with Caine.

She noticed her presence around the Guild improved Caine's mood, making him a happy man as he had claimed it would. But she also noticed the Leader of Thieves had a temper...one she has witnessed a couple of times since her arrival. Figuring out Caine didn't handle failure or mistakes well and was happiest when thieves completed their given jobs.

When the thieves failed, Caine would raise his voice for the entire Guild to hear which was always followed by a speech about punishments for failure. Sometimes the man scared Arianna, yet she still chose to marry him and stay.

His temper didn't define Caine, and Arianna knew he would never hurt her, knowing the man would make any of her wishes come true if she just asked.

Deep in thought Arianna didn't see Teigen enter the Apothecary, the man held a wrapped gift.

"Are you leaving so soon?" She asked, feeling a pang of sadness.

Teigen was the only family she had left and she missed him dearly when he travelled the realm. She wished the man would stay in Arondale and retire but he was as stubborn as a mule and insisted on seeing everything the world had to offer.

"This will be my last adventure before I settle down in Arondale and live out the rest of my years." Teigen smiled as he handed her the gift. "This used to be your parents, they both made me promise to give it to you when you became a woman but I think I'm a little late with that though!"

"You are a busy man Teigen, I am sure my parents would understand!" Arianna said, missing them both.

Opening the box, she found a photograph of her parents on their wedding day, another of herself as a baby and a silver chained locket with all three of their initial engraved on the front.

Seeing her parents face after so long without seeing them, made instant tears fall down her face. Both their faces were a blur in her memories, but she could still hear their voices as clear as day.

There was also another gift, a small horse with wing carved out of wood. A trinket from Teigen.

"Thank you Teigen..." She walked around the counter to hug the old man, squeezing him tightly. "I'm going to miss you!"

"I'm going to miss you too, my dear girl!" Teigen hugged her back just as tight. "But I will see you again soon!"

They remained in an embrace until Teigen decided it was time to leave, promising to bring her more trinkets from his travels. The trinkets from over the years now sat on the shelves of hers and Caine's bed chambers. Arianna was excited to see what Teigen returned with this time on his adventures.

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Caine was definitely a better man with Arianna around, but sometimes his anger got the better of him. Running a Guild wasn't as easy as he thought it was going to be, but the Guild was slowly becoming a functional operation. Caine figured out a way to get more jobs done faster, assigning a small number of the children to scout out valuables for the taking.

In fact the children were perfect for the job, the Royal Guards never suspected them of anything. Soon jobs were endless for the thieves, who lined up eagerly outside the Meeting Room to receive their next job. Caine watched as each item was obtained, pleased his own secret wealth was going up.

Although Arianna was now his beloved wife and would be the Queen of Thieves, Caine loved one thing more than the healer - gold. Becoming the wealthiest man in all of Arondale came with his dream of running a Guild. Arianna was a bonus inbetween the wealth and fortune. Caine's greed overpowered his love for the woman, but he tried to love Arianna just as much as he loved gold.