Locked

Chapter One

V ran down the slick cobblestone as fast as she dared. She chanced a glance behind; the two men chasing her were having a harder time then she – maybe more so. She turned the corner. Despite the drizzle, a large crowd had manifested in the open square. V wasn't particularly short, but her slim frame allowed her to weave through thick crowds like this undetected. She looked back again, this time the men were nowhere to be seen. Clutching her stolen satchel closer, she ran smack dab into a frail man carrying a pallet of apples. Both her and the man went down with the apples.

"Terribly sorry sir!" She said, shoving a few of the precious fruits into her bag. She got up running, the man cursing at her. Laughing, she continued; she was in her element, the adrenaline pumping through her veins urged her on.

"Stop that girl!" The burlier of the men cried. She heard a crash; the men had run into the apple merchant, knocking his precious cargo to the ground once more. V sprinted into an alley, the men hadn't seen her. She had lost them.

She slowed to a stop, pausing against a broken brick wall to catch her breath for a moment. Slipping through back alleys and hidden doors, V made her way to a safer place, away from prying eyes, before examining her new-found treasures.

Sitting on a wooden crate, V bit into an apple. It felt good to have some food in her. She savoured the fruit, eating slower than usual, tasting every morsel. When that was done, she switched her focus to the satchel in front of her. She had gone to a lot of trouble to steal it – carriages like that meant aristocracy, and aristocracy meant money well spent on expensive things. Hoping for the best, she reached inside.

"A book?!" Crestfallen, she turned it around in her hands. There wasn't even a gilded cover, no imported paper, no popular writer. The book was utterly normal in every way – worthless. Disgusted, V threw the book to the ground. What a waste of time and energy.

She sat back on the crate and put her head in her hands. What if she'd been caught? Just for some lousy book? What would happen to Eddie and Clara? I need to be more careful with what I steal. Unlike most kids like her, V considered herself a thief.

Looking back at the book, trying to figure out a way to maybe swindle someone into buying it, she noticed something there, in between the pages. Getting off her crate, V pulled the now soaking book closer to her. She hadn't been imagining it: there really was something hidden between the pages. V brushed the remaining water off the cover. "Elements of a Murder Most Fine". Interesting read I suppose. V flipped to the center: there lay the most beautiful locket she had ever seen. Jackpot. She smiled.

The locket wasn't very big, maybe the size of her left thumb. It was almost solid gold, with an intricate golden pattern of swirls and curves inset with a few precious stones. The locket obviously opened, but no matter what she tried, V could not open the little heart. Tired, but very excited, V pulled the gold chain over her head. Best way to keep it safe was to keep it on her. She slid the locket down the front of her shirt. Best to not flaunt such a pretty find out in the middle of the street like that. In a split second decision, V grabbed the book again, and set off at a brisk pace for home.

• • • • • • • • • •

The man returned to his carriage, frustrated and angry. His precious cargo being stolen by a little girl was not good, not good at all. The boss would be angry with him. He got into the carriage and the driver immediately started the horses moving. The man had from now until his arrival to explain his tardiness, and his lack of the object. He racked his brain. Why had he stopped for a pastry? He could have waited. He thought it would have been safe! Nobody steals a plain old book!