"I'm going to say it again" Key said, throwing the knife he was using to cut a loaf of bread on the table, hand on hip and annoyance clear in his voice.

Please don't say it again...

"Would it kill us to actually keep some of the money we spend all night stealing? That we spend every night stealing!"

It was a conversation and, sometimes argument, which they had over and over and over again...

"We steal the stuff for those who need it... look around don't we need it?!" Key half yelled.

Minho wasn't looking at Key but he knew the out burst was aimed at him. Minho hated to admit it, but he had a point. The four of them lived together under the same roof. It was a small house... or what passed as a house.... and they all shared a bed. They only had one source of income as it was too risky for them to take up a job (their outlaw activities, which weren't always restricted to the night made keeping a job hard). The chickens they kept out the back provided eggs to sell and sometimes the chickens themselves were sold if they could get the right price at the market every week but they never made much money. 

Living in the same house meant they only had to pay tax on the one house and when they had made the decision to live together, it hadn't been a hard one. They were all orphans when they met, all of them struggling to survive alone. Together they were better off, but not by much. 

Minho was not a selfish person, when he had first became an outlaw, years ago, he had sworn that he wouldn't keep the money for himself. After all he hadn't become an outlaw to become rich, it was purely about getting back at Alec.

"We have no food! And there's a tax collection at the end of the week!" Key was still yelling and it was grating on Minho's nerves. Jonghyun was lying on the bed they all shared silently but Minho already knew his view on this topic; it was the same as Key's. 

He knew Onew worried about the money too. He'd had various jobs in the past but had always either quit or gotten fired over his "absences". As the eldest he felt it his job to look after his dysfunctional family and felt he wasn't doing a very good job at it. 

"Outlawing" as they saw it, was their job and they had gotten pretty damn good at it. Should they not get paid for it? But even though Key, Onew and Jonghyun shared the same view, they had always followed Minho's choice not to keep the money. Whether it was because they respected his wishes or if it was because he was the original outlaw Minho didn't know, but it always had been his decision despite the arguments that followed. 

"Fine..." he yelled over Key's ranting making the temperamental mother figure stop. "The next job we pull, we'll keep some of it... Not all of it mind you, we're not becoming rich over night... that would be too suspicious" 

Key half squealed and ran over to Minho,who was on the floor near the bed, and wrapped his arms around his neck from behind. "I knew you cared about the well being of our family. But we're doing a job before Friday" his demeanor went from happy to authoritative in seconds. "We cant afford to get kicked out of here..."

"So, lets start gathering information then" said Onew from the table. "See if Alec's got anything planned for the next few days..."

"Right" said Jonghyun from the bed. "If not I assume we'll just do a routine break into the treasury?"

"Right" Minho rose from his place on the floor by the bed and stretched. "Onew and I are going to the market today. We'll see if we can catch onto any rumors"

The market was always a good place to gather information. Peasants, nobles and soldiers were always there on market days. Rumors spread like wildfire, so if there was something going on, it was almost always gossiped about. 

"What, like where the Lady Devaro is going to appear next?" chuckled Jonghyun from the bed. 

Minho whipped round to glare at him. Ever since that night a month ago, Jonghyun, Key and Onew had been teasing him non stop about the awestruck look he'd had on his face when the stage coach had driven off. It hadn't taken them long to whittle the reason for the look out of him either. 

"Oh my Lady, you are sweeter than any rose blooming on a summer's day~" Jonghyun sang, one hand on his chest, the other extended in greeting as he imitated Minho... he'd never actually said the words but Jonghyun had "accidentally" read some of the things he'd written down in an old book of his. 

Minho just ignored him to the best of his ability and headed for the chicken coop. 

~*~

~*~Previous day~*~

The tunnel was fairly long and rather dark, it seemed to head downward. Taemin had to stick to the side of it, feeling his way through the darkness. The rock wall was rough under his fingers but wasn't jagged. Whatever this passage was, it was manmade and not a natural occurrence. He kept his pace slow so not to walk into anything and soon began to feel a slight strain in his calves. He was travelling down hill and the incline was a little steep, he was moving through the cliff it seemed...

It felt like he'd been walking downhill for ages when he saw eventually saw a slither of light marking the end of the tunnel. He ran to it, the tunnel finally leveling out a bit, eager to regain his sight. The exit to the tunnel was completely covered by vines that trailed across the mouth of the passage and along the floor. It cast small slithers of light about the exit as the vines moved with the wind. It was actually rather beautiful. 

He cast aside the vines slowly and stepped out of the tunnel. It came out on the border of the forest to the east of the castle; which was atop a small cliff, over looking the region, cropping above the trees on the forest floor. Looking up, Taemin could see the castle above him. The tunnel had come out at the base of the cliff and beyond the trees he knew was the village.

Taemin could barely contain his grin. He'd found a way out! A way out of the castle! His eyes sparkled with his new found freedom and he leapt into the air out of happiness. Tomorrow he was exploring! He bound back up the tunnel. The entrance/exit was very well hidden. The vines covered the entire cliff side, if you didn't know it was there, you wouldn't even know the tunnel existed. He imagined no one did know about it, or he was sure Alec would have it blocked. 

As Taemin half ran up the tunnel (which was a lot harder now it was slopping back upwards) he set up a plan for the next day in his mind. 

~*~Flash back~*~

"Tom... Can I ask a favor of you?"

"Sure thing, what do you need?"

"I'd like to borrow something?"

"Sure, anything if I can spare it" Taemin knew the boy didn't have much but he wanted to ensure that he would have everything he would need if a situation arose. 

"Can I borrow a set of clothes?"

Tom frowned. "But surely sir you have enough garments? Not that I would have anything suitable for you Sir"

Taemin shook his head. "I've told you before, call me Taemin. And no, I want a set of peasant clothes"

"Might I ask why?" the poor boy seemed confused. 

"I'm sick of this place, the castle I mean" he said softly. He was sure he could trust Tom with his information. "As soon as I get my chance, I'm sneaking out of  here but I don't want to go as a noble"  That was asking for trouble.

"I see... But si... Taemin, how will you get out without being seen by someone?"

"That I haven't figured out yet... but when I do I want to be ready..."

~*~End flashback~*~

He had everything he needed and tomorrow he was going to set his plan into motion. Wake up, eat breakfast, lose the guards that followed him everywhere, change in the old bedroom, sneak down the tunnel, walk through the forest and explore the village. He could barely wait! He was so excited that he didn't pay much attention to what he was doing and walked head first into the hidden door making him fall back onto his bum. He rubbed his head with a wince but smiled. He was on too much of a high to be put down...

~*~Next day~*~  

Once he was he was happy with his look Taemin made his way over to the tapestry. His noble clothing hidden under the bed. His hair was down, hanging about his face and useless glasses stashed away too. He noted that the clothing was rough on his skin and not nearly as comfortable as his own but he didn't complain. Tom had to wear them every day, so to do so would just insult him.

It didn't take long for him to reach the town and the walk through the forest was rather pleasant. Sunlight filtered through the trees and birds chirped around him... He felt more free then he had in a long time.  He was smiling as he walked down the streets of the town. No one even looked at him as he went about his exploration, looking in shop windows and browsing the products. 

His smile wasn't in place for long though... On the surface, the town looked much like any other but soon he began to realize a few things. There were soldiers everywhere and people cowered away from them. The soldiers laughed at the common folk as they passed, arrogance clear in their voices. All the houses he passed were run down, in desperate need of repairs, broken roofs and doors... he couldn't imagine how people survived in winter... He noticed the weight of the people around him. Not everyone was on the verge of starvation but the amount that were astonished Taemin. Around every corner there would be another near skeleton and it panicked him even more that a lot of them seemed to be children.

Before long he reached the town square and his smile came back a bit. The square was full of stalls full of vibrant fruit, vegetables, meats, bread, pots, materials and various other items. He'd stumbled into a market. 

Seeing as he'd never actually been to a Market before Taemin was intrigued by all the vibrant colors and loud sales men. But it was hard to tell really if it was a happy scene or not. Of course to him everything was bright and beautiful but he could see from the looks on the people's faces that for some is was no more than a necessity. He was sure a Market place should not be so devoid of life, from what he'd heard they were bustling gatherings, usually a social event as well as a day to stock up on essentials. 

But it didn't take Taemin long to see why everyone was so unhappy.

Watching different stalls Taemin noticed a constant pattern amongst the people. It seemed that they went up to a stall or pitch looking at what they had on offer, some as simple as new vegetables, the want was so clear in their eyes, some even seemed desperate, but they seemed to always walk away. Some would even check the money on them and then walk away. It was ridiculous.

This forced system wasn't beneficial to any of the poorer folk and Taemin understood how Alec was keeping the poor poor.

The sellers were making no money because people didn't have enough money to buy anything making their produce go to waste, and the people had to spend so much on taxes that grocery shopping was a luxury they couldn't afford.

Taemin felt sick to his gut. He understood also now what Flame was doing and why... these people had nothing. Anything they were given went a long way and he assumed they were all grateful to Flame for what he did. Everything Tom had said to him made sense now. Taemin not only found himself admiring Flame but he had an urge to help him. 

Before long he it dawned on him that he had been standing in the street for quite sometime now just watching the crowd and decided that it would be best if he stopped getting in people's way. He moved out of the road and sat down of the curb next to a couple of egg sellers. One of the pitches that seemed to be doing okay, after all everyone needed eggs... He paid the two sellers little attention though as their voices resonated around the crowd, Taemin's eyes were still roaming over the scenes in front him. What could he do? He wanted to do something.... He needed to do something, anything to help.

He widened his vision and noticed the soldiers dotted around the outskirts of the Market place. They did nothing but watch for now but he knew why they were there, to remind them of their leader, to install fear...

The very thought made him scowl, an expression that only deepened when a family of nobles began walking through the Market, not buying anything mind you, they made it clear that that was beneath them, but all they seemed to be doing was showing off how rich they were.The urge to do something captivated him again and it wasn't long before a thought came to mind. He stood and walked to a stall pretending to be interested in the produce, knowing the nobles were beside him. 

He was nervous but kept calm. He could do this... he just had to make sure he did it right... he could do this...

Quietly and inconspicuously, he examined what seemed to be the head of the little group; a fat man who distinctly smelt of wine.

Taemin couldn't help but smile to himself at the stupidity of the man. Like every other noble he wore his purse on his belt, easy to reach, it was a sign of wealth, they had money, enough money to fill a purse and it was on show for all to see... Taemin would use this to his advantage. 

It took a small amount of time but Taemin soon built up the courage to make a move. He retracted a small dagger from it's holding place under his top, there in case of emergencies, and hid it in his hand.
He walked down the road towards the noble and "bumped" into him effectively landing on the floor and concealing the now stolen purse. He had positioned the hidden knife in his hand so that he could cut the string that attached the purse to the mans belt.

The noble made a big show and tell of his idiocy, the rest of his party also looking on him in disgust, and took off in a hump giving Taemin time to shuffle back to his place down the road by the egg sellers.

Whilst waking he opened the purse and was astonished to see how much gold there was in the leather pouch, eyes widening considerably.

He knew what he would do, he would cook for him and Dee Dee tonight, something that was not forbidden but no one would know that what he used wasn't just taken from the kitchens. He would use the stolen money to buy food. He would hand over more money than the price of the produce and refuse any and all change. Perhaps that way the sellers could go home with something, besides getting the stolen money to the people seemed like s brilliant idea... it wasn't like he needed it...

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

My market scene isn't over yet and I wanted this chapter to be longer, but I'm really tired. There should be a little 2min in the next chapter ^o^

Comments welcome ^^