zhara

You clumsy wench__ods above! Are you trying to rob me, girl?_ The nobleman seizes my wrist and yanks it from his pocket. My hand comes up with the pipe clenched in it. I stare at him, horrified.__ . . ._____l have your head for this!_ the man rages. ____l have you whipped!_***__ got the pipe,_ I say, holding it up.He stares for a minute, blinking, and then bursts into laughter. A few curious deer stick their heads through the shrubs to see what the racket is. Aladdin doubles over, laughing loud enough to startle birds from the trees overhead, and after a moment, I start laughing too. I haven__ laughed this hard in a long, long while, and it feels wonderful. We sit on the grass and laugh until our faces are red and we__e out of breath.__ou are the worst thief I have ever seen,_ declares Aladdin.__ don__ know what you__e talking about. I got it, didn__ I?___y grandmother could pick pockets better than that! Though that__ not quite fair; my grandmother was the best pickpocket in Parthenia. She taught me all her tricks. Drove my mother crazy.

He makes a face and tosses the flower at me. It lands on my cheek, and I pick it up and twirl it between my fingers. I could lie out here all day, not moving an inch, feeling the sun above and the grass below. With a contented sigh, I stretch my arms wide, raking the grass with my fingers__nd find myself brushing Aladdin__ hand with my own. I pull it away quickly, my cheeks warming. He laughs a little.__ometimes,_ he says, __ forget you__e supposed to be four thousand years old. You act as shy as a girl of sixteen.___ do not!_ I sit up and glare at him.He grins and shrugs, sliding his hands under his head. There are bits of grass stuck in his hair, and after a moment__ hesitation, I reach over and flick them away.Aladdin watches me silently, his throat bobbing as he swallows. I drop my gaze.