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auroraphilealis · 7 years

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Steal My Heart (steal my whole life too) (1/24)

Title: Steal My Heart (steal my whole life too)

Genre: Chaptered, fantasy AU, Prince!Phil, Thief!Dan, romance, enemies to lovers, angst and fluff, slow burn (like serious slow burn)

Warnings: some violence, mentions of death (no main characters), dark magic, descriptions of wounds/blood, some hints of sexual scenes (but no actual smut), murder, dangerous situations, stealing/thievery

Summary: Captain of the Royal Guard and Prince of Morellia, Philip Lester has never been given the chance to find love. Instead, he’s run from a system that works to end class differences and improve equality for its citizens. Happy as he is to make the world a better place, Phil can’t help feeling bitter towards his ancestors for making it impossible for him to find someone who will actually love him for more than just his title, and strives instead for a life of justice and doing good - only to meet his match in the King of Thieves, a man who will change everything he once thought he knew in life. Together, they must depart on a quest to save the kingdom, and, in the process, destroy their differences and find their own form of love.

Word count: 240,000+

Updates: Sunday

A/N: ineverhadmyinternetphase: if you follow me for ace/aro fic, this one might not be for you, as it is very much not ace aro. But if you like slow burn enemies to lovers then come right on in. I have to say this is the fic I’m most proud of ever, it’s the first RP that Eliza and I ever did and it’s just a whole lot of fun. It also means a lot to me because it was the first time I ever RPed Dan and I’m really proud of the little thief I created. Also Eliza’s Prince Phil stole my heart a very long time ago. Be ready for a heck of a slow burn though, it’s very long and set in a whole other fantasy world that we built as we went. I hope you’ll all enjoy it as much as I do, it’s been in the works for a very long time but now we’re finally ready to share it with you all and I’m super excited xD

Insanityplays: I’m like ready to cry because this fic is my baby. I literally adore everything about it, spend half of my time thinking about it, and want nothing more than to share it with the world. Truly, Prince!Phil and Thief!Dan have stolen my heart, so please take care of them <3 This was my first ever RP with Julia, and it’s truly what made me fall in love with her.

Thanks so much to @phansdick for betaing this giant monster, as she’s been super helpful and encouraging with her little comments and endless excitement. We couldn’t have done it without you <3

Disclaimer: In no way do I claim that this is real or cast aspersions on Dan or Phil

For reference, @insanityplaysfics is Phil, @ineverhadmyinternetphase is Dan

(Masterlist) (AO3)

Chapter One

It wasn't exactly an easy life being Captain of the Royal Guard and Prince of the kingdom, second only in line to his older brother and rightful heir to the throne Martyn Lester, but Phil Lester had learned to manage. In fact, he'd even learned to enjoy himself, and it helped that his family was a loved one. Their kingdom had been thriving peacefully under the Lester reign for over a hundred and fifty years now, lending them a happy kind of credibility that Phil knew for a fact not many other kingdoms had a chance to enjoy.

Things were good in Morellia. Phil’s father, the reigning King Harold Lester, had always been strong in politics, and he’d long since negotiated peace between the nations at their borders, securing trade and movement agreements to keep everyone happy. The economy was flourishing, and while there were still countless dangers from far away Kingdoms and the dark creatures that lurked in the forests to the North and South of the Palace Walls, war did not loom on their horizon.

The people were happy, and Phil. Well, Phil was happy too. Mostly.

See, while Phil's family was well-loved and largely accepting of their people, allowing their kingdom far more freedoms than was sometimes commonly heard of, this practice was not always a positive one for Phil.

Things were different in Morellia: there were class differences, but they were largely bridged through the work of Phil's father and his father before him, and there was poverty, but no one was tethered by their birth. There were always ways to move up in the world, and there were no laws forbidding or forcing marriage between or out of classes. Instead, Phil's grandfather and father had both married from the common people, and now Phil's brother was betrothed to a woman they’d both grown up in the Castle with. Cornelia’s mother was a long-time employee of the Lester family, and as was due all palace employee’s children, Cornelia had gotten the best education alongside both Phil and Martyn. It came as no surprise to anyone when the two fell in love.

That left Phil the only Prince left in the kingdom unbetrothed, un-tethered, and far too recognizable for his own good.

Since both Phil and Martyn had grown up in a world where it was ordinary for the common people to throw in their names for dating candidacy, and since there was no arranged marriage and therefore no arranged dating, Phil and Martyn had always had the pick of the lot. Only, this had never felt like a benefit to Phil. Instead, it had always left a bitter taste in his mouth, because every time he'd thought he'd fancied a girl, he'd turn around the corner and find her whispering away to her friends about how she only liked Prince Philip because Prince Martyn was dating that other girl, and if she couldn't be Queen, then she'd settle for Princess.

One too many heartbreaks later, Phil had eventually decided to give up dating altogether, never once having even received his first kiss while Martyn pranced about singing when he lost his virginity. Disgruntled and ashamed, Phil had turned his training to the Royal Guard, until, when he'd turned twenty-three, Captain Kregin had retired and named Phil the new Captain.

Loved and admired by his men, Phil had sunk himself in, netting wanted criminal after wanted criminal and making a name for himself slowly but surely, building his reputation until he was more than just a less pretty version of his brother.

In fact, despite his men being sometimes too protective and concerned for Phil’s safety, Phil had almost single-handedly destroyed the entire crime syndicate of the palace city - or at least the thieving network - and nearly the entire wanted list while he was at it. The only name left was the most formidable thief Morellia had ever seen; the legendary King of Thieves, and he was the bane of Phil’s existence.

Love had been traded out for Justice, and now, nearly an entire year into leading the Royal Guard, Phil had finally cornered his greatest adversary.

"Stand down, outlaw. We've got you cornered. There's nowhere left to run," Phil stated proudly, sat atop his horse and unable to help his smug grin as he pointed the tip of his great sword at the nose of the thief the Royal Guard had been chasing for years.

Said legendary King of Thieves was a rugged young man, barely more than a boy really at the ripe age of nineteen, named Daniel Howell. No one knew his true name, though, and only a very select few of his most trusted allies knew to call him ‘Dan’. To everyone else, he was the King of Thieves, and he’d been plaguing Morellia for years.

He hadn’t been alone, either. Dan had gathered a band of thieves about himself, only the best of the best joining his gang, and while their actions were widespread, lately, Dan had been focusing more and more on the capital. Some of the kingdom’s poorest lived there, after all.

Dan hadn’t become known as the King of Thieves for nothing. It had taken a lot for the people to love him enough to give him that title. To the upper classes of Morellia, Dan was a figure to be feared and hated, a story told to children to make them stay in their bed at night. To the poor community, though, Dan had become something of a figurehead, stealing from only the very richest in the capital and then setting up a market in the night where the poor families, orphaned children, and sickly people could come to get food or treasures to sell on the black market.

Whether it was moral or not, Dan didn’t care. He didn’t think too much on justice, didn’t even let himself think of companionship. Even his band of thieves were kept at a distance, and he was seen to them as a distant commander. If they broke his rules and stole from someone who couldn’t afford it, then they’d see and fear his wrath.

Or, at least, they had been able to. In recent months, ever since that abominable Prince Philip had become Captain of the Royal Guard, every single one of Dan’s trusted band of thieves had been picked off one-by-one. He’d tried desperately to keep hold of his structure, to keep stealing and giving to the markets he’d set up at night, but treasure grew more and more scarce as there were fewer and fewer thieves available to steal for him.

Eventually, Dan was the only one left. He didn’t give up, though. The rush of adrenaline that always accompanied stealing drove him to break into one of the richest houses in the capital, hunting one of the greatest treasures celebrated throughout Morellia: the Duchess of Ara’s prized emerald. He'd planned this heist down to the last detail for weeks. Ordinarily, he'd have jumped in feet-first straight away and made off with the emerald ages ago, but his steps had been dogged by Prince-fucking-Philip’s Royal Guard, and they were severely limiting Dan's movements.

Not that he was struggling, because he wasn't. Dan knew how good of a thief he was. He'd been doing this since he was ten years old and had cared for his brother, his stealing having only stepped up after his brother's passing two years later. Dan had vowed never to be poor again, and by hook or by crook, he was going to succeed.

And, for the most part, he had achieved his dream.

Dan had a nice pile of gold tucked away in a cave in the desert near the crown city, impenetrable to all but himself; he’d never shown anyone else its interior. His most prized possessions were tucked away there, the secrets of his past that no one but he was allowed to know. The cave was his home, but he couldn’t stay there as often as he liked. In order to keep on top of such a widespread campaign, Dan had set up several bases in the different cities of Morellia, each filled with trinkets he stole and then used to buy food for each city’s poorest. The base he was proudest of was in Morellia itself, and it was there he was headed - if he could just shake Prince-fucking-Philip off his trail.

The trouble was, Prince Philip seemed to be hell-bent on eradicating thievery from his land entirely (which, why? Couldn't he just let Dan steal in peace?), and he'd set about tracking Dan's every movement until Dan could barely turn around without seeing another flaming Royal Guardsmen on his trail. In the end, he'd grown impatient of waiting, and dove for the emerald anyway.

Which was why Dan now found himself currently cornered in the back streets of the capital, the emerald tucked into his trademark black cloak, and Prince-fucking-Philip's sword pointed in his face.

Dan licked his lips, eyes darting left-to-right. Unfortunately, it seemed the Prince was right - Dan was trapped with his back to the wall, surrounded by the Prince's horsemen while Dan was only on his feet. The priceless emerald he’d stolen sat heavy in his cloak, but like hell was Dan giving it up - especially on his first physical encounter with this Prince who'd been making his life hell ever since he’d taken over the Royal Guard. Why couldn't he just go back to prissy palace life like his brother, Crown Prince Martyn?

Dan had no trouble recognising the man. He'd seen Philip Lester's face in all of the public ceremonies, same as any other citizen of Morellia. Dan had just never really paid attention until now. Prince Philip was young - older than Dan, perhaps, but still young for his job - and his eyes were fierce, the kind that told Dan he may be in trouble.

(He was also kind of pretty, but Dan didn't have time for that right now.

...Who was he kidding, he always had time for that).

"Well," Dan drawled slowly, adopting a languid position with his back against the wall. "I can see why you'd think that, Prince. But we thieves are rather good at finding our way out of tight spots. Though I don't expect you'd know that, locked up in your prissy palace as you are. Do you know anything of the criminal world?"

Phil gritted his teeth as the King of Thieves spoke up in front of him, relaxing against the wall Phil had him backed up against as if nothing was wrong at all, as if he wasn't just on the verge of being captured and tried in the High Court. Phil prodded his horse that little bit further forward, drawing on its reins to pull it up short, and shifted his sword so the blade was glinting just underneath the thief's throat. The thief didn't even blink, his lazy grin and countenance already beginning to grate on Phil's nerves.

Somehow, he'd never imagined the King of Thieves would be quite like this; mouthy and rude. Why he’d thought otherwise, he didn’t know.

"Watch your tongue, thief," Phil growled, unimpressed. "I know enough to know you're all alone out here. Locked up the rest of your friends, haven't I?" he taunted haughtily, that same smug grin from before pulling at the corners of his lips all over again. He just couldn't help it, he was so goddamn proud. Phil Lester, Head of the Royal Guard for less than a year, and he had the King of Thieves pressed up against a wall, dark hood of his trademark cloak long since blown back off the top of his head.

That face was a face that Phil would never forget; dark hair and even darker eyes, warm despite the horrible things Phil knew this thief to do.

"Hand over the Emerald and come quietly, and I might even find you a proper cell to lock you up in," Phil demanded.

Behind him, three of his strongest men sat fanned out around him, blocking off the dark alleyway they'd managed to corner the King of Thieves in, horses panting and snorting in agitation at standing still after such a long chase through the back streets of the dingiest part of the royal town. Phil could hear them clipping their horseshoes against the gravel below them, the sun burning down against the back of Phil's neck. His armor creaked as he pushed his sword that little bit tighter to the thief’s neck as he waited for a response

"I mean," Dan still spoke exaggeratedly slowly, giving himself time to assess the situation. "I could hand over the emerald, sure."

Carefully, Dan edged back a little against the wall, relieving some of the pressure from the blade pressed up against his neck. The silver glinted dully in the lamplights from the street, the night sky sitting heavy with cloud above them. Dan did his best not to swallow - the feeling of cold metal against the bare skin of his throat was far from pleasant.

Dan was not unused to such scenarios, though. He'd become well versed in escaping guards over his nineteen years of life - even if most of the guards he encountered had nothing close to the shining silver armour currently adorning Prince Philip's handsome body.

"Or," Dan continued, deciding to have a bit of fun. He'd spotted a possible escape route - the wall he was leaning against had a good foothold, and led up to the rooftop of one of the city's halls which Dan knew from experience he could scamper across to get back to his base. He just needed to keep Prince Philip talking until he was able to escape.

Phil narrowed his eyes at the thief’s words, waiting for the other shoe to drop, sword glistening dangerously to his own eyes. He lifted his chin, brow furrowed as he watched the thief's eyes dart about the small enclave they'd cornered him in. Phil's horse whinnied, and Phil pulled up on it's reins.

The horses were growing impatient.

"Or...?" Phil repeated, waiting. He didn't want or have time to play these stupid games, wasn't dumb enough to believe that the thief was doing anything other than attempting to stall, and yet he stood there vaguely intrigued, waiting to see what the famous King of Thieves would do.

"Or, I could just keep it." Dan slowly reached inside his cloak, withdrawing the emerald wrapped in dark cloth sitting temptingly in the palm of his hand. Its weight was comfortably heavy, a good strong presence, and Dan could feel his lust for treasure rearing inside his chest. This emerald would look so good next to his collection of precious stones. He could even use it as a paperweight for his more precious scrolls.

Yeah, there was no way in hell Dan was giving this emerald up.

Digging up his bravery, Dan looked up at Prince Philip, sat on his horse, and gave him a slow, arrogant smirk. "Unless you beg for it, of course. I kind of like my time outside your dungeons - you'd better make this good."

"As if we would let you keep the Emerald, Thief," Phil scoffed, rolling his eyes and pressing his sword ever closer to Dan. "And the last thing I plan to do is beg to you." Phli's voice had dropped an octave, dangerous as he bared his teeth at Dan. The emerald was right there, wrapped up in a pretty, dark cloth, and Phil knew, if he let him, Dan would have it stowed away again in seconds - or worse yet, find a way to get away. With the hand holding his horse's reins, Phil dropped them and reached out.

"Give it here," he demanded, and really, that was his first mistake.

Dan was moving the second the Prince dropped his horse's reins.

In an instant, he was no longer against the wall. Instead, he dropped, falling gracefully sideways to avoid the blade still at his neck, using the Prince's new found imbalance against him, because really, did this Prince think he could just let his horse sit there with no control and Dan wouldn’t use that to his advantage?

As Dan dropped into a practiced crouch, his eyes darted around the tiny corner he'd found himself in, and - yes, there - to his right, a tiny little ledge, barely visible, but just enough for his purposes. Dan scuttled towards it in his crouch, listening to the Prince's horse whicker as he moved. He was counting on the animal's desire to get out of this alley to aid him in his escape - after all, horses did not like being kept in cramped places, and especially not by riders who were stupid enough to drop their reins. As he’d predicted, the Captain’s horse shuffled back when Dan moved forward, clearly eager to be out of the alley. That eagerness gave Dan enough space to move, if not escape.

Phil really should have seen it coming. The minute the reins had left his hands, the King of Thieves was dropping into a crouch, causing Phil's horse to startle, whinnying and rearing back. Phil barely kept hold of her, gripping tight to her mane in fear of his safety and hers, the arm with the sword practiced enough in combat that Phil not only maintained his hold, but prevented himself from thrashing out and slashing anyone in arm’s length, including the great thief himself or Phil's horse.

"You're cornered, thief!" Phil crowed as he worked to get his startled and impatient mare under his control once more. She tossed her head, trying to loosen Phil's hold, but his legs gripped her tight around the sides, and though he could not find the reins once more to control her, he did yip at her, using his training to his best ability to calm her down. "Where are you meant to run? Whether you're under my sword or not, we'll not move to let you leave."

Phil kept his watchful eye on the thief as his horse bayed and tossed her head, swinging his sword around to once again point it at King of Thieves nose.

Carefully, Dan edged back towards the ledge, his eyes meeting the Prince's once again as he casually said, “Yes, well, it might look that way to you.” He couldn't yet completely relax - the Prince still had a sword, after all, and even without it being pressed to Dan's neck, he knew he wasn't in the clear just yet. He needed a couple more seconds - one more distraction, one more mistake by Prince Philip, and Dan would be up on the ledge and gone.

The other three Royal Guardsmen were still flanking the Prince, but the limited space in the alley rendered them almost entirely useless - unless Dan tried to run.

Luckily, he wasn't going to run.

At least, not that way.

First things first, though - he had to make sure to keep the Prince just angry enough to still make mistakes. So he looked the Prince directly in the eyes - he'd already seen Dan's face, there was no use hiding it now - and grinned.

Straight up grinned, like he was having the best time of his life, and not edging near a ledge, about to flee.

"So you see," Dan drawled, casually bouncing the emerald up-and-down in his hand, "I kind of don't really want to give this back yet. Got some redecorating to do at home, you know? It'll look perfect near my magnolias."

The thief smiled at Phil, their eyes meeting directly for the first time, brown to blue, and Phil found himself very nearly winded and very much confused.

There was so much in those deep, dark eyes, so much that he couldn’t understand, and it was shocking, to be pinned so effectively underneath them.

Phil watched as the stolen emerald was tossed up and down, and then, he lunged, snarling as the King of Thieves dared to snark and tease him, his smirk damn near unbearable.

That was Phil's second mistake.

In moments, his mare was whinnying loudly and rearing onto her back legs, sending Phil flying from her back as she took off at a stern run out of the alley, taking Phil’s three guards and their horses with her as well. The sound of their baying echoed through the alley long after they’d gone, all while Phil groaned as he hit the ground.

The fall was enough to wind him for a moment, though his armor took most of the blow from his hard landing on the dark cobblestones below. Lucky as he was, Phil managed to keep his head from striking the ground, suddenly feeling rather ridiculous he hadn’t worn his helmet for the chase that day.

It took all of a few seconds for Phil to push himself into a sitting position, but when he did, he found himself left watching as the King of Thieves expertly scaled the wall in front of him and hauled himself up onto the nearby roof, not looking to have any trouble at all.

Dan was up the wall in seconds, the emerald stashed away inside his cloak once again. He could feel the ragged material billowing out behind him as he scaled the wall with practiced movements, the ground dropping further and further away behind him. He could hear horse's hooves thundering away and couldn't help but grin - his plan had worked perfectly. The Royal Guard was gone. For a second there, with the Prince's blade at his nose, Dan had felt a moment of doubt.

He’d made it, though. As he always did.

When he reached the top of the wall, Dan pulled himself easily up onto the nearest rooftop - which he thought may have been the city library, though he wasn't sure as his sense of direction had been a bit turned around when he was being chased across the city. Either way, he should be able to find his way back towards his base safely enough from these rooftops.

Dan sat back on his heels, carefully reaching into his cloak to check on the emerald. It was heavy in his grip, warmed by his flesh and racing heartbeat - these sorts of chases always got him going.

He slowly rose to his feet, doing his usual check of his surroundings, and it was only then that he noticed the Prince still in the alley below him - horseless and completely backup-less, probably for the first time in his entire royal life.

Gritting his teeth, Phil pushed himself to his feet, not bothering to look behind him; he knew his men were gone, carried away by their runaway horses.

Leaning over, eyes never once leaving the proud thief above him, Phil picked up his sword.

He wasn't at all surprised when the King of Thieves turned up on the rooftop, cloak billowing out behind him once more, and found Phil standing below him.

For a moment, a brief expression of surprise flashed over his features, and then a smirk spread across his lips, an expression that made Phil's fingers clench hard around his sword handle. He could feel himself aching to follow after the proud man flaunting himself above Phil if for no other reason than wounded pride, but he did no such thing, instead choosing to glare up at the thief he’d been chasing for months now.

Dan blinked. He'd expected the Prince to run, but no - his horse must have thrown him, or he'd jumped off in some misguided attempt to capture Dan himself. Either way, Dan was slightly impressed - it took guts to stay alone in a dark alley in this area of the city. Now, the Prince was standing there glaring up at him, and he cut quite a figure - burly in his shining armour, his sword still in his palm, and those eyes - the depths of those blue eyes, so pure and certain. He looked like a knight straight out of one of the history books Dan loved.

Dan was pleased. The Prince was still down there, and Dan was safe up here - he could afford to play some more.

"What was that about me being cornered?" he teased lightly. Just because he could, Dan adopted a dramatic stance atop the roof, his cloak billowing out behind him, the emerald still visible in his grip.

"From where I'm standing, Prince Philip, I think you may need to reassess your situation. I highly doubt you can stop me from all the way down there." Dan allowed himself another lazy smirk. "I'm rather enjoying the view, actually."

"I found you once, King of Thieves, I'll find you again," Phil gritted out, watching as the thief posed above him, flaunting the way his hips jutted out smartly, the way his cloak billowed about him proudly. There was no man like the King of Thieves, and Phil would not soon forget his face, his demeanor, anything about him really.

Those eyes would haunt his dreams.

There was a rugged handsomeness about him as well that kept Phil's attention, but he would shove those thoughts aside for now, use them to his advantage when he needed them, and try, try not to let his anger and pride get the better of him next time.

But that was easier said than done, and as the King of Thieves taunted Phil once more, he dropped his sword, quickly flinging away the armor on his body. It would only weigh him down more.

"Don't be so sure of yourself. You think I got to be Head of the Royal Guard without proving myself? Why don't you keep standing there and see what happens?" Phil growled, throwing away his chest plate last of all and marching towards the very part of the wall the King of Thieves had used to scale up to the rooftop he stood upon now.

Phil's chest was heaving, and he knew he was being ridiculous, but he couldn't seem to help himself with this man, this man who had proven a formidable foe that Phil vowed to himself to one day take down.

Dan's brows shot up when the Prince began removing his armour right in front of him. The man had to be insane, right? He had to know that Dan had scaled a near-impossible wall, the handholds barely visible. Dan had no trouble, but that was because he'd been making such escapes since his very earliest childhood. What hope did a prissy palace Prince have?

Not that Dan was complaining about the view, mind. He couldn't help the way his eyes trailed down Prince Philip's chest as he removed the last of his armour. There were muscles rippling under there - Dan wondered if his strength came anywhere close to Dan's own.

His brows rose even higher when the Prince approached the wall. This guy had to be kidding, surely? He must know that Dan wasn't exactly unarmed (the three daggers concealed about his person were old friends), and yet he was climbing up towards Dan without any protection other than his own strength.

This man had guts. Dan was having to do a very quick character reassessment of everything he knew about Prince Philip.

"I mean, I'm sure you Royal Guardsmen have trained very hard," Dan replied slowly, deliberately making his tone as patronising as he could, "But are you sure you want to risk this, Prince? You're coming up to my world now."

Phil was trembling with anger now, teeth gritted and muscles bunched, tensed as he tried to hold himself back. Was this thief still taunting him? Did he still have the gall to tease Prince Philip Lester, the man who'd just stripped away his armor, thrown his sword to the floor, and was threatening to scale a wall to reach him?

Some part of Phil, the deep, intelligent part of Phil, knew that this man, this King of Thieves, was being patronizing on purpose, trying to rile Phil up, trying to bring Phil down to his level, and yet, that didn't stop him, didn't slow down his anger in the least. In fact, it only fueled it until Phil was letting out a low growl of frustration and throwing himself at the wall, one foot catching hold of a small ledge that Phil was convinced Dan had found to haul himself up in the first place.

Phil hadn't been lying, and Dan could tease and mess with Phil all he wanted; the Royal Guard were trained, and trained hard. Phil knew how to scale a goddamned wall.

Dan knew he should probably run, but - and he hated to admit this - he was fascinated. Fascinated by this Prince's gall, his determination. He had to watch how this played out.

"I admit, your determination to catch me is impressive," Dan continued smoothly as he slid the emerald back inside his cloak. It was lined with pockets that were never empty, always filled with stolen coins and other precious jewels. "I'm actually quite flattered. Are you lavishing your attention upon me, Prince? Should I be blushing like a pretty maiden?"

Dan stood on the balls of his feet, tracking the Prince's every movement. Carefully, he reached down into his left boot and slid out his little dagger, the blade wickedly sharp. Should the Prince actually manage to get up the wall, he wouldn't find Dan unarmed.

"Perhaps you should be, thief. I'm certain this is the most attention you've had in years. When was the last time you laid in bed with a women?" Phil gritted out, his hands and feet finding hand holds and ledges aplenty nearly on instinct as he scaled the wall, unable to watch the thief above him as he went, but certain he wouldn't move. The drive and anger in Phil kept him going until he reached the top, and then he was scrambling, reaching into his belt to pull free a very small, very fine dagger he'd had since he was a boy.

It took one quick bound to land Phil on the roof with Dan, and he moved instinctively away from the edge, driving Dan backwards as quickly as he could.

Phil didn't want either of them to die, tonight.

Dan should probably stop being surprised by Prince Philip right about now, but really, the last thing he'd expected was for the Prince to scale the wall almost as easily as Dan had. A tiny flicker of doubt crossed Dan's mind - this was the second time he'd underestimated the Prince, and a third time could see him killed. Or at the very least, captured. The Prince was too fair a man to kill him without good reason.

Thankfully, Dan had no such qualms.

He dropped back into his crouch when the Prince's head appeared over the wall, the dagger feeling natural in his hand, but then the Prince was up and moving towards him, forcing Dan backwards.

Dan was light on his feet, his movements sinuous as he allowed the Prince to move them away from the edge of the roof. This could work to his advantage - Dan had the whole network of connected rooftops at his back. If he really needed to, he could flee. He knew this place like the back of his hand, whereas he doubted whether the Prince had ever been up here before. Dan had the advantage in this world.

"I'm afraid women don't really do it for me," Dan answered the Prince's baited question easily enough with another slow smirk. "Now, handsome princes, on the other hand..." Dan slid easily to the left, circling Phil slowly, like a wildcat stalking its prey. "That's a whole other matter. I could destroy you, Prince Philip. What do you say? Willing to risk chasing the King of Thieves himself?"

The King of Thieves was quick and light on his feet, crouching low and bounding backwards almost faster than Phil could keep up. Phil had always been heavy on his feet, kind of bumbling even now despite his training, and so he was forced to hang back, watch his feet, focus on not falling off the roof while the thief did not face those challenges.

It hardly mattered, though. Phil had proved his point: that he could match the King of Thieves, and that he would never give up.

His eyes went wide the second that the thief started teasing him, and he blanched, taken by surprise as the King of Thieves came onto him in the most balant, unexpected way. Phil faltered, turning and trying his best to keep Dan in his line of sight, following him and matching his movements as carefully as he was able. Still, he knew the thief was unmatched here; Phil had been stupid to try and follow him into his own world.

It wasn't helping that Phil's head was still kind of spinning from the flirting, either.

"I can't tell whether you're coming onto me, or threatening to kill me, but it seems almost unfair that I'd fall to a man whose name I don't even know," Phil quipped back, trying not to let his shock show. He knew the King of Thieves was only trying to catch Phil off guard, but still. Flirting was something he was accustomed to, sure, but he’d never liked it, always far too aware of its falsehood. So Phil reeled around to distract them both, and stalked towards the thief, watching him jump back and grinning at his almost shocked expression from Phil's calculated but surprising movement.

Oh, this Prince was just precious. Dan was completely taken with his bumbling movements, with the shocked way those blue eyes widened when he realised what Dan was suggesting. Prince Philip was clearly out of his comfort zone here, and Dan used that to his advantage, stalking him with fast, easy movements.

Until the Prince suddenly strode towards him unexpectedly.

Dan scurried back, unbalanced for half-a-second before he regained his control. Momentary surprise could be deadly in this kind of situation, but Dan was too well practised to be afraid. He was toying with the Prince more than anything, knowing he could flee any time he needed to.

And oh, was this Prince fun to play with.

The thief was quick to recover, fumbling for less than a second before his nimble feet righted him once more, but Phil hardly cared, still glowing with pride a little to know that he'd done that. He'd pushed the King of Thieves, nearly thrown him off his feet. Phil had learned how to combat nimble fighters with his own weight and strength, but it was difficult on a rooftop that Phil didn't know the way the thief did.

"Are you asking for my name, Prince?" Dan looked at him from under his lashes, smirking. The Prince was slightly shorter than him, but much burlier, thickset as opposed to Dan's more wily, catlike form. Dan was still taller, though, and he reckoned he could take this Prince if it came to it.

"Unluckily for you, I refuse to give out private information until I've been wined and dined a bit." With that, Dan was moving again, too fast to track, until he was suddenly at Phil's other side and breathing directly into his ear. "Maybe someday, if you're lucky."

And then Dan was backing away again, retreating to the far edge of the rooftop. When the time came, he could jump across to the next building and be on his way - he doubted whether the Prince was agile enough to follow him, but well, he'd underestimated him before. He could be wrong again.

The chase came to a head, then, with the thief poised and ready to bounce away while Phil stood across from him, eyes narrowed and feet flat to the ground, solidly keeping him in place. The thief, however, wasn't acting as if his life was on the line here, not the way Phil had expected, and he was thrown completely out of his comfort zone by the thief lowering his gaze to stare up at Phil from under dark lashes.

Who blessed that man with long lashes? His eyes were heated, a molten brown that seared through Phil. His heart thumped hard in his chest, surprised and caught off guard.

He hardly had a chance to blink, and then, quite suddenly and frighteningly, the thief was behind Phil, his mouth and breath hot against the shell of Phil's ear.

Resolutely ignoring the sudden rough beat of his heart, Phil took a wild swing behind him, but Dan was gone, and before Phil knew it, he was stumbling backwards, having to catch himself on roof tiles as his childhood dagger skid down and clattered to the dark cobblestones below. Phil's body remained crouched low while the King of Thieves bounced about on the balls of his feet across the way from Phil.

The escape route for him was clear, the fight over and dealt with, and Phil knew he was at a loss.

Dan watched with bright eyes as the Prince swung for him helplessly, only serving to let his dagger fall down onto the cobbles below. Dan tutted slightly. "See, mistakes like that will only get you killed. Or lose your best weapons. I bet I could teach you so much more than your precious Royal Guard."

Phil's gaze never once wavered from the thief's, especially now that his final weapon was gone. Largely defenseless and with nothing left to fight with but his fists, Phil could only watch as his foe taunted him from far away, eyes narrowed darkly.

Phil grit his teeth at him, launching upwards so he was on his feet, but the thief didn't flinch again the way Phil wanted him to, and he was willing to bet it was because the King of Thieves had an escape route in mind. He always had an escape route in mind, and there was no doubt in Phil's mind that the thief would be able to move far faster than Phil ever could across these rooftops. It had been hard enough to catch up to him on his horse.

"I would never join you," Phil scoffed, tossing his head at the very idea of a thief teaching Phil anything. Still, the anger boiled hot inside of Phil's chest as he watched this thief, this petty criminal, this outlaw, taunt him and mock him, stance proud. “But I’ll always be willing to chase the “great” King of Thieves," Phil mocked, ignoring Dan's flirting and teasing altogether to answer a question he'd posed earlier. "Remember, I found you once, thief. I'll find you again."

Dan could tell the fight was over. The Prince wasn't going to chase him - not across the rooftops without his sword or his dagger, armourless and defenceless. Dan allowed himself a glimmer of pride, though he didn't let his guard down. After all, the Prince had made him stumble before.

"You're welcome to keep trying, Prince." Dan crossed his arms, cloak billowing behind him, the dagger still in his grip glinting dangerously. "If you dare. Maybe I'll even set up a little trail for you. Make no mistake, though - my comrades you've already caught were small fry. I am the true King around here."

The arrogance in Dan's tone was almost unbearable even to himself, but he wanted to challenge this Prince. He wanted him to keep chasing him. He wanted to see those deep blue eyes studying him again, trying to hold him in place.

Dan wasn't held very easily, though.

"Until next time." And then, just because he could, Dan gave a florid bow - a mockery of the action usually given to one of the Prince's station. The glint of the emerald was just visible inside his cloak, teasingly close but still out of reach.

"Mark my words, thief, I dare you to leave me a trail! I won't rest until I've got you behind bars!" Phil growled, lurching forward again as the thief bowed mockingly, revealing his recently acquired emerald to Phil once more, and then he was gone, leaping across the way to the next rooftop and bounding agilely across until he disappeared into the quickly setting sun.

With a loud, frustrated sigh, Phil turned his gaze up to the sky and cursed himself for letting the King of Thieves escape from his grasp.

He'd come so close. The man wouldn't get away from Phil again.

It took a good few minutes for Phil to get back down from the wall he'd scaled and collect his armor and sword, thankfully unbothered by the citizens of the city. Finding his prized dagger took quite a bit longer, as Phil was weighed down and too bulked up by his armor to move about the floor easily. Once that was done however, and all of Phil's belongings were tucked back upon him once more, he finally set off to get back home.

There was no point in looking for his men or their horses. They wouldn't have been dumb enough to go anywhere but back to the castle, probably having assumed the King of Thieves was long gone and Phil on his way back himself.

They weren't technically wrong. Phil had known before he'd scaled that wall that he had no chance of catching the thief on his own; at least not on the rooftops of the city he knew so well. Phil's thief - and the fact that Phil was beginning to think of the King of Thieves as his at all was not something he was going to dwell on for long, because obviously it was just because capturing the man had become something of a matter of pride for Phil and nothing more - knew the rooftops, small crawl spaces, and the underground of this city far better than Phil himself did.

But not for long.

Phil planned to learn. Phil planned to find any and every excuse possible to become just as good, better even, than the petty criminals his Guard faced, but more than that, Phil wanted to be better than his thief.

The King of Thieves. Well, they'd see just how long he remained the King at all around here.

Dan bounded away across the rooftops with a cackle that he was sure would float back to the Prince. All in all, Dan thought he'd come out pretty well from their first exchange. His dagger was still in his hand, the emerald tucked away inside his cloak, and he hadn't even needed to resort to one of his backup weapons. Meanwhile, the Prince had lost his horse, his sword, his armour, and his dagger, and still had to let Dan get away.

Needless to say, Dan was feeling pretty proud.

He scampered across the rooftops as naturally as anything, spending more time up here than he should probably admit to. Seeing the city from above was always something special, and Dan liked to sit at the edge of the rooftops with his feet hanging over the gutters, watching the people below him go about their daily lives.

Dan’s home was up on the rooftops, too, at least when he was staying in the capital.

He trotted across the giant roof of the library, his footsteps silent, his cloak a shadow flaring behind him, and leaped neatly across to the next building: the Royal Guardhouse.

The same Royal Guardhouse where Prince Philip had an office.

Dan bit back a little laugh as he swung himself under the chimney to the little nook he’d made for himself, proud that he’d never once been caught by said man here, just over his head. Inside were a couple of blankets and various stolen trinkets from his time in the city - it had been a couple of days since he’d returned to his desert cavern. As such, gold glinted from hidden corners as he settled himself in for the night.

The emerald Dan placed carefully beside his pillow, watching it with a thoughtful smile. Getting it had been more difficult than it should have been, but it also led to him actually speaking to Prince Philip for the first time. The Captain of the Royal Guard certainly lived up to his name, but Dan had still beaten him. He’d be gloating over that for a while.

He hummed happily to himself as he cooked up some broth over a small fire, finally safely back in his base for the night. In the morning, he'd get back to his cave with the emerald, and then set about making a trail for the Prince. Because Dan had plans for that Prince. No one challenged Dan and got away with it.

The fact still remained that the Prince had made him stumble. Plus, he'd chased Dan halfway across the city and all the way up onto a rooftop, which showed guts that Dan kind of admired. Dan was itching to see what the Prince could do on safe ground in his comfort zone - just how much of a challenge would fighting him be? Would he prove a match for Dan?

Not that Dan was afraid of losing. He just wanted a challenge, and Prince Philip was the first interesting opponent Dan had met in years. Or possibly ever, if things carried on the way they'd started.

Of course, Dan was only interested in the Prince because of his skill at capturing criminals. It would be interesting to have a challenge for once. That was all. It had nothing to do with the way Prince Philip’s eyes had shone a pretty, stormy blue in the moonlight, or the way he looked like a knight out of a history book in his armour and great broadsword.

No. Dan was just interested in having a challenge.

So Dan set about making a trail for the Prince. He stepped up his thieving activities over the next several weeks, suddenly stealing more frequently and brazenly, targeting some of the richest families in Morellia. The capital city was wracked with fear of this King of Thieves who would show up anywhere at any time, rob the good citizens of their prized possessions, and then disappear into the night again with his black cloak flaring. Dan was loving every minute of it.

Even if he did get cocky. He needed to grab Prince Philip's attention, after all.

#iwritephanthings #phan rp #phanfic #phanfiction #snowbunnylester

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