A/N: This story is currently undergoing the very long and painful process of rewriting. That’s right, rewriting. I don’t know how long it’ll take me, but hopefully, by the end of the process this will end up as a better story, and I know where I actually want to go with the story, which wouldn’t be all that bad, now would it? XP

If I were to tell you that Avalant is as normal as a girl can be, I would be lying, so let's start by firmly stating that Avalant is as far from a normal girl that a girl can possibly be, and then some.

She is 17 years old, but can act both like a child or an adult if she wants to.

She has short blond hair which she likes to wear in two small bunches. In addition to this, her hair is also full of beads and strands of hair wired full of colourful threads, making her look... exotic?

Well, anyway, enough about the hair.

Her eyes are normally green, but don't be surprised if they change colour (but if they turn jet-black you better watch it!). It's not like it happens often... well, actually it does happen often, but it's just a part of being Avalant.

Expect the unexpected.

Her day-to-day and her work-clothes don't differ very much, seeing as it's the same outfit, but at work she would take off the bright yellow shawl from around her waist and hide her hair and face in a dark shawl.

The rest of her outfit was dark too (except for the afore mentioned yellow sash) and consisted of a couple of knee-high leather boots followed by a pair of dark green breeches (she had done some needlework to make it fit, as it was something she'd pinched off someone's clothes line, a black blouse and a brown leather vest slung casually over her shoulders.

That was what she looked like. Oh, and she was also slender and small built, perfect for her profession.

Oh, I am most terribly sorry! I haven't even told you what kind of profession Avalant is in! Well, it's not a type of profession you'd expect from a sweet-looking girl like her, and not one you would want your daughter to be in either. She was a thief. That's right. She made her living by making others poorer. She did most things except mugging. That was too brutal. And besides, she didn't look all that intimidating (small and slender with blond hair in bunches?), so she had to become violent before her prospective victims understood that she was serious about wanting to rob them.

In her seventeen years she had moved more than most people do in a lifetime. All in all she had been an active thief in 8 cities, and 35 villages. And that's not counting the all the manors she plundered as she passed on her merry way to new homes. Now she had ended in Tareg, the very capital of Tara. Even as a capital, Tareg was big. Much bigger than any other city Avalant had ever been in. It even had a Royal Palace! Not that she cared much about that, seeing as it was too well-guarded to rob and the walls around it prevented her form being able to admire the architecture, which, according to everyone she'd met, was astounding.

Well, not being able to rob the Palace didn't mean that there wasn't anything else in the city she couldn't rob.

On this particular day that we're joining Avalant, she was out wandering the streets, lifting money pouches off innocent bystanders and looking for a suitable residence she could visit at night, when she noticed a commotion further up the crowded market street.

Being a thief and criminal, she should avoid being near commotions as commotions could attract city guards.

But we've already stated that Avalant isn't quite in her right mind, so naturally, she curiously went to check out what the uproar was all about.