Free Stealing From a Dragon by Alara Branwen, Christie Sims Page A

normal cave.
     
    I could have kicked myself. Had it not been for my big mouth, I would have been in the thieves' guild, safely sleeping in our hideout underground, instead of out in the open, preparing to sneak in a dragon's lair. 
     
    I was a new recruit of the guild, and I had to pull off an impressive heist to join. One of the members was boasting about his latest exploits. This thief wasn't very fond of me, so he started telling me how I'd never be good enough to join the guild. I told him I would, and I'd prove it by pulling off a greater heist than he'd ever pulled. I said I'd steal from a dragon's hoard.
     
    Of course, I never dreamed that I'd get the opportunity to pull it off. I was just a little hot under the collar, and was  only saber rattling a bit. Unluckily for me, he called my bluff. It turned out he was a hoard stealer and knew where a dragon lived. He said many would-be hoard stealers tried to rob the dragon, but died miserably. He said if I could steal from the lizard, he'd admit I was a better thief than him. Like an idiot, I accepted its challenge.
     
    I stayed in the shadow of the small copse until I plotted my course. When I was ready, I carefully emerged from the copse, knees bent, and slowly moved toward my target. I carefully trudged through waist high grass. I was conscious of every little crinkle and crunch the foliage made around me. I tread lightly on the balls of my feet, taking long, slow, deep breaths.
     
    I could feel the blades of grass caress the thin leather I wore. The suit was so tight, it showcased my breasts and butt. I chuckled in self-depreciation and thought, if I made it through the night, I could always take up burlesque dancing at a local inn.
     
    I lightly danced around small twigs and waded through the heavy grass until I reached my destination. I scanned the rock above, and there were a few places where it jutted out. I took hold of them and hoisted myself up. I crawled up along the wall until I was about 3 feet beneath the cave entrance. I reached up for a jagged rock, but everything I could touch was smooth.
     
    I looked up at the entrance, so tantalizingly close. I desperately padded the rock, but no matter how much I touched it, nothing I could grab would appear. I ran my tongue between my teeth, tightly grasped the rock, bowed my legs, and leaped upward. The red rock that was above me rushed passed my vision, until I was at eye level with the cave entrance. I reached out and grasped the lip of the cave. The dusty stone bit into my fingers.
     
    I threw up my legs and twisted my body sideways. I made a slight thumping noise as I and my leather backpack made contact with the cave floor. The light sound echoed through the cave. My blood froze. I didn't know as much about dragons then as I do now, but I knew that dragons had excellent senses of hearing. I laid there on the cool, dusty stone floor, and listened. There was no sound, other than the hissing wind outside. I slowly got up. The equipment on my belt shuffled a little. I cringed.
     
    I crouched and moved forward. The darkness instantly consumed any light there once was. I pressed my wrist to my lips to my wrist, and they came into contact with a moonstone, set into a silver bracelet, on my wrist. I kissed it, and a slender, silver beam of light emerged from the milky rock. I moved onward, placing one foot slowly in front of the other, using nothing but the small beam of light from my bracelet as a guide.
     
    My feet shakily followed the dot of light over the bumpy red stone. It steadily got warmer. Heat wafted across my cheeks. My body itched as I started to sweat beneath my leather suit. I reached out over to scratch it, but I stopped myself. If I did, I would make noise. Too much noise.
     
    The scratching smell of brimstone attacked my nose as I got closer to the dragon's lair. My knees shook and my heart played a rapid melody in my chest. Every nerve stood straight. My feet made small scraping noises