Walk the Plank is the YA Buccaneers monthly flash fiction writing challenge. The challenge is to write a 200-word (or less) short story, using the beginning and ending prompts they provide. Since this month is NaNo Madness, they have TWO options for you to choose from:

Write a flash fiction story that begins with, "I walked as quietly as I could into the room ..." and ends with, "That's when I realized he knew ..." (Prompts are included in final word count.)
Share 200 words of your current work-in-progress (for NaNoWriMos, that's your NaNo project!).

Since I'm not doing NaNo this year, I opted for challenge #1. And I'm happy to say, I not only used both the beginning and ending prompts, but Word also says I hit the mark on 200 words exactly!

THE PIRATE THIEF

I walked as quietly as I could into the room, hoping to not wake him. The ship swayed, not helping my already unsteady balance. With each tentative step the floor boards creaked and I froze.

He slept so peacefully, the strong set of his jaw slack with unconsciousness. I almost felt bad for what I had to do.

But then I saw it.

The golden compass glistened in the moonlight and I stared, mesmerized. It rightly belonged to my family, so it wasn’t really stealing – I’m not sure he’d agree.

My fingers caressed smooth metal as they closed around it.

But then a hand snaked out, snaring my wrist. His actions so fast, he was out of bed before I could understand I’d been caught.

I’d be hung for stealing from a Prince, but I could only sigh.

Ripping the hood from my head, his grasp loosened as he stared in disbelief at the tendrils of blond that swung from my ponytail.

It was now or never.

I pecked him on the cheek, then dove out the open window. Turning back only once, a mischievous smile played along his lips.

That's when I realized he knew...this was only the beginning.