Note: The prompt(s) won't come into play until later on in the story.

"Cum navitas mea,

In animum meum,

Ante mihi ostium, tibi praecipio aperta.

Porta aperta."

The words left Liliya's lips in a hoarse whisper. Sitting cross-legged on the cobbled street of a small, dark alleyway, her braid out of the way down her back and her palms faced up, she focused all her inner energy on the chalk-drawn oval in front of her.

"Porta aperta," she spoke the words her ancestors had ritualised centuries ago. The same words she'd used so many times in the past decade. "Porta aperta!"

A surge of power made her gasp and her eyes flung open. There, at the end of the alley, the portal flickered into life. It stood ten feet tall, midnight-blue energy sparkling off of it like electricity. The middle existed of nothing; a black hole stretched out into nothingness. For Liliya, this had always been the scariest part of travelling by portal: you never knew if you'd end up where you wanted to be until you took the leap.

With one last look over her shoulder into the empty alleyway, Liliya picked up her faded green purse and stepped gingerly through the portal.

A familiar tug on every inch of her skin instantly made itself known. It was as if the energy, the very essence of the portal, constantly gave her tiny little shocks. As if something tried to pull her skin off of her body. Her other senses picked up nothing, and yet she kept pushing forward.

Her face lit up when the darkness made way for the most beautiful shades of green. Liliya found herself in a clearing, surrounded on all sides by trees reaching up to touch the sky. The ground was littered with brown, shrivelled up leaves, hazelnuts and pinecones. A gentle breeze blew through the trees and raindrops pattered softly on the highest branches, but sunlight still managed to break through the foliage. Liliya breathed in the smells of wet wood and new moss. Birds twittered somewhere high above her head.

Right, focus, Liliya told herself, setting off into the forest. Leaving the portal behind, she kept her eyes on the trees as she slipped past them as swiftly as she could. It was the bright little leaves she searched for, the ones that looked a bit like mashed-together three-leaf clovers.

Dashing through the forest, pushing through bushes and hopping over fallen branches, Liliya had only one goal in mind. Those leaves meant everything. If she could get her hands on them, her life was saved. And that of her mother.

Crack.

Liliya froze, her heart in her throat, peering around for any sign of life.

Crunch.

Her body flinched at another loud noise, while her eyes shot up to the tip of a tree to her right. A whoop and a screech followed, making her muscles relax. It was only the Eloko, the ape-like creatures that protected the forest. They were peaceful creatures, nothing to be afraid of.

Under their watchful gaze, Liliya continued her trek through the woods. Peaceful or not, their stares sent a shiver up her spine. Especially now. If the wrong people caught her here...

With her heart pounding against her ribcage, Liliya strode on. Her eyes shot back and forth, the large, green-skinned, hairy creatures distracting her from her goal.

Damn it, Lil, focus!

More trees passed and the Eloko only got closer, more and more curious about the strange human walking through their forest. They swung off branches to get closer. They sniffed the air to pick up her scent. They screeched over their shoulders to call for more of their kind to come and see what they'd found. With every step, Liliya saw more stomp noses and bright-green eyes pop up between the trees. The whoops and screeches that made up their language became louder and louder.

They're not aggressive, Liliya kept telling herself. They're a peaceful species, they're just curious. She swallowed hard as her legs involuntarily moved quicker.

A shriek escaped her lips when one of the Eloko pounced and landed with an earth-shaking crash five feet in front of her. She held her arms in front of herself in protection, palms out to show she meant no harm. The Eloko, at least two heads taller than her and with muscles in every inch of its body, cocked its head to the side and let out a loud OOK.

Before Liliya could do anything, a flickering light in the distance caught her attention. Her heart sunk.

Over the noise of the Eloko, two sounds turned the blood in her veins into ice: the vroom of a vehicle and the shouting of a human voice. When a ray of blue light hit her eyes, instinct took over.

Liliya turned on her heel and sprinted back the way she came. The Eloko screeched and jumped behind trees, startled by her sudden movements. She barely noticed them. Trees flashed by as her legs carried her back to the portal. Without a backwards glance, she ran. Her long, black braid flew behind her and her purse knocked against her thigh.

By the time she reached the clearing, her legs felt like pudding and her chest hurt from the pounding of her heart. She leapt through the portal, boots slapping against the cobblestones once more.

Waving a shaking hand over the shimmering portal, the words flew from her mouth in a jumbled twist. "Porta occlu – No, Porta Obclaudit!" Within seconds, the portal crackled and grew smaller, until it vanished entirely.

With a sigh of relief, Liliya leaned against the cold stone wall of the flat next to her. She closed her eyes and took a second to catch her breath. With it, though, realisation washed over her. She'd just gone against the law, risking her life as she knew it, with nothing to show for it. Not a single Ginkgo leaf had made it into her purse. It was all for nothing.

Her eyes shot open when the sound of a siren filled the city-air. Shit. Could they have really followed her all the way back? Magic did leave traces...

Not wasting another second, Liliya bolted out of the alleyway. The sirens grew louder. She took a random left and hurried along the pavement, keeping her head down. Another corner and she found herself on a larger street, speckled with shops and cafes on either side, a handful of people hurrying past them.

The alarm howled through the air, continuing to grow, until at the end of the street a police car rounded the corner. Her heart in her throat, Liliya dove into the nearest building, underneath a sign reading "The Hearth". She shut the door behind her and looked around at the tables spread out across the cosy, carpet-covered room, lit by a few soft lights on the walls and a fireplace in the corner. Small, rectangular windows allowed shafts of light to cut through the dark, smoke filled pub. On the far side of the room sat the worn, mahogany bar with rows and rows of bottles decorating the wall.

She glanced at the few people inside; an old man sunk into a sofa in front of the fireplace, and a middle-aged woman snoring at one of the tables, her hand still clutching a beer. Her gaze landed on the bartender, a young, blond-haired man, lifting his eyebrows at her.

Without making a conscious decision, Liliya rushed over to the bar and plopped down onto one of the stools, setting her purse down at her feet. She pulled the hairband out of her braid, letting her raven-black hair flow down over her shoulders, all the way to the small of her back. Then she took off her blue coat, leaned over the counter and threw it behind the bar, under the bewildered gaze of the barkeeper.

She didn't look over her shoulder when the doors swung open, keeping her head down instead. With a warning glare at the barkeep, she hissed, "I've been here the whole time!"

After that, all she could do was pray. She leaned on the bar, her face hidden behind a thick curtain of hair. Every single muscle in her body tensed, even her toes curled up inside her shoes. To her astonishment, the barkeeper picked up the glass he'd been cleaning and set it down clumsily in front of her. Then he said, "Another one for you, sweetheart? Coming right up."

He took the glass away again, rinsed it in the sink and grabbed a new glass. As footsteps came closer, Liliya stared down at the watery rings the barkeep had just created beside her hands. Just as the policemen reached the bar, he set down a whiskey on the rocks in front of her. She grabbed it and took a gulp, instantly regretting it. She swallowed, struggling to keep her face straight and to stop her body from shuddering.

Gah! That tastes vile.

"Good afternoon, gentlemen, what can I get for you?" said the bartender.

"We're looking for someone," said the man standing closest to Liliya, as he glanced at her. "Did any of your customers just arrive?"

Taking another sip, she kept her eyes on her drink. She could've sworn a pair of eyes burned into her back. Did they already know it was her? Were they just toying with her?

Her heart skipped a beat when the barkeeper responded. "Nope, these fine people have all been here for a good while."

Liliya breathed a quiet sigh of relief into her drink.

"Have they now?" said a much deeper voice. "You do know the penalty of lying to us, don't you? Obstructing an official police investigation?"

Glasses clinked together as the barkeeper apparently continued cleaning them. "I do," he said. "And I assure you I'd tell you if I knew anything else."

"So your... patrons will say the same thing then?"

A warm laugh rung through the pub like music. "I highly doubt that, sir. They've all been drinking for quite a while."

Shit, you've got to be kidding me.

Taking another sip, Liliya set her glass down a little too hard, amber liquid spilling over the edges. She muttered a few non-existent words quietly to herself.

"See?" said the barkeeper, an audible grin on his face.

The policeman huffed. "We need to check their bags."

"I'm pretty sure most don't have any with them."

"This one does," said the man closest to Liliya. Footsteps approached her and thoughts raced in her head. "Excuse me, ma'am." From the corner of her eye she saw him flashing some sort of badge at her. "We just need a moment to check your belongings."

Liliya didn't respond. She swayed back and forth just a tad, keeping her eyes on her drink. For a few moments she was afraid they might hear her heart drumming against her ribcage.

"Ma'am?"

"Honestly, I don't think she'd even notice if you just checked the bag, mate," she heard the bartender say. "But don't you think it's a bit rude to go through a lady's purse without her permission?"

A short silence filled the room, until the man with the deep voice boomed, "Screw manners! We're here to do a job!"

The policeman close to her picked up the purse from under her stool and ruffled through it for a bit. As if automatically, Liliya brought the glass to her lips and took another sip. It burned all the way through her throat, but at least it calmed her nerves a bit.

"Nothing here, sir."

The other man grumbled something. "Let's check the other two."

Footsteps retreated and Liliya shot a glance up at the barkeeper, who winked slyly at her. Resisting the urge to roll her eyes, she instead took another sip. Behind her, chairs scraped the floor as the two men made their way through the cramped little pub. She heard them bicker, but couldn't make out exactly what they were saying, until the barkeeper shouted, "Told you most of 'em don't carry bags with them."

"Yeah, yeah," said the deep-voiced policeman. "We're done here. For now. Let's go."

"Thank you for your service! Please do come back sometime!" said the bartender just before the door slammed shut.

With that sound, Liliya glanced over her shoulder and sighed out all the pent-up adrenaline, her cramped muscles finally relaxing. She was safe. For now.

"Well, that was exciting."

With the barkeeper smiling down at her, Liliya pushed her drink away. "Right. Thanks for that."

"Hey, you did most of it yourself," he laughed. "I can't believe they bought that silly act of yours. It's like they've never seen a drunk person before."

A blush crept up Liliya's neck. "Gee, thanks." She grabbed a few coins from her pocket and dropped them on the counter.

"The name's Nyron," he said, holding his hand out. "What's yours?"

"Liliya."

His smile brightened as they shook hands. "Nice to meet you, Liliya. And under such wonderful circumstances."

A/N And there it is, my very first chapter of The Memory Thief! With it, I have now officially reached the 2K word mark - 2153 words, to be exact. Congrats to everyone else who made it as well! 

A special thanks to SpaceQueenSara who has not only picked the prompts for this story, but also helps me through the process of writing this story. You're a wonderful friend. <3