There once was a kingdom wreathed by sea and sand. In this place made prosperous by abundant trade, its queen issues a notice: "The princess had ceased to smile, and any man who returns her joy may have her." Seeking to try his luck at this challenge, one sailor makes his way to the kingdom, garbs himself in its finest clothes and jewelry, and heads for the palace. He is confident that the princess and kingdom entire will soon be his, but then he encounters a ragged boy...

A boy who happens to be a thief. What he wants, he takes. This is the guiding principle of this boy's life.

He strips the sailor of his belongings and begins his journey to the palace so he might make the princess smile and claim all this land has for himself. But no matter how fantastic a tale he spins for her, she offers not even the hint of a smile. His ambitions crushed to dust, the boy is removed from the premises by the palace guards.

The boy didn't give up, visiting the princess time and again to regale her with stories of adventure. He would tell of instruments which speak, or springs of gold within jars, but nothing made her smile. One day, the princess asks why he goes to such lengths for her sake, and after finally hearing her speak, the boy promises to make her smile on the morrow and takes his leave. 

Though his original reasons to visit the palace had been devilish, he now finds himself genuinely wishing to see the princess smile. That night, he encounters a fortune teller. Raising her hands to her crystal ball, she says to the boy, "Death awaits if you continue to see the princess." The boy laughs in response, claiming "A future is something I take for myself." He is a thief, after all. He has spent his whole life stealing whatever he likes, and the reason he wants the princess's smile... is because there was once a smile he was unable to reclaim.

This is a tale of when the boy thief did not yet know his way of life. At this time, he is a slave aboard a ship. His only solace is this unending misery is a slave girl aboard the same ship. The girl would read to him stories of adventure, granting him courage.
However, the girl gradually stopped smiling due to the abuse dealt out by the ship's captain, and in the end day, the boy surrenders to his anger and takes the captain's life. He was too late, however, for the poor girl's heart was already broken beyond repair, and she would never smile again.

He learns that what is once lost can never be reclaimed and in this moment, he resolves to join the side of the takers so that nothing can ever be stolen from him again.
Returning to the present, the thief boy has begun thinking of the princess as the slave girl from his past. She whispers to him, "Take me from this place." The boy responds, "I will. Tonight." With this secret promise exchanged the boy leaves the palace, wondering if can return her smile once and for all.

A brilliant moon hanging heavy in the dark, the thief sneaks into the palace. Seeking freedom, the pair run through the midnight city and make for a boat the boy left waiting for them in a bay. The princess wonders why the boy insists on doing so much for her and he replies,

"Because I wish to see you smile."

Though he cannot see her face clearly beneath her veil, he is sure he has found her smile. Then, guards clad in black appear, and alongside them is the fortune teller who foretold the boy's doom. The boy fights, unwilling to relinquish the princess, and collects wound after poisoned wound in the process, eventually losing consciousness. When he comes to, he awakes on a boat atop the sea.

He briefly wonders if he has attained freedom, but quickly realizes the boat's only other passenger is not the princess, but the fortune teller. With a laugh she thrusts her spear into him and with scorn he sinks his blade into her. Entangled like lovers, they vanish into the depths. As the boy's heart is consumed by an inky blackness, he dwells on whether he was able to protect the princess's smile.