Chapter 8: Capture

A Proper young Thief

M.K.Barry

Chapter 8: Capture

They tied her up tightly, and pulled her along after they cleaned up their camp. The drunken man was kicked awake by the men while the woman made sure the ropes holding Lissa were tight. Lissa at first feared that they might kill the man for getting drunk, when he obviously had a job he was supposed to perform. They didn't. They did make him carry all their stuff. Lissa, once she was tied up, was treated with indifference. Once they started walking, they simply dragged her along by the rope. They ignored the main road through the forest, and instead took a series of paths that wound around the trees. In the darkness, Lissa could almost make out the trail, but it was intersected at so many points she got confused. The others made their way quietly, confidently. They knew where they were going. The whole forest was their maze.

Then the forest stopped.

The trees suddenly broke off at the top of a short cliff, which curved and shortened to meat the ground below, forming the shape of a pinky finger, curved sharply in towards the pam. Red light from a fire reflected off the light of the jagged cliff face, and bathed the scene below her in dancing red light. A small band, Lissa counted seven men, sat, lounging and talking easily around the fire. Some of them were sharpening weapons, while others fixed ripped and torn clothes. One large man, who had a mark the colour of plums reaching from his right eyebrow, up over his bald head forming a jagged and crooked image of a crescent moon, sat neat a pot by the fire, gently stirring it's contents.

“We're back.” The woman said. Most of the men turned and gave some form of greeting, ganging from a grunt to a wild cheer from an obviously drink, skinny youth. A man in dirty silk clothes, and a woman wearing a dress of fine green silk, which was obviously too small for her in the bust, ignored the woman completely as they groped one another. One of the men sewing simply looked up quickly, then back to his work. One of the men noticed Lissa.

“Whose the kid?” He called up, causing a collective glance up to stare at Lissa.

“Some dolt trying to rob from our little checkpoint.” The woman said. She jumped off the top of the cliff and landed on the ground. The other men, one leading Lissa, and one drunk and carrying most of their stuff, walked along the edge of the cliff as it slowly merged with the ground intil the height was small enough to simply step down. The other man followed them.

“That distracted you from the job, 'Ell?”

the woman threw a small sack at the ground, just before the fireplace. “Poke through that.” She said, “See what you find. Some gems, some coins, some jewellery. We hit a little Inn, so there wasn't much. The wagon was gone. We might have missed it.”

The man with the wobbly-half moon mark on his head looked up, “You think you can ransom the kid?” He asked.

“Not too sure.” She pulled the rope out of the man's hands, and led Lissa away, towards a cart laying outside the circle of light. “I'll have a little 'talk' with our guest, and see what I can find out.”

She pulled Lissa behind her towards an open wagon. A sheet of canvas covered the bulging contents of the wagon. The woman pulled Lissa behind the wagon, tied one end of the rope to the wagon.

“Sit down.” the woman said carelessly. She pressed gently on the top of Lissa's head, forcing her to the ground. She sat down, crossed legged, and glared up the woman. The ends of her bands stuck into her eyes, causing her to shake her head furiously.

The woman crouched down next to her, rested her elbows on her knees, and gave a lazy stare at Lissa.

“So.” She said, “Rough part of the woods of a young lady, eh?”

Lissa blinked, “How did you know?”

“Well, I guessed. You just told me. Besides, when I kick a man in the balls, I expect him to stay down, whimpering. You did not. So I assumed you were either a girl or a eunuch or something.”

Lissa scowled. She felt especially stupid at having been tricked so easily.

“What are you doing out here though, that's the question.” She pulled on a long, beaded necklace around her neck, and began pulling the necklace around, bead by bead. “Run away from home? Lost?”

Lissa said nothing. She didn't trust herself to speak again and give anything else away.

The woman pretended not to notice her silence, and continued to play with the beads. “Daughter to some noble family perhaps?” She asked “Or not noble? Known? Well off, perhaps, to save their daughter from the hands of a band of thieves?” When Lissa said nothing, she sat back with an annoyed sigh. “You know... If you don't tell me, we can't hold you ransom... Now I know that doesn't seem like much, but consider the alternative. That is, we sell you into slavery. Most likely, you would be working in a whore-house somewhere, so that's not good for you. WE wouldn't get as much money selling you to the asses in Rawlins than if we ransomed you back to your family, and your family wouldn't hear from their daughter again. So you see, it's just good sense to tell me who your family is, so that we can try to ransom you back.”

Lissa said nothing.

“Fine fine.” the woman said, “There's other ways to find things out.” She noticed the glitter of the chain around Lissa's neck. She reached out while muttering, “f' gods sake, most young girls threaten us with their whole, ' do you know who I am' bit.” Lissa pulled back, but being tied, there wasn't far she could go. The woman Grabbed the necklace, and pulled it out, studying it. Her easy, bored expression fell from her face as she studied the coin, with the red gem, on the thin chain around Lissa's neck.

Lissa had time only to flinch when the woman had a long thin, needle-like dagger taken from a hidden sheath within her sleeve. She held the point to the side of Lissa's throat, just above her collarbone.

“Your name.” she hissed. Lissa stared at her, her eyes wide, her mouth dry. “Tell me your name, girl. Tell me your name, and where you got this pendent, or I swear I'll kill you here. I don't care if you're a blasted princess, you'll be dead.”

“Lissa.” she whimpered, “My father gave it to me.”

A moment passed before the woman took the dagger from Lissa' throat. She reached out with her hand, and held Lissa' chin, gently turning her face towards her.

“Well then.” She said, “Don't you remember Auntie Ella?”