A Proper Young Thief: Chapter 14: End of the Trip

A Proper Young Thief

M.K.Barry

Chapter 14: End of the Trip

The tall, nearly bald man came towards Lissa with the bowl of slimy puss coloured liquid in his hands. She could kick, or course, and she could struggle, but chained as she was, how much could she really defend herself? She tried to come up with an idea, a way to get herself free, but all she could think about was the deceit, the trickery, of Ella's blatant lies that led her here.

There was a sudden knock at the door. Loud and long, like someone was trying to knock the door down.

“Damnit.” he hissed. He threw the bowl down onto the table, and turn. Before he left, he grabbed a rag off the table, and went back to lissa. He tried to tie the rag around her mouth, but she moved her head out fo the way. He frowned, grabbed her by the hair, and then managed to get the rag around her mouth.

“ Just be quiet.” he hissed. He tightened the rag and took off out of a sturdy wooden door on the other side of the room.

Lissa struggled against the chains once more, but couldn't escape. She was trying to squeeze her hands , to make them small enough to slip through the shackles when she heard shouting, There was a lot of banging on the other side of the door, and someone was yelling loudly. She heard a thump and hear the man say something she couldn't understand. He sounded panicked.

The door was thrown open, slamming against the shelf of bottled mixtures, causing several fo them to fall to the floor, and shatter, Ella stormed in, the man following close behind her. Her face was hardened into an angry, almost scary glare, her eyes were wide and wild, and her lips were pressed together tightly.

“Ella, I swear, I thought she was-”

“I dont' care.” She snapped. She went up to Lissa, and tore the rag from around her mouth. “Are you ok?” She said, she gently took her chin in her hands, and looked carefully into her eyes, and at her face, “Did he do anything to you? Did he give you anything!”

“N-no.” Lissa stammered.

Ella took a deep calming breath, then turned, snapping her eyes back at the man, who almost seemed to shrivel under her stare.

“Release her.” She snapped.

He took a key off the table, and ran towards Lissa, Ella snatched the key from his hands, and unlocked the shackles herself.

“Are you hurt at all?”

“No I.. I think I'm fine.”

Ella nodded, and turned back to the man again. “Lin, I swear, if you ever, ever touch her again, I'll force-feed you poison.”

“I thought.. you said you were bringing me a girl.”

“And you just assumed that she was...” She caught Lissa's curious stare, and let her sentence trail off. “From now on, we do business in person. Got it? No more deliveries. Got it?”

“Y-yes Ella.”

Ella took Lissa by the arm, and led her out of the room. The door let into a shop front, where a fire burned in the fireplace. That was the light Lissa had seen from outside. She only caught a glimpse at the rows of bottles and dried herbs on shelves before Ella pulled her out into the street again, and pulled her across the square.

“The pub is on the other side of the square.” She said softly. “I... I guess I always get a little confused when I come up out of the well.

Lissa looked across the square, and could see a building, with thin linees of light illuminating tightly closed. She hand't even noticed it before.

“You were bringing him people?”

“Ignore Lin for now.” She muttered, “He's half crazy on the best of days.”

“You... you were bringing him people.” Lissa said, his voice quiet, her eyes wide. She pulled her arm from Ella's grip. “You were bringing him people.. and he was killing them?”

“Lissa, this isn't the place to-”

She took a few steps away from her, “You were. You were just-”
Ella moved fast. Within a moment, she was behind Lissa, her thin dagger held to her neck.

“I don't want to hurt you, Lissa.” She whispered. “That's the very last thing I want right now, save for being caught by the authorities here. You keep you voice down, and come with me now.

Lissa stiffened, and didn't move until Ella pushed her gently towards the pub. After a few long moments, Ella removed the dagger from her neck.

“Don't run.” she hissed. “I could kill you in a moment if you tried.”

They got to the pub, and Ella opened the door, and pushed Lissa inside. There were a few patrons there, but none of them really looked up, save for one skinny man sitting along in the corner, who glanced up for a moment, then looked back down at his drink. A stone fire pit sat in the centre of the pub, a low, smouldering fire burning, the smoke following the stone chimney that stood as a piller in the centre of the room. A wooden counter stood, covering one side of the pub, and behind it was a youngish man, no more than twenty, with light brown hair and light brown eyes.

“Your normal room, Ella?” He asked, letting his eyes flicker towards lissa only for a moment.

“I think so.” She said. “And a room for my friend here.”

“Any one in particular?”

“Room five would be useful.”he nodded, and from under the counter, pulled out two sets of keys. She thanked him, and pulled Lissa up towards a flight of stairs. She dragged her around a corner, and towards a door that had “5” scratched into the wood. She unlocked the door, the elaborate, long key turning the tumblers loudly, and gently pushed Lissa in.

“I am sorry about this.” Ella said softly. “In the morning, I'll explain more. But you can't run off, not just yet.” She looked at Lissa and sighed. “I'll have some food sent to you... just try to rest.”

She closed the door, and Lissa heard it lock. She took a half step to the door, then changed her mind. She looked around the room. There was a bed in the centre of the room, a single table with a tinderbox and lit candle sat next to the bed.

She collapsed down on the bed. The mattress was a least a good one, and soft enough that she sunk into it. She shut her eyes and started to drift into sleep, then she got up, pulled off the dirt-caked clothing she had been wearing since she left home, pulled back the thick blankets, and slipped in under them, snuggling the around her neck. She started to worry over everything that had just happened, but in her exhaustion, she told herself that all her problems would still be there in the morning.