A Proper Young Thief: Chapter 18: work

A Proper Young Thief

M.K.Barry

Chapter 18: Work

Lissa needed work.

It had taken a few days for her to rest from her days of travel. The moment she had been able to rest, she came down with a bad cold. She refused to see a doctor, choosing instead just to sleep and rest. She dressed only to go to the common-area, and eat what she could, drink whatever broth was available. The days passed in a blur of fever, aches and pains as her muscles slowly recovered, as the callouses and cuts on her feet slowly healed, and scarred. The scratches on her arms and face finished healing, though there were times when her fever was very bad that she felt like she could have peeled all the skin off her face, times when it felt more like a mask than her real skin.

Then she started to feel better. The fever subsided, her dizziness passed, and as snow started to fall over Rawlins. When she finally stepped out of the Inn, wearing only the quickly repaired cloak she had left with, and the loosely fitting tunic and pants that had been found for her, and her old boots,

And now, here she was. Walking the streets of Rawlins, looking for work. Something that could take her at least through the winter. She of course, had plenty of skills that she could use. Housekeeping, of course. Something simple, something that she knew how to do. There was also the idea of becoming and apprentice to a seamstress. She could sew, of course, so if she was lucky, she could of course get a position.

But, most seamstresses were looking for young ladies. Girls, who didn't mind a hard day of work.

She was not a girl, at least, not as far as anyone was supposed to know. That was her two skills, housekeeping, and dressmaking, useless for the time. For the time, it was better to continue to mask herself. Being alone in a big city as dangerous enough. It was even more dangerous for a young lady. Not to mention the fact that if they realized in her home that she was not really dead, if they found out where she was.

“Home.” She muttered. She wondered suddenly how her mother was, how long it might be until she would be able to go home and visit, if only for a little. If only like those short visited her father used to make in the dead of night.

She shook thoughts of home out of her head, before they drifted to thoughts of death. She didn't need that. She had had all the time she had wanted, and more, to idle on death while she was sick.

Now wasn't a time to let herself just dwell on that. She couldn't, and she didn't want to. She needed something to take her away from that.

She needed work.

Soon, she found herself back at the square. Having wandered though endless, turning streets filled with merchants at stands, and small shops squished between houses, she had come back to the square, the well, the apothecary.

A thought took her suddenly, which at once revolted her and elated her. She remembered the fear, the terror on the man's face when ella had torn into him, threatened him as she had.

She half ran across the square towards the apothecary. She opened the door, and a bell ran as she walked into the warm room. Light from the dusty window glinted off the bottles and jars on the shelves. She heard the ringing of a tiny bell as she closed the door behind her, and a moment later, from the open door that led into the back, the apothecary came out. He looked up at her from a jar he was labeling with charcoal, looked up, and dropped the jar and the charcoal. The Jar thankfully didn't break, but it landed with a loud clunk, and rolled until it hit the counter.

“Oh balls.” the apothecary breathed, “Why are you here? I've left you alone.”

“Hire me.”

“... I Beg your-”

“I need to work. You work here by yourself, don't you? Apothecaries generally do well, don't they? You can afford an assistant.”

“I.. I've done nothing to you. I didn't really hurt you, everything was sorted before anything happened! And besides, I work alone. I don't need an assistant.”

Lissa felt her mind race, and surprisingly, she came up with something fast. “you know, I got sick just after I got into town.” She snapped, “Horrible fever, weakness, muscle aches. Could be a cold. But hey, it could also be whatever fumes I inhaled from whatever you were trying to get me to drink.”
“I.. It wasn't.. I didn't even get it close to you.”

“Did you? Can you even remember? You were about to force that stuff down my throat when Ella got here. And you know, me being sick... it really hindered my finding a job, getting settled here in town. I'm sure Ella would appreciate that, wouldn't she?”

“Look.” She said, panicing a little now. He looked around, picked the jar off the floor, and set it on the counter. “Look. Even if I were to hire you.. I have no use for you. A young lady-”

“Young lady?”

“I'm old, miss. I can easily tell the difference between a young man and a young woman. Besides, Ella wasn't really trying to keep that quiet when she stormed in here and got you.” He shook his head, “I don't have a use for a young man, let alone a young woman, especially one who knows nothing about the kind of work I do.” He reached down, picked up the stick of charcoal one more, and finished writing something on the label. “Now excuse me, I have to close up.”

“...Why? Isn't it early to close up?”

“I'm not closing up for the day, st-” he hesitated, then set the jar back on the table. I”m closing up so I can make a quick run over to a client's house.”

“A patient?”

“Not quite. Just a delivery. A customer of mine has a new little wife, and she's having trouble, shall we say, getting used to him? I've made her a little mixture that should do the trick.”
“Well then, I can bring it. That's something easy enough, isn't it?”

“Fine!” he snapped. He rummaged around under the counter until her came up with a burlap sack, He put the jar inside, and tied it tightly. “If it'll get you out of my hair, you can take it.”

“And.. you will pay me?”

“Yes, yes, I'll pay you-” He thrust the sack into her hands and pushed her towards the door, “Just get out of my hair. Don't set Ella on me or anything, just take it and go.” He opened the door, the bell rang overhead. She stumbled as she was pushed back outside. Her eyes took a moment to adjust to the brightness of the snow-covered outside. Behind her, she heard the door squeak closed. She turned quickly.

“Wait, where do I bring it!”

“You're bringing it to the new wife of Lawson Dives. He lives in a big house on the west side of town. Ask around, you'll find it.”

He let the door close, leaving Lissa, holding a packing for Lawson.

A Proper Young Thief: Chapter 17: Better Than Nothing

A Proper Young Thief

M.K.Barry

Chapter 17: Better Than Nothing

The king sat in his chair, drinking wine by the fire. The whole day had been spent looking over revisions to rules, some of which were hundreds of years old, and so useless and outdated that they didn't mean anything anymore. However, they were still rules, and before he made a decision, the purpose and necessity of every rule needed to be discussed in depth, the possible implication of removing a law needed to be discussed.

They had spent the entire afternoon trying to decide if they needed to enforce a 300 year-old rule on citizens having red hair, which, after several hours on arguing the possible implications of removing the rule, he himself had to bring up the possible implications of enforcing it, and then had to bring up the possibility for others to use the rule.

IT had been a taxing day. And they had another three days ahead of them like that.

He filled his wine glass, and took a deep drink, then set the glass down on the table next to him with a clink.

“It's been a good few years now, I think I can hear you just fine, no matter how quiet you are.”
The Hunter stepped out from the edge of the fireplace.

“How strange, your hearing is improving with age.” he muttered. The king grinned and gave a smile.

“Maybe I just lied about that. Maybe every so often, I ask the empty room if you're there, just so you'll think I'm clever if you are.”
“Well, I'm make sure to deny your cleverness here there.”
The king took another glass from a small box under the table, set it down, and poured a small glass. “Have a drink. Tell me what you found out.”

The hunter stepped forward, took the glass, then moved to the wall just behind the king, and leaned back as he drank.

“Ella is back in town.”

“She is now.” he leaned back, “That means we're almost done?”

“I think so. She came in to town last night, with some kid with her. She brought him to a pub then went to her little hideaway.”

“You didn't go in after her?”

“I did. She got away in the end.”

“She must be good to get away from you.”

“She was... Lucky.”

The king nodded, and took another long drink of wine. “Life is half luck. Doesn't matter how good you are. If you're not lucky, you're screwed.” she set the glass down again, and stared at it. “OF course, if you have all the luck in the world, and you don't work, nothing happens.”

“I suppose.” The Hunter shrugged. “Regardless, she got away. But she can't leave Rawlins, she can't go outside, she can't buy bread now without me finding out about it. IT won't be long now.”

“And you think if you get here-”
“If I had gotten her in the first place, everyone who knew about the pendent would already be dead.”

“... Except for the girl.”

“She doesn't know what it is. She is not a danger, and for now, it's just as safe with her as it is here, because no one knows she has it.”

“Except for us.”

“Aye.”

The king sighed, and rubbed his fingers against his temple, “This would have all been easier if you had just killed the girl, and taken the thing back.”

“You gave me a choice. I choose this, didn't I?”

“You know, life would have been a lot simpler if you had just killed the girl, and taken the damned thing back. You'd probably be done by now.”

“Perhaps.”

“Speaking of the girl... why haven't you told me she's gone?”

“... Pardon?”

“I've had my people checking up on her from time to time.” He picked up the glass, and looked deeply into the wine. “She's dead.”

“...no.”

“She was accused of murder, and buried alive, just outside of town.” he looked at him. “You didn't know?”

“I... I knew she wasn't there.. but I didn't imagine-”

“And you didn't' tell me this? Don't you think it's more problematic for us if she's running about with that thing on her?”

“I was going to tell you-”

“Save your breath, Tiller. I know you wanted to protect her.” He leaned back, and smiled a bit. “A little sad though. You're just about done, and she's dead.”

Tiller said nothing for a long moment. HE quickly drank the rest of his wine, dropped the glass on the table, then went towards the door.

“For what it's worth... On a personal level, I”m sorry for your loss.”

“Screw you.”

The king chuckled. “I could have you killed for that.”

“What do I care now?”

“Your wife is still around somewhere.” he said. Tiller stopped, and for a long moment simply stood in the middle of the room. “I've arranged to have her found. She apparently left the village shortly after her daughter passed on. I'm waiting for information now. I had some men go out for the pendant. They'll give your daughter a proper burial after they're done.”

Tiller opened his mouth, as though he was about to say something, then stopped. And walked to the door. He was just about the leave when he stopped. “This means I don't have to hunt down-”

“You still do. “ The king said. “You still choose, and you've gone this far, you might as well. Besides, if you go back on your word now? I can make life very painful, very hard for you.”

“All this, over that stupid thing?”

“That stupid thing is dangerous.” The king said. “ The only reason humanity stopped fighting over it was because they thought it's lost.” he sighed. “You know.. maybe it's best that she died.”

“How could you-”
“There's only been a few people in recorded history who have actually worn that thing. It takes years for it's power to imbed itself in someone. Like vines on a stone wall. You don't neven notice them before they're all over the place, and making your wall weak. For all y ou know, she wasn't even your daughter anymore.”

“Then why didn't you go and take it from her?”

“Because I made a promise too, didn't I?” he whispered. “I Promised that if you did what I wanted you to, I wouldn't hurt your daughter. Of course, I had men checking up on her from time to time. Staying out of the way, making sure she wasn't snapping, or shapeshifting, or the gods know what else.”

“Shapeshifting?”

“Demons have many powers. I dont' know exactly what that one will do.” he shook his head. “If she di murder that boy, that could have been her succumbing to the power of that gem. It would only have been a matter of time then before she started to enjoy killing, before she needed to kill. Or maybe not. Who knows.”
“It's almost over.”

“Almost. We'll have the pendent back soon, everyone who knows about it will be dead, and you... well, I made a promise to you. You can go back to what remains of your life, I suppose.”

Tiller looked up at the carvings over the door. A series of vines with small berries were carved into the wood. “The remains.”

“It's better than death. Better than nothing.”

A Proper Young Thief: chapter 16: Gold

A Proper Young Thief

M.K.Barry

Chapter 16: Gold

Lissa had had one of those dreamless sleeps that still managed to pass slowly and comfortably. She woke up slowly, her mind fuzzy with sleep, and turned over, nuzzling into the pillows, pulling the blankets up almost over her head.

It had been a long, long time since she had had a proper sleep, and she was reculant to wake fully. She was still at the point where she could decide that she didn't want to wake up and deal with the mess she was in.

But while she was trying to sleep, there was a knock on the door, and it was quickly opened. The man from pub the other night came in.

“Eh.. hello?”

“Good morning sir!” he said, “I've brought you some breakfast here, and a note from Adex. Whenever you're ready, you can leave, but in honesty if you needed the room another night, no one will really care. Not until Ella says she needs it again.”

“..Thank you” Lissa mumbled into her pillow.

The man walked over to the table near the bed, set down a tray which had a bowl on it, a mug, and an envelope, sealed with a blob of wax.

“Do you need anything else?”

“A bowl of warm water.” she muttered. He nodded, and hesitated nearby a moment before leaving. She heard the door close, but didn't hear it lock. When she was sure he was gone, she sat up, and noticed that the door was left slightly ajar, so that she could leave whenever she wanted.

She got up, and quickly threw on her clothes from the other night. After she had done that, she quickly ate the luke-warm bowl of grains, and drank the tea that in her opinion could have used more honey, but she didn't really care. While she was drinking, hey eyes rested on the letter.

'an explanation for last night?' she wondered. She door the letter, cracked the seal, and read:

Dear Lissa.

Ella must be gone on one of her runs. She might be back in a couple of days, but it wouldn't be fair to let you just sit around in that room until she comes back.

Enclosed is a share of the money that Ella had intended to give you. This should be enough to get you started. I don't know what kind of trouble you're into, or why you ran off, but whatever it is, keep your head down. You done need to be getting into any more trouble. If, however, trouble does find you, then you're welcome to find us again. We could always use more thieves.

-Adex

Lissa wondered how Adex had been able to write the letter, given that he didn't have real hands, but then realized that there was at least someone he knew, who he could trust, who could write well. A folded piece of paper slid out from the letter, and fell onto her lap. She picked it up, assuming it to be the money she was owed, and openend it.

A few golden coins fell out into her hand.

For a moment, she stared at the coins in her hands in disbelief. It wasn't enough to keep her set for years, of course, but enough to keep her fed for a while. Enough for her to keep a room in an inn until she found a way to work.

Work. There was another problem. She didn't have that many skills, Se figured she could probably get a job as a maid, or even as an assistant to a seamstress.

She suddenly thought of the boys from her home. She didn't think of how they had framed her, how they were willing to stand by and let her take the blame for their actions, but their words. A thief, or a whore.

“I'm not whore” she muttered to herself. She wanted to say 'I'm not a thief.' but she couldn't. She had become a thief. She had stolen, and if it was just the fact that she had stolen out of necessity, then she could convince herself that she was no a thief because of that. But no, she hadn't just taken out of necessity. She had enjoyed it.

And she wanted to do it again.

She started slightly as she heard someone near the door and slid the coins back into the paper. The man came back in with a bowl of hot water.

“Here you go, sir.”

“Thank you.” She said. She got up, took a rag hanging off the edge of the bowl and started washing her hands, when she stopped. “where would be a good place to get some new clothes?” She asked.

He turned around and looked at her. “I'm guessing you need something not quite so caked with dirt, right?'

“Right.”
He shrugged, “there's a few places around, I think.” he glanced over her clothes once more, “ think I have something you can have. Old clothes someone left behind one night. Oh, don't worry-” he said as he caught sight of the look of disgust on her face, “They're clean.”

“How much?”

He wrinkled his nose a little, “For used clothes? You can just have them. I was going to use them as rags anyway.”

“And... one more thing...”

“Yeah?”

“If I wanted to rent a room here for a longer period of time..?”

“Normal rate is two silvers a night... but for a friend of Ella, I can make that half.”

“And, do you have a less..” she looked around the room, looking for the right word. After a moment, the man gave a short laugh.

“A real room? Sure. I have another one upstairs. Nice view too.”

She nodded, and then reached for the paper, and took out one of her gold coins.

“I can pay for nights in a advance?”

“You want to pay for fifty nights in advance...?”

“well, like I said, I'm looking for a place in the long term.”

“Hey, no problem. If you're sure, then you're sure.” He put the coin in his pocket, and turned to leave, “I'll get you the keys, and come back with that and the clothes. I can show you to your room after?”

“Sounds great.” Lissa said.

As he left, and as she slowly started to wash the dirt off herself, she felt like she was getting her life in order.

-M.K.Barry

Chapter 15: The Hunter

A Proper Young Thief

M.K.Barry

Chapter 15: The Hunter

Ella climbed to the top of the bell tower, and looked down at the square before. That man, the Hunter was there. They didn't know his name, but shortly after they lost Tiller, this guy had been stalking them. HE was the one they had been hiding from for so long, and Ella had thought that they had lost him for good, that he had given up.

Now he was standing by the well, looking down into the water. He was looking for them again Or maybe he had never stopped, and had just caught their tracks again.

“Damnit.” she muttered. She though she saw him stiffen, and he turned slightly. Though he was looking at the ground, she still slid into the shadows, her heart pounding wildly. She could almost feel his eyes on her, staring up past the stone pillar and right at her back. She shivered, and waited. After a few moment she could actually hear him, the click clicking of his shoes on the cobblestones in the square below echoing up to her in the silence of the very early morning. She listened until the sound faded into the grey of the morning, and then slumped to the floor

'How the hell is he back?' she thought. 'Lissa couldn't have drawn that much attention to herself, or me.' she sat very still for a long moment, watching the sky slowly lighten.

'I need to tell the others' She thought. She carefully counted off people in her head. 'I need to get to everyone else, and I need to tell them that he's back, that I have Lissa, that...'

She got up slowly, and looked back down into the empty square. ' the damned pendent' she thought, ' what the hell do I do with that.'

She sighed and turned around, and started making her way back down into garrison below. The Damned thing hadn't been used in a long time, and was hers now, so long as she was careful. It was home.

'what do I know' She thought to herself. 'I know that Lissa is here. She has the pendent. The Hunter is here as well. He wants the pendant... But likely doesn't know that Lissa has it.' She sighed. “Damnit” She muttered again. She got to a landing down about halfway through the bell tower, kneeled down, and gently brushed her hand over the wooden floor until she felt the leather strap that opened the trap door. She pulled the strap, and a bare room with a single table with one lantern on it opened out beneath her. She jumped down, landing almost silently on the balls of her feet. She quickly took the lantern, and blew it out.

'Part of me wants to just let her keep it.' she thought. 'no one knows she has it... anyway.' It took her only a moment of thought before she decided. 'that's what I'll do. I'll let her keep it, and get her out of here. I'm sure she won't mind. I can sent her to the islands or something.'

She walked around to the back, and started to unlock. 'So. I'll get her set up tomorrow. I'll give her some money, and get her to Teans and put her on a ship. Maybe I could suggest she throws the damned thing out to sea when she's far enough.'

She gave a small smile. Even when things were hard, she was fine if she knew what she was doing. So long as she had an idea of what had to be done, and what could be done, then she didn't have to worry about much.

She opened the door, and standing on the other side was Hunter, his burned and deformed face staring back at her. She yelped and walked back to the table.

“Hello Ella.” He said in his grating, scratchy voice. “Trying to hide form me?”

She moved fast. She grabbed the lantern off from the table, and threw it at him. The light was off, of course. He moved out of the way, and it shattered against the wall, splashing everywhere. He moved quickly towards her, caught her by the throat, and squeezed gently.

“Careless?” He croaked. “You pulled a little too much attention to yourself tonight, Ella.” He squeezed a little tighter. “There were seven people there that night, including your leader. There's only three left.” He squeezed tighter. “Yourself, Adex, and Lysans.”

Ella have a quiet squeak which would have been a gasp if she could breath properly. Hunter chuckled.

“The others have been taken care of.” He hissed. “From you, all I want is the location of the other two. You do that, and I might not have to kill you slowly. I might not hunt down everyone you ever knew or cared about.”

Ella mouthed something, but he couldn't see properly what she was trying to say in the darkness. He loosened her grip on her neck until he heard a strained gasp for air.

“Say that again?”

She gave a low chuckle. “Idiot.” He brought her knee up, and kneed him between the legs. He fell to the ground, and without taunting him or throwing another kick, Ella took off. Jumping over him and running out into the square. She dodged into an alley, and ran until she came to a plain looking door. She pulled the handle, but rather then pull the door out, she pushed it to the side, and slipped into the darkness. The door slid shut behing her.

Moments later, Hunter pulled himself up, and ran to the door. He couldn't' see anything in the courtyard, no sign of Ella. He leaned agains the cold stone wall of the garrison. It was ok though. After so many years, he had at last found her again. Knew where she was, and knew one of her “secret entrances” into the city. One of the last ones, he hoped.

“This will all be over soon..” he muttered.