Steal My Heart

Dani stuck to the rooftops returning the market so that she could avoid the guards. Something was going on for certain, there were flowers everywhere, and a feeling of celebration filled the city. Even the Rats Nest was joining in, the flowers less fresh than those in the upper markets but no less cheery. And there were more people in the market than usual. But for some reason she just couldn’t think of what could be going on. The answer was there, in the back of her mind, she could feel it but couldn’t put words to it. She paused on a rooftop overlooking Trade Road, sucking cinnamon and icing off her fingers as she tried her hardest to bring the memory up. Whatever it was, it was big. The merchants were all putting their best produce and products forward - and the best looking boar was already roasting on a spit.

She perked up a bit, focusing on the boar and the hunter that was steadily rotating the spit. That was someone she recognized! She took a deep breath of the roasting meat, the expensive spices he had turned into a sauce that he dipped the meat in before handing it out to the customers. Her eyes slit in pleasure, closing for the briefest moment. Reshi always cooked meat the best. She hopped down off the roof, landing in a crouch against the wall.

Dani straightened, strolling through the crowd to his stall, little more than a makeshift firepit built near a tiny tavern that did little more than sell booze and send people on their way. There would be no stealing here, the tavern was protected by the Thieves Guild, and Reshi had saved her life.

Reshi looked up as she approached, sharp grey eyes a stark contract to his dark skin. He was Therija’s uncle, but time in the wilderness and the intricate tattoos he had gained during his pirate youth.

“Yer droolin’ lil’un.” He growled, his frown deepening slightly as he looked her over. Finally, he gave a snort, and turned back to his boar. “Skin’n bones.”

Dani grinned, shrugging. She knew better than to take the frown personally. Reshi was usually frowning to some extent. “Caught. What’s the occasion?” If she couldn’t think of what it was, Reshi was sure to know. After all, he had brought in one hell of a boar for it, and his most expensive spices! It was rare enough to see him in the city at all, let alone with that kind of haul. She moved closer, sniffing the air again appreciatively, thinking of the coins in her pocket. It would be a gamble to buy a slice... she needed to pay up what she owed at the inn. But the meat smelled so good, and adopted daughter or not, she knew he would expect her to pay. He hadn’t given her free meat in years, not since he taught her to steal as a child. She never faulted him for it, he had prepared her for a hard life. People like them were never going to be rich, and they could only afford so much kindness.

If she lived the way Reshi had taught her, she wouldn’t have snuck that poor kid a coin. Luckily Therija’s mother had taught her that little acts of kindness didn’t have to cost much.

“Ya need ta pay more ‘tention to the city.” Reshi’s face grew darker, and he paused in his work to look her full on again. He gave a nod to the crowd. “Look, listen. Then ye can tell me.”

“Damnit Reshi.” Dani groaned and looked out at the market again. If she could remember she wouldn’t have asked him! She crossed her arms, leaning against the cool stone of the wall behind his firepit, the scent of meat and spices filling her nose. Her stomach growled, and she made a face, hoping that Reshi hadn’t heard.

“Hold yer tounge, an’ tel me what ya see.” Reshi cuffed her head lightly before turning back to his boar, accepting a few copper from a man already into his cups. The jolly man stumbled off with a skewer of dripping meat and a bottle of honey mead from the shop behind them, calling out to some friends across the street. He started to stumble across, only to be shoved back towards the stalls by a passing guard.

Dani rubbed her head, shooting a glare Reshi’s way. The man was in a foul mood it seemed, she was suprised anyone was buying from him with that glower on his face. She turned her attention back to the market, scanning it again, trying to see anything she had missed. Why was she having such a hard time figuring out what was going on? She had heard of peoples minds going if they went too long without proper food. But she had eaten! She had eaten a cinnamon roll, with raisins! Maybe she just needed more sleep. But the smell of meat was even driving away that desire. “I can tell it’s a celebration, but can’t for the life of me remember what folks would be celebrating this time of year. It’s not the harvest, and not the end of the cold season, so what is it?”

Reshi’s look turned to one of disappointment and something she couldn’t quite place in his expression. “Keep lookin’.”

What was she missing? She looked back across the market, spotting the usual pickpockets and grifters. It was too early for the whores to be out, but she spotted a couple of the classier ones relaxing in front of one of the better inns anyways. They had placed themselves to be framed artfully by the flowers and garlands that someone had strung up. And speaking of flowers, they were everywhere, strung across the street on garlands of colorful scrap fabric, over stalls, being sold two for half a copper on street corners. And further up, she could see the kingdoms colors flying: blue and silver. “Royals comin’ through?”

“It’s mid-summer lass, Queens Day!” Reshi shook his head, not even bothering to hide his disappointment. That hardly seemed fair! She couldn’t keep track of every stupid holiday the city celebrated. Reshi cut a sliver of meat off the boar, offering it to her on the tip of his knife. She took it, popping it into her mouth with no hesitation. Queens Day, the birthday of her royal highness... whatever her name was. It made sense, things she had seen falling into place. The flowers, the tiny cakes she had seen here and there, the guards keeping the center of Trade Road empty of people. The royal family would be making their trip down to the old docks and back.

“What do I care about Queens Day? Other than it means more guards and heavier pockets.” She didn’t pay much mind to the royals. Their lives were so different from her own that they might as well be gods, descending from their shining palace to flaunt their wealth and power to the tiny people of Rats Nest.

This time the cuff to her head was enough to set her ears ringing, and she let out a curse, stumbling a bit. “What the hell, Reshi?!”

“Think ya lil’ idiot! Or have ye got yer head so far up yer arse that ya know nothin’ ‘bout what they’ll bring wit’em, or what the queen ‘as done for the poor folk?”

Dani stared at Reshi in shock, where the hell had that come from? She straightened, rubbing the tender spot on her head. Her own temper flared at being scolded like a child, and in public no less! The bitterness of having to scrape for a living and fear for her life when there were people that had everything they could ever want and more only fueled her anger, and she waved at the street furiously. “What has she done, eh? What have any of them done? They sit in their castle, wining and dining, while people starve to death on the streets!” Even keeping her voice low there were those that gave her and Reshi a wide berth. Well, she couldn’t blame them. Even in the Rats Nest it was dangerous to speak ill of the royal family.

“I shoul ‘ave left ye in the woods.” Reshi shook a fist at her, and let out a snort. Dani flinched slightly, expecting another hit, but didn’t back down, standing tall as he continued. “Yer ignorance’ll be the death of ye. Guarantee it. So this time, I’ll spell it out fer ya in an attempt ta save yer hide. The queens been tryin’ ta get the nobles ta open a school fer common folk an’ make ‘em put more food towards the orphanages near the border. Which ya would care a lot more ‘bout if I had left ya where I found ya! Don’t open yer mouth, I ain’t done.” Dani paused, closing her mouth, her face red.

“Royals comin’ through means people are gunna be showin’ off their goods, carryin’ more money. Ya at least got that right, an’ that the guards’ll be out in force. But more nobles are out as well, with their own guards, an’ their own thief-catchin’ magic. Which means yer normal pathetic pickpocketin’ is gun’ be that much more dangerous. ‘Specially when all that magic overlaps an ye can’t tell who has magic on them anymore.”

“Pathetic pickpocketing? You’re the one that taught me, and it’s a good enough living!”

“It’s not hardly a livin’ at all, an’ well ya know it. Ya ain’t got hardly any meat on yer bones; ya been takin’ reisks but not ‘nough ta pay fer bed an’ a room.”

“Ah shit.” Dani flinched, humiliation seeping in to mix unpleasantly with the anger, turning it more into shame. She thought of how she had snuck out of the inn this morning... of course Reshi would find out. He was the one that had recommended the inn in the first place when she moved out of the little house Therija’s family lived in. Raycor hadn’t needed an extra mouth to feed, and with Azra, Therija and her all sharing a bed it had been getting crowded. “I was gonna pay him tonight....”

“Oh aye, sure ye were. An’ what of tomorrow night? An’ the night after? Am I gonna come ta town again to find ya didn’t pay again, or that ye been thrown in Commoners Jail fer stealin? Worse thing I ever did was teach ya ta steal... no one can stay a thief forever.” Reshi’s face softened, and he looked at her with a disappointment and tenderness that was somehow worse than his anger. “When I taught ya how ta steal, I thought ye’d eventually find somethin’ better.”

Dani tried to keep standing tall, but she could feel herself shrinking in on herself, haunching her shoulders as her body tried to make itself as small as she felt. She frowned, looking away from him. She hadn’t expected to be put to the fire herself when she had come to say hello! The damn hypocrite had been a thief when he found her, supplementing his own income from hunting. But even as a pirate he had always been loyal to the royal family.

“Nothin’ ta say, eh? Dani... lil’un, ya need ta start thinkin’ about yer future. Not jus’ tonight or the next. What happens if ya get hurt? Or sick? Me’n Raycor won’t be around forever.”

Dani looked at him in alarm. Was he dying? No, that was stupid. He looked fine! But his questions dug at fears she had held for years. She felt like she was a little girl again, caught in a mistake. The feeling only grew as Reshi sighed, and rested a hand on her head gently. “Think on it, lil’un. We’ll talk tonight. I expect ya back at the usual inn; I handled yer tab this time, but I ain’t gunna be able to keep doin’ that.”

Shame twisted like a knife in Dani’s gut, and she hung her head. He had handled her tab? Shit... she didn’t think he’d ever do that. Reshi turned away, and sliced a large hunk of meat off the bore. He speared it on a stick that had been stripped of its bark, dipped it in the sauce, and held it out to her. “Here. Ya need ta eat. Keep yer damn coin lass, ye be needin’ it.”

The last growl came when she started to reach for her pouch. He shoved the stick into her hand, his stern frown returning. “Get outta ‘ere. Go find a spot ta enjoy the procession.”

And with that, he turned his back to her, effectively ending the conversation. Dani stood there a moment longer anyways, her gut in knots as sauce dripped down the stick onto her hand. Finally, she turned and slunk away into the alley, wondering if she’d even be able to keep the meat down.

———————————————————————————————————————

Her stomach had settled some by the time she reached the rooftops overlooking the Trade Road, and she dropped down onto some crates to eat the meat. To be fair even if her stomach had still been upset, she would have eaten the meat anyways. She wasn’t about to waste food, especially not with Reshi’s special sauce: sweet and spicy at once. But today was fast turning into one of those days where she should have just stayed in bed. First Therija wanted to talk to her about her future, and now Reshi... both had mentioned other options than thieving. Sure, Reshi hadn’t suggested specific paths, but she had a feeling that would be part of the conversation tonight.

She could hardly wait.

Irritated, she flicked her stick at a large rat that had been running along the roofline. It bounced off the old, cracked brickwork that rimmed the roof, and the rat just hissed at her. It didn’t even bother running away! Dani scowled, letting out her own hiss and stomping her foot at it, the old roof flexing beneath her. The rat scurried away with one last belligerent hiss, disappearing down a small mountain of crates stacked against the buildings wall. Today apparently wasn’t her day, if even the rats weren’t impressed with her.

Dani tilted her head back, letting the sun blind her for a moment. It let her forget where and what she was, even if just for a moment. She could imagine that she was something other than a street rat and a mediocre thief. Or street mouse, as her friends often said, since she tended to be the smallest out of their group. It wasn’t helped by the fact she made the most embarassing squeaks when she was startled.... The corner of her mouth quirked up, and she let out a cleansing breath. Lowering her head, Dani blinked ghosts of light from her vision. She turned her attention to the market, the bright colors of merrymakers and flowrs, the music and smells of celebration. When had she last really enjoyed a festival? The last big one had been the Spring festival, celebrating the end of the cold season. But there had been others, smaller ones.

She took a moment, watching the procession that was slowly coming down the street as she thought. The last one she had really taken the time to enjoy probably had been the spring festival. She had danced with friends, and gotten drunk off honey wine that had been fermenting all winter. She smiled a bit at the memory. That had been a good night.

But she wouldn’t be enjoying this festival, she couldn’t afford to. She had to figure out how she could make a living. Whether it was through pickpocketing, honest work, or... ugh... getting a husband. She was most certainly not the housewife type, which was what most men expected of women: staying home, taking care of children, cooking and cleaning. The whole thing sounded boring as hell.

She looked out over the procession as it wound its way down Trade Road, the sun shining off armor and the carriages gilding. The queen would probably be in that carriage, along with the princesses. Lucky blue blood... she probably had servants for all that stuff. Of course, what did that leave her to do? Relax and maybe read? That could be relaxing for a while, but not how she’d want to spend the rest of her life for sure. She laughed at herself, as if that would ever happen to her!

She hopped off her crate, moving to crouch down at the edge of the roof. The streets cleared ahead of the procession; onlookers guided out of the way by the guards. They would be passing through the Tangle soon, down to the original city docks, the Gateway to the Sea as they called it. Processions through the city always followed the Trade Road from the palace to the Gateway and back. If the stories were believed, the tradition had been started when the original archway had been built, and when the main market used to be down by the docks. Dani stared at the wealth the royals wore, their gilded carriage and gold-edged armor. They wore more wealth than she had earned in her lifetime. If she could get her hands on even a fraction of it, she’d be set for life.

That thought tickled at the back of her brain, and she shifted a little, her gaze sharpening on the procession. Could she get her hands on any of it? It was a risk, one crazier than she was used to taking, almost suicidal. But if she pulled it off....

If she pulled it off, she could prove to Reshi that she could make it as a thief, that she was bold enough to make it as more than just a pickpocket. She could prove to Therija that she could earn enough to set herself up for a while. Maybe they would stop talking about other ways of life, or marriage. All she needed, was one big score.

She had a new purpose in watching the procession now, staring hard at it, making note of the guards and how much attention they were paying to the actual procession itself. There were a lot of them, but their attention was focused more on the crowds, than the people in the procession. The gold and gemstones inlaid into the carriage itself were out of the question, and she didn’t see a lot of money pouches. It would have to be something like jewelry then, something she could snag and break down to sell.

Her heart started to pound as the plan formed in her head. It was borderline insane, she knew that. But if she pulled it off... it was the type of thing that bards would sing songs about! She knew that much of the jewelry was impossible, but the two royal men were tall, made taller still by the horses they rode. And they would pass directly beneath the Gate of the Sea, the archway that marked the official beginning of the city, and the end of the old dock market. That was her chance. The vines that grew across the archway hung low, and often brushed against the tops of wagons and carriages. If she was very, very lucky, then they would never notice when she snagged the crown that she had selected as her target. Both crowns gleamed with gold and gemstones, and on their horses the men were nearly as tall as the wagons that passed beneath the arch on a daily basis.

She took a breath, trying to calm the racing of her heart, pushing aside the part of her that screamed the plan was suicide. She pushed herself up, running down the rooftops beside Trade Road, behind onlookers that had decided the roofs were a better place to view the procession than along the side of Trade Road. She slipped a little on the loose dirt that still remained from the last rockslide, piled up in an alley between two buildings. But she caught her balance and continued on her way. The route wasn’t new, it was a favorite for street races, and she knew exactly where to step to avoid falling through some of the less sturdy roofs. When she got to the Gateway, she took a small leap onto it, lying flat on her belly among the vines to avoid being seen. She did draw some looks of curiosity, but no one stopped her as she shimmied across it, positioning herself so that the younger of the two men would pass directly beneath her.

Back on the roof, one of the younger men elbowed his companion, nodding to her with a grin. She ignored them, adrenaline hammering through her veins. For a moment, she felt like she could do anything, like she was invincible. She reached her hand down through the vines as the men passed beneath her, and snagged the crown.

The younger mans head snapped up, brown eyes piercing into her very soul. And for a moment, the world froze. She hadn’t been fast enough, sneaky enough, lucky enough. Her blood turned to ice in her veins, and she stared at him for a moment that seemed like eternity.

“Then, just as suddenly as it had stopped, time started moving again. Someone shouted at her to run, and she leapt to her feet, clutching her prize as she leapt off the Gateway, landing hard on the roof of the nearest building, onlookers scattering. She didn’t even look behind her as she took off running towards the tangle of streets and rooftops that made up the Rats Nest.