The Cut Purse
Chapter One
She ran through the streets as quickly as she could with the prize gripped in her small hands. Her pursuers were fast, but the girl knew she could outrun the foolish men. The girl dashed down a dark ally, crouched in the darkest area behind a short pile of junk, and held her breath. She felt hesitant to move from the dark corner. As the two men drew near the ally, she moved her eyes around the small space as she silently searched for escape routes or objects she could use to her advantage. Spotting an opening, to the slimy sewer tunnels, behind a few boxes, the girl turned her attention back to the approaching men. They stood outside of the ally now, but only the large round one peered into the darkness.
"Damn," cried the short skinny twig of a man. To even the girl he was chasing, he appeared to be all skin and bone. He put a thin right palm to his head and drove his long fingers through his short black hair. "How did we manage to lose that little brat so quickly?" He complained to the fat greasy pig of a partner.
The large man brought his round face to look upon the other man and shrugged. "Maybe she hid behind something," he gestured toward the dark consumed alley.
"You're kidding me right?" The twig scoffed. "You saw how fast she was! If anything we're losing her trail right now as we talk. Now come on, we may be able to catch her if we start running."
"But…" the large man started but sighed as he decided not to waste his breath trying to convince his companion otherwise. He peered down the alley one more time, sighed, and took off to catch up with his partner.
The girl waited a minute and released her long held breath. She slowly treaded out of the alley, taking a bite of the stolen bread with every step. She looked in the direction of where the two foolish men ran. The girl closed her eyes, savored the taste of the last bite of bread, and smiled.
"Next time I need to be more careful," she mumbled to herself. The girl turned toward the way she had come and opened the small pocket of money she snuck off the greasy pig. She walked with care as she counted the amount of credits inside. Five credits. She sighed and placed the credits in the inside pocket on her jacket.
The girl paused in her tracks and observed the reflection present in a dark window. A cold gust of wind blew her waist length golden- brown hair behind her. Across her face there was a large smear of dirt surrounded by the thinner patches of dirt that liked to present themselves on her face and hands. Her green- hazel eyes peered into the eyes in the reflection. She saw many feelings lived in those eyes of hers.
She sighed. Satisfied she would not starve this night, she headed off into the city in search of a place to rest her eyes.
The young man strived through the large crowds with pride and purpose in his step. The long, Black cloak seemed to flow behind him as it protected his fit body from the morning's biting cold. His scared, red lekku flowed from the hood that draped over his head. As he treaded through the crowd, his mysterious appearance gained him the attention of many locals, including the little known cut purse.
She watched him make his way from the spaceport. He's new. A prime mark. She thought to herself. He grew closer to her and the girl kept her head down, but her eyes scanned the man for valuables and weapons. The red skinned man maneuvered through the groups of people and past the girl. As he passed, she raised her head, letting the sunlight illuminate her face with its warm light.
His walk says don't mess with me. But yet… What is this feeling I can't shake? She looked at the crowd of people who ignored her. Last night was sloppy. Weird. Usually they don't know something is missing until I'm gone. Have they finally became aware of my actions? No matter… should he come back past sun set, she set her eyes to one of the few lush green hills on this chunk of rock and tall buildings, I will try if it becomes desperate. Last resort only. She rose and moved to the nearby fountain that stood in the middle of the districts square.
She cupped her hands, gathered some not so sterol water, and tried to wash some of the dirt off of her face. When the ripples in the water calmed, she looked upon her face once again. She took a hard, long look at it and sighed. At least the weather had started to warm.
The stars gathered in the night sky, starring down into the infanant areas of space. The young man emerged from the cantina.
The girl slowly walked through street after street in search of something to make the antagonizing hunger that had taken hold in her stomach go away. She peered into restraunts and stores. She looked upon the faces of the well feed people. Because she tried every chance she had to not take from other people, the five credits she had acquired the previous night had been spent on multiple bottles of water during the blazing mid- day. She looked ahead of her and spotted the fit man from the morning as he walked down the streets in her direction.
Let's hope it's my lucky day, she thought to herself. Looking like her head was in the clouds, she continued to take step after step past strangers to her target. Her eyes searched for and found the money pocket that hung from his belt.
Their shoulders collided as she snuck the money purse from him. She made sure she was careful, so careful, she did don't feel herself tug on the man's belt. She took a few more steps and hoped she was home free.
He hopes crashed when she found herself hovering in the air out of breath. The small purse fell from her hand as she struggled for air.
The man picked up the purse and moved to face her face- to- face, becoming slightly amused at her struggle and the fact she was stupid enough to steal from him. His red eyes looked into hers and he released his grip, letting her fall to the cold ground. The street around them had become abandoned.
I knew I shouldn't have tried, she thought to herself. She started to cough as she tried to catch some air. Her eyes worked her way up into his. His eyes spelt danger and called her filth. The girl scooted back and tried to rise only to find herself falling once again as the man zapped her with lightning. She screamed in pain into the night. Just who is this person?
"Now, now, little girl, did you really believe that you would successfully steal from me? The man questioned with fire in those red eyes of his. He watched the girl cower with fear and zapped her once more. He appeared to be brought satisfaction by her screams.
The girl looked into his eyes, pleading him to stop.
Using quiet, stealthy footsteps, he raced street after street, building after building, toward the crying screams for help. He leaped into the air, pulled his weapon into his strong hand, and gave the weapon life. The blue- green blade jumped out of the handle and moved to meet its opponent.
Hearing a weapon hiss to life, the man dressed in black jumped out of the way and pulled his own weapon from his sleeve. He activated the lightsaber, listening to the red- orange blade scream as it flowed out of its master's handle.
The knight with the blue- green blade landed not ten feel from the twi'lek. Their eyes locked. Time seemed to pick up as the force- users entered their duel.
The girl watched the hero attack and defend against the red man as they danced the deadly dance of war. She observed in awe as the dancing blades clashed, countered, and separated in graceful motion.
The fighting began to intensify with every step. The Sith began to feel exhaustion fall upon him.
Seeing the Sith had fully turned his attention to the knight, the girl came to the conclusion it would be wise to leave. She rose to her feet and turned to dash out of the area, however withing the next few seconds, she found herself flying through the air.
The Sith threw the girl at the Jedi in hopes the knight would step back a bit, which he did. The girl landed hard on her back with a loud thud between the two opponents. The young man looked at the girl, seeming surprised the landing only left her stunned instead of knocking her out cold. He looked menacingly upon the Jedi and the girl. He watched as she rose to her hands and knees coughing. The Jedi took a step toward her. Reaching out with the force, the young man grabbed the girl by the throat and dangled her in mid- air.
"Give it up, Jedi, for her sake," he nodded toward the struggling girl.
"Let her go!" The Jedi demanded as he moved to a defensive stance.
"Oh, I'll let her go," the Sith tightened his grip, "after I'm done. Turn around, Jedi, and crawl back into whatever hole you rose from! I can deal with you later."
The Jedi closed his lightsaber, sighed, and clipped it to his belt. He closed his eyes in concentration.
The young man eyes the Jedi, unsure of what the man was doing.
The girl struggled to get air as she slowly suffocated. The world started to go black around her as her eyes slowly forced themselves shut. I can't stay awake any longer her body told her mind. She felt a pressure release from her neck and she fell to the ground once more. She took in a sweet gulp of air. She opened her eyes toward where the Sith had been standing. She watched the final moments of his flight into the nearby rushing river. She kept her eyes there for a moment then flicked her eyes to see her hero knelt over her.
"Are you alright, young one?" He asked offering a hand to help her sit up.
Taking the hand, the girl nodded. "Th-thank you," she said in a small voice as she slowly sat up. She put her free hand to her head in attempt to get the world to stop spinning. Feeling the dizziness pass over, she sighed in relief.
"What is your name, and what are you doing out on the streets at this hour?" He asked her.
The girl looked into his brown eyes. His face looked soft and kind. His short brown- tan hair blew in the breeze. "Kaissy… My name is Kaissy, sir."