i guess the title makes it quite transparent. im imagining jean tannen is still a merchant's son and locke has been around for more than half a year. father chains said sabetha was off on 'educational business' when locke first arrived (in the first book). this fic has her coming back. now the third installment isnt out yet, so my sabetha is very very OC. i imagine her proud, self-righteous, beautiful, sharp-witted and understanding with a hint of resolute insanity, from the little hints in the two books.

now i dont own the gentlemen bastards, locke lamora, calo sanza, galdo sanza, father chains, sabetha nor does my house have any elderglass tunnels. credits to scott lynch for his brilliance and im gonna join the cry for "MORE FANS FOR GENTLEMEN BASTARDS"

ENJOY! =D do review. its a wonderful thing. reviews.

add: OMG I DIDNT KNOW THERE WAS A TEASER EXERPT FOR 'the republic of thieves' !!! ehh i just read it. moron me! well my story is a bit off the original storyline then. whattheheck, thats why its fanfic no? =D

First Impression

Her beautiful hair was a wet, tangled mess. Her clothes were soaked right through until her small clothes could be seen. The strap meant to hold the sandal to her left ankle had broken and she had kicked up more water at herself for trying to tolerate the footwear. Having carried her waterproof burlap sack of luggage during the whole journey, she only wanted to get her shivering arse into the warmth of the temple basement and wolf down a pot of the Sanzas' hot soup. If Father Chains insisted on a debriefing before the soup, she planned to let fly at the fat old man.

But what met her temper was a skinny, floppy brown-headed halfwit sitting at her place at the dining table. He was eating what should be her portion. She halted before everyone, dripping with rain and cocked her head at the small face gawking at her.

"What's that on my chair?" demanded Sabetha.

The Sanzas grinned in eerie unison, much to her growing irritation. "She returns!" they chorused.

Father Chains stood ceremoniously to greet her. "My dear Sabetha, welcome back! This, is Locke Lamora. The newest initiate of the Nameless Thirteenth, and one of our own." He dipped his head in that ever subtle manner meant only for her eyes to catch. "Be nice to him."

She harrumphed; a very un-ladylike gesture that Chains smiled at. "Sure." she muttered and made her way to the chair next to Locke Lamora's, eyeing the shrimp with undivided scrutiny.

Before she could settle her tired body into the comfortable chair, Chains had to ask, "Care to dry yourself first? There's always food on this table."

"I'm hungry, alright?" she replied defiantly.

"It wasn't a request, young lady." His tone told her the argument was at an end.

Cold humiliation consumed her from head to toe. She closed her jaw and nodded. Picking up her sack with a smooth grace of direct contrary from her mouth, she padded out of the room into the vaguely familiar alchemically-lit corridor. She took a deep breath. If anything this place was, it was home. The time she had spent away had transformed the Elderglass tunnels into something almost alien yet comforting to her weary senses.

The warm bath was the loveliest un-shitty thing of the night. She bathed in almost mindless bliss, washing the distress out of her hair and the irritation from her skin. When she was wringing her hair, then it hit her.

"Damn it!" She slapped her forehead. Her old clothes and her sack was lying soaked in the corner. "No clothes! No towels, no nothing!"

A soft knocking on the door stole her attention, and her embarrassment at being caught talking to herself. She took a moment to build some composure. "What?"

"Er, Father Chains said you'd probably have forgotten to take your things. So, erm, I'm here to... pass you a towel." The voice was unfamiliar, so she mentally labelled it as that new creature's, Locke Lamora.

She didn't know him. She was stark naked. For all she knew, he could be trying something cheeky like the Sanzas do. So he says Chains sent him. He could be sneaking in his own agenda to get a peek. The good thing was, he didn't know her either. "Alright. I'll open the door. But if you look, I'm going to gauge your eyes out."

"Yeah," he replied coolly. "Galdo had warned me you'll do that."

Tch. She covered her small breasts with one arm and let the door gape enough for her to thrust out the other and snatch the towel. She slammed the door as soon as her whole body was back in the bathroom. But she wasn't a heartless bitch. That little chewing at the bottom of her beating organ told her he didn't deserve the slamming and the scowling. He hadn't done anything wrong.

She swallowed her pride and sighed, "Thanks."

"No problem." was his immediate reply.

She frowned at the thought of him waiting outside. "Why are you still here?"

"Er, no reason." She heard a shuffling on the other side of the door as if he were reluctantly inching away. "I'll be going now."