Hello and welcome to the first chapter of The Thief and the Soldier! This story is the brainchild of myself and the lovely jwootan02 (who is an amazing writer and you should check out if you haven't already). I am in love with these characters and hope you fall in love with them too. If you are enjoying the story, please leave a review at the end of the chapter! They give me life! 3
The Thief
Far above the bustling streets of Kharos, Kali blew warm air over her freezing hands and cursed the job that had brought her to this gods forsaken wasteland. The freezing wind pulled at the long white hair she'd braided into a tight braid to keep it out of her face. She could smell the heavy scent of the many evergreen trees that masked the smells that typically plagued large cities like this. It was one of the few pleasant things she'd experienced in the Winter Court's capital city.
She settled deeper into her fur lined cloak and wished, not for the first time, that she could've risked staying near one of the metal braziers that radiated tantalizing heat for those making their way through the city. That her target could have been hidden away somewhere warmer like the Summer Court. Hell, she'd willingly risk the guards of Autumn at this point.
The sounds of laughter and music drifted up as someone opened the door to one of the inns that lined the street and she scowled. All she needed was the damned guards to change shifts so she could finally move away from the secluded alcove she'd chosen several days ago when she'd cased the Winter Palace. Of course, Kali hadn't considered how cold it would get once the sun disappeared early in the evening.
Finally, finally, Kali caught sight of the captain of the guard signalling a guard shift to the men on watch and gave a feral grin of triumph. She was glad to see those massive white bears that walked the grounds with their handlers were already put away for the night-she had no intention of tangling with those beasts if she could help it.
With a rallying breath, she tugged her cloak loose and left it in the shadow of the isolated parapet that guarded the castle's southern wall. The thin body suit blended perfectly into the thick snow on the roofs of the palace and she prepared herself for a miserable night of crawling through the snow. Launching herself off the parapet, Kali landed lightly on the balcony that ran parallel to the wall.
Heights had never bothered her. It would almost be a relief to die in a quick flash of pain and sudden stillness compared to the violent spasms and coughing screams of her childhood. Kali relished each moment in the open air as a symbol of the freedom she'd ripped free from a dying woman's grasp.
Focusing on the problem in front of her, she considered the best way to enter and exit the palace without catching any unwanted attention. The snow was a pain in the ass, she decided quickly. It made it difficult to avoid leaving any traces of her passing and was so bloody cold. Her hands were shaking by the time she found the window she'd marked as her access point yesterday. It was a relief to jimmy the lock on the unused rooms connected to the landing and step into the warm building.
From there, it was only a matter of changing into the servant's uniform that was carefully folded in her satchel and slipping out into the hall. She'd snagged one of the white sheets that lay over the furniture in the unused bedroom and carried it in her arms with a frustrated expression as though she'd been summoned from her bed in the middle of the night to change the sheets of some incontinent guest. Royals and their courtiers never looked twice at a servant girl, even at this hour.
Kali curtseyed to a group of drunk ladies maids that were giggling outside the Main Hall where she could hear the sounds of revelry continuing. Every night it seemed the people of Winter gathered together to drink the hot alcoholic beverage that was popular around here and sit close to the roaring fires that lined each of the major gathering rooms. Not that she could blame them-alcohol and heat were the only good things about this place as far as she was concerned.
Moving down the hallways in a clipped place, she kept her eyes peeled for the markers that would indicate that she was going in the right direction. A statue of a former High Lord here, a painting of an evergreen forest there. It all seemed to indicate that her informant had been worth the amount of money she'd paid them.
The Winter Palace was a marvel of gleaming marble and roaring fireplaces that were as tall as the domed ceilings above. If it wasn't so miserable outside, she might be tempted to stay in a place like this. The layout of the palace that she memorized days ago ensured she made her way to the carefully guarded storage room in a deserted wing, near the center of the building.
Her prize lay hidden inside.
Tossing the sheet to the floor, she studied the two guards standing dutifully beside the locked room. Lowering her mental shields with a caution, Kali winced as waves of raw emotion pulsated from the two silent figures. Pulling on that glimmer of magic that was imprinted within her soul, she drew on the sensation of utter weariness and exhaustion and projected it outward.
It sank into their skin like the sensation of spent muscles after a hard days work in the sun. Within moments, they were beginning to sway and lean more heavily against the wall.
Kali concentrated a little harder on combining notes of peace and calm until she was rewarded with the sound of two armored males sliding to the ground in sleeping heaps. She stepped over them carefully and examined the door with a pleased expression.
"Hello, my beauty," she whispered to it. "I've come to set you free."
The lock was one of those complicated numbers that convinced the rich that their precious baubles were safe. So, instead of attempting to pick that lock with the limited amount of time she had before someone noticed the sleeping guards, Kali oiled the hinges and pulled their pins so the door slid open with a soft groan. She hummed a bawdy tavern song as she carefully moved the door to the side without waking the sleeping guards.
With a friendly pat to the lock, she slipped into the dimly lit room and carefully looked through the gleaming piles of treasure within. She ignored the collection of intricate jewellry and crowns in favor of a lesser used corner of the room.
When Fletcher had approached her with information for the job, she'd initially laughed in his face. She'd heard countless tales of artifacts recovered from Under the Mountain but after countless failures, Kali had given up on finding anything legitimate. This time though...Fletcher had known too many details for her to dismiss his tale as pure fantasy.
Unfortunately for her, the little weasel also sold that information to a number of interested parties, forcing her to drop what she was doing and head for the Winter Court. In the middle of one of the awful blizzards that plagued the region.
The room was filled with chests overflowing with enough wealth and treasure that she was tempted to take more than she planned. The sensation of a familiar, tainted magic kept her from straying far. It was here.
Rifling through a few of the chests, she felt her heart go still when she found a small square parcel wrapped in a stained red fabric that brought back memories of bloodshed and fear.
Ah my little one, how could you ever fear me?
The memory of the voice she both loved and feared made her fingers spasm over the cover of the ornately carved spellbook. Amarantha's spellbook.
Before she could lose her nerve, Kali thrust the book into her bag and made her way out of the room. She didn't bother with any of the other treasures or the guards still sleeping on the floor in the secluded hallway. Her mind was lost in the memories of a kingdom hidden Under the Mountain and on getting far away from the bitter cold of the Winter Court.