Chapter 1

She was good at being still and silent. It was something all noble ladies were taught, but that was no longer her world. Now, Nicole of River's Rock was hidden in the shadows in Corus. She was all alone and dressed in soft, brown breeches, and a green shirt. Her long hair was braided down her back, but some shorter strands played across her face in the breeze. She tucked a piece of hair behind her ear as she observed the market. She smiled grimly at the thought of what her parents would say if they heard what their daughter was doing. It was their own fault that Nicole, Nikki, had decided to run away in the first place. She shook her head and resumed observing the town's square. Nikki was waiting until there was a large crowd around the stalls so that she could steal something to eat. Stealing wasn't something she necessarily loved doing, but it was how she had to survive. She watched closely as a young man sidled up to one of the richer looking men. The young man casually reached out and stole the other man's purse and was gone in an instant. Nikki tried especially hard not to laugh, especially when the man who had just lost his purse looked in her direction.

After standing in the doorway and observing a little longer, Nikki moved out into the crowds. She walked with purpose, like she actually knew where she was going. She kept her hand on her own purse while wandering through the square. She did not want to fall victim to a thief when her purse was already so light. Nikki had to be careful not to anger the other thieves by stealing from their claimed territory. She knew that the King of Thieves would want a share in any spoils and she did not want to become a servant to anyone. Nikki planned to eke out a living in Corus for a while and then she would move on so that no one would recognize her or try to force her back to her old life. Little did she know that someone had already taken an interest in her. The Rogue had been interested in her since she had first entered Corus. The Rogue had spotted her entering the town and had also spotted some of her early purse snatchings. He was impressed and wanted to know more about this young thief, but that seemed to be a hard task. He had sent his men to follow her and find out where she was lodging.

Without realizing her pursuers, Nikki wandered happily through the marketplace. Eventually, she spotted her target. A pompous looking official was wandering about the different stalls with a look of distaste plastered on his face. She approached him, seeing that he wore his purse on the side of his belt instead of the front she realized he was a visitor to these busy streets. Nikki came right up to him.

"Good afternoon, sir," she said in a fair impression of Corus' accent. The man looked startled. Nikki continued with a grin, "You look a little lost, could I be of some assistance?"

"How dare you think you could help someone of my intelligence, you little waif!," he scowled. "You commoners have absolutely no manners at all. Didn't your mother ever teach you to wear women's clothing? Get out of my way!"

Nikki waved as the man hurried off, but that had been exactly what she had wanted. As the official had swept past her, she had taken his purse, and he had not even noticed. She weighed the bag in her hand as she walked away. He would miss his purse, but he had money elsewhere. This purse would buy her a nice supper somewhere. Now that she had some money, Nikki began to wander the vendors happily looking at what they had to sell.

Meanwhile, one of the Rogue's spies kept tailing her while the other went to report to the Rogue. When the Rogue heard about Nikki's pick-pocketing prowess, he was extremely interested. He asked many questions including where she was from and where she was staying while in Corus, but his man did not have any of the answers. The Rogue grumbled at the lack of information, but was excited because this girl may be of use to him. "Bring her to me tonight," the Rogue ordered his man. "I would like to have a chat with this young lady." The man hurried off to find Nikki and her other tail while the Rogue contemplated who this new thief was and who she may already be working for. She was rare, not many girls were thieves, just informants within the Court of the Rogue. Change was in the air.