The door slammed closed behind her sister as Mika hurriedly reached out and heaved the bar home to seal off all entry. Their pursuers banged on the outside of the door and jimmied the handle forcefully, but it held against that onslaught. A last shout reached through the door before they turned to go away.
"You can't run away forever, Brosca!"
Rica burst into tears. So recently a woman, she already showed a promise of rare beauty in the dirt and grime that was Dust Town. And, as always seemed to happen, the denizens of those who lived at the bottom of the rung, endlessly complaining about the shit that landed on them from above, could not wait to smear that same shit all over anyone else who dared to shine amidst the darkness. Glaring at the door, Mika gave it a good solid slam of her own hand, anger searing through her.
"Keep the damn noise down!" a slurred voice ordered from behind her. "By the Stone, girl, just spread your legs to someone and be done with it. As long as you charge enough for the privilege, you'll still come out ahead. That virginity is only worth anything if someone with money gets to pop it."
Mika turned on her mother furiously as Rica retreated to the relative safety of their shared bedroom, closing the door behind her. "Caridin's stone balls, Mother, does anything except a straight stream of shit ever come out of that hole in your face?" Stomping over to the table, she dropped the bag with its jars of cheap wine that they'd been sent to fetch on top of it, not particularly caring if any of the bottles broke. "Here. And I wouldn't be surprised if you told those bastards where we'd be and when." Her eyes narrowed. "I wonder where you got the money for that piss in the first place. Give someone a tip about the whereabouts of a certain juicy young soon-to-be strumpet, did you?"
The woman reached desperately for the bags. "If you broke anything..." She pulled it with rather more care towards her than Mika had shown. "I'd rather someone gave Rica a tip - or a shaft - just to get her calmed down. The sooner she stops trying to dream, the better for both of you."
Mika had long ago given up being hurt by her mother's comments, but she still didn't have to approve or condone any of them. Without thinking, her dagger was in her hand, the poor quality of the poorly smelted iron offset by the gleam she instilled into it with her meticulous care. She pricked the point under her mother's chin, enjoying the silence and the sudden fear in the woman's eyes. "Make us not need you. I dare you!" A single line of red started to trickle down her mother's throat, and she wasn't quite sure what would have happened next if a gasp hadn't echoed from behind her.
"Mika! Stop!"
That voice she obeyed, withdrawing her blade to stuff it back into her hidden sheath. It was her most treasured possession, the only one she'd kept out of her mother's greedy clutches on the way to a pawn shop. Turning to Rica, she watched her sister for a moment. Rica had managed to collect herself: the evidence of tears were gone, as if they had never been, and her clothing was straight once more, the damage done to it by their would-be assailants smoothed away. "Then you deal with her. I've got someone to meet."
Without waiting for an answer, she pivoted on her feet and went to the door, one hand on the hilt of the dagger while the other worked at unlocking the portal. "Throw the bar shut once I'm through. You know my password for when I return."
Rica's hand on her shoulder made her pause. "You're going, then? To meet this... crime lord?" There was a slight tremble in her voice.
"He can protect us from all the others, and I... I'll do my best to protect you from him." She looked over her shoulder into her sister's pale face. "If you have to spread your legs to stay safe, it should at least be for a noble Caste, and not one of these turds in Dust Town. And in the meantime, I can bring in enough money to shut Mother up." She opened the door and allowed herself the thought of, If you still want to let her live.
"I-if you think it necessary," Rica said softly. "But I still think you take too much upon yourself to protect me."
"We're out of options. Besides, you can't kill." She felt more than heard Rica's shudder as she stepped through the door and closed it behind her, leaving her hand on the dagger hilt. Alone, she was much safer in the streets of Dust Town. She could run faster than any of the other scum, and those she chose not to run from she could kill or cripple with as much concern as she would feel towards killing a nug.
She made her way to the meeting place - one of the many, nondescript empty houses in Dust Town - without too much blood on her blade, and saw a pair of eyes looking at her from the darkness. Steeling herself, she paused just outside the empty doorway, feeling as if the jaws of a trap were ready to close over her. "All right, Beraht. You win." She watched her rapist step from the shadows, wanting to slam her dagger in his chest as deeply as she could... but he was the only one who could protect Rica. "You damn well better keep your side of the bargain."
Beraht laughed, that horrible, dry gasp that was like a thousand rock shards scraping along her spine. "Your ass is mine now, Brosca, so that your pretty little sister's won't be. My word is good as long as she lives up to her potential. That's your choice, and don't pretend otherwise. Now," he said, his eyes lingering over her small, spare form as he licked his lips, "care to seal the bargain officially?"
She watched his hands move to loosen his belt as he stepped back into the shadows, and for one second, she stood on the brink between choosing to impale him with her blade, or choosing to be impaled by his. In the end, she released the hilt of her dagger and stepped forward to join him in the shadows, letting him do what he wanted, keeping Rica's face firmly in her mind.
Sometimes, there is no choice.