A.N. Merry Christmas! Yes, I know it's late in the night, but it still counts! Take this chapter as a present, and maybe give me one back by commenting? DISCLAIMER: This all belongs to Tamora Pierce. I'm just a weird female who is slightly obsessed with this book.
Beka Cooper
Rusher of Kayfer's Court
Wednesday of April 8, 246
I woke up this morning with a cramp in my neck.
"Dammit!" I cursed, rubbing the back of my neck.
It's your fault for falling asleep on the wall in that position, Pounce said, walking away from me, towards the window.
I just glared at him, knowing he was right but not wanting to admit it. Wait-why was I sleeping against the wall? I looked up at my bed to see a little figure on it, sleeping. Suddenly, all the memories from yesterday came flooding back. Irene turned over in her sleep, muttering something under her breath. I got up slowly and walked to the bed, examining her face. Her fire red hair was falling in strands all over her face, her eyebrows were scrunched together, and her pale pink lips were curved down in a frown. The frown on her face disturbed me greatly, she was too young to go to sleep with a frown on her face. I sighed, before walking towards my closet to grab some clothes. I opened the closet, and while I was looking for clothes, my mind started thinking about Irene. She went through too many hardships for someone of her age. Luana, Kalila, Alazne, and the boys all did suffer as well but they had someone there for them, whether it was their mother, father, older sibling, or older relative. All of them besides Irene had someone decent to look up to. She was cursed with a mother that didn't deserve having a child. If only I could send Irene up to My Lord Provost's House with my connections where she'd be remotely safe and have a chance of getting a decent job that would take her out of the Lower City, if she wished so. Irene might even find a role model up there. It was very unlikely for that to happen here. Alas, it had taken a lot of bribing and calling favors to get my siblings up to My Lord Provost's House, and I think I wouldn't be able to do that again, especially now that I was a rusher. My connections might think I was trying to sneak a killer in there or something and refuse. Also, I had a slightly more selfish reason for not trying to send her up there as much as I'd like to ignore it. My sisters had looked up to me before like Irene does, and I know what they think of me now. What Nilo had told me a few days ago only confirmed my worries. I didn't want another person I cared about to hate me. Taking in a deep breath, I quickly grabbed my clothes, trying to forget what I was thinking about.
I was about to change, when I paused abruptly and groaned, hitting my head against the wall. I had promised Nilo I was going to visit him which was a lapse of judgment. I was just so angry and frustrated after that stunt he pulled that I had agreed. I couldn't back out now though, otherwise he'd bug me about it for the rest of my existence and possibly go venturing off in the Lower City again! Reluctantly, I opened the closet and grabbed a new set of clothes to wear, knowing what must be done and dreading it. Struggling, I changed into those clothes and added a few accessories to compliment it. I grabbed my pocket watch from atop one of my drawers and checked the time, decided it was time to wake Irene up, before dropping the watch in my pocket. I strolled to her bed, pausing, before shaking her shoulder wildly. Immediately, she got up, frazzled. Her red hair was scattered all over her tan face and she wore a panicked expression, her hazel glims wide open. "What's wrong? Did-Beka!" She yelled, glaring at me, the culprit.
"Yes?" I cooed, smirking at the anger in her eyes.
"You know I hate that!"
"Yes, I do know that."
"Then, why did you do it!"
"Why wouldn't I?"
"Because I hate it!"
"So?"
"So since you know I hate it, you should find some kindness and compassion within you and not do it!"
"Where's the fun in that?" I pouted, feeling smug as I saw the anger and annoyance race through her face.
She stuttered, her face bright red, matching her hair as she tried to come up with a response,"Y-you-but-why-ugh, you know what, never mind!"
"It's so easy to fluster you, dear," I said, laughing whilst leaning against the wall. Irene glared at me, not bothering to reply. I waited, anticipating another response from Irene. She abruptly stopped glaring at me and gaped, her gob hitting the ground. "There it is!" I called out, watching Irene's anger turn into confusion.
"But-but-why-you-why-what?" Irene asked, confusion swimming through her hazel eyes. A loud meow got both of our attention. Stop torturing the poor girl, Beka! Pounce scolded. I rolled my eyes. Fine.
Pounce nodded in approval, probably knowing that I had complied with his demands. I stuck my tongue out at him before turning to Irene again. "I am wearing this to get into My Lord Provost's house dear. Trust me, I don't want to wear this, but situations call for this type of clothing."
Irene nodded, trying to show that she understood what I was saying. I could still see her confusion, but I ignored it. I wouldn't explain any more. If this went as planned, everything would be confidential. "So, umm, what do I do now?" Irene asked, twirling a strand of her hair whilst staring at the floor.
I raised my eyebrow at her. "Irene, what do you usually do when you wake up?"
"Change into my clothes," she answered slowly, "but they're back at home." Without saying a word (because if I did say something, I would've cursed at myself and no one likes that in the morning), I grabbed some of my old clothes from my closet and tossed them to her. I pulled out my drawers in search for food I could've sworn I had bought. I had just pulled my third out of four drawers when I saw spiced turnovers. Not bothering to turn around, I threw two of them behind me, trusting Irene to catch them. I picked two to eat and straightened my clothes before turning around to face Irene, who had two turnovers in her hand with an irritated expression on her face.
"Alright, I am going to go out now. You can stay here or explore the neighborhood. Be safe though, remember, I have eyes here, so I will know if you do anything bad," I warned her, whilst I chewed on my food.
Irene rolled her eyes at me. "Yes, Mother."
I glared at her, before choosing not to respond and walking to my door. Right before I stepped out the door, I remembered something and turned around. I met Irene's determined hazel eyes and said, "Be safe, please." She nodded in response, giving me a small smile. I gave her back a weak smile before stepping out the door, shutting it behind me. I jogged down the stairs, stopping at Aniki's when I remembered I'd probably want to tell Aniki, Kora, and Rosto that I wouldn't be able to make it to breakfast today. Then, I knocked loudly against her door. I waited for a minute, and then, out of curiosity to know why she hadn't opened to door, I debated with my morals for a a minuted before lock-picking her door open. As I tiptoed into her room, I saw her on the bed, slung across the bed at an awkward angle. I was tempted to wake her up and scare her, but I restrained myself as I remembered to not get too close. As I glanced casually around the room, I spotted a piece of paper that seemed to have an old list on it. I turned it on it's backside and grabbed one of her pens, writing down a message to her for when she woke up. I quickly and quietly left her room and went to Kora's. I jogged down to Kora's room, when I suddenly ran into something. Was it a wall, I wondered before looking up to see dark brown glims. Sarden Aniki. I could've avoided talking to Rosto and walked right past him if she had been awake.
"Hello, love-what are you wearing?" Rosto asked, startled. I blushed, feeling bit flustered at the surprised, yet pleased look in his eyes. I needed to get myself together! Placing a bored look on my face, I replied.
"I thought that by living with Kora you would've at least seen this article of clothing, even if you didn't learn what it is called," I stated dryly, backing away from him.
Rosto's lips quirked up as he said, "Love, I am quite aware that your 'article of clothing' as you said it, is a dress, and a good one at that, but I'd like to know why you are wearing it."
I crossed my arms. "Well, too bad. I won't tell you."
He smirked, and I felt myself unconsciously tense. I swear he always has some mischievous thoughts in his head when he smirks. "I get to guess then! Oh, I know, it's a no-brainer. You did it for me because you knew how much I'd," he paused, looking me over once more, "appreciate it."
"Wrong, " I replied shortly, trying to not get flustered. That arrogant scut.
Rosto pouted. "Can I guess again?"
"Nope. I've got places to go and people to see," I retorted, turning away from him. I stopped mid-turn, remembering my purpose of conversing with Rosto. "Oh-I will be gone for majority of the day, so please don't wait for me to eat, and you all will have to move along to eat somewhere else, besides my room. Tell the rest of 'em that too, will you? Thanks," I said, not waiting for him to reply as I headed to the door of the lodgings to leave.
"I never agreed," I heard Rosto call out, and I could practically hear the laughter in his voice.
"I know," I replied, striding out of the lodgings. This time, I heard his laughter ring throughout the building.
As I walked down to the Provost's house, I occasionally stopped to eat my breakfast. As well as eating, I carefully observed my surroundings as I strolled down the sunny streets, making sure to keep my eye out. Even though the scenes around me seemed innocent enough, I knew on a first hand basis how wrong things could turn out to be when everything looked okay. I looked around me, at the good and bad in the city I lived in. The Lower City is quite an interesting city to say the least, but I can't imagine living anywhere else. I refocused on the present as I spotted the gates, the silver it was made of glinting in the sun. The guards were either pacing back and forth in front of the gates or standing still in front of the gates, watching everyone around them. I swallowed, feeling uneasy. Taking in a deep breath, I approached the gates before abruptly stopping as I realized I needed to observe both the gates' security and the guards' behavior. I didn't want to attract attention, so I walked over to one of the stalls, looking over the old man's apples and fruits. I chose one while watching the gates in the corner of my eye. The old man met my gaze with his clear green eyes, handing me the apple after I handed him the coins. Nodding in thanks, I grabbed it and strolled down the street. My eyes casually drifted over the scene in front of me, looking for a good hiding place. I stopped looking once I saw something that seemed to be perfect: a dark corner that was far and sneaky enough to hide in, while still being close enough to be used for me to stay in and watch the gates and the guards. Perhaps I wouldn't have a clear view, but I would still be able to watch them, unnoticed, and that's what was important.
Swiftly, I strolled over the the corner, making fleeting contact with few people as I walked throughout the crowd. My eyes were focused on the hiding place as I counted the seconds until I got to the seemingly safe place. The dusty brown of the house blended in well with the rest of the scenery I noted as I stepped into the corner, carefully observing those around me. Staring at the gate, I munched on the apple. I needed to be careful, for it was dangerous for a rusher like me to approach and enter the Lord Provost's home. Due to me being very careful to remain discrete in the Court of the Rouge, I was pretty sure I would go unrecognized into the house, but my nerves were quite frayed. What had I been thinking when I had promised Nico to visit him in there?! Oh right, I hadn't been really thinking at all. There was always that chance of someone recognizing me as a rusher and me being brought to jail. Of course, Kayfer could pull some strings to let me out easily, after all, many Dogs weren't immune to bribes, even if it was to get a person who had killed before out of jail. They wouldn't have any proof on me either, but I feared that Ulsa and Dawull would take this advantage to convince Kayfer to get rid of me. I knew they realized what a threat I was to their plans of eventually ascending to the throne through quite bloody ways, and I knew they wouldn't hesitate to get rid of me. If I was taken to jail, and miraculously, Kayfer released me, Ulsa and Dawull not being able to convince him to get rid of me, my loyalty would be questioned when they'd discover I was arrested trying to get into the Lord Provost's home, usually every Rogue's worst enemy and competitor. If they'd do some poking around, they'd realize that I had siblings up there, which I did not want them to know. My siblings would be the perfect blackmail for Kayfer, or even Ulsa and Dawull, to use against me, and I didn't want my siblings in any threat of danger. I frowned at all my grim, and quite plausible, thoughts, forcing myself to focus on the situation at hand.
Once I was done carefully analyzing the Lord Provost's defense, I pulled out the white blonde wig I had been hiding for quite a long time in one of my inner pockets in my dress, something I personally asked to be added to the dress. I quickly slipped my wig onto my hair, making sure no one noticed me. I focused my eyes purely on the house of the Lord Provost, where my siblings lived and stepped out, putting on yet another persona. Confidence seemed to pour out of me as I took long strides, but not too long, elsewise it wouldn't be ladylike, towards the guards in front of the servants' gate, one that looked less protected and made me seem less suspicious. A broad smile was plastered across my face as I strode up to one of the guards, the one who looked like he had less experience than the other. He had chestnut brown hair cut short and hazel brown eyes with a certain type of innocence, uncertainty, and friendliness that I wasn't used to seeing in seeing lads his age, around 15. By even 10, most children have learned to be wary of everyone. Mayhaps this kid was raised in the Lord Provost's House and wanted to be 'noble' by helping protect the Lord Provost. That supports my hope of the servant's gate not being very well-guarded. I felt bad for taking advantage of this lad's innocence, but it needed to be done, so with a bright smile, I asked the lad, "Would you mind letting me in, sir? My siblings live here, and I decided to visit them, for it has been too long!"
The lad's glims shined with excitement, probably glad to finally do something in his new job. I felt guilt rise up in me once more that quickly receded as I eyes the other guard. He looked at me suspiciously, his dark glims examining every inch of my body in a calculating, assessing way. I suppressed a shiver at the way he was looking at me, not liking the way he seemed to be able to observe me for just ten second and know more about me than by siblings do.
"Timothy, this is what I was talking about before! You can't let those who seem to be nice into the Lord Provost's house just like that. Now," he said, turning to me with his unnervingly seemingly all knowing eyes on my ice blue eyes, "how can we get some proof that you're telling the truth." He didn't even bother trying to ask politely, his blunt nature appealing to me, strangely, despite him being a Dog.
Timothy looked at the other guard. "I know, Jakorn, but for Mithros's sake, please be more polite to this woman, after all she is a respectable young lady." He couldn't be more far away from the reality of me, but still, I smiled. I wasn't Beka Cooper, rusher, now. I was,= a simple, respectable young lady who wished to visit her dear old siblings. So the older guard's name was Jakorn...interesting.
"Fine," Jakorn grunted. He looked me straight in the eyes, unflinching as he continued, "would you mind showing me an' me partner evidence of your identity as you claim it is because we must be careful here, understood miss?" He spit out the word mist like it was poison.
"Of course," I said smiling directly at the more experienced guard, Jakorn. "You can call up Nilo; he's my brother." I could at least say that without any guilt, because, as much as he might which I wasn't sometimes, I would always be his sister. At least, I would be his sister forever unless he does what Diana did. I regained control over my mind's wandering thoughts, forcing myself to focus on the present. If I let myself think about Diana for too long, the bright smile plastered on my face would soon become noticeably fake, even to amateurs. With Jakorn already looking at me in suspicion, I knew that if he noticed one more thing off about me, he would "kindly" escort me off the property. At this point, he wouldn't care much about the younger guard's opinion.
"Nilo, hm?" Jakorn stated more than asked, a thoughtful look in his eyes. "He's a good lad.." Jakorn trailed off, letting me easily realize what he was thinking, and what he wanted me to know. He's a good lad, and he shouldn't have business with the likes of you. I couldn't argue with that. Nilo and my siblings did deserve more, if only-no I wouldn't think of the 'if onlys'. It only hurts more when I thought of the 'if onlys' and what could've been.
Jakorn was messing with my head more than any rusher had, and that unnerved me, so I quit pretending to be nice. Asserting my dominance, I rose my head slightly and met his eyes with my own, unflinching. If he wanted to see who I really was, he'd get it. "I believe that is sufficient enough evidence Guardsman. Now, will you get Nilo for proof or let me in?" I asked, done playing around. I knew this probably would get me kicked out, if he didn't know for sure before that I was a threat, he'd have known it by then. Judging by the glint in his glims, he agreed with me and was preparing himself to forcefully extract me from the area. It was a foolish idea, to challenge a Guardsman, but no one had challenged me before the way he was, and I wouldn't tolerate it. Challenges in the Court had taught me that giving even a little bit of ground to a challenger would lose me the entire game, and possibly my life; Jakorn was trying to gain ground, and I wasn't planning on dying today.
Jakorn raised his brow, a silent challenge, before opening his mouth to speak. Timothy was rolling back on his heels, trying to casually lean against the wall so as to hide any fear or nervousness within him, but he failed. Timothy was rapidly hitting his palm against his knee, and his eyes kept darting around. Even a four year old would be able to tell that he was nervous. Meanwhile, I shifted my stance to get ready to flee or fight. A short squeal interrupted the rather tense atmosphere.
"BEKA! YOU CAME! I mean, of course you were coming, after all, you told me you would, but Will thought you wouldn't because he said 'Beka can't be that stupid,', but you're here, so apparently, according to Will, you are stupid. Ha-he better start running! What do you want to do first, I have so many ideas! We can go to the stables, chase after each other, mess with the bees in the beehive hung on the lone oak tree, or play pranks on Will, and maybe on Lorine, but she's been pretty grumpy lately, so I don't know...but, if she doesn't want to, we can play pranks on some of the guards, of course not you Jakorn or Timothy, but some of the guards here are pretty mean-" Nilo rambled on. I could see the shock on Jakorn's face; he obviously didn't believe me before, and Timothy, well, he looked pretty happy and cheerful, like Nilo.
I cut him off sharply, I knew Nilo, he could talk to a tree for hours and not get bored, "Nilo, please calm down."
"But Beka…" Nilo trailed off, giving me his famous puppy eyes. At that moment, I realized that Nilo had given away my real name. Jakorn was picking up on that quite quickly, and I could practically see the wheels in his brain turning and making sure to store the name "Beka" in his brain under the section: possible dangerous people.
I gave Nilo a look to silence him. He shut up, giving up on the puppy eyes. He should know by now that I was merciless and immune to puppy eyes. If those pleading eyes worked on me, I would've died a long time ago, probably from doing something Nilo wanted, like trying to fly by jumping off the tallest building in the Lower City. Sure, it wasn't that tall compared to others, but I would've probably still died. "Nilo, remember the dare about the building? You should know I'm immune to your pleadings."
Nilo gave me a different look, one that was full of hope and despair and said in a small voice, "Will you still play with me?"
I am so bad with kids. I didn't realize how harsh I was being with him. Nilol had come running with his fantasies, and I had stomped on them. Cursing myself in my head, I said, bending down to his height, while still making sure to keep both of the guards in my line of vision, "Of course I will. After all, without us, who will aggravate Will and make his life more interesting?"
Nilo smiled brightly, and just like that, my worry dissipated. "Alright, come one then Beka!" He yelled, pulling on my sleeve into the building. As I left, I made sure to turn around to make sure the guards weren't going to come after us. I was relieved and slightly confused with what I saw. As expected, Timothy looked quite happy and proud, probably proud of himself for reuniting a poor maiden with her long lost brother. I had to hold in a snicker at the thought. Jakorn, on the other hand, was another story. Sure, he didn't look like he was going to come after me, and his face was blank of all emotions, but his glims told a different story. His glims had a glint to them that looked happy and satisfied. Surely I read that wrong, Jakorn wouldn't be satisfied or happy about this situation at all, I mean he had just lost the chance to kick me out of the palace, right? I stopped myself from reading to much into it and let Nilo lead me into unfamiliar territory.
The afternoon and most of the evening was spent as predicted. Nilo and I went to the stables, chased after each other, messed with the bees in the beehive hung on the lone oak tree, and played pranks on Will, just like Nilo wanted to. I put my own spin to the things he said, and by the end of it, we were covered in dirt and dirt from falling of our horses due to playing a quite interesting game, had grass stains on our clothes from tripping over the numerous sticks we set up as an obstacle course meant to be taken on while we were chasing each other, had hands sticky with honey due to us finding a different way to reach the beehive without disturbing the bees, and had on expressions that might've made us look insane because Will's reactions to our pranks were hilarious, especially when he realized that I was pretending to be a lady in waiting, making faces at him. Nilo and I cleaned up (there was no way I was going to let Diona and Lorine find another reason to hate me, and they would get angry if they saw Nilo the way he looked now) and said our farewells to each other. This time, I learnt my lesson and didn't promise to see him in the Lord Provost's House. It was pure luck that I had gotten in this time, and I didn't want to tempt fate. I heard that the Gods often took that as a challenge.
Instead, we separate ways peacefully (well, as peacefully as we could with Nilo acting like he would never see me again), and I parted ways with him in a random, empty corridor in the building. I planned to walk straight out and never look back, but in the corner of my eye, I saw a room with many papers everywhere, and I couldn't resist. I quickly peered into the room and realized it was his office. It wasn't what I had imagined. I thought it would be full of hostile colors like white, but it was quite homey with warm colors like orange decorating the room. Reluctant to admit I kind of like his office, I instead looked over the papers scattered all over the desk and criticized him. One paper, however, caught my eye, with the words "Shadow Snake" wrote in big letters. I narrowed my eyes, suspicious, and walked into the office with a moment of hesitation that was quickly disregarded. With large strides, I reached the paper in a short amount of time and read it without picking it up, not wanting to somehow mess up any order he had with his papers because it would make him suspicious. As I read, cases and dates printed clearly on the paper popped out at me, and I felt rage fill me, replacing the previously found happiness and peace I had gained with Nilo. This had been given to him, according to the dates, a year ago. I couldn't believe the Dogs got so many pleas for help, so many cases about the Shadow Snake, and hadn't done a single sarden thing about it. Sure, I hadn't been much better, but it was their job to protect the people of the Lower City, you'd think they at least would do something about the Shadow Snake.
As I was trembling with anger, I heard footsteps that my anger didn't quite block out, so I scrambled to hide in the first place I saw, under the desk. Holding my breath, I saw feet covered in black, formal shoes, striding into the room, picking up a pile of files, that included the one I had just been looking at. The person walked out of the room, his or her footsteps echoing after him or her. I forced myself to stop trembling; I hadn't been caught, but an something in me told the truth to me: that I could've been arrested right then and there, and I could still be arrested. Pushing aside all my wimpy thoughts, I stood up and did what I knew I needed to do: I followed the person who picked up the files, leaving his, the Lord Provost's, office. It wasn't hard to catch up to the person who had taken the papers (I had discovered that the person, was indeed, a male) because he didn't walk quickly, so I could easily follow him without fear of losing him, however, following him and not looking suspicious was a different matter. I had to stop at certain places and let him get out of my sight, before continuing my quest following him. Eventually, after we passed several corridors and I received several glares from ladies who clearly didn't like me, we had gotten outside the house and I watched with bated breath, wondering what he would do.
The man stepped out into the darkness, as the sun had already set, and threw all the files into a pile. I slipped outside, so the man could go into the house without noticing me. Once he was gone, I took a few hesitant steps towards the pile of things before racing there to confirm my guesses on what the pile was. I felt sick in my stomach as I realized it was the trash pile, as I had suspected. I couldn't believe this: first, the Lord Provost ignored a serious case for about a year, then he sends for it to be thrown away. As I looked at the other papers thrown away, disgust continued to fill me,. Papers talking about things like Palace drama surrounded the Shadow Snake papers. It was disgraceful. I made up my mind right then, and I snatched the Shadow Snake papers before disappearing into the night.
Once I reached my home, with Irene looking peacefully on the bed, I let what I had done sink in. Technically, I had stolen from the Lord Provost. Sure, it was his trash, but I had still stolen from him. A grin appeared on my face at the thought. A small meow interrupted my thoughts and bursted my bubble. Beka, stop being hateful! It will get you nowhere besides in the Cages! Pounce meowed, his violet eyes gleaming dangerously. I sighed, and having no energy to fight with him, nodded hazily at Pounce before laying on the floor. The last thing I thought of was what exactly the papers had on them, after all, I had merely glanced at them.
A.N. Happy Holidays! May the odds be ever in your favor (all who get this quote should be praised)!
