Without Time, Within space



By Kierseth and Emerald Flame.



Notice: We are posting the same story under similar titles. Any reviews for either of them will be shared with the other author. Thankies!



Disclaimer: We own Rena and Ria and various other characters. Anything you recognize from Mercedes Lackey's books, we DO NOT own. We don't own the Purple Cat either. That belongs to Shaelesand.

Thoughts
:Mindspeech:
"Normal Speech"

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Chapter One
The marketplace was packed. Not unusual for late afternoon during Harvest. People were swarming like bees in a hive.

Prime pickings, the girl thought as she sauntered through the crowd. Dressed in a reasonably clean skirt and blouse, she looked like any other farmer's daughter out for a visit to the market. Her copper hair was neatly brushed, pulled back and tied with a piece of twine. She examined the crowd. There were farmer's wives at the tanner's cart and highborn ladies at the Weaver Guild's cart. Drunken men staggered through the crowd and into the doors of the many taverns lining the marketplace. The only Guard she saw was near the other end of the square.

Let's see...she thought, eeling her way near the more expensive items for sale. Lowborn, not worth it. Young highborn man, no, he looks fast. THERE!! a drunken old fop! And in expensive garb. Perfect!! She slunk her way near the older man and bumping into him, she snatched his purse out of his pocket.

"Excuse me," she said to him as she collected herself to walk on.

"Thash all right, schweet cheeks." he slurred in her face. His hand reached out for her. "I don't mind a little bump onesh in a while." He leered at her. She pulled away and tossing her head, stalked off, indignant. The old man shrugged and walked toward a tavern door.

She let out a sigh of relief as she saw him walk into the tavern. She ducked into an alleyway and counted her haul. Four gold pieces, a few silver and a handful of copper. Not bad for one snatch. Added to the rest of the day's total that would be enough for a few days worth of food. She worked her way back to her hideaway. In the poorest district of Haven were many ramshackle buildings just waiting for inhabitants, if you didn't mind the bugs, rats, and mice. She walked jauntily, keeping an eye out for anyone near her. She slipped into a narrow walkway between two buildings and climbed over a crumbling stone wall. She slipped into a dark doorway and crept up a flight of stairs. As she reached the top, an arm reached out of the shadows and grabbed her arm.

She spun and brought up her hands. "Linx!" she exclaimed, hitting him lightly on the arm. "How many times do I have to tell you not too do that!! Sometimes I think I trained you too well." She shook her head.

A boy of about twelve stepped out of the shadows. He grinned, his shock of dark hair shining in the ray of light coming in through a high window. "I got you that time, Ria." He grinned at her. "How much did you get?"Enough." she replied. She was never straight about her answers. "Have the other's come in yet?"Asper is still out but Wyn came in about half a candlemark ago. Rena was impressed with the haul she got." the boy replied.

"How much did she get?" Ria was curious.

"Enough." Linx answered. His eyes twinkled with mischief.

Ria feigned a blow at him and continued up the stairs. Linx followed.


Linx led the way into the attic, and her band of theives domain. She looked around in satisfaction at the neat and orderly beds and areas she and her sister had organized. The boys, Linx, Wyn, and Asper, had the half without the window, being boys they didn't need light, and the girls, Rena and herself, had the other end that had the window. Rena and Ria were twins and had trained the boys in the art of pickpocketing and stealth. They had a pretty good layout up here, and weren't starved. The money they brought in covered the food needs, plus more, and they had respectable clothing on top of their regular rags for if they wanted to go into the 'better' dressed areas. So they wouldn't stand out.

Ria walked briskly, but silently, over to where her twin crouched and seemed to be counting coins.
"Hey, Ria," The crouched girl said without looking.

"Heyla," Ria responded back, "How's your haul?"

"Good. Real good. You?"

"Great. Got us enough for a few days--" Ria stopped at the strange expression that appeared on Rena's now upturned face. It was a smile. A triumphant smile, that her twin had seen only once before. "What--"

"I got enough for a month." Rena grinned at her twin's impression of a fish. "There was this rich looking guy in the middle class area, who was explaining about this new leather to a friend of his. A leather that doesn't cut. He said he had had a purse made out of it." The corners of Ria's mouth turned upward. She knew where this was going. "Well, I couldn't resist. As soon as he started walking, I circled around him, and did the running technique. I started sprinting at him, angling toward an inn, and bumped into him. I cut the bottom of his purse and caught all the change in this other one." She held up a plain leather purse. "I slipped a stone in so he wouldn't notice. He would've, if I hadn't, because I got ten pieces. Ten GOLD pieces, several silver, and quite a few copper. Gold. Ten. No wonder he wanted special leather. Well, it didn't work, did it." She began giggling, "The leather just cut! There was no resistance! I almost burst out laughing." And Rena she burst out in sudden uncontrollable laughter, setting Ria and Linx off, too.

When they finally stopped, Rena, still grinning, asked Ria how she did and how much she had gotten, with, of course, the given warning of no 'enough's.'

"Okay," Ria replied easily, and at her twins want for details she continued, outlining her day and finishing off with the slurring man in the marketplace. "Well there was a drunk, and I did the usual; bump and snag. Got four gold, a few silver and a handful of coppers. All told I got off with enough for this week by myself. But no where near what you pulled off! A month's allowance from one dash-and-snatch. That's amazing Rena." She hugged her sister in a fit of happiness. She pulled back and frowned, deep in thought. "How did the bag cut, though? Did you sharpen your dagger this morning? Normally it'll catch a little bit on plain leather, and he said his was cut-proof. Hm...."

Ria sat for a moment, then shrugged. "Let's go celebrate! Dinner at the Purple Cat anyone?



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