Title: A Thousand Miles

Chapter: Four [Training- Rory's story]

A/N: Thanks for all your reviews! Sorry that the last chapter took a little.a lot longer to put up than I expected, so I'll put up this chapter and the next chapter extra quick to make up for it =) and I'll try to make them extra long, but I love writing this fic anyway so for me the longer the better. Just a brief note on the title of this chapter, yeah its called Rory's story and the next one's going to be called Tristan's story because they were too long for the one thing. But the events of both chapters did occur at around the same time. R/r please and thanks for your reviews!

Oh yeah one last thingone good turn deserves another so I would also like to recommend my friend Maria24 and her fic Love can be a pain in the butt' cuz its really good!!!

------------------------------[A Thousand Miles: Training- Rory's Story]-------------------------

Rory sat down next to a large vegetable cart, resting her aching feet, her head hung in desperation. She had circled the markets ten times and still could not find any trace of that skinny, brown-haired thief. Her head hurt, her feet felt bruised and callused, and she was hungry. The delicious smell of freshly baked bread wafted over to where Rory was sitting, and she looked up. A new cart was being wheeled into the market place by a skinny, sour-faced old lady. It was mounted with various loaves of bread, all hot. Rory's mouth watered and she fingered the five bronze coins in her leather pouch, wondering whether or not she should spend the precious money. Getting to her feet almost nervously, she made her way over to the cart of freshly baked bread.

But it seemed that Rory was not the only one who was interested in the bread. A small crowd began to form around the small, wooden cart, engulfing it and concealing it completely from Rory's view. Her shoulders drooping, she knew that it was hopeless. By the time the crowd would be finished, there would be no bread left. Sighing dejectedly, she turned away from the crowd, preparing herself to make yet another round of the market place in search of that thief.

Then, suddenly, Rory felt a heavy thump against her back, and she fell forward, unable to keep her balance. Wincing as her palms scraped against the roughly made peasant's path, she struggled as an unseen foe behind mercilessly grabbed her wrists and crossed them over behind her back.

Keep your face down, a voice whispered in her ear, and then laughed softly. Rory felt someone else remove her leather pouch from around her waist.

That's mine, she protested, struggling against whoever was holding her down.

Quiet, you. The voice whispered in her ear again, this time with a dangerous quality. There was silence for a moment and then Rory heard her attackers whispering amongst themselves. Without warning someone slapped her over her head and Rory instinctively kept her head to the ground. There was the scraping of shoes against the ground as she was suddenly freed from the grasp of whoever held her down. Turning herself around weakly, she caught a glimpse of three burly boys, running off with her leather pouch.

she called out lamely, her voice quivering. Thoughts were rushing through her mind at a remarkable pace. Rory took a couple of breaths and tried to calm herself down, sorting out her emotions into neat little piles. First there was fear, fear of her attackers, fear that it might happen again. Then there was immense confusion. The boy's that attacked her were, most certainly, thieves, and she didn't know if she wanted to become like them, or, even worse, be dominated by them. Then came annoyance. Why didn't she ask those thieves if they knew who that brown-haired, skinny thief was? She had the perfect opportunity to find him and she let it slip through her fingers! Next came anger; anger at the thieves for robbing her, angry with the brown-haired boy for deserting her, angry with Carson for dying, angry with her mother for leaving her on her own.. Rory's thoughts finally fell upon Sookie and Jackson, and she felt a heavy feeling in her chest and butterflies in her stomach as immense guilt filled her heart. What was she going to tell them? Losing five bronze coins may not seem a lot, but to Sookie, Rory and Jackson, it meant there was another meal that they would have to go without.

Aren't you going to run after them? A smooth, cheerful voice came from behind her.

Rory tilted her head slightly to come face to face with the brown-haired thief that she had sought for so long. Rory shook her head tiredly, and closed her eyes, letting out a long breath.

I don't know what to do. Rory murmured to herself softly, her eyes still closed. The thief looked at the pretty girl sitting down in front of him and noticed that her hands were shaking. Soundlessly he sat next to her, his deep, brown eyes staring at her intently.

he apologized, scratching the back of his head uncomfortably. I hope my friends didn't rough you up too much.

Rory's eyes snapped open. Those vermin are your friends?

The boy quickly came to the defence of his friends. Yes, as a matter of fact they are and I'd appreciate it if you didn't compare rats to them. They're people too. Just because they don't earn what you call a honest living' doesn't mean that they're less than human.

They stole my money. Rory argued, outraged.

You're a peasant. You can earn some more easily. The thief shrugged it off. You people are so obsessed with how badly the nobles treat you that you don't really care about how you treat everyone else. I bet you've never even skipped a meal.

Rory glared at the thief, opening her mouth to shoot back a hurtful reply, but then stopped herself. Her face fell, and her eyes became full of sadness. Her now messy, brown hair dropped over her shoulders to cover half of her face, and she stared at the ground she was sitting on, drawing meaningless patterns on its surface.

Don't talk to me about skipping meals. Rory said, barely above a whisper, her voice wavering. Don't even pretend you know about how I live or how I treat others. Her voice rose dangerously as she tried to hold back her tears. I'm hungry, okay!? She yelled at the boy, who seemed startled at such a display. I'm hungry, and I don't have enough money to buy food, because your friends' stole all I had left, and Jackson lost his job so we cant earn anymore and--- Rory's voice dissolved in sobs, and she buried her face in her hands, crying.

The boy stared at the pretty, almost beautiful, thirteen year old girl in front of him, sobbing her heart out. Not knowing what to say, he clumsily wrapped his arms around her and awkwardly stroked her hair. She fell into his arms, crying into his untidy tunic.

Uh..don't cry, he told her quietly, not sure of what to say. He looked around to make sure none of his friends were watching, and felt his cheeks go red. He had to put an end to this seemingly never-ending flood of tears. Don't worry, I'll teach you how to be a thief. Then you can have enough money and food for you, and.. uh.. Jackson.. and..

Rory supplied.

Whoever. It'll be all right. Just stop..um..crying.

Rory looked up at the boy, her brilliantly blue eyes sparkling with tears. you don't do this very often, do you? she sniffed.

The thief shook his head and laughed nervously. I wasn't that bad, was I?

You could've been better. Rory said critically, her nose still pink. By the way, I don't think I got your name.

I'm Jess. The boy grinned. He stood up soundlessly and held out his hand. And you are..?

she answered, taking his hand and getting to her feet. Looking up at the darkening sky Rory was surprised to find that it was evening already. Jess followed her gaze.

You'd better go home, wherever your home is. Jess said, breaking the silence. Sookie must be getting worried.

Rory nodded, and turned around to go. She heard Jess call out to her from behind her. Meet me here tomorrow.

Turning around, she asked. For what?

Jess grinned evilly. For your training.

Okay, I'll see you there. But Jess, promise me one thing.

Please promise me that I wont turn out like you. Rory laughed and ran off into the evening, her hair flowing behind her, leaving the youthful, thirteen-year-old thief behind her, staring at her with a straight face. Turning around, he climbed up a nearby wall without a sound to where his friends were watching, on top of a flat-roofed house.

I think I'll take that as a compliment. You know what, I might have just made a friend. He murmured to himself, then wiped all expression from his face and motioned for his friends to follow. One by one, the thieves disappeared into the shadows, which is, of course, what thieves do best.

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Rory walked through the market place to the spot where she had been sitting the day before. This time she carried no money with her. While turning her head from side to side, trying to catch a glimpse of Jess, she caught a better view of her surroundings, which had seemed to escape her the day before. She was walking down a large, dirt road, naturally made by a river of some sort that had long dried up. Houses with flat roofs and merchant's carts lined the road, and people bustled back and forth busily.

Trying not to look conspicuous, she stood in her usual place, near the parchment stall, next to one of the flat-roofed building, and tried to look like she was waiting for someone.

Plunk!

A pebble had just fallen on Rory's head and she yelped in surprise. Looking up angrily she saw Jess and a couple of his friends sitting up on the roof, grinning slyly at her. Jess signalled for her to be silent, and, looking left and right to make sure no one was watching, jumped down from the roof of the building, seemingly with the agility and balance of cat. Rory could only gape.

How did you do that? she asked him, but he didn't reply and grabbed hold of her arm, practically dragging her along the road, stopping in front of a fruit cart.

The easiest cart to steal from is the fruit cart. Jess explained to her in a whisper. There's a different merchant every day so they can't remember what we look like, fruit's light and nice and easy to carry, and there's so many of it that it's hard to keep track of every single piece.

Rory nodded, to show Jess that she understood.

Also, the fruit merchants never seem to run after us thieves, probably because they're too lazy, or it might be the fact that they still have a whole cart of fruit to mind. Now, you're job is to steal an apple from that cart.

Rory nodded again, swallowing hard. She wasn't completely sure that her conscience would let her steal, but she didn't have enough time to find out. With a firm hand on her back, Jess shoved her forward.

Rory whipped back around to glare at Jess, but she was surprised to find that he had disappeared from her sight. Letting out a breath that she didn't know she had been holding, she started towards the fruit cart. Spotting an apple, she picked it up and looked it over, as if inspecting it. The merchant glared at her suspiciously, but was distracted when another customer came along with a whole pouch full of sparkling gold. Making sure that the merchant was properly busy, she held the apple tight in her hand and ran off, ignoring the shouts of the merchant from behind her. Ducking into a branch-off of the main road, where there was gap between flat-roofed houses, she kept her back against the wall, listening carefully for signs of anyone following her. She was concentrating so hard that it took her awhile to notice that someone next to her had plucked the apple out of her hand. It was not until the person started crunching on the apple loudly, that she realised she was not alone.

Jess! Don't do that! she almost shrieked.

he said to her. Keep you're voice low, and calm down!

How did I go? she asked nervously.

Jess tilted his head back, staring at her and evaluating her performance. Pretty good, for a beginner, was his verdict. The attitude was a little off, but that will improve in time.

Attitude? I don't even have an attitude. Rory said, confused.

That's my point. Jess grinned and winked. Looking all nervous when you're about to steal an apple is all well and fine, but when you start picking pockets, slitting people's throat, and holding people hostage and such, you cant risk showing that you're nervous.

Rory visibly paled. Slitting throats? she whispered disbelievingly. I.. I can't do that.

You're going to have to learn if you want to be a good thief. You have to learn how to defend yourself. Hey, it's either their throat or yours. Jess shrugged, and saw Rory's uneasiness. Look, if you don't want to do this tell me now. I'm not going to lie to you, Rory; it's going to be tough. You see some pretty horrible things in this profession, and if you cant handle a simple throat cutting than you're doomed from the start. It's up to you, do you want this enough?

Rory's mind raced, unsure of what to say. Did she really want this? Is this what her mother died for, to see her daughter mixing with thieves and murderers? Could she really do this, take away another human's life, just so she could have an extra meal? Then she remembered Sookie and Jackson, and the desperation and sadness in their eyes the night Jackson lost his job. Do I love them enough to kill for them? Rory asked herself, and she knew the answer was yes. She'd do anything for Sookie and Jackson. She'd give up her own life for them. She would sacrifice everything, even her conscience, for them.

And so the Lorelai in Rory shined through, surprising Jess who was watching the pretty, gentle, brown-haired girl in front of him fight an internal battle. He watched in amazement as her face hardened and she levelled her eyes to his, full of emotionless determination.

I want this. Rory said firmly. Jess nodded, still watching Rory in amazement.

Okay, then you'd better meet the rest of us Jess whistled, a shrill, piercing note, and five other boys dropped down soundlessly from the roof. The Rory of five minutes ago would have tried to run away when she spotted the gleaming metal around each of their wastes, but this Rory simply nodded in greeting.

Everyone, this is Rory. She's going to be one of us. Rory surmised that Jess was a ringleader of some sort. Rory, this is Mitch, Richard, Ronald, Charles and Jon. Each of the thieves bowed formally as Jess said their name. Rory took in these people's facing, faintly smiling, trying to make a good impression. She knew that these people were going to play an important part in her life, and she wanted to get off to a good start with them. Little did she know that these people weren't just going to be in her life, they were going to shape it.