Disclaimer: The land of Tortall (and the surrounding countries) belongs to Tamora Pierce along with all the characters except for Luana.
Title: Rise of a commoner
Summary: A young female thief must rise out of the levels of thieves and commoners to help save her country. But the questions is will she decide to help her country or will she watch it crumble and those she was taught to distrust? Please RR!
Characters: King Jon, Thayet, George, Alanna, Kel, Neal, Raoul, Daine, Numair, Buri, Luana (own character), and a few others
Time: After TC and TQ.
Genre: Action/Adventure most likely some Romance but with who?
A/N: Here is the second chapter of "Rise of a Commoner." I hope that you enjoy it and remember, I love reviews, they are my life line!
P.S In case if you haven't figured out italics are author's notes unless if it is really obvious that it isn't.
CHAPTER 2
Lua groaned as she woke up, her whole body screamed with pain. Her head spun and her arm ached like some stormwing was gnawing at it.
When she rose out of her bed she surveyed herself in the mirror at the end of the room. Perhaps, she thought to herself, I should give the healer a little more credit. Her lip was now sealed together, her nose wasn't crooked, her puffy eye had gone down immensely although it was still tinted a pretty purple and blue, her arm was really the only thing that looked on the other half of half decent. A puffy scar was forming from her biceps to mid forearm. It was so sore that Luana couldn't move or flex any part of her arm.
After a long struggle with her arm and whether it would allow her to get dressed –some maid had changed her the night before when she had been submitted to unconsciousness- Luana managed to pull on a tunic and breeches and run a comb through her long blonde matted hair—of course with her good arm.
When she finally opened the door to her room the sun had taken its place at the highest of points in the sky. (A/N: Other words, it was noon) The corridor was empty and loud noises were coming from downstairs, following the sounds of the noises she limped down the skinny stairway until she reached the main floor.
All her thieving senses told her to hide, that this was dangerous territory. Luana, who nearly always listened to her senses, (A/N: argh, lame word!) crouched in the shadows behind the curling stairs.
Her keen ears were picked up, catching everything from the light footsteps of the maid that was cleaning the rooms to the loud boisterous talk of men-at-arms. She listened to each conversation carefully until settling in on listening to two old women that were chatting of the day's gossips. Half listening to the news of who had been arrested and who was having fight with whom, Lua settled into her hiding spot, all the while watching everything with her sapphire flitting eyes. Luana stayed crouched in the shadows for most of the afternoon, deciding that she was safe she started to creep out of her spot. Hearing something that caught her attention Lua stopped abruptly.
"I hear that Lord Provost has his men out on the look out for a youngin', she supposedly got into a ruffle with some of his guards last night. A pretty big reward is on this girly's head." Whispered the old woman to her friend, who was nodding and looking around as though the girl might be in the room at this very moment, of course she didn't know that in truth she was.
Luana's eyes widened considerably, she started slowly backing back into her hiding spot. My Lord Provost almost never puts up reward signs for us thieves, he normally lets us go about our business as long as it doesn't trouble the city and the law, Lua thought. Part of her felt honored, although only a very small part, that she was one of the few thieves to pose that much of a threat with her skills.
Waiting until the sun started to set and the costumers starting to mingle into the inn for a night's drinking and dice, Lu stayed crouched in her spot, ignoring the pain in her arm and her muscles cramping up. When the inn was quite full she slipped out of the stairway and mingled among the crowd, keeping her head down and keeping to the sides of the room. Only once did a man take notice of her, she dealt with that quickly, smiling at him and disappearing into the crowd and from the man's sight.
She made her way to the back door quickly, grabbing and apron that was hanging on a hook she tied it around her neck and tied her hair up in the manner of the maids, taking care not to be seen she slipped out the servant's entrance and in to the dead of the night.
Luana nimbly jogged on the grass so not to leave her foot prints in the mud from a rain fall a couple of nights ago. Deciding not to take a horse and give the citizens and guards of Corus even more reason to find her she ran through the winding alleyways that she knew like that back of her hand until she came upon a small little hovel on the outskirts of the city. She knocked quietly, but loud enough to be heard, and stepped through the doorway before she got an answer.
The hovel was dimly lit, the only light source a small dripping candle, coats, tunics and breeches littered the walls and floors. Three chairs were placed around a table that looked like it was made of driftwood. Two small bunk beds were shoved in one corner of the semi-square room. Old musty blankets were thrown carelessly on top of the straw mattresses. Two men, as dirty as the room, sat around the table with a deck of cards in their hand.
Lua grinned at them and then surveyed the room, her grin turned to a look of disgust. "Don't you know how to clean?" She demanded throwing the clothes and odds and ends that were in her path into unknown dusty corners.
"Ah, milady," one of the men drawled, "we cleaned it up 'specially for ya." The other man nodded in agreement.
Lua just scowled at them and sat down on the third chair, wincing as her are hit the table. The two men nodded approvingly at the puffy scar, "Ya got a nice one milady," one of the men said whistling.
"Save your petty talk," Luana said, in a drawl of her own, "I need a safe place to stay that is clean."
The tow men stared at each other, Lua could almost see their brain's turning. Finally one of the whispered, "We have just the place, milady."
A/N: Second is now finished, what will happen? Where is the safe place? Da da da da, tune in tomorrow to find out! Sorry, I just had to do that, I hope that you enjoyed this chapter and please review!