Chapter two
"You, boy! Aren't you done yet? Why aren't you off home."
Ahro looked up. "M-me?"
The innkeeper nodded. "I thought the table for the tournament had been closed hours ago. Why are you still hanging around?"
Ahro shrugged. "I don't know...nothing much to go home to, I suppose."
"Or are you hoping to see someone?" the landlord said with a wink. "I can see your face, lad. But it's too late at night now. She went up to her room hours ago."
Ahro looked up. "She's here? I mean...never mind."
The landlord grinned as he wiped the countertop of the bar. Ahro looked down at his feet.
"Goodnight, sir." He spoke softly.
The landlord nodded and hummed a little tune. Ahro stepped out the door and closed his eyes as the cold cut through his cloak and clothes.
He looked up at the wall and looked at all the windows. He wondered what room she could be in. Was she asleep? Or perhaps she was too worried about tomorrow. She had deposited a large sum of money. How could she sleep with that much at risk.
Nobody ever won a bet from Sharkface...that's why he always promised to pay out tripple the sum he owed if anyone dared to bet against him and won. But it's hard to beat someone at his own game. And no one ever could.
Calandra woke up and looked at the ceiling. This would be the day that she would finally get away with this scheme.
It had taken her and Finnean a long time to set up. First, someone had told her about a man who would tripple the money if she could win a bet from him. She had visited the tavern to make sure the rumour was true.
Then she had told Finnean about it. He was her friend and partner in crime. They had investigated sir Pavel's history and had made sure Finnean could immitate him perfectly. But Finnean was a thief, not a fighter.
They'd had to make sure that Pavel was someone no one would want to go up against. So they had gone round spreading more tales about the man, each more fantastic than the other. And then they had waited for a tournament to be organised.
They had decided that traveling together would be risky, so they had each traveled to Jabol on their own. They could not afford to be seen together or their plan could have failed. And now, after all that time of preperation and training, they were ready.
They had stolen money, only small sums, here and there. All adding up to the total. And now they would end this scheme with a bang, a scheme like no other. But still she was worried. So much could go wrong.
She got up and dressed herself, putting on a dress with dislike. A dress was something she loated. To her it represented having to behave like a proper girl. Having to listen to others, telling you what to do. It was so impractital too.
On the other hand it was a very handy tool, too. No nobleman had ever suspected poor little her. For what girl could do any harm anyway? Wearing a dress meant that people thought she was harmless. But that was when she could sneak a hand into a pocket and steal a golden watch or a pouch.
She took her cloak and examined herself in the mirror. A finger traced the scar in her neck. It was something that bothered her. She didn't think herself very pretty and the scar made it worse.
Luckily she only needed Finnean.
She went downstairs and entered the tavern. The landlord greeted her friendly and she bobbed a curtsy as was the custom.
She sat down and listened to the noise outside. The sound of a tournament to come.
"Here you go, miss." The landlord said as he set a plate on the table. "Breakfast is on the house."
Calandra smiled and thanked him, nodding her head. These people were too nice to her. She looked into the distance. In her head she could hear the people talk.
"Did you hear? Someone pretended to be sir Pavel at the tournament!"
"What? Why?"
"So they could scare the other contestants out of trying for the prize money. They also betted against Sharkface and won because nobody dared to fight sir Pavel!"
"...it was all a fraud?"
Oh, victory would be sweet. To finally be able to live in wealth. Of at least in some place better than where she usually lived.
She got up and made to leave the tavern.
"You'll be watching the tournament today, miss?"
Calandra gave him her sweetest smile. "I wouldn't want to miss an exciting day like this."
The landlord nodded. "Indeed, indeed. And I would think the bet would add to the excitement of the day."
She bobbed another curtsy and left the tavern. It was much less cold outside then it had been the day before, but still she had to shiver. She felt uneasy without her bow and quiver on her back. She had always had them with her, ever since she had first picked them up. They were her means of protection and without them she felt quite vulnerable.
She looked around and saw the stalls and the stands that were now being put up in the market place, to turn it into the tournament grounds.
She listened to the excited whispers that were going round.
"Did you hear? Sir Pavel is competing!"
"They say he's the best fighter in all of the known lands! No one has ever defeated him."
"Ha! I think it's all just a lie. Why would a man so strong and well-known as sir Pavel compete against such unworthy adversaries? That would be bad form, something that doesn't fit in with the way of the knight."
Calandra looked up. It was a tall and bearded man who spoke. If he did not believe Pavel was real, then perhaps he was not alone. Perhaps some of the other fighters wouldn't believe it either and still want to match their strenght against him...
'Please...Eleonora...guard him. Protect Finnean.'
She took a few breaths to calm herself. The man who didn't believe Pavel was competing was laughing loudly. She looked at him and wanted to take revenge on him, not because it would make any difference, but to vent her own unease in the only way she could do right now.
She stumbled forward and tripped over her own feet, falling into the man.
"Oh, sir! I beg your pardon sir."
The man helped her up and she averted her eyes, curtsying quickly.
The man laughed. "A young lady! How can I help thee, young miss."
Calandra pried deep in her own memories, making her eyes tear slightly. "I- I, a boy...he, he pushed me. I- He took my purse! Whatever should I do!"
She cried a bit more and managed to produce a few tears, that slowly rolled down her cheek. The man was immediately sorry for his jolly response and she could see he was charmed by her appearance and that he also now had a concerned look in his eyes.
"Pray, who did this?"
She pointed into the crowd. "A boy...he...I can't see him anymore. Oh my!"
She threw herself against his chest and sobbed.
"Calm down, young miss. The guards are sure to find him."
Calandra continued sobbing as her hand sneaked into his pocket and closed around a leather skin. She let it slide into her sleeve and stopped her sobs.
"Oh, I beg your aprdon sir. I don't know what came over me."
She wiped her face with her other sleeve and slowly pulled away from him.
"I am ever so sorry." She said with yet another curtsy. "Pray, forgive me."
She turned around and walked away slowly. A smile took shape on her face as she felt the heavy weight of the leater money pouch in her hand.
A sudden restlessness in the crowd caught her attention. From the centre of the marketplace sounded the blow of a horn.
"Hear ye, hear ye! By the command of BeldÃr, mayor of Jabol, the tournament will now commence! All competitors must assemble in the market place to prepare."
A chill went down Calandra's spine. This was it. She wrestled her way through the crowd and found her way into a little alley. She looked to both sides of the street before pulling a piece of rope from around her waist.
She realised she had forgotten to take anything heavy with her and, with slight reluctance, tied the heavy money pouch she had just stolen to one end of it. She tossed it high into the air and it caught behind the ledge of an open window.
She pulled it down hard to make sure it was secure and then climbed up it. Once she had reached the open window, she stood on the windowsill and pulled herself up on the roof. From here she had a good view of the arena.
In her mind she kept going over the plan. First Finnean would enter the arena. Then, after all opponents had given up, he would accept the prize and he would give a speach they had prepared together.
Then she would go to Writath and claim her own winnings and then they would leave town very quickly to meet up in a small village near the city. Their master would be there too and she was looking forward to seeing him again. He was the only kind of father she had known as a little girl.
She looked at the arena where a new bout was about to begin.
"Sir Cardon versus sir Pavel!"
A shudder went through the crowd. A knight entered the arena with a full plate armour. She squinted to get a better look at him. It was a rather plain full plate armour, she realised. A loud cheer went through the audience.
"Sir Cardon versus sir Pavel!" the announcer cried again.
An unpleasent churning rose in Calandra's stomach. Where was Finnean?
Ahro looked at the arena anxiously. The rumours about sir Pavel had called a lot of people to the tournament. But now...
He felt uneasy. He was the one who had signed up sir Pavel. What if he had simply misunderstood the man's name because miss Robin had mentioned sir Pavel that night? But no, he was certain that there had been a man who had called himself sir Pavel.
"Calling sir Pavel to the arena!"
Ahro had to get up. He climbed to the back of the seats and motioned a boy to come closer.
"You, have you checked the safe? Go!"
The boy nodded and hurried off. He saw a satisfied grin spread over Writath's face a few seats away.
"Last call for sir Pavel! If he does not come forward then this fight will be considered forfeit and the victory will go to sir Cardon! Last call for sir Pavel!"
The crowd began to whisper.
"Ahro!" Ahro turned around and saw the boy he had just sent to the inn. "The money! The gold! It's gone! We've been robbed!"
The entire crowd turned around and looked at the boy.
Writath turned around too and he smiled to his friends. "Well, well! Sir Pavel did not come. It seems that our young lady lost her bet. And her gold was stolen too. Well, well...a shame of that pretty face, really."
His friends grinned. "But what about your money, Writath? How will you get your money from her?"
Ahro turned around and jumped down the stands, running straight towards the inn. He had to warn miss Robin. Writath would hunt her down and make her pay her share one way or the other. If she didn't have the money to repay him then he would think of another way to make her pay.
AN: Well, no reviews so far. I had been hoping for at least one, to be honest. But I will continue bravely :D
Please do review if you read this, please no flames, but that doesn't mean that I can't accept good criticism. If you have an opinion you would like to share with me about this story, be it good or bad, then please do so. But I do want to say now that, if you do not like it for some reason, please TELL me what it is you don't like and perhaps I can make my story better by changing it. But flames without any decent explanation or founded criticism will be ignored ;)
Love, raven55