Disclaimer: If you recognise it, it isn't mine. If it was, I could do this at work openly instead of on the sly!

I've tried to switch viewpoints between chapters here, and I've also tried different tenses depending on who's speaking. This is purely experimental, so let me know what you think, whether you love or hate it. Remember, it's only polite to review!

Home

Isganna locked her door behind her very securely when she got home, testing it three times. She wanted no unexpected visitors tonight. She bolted her shutters and pulled the heavy curtains over the windows. Then she lit every light in the house and sat before the fire.

Beside her, resting on the chair arm, was a knife, its blade as long as her forearm. She knew she had taken risks tonight, and she knew there might be consequences.

Although she resolved to stay awake as long as she could, she was asleep within minutes.

XXX

She awoke the next morning and checked her valuables. The door and windows were still securely bolted but she didn't trust them. Only when she found nothing had gone did she relax.

She had no appointments to keep that morning. This was not unusual, since the nobles she sewed for did not stir until noon as a rule. She busied herself in her shop, marking shapes with chalk, cutting patterns and putting the finishing touches to a dress she had to deliver that afternoon.

It was midmorning when the Watch knocked on her door.

The two guards who stood in the doorway bowed as she opened it.

'We are most sorry to disturb you, ma'am, but we need to ask you a few questions about an incident last night.'

Isganna stood aside and allowed them inside. They made straight for the fire and warmed themselves as they spoke.

'I understand you were present at Seventy Five Matchless Street between the hours of seven and eleven last night?'

'I was,' she replied, thankful for her years of practice at remaining expressionless.

'And that you saw a person acting suspiciously? Tell us, in your own words, what you saw.'

Isganna frowned slightly. 'There was a man at the top of the stairs as I left the fitting room. I only saw him for a heartbeat before he disappeared. He wore black clothes.'

'Did he have a green eye?'

'It was dark, I really couldn't say.'

'And there's nothing else?' asked the guard. He sounded resigned. He hadn't been expecting to learn anything here but duty demanded he follow up every lead.

'Once I had seen this person I went straightaway to inform the butler of the household. Then I came home. I must apologise that I cannot help you further, but I know no more.' Isganna shook her head. 'It is terrible that someone like that can roam these streets. A person simply doesn't feel safe.'

The guards politely agreed and left the fire somewhat reluctantly. Isganna breathed out in relief once they had gone.

I shouldn't have done that, she thought. I swore I had left that life behind. I thought I was a completely honest tradeswoman now, that I would be loyal to a longstanding client over a thief without a second thought. You can take the girl out of the street, but you can't take the street out of the girl. I know now where my loyalties lie.

XXX

On the stairs above, a darker patch of shadowlistened. Garrett nodded to himself.

The End

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