Chapter 3

The next morning Nikki woke up slowly. She took in the bright sunlight and then her head. It was still sore. She recalled the fight the night before and her meeting with the Rogue, George. He had bandaged her head, but she did not remember returning to her lodging. It was as she moved to touch the bandaging on her head that Nikki realized the extra heat and weight next to her.

"What in Mithros' name are you doing?" she screeched as she sat up and pushed herself as far away from George as possible. This did mean backing up into a corner, but Nikki was not as worried about escape routes right now. George, who had been sound asleep had rolled off of the bed and held up his hands in surrender.

"What were you doing?" Nikki repeated in a strained voice.

"I was just lookin' after you, lass. You had your injury and I had fixed you up, but you were shivering, probably from shock. I was keepin' you warm while makin' sure you made it through the night," George told her calmly. "I'm not losing a good thief to a small wound like that. Also, you and I both still have our clothes on. I didn't try anything. Trust me."

Nikki just pulled her legs up to her chest, wrapped her arms around her knees, and rested her head. Her injury was getting sore, but she didn't want to admit that in front of George. She watched as George gathered some things together. When he went into the other room, Nikki eyed her boots and weapon's belt. If she could just get to them before he came back, she could leave and go to another town where she would be invisible again. Nikki slid to the edge of the bed and let her feet touch the floor. She glanced at the other room, and seeing no sign of George, she propelled herself off of the bed and towards the table where her possessions were. As she neared the table, her head started to swim and her vision became splotchy. Nikki reached to stabilize herself with the table, but she knew she was going to miss and end up on the floor. Suddenly, George caught her from behind by wrapping his arm around her waist.

"Careful," cautioned George. He kept his arm around her. "Don't go doin' anything rash. You need to take it easy."

"Let go of me," Nikki ordered through clenched teeth. This man was being much too common with her. She grabbed his arm and tried to make him release her.

"Alright, alright, easy there," George said. He moved his arm while shaking his head at her insistence. She reminded him a lot of Alanna with her sharp tongue and distrust of others.

Nikki steadied herself against the edge of the table and turned to face George. She kept her eyes down. She was going to be bold and she knew it, but she needed answers more than she needed to be polite. "What do you want?"

"Hmmmm?" muttered George. He was giving her a questioning look.

Nikki rubbed her arms like she was cold. "What do you want from me? You sent your men to find me and then you chased me yourself. You obviously don't want me dead, so what do you want?" She had kept her eyes down and her voice was quiet.

George smiled and there was a laugh in his voice. "I really just wanted to talk to you, lass. You would have found that out easily enough if you had just come in the first place."

"Why would you want to talk to me?" she asked, sincerely confused. "I'm no one important and I just got here…"

George stepped back and leaned against the corner of the bed, his arms crossed over his chest. His eyes never left her face as he talked. "I am specifically interested in you because you just got here. I see, or hear about most of the folks who come through this city. I don't often hear of many young ladies traveling by themselves into Corus. I especially don't hear about a lot of ladies your age wearing breeches. I had to find out more about you and what you were doing here. When I heard you were a thief, I had to find out what you were doing in my territory. That's a king's job, you know. So I wanted to talk to you and, if you aren't working for another Rogue, I want you to join my Court."

Silence stretched between them as Nikki took in what George had just told her. He wanted her to join his Court of thieves? She said the first thing that came to mind. "I am not a thief."

"Oh really? And what are you then?" laughed George. "Stealin' bread and purses ain't your idea of thievery?"

Nikki blushed. "Well… I only do what I have to do to survive. And I've only been taking from the people who can afford to lose." Nikki sat down in one of the chairs and rested her head in one hand. Her cut was hurting more and she was trying to fully understand what George wanted from her. George saw her rubbing her head and concern clouded his face.

"Is that hurting you again? Maybe I should take you to a real healer. My medicinal skills are only mediocre at best." George smiled and Nikki looked up at him. She shook her head.

"No, I don't need a healer. I just need some rest." Nikki took her hand away from her head and grabbed her belt and strapped it around her waist.

"Can I at least take a look at it before you go to, wherever you're staying?" he asked. Nikki took a deep breath and looked him over. At last she nodded.

George came over and gently unwrapped the bandaging from her head. His hands were very soft and gentle; not what Nikki had expected from the hands of a thief. George looked at what he had stitched the night before.

"It's lookin' better already. Rest will be the best healer." George looked down at her. "Where are you staying? I want to walk with you in case you are still unsteady."

"No," Nikki spoke quickly and loudly and then had to remind herself to take a breath. "I can take care of myself. I don't need any help."

"So you keep telling me," commented George. There was a knowing look in his eye. "Who are you running from, Nikki?"

She was surprised that he had used her real name instead of calling her "lass". There was no way she was going to tell him why she was really in Corus or why she didn't want him to know where she was staying. "Who said I was running from someone? I might just not want unexpected visitors."

George inclined his head. "Very nice come back. Even if you insist on going on your own, at least think about coming by the Dancing Dove to see me and the rest of my Court. I may know some people you would find interesting. Plus, my offer still stands to welcome you into my Court."

Nikki pulled on her boots in silence. When she stood up, George was still watching her. She moved away from the table and was happy to find that most of the dizziness had passed now that she was moving at a calmer pace. George opened the door for her.

"At least let me walk you out," he insisted and Nikki shrugged. They walked quietly down to the bar area where Solom was sound asleep in a bar stool. The place was pretty much deserted now. Nikki took a look around and thought about how nice a place it actually was, even though it was normally filled with thieves. When they exited the building, Nikki stopped and turned to face George.

"Thank you for taking care of my cut," she said. George noticed that she was still avoiding his eyes most times that she talked to him. "Please don't follow me, or have anyone else follow me."

"I won't, Nikki. As long as I see you every once in a while at the Dove, I won't go looking for you unless I think you are in trouble."

"Do you look after all of your Court members like this?" she asked, looking him in the face.

"I try to," answered George. "That way they know I have their best interests at heart."

Nikki nodded and started to walk down the street. George watched her from his position outside of the inn. He wished he could go back on his word so soon and follow her. He wanted to make sure that she was safe, especially because she had been hurt and because she reminded him of Alanna. This was also why he had accepted her terms. If it had been Alanna, she would murder him if he acted like she was a girl who could not take care of herself. George finally turned and went back into the Dancing Dove.

Nikki walked quickly away from the Dancing Dove, but she was not heading to where she was staying. She wasn't sure whether George would stay true to his promise, so she would not go home right away. She also did not plan on going back to the Dancing Dove. She was not a thief. She didn't belong there. The more she thought about it, the more she sort of wanted to go back. She could learn important things by living among thieves, and she would have people to watch her back, like the boys from back home. After a while of walking, Nikki stopped and sat by one of the many fountains in Corus. It was a fun spot to sit because the water made such a pretty noise, and there were many people to watch. She spent her day wandering from place to place, just watching and enjoying the many peoples that gathered in Corus.

That evening, George sent a scout to see whether Nikki was even in the town area. The scout reported back that he had found her sleeping under one of the stalls that had been cleaned out for the night. George shook his head and decided to try and convince Nikki to take up some sort of proper lodgings within Corus.