How's that for on time? :) Hopefully I can keep this pace up. It's not like I'm doing much these days (I broke my foot).

Peri laid on her back, hands folded on her belly, and stared listlessly at the shadowy ceiling above her, the springs of the thin mattress digging relentlessly into her shoulders and back. Despite a month of experience, she still couldn't get used to the aura of discomfort that seemed to shroud the entire house. It was almost as if Mrs. Ballem went out of her way to make things harder for all of them. Peri still didn't understand the woman's bitterness, but she'd come to accept it as fact whether she knew its origin or not. Knowing didn't stop the switch from biting into her wrists and ankles whenever she passed the old woman in the hallway. The switch. Just the thought of the hated object made her shiver with rage, a surprising emotion for one as young as she. But one short month had transformed her from a naïve little girl, who ran to her parents whenever she got scared, to a tough, bitter child who couldn't wait to grow up do she could solve her own problems. Her eyes now were a far cry from the watery blue they'd been that first day in the office. Now they were hard and cold as ice. She wanted the boy to see it, so he would know she wasn't weak anymore, but she hadn't seen either end of him this entire time. It was like he'd just vanished. And she didn't know his name, so she couldn't ask around for him. She was beginning to think he wasn't going to come back, and that hurt. So soon after her parents had walked out of her life with absolutely no explanation, so had this strange boy. She tried not to care. A knock at the door broke her out of her thoughts and she sat up.

"Up, Peri, or you'll miss breakfast," came Marya's sharp tone, followed by footsteps as the older girl returned back downstairs. Peri gave a mutinous mumble, wanting to rebel in some way, but the thought of waiting until dinner to eat was practically unbearable. So she climbed down from her bunk and slipped out the door, padding down the hallway in her bare feet. Most everyone was already in the hall where meals were served, so she was automatically saddled with the seat next to Mrs. Ballem. Biting back a groan, she shuffled over to the dreaded position and slid in, trying not to sit too close to the woman.

Today's breakfast was the same as every other day, and it would probably remain that way until Mrs. Ballem died. Stale biscuits and barely-scrambled eggs that looked more like soup than solid thing. Those who arrived earliest were privy to the best Mrs. Ballem had to offer, a small plate of bacon charred nearly beyond recognition, but Peri had never been quick enough and had therefore never tasted it. The bowl of eggs reached her from the left and she scooped a spoonful onto her plate.

"Greedy brat," Mrs. Ballem snapped from her right, making her flinch. A gnarled hand descended and seized the spoon from her hand, then proceeded to scoop most of her eggs back into the bowl. Peri didn't say a word and watched her portion shrink smaller and smaller. When the wicked old woman finally decided to relent, there was barely enough for three mouthfuls. Peri's small hands curled into fists under the table, but she held her tongue as the eggs were whisked away from her. Next came the tray of biscuits, and she seized one gratefully. Mrs. Ballem couldn't split those up. She'd shoved most of it into her mouth in a second, just in case.

"Don't you have any manners, girl?" the old woman snarled, her hands shooting out to snatch Peri's chin and jerk it down. Peri wiggled away and swallowed her mouthful, catching the sympathetic glances from the other children at the table. Meals next to Mrs. Ballem were always bad, but breakfast was the worst. The older kids told her it was better just to go without, but Peri had never gone without in her entire life. There were times when food had been scarce, but never gone altogether. She just wasn't used to hunger yet, although with the way Mrs. Ballem was feeding them it wouldn't take much longer. Mrs. Ballem gave up and turned back to her own plate, which was piled high with eggs and three biscuits. Peri tried to ignore this and focus on her own food, taking smaller bites now that the woman's attention had been diverted by the boy on her other side. But when she was finished with her food (in about three more bites) it became harder to ignore the way the woman was wading casually through the sea of eggs on her plate. To make matters worse, none of them were allowed to leave the table until everyone was finished. Peri fixed the table with a murderous stare, trying to calm her rising temper. If she could just keep her mouth shut for a few more minutes-

"You're the greedy one."

There had been a low hum of conversation from those brave enough to speak in Mrs. Ballem's presence, but that dropped off with painful abruptness as the deadly sentence was spoken. It took everyone's eyes on her for Peri to realize that it had been her who'd spoken. She looked up into Mrs. Ballem's murderous face, stunned by her own audacity.

"What did you say?" the woman hissed, beginning to turn an unhealthy shade of red. Peri considered apologizing, or pretending she hadn't said anything in order to get a lesser punishment. But her mouth had decided to run away with her and her body was happy to lend a hand. She leaped to her feet, standing on the bench in order to see above the table.

"I said you're the greedy brat, you bitch," she spat, then reached over, took hold of a stunned Mrs. Ballem's plate, and dumped it onto her lap. There was a quiet 'Oooh' from the corner of the room, but no one could be sure who'd said it. Everyone knew what she'd said, though. Everyone knew she was the one who'd called Mrs. Ballem a bitch. Peri knew she had about five seconds before the old woman snapped into action, so she moved fast and jumped off the bench, going tearing out of the room. A horrid screech behind her told her Mrs. Ballem was on the move, but how fast could the arthritic woman move? Apparently, very fast, because a boney hand grabbed her hair before she'd even made it to the door.

"You filthy little wench, how dare you?! I'll teach you to talk that way to your elders, girl, and you're not going to forget it."

Mrs. Ballem dragged her down the hall by her hair, Peri screaming and kicking the entire way, and outside into the side yard. Once there, the old woman dropped Peri in the dirt and dug around in her apron for the switch. Peri gave a feral snarl and scampered away on all fours, her bare toes kicking up dust and scratching long furrows in the dirt.

"Get back here, girl! I'm not through with you!"

Peri ran for the treeline, hair flying, but once again the woman caught her and dragged her back. She didn't even bother with the backs of her calves or her amrs; the old woman raised her boney arm high, the black switch clenched in one fist, and snapped it across her back with a resounding crack. Peri screamed as fire licked across her skin, and she fought like a demon to get free, but the woman's grasp on her hair was unrelenting. The switch came down again, pain making her sob.

"Apologize, you wench!"

"Go to hell." Another thing Peri had learned here; she was a master in profanity. The older children had been all too happy to teach her. Mrs. Ballem gave an outraged shriek and cracked the switch down again and again in a seemingly endless wave of fire. Peri screamed, fought, clawed, bit, but nothing could dislodge the old woman until she'd worn herself out beating Peri senseless. Finally Mrs. Ballem released her and stepped back, wiping sweat from her forehead. Peri slumped to the ground, her mouth full of dust and tears, mouthing the word 'bitch' into the ground over and over again.

"I want you in my office tomorrow morning at four thirty, or else another beating, understand?"

When Peri didn't respond, the woman wrenched her head back by her hair.

"Do you understand me, girl?" she hissed, her crooked teeth inches from Peri's eye. She nodded with burning eyes, and Mrs. Ballem released her again. The crunch of footsteps faded away, followed by the clump of boots climbing the porch stairs and the slam of the side door. Peri waited for her to return and maybe more lemon juice on her back, but the yard stayed quiet and empty. She rolled over with a barely surpressed cry of pain, trying to shield her back from the sun. But dust only got into the cuts she knew were there, making them sting even more. Collapsing onto the dusty ground, she curled herself up into a tight ball and didn't move.

(…)

Peri finally became aware of a presence approaching, and she braced herself for another round of lashings. But the voice that spoke to her wasn't the harsh screech of Mrs. Ballem. She lifted her head and instantly regretted doing so, for this only strained her throbbing back. Marya's dark eyes were staring into hers, unreadable in the gathering twilight.

"Come on, up you get," she murmured, reaching out to steady her. Peri smacked her arms away and stood up before she could think about it. Fresh agony washed down her back and tears leaked out of her eyes, but she was standing and she'd done it by herself. She wobbled dizzily, the blood rushing out of her head, and turned to face the older girl who'd come to get her.

"That was really stupid; you know that, right?" Marya said, and Peri gave a tiny nod. Marya gave a grimace and sighed. "It was awesome, but it was stupid. Now lets go get you cleaned up."

Taking hold of Peri's arm, Marya walked her out of the yard and into the trees, and soon Peri recognized their familiar route to the river. The trail seemed infinitely longer now, when each step sent shooting pains up her back, and it felt like hours later when they finally stepped out onto the pebbly beach that led down to the water's edge. Smooth round rocks rolled under her feet as she walked, a dead expression on her face, to where the water began.

"Okay, this is going to hurt," Marya warned, half a second before she ripped Peri's shirt off her back and yanked it over her head, giving a low hiss of sympathy at the sight of her back. Peri gave a half-stifled cry of pain and stood rigid while the ripples of pain died down again.

"Sorry, but it's better to do it quick so it's over faster," Marya explained, not sounding sorry at all. Peri kicked off her too-big pants and edged into the river, the water quickly turning cool as the sun's heat faded away. When the water reached the base of her spine she stopped, afraid of the stinging that was bound to come.

"Do it quick," Marya called from the bank, where she was rolling up her pants. Where the water came up to Peri's waist, it only managed to cover the older girl's knees. Peri took a shaky breath and steeled herself, then plunged underwater. She could scream as loud as she liked with her mouth below the waves, and she did, bubbles boiling out of her mouth and shooting towards the surface in wobbly pockets. Tiny needles struc k all over her back, bringing with them the most unpleasant sensation Peri had yet to experience. It didn't quite hurt, but she wished it would. Pain could be dealt with and ignored. This feeling demanded to be felt, until she was wiggling with her desire to be rid of it. Finally her lungs remembered their job and she burst out of the water, gasping and spluttering. Her hair stuck in clumps to her shoulders and back, while even more locks fell into her eyes and stuck in her mouth. Marya waded over and pulled it all back, then set to work. She had brought a cloth with her from the house, and now she used it to gently dab away at the cuts on Peri's back, wiping dust and grit away regardless of Peri's squeaks of pain. It was a long while before Marya was satisfied, and by that time the moon was hanging high above them. Its cold light glared down at them indifferently, bringing with it a cold so acute that goosebumps started to form on her arms. Marya rubbed the last bit of dirt away and tossed the rag back to shore. Together they waded after it, and Peri waited draped under Marya's cloak while she washed her dusty, bloody clothes. It was very, very late by the time they walked back up to the dark, foreboding house.

"I'm guessing she told you to report at four thirty?" Marya said in a low voice as they crept up the side porch. Peri didn't speak aloud and instead nodded her response. Marya grimaced, but she didn't say anything else as they slipped inside. It was only when they were shut safely in the room they shared that the older girl turned to her and spoke.

"She's going to send you down to the docks for work," she explained, and instantly Peri could tell this was a bad thing. "The docks are basically the worst part of the Landing. Smugglers, murderers, basically anyone who needs a quick getaway, will be down there looking for a ship they can get a ride on. And you're just a little girl in their eyes. Little girls get hurt. Bad. It'll be rough, especially the first few days. But you have to just buckle down and do it. Trust me, I've been there. Keep your eyes down and the less attention you draw to yourself, the better."

Peri nodded and tried to absorb all this new information, although she wasn't sure why it was all necessary. Marya could tell her advice wasn't lodging anywhere and sighed, digging out a dingy pocketwatch.

"It's three now, so you've got about an hour and a half to get some sleep. I'll wake you when you need to get up."

Peri didn't need a second invitation and headed for her bunk. But Marya got to the ladder first and climbed up ahead of her.

"You can have my bunk tonight," she said, settling onto the mattress that Peri usually slept on. "Night."

Peri nodded, not sure if Marya saw, and climbed gingerly onto her roommate's bed. Sudden silence filled the room, but Peri couldn't get comfortable. The springs were just as bothersome and they dug painfully into her back, but when she slept on her stomach she felt like she couldn't breath. She tossed and turned for at least half an hour before trying her side. Even then her back throbbed incessantly, until her eyes fell on the beautiful stones and glass shards that twirled and swayed in the windowsill. A cool breeze suddenly danced through the broken window, making a piece of colored glass whirl on its cord and send colors spinning across the dark room. Peri stared at it as her eyes slowly lowered and eventually closed, but even then the piece of glass remained fixed in her mind until she fell asleep.

(…)

"Peri! Get up!"

Peri gave a strangled noise and bolted upright, then instantly regretted it as fire ripped across her back. She sat hunched over until the pain faded, but as it did her memories grew clearer and she remembered. Everything. Looking around, she could see the night still outside and her bunk overhead. Marya was standing at the edge of her borrowed bed, hands half outstretched like she'd been about to restrain her.

"Sorry," she said with a guilty wince. "You weren't waking up and I didn't want to shake you."

Peri went to shrug, stopped, and instead gave a careful nod. She waved away Marya's extended hand and slid out of bed, the wooden floor rough under her bare feet. She quickly found her shoes and sat down to put them on, but the slightest movement forward solicited instant complaints from her back. She was moments away from just leaning forward and bearing the pain when Marya snatched her shoes away and jammed them on with an exasperated sigh.

"It's okay to ask for help, idiot," she said as Peri stood up without a word. "The less you do to open up your back, the faster it'll heal. Now go on, before the witch comes by."

Peri obeyed, walking over to the door with a wide yawn. She glanced back as she grasped the doorknob to see Marya crawling back onto her own bunk.

"Remember what I told you, and good luck," the older girl called as Peri slipped out the door. Peri gave a mumbling acknowledgement and pulled the door shut, making sure she heard the click before heading down the hall. The stairs were painful but bearable, and a minute later she was standing outside of Mrs. Ballem's 'lair', as the children called it. She could still see the faint paint where someone had written 'Here be dragons' just last week. No one had been blamed, and as a result everyone had gone without breakfast for three days. Peri took a deep breath to steady herself and knocked. A harsh 'Come in!' sounded from within the office and Peri pushed the door open.

A single, solitary lamp lit the space, and the shadows it cast on Mrs. Ballem's face made her look even harsher and skinnier than she normally did. With one clawed hand she beckoned Peri over from the doorway where she stood. It was a good three seconds before Peri could get herself to step into the office, and by that time the old woman had grown impatient.

"I don't have all day, come in!" she snapped, bringing Peri scurrying over to her desk. The woman glared critically at her for a moment, then shuffled a few papers around. "Law states that I can't throw you out of my house for being so disrespectful. That's the only reason you're still under this roof. But I refuse to pay for your meals when you insult me and refuse to follow my simple rules. Therefore, you will be taken down to the docks, and once there you will load up the cart with today's breakfast and dinner. Then you will spend the day there, working, until I come back to get you. Any money you make will go to me, and in exchange I will continue to feed you. Do you understand?"

"Yes."

"Yes, m'am."

Silence. Mrs. Ballem started to swell up in rage, when a knock on the door interrupted her impending explosion. The woman deflated and barked out a quick 'Come in' similar to the one she'd given Peri. Peri turned to see a man slip inside the office, the first one she'd seen in ages. Instantly Mrs. Ballem became perfectly courteous and polite, inviting the man to sit down.

"Peri, dear, will you go wait outside on the porch with the others, please?" the woman asked sweetly, and Peri did as she was asked. Not out of any respect, but because Mrs. Ballem was actually creepier when she was being nice. She hurried out of the office, closing the door behind her, and walked down the hall towards the door. It was slightly ajar and she could hear a few voices coming from outside, but she didn't recognize any of them. Except… Peri stepped through the door and there he was. The boy from the office. He was perched precariously on the railing, elbows braced on his knees, and chatting easily with one of the oldest boys that lived at the house. People said that any day now he would turn sixteen and be able to find a decent job. Then he'd be able to leave the house forever. Peri envied him for it. Being only seven herself, she had ages until she would escape this hellhole. The boy from the office suddenly noticed another amongst their number and glanced at her, clearly disinterested. He must have recognized her, because when his attention flew back to her there was a curious light in his eyes. The boy he was talking to, named Kosa, noticed his wandering attention and followed his gaze to Peri.

"No way!" the boy suddenly exclaimed, sliding off the railing and landing with a tap on the wooden porch. "You're that girl from Mrs. Ballem's office!"

"Yeah," Peri said slowly, still surprised at seeing him again.

"What are you doing here?" he asked with a grin, walking over to her. "I mean, what'd you do to get Mrs. Ballem this mad?"

Peri could hear the disbelief in his voice; he didn't think she was capable of doing anything that bad, and he clearly thought this was some sort of mistake. Anything she told him, he wouldn't believe. She shrugged and turned to go sit on one of the steps, but a familiar voice from the doorway stopped her.

"She called the B a greedy bitch," Marya said with an approving laugh as she stepped out the door. Nodding at Peri, she came over and plopped down on the steps beside her. The boy from the office scrambled over to sit on her other side.

"No, this girl?" he said, gesturing to Peri, shaking his head in disbelief when Marya nodded. "Seriously? That's awesome. Major kudos to you, Kitty."

Peri looked sharply at him, and said "It's Peri," but the boy ignored her look and grinned at her until she muttered a quick 'Thanks'. Loud footsteps and a screeching voice prevented any further conversation and sent everyone on the porch bolting to their feet. Peri nearly fell down the steps, but Marya's steely grip hauled her to her feet in time. The owner of the voice burst out of the doors, shooing them all off the porch and down towards the cart waiting on the dusty street. As they all piled into the empty bed, Peri hung back, dreading the tough climb that would no doubt open up her back. She saw Marya coming out of the corner of her eye and bolted, not wanting to be lifted into the cart like a baby. She had scrambled up and found a seat before she could take a breath, and she winced at a needle of pain below her shoulder. Marya settled in next to her and leaned back against the wall, her forearms balanced on her knees. As the cart started to move, Peri scanned the small group of outcasts. There were seven of them, including herself, and they ranged from Peri, the smallest, to Kosa, the largest by far. She couldn't make out many features in the dark, but she was pretty sure she'd never seen over half of these kids. It made sense, since they were out of the house before Peri was even awake, but some of the people there, like Marya, she'd seen plenty of times around the house. Had Marya just started today? What had she done to get thrown in with this lot? Peri had been with her for most of the night. But no one else on the cart was speaking and Peri didn't have the guts to break the silence. The ride down to the docks was loaded with words unspoken and fragile conversations carried through broken eyes. It was at once the longest and shortest ride of Peri's life, and when the cart stopped and they all piled out, she realized she hadn't breathed properly the entire trip. She hopped down gingerly from the cart and followed the rest of the children into the warehouse nearby, confused and not sure what else to do. Kosa peeled off to speak with a man standing nearby, but the rest of them all shuffled over to a stack of boxes set aside from the others. Peri stood torn, unsure what she should be doing.

"Hey Kitty, come give me a hand."

Peri bit back a sigh of relief and went over to where the boy stood, her glare borderline murderous.

"I told you, my name's not Kitty," she snapped, leaning down to get a grip on the box and lift it. Even between the two of them it was unbearably heavy, but somehow they shuffled towards the door together without falling over or dropping their load. "What the hell's in here?" she gasped out through gritted teeth.

"Eggs," the boy said back in a slightly strained voice. He seemed to be dealing with the load a little better than Peri was. "So don't drop them."

Peri groaned and nearly tripped, sending fear stabbing through her heart, but she managed to get her feet back under her and stumble over to the cart with her load. They both heaved the crate up onto the cart and shoved it back as far as they could reach, which for Peri wasn't that far. Already exhausted, she headed back into the warehouse behind the boy, her back aching. When the cart was finally loaded up, Peri's arms and back felt like they were dying and sweat was seeping into the lashes she'd opened up. She waited breathlessly for the rest of the children to scramble up onto the cart to go home, but she was sorely disappointed. Mrs. Ballem cracked the whip on the poor mule's back and slowly the cart pulled away from them, heading back up the hill. The group around her began to break up as Kosa went one way and a pair of twins went the other. Marya turned to walk along the street and Peri hurried after her, hoping she could tag along just for today.

"Wait, Marya," she called, then shied backwards as the older girl whipped around.

"You can't come," she said, her voice uncharacteristically sharp and slightly panicked. Pointing back the way Peri had come, Marya shook her head madly for emphasis. "Go on," she snapped, and Peri backed another few steps away. Marya watched her go for a few moments, then turned to stalk off down the street. Peri watched her go with a confused, hurt expression on her face.

"You're not cut out for what she does," said a voice behind her right shoulder, and when Peri looked over she saw the boy standing there with an unreadable look on his face.

"What does she do?" Peri asked, trying to pretend she was offended by the way Marya had treated her. The boy just shook his head and shoved his hands in his pockets.

"I guess you can tag along with me," he said instead, purposefully changing the subject. Peri narrowed her eyes, just so he would know she knew, but she went along with it. "Just for now."

"I'm honored," Peri said dryly, coaxing another of the boy's grins out of him.

"You know what?" he said, turning to walk down towards the docks. Peri fell into step beside him, not saying anything. "You're alright," the boy continued, flashing a grin. Did he ever stop smiling? "But I'm still calling you Kitty," he added, earning himself a glare.

"Then what should I call you?" Peri shot back, falling into the boy's playful banter. "Ass?"

The boy gave an offended gasp, clasping one hand over his heart.

"You've got a mouth on you, know that?" he said, raising an eyebrow. "Are you sure you're the same kitty cat I saw in Ballem's office?"

"I grew some claws, that's all."

"Hmm. I'm Nick. But you're not allowed to call me anything else."

"Fine."

Ships began to emerge out of the mist that had gathered around them the closer they'd gotten to the docks. Peri was amazed by some of them, by their sheer size and their towering masts. One day, she'd like to sail away on one of them, far away from Mrs. Ballem and her horrible house. She flashed a glance at her new sort-of friend, but he didn't even glance at the enormous ships.

"So what do you do?" she asked, trying to copy his bored expression and failing miserably. She couldn't be bored when these magnificent vessels kept getting bigger and bigger.

"I help out on one of the ships,' he answered vaguely, which brought an excited grin to Peri's face. Would she actually get to see one of the ships up close?! The pain in her back faded as she gazed about, wondering which ship would be the one she would get to see. They'd been walking for close to twenty minutes when Nick finally pointed.

"That one."

Peri followed his finger and deflated. That one?! The boat in question was little more than a rowboat, pitifully small amongst the other grand ships, with their three masts and sides lined with cannons. And as they approached, the rancid smell of fish reached out to jam itself up Peri's nose. She coughed at the heavy smell and blinked back tears brought on by something sour in the air. Shadowy figures were moving about on the tiny ship, while the rest of them were still and lifeless. It looked like this was the 'ship' Nick had been talking about. Peri suddenly wished she'd gone with Marya. She should have somehow convinced the older girl that she could handle whatever it was she did, instead of come along to choke on rotting fish. She followed sulkily after Nick as he stepped up to the ship.

"Hey, Skink," he called, and one of the figures straightened.

"That you, boy?" a gruff voice said. "Who's that with ye?"

Nick glanced at Peri's sullen face and smirked.

"This here's my friend, Peri," he announced to the men. "But you can call her Kitty."

Peri stiffened and nearly punched Nick in the back, but the arrival of a heavy, grizzled sailor beside her, froze her in place.

"Kitty, eh?" the man said, leaning down to get a look at her face. "Ye lookin' fer work?"

Trying not to breath, Peri nodded.

"Can ye keep secrets, Kitty?" the man rasped, standing up straight again and glaring down at her. Again Peri nodded.

"Good. Then ye don't tell no one 'bout what ye see on the Fair Maria, got it?"

Peri froze her features before she snorted at the irony of the ship's name. Fair Maria? The ship was one of the ugliest she'd seen that morning and from what she saw none of its crew were female.

"Got it," she said, and with that the man ushered her over to a set of barrels on the dock.

"You an the boy can get started carryin' them barrels onto the ship," he ordered, standing by and watching until they both started moving. From the smell, Peri guessed they were stuffed full of fish, but it seemed they hadn't started rotting yet. She grabbed hold of the bottom of the barrel and waited for Nick to get a grip as well, then strained to lift the barrel off the dock.

"Wee, more lifting," she muttered, but a glare from the man silenced her. Together they struggled up a narrow plank and onto the ship, where the barrel was hefted out of their hands by a burly man who looked like he was lifting a baby. Peri barely had time to breathe before she had to scurry back over to the barrels. She couldn't count very well, but even she could tell that there were at least twenty barrels left for them to carry. She swallowed a groan and heaved another barrel off the dock and followed Nick back to the boat. By the time they were lifting their last barrel, Peri's arms and back were shaking and she was drenched in sweat. Dawn had broken about half an hour ago and the sun was already starting to bake her skin. When the man lifted the barrel away at last, she nearly threw herself down on the deck. She shook her fingers out, trying to work a cramp out of one, and looked around for the man she assumed was the captain. No sooner had she thought of him when he appeared.

"Took ye long enough," he snorted, looking them both over. Peri was satisfied to see that Nick looked almost as worn out as she was. "There's nothin' else 'round the boat ye can do, but I got somethin' else for ye. Here."

The man offered them a small scroll of paper and Nick took it, pocketing it.

"Be back here by noon, that's when we're leavin'," the man said, then stalked away. Peri waited for Nick to open the scroll so she could see, but he turned to her with a sheepish look on his face.

"Look, you'd better let me handle this," he said, ignoring Peri's furious and scandalized expression as he turned to hurry off the boat. Peri stared after him, mouth open to scream at him, but before she could think of what to say, he was gone. Footsteps behind her warned her of the captain's approach.

"Did he leave ye?" came the man's snarling voice. Peri nodded furiously, still glaring at the growing mass of people moving about on the docks. "Well, that's not very polite, is it?"

"He said I'd 'better let him handle it'," Peri mocked. She looked up and was surprised to see a mischievous twinkle in the sailor's eye.

"Are ye gonna listen to 'im?"

"…. No," Peri answered after a moment, a small smile growing on her face.

"Good girl. Now listen, he's after a certain artifact tha' one of them rich families is sellin'. Sadly, me and my crew can' afford it. Ye any good at stealin'?"

Peri really wasn't sure, having never stolen anything in her life, but she nodded confidently anyway.

"Good. Here's the address. It's a real purdy dagger, looks like its see-through, but harder'n anythan. Ye'll know it when ye see it. It'll either be in the man's office or in 'is bedroom. Off ye go."

With that the man handed her a scrap of paper with an address written on it, then gave her a little shooing motion. Peri grinned and bounded down the plank and off down the docks. As she ran she glanced down at the address written on the sheet of paper. To her surprise, it was one she half-recognized. It was only three streets down from her house. Her old house, she corrected herself with a trace of bitterness. She blinked her nostalgia away and focused on tracing the quickest route through the city. She knew the neighborhood around her old house well, and already she could see a route that would cut off a good chunk of time. Nick would have to search around for the address, while she could head right to it. She ducked and wove through to crowds of people, the pain in her back forgotten completely. The crowds thickened quickly as the sun rose higher, but the closer she got to her destination, the more she could duck through alleys and shops where the amount of people was lessened considerably. Soon she was standing behind the house of one of her old neighbors, the scrap of paper crumpled in her fist. She didn't see any sign that Nick had been there, but she felt hurried anyway. The back door suddenly swung open and a maid bustled out, carrying a large, empty bucket. Quickly Peri stuffed the paper in her pocket and dove behind a pile of crates, peeking around the corner to watch the maid walk over to a barrel situated on the corner of the house. The sound of water when the woman plunged the bucket into the barrel told Peri that it was full of water, but she wasn't sure what to make of the sudden shriek that flew from the woman's lips.

A moment later she understood, when an enormous rat suddenly burst out from behind the barrel and tore off away from the house, with the maid close behind. Grinning, Peri took her chance and raced for the back door, slipping inside with hardly a sound. She found herself in an empty kitchen, the smell of cooking food nearly bringing tears to her eyes. A plate of bacon was cooling on the counter nearby, and it took everything in her not to shove the entire thing into her mouth. The dagger, she reminded herself. You have to get the dagger, and before Nick. Acting instinctively, Peri kicked off her hard-soled shoes, which made tapping noises everywhere she went, and shoved them out of sight under a cupboard. Her steps now silent, she crept towards a narrow staircase she'd spotted in the corner for the maids' use. Listening carefully, she climbed the steep flight and emerged at the end of a wide hallway devoid of people. Downstairs she heard a knock at the door, soon followed by a man speaking. It seemed for now she was safe from discovery, at least at the hands of the house's master.

Either the office or the bedroom. Now to locate both. It wasn't that hard to find the bedroom; it was the first door she pushed open. Once inside, she looked around. But it became clear quickly that her prize wasn't here. The only furniture in the room was a luxurious bed, a desk, and a huge wardrobe. Peri thoroughly searched each, but came up with nothing. So that meant the dagger had to be in the man's office. Peri searched each room upstairs and found nothing that resembled any office she'd seen. She crept carefully over to the top of the stairs, peering down and hoping no one would see her. But all she saw was the front door. To her right was a wide room with a grand couch and fireplace, thankfully empty, but to the left there was only a wall and… was that a door? Peri forgot to be quiet for a moment and ran down the stairs to find that yes, there was a door on the left wall. A noise behind her sent her flying into action, wrenching the door open and diving inside in a heartbeat. She caught the door just before it banged shut and peeked out before shutting it softly. She didn't see anyone in the room she'd just left, but she still felt nervous and jittery. When she turned to survey this new room, she forgot all about her nerves.

This had to be it. There were at least three separate desks in the room, and that was a guess. Peri couldn't be sure because of the mass of papers that covered and spilled out of each one. And sitting on the only chair in the room was a suspiciously dagger-shaped cloth bundle. Peri was across the room in a heartbeat and she carefully lifted the object off the chair. She wanted to run with it and get out of this house as fast as she could, but she knew better than that. She had to be sure. She sat down and began unwrapping the slender object, eyes craning for a glimpse of what she hoped would be a crystal-like blade. A shard of light glinted off the blade as she let the cloth fall away, and for a moment Peri was blinded by the radiance. She shielded the object from the light streaming through a window with her body, and when she had blinked the spots out of her eyes she couldn't breathe.

There it was.

The blade was completely clear and Peri could see the tan cloth through it like she was looking through a window. This had to be a trick. This had all been too easy. Peri almost wrapped the dagger back up and put it back, sure she was being messed with. But as she rose and went to the door she realized she still had the bundle in her hands. She couldn't run around the streets just carrying it out in the open, so she stuffed it into the waistband of her pants. It would be safe enough there, for now. Listening carefully, Peri made absolutely sure no one was in the other room before she opened the door to the office. The room was still empty, but footsteps approaching warned her that it wouldn't be for long. In a heartbeat she was out, shutting the door and scurrying up the stairs. Below her she heard a startled cry, but she didn't hesitate and burst into the bedroom she'd seen before. She remembered from her memories that this house had had a roof sheltering the front porch, and she'd always wished her family could move into this house so she could climb out onto the roof from her bedroom. Now she would. She heard footsteps on the stairs and loud voices, but she didn't hesitate as she wrenched the window open and threw one leg out.

"Peri?"

She froze and looked up, startled to see Nick standing in the doorway. He looked just as confused as she felt, if not more. Then a loud shout from the hallway snapped Peri out of her daze and she dragged her other leg out the window.

"I'll let you handle this," she said sweetly and slammed the window shut. She wasted no time and ran across the roof, leaping down to land in a spiny bush below. She fought her way free and dashed out onto the street, just as the door banged open behind her and a masculine voice shouted angrily in her direction. She glanced back and got the impression that she was being chased, so she put her head down and ran. She was nearly run over three separate times and barely escaped the hungry grip of a drunk as he leered out at her. She skipped out of his reach and kept going, ignoring the things he shouted after her. By the time she reached the dock, she was panting and sweating, but she couldn't stop laughing as she jogged up to the Fair Maria. Skink, who stood waiting for her, couldn't either as she produced the dagger and put it ceremoniously into his hands.

Well that just sort of... happened. Long chapter, much? Let's just say its to make up for the months of silence I gave you all. Stay tuned for another flashback, because there's definitely one coming. I was going to keep writing for this chapter, but seeing as its already long enough... you'll just have to wait. :)