Chapter Twelve – Changes
Those few years turned out to be five, and what years they were! The gang gained another boy; Archie, a reserved young man who was soon friends with Ezra and his owl. Bill grew to be taller than Morris (at last) and delighted giving him a taste of his own medicine. Norman and Frankie were as childish as ever, even now at fifteen years of age! Jeremy and Bill were still thick as thieves and partners in crime; Jeremy still idolized Bill's every move and tried to imitate him, but Sykes didn't find his behavior as irritating as he used to.
Over the course of five years, Bill himself had changed. He was no longer the meek ten year old he had been, nor the stronger but still easily intimidated boy of twelve. At seventeen, Bill Sykes had earned quite a reputation; he was violent and foul mouthed and drank heavily. He had taken to skiving off the job to go to the Cripples, and also, on occasion, decided to attack unsuspecting pedestrians in alleyways to get their cash, rather than picking pockets as he used to.
Despite the fact that the boys continued to be in awe of him, they were all terrified underneath. Even Fagin, who was attempting to keep up his attitude as lord and master of the house, found himself stammering with fright at Bill's raised voice. Sykes was an intimidating figure, and they all knew not to cross him. Even Fagin, though he tried his best to be as stern with him as with the others, couldn't keep up the act. Bill brought about the coward in him, and he hated the young man for it.
Bill had changed.
Fagin had changed.
Even some of the boys had changed.
But the biggest and most surprising change was still to come.
--
All the boys were out on the job as usual, if you could call them boys now. The job was much harder for them all since they weren't as small, young or capable of appearing innocent (this was especially true in Bill's regard, one of the reasons he turned to alternate forms of earning his keep).
Having stolen a couple of wallets in the usual fashion, Bill made his way down a narrow side street, the sounds of the main streets dying behind him as he wound his way through alleyways and up courts. He wasn't going anywhere in particular; it wasn't as if Fagin would even think of punishing him for not bringing back as much as he ought…
Well, he would probably try, come to think of it.
That wasn't to say Bill cared.
It was getting late, but Bill often stayed out past the usual time. He liked to worry Fagin every so often, keep the old man on his toes. The alleyway through which he now was walking was close to the Cripples; Bill had half a mind to call it a day and stop for a pint (or two). But even as he began to direct his steps in the direction of the tavern, movement further down the alleyway caught his eye.
A middle-aged man, a head or so shorter than Bill, was making his way nervously down the alley towards him; his top hat askew atop his head, wringing his hands nervously in front of him. He looked lost, scared, confused…the perfect victim.
Bill cautiously kept to the shadows until he was behind the man; it was always better to attack a person from behind where they least expected it. As he suspected, the man hadn't noticed a thing; he was muttering to himself in blind panic, sounding close to tears. But Bill's days of hesitance and pity were long gone; in an instant he had forced the man to the ground and had wrested his wallet and pocketwatch from him, as well as a small bag which had clearly come from a pawnshop, the man pleading all the while for Bill to leave him alone.
Having gathered his spoils, Bill scrambled to his feet and was about to run for it; what if any nearby police had heard the man's shouts? He had hardly gone several metres, however, when he felt someone grab him from behind; evidently a very small someone as they had latched onto his leg rather than his neck, as most assailants were prone to do.
"Wot did ya do tha' for?" came a furious voice.
Bill looked around to see who on Earth had decided to try and attack him, stupidly and clearly without knowing his reputation. He was all set to inflict grievous bodily harm on whoever it was, but these thoughts fled from his mind as he took in the figure before him.
She was small, certainly, only a little over four feet in height, looking to be about ten years of age. She was as thin as the next starving street urchin but her ragged red dress, practically falling apart at the seams, looked to be a size too small for her. Her hair, stringy and copper coloured, framed her face elegantly; a face which would have been pretty were it not bearing a ferocious scowl; nose wrinkled in distaste, lips pursed, blue eyes narrowed.
Bill was taken aback.
Had this girl, this little ten year old girl, really attempted to attack him, and questioned what he'd done? Had she really just issued him a challenge? Who did she think she was?
"Well?" snapped the girl, hands on hips.
Bill opened his mouth to reply but even as he did so he heard shouts from further down the alley; the traps had found the man he'd robbed and would doubtless soon be after him… Shooting the strange girl a contemptuous glance Bill hurried away, his mind in a whirl.
Who was she?
Little did he know he would soon find out…
--
Having beguiled the rest of the afternoon with a few bottles of gin at the Three Cripples, Bill made his way back toward Fagin's. He'd barely given the strange girl a second thought since he entered the tavern but, now he didn't have a bottle in his hand to distract him, his thoughts had returned once again to her.
Where had she come from? She seemed to have appeared out of thin air, for all he knew. Then there was the fact that she'd challenged him; she had challenged him. Stood up to him. Defied him.
There had been more than one thing wrong about that scenario, and Bill didn't like to dwell on it. Yet he couldn't get that girl out of his mind, try as he might. There was something about her…was it the very reason she had defied him that made her so intriguing?
Bill entered the flat without the password, as he was now prone to do. It always frightened Fagin; something Bill relished. As the door banged shut behind him, however, he registered shock on not just Fagin's face (or those of the boys) but on someone else's entirely.
Hers.
Her…the copper haired girl in the tattered red dress…she was here…at the den…
Before he could say a word, however, the girl in question voiced his own thoughts.
"Y-YOU?" she blurted, eyes wide as plates. "But…you…the…what…how?"
"You and Bill are already acquainted, my dear?" Fagin asked curiously, glancing from Bill to the girl and back again. "Might I ask how?"
Bill had never told Fagin about his alternate method of getting money; Fagin only paid him to pick pockets. Not to mention he probably wouldn't like the idea if he heard it and might even threaten to kick Bill out. Both of them didn't want that to happen.
"We'll 'ave no more of tha'!" Bill said quickly, his gruff tone a little strained as he tried to steer the conversation away from his fateful first meeting with…what was her name anyway?
"Who are ya?" he snarled, addressing the girl.
Fagin chose this point to re-enter the conversation.
"As I was just attempting to explain to the lads, my dear, this is-"
"I'm Nancy," the girl said firmly, cutting across Fagin and looking Bill boldly right in the eyes.
Fagin looked a little affronted at being interrupted mid-monologue but didn't say anything. He, like the rest of the gang, was eagerly awaiting Bill's reaction. What would he say, what would he do? Fagin especially was interested; they'd never had a girl in the gang before. Thus far the lads hadn't taken kindly to the idea; would Bill join them?
"Well, Nancy," sneered Sykes, with an air of immense superiority. "I'm Bill."
--
A/N: Bill and Nancy finally meet! I've been looking forward to writing this chapter for ages!
Here's hoping mini Nancy is in character! XD I thought it would be appropriate for her and Bill not to like each other at first…we'll see how things turn out, won't we?
Thanks to Katarina Sparrow 19, my dearest Nancy Buddy; your first chapter of 'Nancy' gave me a lot of inspiration for one reason or another; you rock! ^^
Please R&R people! =)
