The Treachery Of A Weasel

by Robert Blanchard

  “So you’ve seen everything,” she muttered. I nodded.

  Kirra sighed. “Walk with me … I’ll explain.”

  Wordlessly, I followed her. She headed back toward the Streetside Inn, taking a different route than she took to get to the cathedral. Then, after a short distance, she walked down an alley for some privacy. I cut her off before she could begin to explain.

  “First of all,” I said, “no need to explain the robbery. I don’t condone it, and it worries me, but I know why you did it. All I want to know is about the two men in the tavern, and … the cathedral. Those are the things I’m really confused about.”

  “As far as the tavern,” Kirra began, “the less you know about that, the better.”

  I narrowed my eyes.

  “Just trust me,” she said, undaunted. Then she sighed. “But I can see why seeing me in a place like this might raise some questions.” She was silent for a moment, forming her thoughts, and her look of pain intensified a bit on her aging features.

  “My mother … always believed in the gods, especially after I was born. My father didn’t carry the same beliefs, but he respected my mother’s right to have them. Mom had always gone to church when she was young, but as she grew older, she fell away from that practice for a while. After I was born, she began to renew her faith in the gods—that was another reason she stopped being a thief. She began to attend church services much more often, bringing me with her. The church knew that my parents were thieves, but still they welcomed us.”

  She became silent again, her eyes far away, and tears began to form in her eyes. “The truth about my parents’ death is … they died in a fire. Someone set fire to our house when I was a young teenager. I …” She stopped again, and she began to sob harshly. “I tried to save them, but one of the wooden beams overhead had collapsed, and it crushed my mother beneath it. She was still alive …” Kirra was now crying uncontrollably. I sighed, feeling very deeply for her. I drew her in and held her close, trying to do what I could to ease her pain. She was clearly not used to affection like that, either, and she was hesitant at first, but she allowed me to comfort her. Finally, she calmed down just enough to continue her story. “My dad … was trapped behind another collapsed beam and some furniture that had caught fire. He yelled at me to get out and save myself. I screamed that I wouldn’t … until I saw him crying. He was scared that I was going to perish—all he wanted was for me to be safe. I knew right then and there that my mother wanted the same … everything they ever did, they did for me. And so I escaped … but not unscathed.” She pulled back the sleeve of her right arm, revealing severely burned scar tissue that ran from her wrist to her forearm. “When I got outside, I collapsed, weak from breathing in all of that black smoke, and from the knowledge that my parents were still inside. I cried, I screamed … the people that lived around us were already gathered around, and some tried to console me.”

  Kirra’s sobbing had settled a little, but she still sniffled and looked at me with red, teary eyes as she continued. “The church … used some of their gold to give my parents a proper service. It didn’t matter to them that we were thieves or not—they still tried to help us. I will never forget that. And so, when I score on particularly big jobs, I make sure to leave a majority of the gold I receive from the fence at the alter of the local church. That’s why the shabby clothing that you mentioned before, instead of the nice clothing that could surely afford if I kept the gold—I give most of the gold to a church so that they can help other people, like they did me.”

  To say that I was in shock would be an enormous understatement. I just stood there, absorbing everything Kirra had just told me. I must have stared at her for a long time, because she had to shake me out of my state of bewilderment.

  “Aidan? Are you okay?”

  I shook my head and came back to reality. Kirra was standing in front of me, her eyes still red, her face streaked with tears. I shook my head to further clear my mind.

  “Yes … I’m sorry … I—” I stammered, then made a stronger attempt to collect myself. “As you had misjudged me, when we first met, it seems that I have misjudged you as well. I still don’t condone what you’ve done, but … I now see you in a different light.”

  Kirra smiled. “So we can keep this just between us?”

  It went against everything I believed in as a knight—but then again, I never did become a knight, did I? Kirra was my friend, and I felt much closer to her then I had before. “Yes … just between us. You have my word.”

  CHAPTER 7

  The next morning, all of our rooms at the Sidestreet Inn had their doors kicked in by the city guard.

  “Arrest them! Arrest them all!” a familiar voice shouted.

  We were subdued, shackled in chains, and dragged from our rooms out into the hallway. Derrick shouted over the racket, “Hey! What’s the meaning of this? We haven’t done anything wrong!”

  “Oh, on the contrary,” Senator Tawnya smirked, her large frame pushing guards to the side. “Some of my valuables were stolen from my home last night, and the fact that it happened the very same night the Queen of the Thieves arrives in the city seems to me to be more than just a mere coincidence.”

  Derrick’s eyes widened in shock, and he glared over at Kirra, whose features were emotionless as she held her head high.

  Tawnya shuffled over and stood just mere inches away from her. “Have you nothing to say for yourself?”

  Kirra shrugged, her chains rattling as she moved. “Sure.” She then took a step forward, meeting Tawnya’s gaze evenly. “Your hair looks like horse hay.”

  The senator’s eyes narrowed in contempt.

  “But why are we under arrest?” Mirabelle demanded.

  “Because I know you are all in on it,” Tawnya growled as she took in all of us with her glare. “Every one of you! Take them away!”

  With that, we were dragged off, out of the Sidestreet Inn and thrust into a large wagon. We pulled ourselves up and managed as best as we could to sit on the benches that were on both sides of the covered wagon. Most everyone was wearing a state of shock on their face, with the exceptions of Derrick, whose normally jovial face was now scowling with anger, and Kirra, who had remained impassive. But I also noticed Mirabelle stealing glances at me, and it occurred to me that she had caught me outside skulking in the shadows the previous night. My heart suddenly lurched at the thought that she might believe I was behind this.

  Finally, we arrived at the city jails, and we were hauled out rather roughly, and dragged into the building, downstairs to the bottom floor dungeons. Senator Tawnya followed us, her head held arrogantly high. Derrick and Mirabelle squealed out protests that they hadn’t done anything, and there was no reason for the rest of us to be imprisoned, but their pleas fell on deaf ears. The dungeons were filthy, had a musty smell that was mingled with the smells of human waste and vomit. The heat from all of the bodies in the cells crammed into such a small area was stifling. Some of the inhabitants from the cells greeted us mockingly, but most were too weak to do anything but watch. We were taken to the end of a long hallway, and shoved into separate cells—one for the two women, and the other for the rest of us. When I heard the cell doors slammed shut behind us, I was overcome with a sense of helplessness I had never experienced before—up until that point, it didn’t seem like anything that was happening was real. But when I turned and saw the jailor locking the cell, and it felt like there was no escape, I couldn’t stop the sense of dread that spread through my body.

  “Enjoy your new homes,” Senator Tawnya said, cackling with glee and she disappeared down the corridor. It was a short while later when I realized that Aurora was missing.

  ***

  Hours passed, though it felt like days. The jailor brought us a couple of slices of bread and some water, but the bread was old and hard, and the water had an oily appearance to it—I couldn’t bring myself to consume either.

  Derrick had tried several times to get through to Kirra, but sh
e remained seated on the floor, staring at nothing, seemingly obvious to everything around her. Mirabelle had even tried, but she got nowhere as well. We ignored—as best as we could—the taunts from the other inhabitants around us. The only beings that seemed to greet us happily were the rats.

  We were pretty sure we could leave whenever we wanted—I had no doubt I could take the cell door off of its hinges myself—but we all knew it wouldn’t help our cause, since we were basically innocent. We had decided to wait and see what happened—the others figured that the city guard would realize that they had made some type of mistake, and eventually let us go. I, of course, knew that Kirra was actually guilty, but I was forced to keep my mouth closed because of the promise that I had made. Over time, though, the weight of that promise began to weigh on my shoulders like I was carrying a boulder on them. The more time we wasted here in jail, the more time Sirak had to build his army unchecked. Time was slipping through our fingers.

  Finally, later that day, we had a visitor. To my surprise, he was an Easterner, from a land over the Eastern Seas. He had slanted eyes like an elf, black hair, and an accent that was foreign to all of us. But he spoke Common well enough.

  “I am General Katsu,” he said, addressing us in his strange accent. “I understand you all are in here because you are accused of robbing Senator Tawnya’s estate.”

  “That’s not true!” Derrick burst out. “We were at the Streetside Inn for the entire night.”

  General Katsu’s face frowned in thought. “I admit, it does seem strange that all of you would be involved in a job as large as this, especially when your group consists of such honored company.” He gestured at Mirabelle, Derrick, and myself. “However, I understand that the Queen of Thieves is also among you, yes?”

  The crowd parted a little to reveal Kirra, still sitting with her back against the wall of her cell wall, knees folded to her chest, staring at nothing.

  “Miss Kirra,” Katsu said with a slight bow, “were you responsible for this?”

  Kirra didn’t respond.

  “If you do not respond, Miss Kirra, then I cannot help you,” Katsu said.

  Kirra didn’t even acknowledge his presence.

  “So be it,” Katsu said finally. “You can stay in there until you’ve decided to tell your side of the story.”

  He then turned his attention to the others. “The rest of you, Senator Lokesh got wind of the situation and thinks Senator Tawnya threw you all in simply for spite. You are released with our apologies.”

  Those words sent a sweeping feeling of relief through me that was indescribable. Katsu opened our cells and let us all out.

  Katsu bowed, bid us a good day and left.

  As soon as he was gone, Derrick wasted no time. “Thank you for speaking up for us and making sure we didn’t get thrown in jail too!” His words at Kirra were ripe with sarcasm. “How long are you planning to stay in there before you tell them what happened?”

  Kirra was silent for a moment, then said the first words she had said since that morning. “I know what I’m doing.”

  Derrick snorted, then turned to me. “What do we do now?”

  Mirabelle was quick to respond. “We leave. Let her rot in there.”

  The two women glared at each other.

  Remembering Kirra’s story from the other night, I had no intention of leaving her behind. “We won’t leave without her.”

  Mirabelle spun around and stared at me, her eyes incredulous. That stare withered my very soul.

  I regained control of myself and continued. “We’ll wait in the lobby until this gets straightened out. Derrick, find Aurora and make sure she’s okay.”

  Derrick nodded and left.

  Through it all, I couldn’t help but notice Mirabelle staring at me. She knew I knew something—and her look was one of disappointment, because like Kirra, I also chose to remain silent. But Kirra said she knew what she was doing, and I had to have faith that that was the case.

  More hours passed. We were all tired, hungry, and, speaking for myself, I was really beginning to get anxious. Time was still continuing to slip away from us, much like the sands in an hourglass. Kirra continued to maintain her silence, and I was beginning to get a little irritated. I had no idea what she had in mind, but whatever it was, I just wished that she would get on with it already.

  Derrick and Mirabelle left to get something to eat, and Iskandor and I waited in the jail lobby with Aurora. The young girl just sat in the chair, hands on her lap, silent and staring ahead patiently. I didn’t know what to make of that—most children her age would be complaining, but Aurora just waited.

  Finally, General Katsu returned. He glanced around at all of us and motioned to follow him. When we got to the cell, he fixed his eyes on Kirra. “Are you ready to talk yet?”

  Kirra greeted him with silence.

  Katsu shook his head, then glanced over at me. He motioned with his finger, beckoning me to approach him. I was suddenly overcome with a sense of fear, thinking that he might have known that I was out with Kirra that night, though I’d had nothing to do with the robbery. I kept my emotions to myself, however, approaching him with an outward sense of calm that I didn’t feel.

  “Senator Lokesh has told me of your plea,” he said in a low voice. “He tried to tell me why you made this request, but he made little sense. I was hoping you could shed some light on the situation.”

  As calmly as I could, feeling like I had told the story a million times, I related the details of my journey, and our need for Severance’s army. General Katsu listened with rapt attentiveness.

  When I had finished, Katsu put his hand to his chin and frowned. “This all seems very unbelievable.”

  I only nodded absently—if I hadn’t been through it, I might not have believed it myself.

  “But if you, Sir Derrick, and Lady Mirabelle stand behind the story, I have no reason to believe that it isn’t true.”

  “So you’ll help us?” I asked, excitement jolting through my body.

  “Unfortunately, that is not my decision,” Katsu said. “It is the Senate’s decision, and if I may say so, your case doesn’t look very good right now.”

  “That’s what I was afraid of,” I muttered.

  “Take heart, Lord Aidan,” Katsu said with encouragement. “Nothing is decided yet. Hold on a little while longer.”

  I nodded and started to walk away. But before I could reach the back of the cell, or before Katsu could leave, Senator Lokesh arrived.

  “Lady Kirra is free to go,” Lokesh said brightly.

  His words put me in a state of shock—I was too confused to even answer. But there was nothing holding back Derrick.

  “Really? What happened?”

  “Two thieves were spotted in the southern half of the city, and they had a few of Senator Tawnya’s valuables. The city guard is still on the hunt for them, but you all have been absolved of the robbery.”

  I glanced over at Kirra, who had a ghost of a smile on her face. At the sight of that smile, I figured out what she had planned all along—the two thieves that were spotted were the two men that Kirra had met with that night in the tavern. Kirra had given them gold along with some of the Senator’s valuables, and they became a diversion, designed to throw everyone off of Kirra’s trail.

  “We sincerely apologize.” Senator Lokesh said.

  I really wanted to tell him how needless it was for him to apologize, but I didn’t want to give anything away. Instead, I nodded as the jailor released Kirra. I thanked the senator for his hospitality (after all, it wasn’t his fault we were thrown in jail) and, our business in Longhaven concluded, we gathered the others and left the city of Severance without a backwards glance.

  CHAPTER 8

  As we walked down the dirt road away from Severance, Kirra had walked with her head cocked, arrogantly sauntering through the streets and out of the northern gates. Derrick kept eyeing her on the way out, as Mirabelle continued to eye me. I couldn’t help but be self-conscio
us through the entire journey out of the city—I didn’t like the fact that I was having to hide anything from Mirabelle. There were also the unresolved issues that had existed between us, adding to the tension.

  But as soon as we were a good distance away from the city gates, Derrick started right in on Kirra. “What in the name of the gods was that all about?”

  Kirra responded with the same thing she had said to me the night of the robbery. “The less you know about that, the better.”

  Derrick wouldn’t accept that for an answer, however. “You committed that robbery, didn’t you? That job has “Kirra” written all over it!”

  “Didn’t you hear?” Kirra said innocently. “Two thieves were caught with some of the senator’s belongings.”

  “Don’t give me that crap!” Derrick burst out. “You had something to do with that, too!”

  Kirra, who was walking ahead of Derrick, stopped and turned so abruptly that Derrick almost collided with her. “Do not pry into my personal affairs, Derrick. All you need to know is that there was a robbery, and that we’re free. That’s all that matters.”

  Derrick glared at her, then grumbled something and then stayed quiet.

  It was then that Kirra finally noticed Aurora. “What’s with the kid?”

  “She’s one of us now,” I answered.

  Kirra looked at the kid, then rolled her eyes. “Great.” Then she turned and kept walking.

  That night, it rained, so we tried as best as we could to find cover from the torrential downpour. Finally, we succeeded—a small cave settled in a valley seemingly was waiting for us. A search of the cave (I remembered our mistake with the goblin cave) revealed the cave to be not too large, but empty. There was no wood in the cave to build a fire, so we suffered through a long and cold night.

  I took first watch. No one spoke as we all sat around the cave, then one by one, the others turned in and attempted to get some rest. My gaze turned to Aurora, who pulled a little straw doll out of the pockets of her robes. She just held it, staring at it. Disturbed, I thought of all the pain and suffering his poor girl had had to endure.