Fearless as the Dawn

by Katie Roman

“I was waiting for you.”

  “Me? To what do I owe the pleasure?”

  Aleka lifted her chin. “You have helped me so much already, but I was hoping to beg one more favor from you.”

  Thom sat next to Aleka, adding, “Last night you said you didn’t need any more charity.”

  Aleka flushed and shook her head. “Headstrong words of a confused girl.” Thom nodded and waited for her to continue. “You already know I want to join up with the crew of the Fearless Dawn. I was hoping you might know where I can find work in Glenbard so I can put myself in Captain Blackstone’s path.”

  A slow smile spread across Thom’s face. “Your tenacity does you credit, but you are an inexperienced, pampered servant. Why would Blackstone want you?”

  “I can learn, and I’m willing to do whatever I have to. Beyond that, he’s the only one who can hurt my former employer in the same way he’s hurt me.”

  Thom’s easy smile disappeared, replaced with a crinkled brow and tight lips. He sighed. “What will you do if I decide not to give you the information you seek?”

  “Then I’ll find it another way.”

  “You’re going to get yourself killed. Look, I’ll offer my assistance, but for the love of the Divine Twins, stop being so foolish. If you’re so hell-bent on laying a sacrifice at the feet of your god of vengeance, at least exercise some caution.”

  “I don’t need a warning like a child,” Aleka snapped.

  “That remains to be seen,” Thom said calmly in the face of Aleka’s growing anger. “When Blackstone comes into the city for supplies, he always comes with two of his mates. They fly old Nareroc flags on the Dawn to avoid detection. His mates make arrangements for supplies, and then they go to Blackstone’s favorite spots. They drink at the Emerald Rose and then get some comfort at the Gilded Lily.”

  “If his routine is so known, how does he avoid arrest? The navy wants him dead,” Aleka cut in.

  “First off, the navy has no power to arrest within the city limits. Second, he makes good use of bribes, false papers, and all manner of tricks. He’s come close a few times to the business end of a noose, but there are plenty of holes for rats like him to hide in.”

  “So…I should go to the Emerald Rose and put myself in his path there.”

  Thom blinked. “You ever hear of the Emerald before?” Aleka shook her head. “You’d be safer at the Gilded Lily.”

  “And make my living on my back?” Thom didn’t say it, but Aleka knew what he meant by getting “comfort.”

  “The Emerald tavern is a dangerous place. At least Madam Alise will see you are unhurt and healthy. The best you can hope for at the Emerald is that old Joshua will see you properly buried.”

  Aleka’s mind was set, and being a common trull was no way to gain respect. A barmaid could at least demand it since she had the power to withhold ale. Aleka had seen the barmaids at the Battered Traveler command respect from every patron in the place.

  “The Emerald Rose is where I’ll go.”

  “As you say.”

  Thom provided Aleka with directions. He offered tips and warnings, but didn’t try to dissuade her further.

  “Best of luck, Majesty,” he said as she rose to leave. “Take care and stay safe.” He knocked on the table and moved off to stand near Marcus.

  Aleka went to the counter to talk to the innkeeper, who was engaged with the little girl who had come in clutching Thom’s hand. She turned big blue eyes up to Aleka. Her cheeks were red from being out in the sun, but she was otherwise very pale.

  “Jim?” Aleka leaned against the counter. “I wanted to thank you for the meal, and please tell Essie thank you for her kindness.”

  Jim nodded. “Best of luck, miss.”

  “You’re pretty,” the little girl said as Aleka turned to leave.

  “Thank you.”

  “I like your hair. It’s so long and dark and shiny. I bet it’s soft, too.”

  Aleka felt unwashed and oily, not at all pretty. Still, she offered a smile to the girl. “My name is Kunegunda.” She held out a hand.

  “Ridley,” the little girl said as they shook. “Where are you going?”

  “The Emerald Rose.”

  Jim cocked an eyebrow and shook his head. If the tavern’s reputation was to be believed, Aleka could expect similar responses wherever she went.

  “The Emerald?” Ridley put her hands on her hips. “You’ll be gutted there. A pretty lady like you would do better at the Gilded Lily.”

  Aleka took a step back. Even a child thought she should be a prostitute! “I’m not making my living like that.”

  “Madam Alise is nice, though.” Ridley grabbed Aleka’s hand. “I’ll take you and introduce you.”

  “Gods, no!” Aleka exclaimed. “How old are you?”

  “Almost nine.”

  Nine! Aleka thought. What did this girl know about the Gilded Lily?

  “Come on.” Ridley tugged at Aleka’s hand.

  Jim laughed. “Ridley, the girl doesn’t want to go.”

  The girl kept tugging on Aleka, heedless of what Jim and Aleka said. Her grip was surprisingly strong. Aleka gently pulled her hand back.

  “Your concern is sweet, Ridley, but I’ve no interest in working for Madam Alise, no matter how nice she is.”

  Ridley put her hands back on her hips. “The Emerald is dangerous,” she said stubbornly.

  “It’s a necessary risk.” Aleka offered her hand to Ridley again, giving it a firm shake. “Your concern is appreciated, young Ridley.” Before she could object, Aleka hurriedly thanked Jim again and went on her way.

  ~*~*~

  The Emerald was located on the edge of Rogue’s Lane and Seafarer’s Way. On the outside, it was of a similar build to the Angel, though smaller and not as well kept. The wooden sign above the door was almost unreadable, although Aleka could see specks of faded green paint where an emerald colored rose must once have been visible. It was hardly past noon, so the street and tavern were quiet.

  Aleka pushed open the door. Unlike the Angel that had windows to let in daylight, the small windows of the Emerald were boarded up. In the dim light, Aleka could see an iron chandelier with unlit candles hanging from the ceiling. One lone candle was lit, and it stood on the front counter. No one was around, but as Aleka drew near, she could see a cup of still steaming tea on the counter.

  “Hello?” she called.

  A raspy groan from the darkened corner caused Aleka to jump. She scanned the darkened corners, searching for the source of the sound.

  “May I help you?” a man said.

  Aleka turned back to the counter to find a young man standing by. His green-gray eyes stood out against his bronzed skin, and his black hair was close cut. He kept one hand on the counter and one under it.

  Aleka put her hands up to show she meant no harm. “You’re not ‘old’ Joshua, are you?”

  “I’m Pim, his, uh, his apprentice, I suppose you’d say. And you are?”

  “Kunegunda. I’m here for work.”

  From the dark, she heard a snicker. She turned quickly, but could make out only shadows.

  Pim didn’t say anything about the snicker. “Work? A pretty girl like you would do better at the Fallen Angel or the Gilded Lily, even the Battered Traveler. Why risk life and limb here?”

  “I want a challenge.” She had divulged her plans to meet Blackstone to Thom and Marcus only because they offered some aid, but she dared not spread her plans further. She decided to exercise some caution, like Thom suggested.

  “Plenty of challenges at the Gilded Lily,” he answered.

  Aleka curled her lip and looked at Pim. “I want to work here. I’d do better as a barmaid than a whore.”

  Pim shrugged. “Maybe, maybe not. I won’t tell you how to live your life. If you’re serious, we could use you, but it’s not pleasant work. Rowdy brutes don’t like to keep their hands to themselves.”

  Aleka crossed her arms over her chest. “I can handle myself.”

 
; The laugh from the dark sounded again. Pim didn’t bother to acknowledge it.

  “You hear that, certainly.” Aleka cocked an eyebrow at Pim.

  “It’s just Jack. Jack, stop it. She’s here for an honest day’s wage, not to be ridiculed. So shut your gob and go be useless elsewhere, you worthless drunk.”

  From the shadowy corner a shape moved, almost shambling toward Pim and Aleka. He moved like a specter issuing forth from the world of the dead. He approached them, hooded and cloaked, but beneath his hood Aleka could see an unkempt beard. It held crumbs and needed a good washing. The smell of sour whiskey emitted from him like he’d bathed in it.

  The stench made Aleka’s nostrils flare, and suddenly she could smell Halia’s blood and the burning wood of her violin. It was the smell of the Admiral when he destroyed Aleka’s world. It was the smell of a long series of “accidents”, and it hit Aleka’s nerves like a hammer striking a bell. Lightning fast, Aleka reached up and slapped the man with such force, his hood fell back to reveal shaggy, dark brown hair. He staggered a few steps away, eyes wide in shock. Her hand stung and his cheek blossomed under where she’d struck.

  “Don’t laugh at me, toad!” Aleka snapped. She knew Pim would never let her stay if she admitted her anger came from the smell of whiskey. No one would want a barmaid who couldn’t stomach the smell of liquor. She made a show of smoothing her dress, although she really just wanted to hide her shaking hands.

  Behind her, Pim laughed and took hold of her shoulders from behind the counter. He gave her a gentle shake and squeezed her shoulders. “You sure you want to serve drinks? I could use a rusher like you.”

  “A fine rusher she’d make with her soft, delicate hands,” Jack growled, his whole face turning red. Aleka hoped it was from embarrassment and not just anger.

  “Shove off, Anders,” Pim said. He released Aleka and pointed a thumb toward the door.

  Jack made a disgusted noise as he walked toward the door, and as he moved, Aleka caught sight of steel under his cloak.

  “He’s a swordsman?” she asked when he exited into the street.

  “He’s a drunken fool first and foremost, but he’s good with a blade. Better than you’d think. If you stay on, you’ll get used to him.”

  “Does he always smell like he bathed in a whiskey barrel?”

  “Sometimes he smells like he slept in a cask of wine instead,” Pim said with such seriousness, Aleka laughed. It earned her a smile. “He’s not always so bad. He’s almost pleasant when he hasn’t spent the night with the bottle. But enough of that. You want to work here.”

  “I do. Though everyone seems to think I’ll be injured beyond repair.”

  Pim rubbed the back of his neck. “Some men who like to gamble don’t like to lose. That’s why we have swordsmen like Anders keeping an eye on things.”

  “So, people have died here?”

  Pim shrugged. “People die everywhere.”

  Aleka grunted. “What’s the pay?”

  “Two coppers a night, plus any tips folk leave.”

  “Any lodging available?”

  “If you need a place to stay, you can sleep in the store room. But if Joshua catches you, there’ll be hell to pay.”

  Aleka leaned forward, resting her elbow on the counter. “Do I get to meet this Joshua fellow?”

  “Oh, you’ll meet him eventually. He leaves the daily tasks of running this place to me, but he comes in once or twice a week to make sure the Emerald is still standing. Otherwise, he’s not too involved.” Pim looked Aleka over, falling silent as he made his assessment.

  Aleka smoothed her hair and quickly tied it into a ponytail, aware how unkempt she looked. Again, she played at smoothing down her dress.

  “You just move to Glenbard?”

  “No.”

  Pim pursed his lips. “You have anything else to wear?”

  Aleka swallowed a lump in her throat, afraid her voice would crack if she spoke.

  “You know, you’re supposed to return a maid’s uniform when you leave your employ.”

  “Is it that obvious?”

  “Yes and no. It wasn’t at first. A gray dress isn’t unusual to see around the city, but you don’t speak with a Rogue’s Lane cant. You don’t speak like you’re fresh from Nareroc, either. I know some folk up on Golden Road like their servants to give the impression of good breeding, so they beat the Lane accent out of them. If you don’t speak too much, it’s not readily obvious.”

  “Then I better learn to speak like I belong on the Lane.” Is there anything I’ve done right since running from the Admiral’s house? she thought, her stomach in knots.

  “There’s nothing wrong with how you talk now. You’re not the first maid to shirk her duties.”

  “Pox and rot,” Aleka swore. “It seems everywhere I go, everyone knows I ran out on my duties.” At least none suspected she struck one of the city’s most powerful men.

  She put her hands on her hips and tapped her foot, looking away from Pim and breathing through her nose in exasperation. Aleka could project annoyance all she wanted, but her palms were sweaty and her heart raced. She was clearly doomed in her endeavor. Rogue’s Lane was littered with her mistakes of the last day. In no time, Golden Road guards would be along to drag her to the gallows. The Admiral would continue to go unpunished for his crimes while she would swing, left like carrion for the crows.

  “I imagine you probably don’t want to take a chance on a barmaid like me.” Aleka would have to go to Madam Alise and hope word of her “Queen Bitch” remark didn’t precede her.

  “First, get a new dress. You can go see Mistress Kiori; she has a shop in Serenity Place. She’s been known to make trades, and that maid’s dress seems to be good quality. She could probably use the fabric.”

  “So…”

  “You are welcome here. As I said, you’re not the first person to run from a bad employer. Just take more care if you’re hoping to avoid punishment.”

  Aleka started toward the door. “You’re not the first person today to give me that advice,” she said wryly.

  Chapter Fifteen

  Mistress Kiori’s seamstress shop was located in the Serenity Place district, on the far side of the market. Aleka didn’t relish navigating her way through the bustling area, but as she moved through, she found it was quite easy to blend in among the market crowd. She made sure to keep clear of the guards who patrolled the area. They would still be looking for her. At least Marcus had cut the indentured bracelet off her.

  Weaving through the area, past the boar fountain, beyond the stalls of goods for sale, Aleka made her way as quickly as she could to the street of stationary shops just past the market. Mistress Kiori’s was set in a row of shops, sandwiched between a notary and a tailor.

  Aleka entered the shop and found a wrinkled Nareroc woman with shockingly white hair. She sat on a stool in the middle of the shop doing needlework. Her fingers moved deftly with the needle.

  “I don’t need a helper,” she said without looking up from her work.

  “I don’t want work. I want to see about getting a different dress. Pim at the Emerald Rose sent me. He said you might make a trade for this one.”

  Now Mistress Kiori looked up. Despite her wrinkles, her eyes were bright, missing nothing.

  “My grandson seems to think I have the same penchant for charity he does.” She came down from her stool, crossing the floor to reach Aleka.

  She was small, coming only to Aleka’s shoulder, but she didn’t stoop as some elderly people did. She moved like she was as spry as a child. She pawed at Aleka’s dress, running the fabric through her fingers.

  “It’s good quality, but if I resell this, your old employer will skin me alive.”

  “Can you cut it up and use the fabric for something else? I need new clothes, and I only have a silver’s worth of coppers.” Aleka decided to keep her second silver piece quiet. She would need food and eventually her own room to rent, and every little bit would help.

>   “Why don’t you make an honest girl of yourself and return the dress to your employer?” Mistress Kiori said dismissively, returning to her stool and needlework. “A silver won’t get you one of my dresses.”

  “I don’t have anything else. I need a different dress. Pim said –”

  “Pim says many things,” she snapped, cutting Aleka off. “But he doesn’t speak for me, and I’m certainly not running a charity. If you’ve no coin to spend, be off. Earn your way like the rest of us, and don’t walk around with your hand out.”

  “You old bitch!” Aleka shouted. “I’m trying to start working, but I can’t exactly wear this to serve drinks.” She gave the skirts on her dress a shake. “I offered you a trade and the only coin I do have. You could at least pretend that a fellow human matters to you!”

  “Don’t lecture me, girl. You don’t even know what you’re talking about. You came here looking for a handout and were turned down. Now leave before I summon the guard.”

  Aleka growled, the sound vibrating through her throat. She hurried out, knowing the old bat would sic the guard on her.

  She could wear the dress, of course. No one was going to stop her from serving drinks at the Emerald Rose in a simple gray maid’s uniform. Yet, both Pim and his grandmother instantly recognized it as a maid’s uniform. Marcus and Thom knew her as a runaway indentured servant. They wouldn’t be the only ones able to piece things together.

  Aleka wove her way back through the market crowd to the boar fountain at the market’s center. The stone boar stood beneath a stone tree that forever provided shade. Aleka sat on the fountain’s edge, feeling wetness creep up from the seat of her dress. She sighed.

  “A fine mess you’ve made, Aleka,” she said to herself. She leaned forward, resting her elbows on her knees and watching the people move by. It still wasn’t too late to leave Glenbard. Trade caravans left the city almost daily. She could hire herself out to one of them. By the time they realized she had no profitable skills, she’d at least be out of the city.

  “Aleka? Aleka Akoni?”

  Aleka straightened up, looking around for whomever had called her name. Then she scanned to see if any guards were within earshot. The closest one was walking the perimeter of the market and didn’t appear to have heard her name.