Fearless as the Dawn

by Katie Roman

  Janey from the Battered Traveler came toward her, her face a picture of worry. “Aleka! It is you.” She carried a small wicker basket and wore a dingy apron over a pale blue dress. She looked to be out running errands for the Battered Traveler.

  Aleka stood up, wiping futilely at the wet spot on the back of her dress. “Janey.”

  Janey pulled Aleka into a hug. “We haven’t seen you since Halia’s death,” Janey said as she broke the hug. Aleka stiffened under her touch at the mention of Halia. “Then last night, Golden Road guards came to the Traveler looking for you. They wouldn’t say much, but I got the impression you were in trouble. Taki has been looking for you all day.”

  Aleka took a step back. The back of her knees bumped into the fountain, providing nowhere else to go. “Taki is out looking for me?” She remembered how Taki turned her over to the guards without a fight the day Halia died. “I’m glad he didn’t find me, then.”

  “Is this about that day you rushed in?” Janey said, surprised. “You know he cares for you, but he only wanted what was best. Let’s get you back to the Traveler and get this whole thing sorted out.” Janey took Aleka by the elbow and gave her a tug, but Aleka pulled back violently as though Janey’s touch burned her.

  “I’m not going to the Traveler, Janey. Not now, not ever.”

  “Come on, Aleka. We’re your friends! Whatever trouble you’re in, we’ll help you out.”

  “The way you all helped when Halia was murdered?” Aleka kept her voice low and her posture rigid. “Back when I came looking for sanctuary and Taki handed me over to the guards without a passing thought? I was jailed because I reported her murder, Janey!” She scanned the area again. The guard was still walking far out of earshot.

  “He’s an admiral for the royal navy,” Janey said, exasperated. Her tone dropped and she moved closer, closing the gap between them so other marketgoers wouldn’t hear. “No court in Cesernan will convict him; not even of murder.”

  “And that’s exactly why I’m going to bring my own brand of justice to him.” The fight that had drained out of Aleka after leaving Mistress Kiori’s surged back. People like Janey needed to see that the Admiral wasn’t infallible. “My mother deserves justice. One slit throat for another.”

  Janey’s eyes widened and she grasped Aleka’s wrist, digging her nails in. “Have you lost your mind? You’ll be lucky if you’re just hanged for such talk! Halia wouldn’t want you talking like that.”

  Aleka yanked her wrist back and shoved Janey, causing her to stagger back. “Don’t you dare tell me what Halia would want for me! He’s the reason she’s no longer here to tell me what she wants!” She shoved Janey again, starting to draw the notice of the people around them.

  “Aleka!”

  “Aleka is dead, Janey. And he’s not getting away with that, either.” An icy calm overtook Aleka and she suddenly felt cold all over. No, he’s not getting away with it. “May the gods rot his bones,” Aleka said, mimicking the Rogue’s Lane cant as best she could.

  She turned on her heel and pushed through the crowd at a brisk walk. This moment taught her something: now she knew she could never run away and join a caravan; not when Halia’s murderer went unpunished in Glenbard.

  ~*~*~

  It was remarkably easy to steal a pair of pants and a shirt from a washer woman. All she had to do was pay a dirty street urchin two coppers to distract the woman as Aleka snatched some clothes from her basket. She returned to the Emerald Rose by mid-afternoon, wearing a pair of too-big brown pants and a white linen shirt that was too tight around the chest. For the first time in months she wore the egret necklace openly, letting Kunegunda’s symbol give her strength. She kept on her work boots and tied the pants up with a knotted cord as a belt. She kept the servant’s uniform, slinging it over her shoulder as she opened the door. When she came into the Emerald Rose, Pim raised an eyebrow.

  “That’s hardly Mistress Kiori’s normal attire,” he remarked flatly.

  “Your grandmother wasn’t feeling prone to charity, as it turns out. It would have been a fine thing to warn me she’s a nasty old termagant.”

  Pim rubbed his temples. “She isn’t always. But if she didn’t provide you with new clothes, where did you get those?” He held up a hand before Aleka could lie. “Nevermind. I don’t want to know. Look, we open soon, and I want to run over a few things with you.” He came out from behind the counter, motioning for Aleka to follow him.

  He went over to a length of rope on the wall and unknotted it, carefully lowering the chandelier down. “We’ve one barmaid, Daisy. She’s a hard woman, used to wounding hands that offend.” He went about lighting every other candle on the chandelier. “She’ll help you in serving tonight, making sure you don’t drop anything. If someone gets rowdy or handsy, you can ask for help from Seamus; he pours the drinks, or you can ask for help from Jack, he bashes in the heads. Most nights the folk around here just dice and play cards, but as I said earlier, some just hate to lose. We’ve had plenty of patrons and workers injured beyond repair because some fool couldn’t hold his liquor or his temper. If it looks like there’s going to be trouble, go to the store room and stay there. No point getting stabbed over a few silvers.”

  When half the candles were lit, Pim set to raising the chandelier back up.

  “Why not just have wall sconces?” Aleka asked. The Emerald Rose wasn’t particularly big, and even a simple iron chandelier seemed garish.

  “We used to, but then we had a few patrons decide to arm themselves with lit candles from the wall sconces. Cloth burn easily, especially when doused in rum. The buggers can’t reach these fires. Look, make nice with the gamers, but don’t encourage them to anything untoward.” Pim secured the rope for the chandelier and moved on to arranging the tables and chairs, making sure each had five places.

  “Untoward?”

  “You know, don’t encourage them to pick fights or promise anything on your person in exchange for more coin.”

  Aleka grabbed Pim’s elbow and turned him toward her. She narrowed her eyes and curled her lip. “Say that again?” she said dangerously.

  Pim rolled his eyes. “I’m simply saying what I say to anyone coming in here to work. Just don’t let anyone get it in their heads to get rowdy. Understand?”

  “Yes, I understand,” she snapped.

  Pim turned back to his work. “You’ll get paid at the end of the night, and if you still need a place to stay, the store room is open to you.” He headed back to his normal place by the counter. “Do you still have that apron that was part of your uniform?”

  “Of course.”

  “You’ll want to wear it.”

  ~*~*~

  Daisy couldn’t have been more than four years older than Aleka, but Pim didn’t lie when he called her a hard woman. She had deep lines around her eyes and mouth, and the sun damage to her pale skin only made her look older. She was pretty, but wore a scowl that dared anyone to say as such. She stood a few inches shorter than Aleka and had the structure of a giant bird, complete with a beak-like nose. Yet when she shook Aleka’s hand, it felt like her grip could break every bone in Aleka’s arm with one solid squeeze. For the first hour the Emerald Rose was open, she let Aleka trail her. Daisy barely had a kind word for the men and women who sat and gambled, but she was nothing but sweet to Aleka.

  She handed Aleka a tray with three pints of ale on it. “Too heavy?” Aleka shook her head. “Good girl. You remember the table?”

  “The one closest to the entrance. The dice game.”

  Daisy awarded Aleka with a dazzling smile, the kind the patrons would never get to see. “Wonderful. I’ll be taking the mead out to the card game in the corner. Call for help if you need it.”

  Aleka clutched the tray with both hands, afraid she’d slosh the drinks around otherwise. It wasn’t heavy, but with only half the tray full, the mugs of ale slid around precariously. Steadily, she made her way to the table by the door.

  “Sirs,” she said to the sailors
who sat around dicing.

  They didn’t bother to thank her. The next dice roll was simply too important, but one of the men slid three ha’pennies across the table for her. Aleka slipped them into her pocket, feeling them land against the coin Marcus had given her and the soapstone idol of Iuhry.

  As she turned to go back to the bar for her next task from Daisy, Jack came through the entrance. He stared at Aleka a moment and moved on, stalking the room like a lion on the prowl.

  “Heard you slapped him,” Daisy said as she took the wooden tray back from Aleka. “I hope you knocked some manners into him. Here.” Daisy handed Aleka a bowl of dried cherries. “The card game wants a bit of something to eat while they drink and play. Tell them this is all we have, and if they want something else, there’s plenty of eating houses around.”

  Aleka brought the cherries to the table, but kept Daisy’s comments to herself. A young man looked from the cherries to Aleka.

  “This it?”

  “We’re not an eating house,” Aleka said simply. “It’s the best we have. If you have a problem with it, I’m sure you can take it up with Daisy.”

  The man looked around Aleka to where Daisy kept her watchful vigil near Pim’s counter. “I’d like to avoid speaking to that doxie again. Not when we have such a fine wench standing right here.” He winked up at her and his friends laughed. “Come on, sweets, can’t you find me and the lads something better?”

  “We’re not an eating house,” Aleka repeated. “Enjoy the cherries.”

  She had just turned to leave when the man’s hand snaked out and grabbed her wrist. He pulled her into his lap and forced his lips on hers, and Aleka could smell and taste the mead on his breath. Furious, she balled her hands into a fist and knocked him in the temple. In surprise and anger, he dumped her on the floor.

  “Bitch!” He rose out of his chair, his friends squawking like a chorus of hens, cautioning him to sit down.

  The man grabbed a handful of Aleka’s hair and dragged her to her feet. She swung wildly at him, but his reach was greater than hers and her blows caught nothing but air. As quick as he had Aleka on her feet, Jack was on him.

  The rusher dug his fingernails into the tendons on the man’s wrists, forcing him to let Aleka go. Then Jack slammed him onto the table, cards flying in every direction. The man’s friends got up and backed away from the table, not wanting any part of their fight. Jack produced a knife from his belt and ran it along the man’s lips.

  “Keep your hands and all your body parts to yourself, or I’ll remove the offending part. Whatever it is. Understand?” Jack gave the man a good shake, and Aleka heard his skull crack against the wood of the table. “I said, do you understand?” he repeated in a deadly whisper.

  The man said nothing, but Aleka could see liquid dripping from his pant leg.

  “Say the words, and I’ll let you leave here intact.”

  “I understand,” the man stammered.

  “Now, apologize to Miss Lansa.”

  “I’m sorry, miss.”

  Jack gave him another shake. “She has a name.”

  “I’m sorry, Miss Lansa!”

  Jack released his hold on the man and stepped away. “You touch Kunegunda or any lady again when she doesn’t want you to, and you’ll be going home with more damage than damp trousers.” Jack looked at the man’s friends, who in a cowardly display, were heading for the door. “Fools, take him out of here. Maybe drop him in the fountain to get the piss smell out.”

  As soon as the group of men were gone, everyone else returned to their games as though nothing happened. Pim came out with a bucket and cleaned up the urine puddle without saying a word.

  “Thank you,” Aleka said as Jack breezed by her, heading for the entrance.

  “Hit him harder next time,” was all he said as he left the Emerald.

  The other patrons didn’t seem to care that a man had come close to having his lips removed. Aleka wrapped her arms around herself, looking around for a sympathetic face. She knew her hair was a mess, but she couldn’t be bothered to smooth it down.

  Daisy came over from the bar. “Kunegunda.” She took Aleka by the elbow and led her out of the common room and into the store room.

  Aleka leaned against a barrel, using it to support her. She could still taste the mead from the bastard’s breath on her lips. She kept her arms wrapped around herself protectively.

  Daisy rubbed Aleka’s upper arms. “Are you alright?”

  “I expected someone to try to stab me, not force himself on me! Honestly, I’d rather he tried to stab me!” She flapped her arms, knocking Daisy’s hands away.

  “I know you’re upset, but trust me, getting stabbed is a bit worse than a drunken kiss and a hair pull.”

  “Everyone told me to steer clear of this place. I should have listened.”

  “Goodness, girl.” Daisy took a firm hold of Aleka’s shoulders and gave her a shake. “This is not the end of the world.”

  Aleka sank down to the floor, dejected. Her back dragged against the barrel, feeling it scrape against her skin, and she brought her knees to her chest. She could still taste the mead. She could still smell the whiskey. See Halia’s blood. Smell her burning violin as the smoke threatened to choke her.

  It wasn’t the end of the world. The world had already ended.

  “Jack wouldn’t really take his lips, you know,” Daisy continued. “He just wants to scare the knaves into behaving. Daisy nudged Aleka’s knee with her foot. “You seem like a sweet girl, but if you’re going to go to pieces every time a drunk man handles you, then you best find work elsewhere.”

  Aleka’s head snapped up. If she left the Emerald Rose, she’d never meet Captain Blackstone. She slapped Jack for nothing more than smelling like whiskey, and then she went to pieces over a drunken fool’s offense. She hit him, but no guards were called. This wasn’t the Admiral’s home, and she could hit anyone who hurt her. Moving on unsteady legs, she rose.

  “This is a bit different from my time up on Golden Road.”

  Daisy pursed her lips and shook her head. “Get used to it. And a word of advice: don’t stand within arm’s length of these idiots. I’ve had a few get fresh with me.” Daisy turned and headed for the store room door.

  “What did you do?” Aleka fell in behind her.

  “Hit ‘em with my tray.”

  ~*~*~

  The other patrons must have felt sorry for Aleka, because she made nearly a whole silver in tips over the course of the night and no one else tried to kiss her. As the night wore on, the Emerald became a raucous place stuffed with gamblers. A fiddler came in, bringing with him couples who wished to dance. When the three o’clock hour was called, the Emerald was blissfully emptied of patrons.

  “A calm night,” Pim said as he took Aleka into the store room. He brought some blankets with him, laying them on the floor, making her a little nest. “I hope you’re alright.”

  “I am. And I know now what to expect of these louts. I won’t break down again.”

  Pim shrugged. It was a fluid, almost impulsive move, Aleka noticed. “You had the wherewithal to smack him upside the head. That’s something. But I’m sorry it happened. I try to keep my people safe, but sometimes these things happen.”

  “And that’s why you have Jack.”

  Pim nodded and leaned up against the door frame to the store room. “He’s brutish enough to scare people into behaving before the thought to misbehave crosses their minds. And for those few too stupid to behave, well, he scares them into never stepping out of line again. I sleep here, in the little back room if you need anything.”

  “I do have one question. The fiddle player…does he come here often?”

  “Almost every night. Why?”

  Aleka sat down in the nest of blankets, trying to find a comfortable spot. “I know how to play,” she started. “I thought perhaps I could play a tune tomorrow.” She hadn’t given much thought to it, but as soon as she heard him drag the bow across the strings, h
er fingers itched to play.

  “Ask him, but remember that your first duty is to serve our patrons. If he allows you to play even one song, it cannot interfere with your duties to me. Now,” he leaned back, cracking his back, “it’s bed for me. Goodnight, Kunegunda.”

  “Goodnight, Pim.”

  Pim left, taking the candlelight with him. Aleka lay down in the dark. She closed her eyes and was asleep in moments.

  Chapter Sixteen

  Aleka used her earnings from the night before and went to the Rogue’s Lane alms house when she rose. Since his grandmother refused to help, Pim had suggested visiting one because they often sold tattered clothes for cheap. It wasn’t much, but Aleka was able to find a brown skirt and gray tunic that fit well enough. They were both a bit loose, but it gave her a change of clothes from the ill-fitted shirt and pants she’d stolen the day before. In an effort to rid herself of any evidence she’d worked on Golden Road, she left her maid’s uniform at the alms house.

  After visiting the alms house, she met Daisy in the market for the midday meal. Daisy had insisted on it since Aleka had to sleep at the Emerald.

  They sat on the lip of the fountain enjoying skewered, spiced chicken and roasted squash. Daisy also had a flagon of watered down red wine, but Aleka declined. She almost asked Daisy to put it away entirely, but kept the thought to herself.

  “So, why’d you run from Golden Road?” Daisy asked as she nibbled at a piece of meat. Grease dribbled down her hand and she cursed.

  It was no secret; Aleka had stopped even trying to hide it. Everyone knew she had been a maid. At least no one truly seemed to care about it.

  “I worked for a terrible man,” Aleka said simply.

  Daisy raised an eyebrow. “He didn’t…take advantage….” She searched for tactful words and Aleka felt her face grow hot.

  “No; he didn’t take advantage of me, or to my knowledge, the other maid. He was just a drunken brute who liked to hurt people.”