Fearless as the Dawn

by Katie Roman

  Aleka spent the next three days with Essie trying to find employment. Ronald seemed happy to have all the attention on him again. This, of course, caused several drunk dancers to harass Aleka and demand answers. More than once, Jack had to escort them from the Emerald before the situation escalated. At night, Aleka didn’t sleep for fear the Admiral would burst into the Emerald and have her killed.

  Everyone she spoke to about Captain Blackstone agreed it had been at least two seasons since he had come into Glenbard.

  One afternoon after lunch, Aleka found Pim standing outside the Emerald, watching up and down the street like he was a deer ready to run from a hunter at any moment. When he saw Aleka, he moved quickly away from the door toward her. He took long strides, reaching her in a few moments. Sweat glistened on his brow and his hands trembled as he grabbed Aleka by the elbow, leading her away from the Emerald.

  “You can’t go in there,” he said with urgency in his voice.

  “Why not? I work and live there.” Aleka tried to break free of Pim, but he only held tighter, pulling her along into a nearby alley.

  “Some guards from Golden Road came looking for someone named Aleka Akoni.”

  The color drained from Aleka’s face and she stopped struggling against Pim. She knew what he was going to say. It was all over. Jack said they’d be back, and they finally returned. But to hear Pim say it was a whole different experience. It made her worst fears a terrible reality, and in a flash, she felt like she was being pulled along by a riptide. Her heart pounded in double time while her brain fought to catch up.

  I should have fled sooner.

  “Just as I thought,” Pim said as he read her expression. “They said Miss Akoni was wanted for running out on her indentureship-service, striking a magistrate, and endangering a carriage driver and a noble’s horses. They said they’d heard a young Nareroc woman was playing the violin in the Emerald.”

  Aleka shook her head in denial. If she denied it, maybe it wasn’t true.

  “Seems Aleka had very expensive lessons provided by the magistrate’s wife,” Pim continued. “Gods preserve us!” he swore. “I knew you had run from an employer, but a magistrate? And you’re not a maid, but an indentured servant?”

  Aleka grabbed Pim’s shoulders, wanting him to understand her reasons for fleeing. “They were killing me slowly. I ran, because it was either that or die!”

  Pim gently moved out of Aleka’s grasp, taking her hand and patting it gently. “It doesn’t matter. It’s against the law to break an indentured servant contract, and Joshua already faces fines for sheltering you, whether he knew who you were or not. And to strike nobility, especially a magistrate? Gods, did you temporarily lose your mind? Magistrates are the law in Glenbard.”

  Aleka pulled her hand back hard from Pim, balling her fists, ready to strike him. She managed to stay her hand, remembering that he had only ever been kind to her. He couldn’t possibly know what it was like under the Admiral.

  “They hold the law over us, but who holds the law over them? Pim, I had to run,” she said miserably.

  “When we first met, I told you that you weren’t the first person to run from an employer, but you can’t go back to the Emerald. Joshua is waiting for you to return so he can turn you over.”

  “And where does he think you are, if not out warning me?”

  Pim laughed, producing a mirthless, breathy sound. “He doesn’t know I overheard. He thinks I’m with my grandmother this afternoon, but I was in the storeroom counting our inventory when the guards came. I snuck out the back door to catch you before he could. Here.” Pim placed a small linen pouch in Aleka’s hand. “Your coin. You earned it, and you’ll need it.”

  “Pim, I have nowhere to go. I’ve been trying to find a way out of Glenbard for weeks, but it’s slow work. Where am I supposed to go?” She tied the pouch to her belt.

  “You’re not safe here, Aleka. You never were.” She cringed to hear him use her real name. “You never should have played Ronald’s violin. Didn’t you think it would draw attention? A skilled violinist playing in a dump like the Emerald? The way you talk, the way you play, the ‘Queen Bitch’ remarks at the Angel; this was a mere hiding spot until you were discovered. You were foolish, Aleka, and now you have to run again.”

  “Pim, please don’t turn me out. I can stay hidden. I’ll never play again! Just until I find a way out of Cesernan!”

  “It’s too late, Aleka.” Pim turned and walked out of the alley, refusing to look back even as Aleka pleaded for help. She sank to the ground, crying into her knees.

  Chapter Eighteen

  Aleka wasn’t sure what to do or where to go, but after only a few minutes of tears, she knew she had to move before anyone saw her. She picked herself up out of the dirt and hurried away from the Emerald. Wiping away her tears and snot, she hurried to the Angel to find Essie. Essie would help. She would know what Aleka should do until she found passage on a ship or a trade caravan out of Glenbard.

  She burst into the Angel, faint hope lending her strength. The afternoon was early, which meant the midday crowd had returned to work and the dinner crowd hadn’t yet arrived for their revelry. Even the King of Thieves wasn’t in attendance. Only the fat, old tavern keep, Jim, was around. He looked up from his work when Aleka barreled through the door.

  “No!” He pointed an accusing finger at her. “Get out of here, you miscreant!” He came out from behind the counter with a broom, waving it at her.

  “I’m just looking for Essie,” she pleaded. She put her hands up in surrender, but he continued at her with the broom.

  “Guards from Golden Road have been sniffing around here, lookin’ for a Nareroc girl who plays violin! I hear what goes on down at the Emerald Rose, and I won’t have you drawing the attention of the guards here! And don’t think you can beggar help from Marcus again, either.” He hit her hands with the broom, the bristles scratching her as she tried to dodge his onslaught.

  “Stop!”

  “Queen Bitch, indeed! You’re nothing but trouble, and I’ll not have you corrupting my maids! Now get out before I call for the guards to haul you off!”

  Aleka didn’t need another warning. She turned and ran out of the Angel, knowing she had nowhere else to turn. The thought of looking for work in Glenbard was terrifying. She knew better than to stray far from the Lane, knowing there was safety in hiding among the poor. She’d instantly be recognized on Seafarer’s Way and Golden Road, while Serenity Place and Merchant’s Way would never hire an unwashed ruffian like herself. She daren’t seek out Essie again, and who knew how Daisy would react to her current predicament.

  She plodded through the streets, head down, shoulders slouched, avoiding eye contact with everyone. She steered clear of highly populated areas where guards were likely to be patrolling and made her way to the Rogue’s Lane almshouse. At least she could get a warm meal and a bed for the night.

  ~*~*~

  Aleka woke with flea bites after a long night sleeping on a pile of hay in the almshouse. The priest who ran the house was kind enough, but she decided she was better off sleeping in an alley. At least the alley would only have rats, and not men who leered in the dark at a sleeping young woman.

  She spent the day hiding in shadows, looking for a relatively dry, hidden area to sleep for the night, eventually settling in an alley between a butcher and fishmonger. The smell could choke a horse, but it was warm and there was shelter overhead if it rained. She fell asleep just after dusk, waking to find her coin purse had been pilfered.

  The sky was a sleepy pink, shifting into a vibrant orange. She sat up, her back resting against a shop’s back wall in Serenity Place. She was still wearing the stolen trousers and one of Daisy’s old shirts. They were so filthy, they felt like they had crusted into the shape of her body. She had eaten little, trying to make her coin last as long as possible while she figured out what to do now that she was essentially unhireable. At this point, Aleka was too tired and hungry to care or cry over the s
tolen coins.

  She scratched the flea bites across her stomach. As her nails dug into her flesh, Aleka wished she could just scratch her skin off and start new. Her stomach rumbled. She thought of Halia for the first time since Pim kicked her out of the Emerald. If she closed her eyes, she could almost see her mother.

  Halia bustled around the kitchen in Lord and Lady Ghilian’s home, acting like a queen over all the other kitchen servants. A smear of flour marked her cheek and sweat shone on her forehead. Aleka could almost smell the honey and cinnamon that always surrounded Halia when she made Aleka’s favorite rolls. Halia smiled, a private smile only Aleka could see.

  When she opened her eyes, reality returned in stark contrast to Aleka’s daydream. She needed coin. Stealing a shirt and a pair of trousers was easy enough. How hard would it be to lift a coin purse? she wondered. The market pulsed with people at midday. Aleka had been jostled and bumped around enough herself. All she had to do was get into a crush of people and cut some purse strings. It couldn’t be too hard.

  ~*~*~

  The market was a press of people. She made note of the guards, but they were busy flirting with flower sellers. That was good. She needed them to be distracted. Aleka stood near the boar fountain, scratching her belly, watching oblivious people move by. No wonder there was a King of Thieves! Half the folk that passed Aleka kept their coin purses unguarded. She could do this. She had already stolen clothes – what was a small purse next to that?

  A young couple moved right by Aleka. The woman giggled into her man’s shoulder. He had his arm around her shoulders, whispering into her ear. Aleka fell into step behind them. The woman’s purse hung on her belt, though it had shifted to her back. Aleka palmed a small knife. She needed to distract them.

  Aleka pretended to trip, falling into the woman. “My apologies!” she said. In a swift and clumsy movement, she cut the strings on the woman’s purse. She also cut her fingers, but she bit back the pain and slipped the coin purse into her trouser pockets.

  “Are you alright? I tripped on a stone.” Aleka patted the woman, pretending like she was searching for broken bones.

  The man pushed Aleka back. “We’re fine! Crawl back to your filthy hole, urchin.”

  Aleka bowed subserviently and backed away. “My apologies, good sir and lady.” She hurried away, blending into the crowd before they had a chance to realize she’d nicked the lady’s purse.

  She dodged through the crowd, sneaking out of the marketplace. Now she had coin and would do a better job hiding it when she slept in the alley.

  ~*~*~

  Aleka woke with a boot on her chest. The alley was dark and all she could make out with her bleary eyes was a large, dark shape, but there was pressure on her ribcage.

  “You going to steal my coin, too?” she wheezed.

  A large hand grabbed her by the hair. “Shut up and be a good girl.” An itchy bag was shoved over her head. Aleka tried to move, but the boot on her chest kept her firmly in place while another person tied her hands behind her back.

  The pressure disappeared and someone grabbed Aleka from under the armpits. “On your feet and march.”

  “Where are you taking me?”

  “You’ll see.”

  “Tell me, or I swear I’ll scream so loud, I’ll wake the King!” Aleka hissed into the dark.

  “Scream, and we’ll shut you up permanently,” a gruff voice answered, as Aleka felt the cool steel of a blade on her throat.

  She clamped her mouth tightly shut. If they wanted her dead, she’d be dead already. They walked for about twenty minutes before Aleka was pushed into a building. From under the hood, she could tell several candles were lit.

  “On your knees, wretches,” a new voice said.

  The man who had led Aleka this far knocked the back of her knee, causing her to fall to the ground, landing hard on her knees. When the bag was pulled from her head, she saw Marcus standing before her. On her left was a haggard looking man who breathed heavily, like he was trying to catch his breath.

  “Every time a purse is cut, a house broken into, or a caravan robbed, the King of Thieves gets his dues,” Marcus intoned. He paced the floor, hands behind his back. “Both of you were seen stealing today, and yet neither of you came to the Angel to give me my cut.”

  Aleka trembled as she looked up at him. She kept her face neutral, knowing that if her emotions took control, Marcus would probably dump her body into the ocean. “I didn’t know,” she pleaded. “You yourself said I didn’t have what it took to be a thief, so it wasn’t something I could learn.” Marcus’s eyes bored into her. She wondered idly if he could read thoughts; if he could read her memories and see that Daisy warned her the King always got a cut.

  Marcus put his booted foot on her shoulder and pushed her back. She leaned back in an uncomfortable way, but she tightened her lips and refused to cry out. The pressure on her ankles was intense, but she kept eye contact.

  “I’m sorry,” she said. “Take your dues now, and next time I cut a purse, I’ll bring it straight to you, Your Majesty.” Daisy didn’t lie when she said the King of Thieves got a piece of every robbery in the city.

  Marcus put his boot down and Aleka adjusted herself, relieving the tension on her ankles. “That’s not how this works, Miss Lansa.” He leaned down to her ear, dropping his voice so only she heard. “But I know your rightful name, try as you might to hide. We had Golden Road guards sniffing around the Angel for you.” He straightened up and turned away from her, directing his attention to the haggard man. “You, Lance, have been caught before. I told you if you did it again, I would take my price from your hide.”

  “I didn’t cut no purses today,” the man whimpered. He shook where he knelt.

  “No, but you helped yourself to a merchant’s cashbox when he wasn’t looking.” Marcus’s tone was even. He shook his head and crossed his arms over his chest.

  “Take it all, then. I won’t do it again. I swear it, Your Majesty.”

  Marcus made a “tsk-tsk” noise. “You were warned, and now you will serve as a warning to young Lansa here,” Marcus snapped. “Brenden.” One of the brutes who had led Aleka in stepped forward. “His thumbs and index fingers, please. Let everyone who meets him know he crossed the King of Thieves.”

  “No, no!” Lance begged.

  Brenden dragged Lance to his feet. The other brute cut Lance’s binds and held his left arm behind his back as Brenden set to work. Lance produced such an unearthly scream, Aleka felt it all the way down to her core. She could see blood drip to the floor as Brenden’s dagger mangled the thief’s hand. She squinted her eyes and looked away, but she could still hear Lance’s screams for mercy and smell his blood as it hit the dirt floor. Though he begged and pleaded, his words fell on deaf ears.

  Rough hands grabbed Aleka’s chin. “Open your eyes, Lansa.”

  She opened them, finding that Marcus’s face was inches from hers. “Don’t take my fingers,” she whispered, her voice small against the screams.

  “I told you to leave Glenbard, and yet you stayed. I’m taking that coin purse as my due.”

  “Take whatever you want!” she cried, hot tears pouring down her face. Snot bubbled in her nose and she was aware of the warm spot spreading down her trousers. “Just leave me whole!” She couldn’t die. Not like this. The screams bore into her, driving her mad. Her heart beat double and her chest grew tight. The knife was coming for her next.

  “I’m sparing you, but only this once. You couldn’t have known, but I only give one warning. If you are caught cutting another purse that doesn’t make its rounds to me, you’ll find your pretty little hands aren’t so good at handling a violin anymore.” Marcus reached for his dagger.

  Aleka screamed and fell over, trying her best to scuttle away. She kicked out as best she could, but she resembled a turtle stuck on its back. If Marcus meant to kill her, she would do her best to fight him to the last. The smell of blood scorched her nostrils, mixing with the smell of urine.


  “I’m only cutting your bonds, stupid girl.” Marcus rolled her onto her stomach and cut through her ties. He also grabbed the coin purse she had stuffed down her trousers. “Get out of here,” he said, disgusted.

  Aleka staggered to her feet, pushing through the door and into the night. While she was inside witnessing the mutilation of Lance, it had begun to rain.

  The wind whipped her hair into a frenzy and rain lashed through her clothes. She moved through the wind and rain, crying and gasping for breath, heading for the only place she felt safe. Halia’s grave.

  Chapter Nineteen

  Aleka stumbled through the storm, making her way to the graveyard on the outskirts of the city. Debris blew around in the street, kicked up by the wind and lashed by the rain. Earlier in the day it didn’t even look like a storm was on the horizon. Now, it felt like a storm that would end the world.

  At the gates of the graveyard, Aleka was stopped by a city guard. He had a lantern with a little hood to keep it from being doused by the rain.

  “Hey!” he yelled as Aleka walked straight through the gates. “You can’t be here!”

  “I need to see my mother,” Aleka shouted over the rain. She kept walking, ignoring him.

  “You’ll have to wait until morning. Now go back to whatever hole you climbed out of, rat!” He grabbed Aleka by the arm, pulling her off balance.

  Aleka stumbled backwards a few steps, slipping in mud, but somehow managed to stay upright. The guard kept a firm hold on her. “Let me go!” She tried to break free, but he kept his hold on her. No. She would not be held again. Not by the Admiral. Not by Marcus. And certainly not by this guard.

  Aleka pulled free and pushed the guard with all her force. When he began to lose his balance, Aleka stuck her foot between his legs. The guard went down hard, knocking his head against a gravestone near the entrance. His lantern fell into the mud and was extinguished.

  She stood for a few moments, waiting for him to get up, but he didn’t move. Backing away slowly, Aleka kept her eyes on him in case he did move.