by Tina Hunter
What was she going to do? She was trapped. There wasn’t much in the alley she could use to defend herself. A few crates, two doors into some business or shop and a large bin for rubbish.
The olive-skinned man appeared at the entrance of the alley and looked at her. He was with them. So he knew. What was he going to do to her?
He made a hand signal. Get down and stay. She froze with confusion.
Olive-skin turned and shouted at someone. “She’s not here. She must have gone the other way.” Then he ran away. Dorjee understood enough. He was trying to help and ducked behind the rubbish bin. From the smell, there must be a restaurant behind one of these doors. She couldn’t see the front of the alley anymore but she could hear the voices and shouts getting further away. She wondered how long olive-skin wanted her to stay here.
It wasn’t long before footsteps came towards her down the alley. Who was it? She made herself small against the bin and prayed to the Goddess Kuzu that it was olive-skin.
“Hey. It’s Dorothy, right?”
Dorjee saw him crouching down beside her. “We don’t have much time. Come with me.”
Olive-skin pulled her up by her elbow and steered her towards the alley entrance.
“Where are you going to take me to, Mister?” He stopped and looked at her.
“I’m not a mister. Just a woman trying to get by. And I know you aren’t a rogue, just an unlucky Inborn trying to get by.”
Dorjee gawked at him... no, her. A woman dressed as a man. She smiled, perhaps she would know what to do.
“My name is Lynn,” she said, “and I’m taking you to the inn I’m staying at. You’ll be safe there for the night.”
“And then what?” Dorjee was almost afraid to ask.
“Then?” Miss Lynn looked off into the distance for a moment, then back at her with a smile, “Then I think you should meet my cousin.”
Four
~Monday Morning Traveling To Swanmouth~
DORJEE SAT IN a carriage bumping along the cobblestone streets heading out of Wellspring. She stared out the window while letting her fingers trail the hem of the dress she wore. It was a gift from Lynn, to take her mind off last night she’d said.
They had found their way to Lynn’s Inn without running into the men looking for her and then Lynn had gone back to speak to Madam Gendry while Dorjee hid in the room. Lynn had come back with Dorjee’s small bag of things she’d taken from home when she ran. Lynn didn’t say how she had convinced the Madam to let her go.
At least Dorjee was going farther from home instead of closer to it. Iridan was further from her now than ever. There was something sad about that, but exciting and scary too.
Lynn was sitting in a nice green dress. She looked very pretty all dressed up. Lynn turned to catch her staring, and Dorjee dropped her eyes to the floor of the carriage.
“Don’t be shy around me. We’ve got a full day’s travel ahead of us. So here is your chance to ask me anything you’d like. If you would rather not talk, that’s fine too. I’m used to the silence.” Lynn had a nice, warm smile. It was hard to believe she was a thief. She’d told her that much when she brought her to the Inn.
“Why aren’t you married?” Dorjee covered her mouth in embarrassment, shocked at the words that came out of her. Lynn just laughed.
“I’d like to be, but I’m afraid I just can’t find a man interested in a cross-dressing, risk-taking, thief.” She was grinning, she must enjoy having someone to talk to. The men she was traveling with, the Docker plus two more she’d met that morning, weren’t very friendly to her. In fact, one of them had yelled at Miss Lynn for bringing Dorjee along, and for paying for a second carriage. Dorjee didn’t like him very much.
“Why don’t the men in the other carriage like you?”
Lynn frowned a bit before smiling again.
“Don’t worry too much about it. They just don’t like a woman being in charge. We’re on a special mission, you know.”
Dorjee didn’t know how to respond to that, so she peered down at her new dress. It was a pale green with lace trim, not very fancy compared to what the ladies at the Velvet Rose wore but it was the nicest thing she’d worn in a long time. When she had started showing her abilities to her parents, they had tried to ignore it. Pretended it was a demon infection, and they took her to a Lamshire Priest who poured ice cold water on her head and chanted in a strange language. Inborn commoners weren’t rare anymore, but her father worked with the royals and she was an embarrassment to him when he finally admitted what she was.
“So, tell me something. How did you end up at a brothel?” Lynn asked, interrupting her thoughts.
“I ran away from home,” Dorjee said shyly. There was no point in hiding it, but she worried someone would try to bring her home.
“And why would you do that? You can’t be more than twelve years old?”
Dorjee paused and tried to frame her words carefully. She didn’t want to give Lynn any ideas, just in case.
“They didn’t like what I could do. And they didn’t want to keep me. So, I ran instead.”
Lynn just nodded. “Wanted to send you to the military or the Enclave, right?”
It was Dorjee’s turn to nod. Was Miss Lynn like her? Did she have magic in her? What did she call her last night, an unlucky Inborn? That’s what her mother had called her. Unlucky to be born without royal blood to protect you.
“Don’t worry,” Lynn said, “I won’t hand you over to them. I’ve heard enough rumors to know you‘d be better living in a brothel, than with the military. Though the Enclave might be all right if you are into that sort of thing.”
“Spending the rest of my life learning and writing sigils? And not just the Imperial Standard, but every variation from every region the Empire trades with? No, thank you.” Dorjee said firmly, relieved to hear Miss Lynn wouldn’t be giving her to them. Now that she didn’t need to worry about that, she was curious about this cousin Lynn was taking her to see.
“What is your cousin like? Will he want to take me in?”
“Oh, he’ll take you in,” Lynn laughed. “Malack is amazing. He and his wife own an Inn in Swanmouth. His wife isn’t the nicest but Malack will make up for that. He loves people who are different. He has a kitchen boy that he took in just last year.”
“Was he like me?”
“No... more... a different kind of different. Like Malack.”
Dorjee was confused. How many ways could you be different? Lynn must have seen the confusion on her face.
“Don’t worry, Dorothy. I’ll let him explain, though. He’s much better at it.” Lynn turned her head to stare out the window again with a little smile on her face. Dorjee just had to hope he didn’t have fangs or something.
Miss Lynn’s kind face made her feel comfortable, and she was doing a lot for Dorjee. She should probably tell Miss Lynn the truth about her name at least.
“My name isn’t really Dorothy, you know,” she said, looking down at her feet. “But the Madam said it would be safer to have an Aguarian name instead of mine.”
“I see,” she heard Miss Lynn say, “Well she has a point. It is safer, especially if you ran away from Iridan. But I like to think of names like masks. You can use one for a time and then take it off when you don’t like it anymore.”
Dorjee glanced up and saw Miss Lynn looking at her with kind eyes. “It’s your choice. Would you prefer to keep the name Dorothy, or do you want me to call you by your real one? Or maybe something else altogether?”
Dorjee didn’t know what to think. Madam Gendry hadn’t given her a choice. She just gave her a name, and that was that. But her real name, Dorjee, would get her into trouble out here. She already looked like a Dukana, she didn’t need her name to give her away too.
“I want to be called Dorothy,” she said as firmly as she could manage. Miss Lynn smiled a big grin and held out her hand.
“It’s nice to meet you, Dorothy.”
They would arrive in Swanmouth soon. L
ynn was looking forward to seeing it, and her cousin. She’d spent many years here after her mother had died. The window showed her the rolling hills of the Aguarian countryside. She had forgotten how nice it was out here. They crested a hill and Lynn caught her first glimpse of the town since she left the year before. The river split to run along either side of homes and buildings with small brown roofs. She remembered running on those rooftops countless times.
“We’re almost there,” Dorothy shouted with her face nearly pressed to the glass. The kid was definitely better company than those stuck up boys in the other carriage. Well worth the expense. She still couldn’t believe Simon had the gall to tell her to leave the child to the authorities. As a woman who was dressed as a man at the time, they would have thrown her in jail, or worse if they figured out her thieving record. Self-preservation with a hint of altruism. That’s what she strived for. Who knew what Simon was striving for these days besides being a pain in her ass.
“Yep. You can’t see it yet, but my cousin’s inn is on the riverfront. You’ll be able to watch the steamships go by every day on their way to and from the Fort.”
It was better that the kid didn’t know where she was going or doing. Not that she didn’t trust her, but... well, she didn’t trust her. Sure, the kid had her own secret to keep but Lynn had no guarantee she wouldn’t turn on her in a minute given the right prompting.
“That sounds nice,” Dorothy said, not taking her eyes off the sights out the window. She really did hope her cousin would take the kid in. She didn’t know what she would do if he chose not to. It’s not like she could take her in. She didn’t have a home - and that rat-infested apartment in Iridan didn’t count - or a steady job or anything really to help the kid have a decent role model. Not that Malack was that good of role model. He had been the one to teach her to steal after all. Besides, Lynn was only eight years her senior.
No, Malack had to take her in. He would.
It was only a few minutes of going down the last hill before the road leveled off and the houses of Swanmouth appeared around them. There was grumpy Mr. Henderson’s farm. He had the biggest barn, but he didn’t take kindly to kids trying to climb onto the roof. And then they were onto the river road, the main street that ran through town. Its cobblestones were well-worn, but Lynn didn’t feel the large holes that usually greeted anyone driving down the road. They must have been filled recently.
Out her window was the Swan River that continued into the swamps near Wellspring. If she strained she could just make out where the river forked and the steamboats were resting for the night. She’d be going on her first steamboat ride up the rest of Swan River to the Fort; how silly to think she was excited about something so simple.
Dorothy looked excited too though it couldn’t be from the sights of the town. Swanmouth was a small bump in the road compared to WellSpring or Iridan. Lynn could see out Dorothy’s window that some shops were closing up. She’d almost forgotten how people liked to shut down as soon as the sunset. And there would be no magic street lights out here. Just good old-fashioned oil. Swanmouth was too close to Donassi territory.
They finally reached the loading docks where the river forked. The low slope of the river bank was covered in wood to keep it from turning to mud with all the traffic. Lynn could see signs of modernization since last year. There were railings now, and even a raised platform that would be for waiting passengers, no doubt. Dorothy squirmed over to look out Lynn’s window at the Steamboat sitting in the water. It was a large thing with two stories. The lower level was for cargo and supplies coming or going from the fort. The upper was for passengers.
The carriage turned down Sleeping Street — that wasn’t the actual name of the street but it was what Malack and her had always called it. It was where all the Inns lined up to get the best views of the Hem River. Malack owned one that backed onto the water and they arrived there quickly enough.
The other carriage stopped ahead of them and Lynn had to keep herself from running out of her carriage like an excited child. She was a grown city woman now. Best show her cousin that.
Dorothy and Lynn exited the carriage and Dorothy shouted at all the mud that splashed up when she jumped out. Lynn managed not to laugh at her.
“You’re not in Wellspring anymore. They let the rain clean the streets here.”
“But the streets are just dirt,” Dorothy said looking down at the ground
“Exactly,” Lynn said with a wink and led the girl inside the Rusty Duck, the name was her cousin’s attempt at humor.
They walked into a lively room full of tables and guests in various stages of eating, drinking or singing off key. It felt just like coming home should feel, warm and inviting. Dorothy looked wide-eyed and unsure. Lynn put her hand on her shoulder and gave her a reassuring smile. The kid was easy to please. Lots of smiles and happy faces and she relaxed.
“Lynn!”
She knew that voice. She scanned the room and found his bulky, grinning self rushing towards her.
“Malack,” she said quietly, though she desperately wanted to shout and jump into his arms. He was almost ten years her senior but his eyes sparkled with the mischief of a child. He grabbed her up in a bear hug, lifting her feet off the ground before putting her down and letting go.
“Why didn’t you tell me you were coming?” he asked.
“It was a bit last minute,” she said looking around her. Simon, Brutus, and Teodor were standing off to the side, without scowls for once. Perhaps they weren’t complete assholes.
Then she looked down at Dorothy’s little face looking up at them. “I have someone I’d like you to meet,” she said, pushing Dorothy forward.
“And who do we have here? I know she’s not yours. You’ve only been gone a year,” Malack said jokingly. She gave him her stop-being-so-childish head tilt, and he stuck out his tongue at her.
“This is Dorothy. I found her in Wellspring on my way here.”
“Are you collecting people now?” he said with a grin, “and who are these fine gentlemen?” he was looking much less jolly to see Simon and the others. It made Lynn happy to know he cared enough to be protective.
“My work associates. We are all traveling upriver in the morning. Would you happen to have lodging for us for the night?”
“For my little cousin? Of course. Mildred!” He shouted his wife’s name so loud over the noise in the hall, that the musician missed a note on his guitar. It made Dorothy giggle.
Mildred came sauntering over like a fog to dampen your mood. She was pretty but her face contorted into a frown whenever Lynn saw her. Even on her wedding day. She’d always been such a sourpuss, but her cousin had married the woman because of the baby.
When Malack found out that Mildred was pregnant and would be forced onto the streets, he claimed the baby was his and married her quickly. He got the Inn as a bonus. Malack had the biggest heart of anyone she knew.
“How nice. More visitors,” Mildred said without a hint of friendliness in her voice.
“Darling, these fine folks need rooms for the night. Lynn and her young friend can room in the back bedroom. The gentlemen can bunk upstairs.” The back bedroom wasn’t a room for rent here. It was for family only. Upstairs were the regular rooms. She didn’t mind getting special treatment from Malack. Mildred, however, did seem to mind.
“I’m afraid I already had a reservation for the back room tonight,” she said with a scowl.
“Don’t worry my dear, that reservation has been canceled. It’s only for one night.” Malack was looking at her sternly and Lynn read the mood easily. Mildred had her own company coming over tonight and the back room was private enough that no one would notice. Malack, knowing full well what she had meant, had just canceled her plans.
Mildred stomped off and brought back four keys. One for each of the men and one for her and Dorothy. Then she stomped off again.
“We’ll just take our leave now. I don’t suppose you bring food to the rooms, do you?” Simon
asked.
“Not out here. You want to eat, you eat with company,” Malack replied. Simon nodded his head and the three of them moved off to the stairs in search of their rooms. Once they left, Malack visibly relaxed.
“Why don’t I show you to your room and then we’ll have something to eat,” Malack suggested, holding out his arm for Lynn to take. She smiled sweetly and walked with him, motioning for Dorothy to follow.
The back bedroom was just where its name suggested, at the back of the house, but came with a nice view of the river. Dorothy immediately ran to the window to look out. Lynn whispered to Malack while she was out of hearing.
“How long has Mildred been seeing someone?”
“About six months now. Ugly man, but it’s not serious so no need to worry about it,” Malack replied keeping his voice low as well
“Six months? That sounds like love to me,” she teased.
“She better not be in love with him. I doubt it’s more than physical, though how she could be attracted to that hooked nose creep is beyond me. She could at least have a little taste.” Malack’s preference for men leaned towards the pretty boys than the hardened men who lived around here.
“What about you? Anyone you’ve been seeing?” Lynn poked him in the ribs lightly and he shoved her back with his shoulder.
“I’ll never tell,” he said with a wink.
“Fine,” she replied in mock defeat. “Will you at least tell me where the baby is? I’d love to see him.”
“I’m afraid young Dickie is fast asleep.”
Dorothy must have heard them speaking and finally turned around. She gave Malack a shy smile.
“So little dear, why don’t you tell me how you came to be in my cousin’s company?” Malack asked.
Dorothy looked at her toes and then at Lynn. Lynn took the hint.
“Dorothy was in an unfortunate situation in Wellspring due to her unusual skills and I immediately thought of you.” Lynn kept her voice sweet and light but she felt her heart sinking as she watched his reaction.