by T R Tells
The young man shrugged his shoulders. “He was a cheat. Anyone willing to stoop so low and con people pretending to have fine wares deserved to be exploited. He was falsifying another person’s work of art, and work done by Hoai can never be replicated by anyone.”
Thea furrowed her brows, curious by the boy’s reaction to the Magi group known as the Horian of Audalis.
“But I guess introductions are in order. My name is Donnell, but you can call me Donnie, and you are?” He asked with his hand stretched out for her to take.
Thea stuck out her hand but immediately pulled it back, seeing dirt on her hands and looked at his clean ones. “It’s . . . Theo, nice to meet you.” She looked down. The jeweled dagger hit the side of her leg as she moved; she’d nearly forgotten it was there.
Donnie nodded. He placed his arm at his side. “So, Theo, right? You live on the streets,” he said in a statement, rather than a question.
Thea nodded. “Yeah, I was . . . sidetracked by that jewel and I—”
“Were you planning on stealing it?”
Thea quickly snapped her head up and saw Donnie’s lips pull into a grin. Her heart hammered in her chest at what he might do to her.
“If he tries to do anything, use that dagger,” a voice, harsher than the one she’d heard earlier, whispered in her ear. When she turned toward it, there was nothing there, again. What’s happening to me? Thea wondered worriedly.
“Hey, don’t panic,” he told her in a soothing voice. Thea could see movement out of the corner of her eye and saw that he was reaching into his pocket. He slowly pulled out something. “I believe this is what you were gawking at?”
Thea’s eyes grew wide as she stared at the sapphire. She knew that the jewel was fake, but she didn’t care. At that moment, the memory she had from the jewel was a connection of sorts with Dominya.
“Can I have it?” Thea asked in a hesitant whisper.
Donnie shrugged and tossed the necklace in her direction. Thea reached out her hands and barely caught the chain before it hit the muddy earth. She cupped the jewel in her hand and rubbed her finger along the smooth edges.
“I never would have even guessed it’d be a fake, it looks so real.”
She saw him moving toward her, but she did not run away.
“Yeah, that man probably would have got away with it too if I had not come along,” Donnie said smugly.
“And how do you know your stuff? You speak as if you are a Horai.”
“Well, let’s say I’ve studied up on them and I take pride in that. But not only that, If I smell bull shit, I’ll call the person out on it.” Donnie puffed out his chest and smirked. Thea couldn’t help but grin at his boastfulness when her stomach started to growl.
“Are you hungry?” Donnie asked her. He didn’t wait for a reply as he began digging into his other pocket again and pulled out a small brown sack. “Here. It isn’t much, but it’ll probably buy you rations for a week or two.”
Thea extended her hands and Donnie sat the bag in her small palms. When she loosened the drawstring around the bag, she could see silver, bronze, and round gold pieces. The coins had the Kingsland emblem printed on the front and were four centimeters in size with a hexagon hole in the middle, and around the surface, they were rigid and rough.
Thea couldn’t believe he had given her this much. From what Dominya had taught her, she knew that each silver piece was worth twenty pounds and a bronze piece was worth ten and for every gold piece it was worth one hundred.
“This is a lot of coins, Donnie . . . I can’t . . . I can’t take this from you.” Thea shook her head and held the bag out to him. Though Dominya told her to survive, she also taught her never to take handouts. It would one day bite her in the ass. “This is far too much to give to me, a stranger. Please, take it back.”
Donnie stuck his hands in his pocket and chuckled. “Don’t want it back. I’ve . . . got plenty, I guess. Besides, there’s nothing wrong with giving.”
“So, this is a handout?” She accused.
“Oh, no. You misunderstood me. It’s not because you’re poor or anything, I know you can handle yourself. I saw you take that man’s dagger.”
“Oh.” Her cheeks turned red, embarrassed at having been caught.
“But, treating you as less fortunate than me, that is the last thing on my mind,” he said. Thea couldn’t be sure, but the tension surrounding him suddenly became disordered.
“Look, I want to give this to you. I don’t know how, but I can tell you are different—like you don’t belong out in these streets, stealing or pillaging for food, almost like you were forced to live this way.”
Thea pressed her lips together and chewed on the bottom one. “Well… You aren’t wrong. I was forced into this predicament just three months ago.”
Donnie frowned and tilted his head in curiosity. “Three months ago, … You wouldn’t know by chance—Wait.”
Thea’s ears perked up at the realization in his voice.
“You said you were a boy, but you called yourself a defenseless girl. Does this have anything to do with the King’s law? You were supposed to die, weren’t you?”
As he spoke, the terror made Thea back up and grab the dagger that rested on her side.
Donnie reached out to her.
“Don’t touch me!” Thea squeaked.
Immediately, Donnie backed up with his hands in the air. He didn’t move; he just watched her.
Her eyes were slowly brimming with tears as she released the dagger from its hold, pointing it at him.
“Yes, Thea, use the dagger,” the harsh voice whispered to her, it sounded almost exciting.
“What is the King’s law?” Thea questioned Donnie and narrowed her eyes at him. “I heard some men talking about it. Does that have anything to do with The Gathering?”
“I don’t know much. All I know is that The Gathering started two years ago, and then three months ago women were carted off. They would have sold them, killed them, or given them to the Sons of Samuel.”
Donnie stared at the silver tip of the dagger and then back up to meet Thea’s glaring eyes.
Thea frowned. “The Sons of Samuel? I’ve never heard of them.”
“Well, then you're one of the lucky ones. Can you put the dagger down? I’m sorry,” Donnie apologized.
Thea contemplated what to do for a moment as she speculated Donnie’s posture. His shoulders were tense and even though his eyes kept looking at the dagger, he kept eye contact with her the entire time.
Thea nodded, accepting his apology, and put the blade away.
Donnie released a breath and lowered his arms. “Thank you . . . See? I knew you could handle yourself.”
Thea squared her eyes at Donnie who grinned at her again. She couldn’t help but smile back.
“Whatever. Well, why is it you know so much about the King’s law and have so much money on you? Why do you know so much about the Horian’s of Audalis?” Thea asked. “Even your clothes look pristine.”
“Well, I could tell you if you tell me your real name then?”
“I asked you first,” Thea craned her neck at him and rested her hands on her hips.
Donnie waved his hand with a flourish and did a slight bow. “By all means . . . ladies first.”
Before Thea could throw a sarcastic response his way, someone shouted from behind them. Thea and Donnie turned; they saw the Kingsland Guards coming toward them.
“Well, damn. Questions are over,” Donnie grinned with a quick wink.
They raced down the streets somehow managing to stay just ahead of the Kingsland Guards. When they rounded a corner, Donnie ran up the rickety steps of an old, presumably abandoned house and opened the door.
He turned to Thea and waved to her from where she was crouched behind the building.
“Theo, come inside!” he said as quietly as he could, trying to make it so only Thea heard him.
She hurried up the steps and wondered to herself what she was doing as she
slipped inside.
“We need to lay low for a little while so we can get the Kingsland Guards off our backs,” Donnie explained. “Come on, let’s get away from the door and windows.”
They found a space in the back of the house that seemed to be far enough away from the door and front windows that they thought they should be reasonably safe while the Kingsland Guards looked for them.
“Now that we’re safe, will you tell me your name?” Donnie asked.
Thea was reluctant to tell him, but since he had just helped her evade the Kingsland Guards, she figured she owed him, at least, her name. “It’s Thea,” she said with a sigh.
“Thank you, Thea. Will you tell me what happened to you three months ago? I promise I won’t tell the Kingsland Guards or anyone else who could use it against you.”
Donnie’s voice was kind, and Thea wanted to trust him. She was so tired of lying and hiding.
Don’t tell him anything that strange voice she’d heard all day whispered in her ear. She still couldn’t see what was causing it, but she was confident it wasn’t the tingling presence in the back of her head that told her it was Hel.
“Y-You first,” Thea stuttered. “I did ask you first.”
“Fair is fair, I suppose,” Donnie said. “My mother taught me about Horian’s. She was fascinated by their culture and thought it was important that I learn about them.” He fidgeted a little, uncomfortable telling this unknown girl everything about him, but he knew if he didn’t open up a little, he’d never get her to.
“My mother died a few years ago from the Ire Scourge.” The pain of his loss showed clearly in his eyes. “She was able to set my siblings and me up with a fairly comfortable lifestyle before she passed . . . which is why my clothes are pristine and why I care so much money,” he amended.
He paced around the room for a moment, letting Thea digest what he’d just told her, but she couldn’t be sure if she trusted him.
He’s not telling the whole truth, the voice replied. You can’t trust him. You can’t trust anyone.
“Now that you know who I am,” he said as he sat down in front of Thea. “Will you please tell me what happened to you?”
Thea chewed her bottom lip, debating if she should tell him anything. It could threaten her survival, but he had just given her more money than she’d ever seen before and he did help her evade the Kingsland Guards.
Don’t do it, the disembodied voice warned. You can’t trust anyone, and you know it. Thea pushed the voice aside, not letting it manipulate and isolate her as Hel had done.
“The Kingsland Guards took my sister,” Thea’s voice broke as she spoke, tears burned her eyes. “I-I ran . . . and I’ve been trying to survive ever since,” she barely bit back a sob as tears began to escape. “It’s so hard, and I’m so tired of running . . .” A sob escaped her lips and the pain she’d been trying to hold back broke through
“It’s okay, Thea,” Donnie said, taking one of her hands in his. “So, you’ve been hiding and pretending to be a boy for all these months? That’s pretty impressive.” His eyes were kind, they made Thea feel safer than she’d felt in a long time.
“Well, if you want to keep up being a boy, I’ll teach you everything I know,” Donnie said.
Thea unable to find her voice, nodded in response.
“The first thing you need to know is how to spit like a boy. It may look easy, but it takes some practice.” Donnie turned and shot a little stream of spit at the wall.
Thea blinked. She had no idea what to say. It was not what she thought he would choose as the first thing to teach her.
Thea could hear the voice laughing harshly in her head. Spitting? That’s not something that’s key to surviving, Thea.
Thea shot a dirty look at the space behind her. “Stop it,” she hissed.
“What was that?” Donnie asked.
“Oh, nothing,” Thea replied. “So . . . spitting.” She turned her head and tried it, the spit falling very short of the mark.
Over the next hour, Donnie taught Thea the basics on what he thought she needed to learn to be a boy. He taught her how to walk, move, and sit like a boy.
Thea laughed more in that hour than she had in the last three months. There was just something about Donnie that made her smile. Throughout the entire lesson, that voice kept jeering at her, she did her best to ignore it; but the voice was scaring her. She noticed though, the more she let loose with Donnie, the quieter the voice seemed, as if it was just in the background, instead of in her ear.
Eventually, they decided that it was probably safe to leave their shelter.
Satisfied in Thea’s progress, the pair gathered themselves up and went to the building.
They’d just gotten to the street when they heard shouting behind them. The Kingsland Guards were still there.
“Well, damn,” Donnie said. “So much for waiting them out.”
Exchanging a look, Thea and Donnie took off down another part of the alleyway.
Chapter Eight
The two ran down the dirty streets and made sure not to cross paths with any of the Kingsland Guards. All the while, Thea let out a light, airy laughter that almost scared her. She had not laughed like that in a while.
“Hey, Theo this way,” he said. She picked up her speed and turned the corner just as he did, but the childish antics that had previously been on her face disappeared.
“Dammit, let go!” Donnie shouted.
Donnie wrestled with a tall man in armor. No matter how he thrashed, the guard kept his tight fist around Donnie’s arm. Thea’s eyes darted away from Donnie to see that five other Kingsland Guards were standing in front of a large red and gilded gold carriage being pulled by two large horses.
“What do we have here?” A deep, monotone voice made Thea turn. “Why, oh why, is a commoner running the streets with a pound and . . . jewelry? Perhaps, I should call you a thief instead,” the guard loomed over Thea.
“What? No, she’s not a thief!” Donnie cried out at the top of his lungs.
Thea fell to her knees as they gave out from under her. She had heard stories of the Viper’s bite and the piercing glare that brought strong and fearless men to their knees. She had thought it was all stories Dominya told her so that she would behave, but now, she was in the presence of the king, himself.
King Godfrey IV climbed off his black horse. She was small and insignificant under the horse's menacing glare. When the King strode over to her in his black armor, he looked at her with disgust.
He reached out and grabbed Thea’s cheeks with his gloved hands.
“Father, please!” Donnie shouted from the background.
“Silence him, please.”
Did he call the King father? The voice whispered to Thea. I told you not to trust Donnie, and you didn’t listen. Now he’s going to tell his father all about you.
Thea looked out the corner of her eye and saw another guard near Donnie reverse his grip on the pommel of his sword, and whack Donnie’s temple with it, making him jerk forward and fall unconscious. Thea gasped and flinched from the blow to Donnie’s head but the King’s held onto her cheeks forcing her to look into the deep abyss of his eyes.
She loathed and feared him. The man who had ordered her sister’s capture.
“Pray tell, how is a street rat running about in the streets and not caught?” The question not directed at her, but the Kingsland Guards. The tension rose as the Kingsland Guards were afraid of making him angry with the wrong answer.
“No answer? Well then, you tell me, urchin. How long is it that you have survived?” The look in King Godfrey’s eyes was calculated. Even though Thea’s irises did not have gold in them, if she said three months, the king would think she was one of the many girls he had missed, she would need to lie.
“I-I’ve been living on my own for a while, your Highness.” Thea had not meant to say that last part so acidly, but that alone made the King’s lips pull into a sinister grin.
“And, how old are y
ou?”
He was baiting her, she thought. He knew that something was amiss.
Thea nodded and lied. “I’m ten years old sir. My mother died by The Ire Scourge, and my father died before I was born, in the year 650.”
“Ah, The Battle of King’s Betrayal; when I removed the Kobolds from Kingsland,” he said, in a matter-of-fact tone and released her cheeks. “You are small for ten, but then I suppose all commoner children are.”
“Sir,” one of the Kingsland Guards said hesitantly, making King Godfrey turn his head. “What will you do with the urchin?”
Again, his eyes were on her. She imagined all the things he would do to her, all the things Donnie told her the king had made his Guards do to women. She closed her eyes and expected the worst.
“Father…”
The King had turned away from her and toward the carriage, where a lanky, thin eleven-year-old boy golden blonde hair and a small roman sized nose, poked his head out the window. He had bright azure blue eyes, that were childlike — sweet, and caring. Thea’s face turned red; her heart sped up ever so slightly as she felt transfixed in awe by his beautiful ocean colored eyes.
“Angeal, get back inside the carriage.” However, the boy, Angeal, did not listen to his father and stepped out of the carriage. Unlike Donnie, the Kingsland Guards did not touch him as the boy approached his father.
“She looks petrified.” Angeal pointed out and looked up at his father. “I thought you told me that our people, even those lower than us, are still valuable.
Thea carefully trailed her eyes to the King’s face. She wondered if he would get angry or send his Kingsland Guards after the boy as they did with Donnie. Instead, he continued to look at the golden-blonde hair child.
The tense silence stretched between the King and Angeal. No one dared to say anything for the longest time. The King and his son stared at each other. Thea marveled at how he did not quake under his father’s piercing gaze.
Suddenly, the King’s booming voice made Thea jump. “Let’s head back to the castle.”
Thea wasn’t sure what had happened and considered asking what he intended to do with her, but a guard beat her to it.