by T R Tells
“The girl is still a thief, sir. Should we not throw her in the cells?”
King Godfrey turned around and looked down at Thea, who was now slowly rising to her feet.
“Leave the orphan child be. Street rats won’t survive for long. I have no worries.” The King’s gruff and uncaring tone made Thea stare him down. A hatred settled inside of her. She wanted nothing more than to quench the burning anger in her chest with his blood on her dagger.
“Angeal, come,” the king commanded the boy but Angeal looked at Thea for a moment, the look in his eyes seemed to ask if she was alright. He did not have time for Thea to respond as King Godfrey shouted his name with force and vigor. “Angeal, Now!”
As Angeal scurried off, Thea focused on the King’s back as he headed to his horse. She wasn’t sure what it was, but a gold cord circulated the King’s torso.
“I hope you die and rot in the very place that spawned you.” Thea snarled the words in a blind fury. King Godfrey sat upon his horse; a look of boredom crossed his face.
“I’d hold my tongue if I were you,” he told her before snapping his fingers. “It could get you killed.”
At the King’s command, a Kingsland Guard appeared by Thea’s side and he towered over her, menacingly.
“Let’s hope this kills you.” With one fell swoop, the knight brought the butt of his sword down on the side of Thea’s head. She gasped as she lost her breath and lost her footing. The cold earth sunk into her skin, while the warmth of her blood ran over her like a crimson blanket. Her vision was blurry as she could no longer see the Kingsland Guards nor the King’s dark expression. Instead, she focused on the pieces of coins that lay scattered on the ground.
At least they didn’t take it, Thea’s thoughts echoed in dark humor. Maybe I’ll finally die this time. This life isn’t for me.
Her vision slowly started to fade.
What a cunt he was. If only I could gut his ass . . . I hope Donnie will be alright.
She was fading quickly and wasn’t sure if she was hallucinating, but she felt cold droplets gently caressing her skin before they began to pelt her furiously.
Rain . . . again. How is it every time the Kingsland Guards assault me it rains?
“Aye, if you aren’t the dumbest, bravest, and the most foolish person I ever met or skin me alive.”
Eddie?
“Yeah, it’s me. The Kingsland Guards did a number on you, huh?” She heard him chuckling. She saw his dirty hand reach out and grab the gold pieces from the ground. Would he leave me?
As if he had heard her thoughts, he responded with a snort, “No, I’m not leaving you. Maggie would haul my ass if she found out. I was watching the whole time, waiting till the Kingsland Guards left before I helped you . . . Well, if you were still alive, that is.”
Eddie lifted her into the air and nestled her on his back.
“Now, stop talking. Just focus on not bleeding out.”
Thea parted her lips to speak but tasted the coppery blood in her mouth before talking, “Shut-up, Edward.” Thea managed to taunt with a feeble grin reaching her lips. Thank you, Eddie. She was irritated but relieved as she lost consciousness.
Chapter Nine
Thea slowly opened her eyes and found that she was back in the abandoned house. She turned her head to the boarded window. Aside from a small stream of sunlight that slipped through the cracks, Thea couldn’t see anything outside.
She narrowed her eyes at the slit where the sunlight was coming from, as she tried to recall the events that happened before, she wound up in bed.
I was with Eddie . . . And I was almost convicted of stealing and then . . . A black-haired boy, Donnie, was it?
“Donnie . . .” the name slowly slid out as her brain and connected it to a face; remembering him made the memories slam back into her: That’s right, I encountered the King. King Godfrey.
“Thea?” Maggie’s voice cut through the silence and interrupted her thoughts. Thea slowly turned her head to see Maggie standing in the middle of the doorway with a tray in her hands and a hesitant smile on her lips. “You’re awake!”
Thea swallowed and cleared her throat before she spoke. “Barely. I can hardly move my body.” An aroma hit her nose, and her mouth watered. “Is that food?” Her stomach growled so loudly it sounded like an angry animal.
“Eddie, she’s awake!” Maggie shouted at the top of her lungs before entering the room. “We, uh, bought some food with that money you had. I hope that’s alright?”
She sat the tray down on a dresser that was near Thea’s bed. The wafting smell of sausage filled Thea’s nose. It reminded her of the times she would wake up in the morning to eat breakfast with Dominya.
“No, it’s okay. I would have given it to you all regardless. There’s no sense in keeping it all to myself,” She turned her head to see a ceramic bowl sitting on the table. “So, um, what’s in there? It smells delicious.”
“It’s eggs, sausages, and rice! There’s enough for everyone, and it can last us for at least two or three weeks, and it’s all thanks to you, Thea,” Maggie told her smile lit up her face. She grabbed the bowl and spoon from the table. “Do you think you can sit up? I could help feed you.”
Thea nodded as she placed her arm down on the bed and gritted her teeth, forcing her body to sit up.
The movement was agonizing and after a few hours of being unconscious her joints popped. Her head felt like several knives were piercing her skull. Her heartbeat gave off a deep and loud thump every few seconds. When she finally pressed her back against the headboard, she was sweating and panting heavily.
She turned to look at Maggie, whose face contorted in worry. Thea gave her friend a feeble grin, trying to ignore the agonizing pain that made her body feel like it was on fire. Maggie took the hint and began to spoon food into Thea’s mouth just as someone started laughing from the doorway.
“Wow, you look terrible.”
Thea trained her eyes on Eddie and shook her head. She would have stuck up her middle finger if her arms were of any use, she settled with a scowl.
“Shut up, Edward. I’d kick your ass if I could.”
Eddie walked into the room and leaned on the side of the bed with his arms crossed over his chest.
“Yes, just like you showed those Kingsland Guards, our hero,” he said, raising the back of his hand to his forehead dramatically.
“Eddie!” Maggie shouted. Eddie turned his head to meet her glare. “Thea could have been thrown in jail or worse, and you're going to sit there and mock her? Do you seriously have no shame!”
Eddie didn’t say anything and casually shrugged.
Not wanting to spoil the mood Thea spoke, “Maggie, it’s okay. You know how much of an asshole Eddie is.”
She coughed several times and jerked forward a little bit. As Maggie sat up and patted Thea’s back, pain stabbed her sides.
“Are you okay? I’m going to get you some water . . .” She stood up and turned her attention to Eddie, glaring at him. “Be nice.” She enunciated.
Thea grinned. She closed her eyes and rested her head on the headboard.
“Thanks,” Eddie finally said when Maggie left the room.
Thea’s eyes shot open, and she sat up to look at Eddie whose head was tilted down.
“Thanks for what?” Thea asked. She began to get a weird vibe from him. “Are you okay, Eddie?”
He huffed. “You’re really going to make me say it,” he mumbled under his breath and met her eyes. With a frown, his eyes narrowed at her in anger, but they were also glassy and filled with sadness.
“Eddie?”
“Look, I didn’t want to say this in front of Maggie, or any of them, because if . . . If they see that I let my emotions get to me so easily, they won’t look at me as a leader.”
Thea frowned. “And . . . what does that have to do with me, exactly?”
Eddie groaned loudly and plopped down on the wooden seat Maggie had left next to the bed. He grabbed the bowl fr
om off the table and started digging into it with the spoon.
“If you put that anywhere near my mouth, I will bite your fingers off.” Thea threatened when he began reaching toward her with the spoon full of food. Eddie placed the spoon back in the bowl with a sigh.
“You were very stupid, speaking to the King, and befriending the bastard prince…” Thea’s ears perked up at the word. She recalled Donnie calling the King father. “But, despite all of that you managed to keep your cool under the pressure of the Viper King.”
“You were there?” Thea asked.
Eddie nodded. “Yeah, I was looking for you but when I saw the confrontation, I hid around the corner. I know, I’m a coward and I hate myself for it. No matter what your actions were, you saved everyone.”
Thea shrugged, flinching at the pain.
“Don’t give me that,” Eddie said. “The point is that you were brave enough to go through all of that. I wouldn’t have been able to do Thea. But I guess what I’m just trying to say is that I’m glad that you’re here.”
“Even if it was to save your ass, huh?” Thea grinned, ignoring the pain that came with it. She could tell how much effort it took Eddie to try to form an apology; and despite how much she enjoyed making him squirm, she took his hand. He frowned in surprise and looked down at their hands.
“You’re an asshole, Eddie, but you aren’t a coward. You’re the leader of the Forty Little Thieves. Everyone needs you. I’m just glad I could help. Everyone looks up to you no matter what, even me.”
Eddie’s hand tightened around hers, which hurt, but he looked at her with a hesitant smile on his face. “Thanks, Thea . . . I guess. I’m glad you are here, but you know I’m still going to be a dick to you. You know, for appearances and all.”
Thea rolled her eyes and released his hand; she shook her head as Eddie started laughing. Thea gingerly raised her hand and stuck up her middle finger.
“Oh, shut up, Eddie.”
“Ah, so you’re finally saying my name right, huh?” He said with a coy smile, leaning forward. Thea put her hand on his forehead and playfully pushed his head backward.
“In your dreams, I can’t wait to tell Maggie that you actually opened up.” Thea chuckled, as Eddie’s face turned beet red.
“You aren’t really going to tell, right?”
Thea only laughed.
Maggie stood outside the room and held a pitcher of water for Thea. She hadn’t meant to eavesdrop, but she didn’t want to interrupt their conversation. She wanted Thea and Eddie to get along and a smile lit up her face when she heard them playfully teasing each other.
Part Two
Chapter Ten
The Month of Rainbloom, Year 661 of Ya’skr
For four years, Thea lived with the children who called themselves the Forty Little Thieves. She learned everything that she needed from pickpocketing to lying to not getting caught. Thea felt like she finally had a family. She was surviving.
"I'm doing as you promised, Dominya . . . I'm surviving," Thea said to herself. She sat in front of a mirror, doing her hair. In that time, her close-shaven head had grown into a tight, curly afro. Most days it was hard to maintain, but Thea managed to grip the edges of her short afro to braid it back.
She needed to keep the appearance of a boy, but now that she was fourteen years old, her breasts had developed, and she had to bind her chest to keep everything in place. She didn’t know how long she would be able to keep up the act without people noticing her; even her hips started to turn on her body, making them more curvaceous, and her thighs slightly thicker.
There was a knock on the door right before it creaked open.
She looked in the mirror, and she saw that it was Maggie. They were both the same age, but she hadn’t changed too much in the last couple of years, except her hair was cut shorter, it was now ear length and slightly curly at the ends.
"Are you almost ready, Thea?"
Thea made a noise of confirmation finishing binding her chest before slipping on her shirt. “Yes, can you help me braid my hair? I always get my fingers knotted.”
"Sure." Maggie walked over and grabbed the ends of her hair as she gently tugged the loose strands one after the other until they formed into braids that came down to her neck. “Maybe we could cut your hair too.” She could see Maggie grinning from ear to ear at the thought.
"I think I’m fine with my hair this way,” she paused for a moment. “I’ve never been good with braiding. Dominya usually did that and it makes me feel a little closer to her and I think about all the times she would fight with my hair because it could never be tamed."
Maggie grinned. “Well, now you can have new memories with me tugging your hair. Don’t be surprised if I threaten it with a knife to chop it off."
The girl’s laughed together at Maggie’s joke and there was silence for a few moments as Maggie was braiding. Thea looked in the mirror and saw Maggie’s lips downturned, she furrowed her brow and stared into the mirror until Maggie met her eyes.
“What?” Maggie questioned.
"What’s wrong?" Thea asked.
Maggie stopped braiding, braiding only one side of her hair, and pursed her lips in thought.
"I’m just worried about you going out; when you were on lookout duty, you passed out and if no one hadn’t checked on you, who knows what would have happened. Eddie was pretty upset we could have been found out, but I know he was worried about you like I was. I still don't know what that all was about."
Thea noticed the worry in Maggie's eyes. She knew about that night when she had become immobile and couldn’t move an inch of her body, at first, she thought she was dreaming but the more she thought about it, it seemed too vivid to be a dream. The sky turned red and it looked like there was some kind of black hole that was forming in the sky. She was curious to believe that it could be a vision, the iris in her eyes had a hint of gold, not enough to see up close but it was proof the start of her powers.
But she didn’t want to freak out Maggie and scare her. She hated keeping secrets and hoped that the guilt would slowly ease away.
"I'm alright, Maggie, I promise. I didn’t get enough sleep, that’s all." The lie burned on Thea's tongue.
She began braiding again and softly sighed.
"Okay, just know that you can tell me anything, Thea. We're family now; and well, families don't keep secrets."
Thea nodded. Deep down, she felt terrible. She wanted to tell Maggie right then and there, praying that nothing would happen to her, but a conversation with Dominya slowly resurfaced:
"You must never tell anyone that you are a Roma, Thea."
"Why not, Dee?"
"Because Magic is a sin to those who do not possess or understand it, and for that, Mundanes will always fear what they do not understand."
But Maggie isn’t some Mundane, she’s my family. Thea thought to herself. She just needed the right time to tell her.
When Maggie finished braiding, Thea stood up and turned to look at Maggie. Thea wrapped her into a hug and held her close; Maggie reacted by wrapping her arms around Thea's waist.
". . . I promise I’m fine, Maggie. You don’t have to worry, but when the time is right," Thea whispered into Maggie's ear. "I know that seems weird, but it's for your protection because you are my family. The only family I have left, I need to make sure I’m not putting anyone’s life in danger."
Maggie's chin rested on her shoulder and her arms tightened around her waist, she nodded in understanding.
"Okay, I understand Thea."
The two separated and Thea grinned awkwardly, wiping away a tear that had escaped.
"Thank you for understanding, Maggie."
"Of course. You're my sister, Thea. I trust you with my life. Now, we should get going you know how Eddie gets when we make him wait."
Thea rolled her eyes and started to follow Maggie out the door, but she stopped abruptly. Her body grew warm, her head hurt, and her vision grew blurry as she started to have a vision,
again.
Like before, tears poured out of her eyes as images slowly started to zoom through her mind. As she tried to make out each one, it made her head throb. When a Magi had a vision, they were never concise and presented in vague images and quickly moving scenes.
An image began to zoom into focus.
She saw a crowd of people, most likely in Kingsland, and saw the kingdom in the background. They all were looking at something in fear.
The Kingsland Guards were in the distance, they ran over to a burning house. The bright orange fire encased the building in a wall as smoke rose into the sky. The vision shifted Thea was now inside and utter despair coursed through her body as she saw someone’s hand stick out from under a pile of debris.
As the vision faded out, cold sweat trailed down the nape of her neck. Despite it only being a premonition, it felt real and utterly terrifying. She wanted to know who that hand belonged to and why she had been inside a burning building in the first place for it was too large to have been Maggie’s.
Blood oozed from her nose and she wiped it with her sleeve. She was grateful she was conscious and did not have a headache; however, Thea could not shake the agonizing dread at the sight of the fire.
Even now, she smelled soot in the air and felt the heat of the flames. She didn't know if she knew anyone inside of the building but felt tears stream down her face. She closed her eyes tight, hoping to stop the tears from coming. Thea did not understand what it was or what it meant. She desperately wished for someone to guide and help her make sense of these visions.
Chapter Eleven
"Thea, are you ready?" Maggie asked Thea.
After a bit of goading and urging Maggie to let her go, she finally stopped panicking and they were out on the streets of Kingsland with another girl from the Forty Little Thieves.
"Are you sure you’re alright?" Maggie asked, again with a serious expression on her face.
Thea gulped and slowly nodded. She managed to push the images out of her mind and tried hard not to think of them.