by Ren Cummins
Rom tried to speak, but her mouth was too dry and wasn’t working right – panic struck her, a cool sweat breaking across her brow.
Suddenly, everything seemed to slow down; the people moving past her seemed sharper and more in focus – sounds became hollow, like listening through the end of a long and empty hallway. Abruptly, there was another man who passed directly in front of her. His long brown hair was pulled back into a thick braid at the base of his head, and his thin, delicate face was accented by an equally elegant beard, neatly trimmed along his jaw line.
He wore a dizzyingly embroidered frock coat which had apparently been repaired several times with dramatically mismatched patches. He had pulled a narrow piece of paper from one of the interior pockets of the jacket; it looked like the cards the Matrons often used to help them with memorization. The paper flashed for a moment, then dissolved in his fingertips. He glanced briefly over his shoulder, towards the man and the woman, and then back to Rom.
“You and your friend must leave – now!” he said. Although there was nothing intimidating about him, his voice carried with it enough intensity that Rom didn’t pause to consider his suggestion. Without another word, she ran, dragging a confused Kari with her.
They turned back down the street that led to the market and bolted into the nearest alley. Shushing Kari’s protests, Rom sped along, turning again at the first left and practically leaping behind a large stack of wooden crates by the loading dock of Carstin’s Mercantile. Kari blinked, looking around her in confusion.
“What’s going on, Rom?” Kari whispered, rubbing the arm Rom had nearly pulled from its socket. “What are we doing here?”
“I don’t know,” Rom said honestly. “I’m just having a really weird day.”
“I noticed. What is it?”
But Rom couldn’t put her finger on it. “It’s just…. It feels like I’ve seen this all before. It sounds crazy, I know.”
Kari nodded. “As crazy as me hearing music that you don’t, I guess.”
Rom shook her head. “But anyway,
“Didn’t you see those two, the two who were chasing Cousins? The well-dressed ones?”
“What? No, I didn’t… oh, wait, the man with that wheel-thing and the woman?”
Rom nodded, catching her breath. Had Kari not seen the strange man in the long jacket? Had she seen him? It felt strangely muddled in her head – she’d have to figure that out later, she decided. “The woman, she had a gun on her belt.”
“A… a gun?” Kari whispered, her eyes widening to saucers. “Are you sure?”
Rom’s white curls shook with a nod. “Pretty sure.”
A whisper from behind them nearly made them both scream. “Yeah, Molla always carries a gun.”
“Hang it, Cousins!” Rom spat. He was holding the door open just a few inches, peeking out at them.
He ignored the venom in her voice. “Come on, you little scamps, get in here before they see us.”
From the safety of a small backroom, they kept watch on the alley for several minutes through a crack in the door before feeling it was safe enough to sit down. Kari wrinkled her nose at the smell of salted fish and the assorted jars of variously-colored cooking ingredients. Eventually, Cousins breathed calmly and closed the door, motioning for them to sit on some of the scattered barrels.
“Okay, Cousins,” Rom sighed. “What did you do now?”
He rolled his eyes. “And they say small talk is a lost art.” Turning to Kari, he extended a hand. “We haven’t properly met. I’m Cousins. And you are…?”
Kari looked to her friend first, waiting for an approving nod before accepting the offered hand. “I’m Hikari, but everyone calls me Kari. You two know each other?”
Rom shrugged. “I used to sneak out a lot, and he helped me out once when I got caught. He knows a lot of people in the town.”
“I’m related to a lot of people,” he said, feigning modesty. “I’m sorry about earlier. I usually try to make a much more pleasant first impression, but…”
“But people were chasing you,” Rom said dryly.
Cousins shrugged. “It happens sometimes.”
“It happens a lot,” she pointed out. “You like trouble, don’t you?”
“Said the rain to the river,” he quoted.
Kari leaned closer to Rom and whispered, “He talks funny.”
“He thinks he’s an old man,” Rom explained teasingly. “You get used to it.”
“If you’re fortunate,” he smirked. Turning his attention back to Rom, his tone became less playful and much more serious. “Ordinarily, I would defend myself against your blatant besmirching of my reputation, but in this case... I’ve got a deal in the works, and those two are trying to beat me to the seller. Literally.” He glanced around the storage room. “I’ve got a few places like this around the town, I never know when I’ll need to hide out while people’s heated moods cool to a reasonable degree.”
Kari rubbed her forehead, looking back to Rom. “How long are we going to have to hide here? We have to run that errand for the Matrons.”
Cousins’ brow furrowed. “I’ve got a few things to attend to myself, which, sadly, I won’t be able to do until Favo and Molla lose my trail.”
“What’ll they do if they find you?” Rom asked.
“Well, not shoot me, if that’s what you’re worried about.”
“I wasn’t,” she smirked.
He rolled his eyes. “Nice. No, they’re just trying to get their hands on this.” Reaching into an interior pocked of his jacket, he pulled out a small wooden box, roughly the size of his palm. It had a pair of brass hinges on the back and a tiny lock on the front latch.
Kari’s eyes lit up. “That’s it!” she gasped.
“What?” the other two children asked.
She looked at them both, confused. “Can’t you hear that?”
Rom searched the room with her eyes. “What, that sound you were talking about earlier? That…singing or whatever?”
Kari nodded. “I can hear it clearly now. It’s definitely coming from that box.” She leaned closer to it. “What is that?”
“I…” Cousins began, but shook his head. “Okay, I’ll tell you.”
The two girls leaned closer as Cousins looked around the room to make sure they were alone.
“I don’t know.” He whispered, winking. Chuckling at his own joke, he added, “I don’t ask questions like that. That’s the key to how I do business: discretion, ladies. Discretion is the watchword.” Seeing their annoyed expression, he clarified. “I do things for people and don’t ask questions. Often, that’s why they ask me to do business for them a second time.” Removing his cap, he ran his fingers through his hair and replaced the cap, adjusting it precisely.
Rom’s eyes narrowed. “Did you steal that, Cousins?” she hissed.
Coyly, he pointed upwards, “No, this hat is mine. Got it in a good trade with a fellow works in one of the smithies, needed a better canteen…”
“The box!” Rom added, cuffing him in the shoulder. “Did you steal the box?”
He waved his hands emphatically. “No, no, of course not. Technically, it’s not stealing, when you take something from the person who stole it from another. A cousin of mine is a Constable; I can have him explain it to you if you like. I’m simply saying that sometimes people like to have things taken care of without a lot of undue attention or fuss. And whatever this is, my client arranged for it to be purchased and delivered to them safely, securely and anonymously. And by purchased, I mean providing me a generous finder’s fee.”
“Can’t be too anonymous if you’ve got people chasing you,” Kari said.
“Yes, well, that has become a problem. Somehow Favo must have figured out that I’ve been asked to play the role of courier, and he wants his hands on it. I may not indulge in petty theft, but he has no such qualms. If he’s after me, he’s not going to be happy until he tracks me down and takes this from me.”
His eyes flashed
, and Rom had the sinking realization that he’d just had an idea which involved them.
“What?” she asked suspiciously.
He grinned. “I have an idea. Girls,” he said, his grin broadening in a way which only served to make them both feel even less comfortable, “I have a deal I’d like to offer you.”
Chapter 7: The Deal
By the time they returned to the Orphanage, the courtyard was back in shadow, and the rest of the children had already begun afternoon chores. Rom and Kari delivered the packages to Matron Maritia and quickly ran back up to the top floor dormitories. They had a few minutes before the Matrons would come looking for them and set them on whatever tasks they would be assigned.
The orphanage had two long rooms on the third and highest floor, which were simple and featureless beneath the exposed eaves of the building. Along both walls were rows of simple metal cots, with little tables between each one. The tables served as both a nightstand and a dresser, with two small drawers for each child to put their belongings. But as these were regularly checked through by the Matrons, most of the children found other places to secret away their most valuable things.
Sitting on Rom’s bed, Kari pulled the wooden box from one of the pockets of her dress. Rom pulled out the five steel coins Cousins had given them to keep the box safe until next week – an equal share to be given them when they brought the box back to him.
Between them both, five steels were more than they’d ever had, and yet Cousins had treated it like it was straw. He’d promised them that they’d get another five in a week, and all they had to do was keep this box safe until then. Just keep it safe, he’d said; this strange, simple-looking box – that made music only Kari could hear. They hid the box and the coins away under a loose plank below Kari’s bed, and said very little to each other as they went back downstairs to help with the afternoon chores.
After dinner, the two girls lay in their beds for long after lights out, their thoughts on different elements of the day’s activity. Kari listened to the music which still floated out to her ears and her ears alone, learning and memorizing the ethereal notes and progressions of the melodies. Rom thought of those two from the street – Favo and Molla – and wondered why she couldn’t get the idea out of her mind that they hadn’t seen the last of them. It would be many hours before the two girls finally drifted off to sleep, and even in their dreams, their thoughts – and that strange, wordless music – followed them.
In Rom’s dreams, she awakened to see herself lying on her bed, surrounded by Kari and Cousins, and that strange man with the elegant patchwork jacket. Each time, he would look up at her as if she were actually floating above her body. Each night – and sometimes more than once – she would dream this until the strange thin man would merely wave his hand, and the dreams would then move on to lighter things; to dreams of dancing across the rooftops in a lovely black frilly dress with matching lace parasol – a must for all fashionable ladies of high standing.
Over the next few days, Kari had taken to humming strange little tunes even when they weren’t in the dormitory. Rom asked her about one of the melodies, and Kari’s expression was distracted. “What? Oh, just something… you know.” Rom was starting to think they couldn’t get rid of the thing soon enough. Other than that, they behaved themselves as well as possible, and Rom even managed to learn a bit in their writing classes. But time seemed to speed even more hurriedly by; it grew more and more difficult to distinguish one moment to the next, as if flipping through the pages of one of their schoolbooks.
On Harvestday, a small package arrived for them, dropped off by one of the local delivery boys and inspected by one of the Matrons. Confident it met with their undefined set of standards, it eventually made its way to Rom and Kari. They took it back upstairs to the dormitory where they could be alone.
Inside it was a small pouch of candies, with an accompanying note which read:
Kari and Rom,
It was a delight to meet you both in passing; please accept these sweets as a token of my gratitude and apologies. You’ll want to eat them quick before they melt, but you may keep the bag they came in.
Yours sincerely,
Cousins
As Kari popped one of the candies into her mouth, Rom examined the pouch, certain it had to be some sort of message from Cousins. It was double-layered and made of smooth cloth, not very porous. The pouch was stamped with the “Auran’s Confectionaries” design, below which was their handwritten motto: “The Quality Is Outside”. She’d been to the confectionary before on an errand for the Matrons, but something about the label was sticking to her mind. Or, not so much the label, but … the motto. She scrunched up her face, staring intently at the bag from all angles. But this pouch was different. She’d held it before, eaten these sweets before, as well.
“What’re you doing?” Kari mumbled.
“Cousins knows the Matrons check everything we get here, he must be using this to tell us how to bring him the box.”
At last, it clicked. “Inside!” Rom said, snapping her fingers. “It’s supposed to be ‘the quality is inside.”
Kari nearly choked on the candy she had in her mouth. “Mmmph??”
Rom answered her friend’s question by undoing the drawstring and pulling the bag inside out, dumping the rest of the candies onto the bed.
She looked over the cloth, frowning. The inside of the pouch was unmarked, except for the random smudges it had received from the candies. Rom held the bag over her hand as she rubbed the material between her thumb and fingers. It was made of two layers of cloth, and only attached by a seam at the top. She pulled on the centers of both pieces until she held them each outstretched while Kari looked at her, confused. She smiled triumphantly. It had taken her longer to find this the first time. The first time?
“This looks funny,” Rom said.
Kari swallowed what was left of the piece of candy in her mouth and looked closer. “It’s two different colors. Just slightly, but different. And pretty bad sewing, too.” She plucked at the simple dress she wore, and sighed wistfully. “I wish I had a pretty dress.”
Nodding absently in agreement, Rom held both ends tightly and pulled hard. The fabric gave way, resulting in two pieces of cloth. She held these pieces up for Kari to see.
Her friend shook her head, popping another piece of candy into her mouth. “You just can’t not break things.”
But Rom flipped them over triumphantly to show Kari that there, drawn on one piece of the cloth was a map, simply illustrating the Wall, the Orphanage, and a path outside the town, past the agricultural fields.
On the other piece were written the words: Harvestday and midnight.
Grinning as she picked up one of the candies and tossed it into her mouth, Rom held out the map to her friend.
“Looks like we’ll have to sneak out.”
Kari looked closely at the map. “But… that’s outside the barrier, Rom.”
Rom nodded. “I’ve been out once after dark. It’s not too bad,” she said conspiratorially. In truth, she had been only as far as the closest area of the fields, but it had been on a dare. “And this is just a bit past the fields, so we’ll be fine.” The low rumble of an approaching storm rattled the windows. Both girls sighed.
“It’s going to rain,” said Rom.
“I don’t know, maybe the storm will pass us.”
Rom shook her head. “It won’t. Trust me.”
“I’ll go see if I can find some umbrellas,” Kari suggested, leaving for the cloak room. Rom looked down at her scuffed black boots. The treads were still thick, but they weren’t sealed against water. The directions on the map took them well outside the town, deep through fields likely made into thick mud if that storm decided to break loose.
Rom scowled. “If I get sick, I’m gonna pound Cousins.” But in her mind, she began to think that getting sick would be the least of what would happen.
They waited as long as they dared, making certain all the other g
irls in the dormitory were sound asleep before slipping from their beds, shoes in hand. Kari drew out the one umbrella she was able to hide away under the eyes of the matrons, and they crept quietly out the door and down the hall. There was a balcony on the wall facing out towards the street, and they made their way quickly there. The doors on the first floor were alarm-warded against the occasional beast that might manage to press past the magical barricades which followed the border between Oldtown and the agricultural fields, so they would have to avoid that by shimmying down the drainpipes the thirty feet to the ground. The two girls had done this before, but never in the rain.
While Rom slipped on her boots, Kari picked the lock that the Matrons had placed on the windows (she’d fashioned a makeshift key a year ago out of a scrap of iron she’d found) to keep the children from attempting exactly this. Kari pulled open the window and hopped down to get her shoes on, handing off the umbrella. Rom stepped out first, trying to gauge the traction of her boots on the rain-slicked ledge. Holding close to the wall, she side-stepped towards the corner of the building, glancing back occasionally to see her friend following closely and safely behind her. Rom leaned back against the wall, holding out her hand to Kari. Using her friend’s hand as an anchor, Kari lowered herself below the ledge and climbed down to the street below. She stood back and held out her hands, caught the umbrella, and stepped back under the protection of the ledge while Rom swung her legs over.
She’d made it about two feet when her hands slipped on the wet metal, sending her quickly to the ground. Halfway down, however, she managed to shift her weight and draw her feet underneath her. Her legs cushioned the impact easily. Kari stepped out, opened the umbrella, and took a moment to stare down at Rom.