Earlier that same day, Ben was walking down the streets of Gravelroy, feeling awkward. It was well into the afternoon so he saw folks everywhere. All kinds of different ones, he remarked. There were merchants of course, there were always some, but also godfolks. The white-clad ones he knew, for he had seen lots everywhere during the past four years, but the black ones had been new to him. They had dark skin, like the slaves the Emperor used to fight for him in the Wilds. They were the wrong color, or so Ben had heard. That was stupid, black was obviously the best when sneaking around in the night.

He had envied their skin tone before fighting alongside them for his Majesty. The poor bastards didn't do well in the cold, their home country being hot as hell. Plus they wore heavy chains and were going on half-rations. Them being put at the forefront during battles had also played a part in Ben revising his opinion. Black sure was the wrong color to be with the empire out there. But here in Gravelroy, among so many different ethnicities, they were left alone. And so you would see their priests walking around, speaking gibberish at you. It probably was about prayers and weird laws, like with the white ones, but gibberish was a difficult language. Ben had tried prayers since Mae had gotten sick but without success, he must have been doing it wrong. What could be so complicated about kneeling, joining hands and muttering to yourself, he couldn't figure it out. He shook his head and glanced around him.

Passersbys were looking at him all kinds of weird, he noticed. Well, that was the whole point of the plan. Still, it irked him. It was not the people who were laughing at him that bothered him. Those were fine as long as you didn't get angry at them. Others were giving him wide-eyed looks, between surprise and bewilderment. Ben wasn't much upset about these either. Even the ones staring like idiots with their mouths open, he could bear. It was the fact that every damn person, on every damn street he walked on, had their eyes on him. Ben felt exposed. Then again, it was all part of Mae's idea.

It had sounded straight mad when she had explained the plan to him earlier in the morning. But it had made sense, in a weird kind of way. Well, the disguise worked, Ben tried to console himself. Trouble was, it worked too well. Surely the whole thing was strange enough, he didn't need the bloody hat. Mae was probably at home, laughing at him since he left. He should have known. She had kept a straight face the whole time while dressing him up. Ben considered at the crowd around him. Nobody could keep a straight face here, he sighed. She had maintained her composure back then, only to see if he would wear something so ridiculous. The skirt was definitely enough, he concluded, the thing on his head was just Mae having her fun.

The man Ben was following took a different street and glanced quickly behind him as he turned the corner. He was looking a bit jumpy. He had noticed something was wrong and he was checking if Ben was tailing him. The big idea was to look as noticeable as possible. After a theft, if people went chasing say, the big girl wearing a large hat for example, nobody would stop a frail and bald elderly. As usual with Mae's schemes it was sound thinking, so Ben had agreed. What an idiot he had been. That devious woman had sold him the plan before showing him the outfit she had been preparing.

Now here Ben was, walking on the street half naked, and wearing a goddamn skirt. His legs were covered with a weird mix of straw and big green leaves, while his torso was painted with uncanny marks. Everyone was wearing plants for pants, on some island somewhere far down south, Mae had told him. Some kind of barbarian tribes, they were. She had traveled a lot more than him so what did he know? But the hat was too much, Ben had known the moment he saw it. What man in his right mind wore fucking flowers on his head? And fruits. Bloody weird and colorful things. He looked like a damn flower pot with arms and legs. Mae was definitively laughing her ass off right now.

He put his attention back to his prey. The lad was walking a good dozen paces ahead, holding a bundle of wheat. Only Ben knew what was inside. Smart, the boy was. Nobody would try to steal wheat, would they? Or maybe a few deranged and very hungry men. It was way better than a bag anyway. A bag made you wonder what was inside. It made you guess, then imagine or even dream about its secrets. Next thing you knew folks took it from you. The same ones then ended up hitting you. Well of course they did, disappointed and angry when not finding jewels or gold inside. Bags were dangerous, Ben had concluded, so he usually wore his under his shirt.

The target was carrying drugs hidden in his inconspicuous load. Ben had spent the last day observing weed deliveries coming out from the middle guy's place, the one he had spotted before. He had been searching for a new quarry. Going back to the loonie bin right after his burglary would sure have been a bad idea. Even if he wanted to, now that Ben knew there was no ghost there. Plus he felt kind of bad for running out on the girl, screaming. It had not been a nice thing to do. How would he feel if people did the same when they saw him? Probably confused the first once. After a dozen people yelling at his face before scrambling off, Ben might get a bit pissed off.

Focus, he told himself, pulling his gaze back to his quarry. The fellow was anxious, and with good reason. He was holding expensive stuff for dangerous folks. He was also followed by a giant frigging bouquet. The lad had spotted Ben, obviously, but he wasn't looking in his direction anymore. That was the other clever aspect of Mae's plan. One of the most basic tactics in thieving was the use of misdirection.

One had to attract the attention of the mark some way, while an accomplice would come from the other and empty its pockets. At the moment, Ben was probably the most obvious decoy in the whole city. He'd be upset if he wasn't. And so his target was growing the jitters. The man took another unconventional turn, to make sure the weird barbarian herbalist was tailing him. Ben considered waving his hand at the guy. Perhaps a bad idea he thought, grinning. So now, having spotted the diversion, his prey was looking everywhere for an incoming attack. Everywhere but at Ben. Mae, you damn genius.

Ben was now speeding his pace to catch up. Stealing the stuff should be easy, it was the next part that worried him a bit. He would have to run away and then change out of his disguise as soon as he turned a corner. He was wearing large pants, rolled up under the weird leaf skirt, and there was a wool shirt hidden under his hat. They had practiced all morning, him and Mae. He had Ripped off the dress and then the breeches would unrol themselves down. The next step was throwing off the hat and putting on the shirt. In the end, he could do it all in a few seconds. He had been amazed at Mae's ingenuity with a needle. Ben just had to be careful of not leaving any bits of straw or flowers on him, and the job should be done. She would have her weeds and he'd have a few drinks. He'd damn well have earned them. Only a few more steps and it would be time for action. But then, the bastard turned his head back and stared right at Ben. Dammit.

The fellow was a few paces away and scared, ready to bounce. There was no time to think, Ben didn't stop walking as their eyes met. He smiled, before glancing quickly away from the guy and back to him. It shouldn't have worked, Ben thought as he punched him, nobody fell for that. But the drug courier had been nervous, and who would expect someone wearing flowers and leaves to hit them, really? They should though, else they would en up on the ground rubbing their nose like this one. The rest happened in a blur, Ben pulled out the package from the bundle of wheat and ran away in a side alley. He found a porch, rapidly changed under it, and concealed the drugs in his pants. Then he came out walking leisurely, wearing the new outfit. The thief had to resist whistling. His victim ran past him in a hurry, turning his head everywhere around him in confusion. The poor lad began shouting to passerbys for help.

You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.

"Anyone seen some fellow with flowers on his head?" They gave him incredulous stares while Ben kept walking away.

"He had leaves on his skirt!" He continued, now further behind.

"Did ya hit yer head some boy?" Someone shouted. Ben had to stifle a laugh.

****

The sun was setting as Ben paused in front of Mae's door. He couldn't help but grin like an idiot. Well, he had been a bit of one, agreeing to wear the damn hat. Now that the adrenaline was down and happy with the day's work, the whole thing was kind of funny. But it didn't mean he had to give her cause for more teasing. She had sure been waiting all afternoon for this moment, giggling all the while. Stay calm and brush it off like it was nothing, or you won't hear the end of it, he told himself.

"Are you coming in or not, flower boy?" Her voice shouted from inside.

"Dammit Mae!" He cried. He finally went in, defeated but smiling from ear to ear.

She was wearing her wildest grin, like a child who got away with a prank. He threw her the package containing the drugs, but she put it aside without sparing a glance at it. They stared at each other for a while, waiting to see who would give in first. Then they both dissolved into laughter.

"Ya been waitin', watchin' outside through one of 'em holes weren't ya?" Ben asked her, when he had caught his breath.

"You bet I was! Spent the whole day sitting here with my head against the wall." She exclaimed. The bitch wasn't even bothering to sound embarrassed, Ben sighed.

"Ya could at least pretend ya didn't." Ben pouted playfully.

"I wouldn't miss your coming back for a silver! Good thing you didn't take much longer though, I was about to burst. I really need to take a piss." She added.

Ben rolled his eyes as she stepped outside. He wondered if she was faking her illness just so she could have him do stupid shit like today. It was wrong of course, Mae was tough but she wasn't cruel. However, as he heard her cough violently outside the shack, he wished it was all a joke. The thief shook his head, bad thoughts. It has been a great day. The plan had worked, Mae had got her weeds and they had a good laugh. Life was as good as it was going to get, and Ben felt like celebrating.

"Ya got any ale?" He asked when the whore came back inside.

"Sorry lad, as much as I'd like toasting to my genius, I have some work lined up tonight. Soon, in fact." She gave him a wan smile.

Ben winced in disappointment. Mae should stop working now that she was sick, but he didn't feel like arguing about it again. She was too proud to let him take care of her. 'I ain't too old to work dammit! Still got plenty charm' she had told him half-jokingly. And it wasn't like they didn't need the money. What was he going to do this evening, Ben wondered. As much as he wanted to, it didn't seem right to start drinking without the woman. It had been mostly her success after all.

"A'right. Keep us a drink or two, fer when I come back." He winked before heading back to the door.

"I will. It would feel wrong not to toast to my proudest achievement." Mae said with her signature smug grin. Ben stopped and tilted his head back to her.

"Come on now, plan wasn't that amazing. Ya done way better more than once."

"The hat Ben. I'm talkin' about the friggin' hat." She chuckled.

"Get lost, ya hold hag." He exclaimed, waving her off as he reached for the door.

"Oh and Ben?" He paused. "Thanks." She added before putting a kiss on his cheek. 

  The young man grunted as he stepped outside, and began wandering aimlessly. It was too early to sleep on the roofs as he usually did at times like these. Plus he often to woke up surrounded by bloody pigeons these days. Damn, walking alone was boring. He hoped Mae was going to get better soon. Best avoid this topic he told himself, and think about something else. He realized he didn't know anyone in Gravelroy. Back in the army, on nights when Mae was working, there had always been men to share a drink or a song around a fire. Now in one of the biggest cities in the world, surrounded by folks at all times, it was sort of lonely. She would argue that he'd spend days, weeks even, alone in the Wilds. Alone with his 'friggin furries' as she called them, but it was different. Back there Ben felt alive, always on edge and aware of his surroundings, focused. Animals were simple to understand and the same went for soldiers. You were either hunter or prey. When your life was on the line at all times, you didn't have much left for idle thought.

Not that the free city wasn't a dangerous place, but most folks here didn't trying to kill you. They'd rob you or swindle you most likely. It was all about money, and if you had none, they left you alone often enough. All the thieving he was currently doing seemed  a game compared to his previous ways. Hell, he'd had fun earlier today, he realized. This damn city was making him stupid, he'd been enjoying himself while on the job. He had met plenty of soldiers who were like this. Big mouths with lots of stories and songs, they were. Spent a ton on women and even more on wine, even before a battle. These sorts sure made a lot of noise, but they didn't last long. Not that Ben was against having fun mind you, he just didn't want to die for it. You had to drink with people you trusted and never before a fight, those were his rules. Trouble was, here he only trusted Mae.

The young man was thinking too much these days. It usually was about the cursed sickness and that was depressing, so he had tried different topics. Now his mind was going in all sorts of directions and weird thoughts popped in his head all the time. Ben probably needed folks to speak with. But most folks talked about more or less the same things. Namely: How shitty their work was, how shitty their Lord was or how shitty the weather was. During such conversations you were supposed to nod in agreement, raise your mug and say something along the lines of: 'You're damn right!'. Afterward, you added your own entry to the shit-list and so the night went on. That didn't sound like something wich would take Ben mind off his worries, so he was on his own. Thinking on your own was like talking to yourself, and he knew were people who talked to themselves ended. He had recently visited the place. Not a good location to end up, he concluded. He took a sip of wine from his gourd and kept walking randomly.

His musings went to the strange scribbler. He remembered what Mae had told him, the whole thing was like a tale for children. A ghost, a dead girl, nobles and even a famous hero, one he knew himself. It was mostly rumors, Mae had said, but at least it didn't sound boring. When he had shared his doubts about the artist's sanity, she had answered there should be a way to make some coin there. Noble folks sure had some to spare and the two of them could maybe work out something then. Mae would have to think on it for some time. Going back too soon to a place Ben had recently broken into was a good way to get caught anyway. The young thief hesitated. Too much stuff to reflect on, it wasn't good. Providing weeds to Mae as he watched her whittle down slowly would only work for so long. He had to do something. They hadn't tried every doctor in the city yet, far from it. They hadn't tried the ones from the upper town.

Ben had asked Mae more than once, why he couldn't just rob some rich folks to pay these fancy healers. The first problem, she had responded, was that robbing nobles was dangerous. She then had gone on with an explanation about how difficult retailing the stolen goods would be. But Ben wouldn't drop the matter. The last issue, she had continued, was that these doctors didn't leave the nicer parts of the city. Especially not to visit the slums, you had to bring the patient over to them. A poor man -namely Ben-, coming up there with enough coin to pay for treatment was shady at least. It happening shortly after someone important had been burgled was sure to arouse suspicion. There would be a high chance of Mae being kept as a hostage until an investigation was done. You needed more than mere money to afford the same healing as the nobles did, you needed status, Mae had concluded.

Ben clenched his fists, his destination settled. He had to do something, maybe it was a long shot but it was still one, the only thing he could think of. And he knew where to find a noble. It would beat worrying about Mae, talking about shit or sleeping with damn pigeons anyway.