At some point, Dani had passed out. She could vaguely remember Reshi, and a strange Felinae emerging from the alley outside the stall she had been in with the healer. Reshi had looked so old though, the lines on his face etched deep, as if he had aged years in the short time since she had seen him last. He had scooped her up in his arms like he had when she was a little girl, and they had left the stall, leaving the door swaying in the breeze.

She wasn’t sure what had happened after that, but she woke up to sun streaming through the familiar window of Therija and Azra’s room. The smell of herbs, spices and pork drifted in through the curtain that separated the bedroom from the rest of the house.

Dani sat up slowly, each muscle and wound screaming in protest. She managed to keep her voice down to a whimper as the movement pulled at the stitches in her shoulder, tears forming in her eyes. She looked down at herself, recognizing one of Therija’s nightgowns. She hadn’t been wearing that before! Shit, she hadn’t been wearing anything before! She gingerly stood up, nearly falling down again as pain shot up through her leg, letting out a curse.

That was apparently enough to alert the people in the other room that she was awake. Reshi’s voice growled through the curtain, oddly gentle. “C’mon out lass, ye be needin’ ta eat.”

Oh shit.

She was in so much trouble.

Dani limped across the floor, the pain in her leg dulling faintly as she moved. Or maybe she was just getting used to it. She supposed it didn’t matter which one it was, the rest of her hurt too much to worry about any one ache. She took a moment to compose herself before opening the curtain and stepping into the main room.

Reshi was already sitting, peeling a rutabaga with his large hunting knife. He barely glanced up as she came out of the room, but she could tell he hadn’t slept much. Raycor paused in kneading dough to pick a plate up from beside the fire, setting it down in front of Dani with a tender smile. “Take a seat Daniella, eat somethin’. Ye ain’t naught but skin’n bones.”

A jolt went through her when Raycor used her full name. No one ever used her full name! She was always just Dani.

Unless she was in trouble.

Which she knew damn well she was right now. “Thank you Raycor.” She spoke with uncharacteristic meekness. Slowly, she lowered herself into the sturdy old chair they had left open for her and picked up a fork. She glanced at the two brothers, trying to gauge exactly how much trouble she was in. Neither one looked angry, Raycor was even smiling a bit. The silence seemed to indicate the worst, the two were hardly ever this silent when they were together, especially not when cooking.

Dani looked down at her plate, and started to eat. Eggs, bacon and even one of the raisin cinnamon rolls from the bakery made a breakfast worthy of the king. Which just made her more nervous, it felt far too much like a last meal. But even though her stomach twisted in knots she knew better than to waste food. Especially not when it was as rare a feast as this.

“Am I... in trouble?” She said hesitantly, glancing up from her plate. She knew the answer already, had known it since the Wulfram- since the Prince gave chase yesterday. She might not be in the dungeons right now, but that didn’t mean she was going to get out of this without consequence.

Reshi let out a snort, hacking through the rutabaga in one swing of his knife.

Raycor dumped the ball of dough he had made onto the table, letting the silence stretch a moment before he looked up to her, his voice soft. “Lass, I dun’nae think ye know ‘ow much trouble ye be in. ‘Ow much trouble we all may be in, wit’ that stunt ye pulled. We jus’ be lucky them guards din’ decide ta go on a rampage through the warrens lookin’ fer ye. The prince ain’t ‘armed I reckon?”

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“He- he was a bit scraped up, but fine enough to insist the healer see to me first.” Dani shrank down a little in her chair and picked at her eggs. “We both took some damage fallin’ through that building.”

“Aye, I ain’t surprised. Yer both lucky not ta be dead.” Raycor started to roll the dough flat. “I thank the gods fer that.”

Dani nodded and dared a glance at Reshi. He didn’t meet her eyes, focused on chopping the rutabaga up into small cubes. They were making pasties then, using root vegetables and some of the meat Reshi had brought home from his hunt. Dani looked back down at her food, feeling unaccustomed tears pricking at her eyes. Why wasn’t he at least yelling?

“Eat yer food lass. Ye know we don’t waste it here. An’ you’ll be needin’ the fuel to heal properly.” Reshi growled, still not looking up from his work.

“I’m fine. The healer stitched me up.” Dani took another bite of her food though, working her way through the eggs before touching the bacon, leaving the cinnamon roll for last.

“Dani, yer more bruise than girl at the moment. Do ye ‘ave any idea ‘ow much ye scared me?” Reshi spoke so softly she barely heard him.

Her head snapped up, and she stared at the man who had raised her like a daughter. He met her eyes, his own sad and lined deeply. She hadn’t noticed how much older he had been getting. “I- I didn’t mean to. I thought if I could just make one big score...”

“One big score an’ ye could prove ye were a thief worth her salt?” The corner of Reshi’s mouth quirked up. “Well. Ye proved ya could take risks, but not smart ones. Ye got the attention of the guards, the royals, an’ the thieves guild. That what ye wanted?”

“No! I just wanted to prove that I could take care of myself. That I didn’t need a man to help! That I could use the skills you taught me....” Her hand was shaking, and she set her fork down before she dropped it. She had wanted to prove to him above all others that she could take care of herself. That she had been worth taking in.

“Ain’t no shame ta depend on others.” Raycor said softly. “Or ask fer ‘elp. Child, why din’ ye come ‘ome when ye were ‘ungry?”

“I just wanted to prove I could take care of myself....” Dani whispered. The tears spilled out, and she reached up to wipe them quickly away. No, she was not going to cry like a little girl.

“Well ye ain’t gunna take care of yerself by thievin’.” Reshi said firmly. He swept the cubes of rutabaga into a bowl, fixing his gaze on her. “That last stunt was it. If ye do as much as pick a pocket I’ll turn ya into the guard myself an’ wash my hands of ya.”

Ice gripped Dani’s heart as she met Reshi’s eyes. Her own widened as she processed what he said. A grim seriousness in his voice made her believe he wasn’t joking either. Would he turn her in if she stole again? She didn’t want to take the risk.

“But... I don’t know how to do anything else!” She protested.

“Najia taught ya ta sew, hell, I know ye made the nightgown yer wearing. Mrs. Haversaun is lookin’ fer an apprentice, so yer gonna be it. Already been arranged. Ye’ll dress like a lady, do yer job, an’ pray folks don’t recognize ya from that little stunt an’ the prince don’t decide to come back fer yer pretty new bracelet.”

Dani’s face paled. Shit, she had forgotten about the bracelet. Was Wulfram going to come looking for it? It wasn’t like she could sell it! Reshi nodded grimly.

“Aye, I saw it. ‘Bout the only thing ye were wearin’ when I found ya. I know it’s magic, he tell ya what it would do?” Reshi leaned forward, balancing the tip of his knife on the table.

“It was supposed to be an assurance, so he could trust me.” Dani touched the bracelet lightly, staring at the amber stone on it. She imagined she could almost see him looking back at her through it. Hopefully, he was alright.

“So he could trust ye.” Reshi let out a sigh and pulled an onion over, slicing into it with his knife. “Damn royals and their tricks. We’ll have ta find some mage ta look at it, maybe they can get it off ya.”

“Could ask Alaira if she knows o’ one.” Raycor said. He glanced at his sheet of dough, then at Raycors progress. With a shake of his head he gently folded the dough back up and dropped it into the bowl it came from. “Ye gettin’ slow ol’ man.”

Don’t ye start wit’ me. An I ain’t be lookin’ to owe more favors to Alaira.” Reshi growled. “Ya got a problem wit’ how fast I’m goin’ ye can help.”

“Yep.” Raycor said, and pulled over a bunch of carrots. He started to cut them into small cubes, a smile playing on his lips. “Finish yer food Dani, then ye can ‘elp too.”

Dani let out a sigh, looking down at the food still left on her plate. Reluctantly, she started eating again. She just wished her stomach didn’t feel like it wanted to turn inside-out.