What was she doing? No- strike that, what was she going to do? How did it all get so crazy? Dani paced the street just outside Raycor’s house, anxiety manifesting itself as restless energy.
She was a lady now! A legitimate lady, recognized by the King and Queen!
She was married to a prince, even if it wasn’t exactly official.
Oh, and she was expected to figure out how to make Rats Nest habitable and deal with its people! All the thieves, whores, and poor folk were sure to love her for that!
“I need a drink.” Dani said, stopping dead in her tracks for a moment, staring blankly into the growing darkness.
She could even afford a drink for a change! Apparently being a Lady with a capital L came with getting paid somehow. She hadn’t even done anything yet and she had already gotten a sack full of gold! She had promptly hidden it under one of the bricks underneath Raycor’s house, only keeping out a single gold coin. And even that made her nervous! In Rats Nest most things you bought in copper, maybe silver if you were buying something expensive like a whole boar or cow. They didn’t often see gold down here. Why would they?
Dani ran a hand through her hair, the bracelet that bound her to Wulfram catching her eye. It had all started to go crazy when she met him.
She wanted to blame him. But she knew it all led back to her making a choice. A choice that should have gotten her killed or arrested at the very least, but somehow made her a Lady. “This is crazy.”
She turned away from Raycor’s, striding down the street towards the Old Trout. Maybe she would find Gull and the others there. She doubted they would know what to do but maybe they would stop being asses long enough to let her relax. She still remembered how they had acted last time, but she needed someone she could talk to about this.
Gull seemed the most likely to have some insight, but she worked for the thieves guild. Shem would listen but wouldn’t understand, and Gene... well, who the hell knew what Gene would say? He was always an odd ball, but h had more worldy experience than any of them. Most of their group had stayed in the city, but he had set out to parts unknown, even before hopping on a ship and sailing out to sea.
She watched the shadows as she wound her way through Rats Nest, wary of any shadow that looked darker than the others, or any skittering of movement that she couldn’t identify. It was simpler when she was dressed like a boy. It wasn’t that the clothes fooled anyone that really looked, but it was better than walking around with a dress. That just felt like she had put a big target on her head.
And then there was that gold coin, weighing heavy in her coin pouch.
What was she going to do when word started really getting around about what she was? She could be putting Reshi, Raycor, Azra and Therija in danger! Already Mrs. Haversaun’s shop had reaped benefits from her presence, and word was getting around the nobles and merchants.
“Bloody hell.” She muttered, trying to quell the panic that wanted to rise inside her.
“Better than a bloody life.” One of the shadows separated from the rest, a glint of steel catching the light of a nearby lantern.
Dani froze, her heart trying its damnedest to leap out of her body. She reached for the blade Reshi had given her to hide in her bust, but froze when she saw who it was.
“Ya shouldn’t be walkin’ alone this late at night.” Gull said softly, almost indistinguishable from the shadows with her dark skin and darker hair. The steel blade she slid back into its sheath, but her eyes still scanned the street. “Ain’t safe.”
“It ain’t that late. And it ain’t the first time I went walking this time of night, or later.” Dani put a hand to her chest though, trying to calm the racing of her heart. “Ya scared the shit out of me.”
“Good. Come with me, we gotta talk an’ I don’t want folks ta hear.” Gull stepped back into the shadows, and Dani followed, uneasy in spite of her trust of Gull. Why the hell had her dagger been out if she hadn’t planned on using it?
“You jumping folks at night now?”
“Sometimes, if need be.” Gull shrugged and flashed her a smile that gleamed in the moonlight. “We all do things we need ta do. I think yer finally beginning to realize that.”
“Yeah,” Dani’s shoulders slumped as she followed Gull through the winding streets to an old, crumbling building. They climbed over the rubble and into the room below.
“Can ya give us some light? We’ll go further in.” Gull looked up at the entrance, her hand lingering on her blade.
“Sure.” Dani shrugged slightly and knelt down. The ground was covered in rocks and bricks, and she picked the first fist sized one she landed upon. It was a bit easier this time to channel magic into it than it had been when she had made the glowstone for herself and Wulfram. Perhaps because she had been eating so well lately.
Whatever the reason, the soft blue glow of her magic filled the cellar. Gull nodded and led her to a dark tunnel leading deeper down. Although she was a couple years older than Dani, she didn’t know as many tunnels as Dani did. But the ones she did know were always useful. Probably ones the thieves guild used. “Where are we headed?”
You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.
“Just somewhere private.” Gull said and ducked under a low beam. “Won’t be getting as much use of these tunnels soon I’d wager.”
“This isn’t one of the ones I told the royals about, if that’s what you’re worried about.” Dani hadn’t even told Alodia about this one. Mostly because she hadn’t known about it.
“I know. Down here.” She ducked down a set of stairs that creaked and groaned under their weight.
Up ahead, warm light spilled into a dilapidated hallway, rotting pictures still hanging on the wall. She had to remember that often times their cellars used to be upper rooms of peoples houses. Dani paused to look at the serious faces in the portraits, not recognizing a single one. Perhaps they had all died in the landslide.
Or maybe they had gotten away, moved somewhere else.
“We haven’t gone that deep.” Dani said, glancing back the way they came.
“Don’t have ta. Just need ta be somewhere people ain’t gunna overhear us talking. Ain’t that right, Shem?”
“That’s right.”
Dani froze in the doorway, staring at her group of friends, all arranged on different pieces of busted up furniture or sacks of old beans. Shem flashed her a smile, and offered Dani a bottle. “C’mon, we got cheap booze and day old cookies.”
A bit of the tension left Dani, and she took the bottle. “Thank the gods. I could use both right about now.”
“Figured you would after your day.” Gull smiled and sat down on a decaying sack. “I know ya got yer official Ladyship today.”
“Oh gods please don’t remind me.” Dani set her glowstone in the little cluster in the center of the room, and sat on the floor. Dust and dirt be damned, she needed to sit for a while.
“Lady of Rats Nest, sounds pretty nice to me.” Gene said with a wide grin, raising his own bottle in a toast. “To the Lady of Rats Nest!”
Her friends repeated the toast, each raising their bottles or mugs. Dani’s face turned red, and they broke out into laughter.
“We know it’s a lot, but we ain’t gunna leave ya to do it on yer own.” Gull said firmly.
“This be our ‘ome too.” Ervel leaned forward, his thick muscles straining against soot-stained clothes. He had likely spent all day in the smithy, and she was surprised that he wasn’t at Raycor’s right now, or on a date with Therija. “Them nobles want ta come in an’ take it back, we ain’t gun’ let ‘em.”
“So we’re going to help you. Figure it’s the best thing to happen, one of our own getting appointed Lady of Rats Nest. Even if she is more a mouse than a rat.” Gene reached over to pinch Dani’s cheek. She ducked away, swatting at his hand.
“Don’t start that. I got enough of that from Wulfram.”
“Oh yes, we never did get to hear much about him from you. Is he a good kisser?” Gene ruffled her hair instead.
“How did you- wait, there’s no way you would know about that!” Shit, why did she have to open her mouth? Now they had confirmation!
“But now we do.” Gull shook her head, a sad smile playing on her lips. “He ain’t gunna marry ya, ya know. Lady or not, ya come from poor stock.”
“Uhm... actually....” Dani’s heart wanted to beat its way right out of her chest. She rested a hand on the bracelet. “What if I said we already was? Unofficial-like?”
Silence fell on the group, all eyes pinned on Dani. Gull leaned forward to grip her shoulders. “Unofficial-like doesn’t mean a thing. Until it’s official, he can say whatever he wants, an’ leave ya in the dirt. It’s what they do ta folks like us.”
“Right, of course. But what if it was magic? What if it was, ya know, magically enforced?” She held up her wrist, the sleeve falling away from the bracelet. She knew she was in way over her head, she needed her friends in on this so she could talk to someone, anyone about this. Reshi was just dead set against it, Mrs. Haversaun seemed to be all for it, but she needed people that really understood her to talk to.
“Shit.” Ceria leaned forward, her mage robes hiding her shapely figure. “Is that the Ancestral Crown?”
“Half of it.” Dani stared at it, her gut a knot of different emotions. She had started getting used to the bracelet being there. There was a constant sense of someone else through it, or Wulfram through it. She swore she could almost hear him some nights. And the less said about her dreams on the matter the better! That kiss still lingered in her mind, even though it had been nearly a week ago.
“Shit.” Ceria repeated.
“What does it mean Ceria? What do you know about it?” Gull released Dani so she could closely study the bracelet.
“It’s the Ancestral Crown, not much. But Archmage Balariz and his assistant have been pulling books on old magics, as well as old artifacts made around what we believe is the same time period all week. There are some old records of it being used as marriage tokens, since it splits into two like you see here. But to be honest, we don’t really know. It predates the kingdom.”
“I thought it was made for one of the first Kings and his wife.” One of Gene’s eyebrows rose, and he scooted just a touch closer to get a better look. “Damn, you could sell this for some nice money!”
“If I could get it off.” Dani shook her head. Great, they were all so interested in the damn bracelet now. She took a gulp of her beer, shuddering at the taste but drinking it anyways. Shem was right, it was cheap booze.
“Most people are told that, but it came from the people here before Cresenvasht was even made. Back when the Seagraes people lived here.” Ceria said.
“It’s interesting a’ight, but what are we gonna do ‘bout it? If it’s binding her ta the prince that’s a problem, ain’t it?” Ervel said, his voice a low growl that reminded Dani of Reshi.
“Not necessarily. It doesn’t seem to be having any ill effects.” Ceria shrugged and reached for another of the bottles. “I’ll see what I can find out, but it sounds like we have more immediate concerns.”
“The Rats Nest, and the nobles.” Gull said, then after a moments hesitation added. “And potentially the thieves guild.”
“Why the thieves guild? Aren’t you one of them?” Dani’s head came up, and she remembered the dagger Gull had been holding when she stepped out of the shadows. Fawn had said that she was who they sent for people that showed promise. What if she no longer showed promise?
“They may not like the changes ya gonna make to Rats Nest. We gotta be careful of ‘em. I don’t think Alodia would send someone after ya, but there are others in the leadership ain’t too keen on a Lady of Rats Nest. We been on our own too long fer them ta like the idea.”
“So I have to watch out for them, the guards, and whoever else might have a beef with me.” Dani let out a groan. This beer was not strong enough for these problems! She took a deep drink anyways. Perhaps if she drank enough things would magically be solved.
“Aye. But that’s why we’re here.” Gene leaned over to wrap an arm around Dani, giving her a tight squeeze. “We’re your damn honor guard!”
“One of us will keep an eye on you throughout the day and then another at night.” Gull released Dani’s hand and settled back down onto her sack. “We’ll make sure no one tries to mug ya, an’ get help if we need ta. And don’t try to argue, there was someone tailing ya tonight already.”
Dani’s face paled, and she clutched her bottle a bit tighter. “I didn’t hear anyone.”
“They were good, but I’m better.” Gull smirked and took a drink from her own bottle. “We’ll keep ya safe Dani, ain’t nothing ta worry about.”