Dani watched Alodia and Reshi argue, a feeling of unease settling over her. They were talking around something, something important. Something about her. She reached for the bottle herself, downing a quick swig before setting it down with a hard thud. “Would you two stop talking about me as if I ain’t here?” Impatience seeped into her voice, and she leaned forward. “Who do you think I am? Why do you think people are coming after me? I only became an official lady yesterday! Before that I was a nobody. Now though, now I can finally do something useful! And you want me to leave the city or dance to your own tune!”
Now that she had started talking, the words spilled out, irritation growing until she could no longer sit still. She stood up, pacing the few steps across the narrow room and back again. “I know it’s a risk! But I can finally do something to help the Rats Nest. Things are gonna change whether I’m here or not, but if I’m here, if I’m- if I’m helping make the decisions then maybe I can help make things change for the better. Think ‘bout it! No more body brokers, no more buildin’s fallin’ in on themselves, no more slavers stealin’ folks from the docks. We could set up our own guard, make sure they ain’t part of the problem. There could be a Quietus temple, a healers hall, an’ we could still keep the things that are part o’ the Rats Nest!”
Gull was smiling now, watching Dani pace the room. She nodded and crossed her arms beneath her breasts. “We got Dani a guard contingent already. Friends that she can trust, ones that aren’t going to turn against her.”
Reshi stood up, grabbing Dani by the shoulders and looking her in the eyes. “Dani, ya don’t know what yer talkin’ about. Yer friends ain’t enough ta protect ya ‘gainst the folks that may want ta hurt ya. And do ya really think them nobles are gonna listen ta what ya ‘ave ta say?”
“Oh they’ll listen.” Alodia nearly purred the words out. “With that passion, they may even back her. I know that my people will, given that things don’t change too much.”
“Ya mean if it don’t cut into your profit.” Reshi snorted, and gave Dani a little shake, lowering his voice to an almost gentle growl. “Dani, ya know I want ya ta be safe. This ain’t safe.”
Dani stared up at Reshi, her heart pounding. He had seldom sounded so gentle, or looked so worried. Even when she had stolen the crown and nearly gotten caught! What scared him so much? What had him so convinced that she wasn’t safe?
She took a deep breath, letting it out slowly before she said anything else. “Ain’t none of us safe. Ya always said stuff along those lines. Ain’t none of us safe, but we gotta pick our own dangers. Is it so bad if this is the danger I pick?”
Reshi closed his eyes for a moment, the lines on his face seeming deeper, a great weariness settling into his shoulders. He bowed his head. “Then yer courtin’ death.” He whispered huskily.
“Ain’t like you ‘aven’t done the same.” Dani smiled and shrugged. She knew the stories of his life, especially before she came around. Adventures and danger on the high seas and in the forests, stealing and hunting what could, even if it meant facing things like bears and royal guards. But she still wasn’t convinced that people would come after her. She wasn’t a real noble, and her power depended on whether people would listen to her or not. Or if people like Alodia backed her decisions. Which was another uncertainty all together.
“I ain’t you!” Reshi gave her shoulders another shake, and released her. “You young’uns think ya got it figured out. But ya don’t know the kind of danger out there. When I found ya, ya were covered in blood and runnin’ from a caravan out in the woods. If I hadn’t hid ya, ya would be dead now! What if those people come back an’ want to finish the job?”
A shiver ran down Dani’s spine, nightmare memories lurking just beneath the surface. Fire and screams, a woman looking at her with fear in her eyes, whispering to her. “Run, don’t look back just RUN.” Then there was darkness and smell of burning, and a large hulking shape in the forest that snatched her up and ran with her in his arms.
Reshi. He had seemed like a giant back then.
Dani rubbed her face, closing her eyes against the memories. She didn’t want to remember that night! She forced her mind away from the nightmare, lowering her hands. “Lots of caravans get attacked Reshi, it wasn’t anything personal. Just bandits or somethin’ tryin’ ta make some quick money. I want to do this. I want to try and help people.”
“Yer a fool.” Reshi let her go finally, grabbing up the bottle instead. “An’ yer gonna get yerself killed.”
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“No one is going to care enough about me or the Rats Nest to kill me.” Dani grinned and sat back down. “I’m a noble in name only, an’ if anyone cared that much about us down here then they would have cleaned up Rats Nest years ago.”
“Too true. We will have to find you some lodging fitting your new status. But truly Reshi, you worry too much.” Alodia waved a hand at him, her smile growing.
Dani didn’t trust that smile very much, Alodia had her own goals she wanted to meet. She didn’t know the woman enough to know if those goals would match her own, or if Alodia would be another obstacle to overcome. But it was worth trying, right? She had to try now that she had the power to do something.
The door to the house crashed open, wood splintering as it was ripped off its hinges. Within seconds Alodia, Dani and Reshi had all stood, Reshi’s knife already in his hand as a large man barreled into the small room. He was followed by two others, equally large and with their own knives already drawn.
They didn’t speak, didn’t yell or threaten, but instead went straight to fighting, the leader barreling into Reshi, grabbing the older mans wrist to keep him from swinging his knife. Another headed straight for Alodia and Gull, while the last swung his knife at Dani, slicing across her chest with a manic grin. Dani leaned back, bumping into the table. Damnit! With so many people in here there wasn’t enough room to maneuver! And there was no way she could overpower someone that big. She reached into her bust, pulling out the special blade that took the place of her busk. Only an idiot would wander around Rats Nest without a weapon.
The man grinned toothily, letting out a chuckle as he stepped forward, swinging his knife again. Dani raised her knife to block the cut, caught between him and the table. There just wasn’t enough room! If she could get some distance between them then she could actually stand a chance!
She glanced to the doorway. That was her only chance. Her muscles already trembled with the effort of holding the man’s knife away from her, the sharp steel dipping closer to her flesh. She ducked to the side, nearly running into one of the other men as Gull sliced through his neck with her own blade.
Dani ignored the blood that splattered across her dress, running out the door and into the open air of Rats Nest.
And right into the arms of yet another man. This one grinned. His brown eyes hard and holding the promise of awful things. “So eager ta come with us, eh?”
A chill ran down her spine, and she swung her blade up towards the mans throat, clenching her jaw. It was them or her family, and she wasn’t going to let them hurt her family!
The man moved fast, grabbing her wrist and squeezing until her bones creaked and she dropped the knife. “Lady Daniella I believe, aye? They said ya weren’t like a normal lady.”
“Fuck off!” Dani gasped around the pain in her wrist, her other hand swinging up, nails raking across the man’s smug, confident face. His grin disappeared into a scowl, and he grabbed her other wrist, picking her up so her feet dangled off the ground.
“Bit rude of ya, don’t ya think? Don’t worry though, we’ll be teachin’ ya some manners.”
There was a crash from inside the house, and Dani twisted, trying to look over her shoulder. The man that had attacked Reshi came tumbling through the empty doorway, blood and whiskey dripping down his face. Alodia came out a moment later, dragging an unconscious man by the back of his shirt. “How rude to arrive unannounced, and in such a manner too.” She said mildly, and dabbed lightly at her bleeding lip with a handkerchief.
“Madame Alodia.” The man holding Dani smiled, ignoring the kicks that Dani tried to send his way.
“Bear.” Alodia frowned as Reshi stepped out beside her. “What is the meaning of this?”
“Let her go.” Reshi growled, taking a step towards Bear, his bloodied knife still in his hand.
“I’m gettin’ paid real well to take ‘er to visit someone. Don’t worry, if she’s a good girl we’ll bring ‘er back.” Bear pulled Dani against him, shifting so he held both her wrists in one hand, and cupped her neck with the other. “That means ya should calm down Lady Daniella.”
Reshi’s face turned red, and he took another step forward, pausing when Alodia set a hand on his arm. “And who is it that wants to meet Lady Daniella so badly?”
“Don’t ya worry about that. Let’s just say they paid real well, an’ leave it at that. They don’t want her dead though, not yet at least.” Bear gripped Dani’s throat just a bit tighter, and she froze, feeling the strength that could so easily crush her throat.
“Should’a taken the offer ta stay at the palace.” Bear bent down to whisper the words in her ear, his breath hot against her cheek. He let out a rumbling chuckle and straightened, speaking louder. “Now, ya come after us, that might change. The man what’s payin’ us don’t need her alive after all. So sit tight an’ ye’ll get ‘er back. Or don’t an’ see what pushin’ the wrong people will do.”
Alodia frowned darkly, gripping Reshi’s arm now to keep him from approaching closer. “Don’t Reshi. He could snap her neck if he wanted to.”
“Listen to Madame Alodia here, she knows what she’s talkin’ about.” Bear turned, holding Dani close against his chest as he half dragged her to a waiting horse. Two other men stood to either side of it, swords drawn and ready. “An’ you, Lady Daniella. You cooperate an’ we won’t have ta hurt yer family.”
“Keep your hands off them!” Dani snapped, aiming another kick at Bear as rage flared up in her. Azra... she hadn’t seen Azra, and there had been a third man, hadn’t there? Three had come into the house, how many had been outside? Where was Azra?
Bear laughed and climbed up onto the horse, hauling Dani up to sit in front of him. “Spirited, I like that. I like that a lot. Make sure they don’t follow.” He rode past the other men, kicking the horse into a gallop through the narrow streets of the Rats Nest.