Post by Pip on Jul 11, 2004 11:18:16 GMT -6
Erica and Prit were sitting down to dinner in their small apartment. They were brother and sister and the only children of the late Aaron Prothes who died six years ago. They’re mother was long since dead, and barley a memory in their minds. Erica could barely even conjure a picture of Kayla Prothes, her mother, even though she had seen a picture of her more than she had of any one else. Like their ancestors they were thieves. When you think of a thief, you probably think of a man dressed all in black, wearing a mask, and carrying a sack, tiptoeing along the rooftops of people’s houses. They weren’t those kinds of thieves at all. Prit was a shoplifter and Erica was a regular pickpocket.
They had a couple of other thieves they hung out with but mainly they just kept to themselves, except for, of course the daily visits to the Thief Kingdom. It was a haven for thieves and the like and a frightening place to the average peasants. Prit was the head thief, though he didn’t live in the kingdom. His father had been the head before him and his father before him and so on and so forth.
Of course, out side of thieves and the sort, they were widely disliked. The Force had been searching them out for years, and, as it was Prit’s pleasure to tell any new thief, they hadn’t yet found them or even got close. They were a part of the Resistance. If you don’t know what the resistance is I’ll tell you. The Resistance is a rebel group that is fighting constantly against the Force, an army that wanted to “cleanse” the city of “filth” like them. They had all ready chased the small bands of rebels and cutthroats out of the city, but the thief leader and his followers still remained elusive, though that hadn’t always been the case.
The sun was setting on the eastern horizon as they finished their meal. They were both thinking about the meeting tonight at the Thief Kingdom, never before had such an ambiguous meeting been called. Not even they knew why Inresto had called it. When questioned he merely said it was of great importance and that he thought it would be in the best interest of every one for them to attend.
Prit was leery of going. He thought that something fishy was afoot, for Inresto to call such an obscure meeting. Inresto was not one to leave his reasons unexplained, but Erica insisted that they go. If Inresto had betrayed them, they’d best be there to make sure every one gets out of the haven safely. Prit had agreed to go at this point, but only because it would be dishonorable not to.
When the sun was completely beyond the horizon they pulled on their cloaks and hoods, and set forth into the city streets. If they were the average town’s people they would have been frightened to go out after dark because of the thieves and their kind. But almost every thief and everyone who was on their side of the law knew and respected the pair and wouldn’t dream of doing anything, unless they wanted all the other thieves and men of the Resistance for miles around to be after their hides.
The streets were dark, but they could see all right, the moon was out, but not at it’s full and the stars offered enough light to make out at least several yards in front them. As they passed the lighted door of a tavern Erica hunched deeper into her cloak, everyone knew her face around here, and most knew she was a thief; this was not a night she wanted to be caught by the Force, even though it was fun toying around with them.
They reached 72nd street with out incident, and backed into an alleyway. Prit was shivering under his thin cloak; even the King of Thieves couldn’t afford the best fur cloaks the City had to offer. His sharp eyes combed the alleys quickly and after looking up and down the long street, satisfied he lead his sister out of the alley over to where the sewers came out on the other side of the street.
After pinching their noses they moved into the low opening, only to be met by one of the thief guards, barley visible in the shadows of the sewers. He was called Chameleon, no one had any idea what his real name was, and few even bothered to ask. Chameleon merely nodded to Prit when they entered and then vanished into the shadows again.
“I hate it when he just disappears,” muttered Erica when they were far out of Chameleon’s hearing.
“That’s his way,” said Prit. “Just as well, for him. He’s the kind of thief that goes into rich people’s houses and takes fine jewelry and stuff. If I were him I’d like to be able to disappear in case they wake up to find you snooping about their house.”<br>Erica laughed.
“Surely the Thief King wouldn’t want to be caught by a master of a house, let alone the Force!”<br>Prit elbowed her in the stomach playfully.
“If any of those guys,” here he indicated the sewer in front of them, “knew I was afraid of being caught thieving, they’d just kick me out of the Kingdom and say that I dishonored the line of thief kings.”<br> “They wouldn’t care; all of them love you and respect you for being their leader and keeping the Force well away from their homes and children. I bet you there isn’t even a child here in the Kingdom that doesn’t look up to you and respect you for keeping them safe at night,” Erica said gently putting her arm across his shoulders.
Prit often forgot that his sister was only a girl of twelve, and he forgot that now. Erica had seen so much more than any girl her age should, and she had a love for her people that not even Prit could better. Prit was all for excluding himself from the rest of the Kingdom, but his sister talked with all of them and knew everything that went on there, from the latest birth of a child to the smallest pranks of the teenagers.
At times Prit would marvel at how different they were, and yet they both could practically read each other’s thoughts. Erica, however, didn’t find it odd at all. She knew the only reason that he even liked her and always took her opinion on things was because they had basically always been by themselves in the Kingdom, while their father was managing the affairs of the haven and the amount of money they all had. They had had no mother to keep them from becoming involved with the various inhabitants of the Kingdom.
Erica had gotten so involved she couldn’t break away, but Prit thought he had had enough of mingling with the inhabitants and decided to live away from them in his own little apartment with his sister, and only go visit the Kingdom when something drastic enough happened that it required his presence.
This was one of those instances, and personally he was actually looking forward to meeting with the other thieves. He usually didn’t look forward to it, but he found that he hadn’t been seeing his best friend Imp lately and wanted to talk to him about how his family was and inquire about his health. He knew he could have asked Erica, she would know if anyone would, but he found that he had to ask Imp himself, if he really wanted to know how he was.
The sewer end opened wider into a brightly lit room, full of excited voices of both men and women. When their eyes had adjusted they saw the Thief Kingdom all about the cavern. Imp immediately bounded up to Prit like an excited dog whose master had just come home.
Prit grinned at the boy; Imp was only fourteen and was quiet a handful when he was excited about something.
“Do you know what’s happening, Prit?” piped Imp, his eyes shinning.
“All I know is that Inresto called this meeting, and that it’s of great importance. No doubt he just wants to show off the loot from his last raid. It’s so like him.”<br> As usual Erica was put out of the conversation, so she stole away from her brother and made her way to the house of the old woman, Kyra. Erica had promised the woman that she would come over to congratulate Kena, her daughter, on her new baby boy.
She knew she would not be missed before it was time for her and Prit to go and meet with the counsel and Inresto, and that wasn’t likely to happen for another hour at least.
***
Exxon sat there silently despite the noise around him. Like all the inns he had been in, since he had run away at least, had been noisy as this one. He was a run away, a thief, and a world traveler all at once. He was traveling now to the City. He had lived there once, and had been well known among thieves. His father had been the right hand man of the Lord Thief, or Thief King, as he liked to be called. The Force had turned his whole life upside-down when he was only eight. All the people he had ever cared for were long behind him, for they either were dead or thought he was dead. So basically he was alone in the world, except for Dark Wolf.
Dark Wolf was his wolf-dog from the Highlands. The wolf-dog could disappear when the fit took him to do so, and it annoyed Exxon greatly. Dark Wolf also proved useful in some robberies, and other things of the sort.
The door suddenly flew open with a bang and a sense of forbidding came over those present. Every muscle in Exxon’s body screamed for him to run, but in a few moments he regained his senses and shoved the feeling aside. He didn’t have time for it.
Dark Wolf lifted his head off the floor and started growling, the hair on his back standing on end. Exxon reached down and patted Dark Wolf’s neck; his eyes fixed on the open door.
Exxon noted the room had gone dead silent and every one was staring at the door. They’re afraid he thought and the idea of it brought a sad, grim smile on his face. He knew what was just beyond the edge of light outside. Six years of thieving had at least taught him what to associate the forbidding sense.
He stood up slipping his long knife from its sheath at his waist. Every one stared at him. He sighed; this wasn’t going to be easy.
They had a couple of other thieves they hung out with but mainly they just kept to themselves, except for, of course the daily visits to the Thief Kingdom. It was a haven for thieves and the like and a frightening place to the average peasants. Prit was the head thief, though he didn’t live in the kingdom. His father had been the head before him and his father before him and so on and so forth.
Of course, out side of thieves and the sort, they were widely disliked. The Force had been searching them out for years, and, as it was Prit’s pleasure to tell any new thief, they hadn’t yet found them or even got close. They were a part of the Resistance. If you don’t know what the resistance is I’ll tell you. The Resistance is a rebel group that is fighting constantly against the Force, an army that wanted to “cleanse” the city of “filth” like them. They had all ready chased the small bands of rebels and cutthroats out of the city, but the thief leader and his followers still remained elusive, though that hadn’t always been the case.
The sun was setting on the eastern horizon as they finished their meal. They were both thinking about the meeting tonight at the Thief Kingdom, never before had such an ambiguous meeting been called. Not even they knew why Inresto had called it. When questioned he merely said it was of great importance and that he thought it would be in the best interest of every one for them to attend.
Prit was leery of going. He thought that something fishy was afoot, for Inresto to call such an obscure meeting. Inresto was not one to leave his reasons unexplained, but Erica insisted that they go. If Inresto had betrayed them, they’d best be there to make sure every one gets out of the haven safely. Prit had agreed to go at this point, but only because it would be dishonorable not to.
When the sun was completely beyond the horizon they pulled on their cloaks and hoods, and set forth into the city streets. If they were the average town’s people they would have been frightened to go out after dark because of the thieves and their kind. But almost every thief and everyone who was on their side of the law knew and respected the pair and wouldn’t dream of doing anything, unless they wanted all the other thieves and men of the Resistance for miles around to be after their hides.
The streets were dark, but they could see all right, the moon was out, but not at it’s full and the stars offered enough light to make out at least several yards in front them. As they passed the lighted door of a tavern Erica hunched deeper into her cloak, everyone knew her face around here, and most knew she was a thief; this was not a night she wanted to be caught by the Force, even though it was fun toying around with them.
They reached 72nd street with out incident, and backed into an alleyway. Prit was shivering under his thin cloak; even the King of Thieves couldn’t afford the best fur cloaks the City had to offer. His sharp eyes combed the alleys quickly and after looking up and down the long street, satisfied he lead his sister out of the alley over to where the sewers came out on the other side of the street.
After pinching their noses they moved into the low opening, only to be met by one of the thief guards, barley visible in the shadows of the sewers. He was called Chameleon, no one had any idea what his real name was, and few even bothered to ask. Chameleon merely nodded to Prit when they entered and then vanished into the shadows again.
“I hate it when he just disappears,” muttered Erica when they were far out of Chameleon’s hearing.
“That’s his way,” said Prit. “Just as well, for him. He’s the kind of thief that goes into rich people’s houses and takes fine jewelry and stuff. If I were him I’d like to be able to disappear in case they wake up to find you snooping about their house.”<br>Erica laughed.
“Surely the Thief King wouldn’t want to be caught by a master of a house, let alone the Force!”<br>Prit elbowed her in the stomach playfully.
“If any of those guys,” here he indicated the sewer in front of them, “knew I was afraid of being caught thieving, they’d just kick me out of the Kingdom and say that I dishonored the line of thief kings.”<br> “They wouldn’t care; all of them love you and respect you for being their leader and keeping the Force well away from their homes and children. I bet you there isn’t even a child here in the Kingdom that doesn’t look up to you and respect you for keeping them safe at night,” Erica said gently putting her arm across his shoulders.
Prit often forgot that his sister was only a girl of twelve, and he forgot that now. Erica had seen so much more than any girl her age should, and she had a love for her people that not even Prit could better. Prit was all for excluding himself from the rest of the Kingdom, but his sister talked with all of them and knew everything that went on there, from the latest birth of a child to the smallest pranks of the teenagers.
At times Prit would marvel at how different they were, and yet they both could practically read each other’s thoughts. Erica, however, didn’t find it odd at all. She knew the only reason that he even liked her and always took her opinion on things was because they had basically always been by themselves in the Kingdom, while their father was managing the affairs of the haven and the amount of money they all had. They had had no mother to keep them from becoming involved with the various inhabitants of the Kingdom.
Erica had gotten so involved she couldn’t break away, but Prit thought he had had enough of mingling with the inhabitants and decided to live away from them in his own little apartment with his sister, and only go visit the Kingdom when something drastic enough happened that it required his presence.
This was one of those instances, and personally he was actually looking forward to meeting with the other thieves. He usually didn’t look forward to it, but he found that he hadn’t been seeing his best friend Imp lately and wanted to talk to him about how his family was and inquire about his health. He knew he could have asked Erica, she would know if anyone would, but he found that he had to ask Imp himself, if he really wanted to know how he was.
The sewer end opened wider into a brightly lit room, full of excited voices of both men and women. When their eyes had adjusted they saw the Thief Kingdom all about the cavern. Imp immediately bounded up to Prit like an excited dog whose master had just come home.
Prit grinned at the boy; Imp was only fourteen and was quiet a handful when he was excited about something.
“Do you know what’s happening, Prit?” piped Imp, his eyes shinning.
“All I know is that Inresto called this meeting, and that it’s of great importance. No doubt he just wants to show off the loot from his last raid. It’s so like him.”<br> As usual Erica was put out of the conversation, so she stole away from her brother and made her way to the house of the old woman, Kyra. Erica had promised the woman that she would come over to congratulate Kena, her daughter, on her new baby boy.
She knew she would not be missed before it was time for her and Prit to go and meet with the counsel and Inresto, and that wasn’t likely to happen for another hour at least.
***
Exxon sat there silently despite the noise around him. Like all the inns he had been in, since he had run away at least, had been noisy as this one. He was a run away, a thief, and a world traveler all at once. He was traveling now to the City. He had lived there once, and had been well known among thieves. His father had been the right hand man of the Lord Thief, or Thief King, as he liked to be called. The Force had turned his whole life upside-down when he was only eight. All the people he had ever cared for were long behind him, for they either were dead or thought he was dead. So basically he was alone in the world, except for Dark Wolf.
Dark Wolf was his wolf-dog from the Highlands. The wolf-dog could disappear when the fit took him to do so, and it annoyed Exxon greatly. Dark Wolf also proved useful in some robberies, and other things of the sort.
The door suddenly flew open with a bang and a sense of forbidding came over those present. Every muscle in Exxon’s body screamed for him to run, but in a few moments he regained his senses and shoved the feeling aside. He didn’t have time for it.
Dark Wolf lifted his head off the floor and started growling, the hair on his back standing on end. Exxon reached down and patted Dark Wolf’s neck; his eyes fixed on the open door.
Exxon noted the room had gone dead silent and every one was staring at the door. They’re afraid he thought and the idea of it brought a sad, grim smile on his face. He knew what was just beyond the edge of light outside. Six years of thieving had at least taught him what to associate the forbidding sense.
He stood up slipping his long knife from its sheath at his waist. Every one stared at him. He sighed; this wasn’t going to be easy.
