After breakfast, we wash a pile of dishes nearly as tall as Sharon's little girl, whose name, I learn, is Lazuli. Sharon and I make quick work of washing, drying, and neatly re-stacking the dishes in the cupboard. Once the mess from breakfast is cleaned, Sharon instructs me to take water to the boys in the workshop.
"They work so hard, you know," Sharon says solemnly.
I take the bucket from breakfast, a ladle, and a stack of cups, and head to the workshop. Setting up the cups on the biggest empty space along the numerous tables around the shop, I haul the bucket to the well and back, the incessant clanging of the blacksmith's hammer sounding in my ears all the way. The boys crowd around me as I hand out cups full of cold water. The stench of hot metal, sweat, and grime surrounds me, but I pretend not to notice, instead focusing on the variety of faces around me.
The boys appear to age between fifteen to twenty-one, with Sharon's husband, Reed, looking to be around thirty. The youngest boy, with scraggly black hair, hard eyes, and a tight-lipped mouth, watches me intensely. I try to meet his eyes, but he looks away at every attempt. Finn watches me again, this time with an expression that I cannot decipher. The rest of the boys seem only mildly intrigued with me. I wonder how often it is that they see a new face. Once my bucket is empty, I fill it with the cups and return to the kitchen, where Sharon continues to work tirelessly around the stove.
"What can I do to help?" I ask her after I've finished rinsing the cups and stacking them to dry.
"I need you to run to the marketplace and grab a few things for lunch and supper," she says hastily, handing me a small purse jingling with coins. "I need green onions, two loaves of bread, and a sack of potatoes. Don't spend a penny more than you need to, and be back before noon." Outside, the bell tower rings loudly, alerting me that it is already ten in the morning. I turn to leave, but Sharon's voice stops me in the doorway. "I also need some rosemary and five pounds of apples. Can you remember all that?" I nod. "Be careful, Onyx. This side of town is full of thieves." I nod silently, grateful for Quinn's gift sitting hidden beneath my tunic.
Carefully storing the list of groceries in my already full mind, I turn and close the door behind me, hoping I can make it back before noon with all the supplies Sharon has sent me out for. I try to remember how Finn led me yesterday, starting off at a quick pace. I find that my leg, so badly wounded a night ago, only twinges slightly with pain as I walk. The same is true for my back.
After a few wrong turns down some shady alleys, I find my way to the marketplace, which still teems with activity. Fortunately, I am able to find what I need with relative ease, and am headed back to the blacksmith's home as the clock strikes eleven. Arms loaded with baskets and paper parcels, I keep a keen watch on my surroundings. I'm about halfway to the smithy's when a strange sound reaches my ears from one of the alleys I'd accidentally turned down earlier.
I turn to peer down the alley, aware of several other presences along the dark bend of the path. I turn in a quick circle, adrenaline beginning to course through my veins, and count six thieves in the shadows, all skinny and gaunt, eager to take what does not belong to them. Somehow, I can sense their energy, even without being able to see them. I am also aware that someone is watching me from a nearby rooftop to my left, but he appears to be only an onlooker rather than a participant. His face is shrouded in a cowl, so that I cannot see his face, but there is a strange familiarity about him.
I take a deep breath, my mind racing with how to deal with the situation. "Before we get started," I start, speaking loudly and evenly. "Let me put down my wares." I set down my parcels just within reach, save the small purse which still jingles with a few leftover coins. I take up my previous position, just in the center of the six thieves, and drop the small bag of coins between my feet. My short swords thrum against my legs. A smile plays at my lips, unnatural excitement flowing through me. "If you want it, come and get it."
