Without a King (Greatest Thief 1, mxm)

Chapter Two

It was hardly past noon, but the brothel was teeming with activity. I ignored the glances sent my way, slipped between the two girls standing near the entrance, and pushed open the doors. The building was old, its age evident in the worn-out carpet and cracking plaster on the walls. Ahead of me, a large staircase, which had once been elegant, led upstairs to all the bedrooms. Girls stood around the front room and the staircase, some already talking to customers with fake enthusiasm. A few of the brothel's men lounged elegantly on a couch, eyeing everyone who walked through the door. I ignored it all, instead walking up to the front desk, where an older woman sat looking over a ledger.

She couldn't read, most Natives couldn't, but she understood numbers. I knew the system. Each girl, and the few men, had a symbol associated with them to put on the records, as well as a bedroom number and the amount of siyas this older woman thought she could charge. I'd been there often enough to understand everything in her ledger.

I reached the desk but stepped aside almost instantly so a drunk sailor could blunder past me. He paused to eye me, and I dropped my gaze. He looked vaguely familiar, and I wondered if I'd stolen anything from him recently. After a moment he moved on, and dropped a pile of siyas on the table. He muttered the name of a girl he clearly saw often, and then started up the staircase. I watched him go before stepping up to the desk again. A cat was sprawled out upside down across the top of the desk. It blinked at me lazily with large yellow eyes.

The woman was counting the coins. After she wrote down a number in the ledger, she packed the money away and looked up at me. "Good afternoon, Finn."

I nodded. "Afternoon."

"We haven't seen you in weeks." She didn't like me. She tolerated me, as many of the other women did, but they didn't like me.

"It's been slow," I agreed. From a pocket on the inside of my cloak, I pulled out a long thin chain with a silver pendant hanging on the end. It was shaped like a bird in flight, with a green eye that I thought might be emerald. I watched the woman's eyes as she followed the pendant swing back and forth. The cat tried to paw at it but I moved it out of the way. 

"Fifty siyas." It was worth much more, but I had to be reasonable or I wouldn't get anything. Nobody in the lower city could afford to spend so much on a necklace.

She narrowed her eyes. We'd gone through this routine many times. "I'll give you ten."

"Forty-five," I said. In truth, I only expected to get about thirty siyas from her, but she'd try to haggle the price down if I asked for thirty right away.

"Fifteen."

We were interrupted as a young girl appeared and leaned against the desk. She was wearing a green dress that showed off far too much of her chest. I saw my chance. "This necklace would match your dress perfectly, miss. Only forty siyas, for someone as beautiful as you." I was a little young to catch the girl's interest, but she would love the compliment all the same.

She smiled. "Oh, how sweet. It is very pretty." She glanced at the older woman. "He's the good thief, isn't he?"

"Yes. All right, Finn. I know what you want. Thirty siyas." The older woman reached into her desk and pulled out three brass siyas.

I grinned and took them from her hand while putting the necklace down on the table. "Thank you, ma'am."

The older woman gestured lazily and the younger picked it up with glee. "Is that all you have?"

I glanced down at my ring quickly, but changed my mind. The thirty siyas was good enough for one day. "For now, yes. I'll be back as soon as I can." I tucked the coins safely within my cloak and left briskly. Selling my finds to the brothel was one thing, but I didn't like hanging around if I didn't have to.

It had started to drizzle lightly, so I pulled up my hood and buried my hands in my pockets. All thoughts of going to the upper city flew from my head. Rain was rare in Zianna, and I wasn't going to go up there and risk slipping on the dividing wall. Instead, I wandered down the main street and eyed the stalls set up on either side of it. With money in my pocket, I felt like doing the proper thing and actually buying some food.

I stopped briefly at a small stand selling fresh bread and paid five siyas for a few slices. I ate them quickly so they wouldn't get soggy. Many of the other thieves around the lower city would never pay for something they could easily steal, but I thought differently. Life was just as hard for the vendors as it was for me. They deserved my money if I could afford to give it. I could afford it for now, with the sixty siyas I still had stashed away at home. Besides, what was the point of getting money if I never used it?

I continued walking down the street, looking at the stalls curiously. Most had food or other essential items—clothing, blankets, pots and pans. It was nothing like the luxuries in the upper city markets that came from different kingdoms and far off islands. I'd admired the marketplace many times, but never had enough money to buy anything there. It was well guarded, too, making it hard to steal things. Self-preservation came before greed; I didn't get caught because I was careful.

Occasionally, people would call out asking for any spare siyas. I ignored them, though I felt horrible doing it. Many of them were like me, hungry children who hadn't learned how to pickpocket. Some were older, the poorest Natives who had misfortune drive them into the streets. I couldn't help them. Self-preservation—I had to keep my money to myself, use it on myself.

I was about to turn around and go back home when a leather stand caught my eye. Usually I would ignore it, but there was a pair of dark brown boots sitting on the table. The owner was talking to another man, but I could tell his full attention was on me as I picked up one of the boots to inspect it. It was simple but sturdy, with a good sole. I eyed my own worn out boots.

"You've got money?" the owner asked.

I realized then that the other customer had walked away, and I nodded. "Yes. How much for the boots?"

"Forty siyas."

He was doing the exact same thing I had done in the brothel. Everyone did it. "I can give you ten."

He leaned across the table slightly, probably so that he could grab me if I started to run off with the boots. "Thirty."

I paused. "Twenty siyas."

"Hmm..." He looked me over and glanced down at the boots I was wearing. "Give me the old ones. Some of that leather can be reworked."

"Deal." I handed over the rest of my money, and then quickly changed into the new boots before my feet could get wet. I left the man inspecting my old boots, trying to figure out how much of the leather he could save.

I began to go home. It had been a successful day, and I really didn't like the rain.