Without a King (Greatest Thief 1, mxm)

Chapter Six

I waited until the following night before I began my search for a dagger. After all the boys were asleep, I crept back down into their hallway. I was wearing my old cloak because it blended into the shadows, and if I were seen, it would be less recognizable. There were multiple boys with red cloaks, but not enough to make me anonymous. 

It was dark in the hallway, but I was used to working at night. Daylight raids to the upper city were fun, but I didn't do it often enough to sustain myself. Sneaking around at night was a safer way to get food or supplies. 

I paused at the first room and stood silently in front of it for a moment. Inside, I could hear the boy tossing and turning on his bed. It could mean that he was still awake, and I decided to move on. At the second room I heard nothing. I put my hand on the knob and slowly turned it.

The door creaked a little and I froze, listening for any noise indicating the boy had woken up. The room was almost perfectly silent. I held the door as I slipped through, and cautiously closed it behind me. Moonlight was shining in through the window, so I had enough light to work. The room looked nearly identical to the one where I'd stolen my cloak. The only difference was the boy lying asleep in his bed, and the slightly darker colour of the cloaks hanging in the wardrobe.

I crept around the boy's bed to look through his desk. The first drawer I opened held normal things, some pieces of parchment and paper, two quills, and bottles of ink. The second drawer held what I was looking for. The boy had many different daggers and small knives, and I forced myself to ignore the fancier ones. Not only would their absence be noticed, but I didn't want to draw too much attention to myself.

Instead, I picked out one that looked quite plain. It was slightly heavier than Tannix's, though it looked to be about the same size. The handle and sheath were made of black leather, decorated with dark, beaten gold. I slipped the dagger from the sheath to see that the dark metal also made up the knife's guard and blade. The knife wasn't nearly as rich looking as Tannix's was, but I knew it would serve my purposes just fine. I slid the dagger back into the sheath, and hooked it onto my belt. I quietly closed the drawer, and then, instead of taking the door, I left through the window.

I met Tannix the next morning by the door to his bedroom. I had my new dagger with me, but I didn't flaunt it like I wanted to; I let it stay under my cloak where it was meant to be. It was comforting to feel the weight of the weapon on my hip, even though I wasn't used to carrying one around.

When I knocked, Tannix opened the door and glanced over me sleepily. "Why do you look so proud of yourself?" He had opened the door before he was finished getting ready for the day, so he walked back into his room and I followed him. I leaned against the wall near his door and crossed my arms.

"Good dreams," I replied vaguely.

"About a girl?" Tannix pulled on his cloak.

"Maybe."

"A servant back at your villa?"

I shrugged. "Maybe." He picked up his dagger from his desk and was fitting it to his belt. I couldn't help but stare at it until it was hidden from sight by his cloak.

"Does she have a name?" Tannix asked.

"Of course, everyone has a name." I said. "It's Zila." The first name that I could think of was my mother's, but Tannix didn't need to know that. "And who do you dream about, Lord Tandrix?"

"I don't think I want to tell you."

"You can't—" I started to protest, but Tannix held up his hand to silence me.