the Dragon's Daughter

The City Circle market stalls had been open for nearly an hour. The streets were full of people, animals, and charts. I peeked out from behind the crates I was using as a hiding place. A large, ball of a woman, stood at the stall closest to me. She argued with the vendor over the price of a jewel necklace. The woman’s greying, blonde hair was piled in curls on top of her head, jewels and gems sparkled from the curls. Her well powdered face was creased with wrinkles and her large frame was dressed in a pale-yellow dress. Rubies and other valuable gems clung to the necklace around her neck and adorned the rings on both her hands. My eyes traveled down to the large coin purse that hung from a cord at her waist. I couldn’t help but grin. A high house lady that couldn’t find a servant to do her shopping. I slipped from my hiding place, hands in my pockets. The lady and vendor were to focus on their argument to notice the shabby looking woman getting closer to them. My dagger slipped from its sheath under my sleeve and into my hand. The blade sliced through the cord effortlessly and the purse slid into my tunic as I continued to walk, whistling to myself. I was already out of the market when the yells of thief started. I ducked into an alley, listening as street guards rushed by, answering the call of the woman. The footsteps faded. I breathed a sigh of relief and stood, freezing as a figure came around the corner. A fox sat at my feet. His silky coat was a deep crimson with a creamy white on his chest and the tip of his tail. The almost jet-black color of his feet traveled up each leg like socks. The color matched the spots around both of his light brown eyes and around his muzzle. I smiled at him, Felix and I had been together nearly nine years. I was seven and had just lost my mother when I found him hurt on the outskirts of the city. “Come on Felix, lets go show the others what I got.” Felix gave a soft bark as he started following me down the alley. We used the alleys and back streets to walk the mile to the lower part of the city. The city’s lower part, known as the Slums to the inhabitants. The Slums housed Ebonispire’s most disgruntled citizens: vampires, werewolves, streetwalkers, thieves, and the like. Coming closer to the Slums, shadows rose, making the streets dark. The houses with their pretty, polished stones and well-tended gardens turned into ruins. Many of the homes were dark, the only light came from the setting sun, shining through the holes in the walls and broken windows. I pulled the hood of my cloak down, so it covered my silver eyes. Hand on my dagger, Felix and I made our way down the broken roads and alleyways, the stench of garbage and human waste stinging our eyes and filling our nostrils. I could feel eyes following us from the shadows of the doorways. It would be dark in a few hours and it seemed that creatures who walked it had risen with its anticipation. The hand that held the dagger tightened, while the other closed on the coin purse in my tunic. The sun would keep them at bay, however it didn’t stop the hairs on the back of my neck from rising. We rounded the corner, ducking into the doorway of an abandon three-story. I pressed a hand to the ridged stone that made up the doorway. To the unsuspecting person I was a simple mortal, no power, no supernatural characteristics, an easy target. However, if they could look into my emerald eyes, they would see my power. My mother used to tell me that I was born of the land, a privilege that allowed me special influence of the elements. As such, I could listen to the voices carried on the wind or hold fire in my palms without getting burned. I could also listen to the earth as though it were a living being and the water was as inviting as home. Despite my gifts, I always relayed on other skills more, however it never hurt to be sure. Firmly pressing on the stone of the doorway, I closed my eyes, as they shone a deep green. I focused on the humming beneath my hand and whispered, “Who has been here?” The stone was quick to reply, as pictures of my friends coming and going flooded my mind. “Thank you.” I said, dropping my hand and knocking on the door three times. The door opened and we stepped inside. It took a moment for my eyes to adjust to the dim lighting of the entrance. Light flickered in the other room, sending the shadows dancing around me. Voices also came from the other room. I followed the voices, finding my friends sitting among the run-down walls. Clara sat next to the darkened fireplace, needle, and thread in hand. I watched as she gracefully threaded the needle through a pair of leggings. She and I were born the same month, with me being two years older. Clara pushed a runaway strand of her blonde hair back behind her ear and looked over at me, a smile pulling at the corners of her perfect mouth, making her blue eyes shine. Even the dirt smudged across her heart shaped face, could not mask her pretty features. She kept her long, blonde hair pulled back in a braid. As a child, I had often envied her hair, preferring it over the jet-black, waviness of my own. She was tall and lean, something I thought she would be even if we ate multiple times a day. I too was tall, nearly a full three inches taller than Clara’s 5 foot 6 inches. My body, however, was well toned and muscled, compared to Clara’s, who somehow never managed to master the art of scaling buildings and climbing into windows. I smiled back at her, walking across the room and sank onto my cot. “Got anything good?” I looked towards the speaker. Theon, Clara’s young brother, sat on a three-legged stool, a half-eaten piece of bread in his hand. He looked a lot like his older sister. His blonde hair was shaggy and littered with dirt and his blue eyes held knowledge beyond his eleven years of age. I grinned at him, pulling the coin purse out of my cloak, chuckling as both their eyes grew wide. I tossed the pursed to Clara, grabbing a piece of bread off the plate at Theon’s feet. I watched her count the coins and ate the stale, two-day old bread. “Where’s Asha?” Asha was older than Theon, but younger than Clara. She too, shared her siblings’ blonde hair, blue eyes, and heart shaped face. I had met Asha and them almost seven years ago. Their parents had died, making them orphans. Clara was twelve at the time and had no idea how to make it on the street by herself, let alone with a six and four-year-old. Despite only being fourteen myself, I had quit a few years longer on the streets of Ebonispire, having become an orphan myself, at seven. I had felt sorry for the three of them, having lost my own mother and being unsure what to do. The four of us had been friends ever since, although I looked at them more like my siblings than anything. Theon opened his mouth to answer just as the door opened and slammed shut. I stood, slipping my dagger into my hand as a rather rough looking Asha ran into the room. Dirt and twigs clung to her torn clothing. Blood ran from a gash on her cheek and her right eye was bruised and swollen. Smaller bruises littered her arms and dried blood caked her left knee. Clara let out a small cry, “Asha? What…” Clara was cut off by banging on the door and a mix of yelling voices. I placed my finger to my lips, hushing everyone. The banging and yelling grew, as I placed my dagger back up my sleeve, without sheathing it and went to see what all the noise was about. “Come on, Asha. We know you’re in there.” yelled a voice. I opened the door just enough to slip out, facing a group of five boys, all around my age. “Ah, Ky. Send Asha out. We have a discussion to finish.” I fixed my silver gaze on the speaker. I knew him well. Garrett led one of the largest gangs in the city. He had a hand in everything from petty pickpocketing to hired muscle. He was just a couple years older than my almost twenty-one and stood at nearly six feet tall. His golden hair was slicked back. His sun-kissed face was smooth and his eyes were dark. His dark red tunic was fitted to his lean, well-muscled body. I couldn’t help as the memories of that body pressed against mine bubbled to the surface. I pushed those memories away, taking in the bloody and bruised appearance of those that stood behind him and smiled to myself. I lend against the doorway. “Asha? What business could you possibly have with a little girl?” Garrett stepped closer. “That little girl jumped four of my men.” I chuckled. “You mean to tell me, that a half-starved, thirteen-year-old girl, jumped four of your men?” I laughed. “Come on, Garrett, you can come up with a better story than that.” Garrett frowned. One of the boys stepped up, “It’s true. The little b***h jumped me and my brothers and snatched our loot.” I set my silver eyes on him, even Garrett could only hold my gaze for a few minutes before looking away and this boy was no different. His gaze quickly shifted to the ground as he muttered something under his breath. “Hm.” I looked back at Garrett. “Are you sure it was Asha?” “Of course, I’m sure.” the boy growled, still looking at the ground. I nodded, “Ash, come out here.” Asha walked out, standing next to me. Clara had managed to clean her up and stop the bleeding, her eye was going to bruise though. “Garrett’s men are claiming that you attacked them.” Asha put on her best shocked face. “I what? It was them that attacked me.” A complete lie. “Why would my men go after you?” Garrett asked. Asha looked at him, no fear in her features. I made sure to keep my face blank. “I heard them say that one of them had lost some of the score. They thought I would report back to you.” I knew she was lying, but I clicked my tongue, shrugging my shoulders. “Sounds like your boys aren’t as capable as you claim.” Garrett narrowed his eyes, a vein in his neck popped as he swallowed. He took great pride in how he trained those in his group. It was why he was the best in the Slums. No one here would care that they attacked Asha. Girls were attacked in the Slums every day, many never being seen again, but if word got out that a score was lost…business would dwindle. After a moment, Garrett sighed, putting a hand on the back of the boy’s neck. The boy’s body tensed as did the others behind them and I knew whatever punishment was dealt would be painful. “Let’s go boys.” he said. A hint of venom laced his voice, and I couldn’t help the shiver that ran up my spine. I had witnessed Garrett dealing out punishments many times during my time with his group, none were good memories. I watched them leave, before following Asha back inside. As we walked back into the room with Clara and Theon, I smacked her on the back of the head. She yelled, “Ow!” “The hell is wrong you? How many times have I told you to stay of their way?” Asha looked at the floor, hands in her pockets. I sighed, leaning against the wall. “How much?” Grinning, Asha began taking small coin bags out of her pockets, shoes, and the inside of her clothes. At least twenty bags lay on our small table. “The idiots were moving a small cart, actin’ all weird, so I decided to follow ‘em. I followed for almost ten blocks. They never noticed. They pulled into an alley and started talking about the score. It sounded like a lot, so I thought I’d see for myself. I would of got more if I hadn’t dropped one of the bags.” I laughed, patting her on the shoulder. “Nice job.” Clara pierced her lips, frowning. She hated that we had to steal, even though she knew it had to be done.