To Make a Kinder Children's Tale

20: Rileus Firstborn

Rileus growled in frustration. "You're painting a world where I won't have any access to the guilds through you, at all. But I know you ran a cart, Esme. All I have to do is haul in Lady Fane's servants."

Neither man had known that one so pale could grow even more ashen. "You go after them and I've been promised my death."

Rileus' tone became scathing. "What, you don't trust Althalos to protect you?"

Esme gave a swift gesture of supplication. "No offense is intended, but my experience with my betrothed is that he's horribly easy to elude. And your men couldn't find forty people around a plaza. Besides, they're easy to spot, moments before they break from cover. You're asking me to place trust over experience."

"We did get close enough to experience the bond, Esme." At this point the man was pointedly looking at her plate. Her inability to eat was catching his attention, unfortunately.

"I'm known to daydream. I assure you, those chosen to off me would lack of that quality. Besides, you're ignoring what I've said. People are isolated and replaceable. You would have to take over Lady Fane's to try to prevent it, but then would have to expect that any woman sent to you would be from a thieve's control before they get in. And then there's the danger of trained young men taking care of poor women with as little clothes as I had. Fear of what backed me kept me safe on the streets. Those men wouldn't fear any backing but yours. You'd have a bunch of pregnant, destitute vendors who did nothing to ask for that life--still pedaling stolen goods out of fear."

Rileus scoffed, finding the idea rediculous. "You really think guardsmen are low enough to rape?"

"Did I say that?" Her lip curled, knowing that there was always a few who would, but that wasn't what she was thinking about. "Give a girl a few pats of attention, some food, maybe a trinket, they'll trade their souls for that care. These women are starving, without any hope for a future. And so few of those relationships last. Your men are decent, but they aren't looking to be tied to whatever waif they bed." That was a silent admission as to how close she would have been to selling herself.

"Were you scared for your life, as a vendor?" Althalos finally decided on a question of his own. Of course, it was one he could have asked earlier-no surprise there to the former thief. Deep water studied a situation, often for quite some time before asking questions.

"Every item I sold was either stolen or off the body of a guild-murder. I did fear accusations and a public hanging as the only name I knew was yours. I wasn't sure of the lines you fed me--or your name. In the end I was too worn down to care-it was either go with you or pray for a quick death."

"You could have come to me." Her lover's tone made it clear that he wished she had. Not that she had any doubts on that, not by how much strain they were under when she gave in.

Esme shook her head. "Only snitches seek out guards. I would be long dead if I was caught searching for you. Possibly both of us-although the type of hell that would reign down on killing an Aelfine would cause hesitation. This bond is not something they would understand, but everyone knows about nights of passion. They're also used to women being spirited off by such men and laying aside the cart. The only thing that is going to confuse anyone is why a 'skirt is in the King's residence."

Althalos rasied one eyebrow at that, which was so arched on Aelifs that any movement was a tad startling to the woman. "My betrothed is no 'skirt. I am your first, and by the Gods-if you stay-I will be your last. You're not one to sleep around."

The look they shared was not one of endearment-it was damn near an argument. This was the first he demanded loyalty from her, and she wasn't sure that he intended the same of himself, in spite of earlier protests. But that wasn't the conversation to have now. "You should know that my watchers know nothing of your sentiments. Besides, I certainly as hell feel like one."

Rileus waved away their potential fight. "A couple of outings where you're displayed by your title-when ready-will kill the talk. Get back to the task at hand. You're still painting a picture of where it is useless to go after my quarry. Since you're ever-so-smart to explain how my way is futile, give me something to work with as my options without help is to go after Lady Fane's workers."

Esme both expected and dreaded the pressure from this Aelif. She wanted to live, but had shown her reaction to the previous threat. The answer had to give him everything yet cost her nothing. "You're going at it from the wrong end. Just like the poor little tradeswomen have their patron, we have our Lord. Look to your own ranks. Take out our greatest source of access to wealth."

That caught both men's attention. As they were more accustomed to, Rileus spoke for both of them. "You're selling autonomy, then spring the idea that you aren't."

That got a harsh laugh out of her. "Strange, isn't it? I know both to be true. We are autonomous, answer to no one, yet we have a patron. Stranger still, the various masters are usually the ones to remove any individual thief. This Lord demanded my removal. I suspect you have an imperfect leak-one who caught wind of me faster than my merry chase through half the damn city, but still missed out on your trap-at least in time to warn us. Not that I could prove any of this, but I've never heard of our Lord caring about an individual's removal, yet mine was ordered. And my master wouldn't have made a slip like that."

Rileus looked towards the ceiling-a common posture for a thinking Aelif. "What time did you get to your...ah, place of residence?"

"I was chased about for more than six hours before I managed to slip past the last of your men. Stronger, faster? They should have had me, save their egos. It's like they couldn't tell me what their weaknesses were."

The heir's heir refused to chase down her diversion. "And this man knew before you made it in?"

"Yes."

"That would at least limit it to all those that were in the King's chamber, and all they met with by tea, that day." Althalos directed this point towards Rileus.

"That's got to be half the Aelfine regularly in town, at least!" his cousin protested.

"I'd just start rumors for the next potential heist, giving different locations and dates to people. See who takes the bait, start whittling down that number, if I were you."

Esme shook her head-to herself-at Althalos' idea. She wasn't surprised that the two men were so easily lost to their conversation-she didn't matter enough to either for them to try to include her in it once they started. It wasn't all bad-she did finally manage to eat a few bites of her now cold meal. After a few more minutes of being completely ignored, she had enough. "Shouldn't you make plans a little more securely than in front of me? This bond ties me to his bedchamber, not to his will."

Rileus was the one to protest. "You said you were kicked out."

"Yes, and likely by one of the many relatives of yours that I will be forced to endure over the next few months. I still have loyalties tied to elsewhere for all that the debts are paid. Besides, if I'm just going to 'fly away', what's there to be loyal to?"

Althalos looked her over, scrutinizing her posture, trying to see beyond the bravado of her words. "I don't think you would. At least not clandestinely-you're being too open right now to try it later. But anyone would try to use you as misdirection for their misdeeds. Get something together, Rileus, and I'll see about giving you a hand later. She must have nothing to do with this trap."

And that ended the former thief's foray into the world of informant-she hoped.