Thieving Hearts

She panted heavily, feet sounding loudly in the empty alleyway as she scrambled for safety from the main streets and her pursuers. Angered shouts and curses grappled after her vainly as she sped on, dodging boxes and rubbish littering the alleyway. She gripped the bundle of bread and dried meat closer to her as she neared what seemed to be a dead end. Her eyes searched for the opening and within a breath she'd disappeared into it, escaping through the deserted warehouse. Clanks and crashes indicated the police and baker's ill-fates attempts at following her through the miniscule opening and she grinned.

Perhaps I should start from the beginning. The heroine of this story is 19 year old Velene. Abandoned at the tender age of ten, she spent nine years of her life as a street thief, stealing to get by and no more. She ruled the city, knowing the nooks and crannies better than those whom have lived there far longer than she. Still it was her cage. A large cage, but it bound her like a bird trapped and unable to spread its wings. Velene dreamt of places unknown, lives unlived. She had been alone all this time in her prison and longed for the company of beings other than the rats that occupied her rickety home.

Quietly, Velene stole back to her sanctuary. Soft meows drew her attention to a medium sized cat perched on her makeshift table, created from a round piece of wood and an old barrel. The cat was a newcomer, only having recently moved in with Velene. Under all the filth of the streets a white coat hid, dappled by bits of grey tabby. Intelligent silver-gray eyes – a strange eye color for a cat – peered out from a delicate face, their almond shapes reclining above a little pink nose. It was bloated around the middle, but the slenderness of the face revealed it was not merely fat, but instead engorged with kits due fairly soon. This fact in turn proved it to be a she.

Velene crossed over to the old mattress in the corner that she'd dug up from one of the abandoned warehouses down in this sludgy part of the city. A few ratty old blankets and pillows were piled on top, but Velene wasn't going to complain. She knew others weren't even lucky enough for the scant amount of things she'd manage scavenge from old buildings and trash.

Few other things decorated the room. A rugged carpet warmed the creaky wooden floor. A couple empty barrels were pushed against an unused door, more as a sad attempt to take up space than anything else. She had put a few chipped bowls and jars atop them. The jars were filled with drinkable water, and the bowls were waiting forlornly for food to fill them, mirroring Velene's grumbling stomach.

She dumped the three small loafs of bread into one and the few scraps of dried meat in another. She grabbed on loaf to chew on and stuck it unceremoniously into her mouth while snatching a piece of meat as well. While munching on the bread, Velene trudged over to the cat. It blinked slowly at her, unafraid. With one soft hand Velene rubbed the pregnant cat's head, with the other she handed the strip of meat over. The cat bit at it hungrily, being unable to do much rat hunting with her belly so bloated. It meowed once as if in thanks and purred as Velene's fingers trailed through her fur.

"I can't just keep calling you 'cat,' now can I?" Velene pondered aloud. "Lisfera. That'll be your name. A pretty name for a pretty cat."

~~~~~~~~~~~~*~*~~~~~~~~~~~~

The dawn's hazy light woke Velene from her light slumber. She wiped groggily at her eyes and stretched. She threw off her covers to stand, but stumbled over Lisfera who looked up at her with equally sleepy eyes. Velene tickled Lisfera's head in apology and went to grab a piece of meat for breakfast. She had to keep them covered to keep the rats out of the food. Luckily, that was enough.

Velene headed out, not really having a place to go or a thing to do. She had enough food to last another day or so longer if she rationed. It wasn't smart to steal more food the day after the first theft.

Velene sighed. It was neither a depressed sigh nor a contented sigh, but more of a sigh for the hell of it. It signified she felt there was more to do than what she had been doing, but she was still happy with what she had. Crisp days like this often evoked that sigh, where it was neither too cold nor too hot.

From the corner of her eye, Velene caught a pickpocket's hand snaking into an unsuspecting woman's coin purse. The corner of Velene's mouth twitched in irritation. This was her neighborhood, and someone was trespassing. She wandered toward the thief lazily, careful to look everywhere but at the boy. As she passed him, she grabbed his ear with a firm hand and dragged him away empty handed.

The boy was protesting loudly as Velene pulled him to a corner beside an empty bread seller stand. She glared at him and shushed him.

"What are you doing on my turf?" she demanded. The boy sneered at her in contempt.

"Yer turf? There's only one o' you. There ain't no way you own this 'ole neighbor'ood," he growled. Velene just laughed.

"Of course not you twit, I just own the street. I couldn't hold an entire neighborhood alone." Her voice grew suddenly darker. "But I sure can keep my street."

"Well, we could always take it from you," the boy shot back, though his voice had grown a tad meeker at his mistake.

"We? What, there's more of you roaches?" Velene said, though it had been a rhetorical question.

"Way more than a 'lil girl like you could handle." The kid's confidence had returned. "You ain't gonna stand a chance."

"Little girl? Boy, you're younger than I am. 9? 10?" Velene's eyes narrowed dangerously. "You have no idea what I can or can't handle."

It was a ball faced lie and Velene knew it. By the way the kid spoke, there were four or five of them at the very least. No matter how talented in brawls or fleet of foot she was, there was no way Velene could fight off four or five streeties on her own.

"You ain't gonna stand a chance again' the Court!" Velene's mind blanched. Scratch her estimation. The Court had twenty-some members of varying ages, the oldest 32 and the youngest 4. Of course, that was just this city's branch. No one could handle the Court alone. If the Court wanted her territory, then there was nothing she could do about it. Of course, she wouldn't let the kid know that.

"The Court, eh?" She smirked devilishly. "Well, they shouldn't be too hard."

"We shouldn't be too hard, hm?" Velene winced visibly. That voice did not belong to a ten year old boy.

"There are four of us and only one of you. Are you serious?" This was a girl's voice. She sounded about Velene's age, perhaps a year or so younger.

Velene looked up, her mind racing. She was outnumbered and, though she was a fairly good fighter, she knew she couldn't take them all on at once, especially in the middle of the market.

"Of course. I mean, I do have a friend of yours and, if I'm not mistaken, the Court is quite loyal to one another. I'm a thief, I have means." The girl growled audibly. Means was another word thieves used for weapons. "I want my territory, you want your friend. All I'm asking is for you to leave me and my territory alone and you'll get him back safe and sound."

That was another lie. She wouldn't hurt anyone, even if her turf was invaded. Still, without a bluff like this, Velene doubted she'd be able to keep her street.

"You're lying." Velene frowned internally. She couldn't be that transparent, not after nine years practice.

"Why do you think that?" Velene asked, voice clipped.

"Because you won't get the chance," a voice purred in her ear, the breath tickling her neck. Velena whirled and came face to face with a young man not much older than she. His dazzling emerald eyes bore into her gentle amber-hazel ones. She felt as if he could read her like a book, a disconcerting idea. He grabbed her wrist and pulled her away from the boy. He ran quickly to hide behind the girl, sticking his tongue out at Velene when he peeked around.

Velene knew better than to make a huge scene in public. It would put her in as much trouble as them. Still she knew she would be in big mess if they got her in private. The best idea was to stay inconspicuous in a market corner.

"So this is yours?" the man asked, inclining his head in a random direction. Velene nodded warily.

"Claimed it nine years ago," she answered cautiously. Velene gestured towards several subtle signs carved along the street. They were small notifications that this street was taken. Velene's emblem was just a pair of cat eyes, simple compared to many of the dramatic and attention-grabbing signs of others.

"You chose good. A lesser market street that doesn't attract the attention of other streeties, but will still provide good pickins for you," the man observed. Velene was surprised by a hearty clap on the back. She stumbled a few steps forward. "You're a smart one."

Velene gaped for a moment. "We-Well, there's only one of me..." she said. What else could she say? The enemy had just complimented her.

"But that doesn't mean we're just gonna let you go," he continued as though he'd never stopped. Velene's eyes narrowed as she took a step back, arm rising in an unconscious act of defense. He stepped forward, keeping the same amount of distance between them. "We can't have streeties thinking that they can defy The Court, now can we?"

He grabbed her arm firmly before Velene could pull away. His hand was large and calloused, boasting of a lifetime of labor. Velene froze at the touch, eyes darting from one streetie to the next, mind whirling with thoughts of escape.

"What do you think you're doing?" she growled, eyes flashing in anger.

"We're taking you with us." Velene's breath came out as a hiss. "Oh don't worry; we're not going to hurt you if you don't struggle."

Velene laughed without humor. "You have got to be joking if you think I'm going to just let you take me in." She stood up taller in defiance. "Besides, you have no right. As the Court you can only punish those that show open rebelliance of you. But I did not; I was merely protecting what was mine."

"Who said anything about punishing?" the girl scoffed. Velene spared no more than a glance at her. Her attention remained trained on the more immediate danger: him.

"Clara is right, I merely mentioned that we couldn't have others think that you had rebelled against the Court and gotten away with it. I said nothing about punishing you." The man's mouth twitched into the semblance of a grin. Velene was truly confused.

"Then what the hell are you doing?" Velene wondered. This time the man actually laughed. It was a warm sound, rich with a limitless freedom that Velene's heart suddenly longed to feel. She kicked that longing away violently. This was no time to be daydreaming of such things.

"We're gonna let you come with us." When Velene's face didn't change into one of comprehension, the man added, "Join us."

Velene's eyes tightened. "No," she said sternly. "I will not join the Court. I live on my own. I work on my own. I need no one but myself." It was a fact she often reminded herself as well. She knew she'd eventually persuade herself it was the truth if she said it often enough.

This time it was the man's turn to look bewildered. Apparently no one had ever turned down the "honor" of joining the Court before. Well, there was a first for everything.

"Why not?" he asked, finally letting go. Velene stared at him. "You'll have safety in numbers, and a bigger hunting ground than any you've ever dreamed of. Besides, you'd be a great addition. You're smart, well trained, and you follow and understand the Code as well as any Court member. Better than some."

"Simple. I just don't want to," Velene replied with a shrug.

Actually, that one was a lie. She didn't really care if she belonged to the Court or not. Not particularly anyway. She'd like the advantage of numbers, but she was more worried about Lisfera, bloated with kits back at her home. She had found an odd tenderness towards the animal and was unwilling to leave her alone as she was. Of course, then again there was the company she could have. Friends. Family. She pushed that thought away too. Honestly, you would think she'd learn. They were pleasant to have, but the tradeoff was truly unfair. If you lost them, the pain you'd feel was debilitating. She couldn't go through that again. Another perfectly good reason to say no.

"You're lying," he stated, staring intently at Velene's face. Velene frowned. She didn't like being seen through. It was dreadfully unnerving. "Tell us the real reason."

Velene lost her temper. She didn't like having to answer to this "Courtee" whose name she didn't even know. Who was he to question her when he should have been satisfied with her answer? His presence and his inquiries were raising buried memories and dreams that she had long locked away. She disliked having to remember them. It was a pain she'd rather ignore.

"I don't have to tell you anything!" Velene said, taking a step closer to him, her hands propped angrily on her hips. "I don't care if you're part of the Court or part of the King's Army; you have no right to come onto my turf to question me about my ideals! I don't even know who you are. Hell, I don't even know if you're really part of the Court! So until I know more about you, I won't answer one more of your idiotic questions!"

[[IN PROGRESS]]