Private Tales Hush Little Baby

[Arisa Lovelace]

A few light droplets of rain fell from the cloudy sky and the leather clad woman looked up. The sky was dark, celestial bodies covered by a thick blanket of clouds. If anything, the near total darkness it brought was good for business. As long as a torrential downpour of any sort didn't come. She stalked through the back alleys, not wanting to be seen on the main street. Backdoors were the best way to gain entry to a home, in her experience. Arisa continued to move through the darkness until she found her target: a certain noble's abode. She could see the flicker of oil lamps within the house and furrowed her brow. They were still awake, and that didn't sit well with the woman.

"Shit," she whispered, following the swear with a deep inward draw of breath. On her exhale, she snuck toward the rear door of the house and peeked in through its keyhole to see what other information she could gather. The coast was clear, at least at that moment, and she reached for the door knob. It was locked. Of course, it's locked. What rich person would invite trouble by leaving it unlocked? she thought, a frown appearing on her lips. She reached into a satchel she had at her side and pulled out a lock pick. She twisted it in the keyhole a few times, trying to find the right path through the lock, and then the lock popped and she was able to open the door.

Quietly shutting it behind her, the thief glanced around, searching the area for any witnesses. There were none, and so she moved catlike through the hallway the door opened into. From there she could hide in a closet, go upstairs, or risk waking the servants downstairs. Her gaze moved toward a narrow, twisting staircase that led down to their quarters. Finding the hall to be deserted, she let loose a soft sigh and snuck a little farther in, toward a prettier set of stairs near the front of the house. Quietly, she creeped upward, constantly checking back toward the bottom of the stairs. Once she was in the upper level of the noble's home, she looked around again. There was noise in one of the rooms ahead, and the twist of another door knob could be heard. Quickly, she ducked into one of the closets, quietly opening then closing the door as not to be heard. She dropped to her knees and bent so that she could peek in the space beneath the door, but all she would see was feet.

The job that brought her here wasn't typical in the sense of riches and coin; no, she'd been hired to kidnap an infant. Fun job, that. It wasn't the first human she'd had to snatch and traffick. She hoped it'd be the last. She always hoped it would be. There in that closet, she brought her hands to her head and squeezed, as if to relieve a headache. If she hadn't been out of money for over a week, and food for days, she might have considered saying no this time... Did she really value the lives of her targets so lowly? The shadows at the base of the door stopped and she heard a hand on the door knob to the closet.

Placing a hand over her mouth, she tried to breathe quietly and sunk further into the clothes that were neatly hung up. To the farthest corner of that little room. She waited for the door opened, and she could only hope she wasn't seen.

Shiv

 

[Shiv]

Shiv stood quietly in the corner of the room as two other men continued in fervent discussion. He could tell that they were talking in circles, which was to be expected between a noble and a merchant. Both were far too easy with their words; that sort of thing that could get you killed in Shiv's line of work. The mercenary was however growing increasingly frustrated. He was not getting paid by the hour and it was late enough as is. Shiv had been hired as some extra muscle for the merchant, mostly to escort the man during collections. His normal strongarm was apparently indisposed, probably got themselves killed in a petty bar-fight. Shiv didn't much care, and tonight was the last of the contract. 'Course the gods had seen fit for it to be the most annoying.

"Fine, let me fetch my coat." The Baron's irritated concession was music to Shiv's pointed ears. He followed the two out of the room and into another just down the hall. The mercenary rested at the doorway, content to be near the only exit. A lesson hard-learned over the years. Nothing was likely to happen in this place but caution never hurt.

The wail of an infant suddenly echoed through the manse.

"I must go check on my child," stated the baron, turning away from the closet. Shiv was well-acquainted with shitty fathers, the man's urgency was not borne of love. The noble strode confidently past the merchant and towards the doorway. The mercenary's employer gave Shiv a very distinctive look.

"Best get your coat, my lord," Shiv stated in an even tone. The noble continued on his path. This time the mercenary took a few steps forward to match, arms outstretched. Shiv must have been more annoyed than he thought because he sent the baron tumbling backwards. The mercenary winced slightly as the man crashed into the closet door from earlier.

Who knew that his half-hearted threat would lead to pandemonium?

Arisa Lovelace

 

[Arisa Lovelace]

Arisa could go no deeper into the closet. Shit. Shit shit shit, she hurriedly thought. Her hands fell to her boots, pulling free two hidden daggers. She didn't want to do any killing, but there was little else she could do to defend herself if the man opened the closet. She heard the shadow shift its weight in front of the door, and then came the rattle of a knob as he gripped and opened it.

Quickly, Arisa ripped down one of the coats that were hanging up and covered herself with it, hoping it'll go unnoticed. Light and shadows suddenly danced around one another as the wooden door creaked open. Fortunately, it was by oil lamp that he was seeking his jacket. Unfortunately, she'd grabbed his jacket. With a grunt, he rifled through the ones hanging still in search of the one. The one currently hiding a young woman with daggers.

"Where is it... I know I hung it up," the man grumbled. "Just a second."

He looked down, searching the floor of the closet in case it fell. And there it was! Fallen in the corner. It was an odd way for it to have fallen in such a sharp angle, but who was he to judge? He bent down, grabbing the arm of his coat and pulling. It stuck at first, as if something heavy were in it, but with another grunt he freed the coat.

What he saw gave him quite the scare. He dropped the coat and pointed a finger at the closet. "What the hell?" He ducked in a second time, aiming to grab the intruder by her wrist. She swiped at him with the dagger, cutting a thin line on his hand.

"Don't touch me," Arisa growled, slapping his hands away a second time. "I'll come out, just stop reaching for me or I'll cut off your fingers."

The man took an unsure step back, allowing the thief to climb out of the closet. Then came the wails of the infant upstairs and her dark gaze shot upward. That was her target. Her hands tightened around her daggers. Without a second thought, she took off running toward the stairs. He'd seen her face, so she could picture the wanted posters asking for her. She had underestimated her target.

Shiv