That night Carter made her first official robbery on an old landlord whom she knew frequented the inn often. He was just as bad as Harold, and she felt no qualms in taking the money. In fact, she didn't have much heart-ache at the thought of the new life she was given. Levi told her of the simple, but strict rules of the Shadowers. Stay alive. Stay loyal. Don't get caught.

That was the only night that Levi supervised her activities. "We may be in a Brotherhood, Carter, and we may have pledged our lives for each other," he said, "But every thief, assassin and criminal knows if he's gonna want to live, he'd better know how to take care of his own hide." The Shadower smiled mirthlessly at her. Carter returned his smile.

They returned to the sewers just before midnight; Carter discovering she had a curfew to follow. They stopped at a four-way junction. Levi frowned. "Go down there," he said, nodding to the left. "Turn right 'bout 30 paces down, then 'nother left at the second crossway. You should find some of the lodging rooms. I just 'membered I have'ta do something." He smiled briefly. "You look horrible; get some sleep."

"Can't say any better 'bout you," she said. "Where ya goin'?"

"To see somebody. Don't worry. We're deep enough in the sewers.. Even if y'get lost, you'll find a Brother. Just tell 'em yer my sis," he said. He was already heading in the opposite direction. It was fine advice, except she didn't run into a single person for the next fifteen minutes.

"Go get some sleep, he says," she grumbled. "When I can find the domain-damned room!" Carter took a right turn, simultaneous with a squeal from a mouse. "At least you should know your way around," she said. Stopping, she sighed. She must have turned the last left too soon. Or maybe too late. The girl turned around to back-track.

Then she gasped. Her back hurt, rammed against the cold wall. She was vaguely aware of something sharp jabbed into her left side. And the warm air that breathed on her was distinctly foul. "Who in the domain are you?!"

Lifting her gaze, she saw a pair of harsh, angry eyes.

"How the domain did you get here? Say somethin' or you're dead."

She coughed. "Levi's..Levi's first sister."

"Wha-?" He eased off of her, but she preferred to lean against to moist stones. Especially when his long dagger was still pointing at her. "I said I'm Levi's first sister," she said. She tried to exert some irritation. The man tilted his head at her. Slowly, he lowered his dagger.

"The barmaid from 'Arold's inn?"

She lifted her chin at him. "Not anymore."

The man laughed. "So it ain't...Risidia-be-damned." He sneered at her. "Welcome to the family, sister-dear." Mockingly, he bowed. Tucking his dagger into his belt, he began to walk away. She half wanted to call him for directions, but her pride somehow still stung. Sniffing back unexpected tears, she wandered around until she found the lodgings.

Sore and weary, she fell on Levi's old bed and slept.

Early the next morning, Carter woke up with an unexpected sore in her thighs. The moment she swung her legs to the ground, her head went back down to the pillow, muffling a pained groan. She bit her lip and stood, ignoring her muscle's protests. Levi was no where in sight.

She walked out of the lodgings, noting that some of the Shadowers snored loud enough to be heard from the hallway. And they say the Shadowers were a silent bunch, she mused. She found a large room with a couple of tables and chairs. There was one man sitting at the far end. He was hunched over the wooden table. A dirty green flask was in his right hand. Years in an inn trained her to recognize a hang-over when she saw one; she just didn't expect a trained Shadower to fall into that age-old sickness.

"What're'ya starin' at?" he sneered.

Carter ignored the question and looked around. There was no one.

"Yer Levi's new sissster, aren't'ya?" he grumbled. His head wobbled up and down, threatening to fall flat on the table. She doubted he could see her nod, so she said she was. He muttered something about a bad headache and drank something from the flask. A moment later, his head shot back up at her. "What're'ya standin' there for? No breakfast here.. Yer Shadower now, right?" he half sneered, half grinned. "Gotta steal your meals now..." He said more, but his speech began to slur beyond comprehension.

Mumbling something to him, Carter turned around and left the room. Levi had to be around somewhere, but her stomach was growling. At least at the inn, she could make her meals early in the morning.

She smiled thinly. Well, stealing is almost like making.

It took her less time to find a way out of the sewers than it did to find the lodgings. She managed to grow accustom to the limp in her walk, but she was going to demand for some balm when she found Levi. She just wasn't used to jumping over rooftops and balconeys. The exit she found out of the sewers lead her to a crate-infested alleyway. It stank of fish and other rotting food, and the rats scattered at her arrival.

Only the market place could produce this much litter. True enough, the alley lead to the busy street of vendors. She followed the crowd and located a fruit stall. While looking to the left, her hand was reaching deftly to the right. A moment later, she walked away, satisfied.

Biting into the apple, she looked around her surroundings with new respect. It felt good to be free!

A familiar child caught her gaze and she paused. The young boy was about seven years old, but the quickest pick-pocket among the Street-Boys. Tim had an adorable face, perfect for distraction. Even Carter had been caught by that smile once or twice, only to find her pockets lighter by a handful.

He caught her watching him, and breathed a sigh of relief when he realized she was a friend and not the authories. He was on the other side of the street and made no move to approach her, but gave her an anxious look. She understood what he wanted to know. Carter nodded once and gave him a `thumbs up' sign. The little boy broke into a big smile. She smiled back and then the boy was gone.

This was the life! she thought. This was what she had envied of the Street Boys; this was what she had dared to dream of when she met Levi. Just when she was enjoying her freedom, she arrived at a street corner and met Bryon Banks.

Bryon stared at her, recognizing her yet not know who she was. For a brief moment, Carter's heart nearly stopped. Bryon worked in Harold's stables and hated her as much as Maryl did. Why, she never could figure out, and she wasn't going to try then. She muttered an apology and turned around before he could place her.

"Carter!" he hissed behind her back.

The young Shadower whirled around in time to see Bryon spot a city-guard.

"G-"

Carter clamped a hand on his mouth and firmly dragged him by to an alley. He was bigger and stronger than she was, but she was more desperate in keeping free. Thinking quickly, she took out a dagger and pointed the tip against his back. He tried to turn around, but she applied pressure to her blade. He yelped, muffled under her palm.

"You say one more thing and you're dead," she threatened. They waited for the city-guard. The low ranking official passed by the alley without a turn of his head. With the immediate danger gone, Carter finally realized Bryon was actually scared. A cruel smile touched her lips, remembering all of the false accusations from this stable boy that had caused her many bruises.

"Bryon," she whispered in his ear. "Can you hear me?"

He nodded.

"Good," she said sweetly. "I want you to listen very carefully. You're not to say anything to anyone about me, understand? Harold couldn't care less about me and Maryl knows to keep her mouth shut. I think you'd better follow suit." She turned the tip of her dagger into his back. "Y'see. There's really only one reason why I'm not out of this city. There's only one reason why I'm still walking around in the streets... You can figure out what that reason is, right?"

She gave him some time and noted with satisfaction that he could come to the conclusion she was feeding him. "Good," she said and promptly released him. She was disgusted now, and the only reason she said her last words was because he deserved them. "And Bryon? Careful what y'do. We're always watching." The boy nodded. He left her, just short of running away.

Carter slumped against the wall and tucked her dagger back into its sheath. "That was close," she murmured. "Too close." How many others would recognize her? She wondered, however, if a runaway barmaid would be news anyway. Perhaps, she would visit a particular inn that night.

Nothing had changed. The main room was still crowded with drunkards, and Harold playing the drunkest one of them all. Carter was peering in on them from a second floor level window. She knelt against the windowsill, her feet planted squarely on the declining second level roof. One step on a wrong tile, and she would be making a short tumble down right in front of the Blue Parrot Inn's entrance. Whoever was walking out would also be flattened, she thought.

"The other way isn't any more pleasant," she muttered, looking through the dirt-stained glass. She would be flattening whoever was walking into the inn. Carter shifted herself back from the window suddenly. The window was in eye's view of one door on the other side of the main room and a man had just walked out. It was not a very clear view, with a roof beam spanning across the ceiling. She peeked, seeing the customer had missed her. He was looking down from the indoor balcony and then was heading down the stairs to join his fellow men.

Carter's eyes went back to Harold, feeling disgusted. She couldn't see anyone that resembled a new barmaid; that would have been a sure sign that Harold had forgotten her. The Shadower squinted. Was the innkeeper actually playing cards with gold? She wasn't sure whether to believe the glittering gold coins the man was foolishly placing on the table. Harold never had that much gold. Whenever he was in possession of one piece, he'd lose it promptly.

She scanned the main room once more, suspiciously, then grabbed the top roof's edge over her head and swung her legs up. Not entirely acrobatic yet; she had to struggle a bit to get herself up on the main roof again. Carter brushed grit from her elbows and began to make her descent down.

"Maryl?"

"Whaddaya want?" the barmaid sneered. Bryon grinned at her. He was leaning against the window. The same that Carter had slipped out of two days ago. He reached over and popped a piece of meat into his mouth. Maryl slapped his arm. "Stop that! Harold's already mad these days," she said, replacing the meat on the plate. She was busy preparing the meals.

"Doesn't seem like that t'me," Bryon said. "Kinda funny if y'think 'bout it. Y'know, with Carter all of a sudden gone."

"As if he cares," Maryl said. She slapped his hand again as he reached for another piece. He smiled innocently at her and when she turned around, slipped another piece of food into his mouth.

"Looks like he forgot 'bout Carter.."

"Yeah," Maryl said. She seemed absent-minded about it, wondering why the plate on the table seemed to be missing something. She turned to Bryon suspiciously. "Did you-?"

"Don't ya think it's kinda convenient? I mean, Carter's gone, and sud'ly, he's playing cards?"

This time, Maryl's suspicion was not whether the stable boy had stolen another piece of the food. This time, her suspicion was tinted very much with fear. She grabbed the plates of food suddenly. "Yeah. Well. He's going to lose it all," she said. As she turned around, his dirty hand held her back.

"It is true, isn't it?" Bryon whispered. Maryl saw fear in his eyes and some bitterness. While Carter never understood why Bryon hated her, Maryl could see it was plain jealousy. Carter was accepted by the Street-Boys and Bryon wasn't. The barmaid freed her arm from his grasp. "Just keep your mouth shut, Bryon," she said.

"They bought him off!" he whispered.

"Didn't I say t'follow Maryl's suit?" interrupted another voice.

Both barmaid and stableboy turned, but they saw no one. It wasn't exactly Carter's voice, but it had to belong to her. Bryon swallowed hard. "I didn't tell no one!"

"Mhm.. just remember.. we're still watching."

Maryl and Bryon said nothing, staring tentatively into the shadows. Then, with a hesitant glance at Maryl, Bryon left the window and hurried toward the alleyway. The barmaid shook her head lightly at herself.

"Y'got what you want, Carter. You don't belong here anymore," Maryl said harshly. She waited. There was no response. Sighing to herself, she took the tray of food into her hands and walked out into the main room.

In the alleyway, on a couple of boxes, Carter echoed the sigh. "G'bye, Maryl."

"Guys?" Carter whispered. She was kneeling near a basement ventilation window. The building was an old factory house that had closed down months ago.

"What's the password?" The voice was metallic.

"Shadower's pass. Don't need a password," she said, somewhat smugly. An apple core fell from the sky. Carter looked up, stunned, to see one of the second floor windows closing. The girl Shadower laughed. "Hey! Okay, okay. When'd you get a password anyway?" she said. The ventilation grill swung upwards. She sat on the ground and turned her body so that her feet went in first facing the ladder.

"Since y'turned on us, Kitty," said a young boy.

Carter landed on her feet just in time to see the "guard" let go of the string that pulled the window open. "They put you on night shift, Henri?" she asked. He grinned, and then spoke into the old pipe that ran upwards to the ventilation window. "Somebody's gotta do it," he said, sounding like a robot.

"Kitty!"

Turning around, Carter grinned. She ruffled the boy's hair.

"Heey!" Tim protested. He ducked. "Whaddaya think y'doing? Just 'cuz yer a Shadower now?" He looked like a little man: crossing his arms against his chest, keeping his chin down and looking up at her. But he had the cutest pout.

"Nah, 'cuz I'm bigger than you are!" she said, attempting to do it again. Tim retreated quickly, right behind a thin boy that had entered the basement.

"Street Master," Carter greeted. She glared playfully at Tim who was cowering behind the Street Boys' leader. "Coward," she said. Rob grinned slightly at one of his youngest members. Rob was almost as tall as Carter and about 15 years old. He tilted his head to a hallway. All of them, except Henri who was on duty, went to the largest room at that level. Carter greeted some of the boys on the way, accepting half-joking congratulations.

"Snacks, Tim," Rob said. The little boy darted off obediently. "Aren't y's'posed to be back?" he asked.

"Not yet. I just came down to say hi," she said. Tim came back, handing each of them an apple. Carter bit into her's, thoughtfully. Tim scratched his chin. "Y'not gonna come here much, anymore, aren't ya, Kitty?" he asked. She shared a faint smile with Rob.

"Pro'bly not, Tim. Duty's first to the Brotherhood," she said. "But I wanted to thank you."

Rob shrugged. "You covered for Tim," he said. Then he grinned. "Yer almost like brother to us, too."

"Don't make me throw this apple at ya," she warned. He chuckled and shrugged. Then, as an afterthought, he threw his apple to Tim. The little boy caught it easily.

"Rob... I was at the inn just a few hours 'go-"

"You shouldn't go there no more, Kitty," he interrupted. Almost the same words as Maryl had said, she thought. The young leader continued, "Like y'said, duty's first to the brotherhood. But Harold got paid off. Think it was one of the Daggermaster's pals. He came in this mornin' and then Peter lost 'em for 'bout an hour. When Peter found Harold, the innkeeper was gettin' drunk 'gain."

Will? She thought mentally. She was frowning thoughtfully.

"The Second Man probably ordered it, Kitty. I would've," Rob said.

"Yeah, I guess," Carter said.

"So, heard you had a time on the town," Levi said. He was sitting on the edge of bed, tying together a rather flat pouch. Carter entered the room, fell onto the rest of the bed and sank into comfort. "Where were you all day?" she asked.

"Isn't that my line?" He smiled, still working on the pieces of leather.

"You're the one who left me first." She sat up to observe his handy work. "What're ya doing?" she asked. Levi used a knife to cut away the access string and held up the finished product. Unlike most packs that were made to hold as much, his pouch was flat. "Slip it in yer trousers, use the hook here to secure to the inside of yer belt," he said, handing it to her. "Your first loot bag. Won't buldge. Easy to hide. Rather useful, don't you think?"

She grinned at him. "Your own invention?"

"Of course!" he smiled as she put the pouch on the table. "As to leaving you first, you got up way before breakfast. 'Least you could've done was waited 'til then."

"How was I 'sposed to know when breakfast was?"

He got up. "Cook has meals around 8th hour."

"There's meals?"

"'Course, but after a while, everyone gets sick of the same meat, soup and bread. What?" He laughed. "What's that look for?"

She refused to erase her look of irritation. "Someone told me there were no meals," she said. Levi bit back a laugh. He said, "He's prob'ly doing you a favor. So, did you get anything useful?"

"Just my meals, and some trinkets," she said. She pulled out her pocket's holdings: some coins, bracelets, rings. Levi reviewed them critically and then denounced them as Street Boy's level. "You're a Shadower now, girl. The Brotherhood's got tax, and they're high. If you don't pay 'em, you're likely to go in debt. You're gonna have to set your goals higher." He picked up a ring and scrutinized it. "This may be worth something. Get Jackal to look at it.

"Come on." "Levi! I just got back," she said. She dragged herself out of bed.

"Since y'didn't bring back much, yer not going to sleep 'til you learn something useful," he said, leading her out of the lodging rooms. Grumbling, but dutifully, she followed. "Like?" she said.

"Like learning your way around here. Did you get lost last night?" Levi chuckled. For the next two hours, Carter was given an intensive lesson on the hallways underground. She was shown the main dining room, weapons room, the minor halls and major entrances. By the time Levi let her go, she was sleep-walking back to bed. Just before her eyes closed, she could have sworn she heard Levi's chuckling voice, "See? Didn't I say you'd be able to find your way around with your eyes closed?"

"Huh?" she mumbled. She rolled over in her bed, ignoring the solid shadow at her bedside. "It's too early, Levi," she said. When she heard the odd chuckle, she should have rolled off immediately, but sleep can dull someone's senses. Carter realized too late that the chuckle didn't have any friendly intentions; she understood too late that meant whoever was at her bedside was not Levi.

She gasped when the man yanked her out of the bed. Hitting the ground hard, the young female Shadower scrambled along the floor away from him. Were it anyone else, they wouldn't have been able to see the man in the dark. She crouched behind the table and chair, stilled her breath and waited until he walked towards her. She swung the stool at him. He grunted, but the pain didn't stop him from reaching for her.

Just as she had been thrown down, she was now being thrown upwards against the wall. He pinned her there, a sharp blade at her waist. "What..?" she gasped.

"There ain't space for a girl here. 'Specially not Levi's brat."

He was pressed so closely against her, she didn't need to see his face. They almost met nose-to-nose. Of course! Carter bit hard. "Darkah!!" he swore, throwing one hand to his face. The young woman kneed him in the crotch and pushed him backwards.

The light came on. Or at least, Levi came with a candle. The older Shadower took one look at the scene before he slammed the candle down and walked over to the fallen man. Carter saw that she had successful given him a bloody nose. Gripping the intruder by the collar, Levi pulled the man up and out of the room. Carter was left alone with the sound of herself panting. She licked her lips, tasting something she rather not, and spat. The girl was sitting down again when Levi walked back into the room with a bottle in his hand.

"Are you alright?"

She nodded.

"Damned bastard," he muttered. He walked over to the fallen stool and straightened it. "You're sure you're okay?" he said. He sounded more angry than concerned. Carter managed to smile. She said, "Harold's given me worse times. Who.."

"Doesn't matter. I took care of it.." He smiled grimly at her widened eyes. "Couldn't kill 'im, Carter. Can't figure if that's in the rules...never had a Brother try to rape a Brother before." He handed her the bottle. "Drink. The ale'll do you good.

"Listen. He won't be the only one who'll have feelings like that. Some of 'em'll hate you because you're female and I'm the one who got you in. Drink!" he ordered. Dutifully, she brought the bottle to her lips. Levi went to her things and pulled out her dagger. "Never, never put this out of your sight. Sleep with it, eat with it, breathe with it. If anyone tries what that bastard did.." He stopped, looking at her wide, green eyes. Kill him. She wasn't ready to hear those words yet.

Levi took the bottle from her. "No. It won't happen again. Go to sleep," he said. "You have a long day 'morrow."

"Levi?" she said. He turned around at the doorway. The girl hesitated. "Good night, Levi."

"'Night, Kitty," he said, closing the door.

Two nights later, Carter was sneaking out of a window with a sizeable pouch tucked securedly into her belt. She knelt against the outside wall, listening for any footsteps. When she heard none, stepped out into the street. The young theif walked down the street, careful not to meet anyone's eyes. A few minutes later, Carter disappeared into another alleyway and turned a corner right into a large body.

She stepped back, muttering an apology. As she walked away, her hand felt for the little bulk within her tunic--only it was missing. "Hey!" She whirled around. Levi was leaning against the wall, her so-called loot dangling from Levi's finger by its drawstring.

The older Shadower clucked his tongue at her. "Quick, but not quick enough." He looked inside the pouch. "Is this what you got from the last house?"

Carter folded her arms. "Yeah. Bracelet, brooch, silver dagger and some documents," she said. She watched him shake his head sadly. Indignant, she demanded to know why. "Maybe if it'd been something more, I'd have forgiven ya for the messy job," he said.

"It was not messy!" she said. "I got out clean, and I've always gotten out clean. No one's suspected."

Levi actually chortled. "Clean? Girl, y'left traces all over the place." He considered the frowning female shadower staring at him. She pursed her lips slightly and then very reluctantly dropped her pride. Carter tilted her head to the side. "I picked the lock fine."

Agreeing, Levi nodded. "Oh, y'picked the lock pretty slick-like, Kitty, but lockin' it back up ain't shut and twist. Y'damn almost busted the whole thing."

There was a pause. Carter had mouthed a silent `Oh.' She decided to try again. "I picked a dagger instead of one of those longer swords," she said, hopefully. "Small, easier to miss, easier to carry.."

Again, her Brother nodded approvingly. Then came the `but'. "Made a mess of choosin' the dagger. What good does it make, huh, Kitty, if the guy notices 'is ebony hilt where 'is bronze was? If the guy has that sort'a collection, y'know those were his babies! Why'd ya go messin' with 'em?"

"Because he only keeps 'em for show," she retorted. "I know. I've been watchin'. He doesn't even use 'em and he cleans 'em. Not keep 'em well, but has a servant clean 'em so they look all pretty." Somewhere, somehow, disgust crept into her voice and she was almost too engrossed in being accused she had not be observant that she nearly missed the smile that tugged on Levi's lips.

"Ok," he said, what seemed to be grudgingly.

"And the documents. Those documents meant something."

This time, Levi's eyebrow rose higher than before. "Why d'ya say that?"

"They were locked pretty tight--I know, I know, I goofed up locking them back up again." She grumbled about something that most theives weren't that diligent.

"No, but they could and they would if their live's are on the line," he told her. "And hon," Levi said. He had unscrolled the documents, "these aren't any real documents, but um.." The older Shadower coughed and handed them to Carter. Puzzled, the young girl scanned the scribbles on the parchment. She held it back to Levi. "I can't read."

"Oh." He looked torn between amusement and seriousness. "Then you'll start learnin' at least a little." He took the scrolls back and rolled them up. "So what were they?" she asked.

Levi coughed again, grinning. "They're.. Love letters." He gave them back. "To read when you know how..." He chuckled again. "You spent ten damned minutes opening love letters."

Inspite of herself, she took the papers back with a smile. "Well.. at least I got out clean after all that," she said. Her smile fell immediately when Levi gave her an exasperated expression. "Girl," he said, "Don't you notice how high the window was when y'pried it open? When y'left, it was this much higher." He demonstrated by putting a distance of one inch between his forefinger and thumb.

"Ow!"

"No one goes measuring how high," she said. Levi rubbed his arm, grinning at her scowl. "Oh, but you, lil' Sis, are gonna," he said, indicating they walk down the alley. Carter rolled her eyes up, "What does it matter anyway? They're gonna figure that whoever stole went out the window, even if the window doesn't look like it's been moved."

He sighed, defeatedly. "Kitty, Kitty, Kitty.. You don't get it, do you?"

"What?"

"Why you have to be so careful..." For a moment, Levi looked at her with a certain graveness. It was gone before Carter could speculate, and so, instead she found herself scoffing at the grin that tugged his lips. "Why?"

"'Cause I said so," and he ducked before she could take another swipe at him.

Part three.

Copyright © 1996-1997 Juliana Ng

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