The Elf Prince's Thief - Chapter 1 & 2
The Treasurer’s Abode
Lethe reached for the darkness and blended into the shadows in the dark corners of the suddenly well-lit room. Moments ago, it was pitch black in this quaint abode, and not even a mouse stirred. It was a rather small and common living space for a king's treasurer. She would have assumed that he would have accumulated enough wealth to live a lavish lifestyle, but no, it was a simple two-room dwelling.
The entry was a large room, and there was a smaller space in back with a bed and chest. Perhaps the treasurer was afraid of what the King might think, should he spend his money too frivolously. It is better to always play it safe in these lands, especially when dealing with our dogmatic King. Perhaps he is a wise old treasurer, after all.
As she reached for the darkness, she prayed to the gods that there were no feelers close to detect her use of illegal magic. The King had banned magic many years ago, and many wielders had been put to the rack and quartered for using it.
At the advice of the high priest, the King brought feelers from far across the many lands to ensure that none used magic in his kingdom. For magic was declared as evil, and the King is very devout and pious, or so he wants the people to believe.
The treasurer more than likely knew all of them as he was responsible for the King's payroll. She crossed her fingers with hope as prayers are rarely answered, if ever.
His name was Brenner Breton. He was an older man with failing eyesight and deafness in his right ear. At least that is what that damn pretentious elf, Prince Regal had told her. Even so, she did not want to leave before she got what she had come for. At this point, it was a matter of pride. She had never missed a mark and didn’t plan to start now. And in doing so, she had been able to refill her father's coffers. So, Lethe waited as Brenner lingered at the counter, making himself a hard drink. She could smell the spirits from across the room when he opened the bottle.
"Holy mother of Lira," she muttered to herself as he slowly sipped at the glass he had poured.
She was usually very patient, but the brightness of the lamps had her continuously pulling the darkness around her. She was worried that a feeler would eventually come within range and detect her. She certainly didn't have time to be quartered, nor hung, for that matter!
Brenner slowly walked over to a heavily cushioned chair and sat down, drawing the footstool closer with her foot. Then he rested his feet atop it. He sat for what seemed an eternity to Lethe, continuing to sip on his brandy slowly.
"Ah, this is good. So sweet on the tongue and still relaxing for the mind. You should come out of the corner and have yourself a glass."
Lethe looked up at him and then back down at herself to ensure she was still engulfed in the darkness to which she so desperately clung. She then began to wonder if he was talking to himself or an imaginary friend. She remembered that when her Papaw got up in his years, he would also have long, intricate conversations with himself.
"Lethe, I know you're here because I asked Regal to send you," he said as he took a long sip from his glass, slurping it like a bowl of hot soup that was burning his mouth.
Lethe almost jumped out of her skin. She was astonished and didn't know what to do. Maybe it was a trap, and there were guards outside waiting for her. Regal had never done anything like this before. Besides that, Brenner Breton was the King's treasurer, not Regal's.
"Do you genuinely believe Regal would send you to steal the key to the King's stores? Blood and ashes, girl! He will inherit it all soon enough, and half of the gold in there was put there by you."
"By me?" Lethe asked in a bemused voice.
"Ah, I hear you, but I cannot see you. Release those shadows, girl before a feeler walks by, and we're both hanged. Yes, of course, you! What do you think Regal does with the items he commissions you to steal?"
Lethe released her shadows as she flew out of the darkened corner as gracefully as a hawk ready to strike its prey. She was tall and slender with raven black hair and deep blue eyes peeking out from underneath the hood of her cloak.
Dressed in skintight black clothing, she pulled her black hood back quickly. She drew the dagger she affectionately called Thorn, as she approached Brenner Breton, all the while watching the door for a trap. As she closed in on him, he didn't even flinch as he casually gestured toward the chair adjacent to his own. There was a second drink already poured sitting on the little table between the chairs.
"Have a seat, and pull up a footstool. Relax a bit, so we can chat," Brenner said invitingly.
He quite remarkably reminded her of her Papaw. He had those same gentle facial expressions, with bushy eyebrows and a raspy voice, just like Papaw's. She stood deadpan, with her mouth agape and Thorn dangling in her hand as though she didn't remember she had drawn it.
"Please, Lady Thistle, have a seat. Be relaxed. I know your father well. Did you know that?"
"No, I didn't know that."
"Your grandfather and I had the same schoolmaster growing up. He was something else, too. We always gave old wrinkled hose the hardest time. I'm surprised we ever learned anything," he chuckled.
"Wrinkled-Hose? Who is that? Papaw never mentioned you."
"Wrinkled-Hose is what we called our schoolmaster. The poor man, he must have been half crazy after all your grandfather, and I put him through. Well, I suppose your grandfather and I drifted apart as we got older.
He also believed that I was involved with his banishment from court because I was the one who was forced to collect the King's fines. I had no choice in the matter, but that doesn't change the good times we had together."
Lethe sheathed her dagger and then sat down in the extravagantly pillowed chair as she grabbed the second drink and took a sip.
"This is good," she added as she pulled the footstool up and sat back and swirled the contents of her glass.
"We actually remained friends, your grandfather and I, all of the time he was at court. It was only after he fell from grace that we drifted apart. You know, I was at your father's birthing and then yours. How is your father doing? Presumably much better these days, with all of the wealth you have brought back to him and your family."
"He doesn't know from whence it comes. Please don't tell him."
"Don't you worry your pretty little head, my Lady. Your father partially blames me for your grandfather's banishment from court, also. We no longer speak. I do miss him, though; he is a good man, as was your grandfather. They were always the life of the room at any of the King's balls and gatherings. I do miss them both. I only wish that we had made amends before your grandfather went into the shadows."
"Papaw always said that his life was full of regrets, but none for his banishment. He never understood King Theon's punishment. He blamed it on that cursed priest always whispering nonsense in his ear. Papaw said that he only used his magic for the betterment of the kingdom and only in the service of the King, be it Theon or his father."
"Ah yes, Sepitus, hi-priest of Lira and a slimy snake too. One would think that Lira was an evil god to watch Sepitus and his clergy. He certainly is a piece of work and the reason for the King banning magic. His forked tongue is forever swirling the King's ear, spouting his lies and schemes, dripping his poison into the King.
Back to your Papaw, in those days, your Papaw was known as the Black Thistle. Do you know why he chose Thistle as your family surname?"
"He told me that Grand-mama's baby-blue eyes shone the most beautiful shade of purple in the red sunset and the thistle was the only flower that could compare to their beauty in color,"
"Ha! That old romantic devil! That may be true, but King Oliver, Theon's father, called him the Black Thistle because of how deadly he was. No matter which direction anyone came at him, they were liable to get pricked. That was the Thistle part, and “black” came from the ability he has shared with you, shadow weaving. He was quite a deadly assassin and probably the most lethal ever."
"He was an assassin? He never divulged that to me. Perhaps that was one of the sources of his many regrets," Lethe added.
"That may be so. Do you know the biggest fallacy in the banning of magic for religious reasons? It's the fact that Lira was born of man and god. It is said that those who can weave magic, carry the blood of Lira in their veins. That is one of the reasons I had Regal betray you in sending you to steal a key that doesn't exist. We have a real problem with Sepitus. I hear rumors that he intends to have King Theon abdicate his throne and bequeath the Royal Crown to the Priests and the Temple of Lira, and I believe he'll do it. That would not be acceptable to the people of Westmore, nor me, and especially not Prince Regal."
"Well, I certainly agree with that, but what am I supposed to do about it? I am but a thief."
"We want you to remove Sepitus from his station, and if need be, the King," Brenner said.
"Remove? Like, kill? I don't kill, I steal. Besides that, Sepitus always has at least two feelers at his side. I'd never get past them."
"Do you know how your grandfather was so good at it? Certainly, you don't think feelers are a new thing. Every King and Cleric retains them. What was his secret?"
"I don't know. You are the first to tell me that my grandfather was an assassin. I thought he was just a lord anointed by one King and betrayed by another. I was raised to be a lady; without the wealth the other houses have. I don't know much about it, other than he and father were the poorest because of the King's fines."
"Your grandfather was once one of the richest lords in the kingdom, and one of the old King's favorites. With reason, too. He eliminated Oliver's enemies across the seas of Bethard, to the peaks of the Skylorn Mountains and through the Deserts of Shangor. Not one of his rivals survived your grandfather. All of them had feelers, but your Papaw had a secret weapon. For a time, we suspected that he took that secret to the grave with him. Just recently, we have discovered otherwise. Do you know where Longton is?"
"Yes, but that doesn't matter. I do not kill. I am a thief, and that is all."
"Please, Lethe, hear me out. It's rumored that there is an amulet there in the custody of Lord Arnolt. The wearer of this amulet is alleged to be immune to the tendrils of the feelers. In other words, you could wear it and go undetected."
"That would do me well if you needed me to steal something from the king, or his high priest, but I do not kill."
"At this point, all I am asking you to do is steal the amulet and bring it to me. We may have another shadow weaver willing to steal the life of the high priest."
"If my father hates you as much as you have said, I sincerely doubt that he will help you with this endeavor. You know as well as I do that we shadow weavers are the rarest of all Lira's descendants. What is your price for the talisman?"
"Oh, well…we hadn't discussed a fee. We thought that you might do it for the kingdom."
"The kingdom has done neither my family nor me, any favors. I am only happy to return the sentiment," Lethe replied as she took a long pull on her glass of brandy, finishing it off.
She set the glass down. Then kicking the footstool away and stood as though to leave.
"This is where I bid you good luck and farewell. Oh, and one more thing… Why didn't Regal just ask me to steal this amulet for himself?"
"It is quite simple, Lass. He doesn't want to be associated with the plan. He fears that his father’s soothsayers already know or suspect that you are the one filling his vaults. He fears that being so close to the King, the plot would be exposed."
"Lass? How quickly you lose the honorific when I am of no longer of use,"
"My apologies, Lady. I only spoke affectionately; I meant no disrespect. Please reconsider. I am prepared to add as much as forty gold crowns. That is all I have."
She had started for the door, but turned and asked, "How is it that the king's own treasurer is so poor?"
"I do not keep my wealth because I fear that the King may one day require it back. Instead, I send it to my family to the south and keep only what I need to live comfortably. The hope is that one day I will go back to the south and my family will care for me in my old age. The reason that Regal has acquired your services so often of late is that the King has drained his own coffers on several occasions in payment to the Temple of Lira. Not to mention the building of that blasted tower in the outer court of the castle grounds. Please reconsider"
"Ha! You are already old. Why do you not retire and leave now? Why stick around and watch the fall of the kingdom?"
"If the church takes power, there will be no safe place in all of the land. Sepitus is as evil and power-hungry as ever a man could be, and with the power of the church, he will rule with an iron hand. Our very religion will change to suit his needs as will the law of the land. This is not something we should take lightly."
"It would take twice that sum, and I would need an official reason for the visit to Lord Arnolt."
"I don't have twice that, giving you this will leave me wanting for food and my normal amenities for several weeks."
"Well, I don't work for charity. I have to eat too. Perhaps you can use this other shadow weaver to steal it for you," Lethe stated as she turned back toward the door and opened it.
"Please, give it some thought, and also, never mention it to Regal. If he knows details, the King may find out through his soothsayers."
Lethe turned back and replied, "Your secret is safe with me. Ninety gold crowns is my price."
She closed the door and disappeared into the night as the treasurer's keyring chinked in one of the pockets of her cloak.
Burning the Thistle Manor
As Lethe fled into the night with her newly acquired set of keys. She thought about paying Prince Regal a visit and giving him a piece of her mind. What nerve he has, giving her secrets away. She had even turned in the direction of the castle but changed her mind when she saw the night sky glowing in the direction of the Thistle Manor. She quickly turned in that direction.
As she got closer to home, the flames were more apparent. But the manor was not ablaze; it was all the other buildings on the property. The servant's quarters, the cookhouse, the privy, the barn, and anything else that stood on the manor grounds were ablaze.
When she realized what was happening, she began to run, and as Lethe ran, she flew into the shadow realm where her speed doubled. The shadow realm is still in this world; it is just on a different plane of existence. In fact, it looks exactly the same through the eyes of a shadow weaver, only somewhat distorted. If a person who is not a shadow-weaver is drug into that realm, it is pure darkness.
She passed through the gates as though they were not there, no longer feeling the heat of the flames as she was in the realm of shadows. She then passed through the closed doors to the manor and into the dining hall, where she found her father.
The dining table was stood on end, and he was crucified to it. He was alive, but barely. Lethe pulled herself from the shadows and saw his face brutalized and bloodied.
"Father! Who has done this to you?" she cried out.
"Lethe? Is that you, my child?" he asked groggily.
"Father, Father! Don't speak. I'll get you down. I'll find a way to get you to the healer."
"No, child. It is too late for me. They have pierced my gut. I will be among the shadows soon."
"No! Please! Let me help you down."
"No, my sweet daughter; it is not safe here. This was done at the behest of the King. They search for you now. You must leave. Go and hide in the cave of shadows."
The cave is just outside of town. None but shadow weavers know of it. It is protected from the prying tendrils of the feelers, and it is where Lethe learned from both her father and grandfather how to weave shadows and walk in the shadow realm. It was the only safe place to do so.
"Why? I don't understand, Father. Why would the King do this to you?"
"They asked about you, and what I knew of a plot to kill the King. I told them I knew nothing. They didn't believe me. They had the feelers bind me so I couldn't slip into the shadows and told me that you were at the head of the plot…Said the soothsayers called you by name. It is not safe here. You must leave now. Uh, there are provisions in the cave to live off of for months. You must…ugh, the pain… I wish…"
He closed his eyes as tears ran down his cheeks, and he stopped struggling to live. He was now with the shadows and Papaw.
"NOOOOOOO!" she screamed.
She fell to her knees and began to weep as she drifted into the shadows.
"She's here." a voice said from another room.
"Where?" asked another.
"In the dining room," replied the first.
Lethe looked up in terror. She leaped to her feet and fled through the walls, headed out the side toward the Cave of Shadows.
"Quickly! Bind her!"
"I can't! She's gone, presumably through the wall."
"Lira's tits! Find her, damn your eyes!"
Several soldiers emerged from the back of the manor into the back courtyard where their horses were hidden. The feeler mounted the lead horse as they fled the estate in pursuit of Lethe. It was of no use, though. Lethe was flying through the shadows at unimaginable speeds, cutting through the walls of houses and shops. There was no hope of them ever catching up to her or even finding her trail.
"We've lost her, Commander."
"How is that even possible?"
"I don't know. She must be something more than just a shadow weaver. I have never seen such speed from any kind of magic wielder."
"This is insane! What am I supposed to tell Sepitus? I mean the King…"
As Lethe ran, she thought about turning back toward town to pay a visit to Brenner Breton. For now, she felt she might have the will to kill, and not just Sepitus and the King. Still, the whole damned lot of them, starting with Brenner. She decided to find the safety of her cave, where she could think and plan first.
She arrived and lit a torch in a sconce at the entry of the main chamber. The cave was actually set up like a home with walls and ceilings and different rooms.
She was filled with grief and rage. Both of which battled to control her will. Torn between lying down in a corner and crying, and running back to town to murder the entire church and hierarchy, she chose the latter, but not before crying herself to sleep.
When she awoke, she was lost. She had hoped that the nightmare of the last evening was just that. A bad dream, but it was not. As reality sunk back in, she inspected the cave's supplies.
She had not been there in years, not since her last lesson with Papaw. She remembered what he had told her that day.
"I have wasted my life and powers by using them for the melioration of my King's life and kingdom. Don't do that, Lethe. They will only use you, and you will die wretched and unsung," Papaw said.
"That's right, Lethe. Once they are finished with you, they will cast you aside and punish you for being different, and in the way," her father agreed.
As she carefully inventoried the contents of the cave, she found notes written in a vellum book. They were in her grandfather's hand, about the feelers and how they could bind a shadow walker to their plane of existence.
She already knew this, for that was the way they had just murdered her father. What she did not know was that she wasn't as unique as she had believed.
It was apparent from the writings that there were whole communities of shadow walkers across the globe. Not only shadow-walkers but light-wielders, earth-movers, mist-binders, and a whole slew of others that Lethe hadn't even realized had existed.
The most exciting part was about the talisman called Lira's Eye, which belongs to Lord Arnolt from Longton, an old friend of Papaw's.
This is the same talisman that Brenner Breton had tried to get her to steal. The passage said that the bearer of the amulet bore it at a cost to their sanity. That would explain a lot of the rumors about crazy old Arnot.
They say he talks to the statues in his garden, and the walls comfort him when he cries. His servants have all quit and left him alone in his castle. All he had left was his son, who only stopped by occasionally checking on his father's welfare.
Lethe, decided at that moment that she would need to obtain that amulet. Still, first, she had business with Brenner Breton and Prince Regal. The only question was, how was she going to get back into town without being detected.
After rummaging through the rest of the cave, she found a chest full of wigs, face paint, and several disguises. When opened, there was a looking glass in the lid of the chest.
Her problem was solved. At the very least, she could get revenge on Brenner Breton. She laid out all the outfits and artificial appendages.
She chose an old black ragged gown and a silver wig. Once adorned, she appeared to have aged fifty years.
She took a staff and hobbled back to town dressed as an old crone. When she came upon Brenner Breton's abode, she found him beaten and bloodied, lying in a dark corner.
He looked up at her with the fear of a dead man in his eyes.
"What do you want, crone? Have you come to collect my soul?"
Lethe laughed as she realized she was dressed like the crone. The Crone from the stories. She came to collect the souls from the dead, for the goddess Lira.
She was not in a laughing modality; it just came out. In reality, she was quite angry about the death of her father, and she wanted to know Brenner's connection, if any.
"Why do you yet breathe?" She demanded in question.
"Please, I am not ready to enter Lira's golden gates. I will change my life if you, but let me live a little longer."
Lethe was perplexed as she watched him groveling to her.
"Though I am not the Crone, Bretton, I am here for your soul or your blood, whichever I can make flow easiest! It is me, Lethe! They have burned my manor and killed my father. Now I am here to collect on the debt," she cried out as she drew Thorn.
"Please, Please, no! I do not know why they attacked your father. He was not involved in anything," he pled as he felt the sting of Thorn's edge against his throat.
"What do you mean? Why have you been beaten and not crucified as my father was?"
"I was beaten because the feelers detected you here earlier. They thought I was a weaver of some sort. They even tried to bind me before they battered me for breaking the King's law."
"Did they not know who you are? You told me that you paid them personally for the King."
"I don't know, perhaps I appear different in my robes of office. Please Lethe, remove the blade. I will help you get your vengeance. It brings me to tears to know that your father is gone."
"I still think you are a part of this!" she said as she slightly drew Thorn across his throat, opening the most lissome cut possible.
She wiped the small smear of blood on thorn odd on Brenner's white shirt. Simultaneously, Brenner put his hand to his throat to inspect the depth of the laceration.
"You'll live…for now. If I find that you had any part in my father's death, I will come back for you and your family. I will not stop until your line is completely dead."
"I assure you; I had no clue that they were going to do that."
"Why did they ask about a plot against the King? In my entire life, you are the only one that has even remotely discussed that."
"I fear I may be next if what you say is true. I need to get in touch with Regal."
night."
"No, please. Regal is our future. The kingdom depends upon his survival."
"It's no wonder why he is so pretentious. You treat him as though he were a god, that will save the realm. We'll see what color this god bleeds."
"Lethe, focus on Theon and Sepitus, for they are responsible for every uncertainty you ever felt growing up and the death of your father."
"They will all taste the blood of their own tongues, and then choke on it."
"First things first, Lethe. We need to find Regal and learn what happened."
"I don't think that will be hard. Just talk about money, and he'll show up like the Jinn.
"I don't think…"
Just then there was a knock at the door.
"Open up in the name of the King," the voice called.
Lethe ran into the adjacent room and hid under the cot. As she did, she realized that she was disguised. So she crawled out and sat on the end of the bunk by the door.
"One moment, I am still weary from the beating you gave me. I am coming, but slowly."
Brenner opened the door and shocked the guard with the blood and bruises about his head and face.
"Sir, the King wished to see you. Are you okay?"
"Yes, yes, I'll be fine. But you would know that, wouldn't you? It was your men who beat me."
"No, Sir, We beat no one. We have been running drills all evening yesterday and have only returned this morn. We only left a small contingent with the King to guard him. There were not enough soldiers for him to send out on any kind of reconnaissance."
"And yet, I stand here before you bruised and bloodied, and I say it was done at the hand of the King's feelers and guard."
"It must have been Sepitus. He is the only other with such forces. You are the King's paymaster. Did you recognize them? Surely you have handed them their monthly silvers."
"No, I can't say that I have. What does the King require of me? Do you know?"
"I heard them talk of a new Temple for Lira, but I do not know of the purpose of his call."
"That's fine. Send a carriage. I'll be about shortly."
"We already await you in the buggy," he replied as he gestured to the cobbled street where Regal was peering through the window of a carriage.
Lethe marched from the backroom to peer out the door out at Regal, as his man returned to the buggy.
"I'm going with you! Not a word about who I am," she hissed as she re-sheathed thorn.
