Elemental Thief Part I : Child of Calamity

The Thief, The Warrior, and The Captain

Treasa sat on the cot in her cell, staring down at her feet as they kicked idly in the air. After a few moments, she took stock of her situation for the hundredth time.

This bed wasn't portable, it was built into the cell, with a thin mattress that couldn't be removed. There was a blanket, folded neatly at the foot of the bed, where she had learned that prisoners had to keep it during the day.

If prisoners refused to listen to any of the City Guard rules, they weren't fed until they did. If they caused consistent problems, they didn't get a chance to go outside, or any special considerations that came from being well behaved. But if you listened to the small amount of rules and were a decent person, it was more comfortable than most of the freedom Treasa had experienced in her life.

The place was empty though, thankfully. There were three other cots in her cell, and the other two cells in this small area she was in were just the same. Four people per cell, but they were empty right now, though she suspected that had been done on purpose.

Though she had been told that they were never crowded like Treasa had seen in Clairval. When she had explained this to the City Guard, the differences and the filth of it all, they had given her thoughtful but horrified looks.

There was still crime, but there wasn't the level of cruelty and suffering in the Rulin Cities that Treasa had seen in her own. Rulin, for the past several decades, supposedly had enough social supports for all of its people that crimes of survival weren't really a thing.

"How are you holding up, kid?" The female guard, the first one she had seen in Rulin, leaned against the bars of the cell, giving her a half-smile.

She didn't look a great deal older than either of the Princes, but Treasa knew that didn't count for much, the only thing that gave the woman's age away was the fact that the woman was a Captain, which Lianza had explained took the average Rulin Guard several decades, to a century to obtain, if they weren't royalty.

"You know we can open the cell until we get any word anything is going on. There are no eyes in here."

Treasa grinned back at her, ducking her head and offering a smile, liking the woman already. "This really isn't so bad. I kind of feel safer in here, anyway."

There was a look of concern, but one also of understanding, the woman offering a nod, her voice gentle. "I grew up in an orphanage in the City of the Court, the Capitol. I don't know if I can compare it to what you went through, but when the wars were going on, and Rulin focused on fighting and killing, there wasn't a lot of thought for us little people. I was still pretty young when the Queen came to Rulin as a Vayan princess and started changing it all. I can barely remember it, so I know I was fortunate, but I know what's that like. I nearly died twice because of it. I would have if the Queen hadn't saved my life."

Treasa frowned, watching her for a long moment, then offering a careful smile. "You were a street rat like me, and now you're a Captain of the City Guard?"

"First female recruit of the City Guard." The woman shrugged. "First female Shift commander, first Female Captain. There were a couple girls that joined the Royals around the same time, and there are more in both of the Guards nowadays. Verana's guards were the first two that took in women, but even the others opened up when their refusal lost them the chance to have any of the Royal children join their battalions. They would have let her and Princess Mireya join, but neither one of them would, because no other women were allowed."

"You said Verana's Guards... I thought the Royals belonged to the King." Treasa pulled her knees up to her chest, hugging her legs close as she watched the Rulin woman toss her helmet in the air and grin.

"Yeah, technically. We've got the official honour. But the Royals, they were the first that were assigned to protect her. Here in Rulin anyway. She fought with them in the battle in Irlen, saved all their lives, then fought with them against the Cassaei. When she came back and came as a visitor under the King's protection, they protected her, until the City Guard was taken over by a new General and he had the idea of taking the honour away from the Royals. She used to patrol the cities with them, go into bar fights, you name it. It's why she started wearing a helmet." The woman glanced towards the door of the room before giving her a nod. "You can call me Chloe, by the way."

Her expression changed suddenly, and she frowned, giving Treasa a firm look. A look that was enough for any kid off the streets to know that something had changed. Treasa nodded to show she understood and hugged her knees tighter, bracing herself for what was to come next.

And with that, she slid on her helmet and strode across the room to the door, opening it just as two guards escorted in a very intoxicated human, who looked far more well dressed than one would expect for being arrested and put in cells.

"You're back in port, are you, Captain?"

"You know I like the Rulin ale." He slurred, pausing to regard Chloe. "Hello beautiful, you ever going to take me home with you?"

The two other guards growled and hauled him the rest of the way to the cell beside Treasa's, depositing him onto one of the cots. "You will address our captain with the respect due to her rank, Captain Oliver."

The man merely rolled over and was promptly asleep before the door was even closed, reeking of several different types of alcohol.

Chloe gave her a gentle look. "Humans can't seem to hold the alcohol we make as well as they think they can. This guy is a regular."

There was more to that look though, too, as if Chloe was trying to tell her something she didn't quite understand.

Treasa nodded, watching his sleeping form for a long moment, settling herself for what was to come, hoping that this wasn't the contact that Kethan had sent to find her. She didn't feel ready for it, though another part of her just wanted it to be over.

Her conversation with the captain of the watch was over, and as Treasa watched, she realised more guard were moving throughout the building than before, settling into rooms out of sight and patrolling the hallways like impatient hunters. Though none of them paid the human, Oliver any mind at all, as if the threat was still outside.

A regular who had thrown a cog into their plans? But surely the Rulin would have brought him somewhere else if it was an inconvenience to luring Kethan in.

A glance at the man sleeping on the cot furthest from her cell didn't give her any clues, either. Rich, possibly Clairvalan, though his clothing seemed to be as varied as that of sailors that came into port back home and his accent sounded odd. Like his Clairvalan accent was buried under a partial Rulin one, which didn't make sense.

Treasa continued to try to piece it together though, if only because it distracted her from whatever was coming next.