So as some of you might know...
I HATE Christmas. But that doesn't stop me from giving out presents. So here's an early one for y'all. I'll probably have more for you in time for the big day.
Chapter 1 Pt.2
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The room was chaos. There were bodies everywhere and a loud raucous that generally accompanied the gathering of so many people. Shadowed guards lined the four walls, each one holding up a torch to light the room, blades sheathed at their sides with a cautionary hand placed on the hilt and watchful eyes. In the center of the room was a large wooden table that stretched from one side of the room to the other. It was filled with various pieces of parchment, short knives, platters of food and tankards of beer. Surrounding the table were high-backed wooden chairs. There were only two that were empty, Gibari’s and mine, which was situated at the head of the table. Gibari’s was on the right side. The rest was filled by the men and women who called themselves my Lowers and Bosses. Thieves, Bladesmen, Mistresses and Conmen. Every person in the room worked for me. Each of them criminals, crooks and villains. There’s a certain word for the feeling you get when you walk into a room like that, but alas, it escapes me.
A low growl from Gibari as he clears his throat instantly silences the room. Everyone at the table turns to face us. I give them my trademark smile. Despite their petulant bickering, I’m always happy to see them all alive and well. “Well if it isn’t our gracious Prince, late as usual.” Announced Devin, rolling his eyes as he said so. A Lowerman, he runs all of the thief operations within the Cordon and even those that extend beyond. All except for Tenjin’s, though, I prefer to keep a direct hand on that one. Which Devin absolutely hates and, as such, shows blatant distaste towards me for, among other reasons. That’s partly the reason why I keep it to myself.
“
Oui, but at least he is always fashionably so.” Chimed Pierre. My second Lowerman and the resident Conman and Fence of my outfit. If you think a market deal is too good to be true, it is. That’s because Pierre is no doubt behind it. He runs the
‘legitimate’ side of my operations. Shops, stalls, travelling merchants. You name it, he’s got a hand behind it. He also handles the fencing for most of the Corden, he has contacts overseas where he ships most of the items to for a healthy sum. He’s a smooth-talking, smartly-dressed man who speaks with a silk-like foreign accent. Overall, I like him because he makes me a lot of money. However, he is a well-known kiss-ass but that’s not terribly bad, is it?
“And, as usual, your distaste for him is as repugnant as ever, Devin.” A woman stood up from her chair. She was beautiful and, as such, her beauty commanded the attention of everyone in the room. Even the other woman, who secretly envied her illustrious looks. As she turned to face me, I couldn’t help myself but gaze at her voluptuous figure, wrapped in an elegant blood-red bodice and flowing skirt which came decorated with black lace. It covered all the right parts and showed just enough skin to keep me interested. Lady Jezebelle, quite possibly the only member of nobility to reside within the Undercroft. Her face was likely more well-known than my own, accompanied by her seductively dark locks of hair. She was my Head Mistress and the crown jewel of my thriving brothel-house business. She was another of my Lowermen but she’d be dead before she allowed anyone to refer to her as such, even me. I smiled as I regarded her and nodded slightly. Jezebelle walked over to where I was stood, paying no heed to the watchful eyes of the room. Even Gibari couldn’t help but gawp.
As she stood in front of me, she pulled me close with one hand and planted a kiss right on my lips. I began to kiss her back, which resulted in a dance of tongues but I refrained from touching her, even despite my usually untameable urges. There’s a time and a place for such things. None of which matter to her, however. With her free hand she reached down towards my crotch and gave me a slow
‘Good to see you’. But, before I knew it, it was all over. By the time I’d opened my eyes she had already moved on to give Gibari a simple kiss on the cheek and I was left slightly flustered and somewhat longing. But the pair of us simply watched as she sauntered back to her seat.
“If you’re expecting me to do the same, you can get well and truly
fucked!” Came a sudden voice, cutting through the wave of whispers that had arisen after the Jezebelle’s display. It was Zeth. Lounging nonchalantly upon his seat. One leg strewn over the right arm of the chair while the other draped to the floor. He was my fourth and final Lowerman. Head of the Bladesmen, Master of Assassins and, generally, a pain in my ass. He was a few years younger than I was, whereas the others were all older. Zeth and I got on well, he was practically a little brother to me, which is why I allowed him to speak to me the way that he does. But that’s not to say I didn’t get him back for it.
“Now, now. If I wanted you to do that I would have put you in charge of the Brothels. But, unfortunately, you’re not even half as beautiful as our lovely Lady here.” I said, gesturing to Jezebelle, who only smiled at my compliment.
“Or you could just put me in charge of them anyway and you can keep the
‘lovely Lady’ to yourself.” He retorted, still annoyed at me for not appointing him the position. It was for a good reason. He’s worse than Gibari and I combined, meaning that he would have fucked over half of the girls at once and my Brothel-Houses would be bankrupt within a month.
“Aye, I could, but then you wouldn’t be as annoyed as you are now. And where’s the fun in that?” He shot me an icy glare but I knew that he was only playing along.
“You must ‘old your ‘orses little Blademaster, our Prince knows exactly what he’s doing.” Interjected Pierre, who also liked to annoy Zeth.
“How many times, Gods damn you?! I am not little!” Zeth erupted, standing out of his seat faster than I’d ever seen him move before. Pierre’s face oozed into a grin and others began to laugh as well.
“Well according to our
‘lovely Lady’, she hears that a certain number of her stock would beg to differ.” The room burst into laughter at Devin’s addition. Even I found myself laughing along. Zeth, however, didn’t take too kindly to being the butt of the joke. He slowly reached for his blade. But I’d already began to move towards my seat.
“Calm down, brother.” I said between giggles. “We’re simply jesting.”
“Mocking me, more like.” Zeth retorted. His hand now grasping the hilt of his sword.
“Well, okay, mocking you then. Either way it’s nothing for you to take to heart. Now sit down, It’s time to eat.”
“As you wish,
My Liege.” He replied snarkily, giving me an extremely exaggerated bow before taking his seat.
As I took my own seat, a horde of serfs appeared seemingly out of nowhere to provide fresh platters of food. A large metal dish carrying a steaming hot, freshly cooked boar was placed nearer my end of the table. It came garnished with lavish amounts of green leaves beneath it and copious amounts of vegetables. It even had an apple stuffed into its mouth, which I found to be a very nice touch. Other meats were brought in, filling the air with their delicious aromas. Thick slabs of beef drizzled in a dark, mint-infused sauce, golden chicken breasts and succulent lamb cuts.
I watched everyone’s eyes light up as the food was brought in. A feast fit for a King. Or a Prince, at least. You might be wondering as to how I’d garnered the title of Prince. Surely even a Topman like myself would still be regarded as a mere villain, just another of the Undercroft’s misguided children? But alas, favour seemed to have fallen upon me even before my birth. You see, the Alseif name is a pretty household one around the City of Shadows. I’m not really sure about the ins and outs of it, but apparently my father was a big-time crook. Big enough to earn himself the name
‘King of Thieves’. Now, me being his son pretty much makes me criminal royalty which, I might add, is the closest thing to actual nobility I’ll ever achieve. Unless, of course, I wind up marrying a nobleman’s daughter and earn myself a title. But chances are I’ll be dead long before that situation ever rears its’ ugly head.
Being the
‘Prince of Thieves’ isn’t actually as good as it sounds. Unlike
actual Princes, I wasn’t entitled to anything, I still had to work my way up from the gutter. And ever since my mother died, I’ve been left to fend for myself. With my old man being a King and all, he’s obviously far too busy to be raising his own children. So the term doesn’t really hold much value for me. Other people, however, like the ones in this very room? They believe it means something. Pierre often rambles on about a second coming, a man to unite the shadows and whatnot, but I pay no interest to those whispers. After all, that’s all they are. There’s no prophecy or pre-written scriptures that details anything about a Thief Prince saving the Empire or even the city for that matter. And even if there were, I very much doubt that I’m the type of guy who’d go gallivanting around saving lives. By the Gods’, half of my business is killing folk for coin! If anything, I’m more likely to do the opposite. Even still, everyone who follows me does so because of my godsforsaken title. But who am I to refuse them? Other than a Prince. In any case, these people are my family more than anything. Okay, they make me lots of money, but without them I’d be alone...and a considerable amount poorer.
They all waited for me to take the first bite. Another sign of respect, though I wasn’t too fussed about it. It meant I got the best pick of the meats. Despite this, I would always allow my Lowers their favourite picks. You hardly want to piss off those who’re in charge of keeping you safe and making you coin. After carefully pondering over the entire selection of meats, I eventually chose the Lamb Loin Chops. Moist and tender, these cuts were the most expensive thing on the table. They came drenched in a chilli-spiced sauce with a few seeds scattered on top. It’s almost as if they were served precisely to my liking, which, thinking about it, they probably were. I had Jezebelle to thank for that. Aside from selling the warmth of their beds, the Lady’s girls also made for excellent cooks. Each one of them were trained in the art of housewifery in anticipation for the day that an Akin was looking to retire from the life and settle down with one of her girls. Naturally, the prospective husband would have to pay a release fee, which would cover the losses of the girl not having to work anymore. There weren’t many working girls like that within the Undercroft, which is why Jezebelle’s were the best in the business.
I looked down the table, watching everyone gorge on their chosen dishes, until I locked eyes with the Head of Mistresses. If she’d eaten anything you’d never have known. Her plate was practically gleaming and her lipstick had certainly not been ruined by the greasy deposits of food that had been brought out. Her gaze was warm, and I found myself quickly lost within the charm of her eyes. She raised a finger to her lips and for a second I thought that she was beckoning me to go over and kiss her. But I soon realized what she was saying after feeling a line of grease dripping from my lip. I quickly used my sleeve to remedy the matter, much to her amusement. I began to ponder on the first time I’d met the Lady Jezebelle. She had come to me one winter’s night offering me warmth and comfort whilst I was in the midst of a drunken stupor. Not one to say ‘no’ to a woman, I less-than-gracefully accepted her offer by shoving my tongue as far down her throat as I could. She’d seemed impressed at the time but after a few weeks of the same thing, I began to learn that she was soon becoming bored of me. Maybe she was even a little disappointed too. I’m not sure how, but the reason she’d come to me in the first place was because she’d known who I was, the supposed
‘Prince of Thieves’.
It was due to her that I’ve become the man I am today. It wasn’t long before I was bettering my standing throughout the shadows just so that I could appease her through any means possible. I’m not stupid, I know she’d used my name to make her own fortune within the Undercroft. The only thing that troubles me, and still does to be honest, is how she knew who I was. I mean, I didn’t exactly throw my name about back then. It would have been hard to given that it had barely any weight behind it. And if anything, it would have only aided me in getting a short drop and a sudden stop, which I wasn’t too keen on receiving at the time, or ever if I can help it.
Once everyone had finished eating and the drink was beginning to flow, I stood up to command the attention of the table. The sounds of chatter died away and the room was given to me. “Ladies and Gentlemen.” I began, raising my beer-filled goblet. “Let us give thanks to the Gods that we are all here to attend this week’s Church meeting.” A wave of murmurs by all around the table followed my statement. I’m not a religious man by any stretch of the imagination and I certainly don’t pray, but being in a house of worship and feasting on expensive foods whilst you’re surrounded by your family makes you want to at least thank someone, especially after a few too many. “Our first topic for today’s meeting will be about our most recently departed member, the rat.” A whisper of groans, they all knew where this was going.
“Surely, the public display of ‘is
cadavre was enough to put that issue to rest?” Asked Pierre, nods from others quickly followed.
“Three months, Pierre! Three, fucking, months! How did any of you not suspect something before?” I asked, quickly becoming agitated as the memory of that particular Church meeting came back to me.
“He was a sneaky bastard, Kalas. He had us all fooled, even you.” Added Devin.
“Oh, don’t give me that
‘He even fooled you, Kalas. How could we possibly have seen through it?’. That’s bullshit and you know it, Devin.” I took a moment to breathe and to take another sip of my drink. “Pierre, I don’t want to hear excuses. What I want to know is how that scumbag managed to relay information back to Sloan whilst he was working under you?” I pointed an accusatory finger at the man at that last bit, which made him sink back into his chair almost. The conman struggled to find an answer. He knew that no matter how smooth he talked or how far his nose was jammed up my ass, I wasn’t letting this one go. I wanted blood.
“I must confess,
Mon Liège…” He paused for barely a few seconds but it was enough to make a cold chill run down the back of my spine. The faces of the others displayed my anticipated horror as each of us were expecting to hear Pierre’s confession of betrayal. The room stood in silence.
“...I do not know.” He head hung at the final word. The room breathed a sigh of relief. Even I let out the breath I hadn’t realised I’d been holding. That bastard, he had a knack for theatrics. “Delivery schedules, shipping costs, profit margins, the correct amount of gin
Monsieur Rivers prefers in his morning tea. All these things, I know and I can tell you by heart. But ‘ow
le rat managed to outwit me, I cannot say. And for this I am shamed.” Pierre was intensely proud of his vast intelligence. It was the reason I chose him as my Lower. So for him to admit in front of everyone that he had been outsmarted by some scumbag rat, it wasn't something he'd do unless he truly meant it. I instantly regretted placing him in that position but I had to know.
The room stayed silent as I pondered my next line of inquiry. I decided a change of topic was probably for the best. I could speak with Pierre in private later. “Alright then, let’s move on.” I said, sitting back in my seat. The amount I’d drank was starting to catch up with me.