Protection From Thine Protectors

[Poison]

((CLOSED to Leoric))


Through the dark streets of Knife's Edge now dubbed Rubble Town, a heavily cloaked figure carefully picked its way from street to street. Broken down buildings that had been shored up with whatever could be found stared emptily at the streets. A few here and there had the light of a flickering candle in it, but for the most part, many of the buildings look nearly abandoned. Far above, a full moon glinted in a clear sky, casting its light down upon the mostly sleeping city. The last of the winter's snow crunched softly beneath black-booted feet as silver eyes peeked out from beneath the hood as their owner cautiously checked to be sure no one was following. Pleased to see that she was indeed alone, she hurried on her way.

A week ago she had received a note detailing a job for her. Apparently the head of the guard in Rubble Town was abusing his power. However, it was not just any abuse of power. The man was using his station and authority to force his way into the homes of various women and forcing the gods only knew how many different types of sexual atrocities on them. Though a criminal herself, a thief and assassin, there were some crimes that she could not condone. Rape was one of them. She had slipped aboard the first ship she could find that was bound for Salvar. She had not even looked to see how much the job would pay.

Once underway, she took a second look at the contract. This was not to be a solo job. She was to meet her partner at a secret meeting place. They would work out exactly what they were going to do on their own terms. The only thing that mattered to her was that Alphonse D'Ire never hurt another woman ever again. She already knew exactly how she wanted to ensure that particular part of the contract.

A few more turns through Rubble Town's streets and she found the alley she was looking for. It ran behind an inn dubbed “Ice Queen's Rest.” She could hear the raucous sounds of drunken revelry coming from the common room and shook her head in disgust. Now that she could no longer consume alcohol even for show, she didn't care much for the drunken antics of other people. The Curse, as she called it, had been getting worse and now she couldn't even drink water without puking, let alone alcohol. She thirsted only for blood.

The wind picked up momentarily and blew the hood back from her face. Silver hair, held back in a ponytail, fell to the middle of her back. The moonlight shone softly against her pale, fair skin. Muttering to herself she reached back to pull the hood back to its proper place when her eyes fell on the form of a drunkard slumped against the wall opposite of “Ice Queen's Rest.”

“Hey!” she said loudly, prodding him with her foot. “Sleep it off somewhere else. I've business to attend to and I don't want eavesdroppers.”

[Leoric]

Leoric left the Ice Queen's Rest and slowly stumbled around into the alley. He was supposed to meet his partner behind the Inn. They were supposed to talk about their mission quietly and choose their next steps from there. He stopped, braced himself against the wall, and tipped the last few drops of rum into his mouth.

“Why is the rum always gone?” he sluggishly stammered as he walked a few steps and stopped. He had noticed someone passed out to his right. The drunk appeared to be the same size as himself, however, he was wearing a full body leather trench coat and a large brimmed leather hat. “Don't mind if I do,” He smirked as he walked over and took the two articles for himself with minimal noise coming from the man.

After a few minutes he had managed to find a nice wall to lean against while he waited for his 'confidant' to arrive. After what felt like forever, Leoric had gotten tired of standing and slumped to the ground, the empty bottle of booze still in his hand. He began to recollect what had brought him out to the god forsaken run down hell hole he was in.

He had signed up on a merchant ship as their guard. They had a suspicion they would be attacked and asked for Mr. Rockfist to protect them. He begrudgingly agreed requested the payment up front. Once they had docked in Salvar and began to unload their cargo, a bird landed on his shoulder with a note in hand. At first he thought it was some kind of mistake. After taking the message and reading the first line, he knew it was no error. He had apparently gotten the attention of some important people who wanted his assistance and were willing to pay very well for the job's completion.

He was told that a local guardsman had gone corrupt and was assaulting many young women in a rundown area. Normally Leoric would just storm in and rip the guy's throat out and be done with it. However, this request was to deal with the problem with as few deaths as possible, making sure the man was no longer in a position to continue his reign of terror. As well as obtaining pertinent information on the people of power within the region for later use. He sighed and agreed to take the job for the sole purpose of hopefully saving an attractive young lass who would be eternally grateful to him.

Leoric looked back down at the note and let out an exacerbated sighed. He hadn't noticed the last bit of the message, He was to work with a partner on this mission, a female by the name of Poison. He scoffed at the name at first but realized she was probably named that for a reason and he had set out on his way. He hadn't heard his confidant walk up on him, or realized that he looked and smelled like a slobbering drunk.

“You know, Poison, with such a loud tone I am surprised half the town didn't hear ya,” he said as he tilted his head up and peaked out underneath the hat. The moonlight revealed the lower half of his face.

“How did you know it was me?” she asked as Leoric stood up.

“I didn't, you should of seen the look on the others faces when I said that,” he joked as he took off the hat and ruffled his hair. “I swear it is not me that smells this horrid, it's these clothes I burrowed from a drunk man.” He chuckled, then burped, a strong odor of booze emanated from it. “Well, Maybe not all the clothes.”

“Anyways, before we begin our business. I have already found us a place to stay, it is on the outskirts of town. It is abandoned so we don't need to worry about anyone eavesdropping on us.” Leoric wobbled a bit as he tried to hide how drunk he actually was as he led his partner to the abandoned house.

[Poison]

Poison crinkled her nose at the offending odor and silently followed him. The more privately they could talk the better. The thought of an abandoned building instead of a hotel room appealed to her for a couple of reasons. Aside from the lower chance of eavesdroppers, she would not have to pay for lodging. The less money she had to spend the better.

It was no long before Leoric was pushing open a battered, wooden door. The old house looked as though no one had lived in it since before the war that had created Rubble Town. A thick layer of dust and dirt lay atop everything from the floor to the empty shelves to the mantle over the fireplace. The first room they entered had once been a living room. A couch with a sagging middle sat in the middle of the room. Off to the left she could see the entrance to the kitchen. To the right a door led to another room.

Bedroom, most likely...

The windows had a few boards nailed over top of them and were missing most of their glass. The missing glass did not bother her, but the lack of curtains did. She would have to do something about the amount of sunlight that would be pouring in from the east facing windows before dawn. All in all, the house would suit their purposes. She pulled her cloak off and laid it on the back of the couch, then pulled off her gloves and added them to the pile.

“All right, we're here. You must be Leoric. I realize this must be a delicate kind of job, otherwise I would have been left to my own devices. The question is: do you have anything in mind for this operation?”

She watched as he tossed the rank trenchcoat across the room before answering her question, “I plan on finding the guy and snapping his neck. Problem solved.”

Silver eyebrows came together in a scowl as she crossed her arms beneath her breasts, “If it were that easy, it wouldn't require two of us. Just killing him isn't going to help. One of his buddies will just take his place.”

“Then I just need to take out all his buddies. Simple enough.”

Poison sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose in frustration, “Clearly, you don't understand the meaning of this being 'delicate.' If it were as easy as killing them all, it still wouldn't require two of us. A bunch of dead guardsmen is going to attract attention. The idea is to get this to stop without drawing attention.”

“I am never one to be delicate,” he scoffed, “I was clearly picked for this for my strengths. That happens to be my strength and brute force. So we find the middle ground for this mission. We try and acquire some information. And when the time comes, we end as 'few' people as we can while scaring the others into submission. Sound like a plan?”

Poison was quiet for a moment thinking it over then nodded, “That.. sounds much better than brazenly killing them all. You will have to go out during the day. I can only go out at night.”

He rolled his eyes at that. “Only at night? How come?”

“I just can't go out during the day, okay? We also need to get a few of these windows better covered. I can't be in the sun; I burn far too easily.”

He rolled his eyes once more and sighed, “Fine.” He glanced outside then flopped onto the couch, kicking up a huge cloud of dust. “Well, it's night time, so I guess it's your turn.”

“We still have a few hours before dawn, so I was going while I still can anyway.” She checked over her weapons and headed back outside, leaving her gloves and cloak behind. She would not need them right now.

Leoric didn't move from the couch, watching as she left, “See you in a few hours then.”

Poison hurried away from the abandoned house. She was not yet sure what she thought of her partner. Ideally, she would just find her target, identify the ones that would be most likely to take his place, and poison all of them. But rapists were a special matter. A simple poisoning would not suffice.

“First, though, a meal...”

[Leoric]

Leoric stretched as he slowly woke up from his slumber, it may have been just a nap but it was better then running on empty. He stood up and grabbed the cloak that he had 'burrowed' from the drunken man in the alleyway and slammed it against a pillar several times, removing any dust and hopefully help alleviate the smell that lingered in the house. He glanced out through the partially boarded up and broken windows as he tried to find the moon to guess how much longer he had before it was 'His turn'. After several minutes of not being able to find the moon he sighed and looked around at the household they were in, it was in complete tatters, Dust was everywhere. he put his hand on the arm of the couch and realized it had some fabric drapped over it so he grabbed a corner and quickly pulled it off.

Dust flew into the air as Leoric started coughing, his head sank when he saw what was beneath the sheet. A rather ornate couch, not a spec of dust was on it. "Great, if i had known this was there i wouldn't of slept on the friggen dust." Leoric turned around and noticed almost everything had something covering it, he grabbed each cover in turn and threw everything into a corner of the room far away from the main area. Just as the dust had settled and leoric had taken off his vest to shake the dust off of himself, Poison walked in through the door, Leoric shirtless, his leather vest hanging on a splintered piece of wood on the wall, she didn't even bother to hide the fact she was staring.

"Well, guess it is my turn now? Minimal killing, get as much information as i can right? should be easy enough to do" He smirked as he walked past her "Oh, by the way, got a little drool here" He draped his vest and trench coat over his shoulder and headed out the door.

The Brawler had many ways of getting information out of people, none of which seemed like they would fit the job he had been assigned. He sighed as he entered the main living district as the sun peaked over the horizon. "I am sure some of his victims would be willing to share some information' He thought to himself as he smirked. He slowly threw on his vest and trench coat as he wandered through town asking people he had bumped into some information on where he could find some people that would know something about this 'Protector'. after a few people he was lead to a corner house with an adorable picket fence and a veranda. There was a woman who seemed lost in thought as she stared out at the horizon. He was told she was the most recent of victims, still in shock from the whole ordeal. Her Husband had been slaughtered right in front of her as he tried to defend her honor.

"Excuse me, Ma'am? Leoric asked as he set one step on the veranda and took off his hat. Normally he wouldn't of bothered being so polite, or gentlemanly, he would of just been up front. but for some reason he felt like he needed to use a gentle touch with this one. "I was wondering if i could ask you some questions about the other night? i am trying to find out some information on the Guard captain and his men?"

"Alphonse? she scoffed barely audible "Him and his group are not men, they are merely boys with too much power. Speak up and you are silenced, fight back and you are killed. they do what they want and leave the rest to those that survive"

"I know that Ma'am, that is why i am here. i just need to know more about that day so i know what i am dealing with." Leoric took a few more steps. when his boot made a thud on the top of the veranda she turned around quickly and yelled at him to stay away. Leoric went back down the stairs and stayed at the bottom. "I just need to know what happened Miss, i am not here to hurt anyone. I may hurt Alphonse, but he isn't really classed as a person right now is he?"

"you just stay over there and i will talk, i am sure you understand my reasons for not wanting any man near me." Leoric nodded and stayed at the base of the stairs, listening to her story for what felt like forever. After they were done talking he put on his hat, tipped it and said farewell. within minutes he had several other people wanting to talk to him about what was happening, before he knew it was clear into dinner time. he sighed as his head started to hurt, he was told pretty much the same thing from everybody, Alphonse forces his way in claiming routine house checks for criminals. He only attacked after dark, and only to woman that had grabbed his interest. if anyone else in the house resisted they were killed, he also found out that while Alphonse 'attacked' his Guardsmen would wait outside to stop anyone outside from interfering.

The now exhausted brawler sat on a stump of a tree outside the last persons house that he had talked to, hat resting in his hands. he was almost lost in thought when he heard splintering of wood and shrill cry. The Brawler threw on his hat and bolted off in the direction the scream came from to find a house with a kicked down door. He quickly bolted inside to find a guardsman trying to force himself onto another woman, Leoric quickly added up the information he had gathered throughout the day and realized there was no other guardsman around, and this was definantly not alphonse. He quickly reached for the Guard's sword and removed it from him as a way of getting attention.

"Hey!" The guardsman said as he got up and turned around to face Leoric. "you don't know who you are messing with peasant, if you leave now i may forget i ever saw ya." Leoric cocked an eyebrow and threw the guardsmans sword across the room, the guard tried to take this opportunity and swung wildly at the intruding man. Leoric deftly dodged the blow as he frowned at the guard, he was hoping to enjoy the little brawl. The guard cried out in rage as his fist hit nothing but open air, he swung again at Leoric and again he missed. each time he missed he got more and more livid to the point of blind rage. The seasoned bar brawler sighed as he headbutted the Guard causing him to stumble back a few steps and immediatly entered his Quakin palm stance. When the beligerant guard attacked again Leoric was ready, he struck out with his palm and at the last second activated the quaking palm. making it feel like he had just punched clear through the guardsmen.

The guard collapsed on the floor, shrieking in pain as leoric gave him another quick jab to the jaw knocking him out cold. he sighed as he stood up and repositioned his hat on his head. he then turned to the lady he had just saved and asked her for some rope and a chair. Moments later she had returned and helped Leoric tie up the guardsman, partly fearing the guardsman and partly fearing the man that had just dropped a guardsman with his bare hands.

"Miss, i need you to not be around for this next event. i Need to ask him some questions and i would rather not bloody a man with an innocent around." She quickly nodded and scurried out of the house. "Now then, time to get to buisness"

The brawler pulled out his gloves from his pants pocket and silently slid them over his hands, tapping the iron braces together before waking up the guardsmen.

"How does Alphonse choose which woman he goes after?" Leoric asked politely at first.

"i will never tell you asshole" The guardsmen spat

"Fine, my way then" he said as he cracked his neck and planted a iron knuckled fist into the ribs of the tied up guardsman "How does Alphonse choose his targets?"

"I will not... tell you" The guardsman coughed as the force of the impact cracked a rib or two.

"You do know i can make this hurt a hell of a lot more?" Leoric said as he grabbed his wrist with his other hand, the sudden impact on chainmail had caught him off guard. he was thankful he had iron braces on his gloves at this point, else his knuckles would be feeling just as bad as his wrist. "one more chance before i make your life hell. How does Alphonse choose his targets?" He questioned slowly.

"You won't get a single word out of me!"

"Well, i just got a few" Leoric said snarkily as he rolled his wrist and punched the guardsmen in the jaw, splitting open a wound on the guardsmens face, followed by another punch to his chest. he lowered himself to the guardsmens level and motioned his palm forward, slowly getting closer and closer to the guardsmen. the wounded man started screaming in pain as the nature energy from the quaking palm had begun to enter his body, making it feel like the inquistitors hand was passing through him slowly and extremely painfully.

"Okay, okay! enough!" The guardsmen cried out as leoric backed away and stood up. "he sits at the outside bar on market row, he studies every female that passes him. if one intrigues him they find her house and force their way in using the hoax of a routine house check. "

"See! that wasn't so hard was it?" Leoric said with enthusiasm " and for co-operating, i will let you walk out of here! just remember this, you even TOUCH another female or look at one the wrong way. i will be back... and it will not be for questioning... remember that" As leoric bent down to untie the man he hopped forward and headbutted Leoric as hard as he could in the cheek, causing a deep gash to tear across his face. the pain knocked leoric into a frenzy, he knocked over the chair started launching punch after punch into the mans face, after several dozen punches Leoric stood up and spat on the man. "Pretentous Asshole, i was going to let you walk out of here... now good look seeing again"

He walked out the front door and looked at the sun, in less then an hour it would be nowhere to be seen. He sighed and headed back to his abandoned home, he had to fill Poison in on what he had learned about Alphonse and then he planned to go for a nice bath to unwind after losing his temper.

[Poison]

Poison watched as he left, openly admiring the way his muscles moved as he walked. With the realization that he was out of sight and she was still staring, she shook herself and closed the door firmly. She finally took a look around the room and was quite surprised to see the furniture uncovered and that it actually looked quite nice. It seemed the people that had lived here before expected to return. Otherwise they would not have taken the time to cover their furniture. While she was glad that her temporary home was in better condition than they'd originally thought, it still left the gaps between the slats on the windows to deal fix.

She searched the house for extra blankets. Between the furniture covers and some extra blankets that were in the bedroom closet, she managed to hook a bit of fabric over every window. The bedroom windows were her first priority. The last thing she wanted was to be woken by the pain of the sun burning some part of her body as the sun rose. The living room windows were next, followed by the kitchen windows. She coughed at the dust she stirred up as she quickly moved the long pieces of fabric around, but hurried along anyway. Soon, the little house was sealed off from the rising sun well enough to suit her.

Now, as long as Leoric doesn't take them all down while I'm sleeping, that should do well enough.

Yawning, she walked into the bedroom. It was simply adorned with a single large bed in the center. A night table stood on either side of it. On the wall opposite the bed stood two dressers and a tall wardrobe. A quick search of the drawers produced a long-sleeved button up shirt, a short, somewhat fancy dress and high heeled shoes to match. The button up shirt gave her an idea for a little revenge about Leoric's remark about drool when he caught her staring.

She smiled wickedly as she stripped to her lacey panties and pulled the shirt on. She buttoned only the middle three buttons at her navel then checked her reflection in the mirror on the wall over the vanity table. The sight, or rather the lack thereof, nearly made her scream a curse. But, upon closer inspection, she realized that the mirror was quite dirty. She cleaned it quickly then took another look.

Her reflection was thin, almost translucent. Her skin had paled considerably over the last several weeks. She raised a hand to her face, noticing that she was thinner than she realized. It's getting worse... For a long time she'd been able to hide the fact that she was a vampire. She drank only as much as barely needed to keep the cravings in check. The idea of drinking more to better sustain her looks both appealed to and appalled her. She wasn't sure it would bring back a reflection.

In a sudden fit of rage she grabbed the oil lamp base sitting on the vanity table, took a step back and hurled it as hard as she could at the mirror. The mirror cracked and a few pieces of glass fell to the vanity table. Poison picked up the lamp and threw it again and again, cursing with every throw, until the mirror was broken into a few hundred shards of various sizes. The top of the vanity was covered in them and a few of them littered the ground around. When the frame held only a few shards in a single corner, she finally stopped and left the lamp where it had last fallen.

Turning her back on the vanity, she climbed into the bed and pulled the covers up to her shoulders. She closed her eyes and calmed herself further with deep breaths. That at least was still necessary. She still needed to breathe even if she did not require normal food and drink. She took a little comfort in that and was soon asleep.

As the sun slipped below the horizon and twilight set in, Poison woke feeling much better. She stretched as she sat up. The house was quiet; apparently Leoric wasn't quite back yet. She smirked at that realization. It made her plan for tonight work even better. The vampiress got to her feet and straightened the covers on the bed. Just as she smoothed the covers she heard the door open.

That must be Leoric.

She hurried over to the bedroom door and pulled it open, slowly stepping out and leaning against the door frame. She still wore only the button-up shirt (that was barely long enough to cover her hips) she'd found that morning. She smirked to herself as Leoric closed the door behind himself then stopped and stared as he caught sight of her.

“So, how'd your day go?”

She asked as she slowly yawned and stretched lazily, causing the shirt to rise up just enough to display the only other piece of clothing she wore: lacey underwear.

Leoric stared a moment longer before quickly crossing the room. He pulled her hips to his with a grin, “You stretch any higher and I won't need my imagination to see what what you look like naked.”

“Who said you needed to use your imagination?”

She stretched up, looped her arms around his neck, and kissed him. A moment later she felt him guiding her back into the bedroom and a hand slide up her body beneath the shirt. The seductress pulled away from his lips for just a moment.

“But first, business before pleasure. What did you find out?”

Leoric scowled briefly in frustration but answered her question – very quickly.

“Business before pleasure? Hmm well, I found out what we pretty much already knew.” He paused to nibble at her throat, illiciting a soft moan from the vampiress.

“They are drunk with power; if you speak up you are killed and they don't care about repercussions...” He paused again, this time to slide the shirt off her shoulders and letting it pool on the floor. He guided her closer to the bed, stepping over the shirt as he took a moment to appreciate her now bare curves.

“They leave that to the survivors. He only attacks at night, claiming routine house checks, and only against women that peak his interest. He does the act alone while guards wait outside. If anyone resists within the house, they get a quick and brutal end.”

Poison stopped as she felt the edge of the bed against her knees feeling quite pleased“Excellent... anything else?”

He thought for a moment, recalling the incident with the guard, “I also... nevermind. It's not important...”

He pushed her onto the bed and in another minute or two, joined her.

~ ~ ~ ~


Sometime later, Poison slid from the bed and pulled her clothes on. As satisfying as the past two hours had been, she had work to do. This time, she dressed in the slinky, black dress and heels she'd found in the closet. The dress came to mid-thigh, with a low-cut neckline. She pulled her long, silver hair up into a pony tail. The first order of business would be to get a meal. Their recent activity had spiked her appetite and she had barely kept herself in check to avoid drinking from Leoric.

“I'll be back shortly before dawn,” she told him as she got to her feet. Leoric just nodded and rolled over to go go sleep. Poison smirked to herself and headed out, Men... Stereotypical as it was that he was immediately falling asleep once they were done, she was glad that he wasn't trying to be cuddly and keep her there beside him.

She stepped out into the cold night air and took a deep breath. The air always seemed to be a little cleaner in the cold than elsewhere. There honestly wasn't much else for her to do tonight as far as their mission was concerned, but she wanted to at least get a look at this captain. She moved quickly along the street, thinking about how they could get this mission done quickly. There was, of course, the obvious idea of simply confronting the man and killing him. However, the instructions had been clear to avoid that if at all possible. While she was sure that would be Leoric's preferred method, there were far subtler ways to deal with a man like the captain.

“Hey, Sweetcheeks! Was yer father a baker? 'Cause you gotta great set of buns!”

Poison stopped and turned slurred speech. A man stood at the entry to an alley. He wore the typical clothing of an average worker: sturdy pants, boots and a thick coat to ward off the spring-time chill. She smiled a little to herself and approached him, “the baker line? Is that really the best you can do?”

The man, reeking of alcohol, scrunched his face up in thought for a moment, then smiled broadly at her, "Yer daddy musta been a thief. He stole the stars from the sky and put them in your eyes Beautiful..."

She laid a hand against his chest, pushing ever so slightly to guide him a little ways into the alley and up against the wall. He grinned, clearly thinking he'd lucked out as he pulled her close. “Did that work, Darlin'?”

“I suppose it'll do this time,” she raised up on her tip toes and kissed him deeply. His hands slid from her waist down and under the skirt of her dress. She could feel his heart racing as she kissed along his jaw to his neck. She nuzzled there for a moment, letting her fangs elongate slowly. In a quick move, she bit down, piercing the man's flesh. He cried out briefly as she drank, but between the sudden loss of blood and the alcohol he quickly fell silent. She drank only enough to satisfy her hunger and left him leaning against the alley wall. With luck, by morning, he'd either completely forget the encounter or figure it was a drunken dream. Pushing the self-loathing thoughts about her disease to the back of her mind, she now set out to find the captain.

“Market Row...Market Row... where the bloody hell is Market Row!?”

She grumbled to herself as she stepped carefully along the street. The high-heeled shoes were not exactly the best for this kind of weather, but she wanted to be sure to look the proper part. She turned another corner. The next street was filled with several businesses, all closed for the night, except for a single bar. Several city guards lounged around in various places along the street. Some puffed away on cigarettes, while others chatted with local whores.

This must be the place...

She straightened up and walked across the street. A sign hanging over the bar's door proclaimed it to be the Captain's Refuge. She let her hips swing saucily as she walked. Alphonse was easy to recognize. He was decked out in a captain's cloak with the insignia of the city guard hanging on a wide ribbon across his chest. She winked as she passed him and stepped into the bar.

Big, but not too much so. This shouldn't be too hard to take care of.

The silver-haired seductress took a seat at the bar. She hadn't been there more than five seconds when a young serving wench approached her. “You need to be careful, Miss.”

“Why's that?”

“The Captain, I think he's taken a shine to you,” the girl sounded nervous, even fearful as she watched the captain through the front window of the establishment. He... he doesn't take 'no' for an answer. You should probably take a round-about way home.”

“Now, why should I worry about that?”

“Just...do it. I've already said more than I should have.”

The girl hurried away. Poison watched her for a few minutes then turned her attention back to the other patrons of the Captain's Refuge. She watched Alphonse through the window. She liked to case out her targets as much as possible before eliminating them.

Dammit! He's coming inside...

She smiled as the big man made his way inside. He had no need of pushing or even looking for a seat. A path was made for him and a seat beside her cleared the moment the door opened. The false smile on his face as he took that empty seat made her stomach churn. This was a man so accustomed to the perks his power gave him that he no longer even thought about it.

“I don't believe I've seen you before, Miss...?”

“Alicia. No, my beau and I just arrived in Knife's Edge a couple of days ago. He's sleeping at home. He might have come out with me, but between a long day of work and celebration of finding work, he was flat exhausted.”

Alphonse nodded, his mind whirring with ideas. “I see. You know, it's not really safe for a beauty such as yourself to roam the streets alone. When you get ready to leave, let one of my men know, and they'll be happy to escort you home.”

Poison smiled, “Thank you, but I think I can manage. I don't think Leo would appreciate me bringing anyone around that he hasn't met first. Besides, I got here just fine, so getting home shouldn't be a problem.”

“Call one of my men anyway. It will be much later and I would hate to find you didn't make it home after all. Now, I must get back to work. Good night, Miss Alicia.”

Alphonse returned to his seat outside the bar, making a show of surveying the street for wrong-doers. Inside, Poison seethed inwardly. She had not intended to make contact with the filth, only observe.

“Barkeep, is there a backdoor to this place? That man gives me the creeps and I'd rather not let him see which direction my house is in.”

“Aye, there is, but it only leads to the alley. You'll still wind up going out onto the main street.” He dropped his voice and leaned in closer, “I know what you're trying to do, but it will only anger him. The captain gets what the captain wants. Standing in his way or trying to hide is a good way to get your man killed and you hurt.”

“I appreciate the warning, but I think we can manage. Leo is quite the fighter. Have a good night.”

She slid off her seat and quickly made her way to the back door. As the barkeep said, she could see where it turned the alley turned the corner around the side of the building to empty onto the main street. She studied the alley for a moment and noticed that it looked like at one time the alley stretched all the way to the street on the other side of the block. A wooden fence had been erected to block off the alley.

Probably to keep people from escaping out the back door.

“Miss Alicia?”

Poison cursed silently at the sound of a young man's voice. She had figured she would be followed, but she hadn't expected anyone to come to the alley so quickly. She leaned against the wood and focused hard on the shadows around her and keeping perfectly still. In just a few moments, she felt the familiar sinking feeling of the shadowmeld and relaxed. The young guardsman continued to call out her name in confusion, but she was already on the other side of the fence.

“Well,” she whispered to herself, “I'm glad that gamble paid off.”

She hurried back to the house she was sharing with Leoric. Thankfully without any further interferences. She glanced up at the sky as she entered the house. She'd only been gone maybe an hour and a half or so, but that was fine. She had the information she wanted for herself plus a meal.

Once inside, she pulled her shoes off and left them by the door. She could hear Leoric's snores and smirked. She stipped as she walked into the bedroom. She hung the dress back up in the wardrobe. It had served her well tonight. She slipped into the bed, but did not yet sleep. Instead, she plotted how they could use Alphonse's ego and trust in his power against him.