The Beginning- Ferret's Story

                                                  Chapter 1

         Ferret peered down at the busy street from the low rooftop.  People were milling about, looking over the wares and counting out gleaming silver coins carefully.  Merchants bellowed, thrusting their goods under pedestrians’ noses and bargaining at the top of their lungs.  Such noise and commotion would have made many a head spin, had the scene not been in Sune, the city famous for its busy shops and merchant-stands throughout the kingdom.  As it was, many of the buyers were bellowing just as loudly as the merchants, roaring that to pay so much for such an item was ridiculous, and so on.  In all of the hustle and bustle, few would think to watch their purses, which was exactly what Ferret was hoping for.
         Ferret leaned back and smiled.  Days like this were what she lived for- and lived on, she reminded herself.  Life on the streets would have been perilous anywhere, but Sune was particularly nasty.  Gangs thrived in its alleyways, often leading to bloodshed on dark nights.  The worst part of Sune, the area by its southern wall, was where the gangs kept their fighting... for the most part.  It was also where Ferret had grown up.  She was lean and tall for her fifteen years, with brown-black hair that fell to her shoulders.  A thin scar, hardly noticeable at all, ran from her right eyebrow to her jaw.
Ferret eyed the streets again, picking out potential victims.  A slack-jawed boy, country-grown from the looks of him, would make an easy target.  Ferret made quick note of him, memorizing his appearance and loosening her dagger from its spot at her belt.  She leaped lightly off the roof, landing in the empty alley behind it.  She slipped around the building and into the crowd, ignoring the deafening racket that surrounded her.  She spotted the boy quickly; he was looking over a stand full of exotic fruit, licking his lips hungrily. 
Ferret strode closer, taking in his unsure stance and the exact position of his side-purse.  She slid the dagger into her hand, covering the bright steel of its blade in the folds of her tattered clothing, edging closer and closer.  She was reaching out to cut the bottom out of his side-purse when a large hand landed on her shoulder and spun her around.  The girl’s blood ran cold as she fought to regain her balance.
“What do we have here?” a familiar voice rumbled.  Ferret swore.
“Get away, Lau.  He’s mine!”
“Didn’t you hear?  The Knife gang gets dibs on all ignorant country boys,” Lau taunted.  His cronies, the rest of the infamous Knife gang, stood behind him menacingly.
“You’ve got no such thing!”  Ferret’s mind raced, looking for a way to end the conversation quickly so she could rob the country boy before he was lost in the crowd.
“Poor little Ferret,” Lau drawled.  “Flat broke, not a penny in her purse.  Looks like it’s back to the alleys for you.  The boys and I have work to finish here.”
The heavily-muscled Lau shoved her and sent her sprawling.  As she sprang to her feet, furious,  she saw that she had already lost.  The rest of the Knife gang was already surrounding the country boy and forcing him into a dark, shadowy spot beneath a stoop.  Ferret knew from experience that they would precede to rob him of any money he had.  If he struggled, he was likely to get a few thumps on the head for his trouble as well.  Ferret sighed.  No one would notice the Knife gang robbing the boy- no one ever did- and she was still penniless.
Cursing Lau with every filthy word she knew, she glanced around, hoping for an easy target.  Luckily, there was an inattentive man nearby who looked like he was from the northern regions of the kingdom, dressed rather warmly.  He had so many layers on that he didn’t even notice when Ferret cut his purse and took his three silver coins.  She also filched two more from a gray-haired woman who was inspecting cosmetics and wasn’t looking for gray-eyed, dark-haired thieves intent on pilfering her money.
The sun was beginning to set, and some merchants were closing up their stands while others tried to make a few last-minute sales.  The streets were clearing up a little.  Ferret made a quick glance around, checking for dropped coins on the cobblestone street.  Seeing none, she hurried off to her rooftop.  Its flat expanse would be room enough for the night.

                                                        *****

When she woke, it was in a highly unpleasant manner- soaked to the bone and shivering.  Rain poured from what had been a clear and sunny sky just hours before.  “This isn’t my day,” Ferret informed the sky.  “I can tell.”  The clouds continued to weep as she gathered what little she had- her dagger, belt pouch, and the money she’d stolen- and slipped down off the rooftop.  Her arrival in the dark alleyway was met with echoing splashes as bare feet hit puddles.  No one was around (gangs rarely fought their battles in the rain), so Ferret didn’t have to keep her voice down as she swore, cursing her stupidity.
“Never, EVER sleep out on a rooftop in the Raining season,” she berated herself as she picked her way down the familiar alleys, looking for shelter.  As she searched, she wrung out her ragged tunic and squeezed water from her hair miserably.  Finally, after several minutes of peering into dark corners, looking for a dry space, Ferret saw a door hanging off its hinges.  The sight would have given many the chills, but to Ferret the sight promised shelter and warmth.
Ferret sidled in, nudging the door shut with a foot.  It didn’t close all the way, but Ferret was too wet and tired to care.  She turned, trying to get her eyes to adjust to her dark surroundings, when she felt arms wrap around her, immobilizing her arms.  She fought to get free, stopping only when she felt the coolness of the dagger pressed against her throat.
Heart pounding in her ears, Ferret took deep breaths to stay calm.  She could probably haggle her way out of here, if she was careful with her words.
“Who are you?” she choked, careful not to move too much.
“Ferret?”  Lau’s voice was very surprised, but he recovered himself quickly.  “I do believe this is the second time today I’ve caught you off guard.”
Ferret sighed.  She really didn’t want to deal with her arrogant rival right now.  “Lau, enough fun and games.  I’ll go find somewhere else to sleep.  Will you remove your lovely dagger from my throat now?  This is taking the term ‘cutthroat’ a little far.”
Lau hesitated, then the pressure was released and he let go.
“I suppose the rest of the gang is here, too?”  She pretended to concentrate on wringing more water from her semi-dry tunic, but she never moved her gaze from Lau’s dim form.  She trusted him about as far as she could throw him, which was pretty much none.
“No, actually,” Lau replied.  There was a quality in his voice that Ferret didn’t like at all, and quite suddenly Ferret wanted to get out of that little hovel as fast as she could.
There was a long, awkward silence as they both tried (and failed) to think of something light to say.  Finally, Ferret broke the silence.
“I ought to be going now,” she muttered.  It took a great burst of will to turn her back to the knife-wielding Lau and stride out the door.  Once she was a safe distance from the still-open door, she began to relax, and a sigh of relief escaped her lips.
“I think I prefer him when he’s shoving me, not being all awkward,” Ferret murmured softly.  “At least then I know what to expect.”
She continued wandering in the rain, not really paying much attention to where she was going.  She finally did find shelter in the form of a boarded-up house, she absently pulled her dagger from its sheath and began to pry some of the boards on a window loose.
Am I losing my touch?  She wondered as she worked.  Caught twice in the same day...  I can’t even remember the last time that happened.  Or is Lau bringing it out in me?  After all, he’s my age...  He must think the same way I do, or something.  But we’re different people, so how can that be right?
A board came loose, and Ferret was able to lever herself into the dark hut.  She searched the tiny rooms for unwanted inhabitants, but all she found were rats.  There was no furniture, but she found a mildewed blanket in one of the rooms.  She curled up on the floor and fell asleep thinking about how strange boys were.