And, We're Back!

It's been a while since I've done anything for this blog and a while since I've written (excluding the English short story, since that's for school), so I figured kill two birds with one stone.
So here you go. This is an excerpt from a little project I've recently gotten back to working on. It's a fantasy story, set in a medieval type world, and the main character is a thief named Cal. That's about all you really need to know to understand what follows.

My worn down boot’s treads were beginning to slip down the side of the unusually steep roof I was perched upon. It didn’t help that it had rained earlier. I grabbed onto the rough shingles to steady myself as I waited for someone to pass. I'd already gotten a coin purse from a trader, but he didn't have enough on him that I could quit for the night and still afford to eat tomorrow. The sounds bouncing through the alley below told me it wouldn’t be long. Footsteps, nervous voices and a bobbing light came around the corner before the girls did. My eyes widened just barely. No one in their right mind would be that loud in an alley this deep into the Rim. Then again, not everyone in the Rim was in their right mind. But when I saw the girls, I figured they must be more stupid than crazy. One girl, with dark hair and dark eyes that somehow seemed to be flashing even though the alley was just barely lit with moonlight, looked up for a moment, and I flattened to the roof, though I knew there was no way she could see my black silhouette against the black sky.

Wasn’t often I got marks this easy. Wasn’t often I got this lucky. But given everything that'd happened, maybe I deserved some luck.

“Come on, I just want to get to the shop and back before Dad notices I’m missing,” the dark haired girl said. The set of redheaded twins tailing behind her murmured quietly, looking nervously into every alley they passed. They were smart to do so, because every alley they past had a seedy bar or a den of thieves or at least a violent drunk waiting for someone as vulnerable as they were. But the dark haired girl stayed calm, eyes locked ahead.

As the girls came closer, I saw that they were wearing flashy jewelry. Every time they turned their heads, the moon light caught something around their neck or round their wrists or in their hair. For a second, I entertained the thought that the jewelry was real, which would make me quite a bit of money, but I knew that only nobles would have that much real jewelry. And no noble was dumb enough to come this far out into the Rim this late. They’d be asking to be robbed.

The swish of girls’ dresses was right below me as I leapt from the rooftop. Unfortunately, the one story jump hadn’t gone as well as I’d hoped. My knees buckled and I winced. Still, despite my less than graceful landing, the girls in front of my tore the oily night with piercing screams. They could be heard for blocks around, they were in the Rim. It'd take more than a few blocks for their screams to reach anyone who cared. I slid my knife from its sheath and held it up. The sheath was rough leather, but the blade was bright and carefully honed.

"Quiet, please ladies. I don't really want to hurt you. I just want your money. And any jewels please.” As always, I tried my best to keep them calm. I wanted them frightened enough that they’d give me what I wanted, but not so much they’d try to be violent. I didn’t have the time or the inclination to hurt them.

The set of redheaded twins were just staring at me, mouths wide open. My eyes flitted over them to the dark haired girl. She wasn't scared, or ready to give up anything. She stood there, glaring intensely at me with her flashing dark eyes.

I ignored her and turned to the twins. I raised the tip of my knife just slightly and held out my hand.

Their reaction was immediate. Both of them yelped, and pulled their jewelry from around their necks. Their red hair tumbled to their shoulders as they practically flung their hair pieces at me.

"Now you,” I said, turning towards the glaring girl.

She slowly pulled out her purse and threw it to me. I caught it with one hand. Then she reached for the clasp of the ruby necklace she was wearing. I froze and flinched back. Not enough to give the girls an advantage, which I was sure they wouldn’t have taken if I’d given it to them, but enough to get from her reach.

"Not that.”

"What?" she said, looking up from the necklaces tiny clasp.

"I...I don't want that. You can keep it,” I said, backing up slightly again.

Disbelief, then just a glimmer of relief crossed her face, but neither so much as to banish the fear in her eyes.

"Well. I'm done here. Thank you, ladies,” I said. I bowed just barely at the waist, with a sarcastic grin, then sprinted off into the fog. Though I doubted they would actually follow. No one ever did.

Once I was about two blocks away, I stopped and skidded into an alleyway. A drunk was slumped against one of the grimy walls; he looked too far gone to give me any trouble. I pulled out the bundle of purses. They were all made of smooth leather, and seemed expensive. I smiled; maybe that stupid pawnbroker would like them.

But when I tipped out the coins into my own purse I was surprised. It was much more than most people carried. Panic rising in my throat, I pulled the jewelry from my pocket and examined in the flickering light coming from between cracked teeth of glass in the window behind me. The gems looked too real. I lifted one of the redhead’s earrings to the light and groaned. Real gold.

 Those girls were high nobles. I swore loudly at my own stupidity. The drunk stirred slightly. I should’ve seen they were nobles before I jumped down. I may have gotten away with robbing a low noble, but once one high noble was robbed, all of the nobles were on high alert for at least a month. Which would probably mean some pretty hard times coming up for me. I glanced quickly through the jewelry. I separated one bracelet from another, and a chill ran up my spine. The second bracelet of one of the twins had small rubies hanging from it. I almost dropped it. I rubbed the pommel of my dagger with my other hand, and held the bracelet at arm’s length watching the faint torchlight play through the facets of it. I couldn’t decide what to do with it. I shoved it deep into my pocket, trying not to feel it pressing into my leg. Then using a small pipe on the side of the alley, I swung myself back onto the roof tops. Maybe I'd be able to find someone else before the sun rose. 

Well, that's all for today. I'll probably post more of this story next week.