Claymore and Dagger (closed)

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"Young William is my newest student," Morgan told her. "How else do you think he picked that lock? Anyhow, I need your help. I have a bit of a bounty on my head. And I promise you'll receive a pardon for your own crimes if you help me. I need you to turn me in. You can have the bounty money too."
 
Fiona stopped in her tracks, turning to look at Morgan as she tried to figure out just what kind of a game he was playing with her. She had no idea why he wanted her to turn him in and keep the bounty that was on his head.

"What's the catch? It can't be that simple." She said softly.
 
"No catch. I'm going to fake my death and start a new life," Morgan told her as if it was nothing. "I've been planning this for a year now. I just need someone to help me. I can't turn myself in or else they'll suspect me of some other plan."
 
"You seriously think that this will be simple?" She asked him, considering what he was offering.

Money would be nice. She could pay back those that she had taken from and perhaps try to start her life over again. On the other hand, she knew that things with Morgan weren't that simple. He very well might turn on her and she would end up in a very hard spot.

"Alright. Let's do it." She said as she looked at Morgan. "If I have your word that things will be legitimate."
 
"I swear on my sweet mother's grave. I want a new start as badly as most of those like us do." Morgan gave her a smile. From such a man, it was unsettling. But it seemed genuine. "I'll meet you here in the morning, then. Try not to get caught before then." With that, he disappeared into the night just as the alarm was raised about the escaped prisoner, and Will took off running to lead the way to a safehouse. There were friends of the local thieves guild here and there, and though Fiona wasn't a member, Will was thanks to Morgan's influence on the guild, or rather the terror he struck into them.
 
Fiona followed close behind Will, the sounds of the guards raising the alarm loud in her ears. She knew that there wasn't a lot of time before they alerted the Prince that she had escaped and she knew that he was stubborn enough to follow after her. She would do the deed in the morning, turn Morgan in and claim the reward, and them slip away for a few days to allow all of the drama to die down. That seemed like the most sensible decision in her head.
 
Sam was up and out with only a moment spared to dress, and on his horse with search parties to scour the town. He knew of many warehouses and went to check them first. Finding nothing, he began stopping late workers and interrogating them.

When Fiona and Will were safely hidden in the secret cellar of the safehouse, which was the home of a local miner and his brother, they heard the loud pounding on the door and their hosts opened it up to face Sam's questions. They insisted they'd seen nothing despite claims of suspicious people coming near their home, and Sam enacted a search, not believing them. Soldiers opened up every door and closet, even checking under rugs for secret doors. But thankfully, they couldn't find the little chink in the south wall that opened up to a secret space between the house and shed and led down into the cellar.

Sam and his men finally apologized and left to check other, nearby houses. The miner came down to Fiona and Will. "It's safe, but you two can sleep here for the night if you like. No charge."
 
Fiona listened as the soldiers searched the house from top to bottom, hoping that they wouldn't find the entrance to the little hiding area that she and Will had entered into. She knew if they were found, her fate would be much worse than it would have been if she had simply stayed in that cell. When the miner came down to them, telling her that the danger had passed, but they might want to stay, she wholeheartedly agreed.

"I believe we will. There's no safe place out there tonight and we have business to attend to in the morning." Fiona said simply, glancing towards Will. "I think this might be the safest bet that we have at the moment."
 
"You still haven't thanked me," Will groused. He was a young and rather prideful lad, perhaps too much so, but he loved Fiona like a sister and he'd done crazier things for her than break her out of jail.
 
"Thank you for getting me out, Will. I still ought to wring your neck for getting involved with someone like Morgan and taking those horses." Fiona said as the young man continued to grouse over a wounded pride. "Maybe one day someone will knock some sense into that thick skull of yours."

She lessened the blow as she hugged him close to her side, pressing her cheek against his unruly hair. He was like her, abandoned at a young age and forced to survive by any means necessary. It wasn't a pretty life or even a good one, but she had always told Will that it was important to still have your pride in the face of overwhelming adversity.
 
"I just want to be a soldier instead of a thief... And Morgan used to be one. If I have a little experience, maybe the Ghis will let me be a guard or something. I'm tired of starving and stealing," he murmured to her.
 
"If that's what you really want, stick close to me and I'll help you make it happen. We can scrounge up enough money for a sword and some armor." Fiona promised him, loving that he had a dream even if he were too poor to afford it. "Maybe someone in the village would trade you for it. A few days working in a field would be more than enough for something of good, used quality."
 
"I'd like to buy a horse especially... And be a patrol rider," he told her quietly. "And I'd like to help some kids get off the streets so they don't turn into us."
 
"Never think that there's anything wrong with being like us, Will." Fiona said quietly. "We try our hardest to be honorable. We try to do what we know is good and right. However, we also have to survive. We are doing that the only way that we know how."
 
"It still doesn't make me feel good about taking from people who worked hard for what they have," Will told her. Though they often targeted people who wouldn't be ruined by their losses, there were times they'd end up having to take from people who couldn't afford to lose anything.
 
"Have I ever let you down before? I promise that we'll get you a horse and a sword and I intend to make that happen." Fiona offered with a smile. "Get some sleep. We need to be up bright and early in the morning. Morgan isn't the forgiving sort and we better not be late for that meeting."
 
"Just be careful," he warned her before going to curl up on a pile of empty old potato sacks in a corner.
 
"I'm always careful." She said softly as she watched Will curl up on the pile of old potato sacks.

She let out a little sigh, already making plans for what might happen in the morning. She didn't trust Morgan in the least, but she knew that they had one chance to get themselves out of their terrible situation. With that kind of money, the two of them could start a new life in Inverness.

The next morning, Heather was up before the sun, dressed and waiting in the great hall. She had worn a grey dress with a Ghis sash around her waist. She didn't care about fashions since she was unable to see the designs, but Ashelin helped her organize a nice little wardrobe. Her grey wool cloak sat in the chair beside her. Typically she would have breakfast with Vincenzo, talking with him about all manner of things. That morning, however, she was waiting for Sam. She would wait for as long as it took.
 
Sam stepped out the same time he always did: exactly sunrise. He smiled slightly to himself to see Heather waiting, coming to sit with her at the table. Early breakfast was served for the men coming off the night shift, so Sam always joined in to hear the latest news and set himself tasks for the day. Men were filing in looking tired and rough, talking about the escape the night before.
 
"Someone escaped?" Heather asked as she ate her scone and porridge, glancing towards where Sam was sitting beside her. "Like a criminal? How did they get out of the jail? It was just built."

She was a curious little girl, made even more so by her lack of sight. Sam had never been anything but patient with her, however. It seemed that he was tolerant of his little sister and her thirst for knowledge. Heather adored him, just as she adored her other siblings for different reasons.
 
"It was the market thief, Blackstone. Someone let her out," Sam muttered. "They must've gotten to a safehouse we don't know about. And Morgan Kerrigan was spotted nearby. I doubt the two incidents are related, but I have a lot of work to do today." She knew vaguely who Morgan Kerrigan was and that he was incredibly dangerous, but not what he'd done to be disgraced.
 
"I can help. I'm really good at remembering things." Heather said with a bright smile towards her brother.

It was true. She was a genius when it came to remembering things. Being blind she had to remember where things were. Whether it be a toy left behind in the great hall or her hair brush left on her vanity, she always knew where everything was.

"And then maybe we can go and ride some of Annie's horses." Heather had recently been learning to ride. She struggled with the task because of the unknown nature of the beasts, but she was determined to be as independent as she possibly could.
 
"We'll see, love," Sam leaned down to kiss her forehead.

By the time Sam went out to get his horse, a rider came to find them. "Sir, we've found Blackstone, but... she came to the jail, with Kerrigan in chains. She's asking for the bounty and a pardon, sir."

Sam stared up at the man, not sure if he could believe it. "... Hold them there. I'll deal with this personally." He picked Heather up to put her on his saddle and climbed up behind her before reining the great charger in to head to the jail.
 
Heather held on to the saddle horn as her brother guided the charger through the streets of Inverness until they were at the jail. She held on to his long cloak with her hand, following closely behind him as she listened to the sounds of her own footsteps to gauge where she was.

Fiona was standing in the warden's room, looking back at all of the men who were glaring at her. Morgan had already been taken to a cell, Will was waiting on her back at the safe house, and she was about to ask for a pardon and something rare and expensive. She just had to get them to believe that she was there to do the honorable thing.
 
Sam finally entered and had Heather stop near the door. "Blackstone. What exactly are y'hoping to accomplish?" He fixed her with a dark glaze. "There's no way y'caught Kerrigan on your own."
 
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