Two Silver Coins
Thea stood before the magistrate, hands shackled behind her back, doing her best not to smirk. She’d been caught red-handed, the pendant dangling from her cleavage. The constables, with their swords and chainmail armor clanking, had pulled her from the pub where she’d bought herself two rounds of watered-down port wine. She hadn’t struggled or complained, but acted demure and ashamed, letting herself be dragged to the town’s modest dungeon.
In the light of the next morning, they’d pulled her before the magistrate to face charges of thievery. Across from her stood the man who had accused her, the owner of the pendant, Lord Alstrom, although Thea suspected that the title of Lord was a bit overblown. His home was only two stories high, surrounded by a stone wall barely taller than she was. Not exactly a castle.
The magistrate was a bald, pale, thin-nosed fellow, and Thea could tell right away that he was the type of man whom she shouldn’t attempt to sway with her eyes or her hips. In fact, he looked to be the type of man who enjoyed punishing women when given the opportunity. “Well? You stand before me accused of stealing from Lord Alstrom whilst you were a guest in his home. What do you have to say for yourself?” His voice was sharp and grating, and he looked her up and down as though he were addressing someone who was covered in literal shit.
Thea knew she didn’t look like she was wealthy or even just a commoner. It was by design. Dressing like a street rat, she was often overlooked. Her plain, brown clothes were well-worn, often dirty, though never foul-smelling. Her dark green tunic had a hood, which she kept pulled up.
When the guards at the magistrates’ chambers had ordered her to pull it down, there was a stirring among the six men in the room. Thea’s skin was alabaster and flawless. Her lips were full and almost unnaturally red. Her eyes were a kaleidoscope of blues, subtly changing every few minutes, creating the illusion of water. Thea’s long black hair was as shiny as onyx, and even in this dim light, it seemed to have a soft aura of blue around it. Sometimes Thea found her appearance useful, but just as often it proved to be a hindrance. The hood on her tunic was like the sheath for a sword, and her beauty was deadly sharp.
“My lord,” she cast her eyes down as she addressed the magistrate, “I do not deny being in possession of Lord Alstrom’s pendant, nor do I deny spending his gold at the tavern.”
“I told you!” Lord Alstrom pointed an accusing finger at Thea even as he shouted to the magistrate. The “lord” was a fairly handsome man, with his dark, wavy hair and his steely eyes, but Thea also thought he was a bit of a bore and a dullard. As a man who had inherited his land and title, he’d spent his whole life doing nothing more than entertaining people and being the closest thing this shithole had to a celebrity.
Waynesworth, the village they were in, sat in the shadow of the famous free city of Mallenbach. Lord Alstrom would not have been much more than a middle-class merchant had he lived in Mallenbach. But here in Waynesworth, he was the only person of note.
She’d known that the lake behind his home belonged to him, and she had hidden herself in the bushes for a full day, waiting and watching, noting everyone’s comings and goings. It turned out that Lord Alstrom liked to take a swim in the lake every morning just after sunrise.
The next morning, Thea slipped into the lake naked and pretended to bathe. She had acted surprised when Lord Alstrom found her there. At first, he was cross with her for trespassing, but as Thea emerged from the water, allowing him to see her up close and totally naked, his attraction overcame his anger. He spent the rest of the day flirting with her. He invited her into his home, fed and clothed her, and gave her a tour of his estate. She took note of every detail. He gave her large cups of wine, which she sipped some of. When his back was turned or he was out of the room, she would toss the rest into the fire.
Late that night, Alstrom finally gave in to his carnal desires, and he grabbed at her. Alstrom tore away the white dress he’d given her, and he pushed his heavily bearded face into her tits. He bit and sucked at her nipples as he clenched at her ass. He was groping and clumsy, but she let him continue, moaning and gasping when it seemed appropriate.
He moved her to the bed and undressed himself. It was too bad, she thought. He had a pretty cock with a fat pink head on it. He didn’t last more than a minute, just when her fake moans had hinted at maybe becoming real ones. But she never let pleasure get in the way of work. As he finished cumming inside of her, he leaned in to kiss her, as she suspected he would. His lips lingered on her mouth for a moment or two, and then his eyes drifted shut, and he went slowly into a deep sleep.
Thea slipped out from underneath him and put the clothes that she’d arrived in back on. She had things to do that had to be done under the cover of night. At sunrise, she awoke in Alstrom’s bed. He was still sleeping soundly next to her. She spent the morning taking a hot bath, eating a big breakfast served by his staff, and even sucking his cock before she told him that she’d be leaving.
Alstrom didn’t complain. After all, she might be beautiful, but Thea was just street trash to him, a whore to be bought cheaply for the night. He was probably thrilled that she’d volunteered to leave on her own, saving him the trouble of throwing her out before someone of actual standing in the village saw them together. She walked right out of his front door with the pendant and a pouch full of gold and silver coins hidden in her tunic.
The magistrate looked down his nose at her. “So the charges are true, then? You did steal from Lord Alstrom?”
“No, my lord. I did not.” She didn’t look over at Alstrom nor up at the magistrate. She kept her eyes on the floor.
“Then how did you come to possess the items in question?” Thea could tell the magistrate was already losing patience with her. Alstrom was fuming.
“My lord, Lord Alstrom’s guard, a guard by the name of Denton. He gave me the pendant and the coins.” She let her eyes drift up to the magistrate for a moment to show how serious she was.
Lord Alstrom turned red, his rage overflowing. “That’s outrageous! You lying little bitch! Why would he do that?”
Thea looked over meekly at Lord Alstrom. “My lord, did you not keep the pendant and the gold locked up?”
“Yes! So?”
“My lord, was the door where you kept your treasures locked up as they usually were?” Thea batted her eyelashes twice, rapidly.
“What are you saying?” Alstrom looked like he wanted to choke her right then and there.
“After you went to bed, my lord. I couldn’t sleep, so I left your chambers for a walk.” She wanted to see the magistrate’s reaction to that, but she didn’t want to give herself away. She was fairly sure that when Alstrom had made the complaint to the magistrate, he hadn’t included in his story that he had fucked the pretty little street urchin that he was accusing of being robbed by.
“I came across Denton, who was standing by the door where you keep your treasures. He said that there was more wealth behind the door than I’d ever see in my life. He said that he knew where the key was and that he could rob the Lord blind any time he liked. Then he said that he was...taken with me, my lord. He demanded that I...well..that I...do things to him. With my mouth, my lord.” She glanced up at the magistrate to make sure he was having the reaction she wanted him to. She wasn’t disappointed. The magistrate was scowling at Lord Alstrom now.
Alstrom was somehow angrier than before. “So you sucked his cock too, you dirty slut! You’re a tramp and a thief!”
“Let her finish!” The magistrate was at his breaking point.
She addressed the older man. “I told him that I didn’t want to my lord, that I was the guest of Lord Alstrom. He said that if I didn’t do as he asked, he’d kill me and tell the Lord that he’d found me trying to steal things.” She paused to sniffle and wipe her eyes. “So, I did my lord. I was scared for my life. Afterward, he let me go, and I went back to bed and kept the whole thing to myself.”
“I still don’t see how you ended up with the pendant and the coins, girl.” There was anger in the magistrate's voice, but it wasn’t entirely directed at Thea any longer.
“When I left the next day, I was walking down the street toward the village when Denton caught up with me. He said that he still wanted me. Wanted me for more...awful things. Things I don’t want to repeat in this court, my lord. I told him no, but then he offered me the pendant and the coins in exchange for... those things, my lord. For doing it with him.” She wrung her hands and sniffled. “I’m not proud of what I did, magistrate. I know it’s not ladylike, but I’m so poor. It was a world of money to me.”
There were exchanged looks between the magistrate and Lord Alstrom. The chamber guards were whispering to each other. Thea wasn’t finished, though. “My lord, the room was locked when I saw it. I have no idea where the key is kept. Lord Alstrom says the room was locked when he found it. How could I have gotten the treasure except in the way that I just told you, my lord?”
More whispers. Alstrom was flustered. “You could have picked the lock!” Although even as he said it, it seemed foolish. A peasant girl with a set of lock picks was unlikely, and none were found on her person.
“But Denton was guarding the door, my lord.” She had to try hard not to smile.
The magistrate spoke up in an even tone. He was much calmer, now. “Do you have any other proof, girl? This court is loath to rely on someone who has just admitted to being a whore.”
Thea shrugged and pretended to fidget over the question. “Maybe, my lord. I don’t really know if it’s proper to say.”
“Say it, girl. Let’s be done with this!” His gnarled knuckles were white.
She nodded tentatively. “Denton, my lord. His manhood. He has a really big mole on the right side of it. Bigger than my thumb, my lord.” She held up her thumb, helpfully.
The magistrate looked over at Alstrom. “Do you know if this is true, Lord Alstrom?”
Alstrom went from angered to surprised to defeated in the span of five seconds. He finally mumbled, “Yes, magistrate. I’ve seen him bathe. He does indeed have a large mole there.”
The magistrate humphed. The guards snickered.
“Lord Alstrom, maybe next time you’ll think twice about bringing street urchins into your home. Before you ask me to have Denton arrested, maybe you should just consider yourself glad that you got the pendant and most of the money back! Maybe find yourself a new guard.”
Alstrom hung his head and rubbed his eyes with his thumb and forefinger.
“As for you, girl. Try to keep your legs closed. You’re pretty. It’s going to get you in further trouble, I’m afraid. That said, you did agree to a payment for services. I’m going to order Lord Alstrom to pay you two silver coins. He can decide if he wants to pay it or if he wants to get his guard in on this, and we can take the whole matter into a public trial.” The magistrate narrowed his eyes at Alstrom.
“No, magistrate. That’s very fair. Thank you. No public trial necessary. I’ll gladly pay the girl a pair of silver and handle the situation with my guard quietly and privately.” He dug two silver coins out of the pouch that Thea had stolen, passed them to her, and strode out the door.
Five minutes later, Thea was headed into the merchant district to buy some supplies so she could get out of town. She was tired of Waynesworth already. It was unfortunate that Alstrom had discovered the theft so quickly. She really had thought he would be too lazy to check on his valuables the next morning. Her plan had been to stay in town for a bit, blow some money, and relax.
Of course, she hadn’t really given Denton a blow job. But she’d seen him the previous afternoon with the other guards bathing while she’d been hiding in the bushes. His mole was easy to spot, even from fifty feet away. And while Thea was actually pretty decent at picking locks, she’d gotten the pendant and the coins in a way that no one would have ever suspected she could. It was an ability that few others, if any, had. It was also something that even Thea herself barely understood.
