SWNOVELS Chapter One: Marley
Heart beating inside of her chest she jumped and clung to the rock wall. The wind made her feel like she was about to fall as she closed her golden-green eyes and silently prayed to the gods. Opening her eyes after taking an unneeded amount of time to slow her heart rate, she leapt from her spot on the wall and almost missed her next ledge as her right hand dropped to her side. Luckily, her left hand had caught the ledge as she softly sighed and pulled herself up onto the roof of the building.
The city of thieves or more commonly known as The Kingdom of Thieves was bustling with people down below. Marley had chosen the tallest building she could find to climb up to as she needed to get away from her father for a little while, a stolen sword on her hip as she had slipped out of the keep, he had entrapped her in and walked the streets for hours before finally finding a place to hide.
For a while, she watched the people trade goods and stole from one another. This place was known to be full of gluttonous, kleptomaniacs but she was raised in the sheltered islands of the human lands and her naive eyes were not accustomed to such actions. But despite her naivety, she quite liked seeing people do things they are not supposed to and wished she were raised here instead of living on the human island full of boring people with no powers or talent.
Growing bored of watching, she stood in the middle of the rooftop. Allowing her feet to feel the smoothness of the surface and see if she could find some sort of soft spot where she could accidentally fall to her death in a matter of seconds but found nothing of the sort.
With a wide grin, she pulled the long sword out of her belt. Commonly women were supposed to wear dresses and have their hair up in fancy hairstyles, but Marley had chosen to be petty and wore her younger brother’s clothes instead. Trousers and a long-sleeved shirt with a belt to hold weapons, the thought alone made her think about her father’s reaction once he realises, she was gone and discovers her like this.
This was his own doing! She had told herself while she positioned herself to practice. Moving her body in the waves of the sword, like a swan swimming in the water and the grace of a cat avoiding being touched. He should have said no!
She put her focus on her movements, where she placed her feet and how she protected her body as she tried to push away the fact that her father was currently discussing terms for her arranged marriage. She was past being old enough to be married off, her father had given her many chances to find a husband but on her eighteenth birthday, he had enough of her stalling.
“You are a common woman, and a woman needs a man to provide and protect her!” Her father had told her while he forced her to board the ship sailing to Thieves. “No man will marry you when you refuse to provide an heir!”
“What if I do not wish to marry!?” She had fought back with the yank of her arm. “What if I do not wish to be a lady? What if I do not wish to be a mother? What if I pick up a sword and fight our enemies like the men?!”
Her words had caused him to turn red with rage and in front of the cabin crew and the captain, he had struck her across her face. He had not spoken a word to her since and that had only been three days ago. The trip was long after that, nobody was allowed to speak to her, and she was forced to be locked away in her cabin under the deck as punishment, but she did not take that as punishment but more time to practise with her hidden, stolen sword she had taken from the blacksmith without anyone seeing.
Marley understood why she had to be married off, it was custom for all women to be married and bear children for future generations, but she did not understand why she had to be married off in The Kingdom of Thieves. These people were not good, it was known, yet her father took her here anyway to be sold.
You are his least favourite daughter, she suddenly reminded herself as she lurched forward to strike an invisible enemy. His three other daughters out of his five obeyed and married.
She shook her head, despite having nine siblings, herself being the tenth, she could not force herself to marry and act like a lady. She always felt like she belonged somewhere else, somewhere where gender was not decided on whether you were weak because you did not have a penis or strong because you had one instead, she wanted somewhere where there was equality. People of all genders fought and trained together and there was no expectation of being female.
Her older sister by a few years agreed with her. Mackenzie was the only one out of her siblings that she could talk to, and Mack was also the only one who had not married beside herself. At twenty years old, Marley was envious that Mack had not been forced into marriage, but she knew the real reason. Her parents were ashamed of Mack because she was thicker than the rest of the girls and for that, she hated this world even more.
Groaning she dropped her arms, her muscles aching from the acts she had forced herself to do as her eyes caught sight of her father’s guards. Cursing she searched her surroundings and slightly pouted. She had only thought about how to get up here but never thought about how she was going to get down while she moved around the edges of the building. There was no ledge beside the one she had pulled herself up onto and there was no way she was going to go back the way she came as the stones were too thin and could barely hold her weight when she had climbed up them.
Her next choice was to jump onto the roof of the closest building. The small hut only provided little comfort as the roof was made of clay and straw, but it was her only escape as she leapt and landed on her back with a grunt. The sword’s handle dug into her hip as she rolled and crawled to the edge of the roof before gripping onto the edges and swinging off. The loud thump of her landing caused a few people to stop and stare as she rolled her eyes and pulled up her hood to cover her face from her father’s unwanted army of assholes.
They were always cruel towards her, sometimes starving her without her parent’s knowledge although she tried to convince herself of that. Her father cared for her as little as her mother did which was no care at all. The pigs on their farm had more love than she ever got but Marley never complained, the less attention she got the more skills she acquired.
Her fingers curled around the handle of the sword while she walked. The sun slowly set on the horizon as she crossed a bridge to another part of the island. The layout fascinated her as The Kingdom of Thieves was built amongst five small islands and only one was attached to the mainland which connected to the Werewolves and the Fay. The thieves were cast out of the mainland for their stealing ways so creating a kingdom of their own was a no-brainer and having bridges attached to all five islands was also something to expect.
Her journey was not long enough as she found herself back at the tavern her father was currently in. Hoping she would enter unnoticed so she could slip upstairs and into her room would have been a dream come true if it were not for the wild singing of the drunken men who came tumbling out of the establishment and began to shout at her as if she was some common whore.
“Marley!” Her father shouted with complete disgust and disappointment. “Where have you been!? I sent my men out looking for you three hours ago!”
She stood blankly, watching him look her up and down while his face paled. For a moment she thought he was going to vomit and faint. “I was out.”
“Out where?” His stern voice questioned, the look in his eyes dared her to lie to him and for that, she was thankful for the shit lighting and being able to hide her sword under her cloak.
“Finding a husband.” She lied knowing that she was going to pay for it later. “Oh wait, you already found one.”
He growled under his breath, feeling her own throat as she wondered how such a sound could come from a simple human. “I have warned you time and time again about your back chatting!” He spoke. “Now you disrespect me in front of your future husband and the people of this establishment. And you have the nerve to dress like a boy with no shoes on while trailering mud all over the place and Marley! Do not get me started on why your feet are bleeding, there is blood everywhere!”
She looked down at her bare feet and sure enough, they were bleeding from her recent activities. “Oh well, I assume I need to bathe like a perfect little lady. Is that what you command me to do father?”
The room had fallen silent at this point, even the drunkest of men were still and quiet. It was not uncommon for a woman to speak ill towards a man, but it was not wise towards a father. “I think your daughter has the means to say that her travels have made her tired and she wishes to sleep off her sins.”
The sudden voice caused her to raise her eyebrow, finally seeing the man she was supposed to marry as she held back her distaste. She did not have a thing for blond-haired people but alas, her father has provided her with one. “You do not speak for me.” She spoke with distaste although she meant to hide it. “If both of you would excuse me.”
“I have not dismissed you!” Her father screamed; his face was beyond red with his boiling hot rage.
But all she could do was roll her eyes. She had no energy for this, she never has. “You can hit me in the morning for all I care, I have a bed calling my name.”
With those words she ran up the stairs, loud laughter boomed behind her as some guy commented on her father. She knew the beating was going to be rough and her recovery was going to take weeks, but she did not care. Marley was used to the beatings and the mistreatment, her father was an angry man and someone who you should not cross but that was in the human lands, they were not there anymore. He had no power over her, and he knows that just as well as she does but once they return, she is as good as dead.