Moment of Truth

Jacqueline came to the end of the alley not long after Josephine disappeared. A few people in the street had already taken to watching Josie maneuver through the crowd while she played a lively tune. Several children had begun to follow her, laughing and darting about as they tagged along. Jacqueline smiled as she watched the display. Her friend had a gift when it came to music, and she was equally blessed with a fair appearance that was unusual to this part of the kingdom. Combine that with her sweet disposition, and she was starting to feel a twinge of guilt for Josie's involvement.

With a shake of her head, she left the ally and slowly navigated the throng of people on the street to catch up to Josie. It wasn't too late to back out now, but she was committed. Besides, she thought as she eyed the crowd, I suppose a bit of guilt was always going to be a natural result of this game. Jacqueline made her way into another alley as she neared the clearing.

Josephine had already made her way to the well and was quickly gathering the attention of those nearby. They had both hoped that with the increase in travelers to Quila, they would avoid local trouble altogether. However, to her dismay, Jacqueline was noticing far more people she recognized coming to support Josie as she played than she had hoped. Her friend seemed quite at ease with the commotion around her and that gave Jacqueline some joy to see. While she couldn't claim that Josephine lacked confidence, she was overly modest and tended to come off as shy at times. Yet if you put a lute in that girl's hands, she became a different person; controlled and at ease, perhaps even a bit commanding if the right mood struck her. She had noticed other people were as drawn to Josie too, and had taken it upon herself to keep an eye on her, especially when they were up to something ridiculous like today.

Josie's gaze flicked up and stopped on Jacqueline when she spotted her. She smiled and then struck up the signal tune. It caught Jacqueline a little off guard as she would have preferred to wait for a different sort of crowd, but she decided not to question her friend's judgment. With casual strides, she joined the crowd while Josie sang the first few lines of her song. Her heart was hammering in her chest while she worked her way into a tightly packed group of people. By picking a song which was a local favorite, they had hoped for audience involvement which would make it easier for Jacqueline to pick a target or two for her first attempt at theft. These people just didn't seem that interested in joining in, and Jacqueline was quite certain that there were more than a few eyes turning in her direction. At least one, a plump older woman with dark greying hair tied up in a bun, kept glancing her way.

As the song played on, Jacqueline was starting to get a little panicky. There were a few people she had spotted that she didn't recognize. The plump woman who kept frowning at her, not a good target her. A moderately well dressed man who might be a merchant towards the edge, too far to maneuver there naturally. A young man, perhaps a little older than they were, who was clearly enraptured with Josie's singing? That would do.

Just as she made up her mind to creep in closer to her target, she felt a hand snatch at her forearm and pull her up short. Something jabbed against her back and a low voice muttered in her ear, “Sloppy work. Let's take a walk. Now.”