//Ah Petch, stupid bitch.//
Lona reflected, as her body took over with the automatic movements of a lifetime spent on the streets of Sunberth, that she wasn't sure if she was calling herself stupid or the girl. Probably herself. She'd assumed the girl would take the threat of bodily harm to the prone woman seriously enough to behave for a moment. She'd thought that maybe the girl would look at the situation as she did - unfortunate, buy best resolved with a minimum of blood.
Apparently not. She should have taken the time to tie the girl up.
Delineating the contours of this conversation, perhaps give's the impression that she sat musing for a few moments. On the contrary, by the time the last of these thoughts ticked through her brain, her action was well-advanced. She'd pushed hard off her knee, not to stand, but to smack hard against the door frame with her shoulder, just as the girl passed before it. It swung forward, striking the girl hard enough, hopefully, to knock the breath out of her while throwing her off balance, giving Lona a chance to wrap an arm around her waist and pull her to the floor, clamping the knifeless hand over her mouth, the knife swinging next to the girl's throat.
She panted, catching her breath.
"Now. Girl. I tried bein' reasonable."
And she swung the pommel of the dagger smacking against Shiress's temple.
It wasn't enough to make the girl unconscious, just enough to daze her for a few moments, long enough for Lona to tie her hands and feet and gag her mouth. When she was done, she stood again, frustrated. But her voice remained cool and quiet, and cold.
"Now, let's try this again, girl. Look at it this way. You aren't getting away, now, are you? You run out the front door, you ain't free anyway - Tuiler is outside, and he don't really care if you look pretty when you get to my employer, you're better off working with me. So. You gonna end up there, one way or the other. You want to get away, sure. But you ain't going to, now, and getting beat up now ain't gonna do either one of us no good, is it? You been listening to too many stories, Shiress. You been thinking you need to be a hero. You know what saves your friend here? What helps your friend not be dead is you, shutting the petch up and listening close to instructions. Trying to be clever ain't gonna help either one of you. Savvy? Nod if you understand that, and if you'll keep your mouth shut now, if I take this gag off. 'Cause I can leave it on if I need to, but we both gonna find this easier if you cooperate."