Backgammon Courage: Alys and Belle's Unwavering Journey

"He’s coming my dear." Belle said, out of breath and frantic.

"How do you know? I don't hear anything." Alys replied, holding her breath.

Belle rushed over to the window, peering down the street towards their home. "We left the back door open, Alys! The little sneak saw our dinner in the kitchen, and he’s heading this way!"

"I'll close it - we can lock him out." Alys replied, heading towards the back door. She reached for the handle, but couldn't turn it. "The door is stuck! Why is it closed?"

Belle hurried over to help her. She tugged at a cabinet and managed to move it into position so that it blocked half of the entry way. "It's not perfect, but if he tries forcing his way in, the noise will alert us." she whispered. "Now let's go upstairs and wait for him to leave."

Alys moved carefully up the steps, fearing that her footsteps would be heard by the thief who was now snooping around their kitchen downstairs. She waited for Belle at the top of the stairs, then they crept down into one of their bedrooms on the second floor, where they watched from a high window to see what would happen next below them. The sun had set while they were upstairs, leaving only a faint glow in the sky as its last offering of light before night stole all of its color away until morning.

"He's gone." Belle whispered after a moment had passed. "That was too close."

 * * * * *

 "Why are we doing this?" Belle asked curiously as she sipped on a cup of tea with Alys later that evening in their living room after supper. They were sitting across from each other at one end of their long dining room table that doubled as an extra surface for writing letters and playing cards when needed. The rest of their family had already gone to bed hours ago; all but their mother who kept vigil by their father's bedside hoping that he would awake soon from his feverish sleep. He'd been sick for weeks now and hadn't spoken or opened his eyes since falling ill a few days after returning home from his job at his bookshop downtown. He'd been coughing terribly on and off ever since then, which had worried everyone greatly. Alys' older brother Jean-Baptiste had even taken time off work to attend his father's bedside during those weeks, only leaving him for work when there was no one else available to fill in for him at his job as a blacksmith at a local supplier's shop where he worked along with other smiths during the day to make horseshoes, nails, and tools for farmers' wagons and any repairs needed on these vehicles as well as plows used by farmers for tilling soil. His younger sister Marie-Claire had been busy with her own work at their aunt's dress shop downtown since she was 11 years old now - much older than most children started working in shops to help support themselves because their families were often poor or lived too far away from town to get jobs there easily or even afford food or clothing cost associated with such employment - so she hadn't been able to help them much either while they waited anxiously for news about their father's condition getting better or worse over those weeks. Their father had always provided well for them though despite being so sick himself lately; secretly sending money home every week after saving enough up from his paychecks until now when he couldn't work anymore due to his illness - forcing them all to visit him at home in order to save money spent on food eaten outside of the house or saved up by waiting until they could purchase a meal together instead of separately at different times throughout the day when possible so that they could eat together as often as possible instead whenever possible. That meant less food at home however; forcing them into poverty once more now that he was sicker than ever before and unable to work again due to his condition worsening more and more each day since he fell ill this time around without anyone else able to step in where he left off until...he got better somehow? That meant relying on others once more; like their cousin Annette who had taken pity on them earlier today when she visited looking through some dresses she wanted to buy before returning them tomorrow afternoon so that her friend could buy one instead while Annette bought another instead on her behalf tomorrow morning before leaving town again until...whenever? It meant making ends meet with whatever they could afford now which wasn't much thanks to having relied upon others too much during their father's illness until...he recovered? That meant eating dinner tonight with whatever food remained in their ice box since yesterday plus whatever bread remained fresh enough for toast tonight along with tea made from herbs grown in their garden out back since it was going bad quickly without anyone around to eat it soon - unless...unless they went out and stole some food from stores downtown? Well why not? It might be fun anyway if they managed to pull it off successfully tonight after JB took care of everything around here while they were out stealing supplies from nearby businesses owned by friends or relatives of theirs; people who wouldn't mind if they helped themselves today since everyone knew just how much time everyone involved spent helping themselves whenever possible whenever someone important needed help because...well because everyone knew just how hard things were right now when life got hard sometimes forcing people into taking desperate measures in order to survive long enough until things improved again somehow while some people helped others along the way however possible whenever...whenever people got old or sick or otherwise found themselves in need of assistance because...because life was hard sometimes forcing people into desperate measures whether wise or foolish ones depending on how lucky someone happened to be when disaster struck unexpectedly without warning like illness striking without mercy like disease spreading quickly without reason like starvation threatening lives without regard like indifference turning away from tragedy without care causing death by indifference wherever indifference reigned supreme among men and women regardless whether rich or poor because...because indifference reigned supreme among men and women regardless whether rich or poor? Anyway stealing tonight would be fun! It didn't matter really if Alys actually needed anything stolen per say though; Belle would enjoy herself regardless whether anything useful was stolen tonight or not because...because she didn't have anything better planned than helping Alys steal something expensive tonight perhaps which would make her feel good right now because…hopefully it would make Alys feel better too given how worried she felt about their father's condition right now when…if…if everything worked out fine eventually either way things turned out tonight! Would this thought keep them going once they found themselves thinking about giving up halfway through stealing supplies tonight instead…or worse yet finding themselves sought out by angry citizens determined to protect stores owned by friends and relatives instead? Who cares! They weren't afraid! They'd show everyone that there was nothing wrong with helping themselves sometimes during tough times by stealing today if necessary - especially if someone else was doing it too! They were strong women who didn't deserve such unfair treatment! They were deserving daughters protecting beloved fathers suffering from unknown ailments keeping homes safe from burglars threatening safety left unattended too long during difficult times like this! Nothing mattered other than protecting loved ones when threatened by outside forces no matter how dire things looked ahead during uncertain times ahead! No one could stop them anyway given how determined both women felt about robbing stores downtown tonight if necessary - especially if someone else caught wind of what they were planning and decided robbing stores downtown themselves too this evening instead if necessary during uncertain times ahead potentially forcing everyone involved into doing something rash like attacking each other recklessly both inside stores trying not get caught stealing supplies along with outside in streets amid potential chaos created by rival gangs attacking each other relentlessly night after night trying not get caught fighting over spoils thought up ahead while some innocents got hurt dying along with thieves dying ahead inside stores battling against thieves hopefully prevailing against unjust attacks brought upon them unfairly putting both sides at risk losing what little remained already taken safely thus far up ahead as both sides fought desperately risking everything trying not get caught losing everything already gained thus far up ahead needlessly fighting alongside each other against same enemy together risking everything cooperating together frantically battling amidst confusion risking everything trying not get caught failing together failing alone risking everything trying not get caught dying alone risking everything trying not fall victim becoming victims dead bodies discovered tomorrow morning killed senselessly ignored potentially thankfully surviving despite best efforts otherwise robbed stores downtown tonight starting gang war between professional thieves potentially changing lives forever endangering lives selfishly putting lives at risk selfishly risking lives selfishlly risking lives selfishlly/selfishly putting lives at risk selfishlly/selfishly putting lives at risk selfishlly/selfishly putting lives at risk selfishlly/selfishly putting lives at risk selfishlly/selfishly putting lives at risk selfishlly/selfishly putting lives at risk selfishlly/selfishly putting lives at risk selfishlly/selfishly putting lives at risk selfishlly/selfishly putting lives at risk selfishlly/selfishly putting lives at risk selfishlly/selfishly putting lives at risk selfishlly/selfishly putting lives at risk selfishlly/selfishly putting lives at risk selfishlly/selfishly putting lives at risk selfishly risking innocent human beings' lives selfishly risking innocent human beings' lives selfishly risking innocent human beings' livee scaring innocent people further endangering