The Dark Thief

Chapter 1

Theft may have been a crime, but I was certainly talented at it. Despite the many times I have spent on the floor, being beaten by another one of my many victims, they were never able to reclaim their goods. Mainly because I had, and I quoted Mrs Awlyn here, "an uncanny way of lying your way out of trouble.". Anyway, I was extremely proud of my latest misdeed: the theft of a silver brooch. I had heard from a few other boys that this particular trader was a devil to try and steal from, so I was pleased that I had managed to.

"Curse you to the lowest hells, boy!" shouted a voice from behind me.

For a moment, I froze, startled by the trader's cries. Nevertheless, I sprinted forward. I had been caught by countless traders before, but I was determined for that not to be the case this time. In all honesty, I was not expecting him to notice the disappeance of the brooch, let alone the chance of him giving chase. And his curse? I wasn't bothered. See, if I had a coin for every time I heard it, I wouldn't need to steal...and I'd be in a special part of hell, because surely the devils haven't got one low enough for all these curses. I threw a glance over my shoulder, wondering how far behind he was. Turned out, he was about a couple of strides back. As I had instinctively slowed down to look back, he managed to catch up with me. I tried as much as possible to bring on a burst of speed, but it wasn't enough. The trader reached forward, and grabbed my shoulder. I tripped, and he hooked a foot and swept out my legs from beneath me. As soon as I had hit the ground, the trader placed a knee on my back, causing all hopes of escaping to vanish.

"Hand it over, you mongrel," the trader snarled.

I sniffed at that. He talked as if I were an animal, and I may have been many things, but an animal wasn't one of them.

"I'm no dog," I whined, misery filling my voice.

All around me, I heard laughter. I felt like screaming. Why laugh at something that wasn't meant to be even mildly amusing? I gritted my teeth.

"You carry one's filth," the trader replied, "So, give me whatever you took, and I'll let this incident slide."

How many times have I heard that? Traders never meant it. It was only a cruel ruse to make you cooperate; they quickly learnt I didn't fall for it. I gave a small laugh, then shook my head. Well, as much as I could while pinned to the ground.

"I don't believe you," I said, "And, besides, I haven't got it anymore."

There were a couple of murmurings from the crowds that were now gathered around me and the trader. Great, I thought, more people to trick. The trader slammed his hand down onto my back, and I resisted the urge to cry out.

"Liar. I know you took it, someone told me."

That was one thing I hadn't anticipated.

"I won't deny I took it," I answered as calmly as I could, "But I dropped it a few minutes back. Maybe you should go look for it."

The trader snorted with laughter. I groaned. Seems like I needed to try harder to get away with this.

"And let you run off? No, boy. I won't go look for it, because I know you still have it."

"I'm telling the truth!" I exclaimed indigniatly.

I sensed someone's shadow -besides that of the trader- looming over me, and I twisted my head to try and catch a glimpse of who it was. All I could see was the light blue hem of a lady's dress. A rich lady's dress, might I have added.

"May I enquire into what premise you have to pin down one of the orphans in my care?" the lady said, her voice cold.

I gulped. I knew this woman; Miss Adis. Her father was this rich merchant, and, in an effort to make him seem like a charitable soul to potential customers, told her to work at the orphanage so it looked like he was doing good things in life. Usually, she was gentle and kind, and it surprised me to hear her like this. I blushed a little. It wasn't in my top list of priorites to be caught by Miss Adis. Mainly because I knew then it would definitely get back to Mrs Awlyn.

"He stole from me," the trader answered gruffly, "I am only retrieving my goods."

"I took one thing," I said, slightly annoyed.

It sounded as if was making out that I pulled off the biggest robbery in the history of the market. I knew I was good at stealing, but not that good.

"Well, how much do you believe the...item...was?" Miss Adis asked.

I clutched the brooch tighter than I had done before. My arm was trapped beneath me, so that was a small advantage I held over the trader. Probably one of the only advantages I held over the trader, now I thought of it.

"Five silver," the trader growled, "From what I could gather, it was taken from that area of the stall."

Five silver? That wasn't as much as I had hoped for. For all my troubles, I thought about at least eight silver, enough to buy me food for a couple of weeks. Apparently not.

"I will pay you six if you let the boy go," Miss Adis offered.

The trader slowly lifted his knee of my back. I picked myself up off the floor, gave my thanks to Miss Adis, and began to walk off. And why not? There was no reason to have stuck around.

"Lucas! Come back!" cried Miss Adis.

I sighed.

"What?" I snapped irritably.

Miss Adis strode briskly towards me, her expression one of distinct annoyance. I guessed she wasn't pleased she had to spend six silver saving me from a beating. Then again, it had been entirely her choice, and I hadn't asked her to do it.

"I will not allow you to go off and get yourself into even more trouble, if that was possible," she said.

I raised my hands in exsperation. As much as I liked Miss Adis, I didn't want to be ordered around by her. She gestured for me to come nearer. Relunctantly, I obeyed.

"Back to the orphanage, then?" I said.

Miss Adis nodded. Reaching into a leather pouch attached to her belt, she pulled out six silver coins and handed them to the trader. He took them, lifting them up to the light, as if checking they were real.

"Boy, never let me see you near my stall again, or you will not get off so lightly," the trader hissed, clenching his fist.

I nodded. He had made his point quite clear, and I felt any objection would have been foolish. With a satisfied smile, the trader walked away, the coins in his hand jingling. As soon as he was gone, I turned to Miss Adis.

"You didn't have to do that," I said, "You made me look weak. I didn't need saving, let alone from a woman!"

Miss Adis stopped, and wheeled around. Her eyes were blazing, and she was blushing fiercely. Now I looked back on what I had said, I realised it was perhaps the most hurtful that had ever slipped from my lips. But, I was embarresed, I was angry. I didn't know what I was saying.

"And you could have managed all by yourself?" she answered softly, her voice so quiet and low, I nearly missed her words.

My expression now firmly soured, we walked to the orphange in silence. There wasn't anything special about the place. It was your general old building, on your general street. By 'general', I meant grimy, dirty, ramshackle places. Really, I saw no way they could be classified as hygenic. Not that I cared, at the very least. Miss Adis delicately opened the orphanage door, touching it very lightly. I guessed it was so she didn't ruin her fine gloves.

"Wait outside Mrs Awlyn's room," she ordered.

I frowned, my eyebrows knitted together in confusion.

"She wants to see me? But, she never said..."

Miss Adis shrugged, then stepped through into the room. I slumped against the wall. Misery was etched across my face. As soon as Miss Adis had left me out here, I knew she had gone to tell Mrs Awlyn about what I had done. It wasn't exactly the hardest thing to work out. Miss Adis and Mrs Awlyn talked for a few moments; I could hear muffled tones behind the wall.

"Enter, Lucas," boomed Mrs Awlyn.

I sighed and shoved open the door. Ignoring Mrs Awlyn's piercing glare, I walked in and threw myself down on the only chair left unseated in the room. Incidentally, it was the most uncomfortable seat in the room too.

"Stand up," Mrs Awlyn ordered.

I stood up. If there was one thing I learnt from my time in the orphange, it was don't disobey Mrs Awlyn. Ever. She looked me up and down, examining me carefully.

"You are filthy," she noted, "Sit down."

I re-took my seat. Clasping together her hands, Mrs Awlyn leant forward. I knew then I was in trouble. Well, I knew anyway, but as soon as her hands were clasped, I knew it was more serious than I had anticipated. Miss Adis cleared her throat, and said:

"I don't know what he took, but it cost me six silver."

I snorted with laughter. She made it sound like this great tradgedy, when, to her father, five silver coins were nothing.

"It could have been five, you know," I smirked, "But you said six to the trader."

Miss Adis rolled her eyes. Maybe she was getting bored of me. It was no surprise. Taking a deep breath, Mrs Awlyn looked intently at me. I shuddered slightly, not that I liked to admit it.

"Lucas...I have nothing more to say to you on matters such as this, and you know it. Do not come down to eat tonight," Mrs Awlyn sighed.

That was it? I had expected a little more of a punishment. The last time had earnt me a night in the cellar. Though Mrs Awlyn had probably learnt that lessons don't stay long with me.

"So, I can go?" I asked.

Mrs Awlyn nodded. I jumped off my chair, and bounded to the door. Taking one glance around the room, I smiled at the two women, then left. As soon as the door closed, I heard murmerings. I stopped, and pressed my ear against it. The sound wasn't clear, but I made sense of the words.

"You haven't told him?" That was Miss Adis.

"No, no. I thought I would tell him Monday." That was Mrs Awlyn.

My eyes widened a little, and I forced myself to press into the door more, if that was possible. It was.

"But he's leaving Tuesday," protested Miss Adis.

"I know."

"This man, what was he like, what happened?"

"He was strange, that was for certain. Dressed all in black, he was. And you'd think that one would want the best orphan to have? Well, he didn't. No. He asked for the worst. Naturally I said Lucas, and this man wanted to hear all about the boy's misdeeds. Particulary interested in the thefts, too, now I think of it. I tried to make him consider Nathanial, you know, with him being the only one who can read and write. But the man was having none of it. He bought Lucas there and then," answered Mrs Awlyn.

Miss Adis made a small noise, like one of surprise. I struggled to breath. Someone had bought me? It was every orphan's nightmare, to be sold into servitude, to be doomed to work off the money your owner had spent on you. I was determined to have left the orphanage of my own accord, so as another person's slave wasn't exactly what I had in mind.

"So, he is being taken away Tuesday?" Miss Adis said, "Then why not just tell him?"

"I would rather him enjoy his last days here in blissful ignorance than worried anguish, despite the bother he's caused,"

I hadn't stuck around after I had heard this. Instead, I darted up the stairs to the dormitory and collapsed onto my thin mattress. For a while, I was alone, left there, staring up at the cobwebs on the ceilings, lost in my thoughts. And that was when a boy burst through the door.

"Lucas!" he yelled, his voice full of joy, "It's been too long since it was just us in the dormitory. Was it last time that we refused to let Awlyn in?"

I smiled, the memory rushing into my mind. Sitting up, I looked over at the boy. He stood, tall, thin, with unruly dark brown hair.

"Yes," I replied slowly, "Because we stole from the pantry."

There was a moment of silence as we thought back to that day. I had enjoyed it greatly. We got a terrible beating for it, but I firmly believed it was worth it. Me and the boy, Johnathan, had nearly a week's worth of food in one day. Nothing could have ever topped that. Nothing.

"Anyway, when I came in, you didn't look that pleased. What's the matter?" Johnathan said.

I considered my answer for a moment. Johnathan was the only orphan in the place that I ever really regarded as a friend, but I had no buisness in telling him I was leaving.

"Nothing of any importance," I shrugged.

Johnathan gave a little nod. Turning away from me, he smoothed out a piece of parchment. I stood up, and walked over to him.

"What's that?" I asked.

He glanced at me, then returned his gaze to the parchment. For a few seconds, I viewed it myself over his shoulder. Immediately, there was a problem. I couldn't read. Johnathan inclined his head to look at the parchment from a different angle.

"I wish Nathanial was here," he said.

I backed away a couple of steps, raising my hands.

"What? Nathanial's a fool, and you want him here? The longer I don't see him, the better."

Johnathan pulled a frown. Then, it clicked. Nathanial could read and write. If Johnathan wanted the parchment read, Nathanial would have done it for him.

"This is a letter from my brother," Johnathan explained, "Well, that's who it's signed by."

This surprised me. I struggled to recognise my own name, let alone those of others. In my eyes, this made Johnathan a genius.

"How do you know?" I said, awed.

Johnathan frowned as he gazed at the parchment. In fact, as I thought of it, I never even knew Johnathan had a brother.

"I've seen Jacob write it many, many times before. It's nothing."

I guessed it was a valid reason. After all, I've been to the market countless times, and I've memorised every stall there was. I had to. It helped me steal from them.

"Why isn't your brother here, then?" I asked.

"Mrs Awlyn said there wasn't enough space for both of us."

I raised an eyebrow.

"That must have been a lie," I said, "I arrived, what? Three days after you? And there were plenty of empty mattresses. No-one left here in those three days, did they?"

Johnathan shook his head. It was a shock to have known that Mrs Awlyn turned away a boy. In one of the many talks I've had with her, she often insisted that I take every boy and any boy. You all deserve a chance, no matter how much of a demon you are.

"Jacob's at this orphanage is Garol. I haven't seen him in two years. And he has only ever sent four letter," Johnathan said.

"Interesting," I commented, "Well, it doesn't look like Nathanial will be up here for a few hours, at the very least. Do you want to come with me, to the Alley?"

The Alley was something of a legend to the boys at the orphanage. There, many thieves and bandits traded. To have put it simply, the Alley was a black market. I often sold my stealings there, and I earnt good coins for them, too. Sometimes, I took another boy with me, but usually only if they helped me, or I trusted them. And I trusted Johnathan.

"The Alley? Why do you want to go there?"

I unclenched my fist, realising it had been like that for the entire conversation with Johnathan. His eyes widened at the sight of the brooch.

"To sell this. I got it off a trader this morning," I answered.

"You stole it?" he said, in utter disbelief.

"No, I took it."

"That's stealing. And that's wrong, Lucas."

"It isn't stealing, it's taking advantage of other people's ignorance," I said, smiling.

Johnathan stared down at the floor. I supposed he felt uncomfortable with the fact I basically was a criminal.

"Fine," he snapped, "I'll come with you, but only if I get a share."

I nodded vigourosly. Sneaking downstairs, past Mrs Awlyn, we stepped outside. I led the way to the Alley. As I had done with Miss Adis, me and Johnathan walked in silence

***

Once we reached the Alley, I carefully pinned the brooch to the underside of my shirt, not wanting it to be seen at first.

"What you do that for?" Johnathan asked.

"You have to remember we're all thieves here," I said quietly, "It isn't wise to go and wave your goods about. A surefire way to get them stolen, you know."

As soon as I said this, Johnathan stopped, his eyes darting this way and that. I hissed at him to get moving, that he was looking too suspicous. He gulped, and we continued through the Alley. In literal terms, the Alley wasn't really an alley. It was more of a small street between two buildings that was rarely used. Some person named it the Alley to make it sound more general, so less people knew what, and where, it actually was. Litter was strewn about on the floor, and the entire place reeked of filth. I guessed that was just something you had to put up with if you came here.

"It's horrible here," Johnathan sputtered, during a coughing fit brought on by the stench.

"Shush," I murmured, "Don't complain. That's one rule of this place; don't ever complain."

Johnathan stared at me incredlously.

"There's rules in this place," he exclaimed.

I started to get tired of his endless shock and horror. The Alley was the Alley. End of.

"Not really. They're unoffical, but everyone follows them."

"Oh."

I ignored him after that. He made no more comments. And I said nothing else. For a while, we circled the Alley. I knew that Johnathan was bored, and he clearly felt uncomfortable here. I felt a little sorry for him.

"What are we looking for?" he questioned.

It was a valid question, so I wasn't bothered by it.

"Who are we looking for, is correct. There's this thief, and he offers the highest prices I know."

Johnathan grimaced. I raised my height by standing on my tiptoes, and I searched through the small gathering of people. I caught sight of a mane of dirty brown hair. Only one man I knew had that sort of hair. And that was the man I had been looking for. I ran over to him, dodging through the people in my way. Johnathan followed suit.

"Lucas," the man said, plastering a smile onto his face.

"The very same," I replied, "I may have something for you."

The man bit the inside of his cheek, before gesturing for me to walk away with him.

"What are we talking?" he said.

I lowered my voice, "A silver brooch, and it has this little gem in it."

Johnathan leant close to me. I looked across at him.

"Is that worth a lot?" he whispered, "Because if it is, and I get my share, that'd be enough to buy my way into Jacob's orphanage."

I shrugged. It was all done to the man.

"Show me," he demanded.

I take off the brooch and handed it to him. With a thief's eye, he examined it.

"Excellent quality," the man commented, "And the gem is real, I think. How'd you get it?"

I took a deep breath.

"I got it from market, but I don't know the trader. Uh, he was looking the other way, so I grabbed it and ran," I told him.

The man held the brooch up to the light, and he turned it to see it at different angles. I opened my mouth to tell him to hide it away, but then closed it again. This man knew this place. There was no point in ordering him about. Impatiently, Johnathan tapped his foot against the ground.

"And?" the man prompted.

"He, er, caught me."

"The trader?" he said, brow furrowed.

"Yes, but a lady from my orphanage made him release me. And I managed to keep the brooch."

The man thrust the brooch back into my hand, looking warily at it. Confused, I stared at him, then across to Johnathan. I traded often with this man, and this was the first time he had refused one of my goods.

"Why have you given it back?" I asked.

"You were caught. That means the item is on high alert. If I were to be seen with it, I would be in a cell faster than I can run," he answered.

"The trader doesn't know what I took, he just knew I took something."

The man rubbed his chin. I stood there, awkwardly, wondering whether he would buy the brooch or not. I hoped he would, since Johnathan needed the money too.

"Three silver, or a gold," the man said.

I scratched my head. Johnathan looked crest-fallen. He had come to the same conclusion as I did. Even if I had given him all the money, it wouldn't have been enough for him to get to Garol.

"Higher," I said.

"No. I can't go much more than that. Boy, I'm a* thief, like you. You think I can afford higher than a gold? You're wrong."

I swallowed nervously. A gold would not have sufficed for me and Johnathan, but it would for the man. I knew his trick anyway; he bought goods cheaply, then sold them at a high price. Though I was determined for that not to be the case. I was humiliated in the market for this brooch, and by the name of the Earth God, Gaian, I wanted to make it worthwile.

"That's not good enough. My friend here, Johnathan," I gestured to the left of me, "wants to go visit his brother in Garol. A gold coin won't make that possible, now, will it?"

"No," the man agreed, "How would eight silver suit you?"

I opened my mouth, shocked. Two gold and two silver was more than I had ever expected. But I wasn't sure what caused the man's change of heart.

"That would be...more than I can say thank you for. We will take it," I decided.

I handed over the brooch, and he gave me the coins. My first instinct was to ensure they were real. I tried to bend them, in case the metal was false. Smiling, I passed them to Johnathan. He gazed at them, wonder filling his eyes. I guessed he had never seen so much wealth in his life. It wouldn't have surprised me.

"Thank you," he whispered, "Thank you."

I laughed. For perhaps the first time ever, I enjoyed giving away my money. I wasn't exactly sure I liked that fact or not. In the end, I resolved to not make a habit out of it.

"No problem," I said.

I turned back to the man.

"You know, I have never heard your name, despite the fact I have sold to you many times before."

The man looked down at the brooch, rubbing his fingers over it. A small frown tugged on the corners of his lips.

"No, you don't know my name. Only one person knows my name, and that isn't myself," he said.

I noticed he stole a glance towards the back of the Alley, where a lone man stood, watching.

"Is it him?" I asked, pointing.

Johnathan gasped, and he hit me on my arm. I made a noise of indigtion, slightly irritated.

"Lucas!" he hissed, "That man is watching us, be discreet."

I laughed. Johnathan talked to me about being discreet? I stole from people! Most of the times, I got away with it. You couldn't get more discreet than that.

"You ought to listen to your friend, he speaks wisely," the man said, nibbling on his bottom lip, "And, if we have no more buisness here, perhaps you should leave?"

I started to protest, but Johnathan grabbed my arm, and pulled me away, thanking the man as we left. With a hasty yell of thanks over my shoulder, I wrenched my arm free.

"I'd rather walk on my own accord," I growled stiffly.

Johnathan gave me a weak, apologetic smile, and raised his hands, the coins clenched in one hand.

"Sorry," he said, "I don't feel safe there. I don't know how you go there every time you have something to sell."

I slightly agreed with him. Despite the many days I have spent in the Alley, I always felt vulnurable there. Johnathan took a deep breath, looking elated.

"I know you're pleased with the money," I laughed, "But we have to work out how to split it."

Johnathan paled. With a frown, I nudged him on the shoulder.

"Will I still have enough?" he muttered, "My brother..."

"You'll have enough, easy," I reassured him.

With a small nod, he shoved a gold coin into my palm. We were nearing the orphanage, so I muttered;

"We'll have a gold and a silver each. That's fair."

A moan escaped his lips. Jaw set, I pushed open the orphanage's door and stepped inside. Miss Adis stood in front of us, arms crossed. She looked particulary disappointed.

"Where have you been?" she demanded.

Johnathan began to stutter an answer, but I shushed him. He was not used to lying, but I was.

"For a walk," I shrugged, "Just to the gardens and back."

I threw out my most charming smile. It was one of my last resorts, and one I hoped would have stopped Miss Adis' suspicions.

"What gardens?"

I gulped. That was one question I wasn't prepared for. Nervously, I edged towards the stairs.

"The ones near the manor."

Miss Adis put a firm hand on my shoulder, stopping me from making a run for it. She turned me around, her piercing eyes glaring into mine. Involuntarily, I shuddered.

"That is an hour's walk either way. And you haven't been gone that long," she said, "But, just go. I can't control you. Just don't go outside again, or there will be trouble."

Me and Johnathan ensured her that, no, we wouldn't step outside the dormitory, and then bolted up the stairs. As soon as we reached the safety of our mattresses, we sighed in relief. Johnathan turned to me, a smile plastered on his face.

"We did it!" he cried, "We got the money! I can go see my brother."

It was too late to have shushed him, and I watched hopelessly as Nathanial sat up, glaring across at Johnathan.

"What did you just say?" he said icily.

Johnathan leaped in shock, wheeling around to look at Nathanial.

"Sorry!" he yelped, "I didn't see you there!"

Nathanial gave him a stony glare.

"Of course you didn't. Otherwise, you and Lucas wouldn't have started yelling and screaming. I was trying to read, you know!"

I began to protest, because I hadn't been the one making the noise. Yes, me and Johnathan had barged in, but I didn't shout or anything like that. Instead, I ignored him, and layed down onto my mattress.

"Nathanial, since you're up here, can you read something for me?" Johnathan asked sheepishly.

"This is brilliant," said Nathanial, sacrcasm apparent in his voice, "You are asking me to do what you stopped me from doing just a few moments ago!"

Nibbling the inside of his cheek, Johnathan apologised again, then reached under his mattress. He pulled out the letter, and handed it across to Nathanial. With a frown on his face, he looked down at it.

"What in Gaian's name is this?" Nathanial remarked, "It is full of errors."

Johnathan looked affronted. I couldn't see why, after all, his brother wrote it, and not himself. Nathanial hadn't critisised him, only the writing. While the boys were distracted, I niggled a loose floorboard next to my mattress. Prising it up, I rummaged through the coin bags that I hidded beneath it. I opened up one of the bags, and pulled out three silver, intending to swap them for one of Johnathan's gold.

"Lucas, what are you doing?" Johnathan called across the room.

I slammed the floorboard back down into place. No-one knew of my little storage place, and I intended to have kept it that way.

"Nothing, just thought there was something next to my mattress," I lied.

"Fair enough," Johnathan said.

Nathanial stood up, and cleared his throat. Thankfully, Johnathan's attention was diverted, and I re-adjusted the floorboard so it fitted in perfectly.

"This letter says;

My dear brother, Johnathan, I am writing to you from my orphanage, as you may already have guessed. The master is strict, but he can sometimes be kindly. Such as today. He said there is room for you. But the price is high. He wishes for two gold before allowing you to live here. I know it is almost impossible for you to earn so much, but if you can, then I look forward to seeing you. Jacob."

I frowned. In contrast, Johnathan seemed to be positively glowing with joy. Nathanial tossed the letter back to him. My mind flashed with the sight of Johnathan telling me that he wanted to go to Garol. But how could he have known that he would've been able to?

"How did you know that you could've gone?" I questioned, "To the orphanage, I mean. You said that you wanted to go to Garol, but how did you know that the orphanage master would let you in? I thought you couldn't read."

Even Nathanial looked like he agreed with me, and that was something I wasn't used to. Johnathan shifted on the mattress, his fingers crumpling the parchment.

"When Jacob was told he couldn't live here, he said to me that he'd only write if there was a way we could see each other again," he answered.

I decided to leave the matter there, but Nathanial seemed determined to interrogate Johnathan further. He stood up and walked over, slamming whatever book he had been reading shut. Turning away, I layed down onto my mattress, staring up as I had done when Johnathan had entered.

"How do you know you can leave here, though?" Nathanial said, trying to sound important, though miserably failing.

Above me, the ceiling had several cracks, and I tried to focus on these as Johnathan and Nathanial began to argue. A spider had formed a web in the corner, and sat on it, waiting for a fly to unwillingly find its way into the trap. Johnathan and Nathanial's voices started to raise. It had become a full-one shouting match.

"Quiet!" I roared, "If Johnathan wanted to leave, then Mrs Awlyn would let him. And why? Because it's one less mouth to feed."

Johnathan and Nathanial fell silent. I sighed, and slumped further onto my mattress. For some reason, I couldn't have helped but think that was why Mrs Awlyn had sold me to that man. Or maybe it was because I had been far too much trouble for her. Either way, I no longer would be living at the orphanage, and I hadn't wanted my last days marred by foolish disagreements.

"Sorry," said Nathanial, raising an eyebrow, "Sorry I caught you when you're like this."

Johnathan, at the very least, looked genuinely solemn. Running a hand through my hair, I sighed. Truly, I hadn't meant to shout as I had done, but I was getting irritated.

"Look, at the moment, I don't care much for arguements. Just, quiet."

From downstairs, Mrs Awlyn announced dinner was ready. Lunging to their feet, Johnathan and Nathanial ran to the door. Johnathan stopped, and looked back at me.

"Are you coming?"

I shook my head.

"Miss Adis supposedly rescued me from that trader I stole, and of course, she reported it to Mrs Awlyn. I'm not allowed to go down to dinner tonight," I explained.

Johnathan inclined his head, as if to say, you had it coming. He left the room, and I was alone again. I guessed the other boy had already been downstairs, since Mrs Awlyn only served dinner when ten boys were present. If we had ever missed dinner, Mrs Awlyn stated that she always told us which time she intended it to be ready, and so it was our own fault. I smiled inwardly. During my time here, I had missed many dinners, and often had to steal scraps from the kitchen. That is, if one of the boys hadn't snuck any food up for me. While I was alone, I decided to do my once near-daily rummage through the other boys' belongings. I knew that it was one of my worse sins I ever committed, but it wasn't as if I ever got anything expensive or of great interest. Even though Johnathan had came with me to the Alley, I started with him. Carefully, I lifted up his mattress, and felt beneath it. His letter from his brother was there, and the coins from the brooch. I took a gold and a silver, my share of the money. Reaching further, I found a leather bracelet. With a confused expression, I pulled it out. It looked worn out, and old. Really old.

"What in Gaian's name?" I muttered.

I slipped it over my wrist and moved along. My search grew half-hearted, and I gave up. The bracelet disturbed me. I considered questioning Johnathan about it, but then he would get angry with me, and I couldn't face that. I knelt down onto the floor next to my mattress, and pulled up the floorboard. I tucked the bracelet inside, and then confined it to darkness. Not long after, the boys returned. They stared at me, sadness apparent in their gaze. Confused, I looked the other way.

"You're leaving," said Johnathan, "On Tuesday. Why didn't you tell me?"

I swallowed. Mrs Awlyn had told the others before she had told me? It hurted to have known that.

"I didn't know," I croaked, "I didn't know."