Something to Live For

[Leyla Garcia]

OOC: This is my first Fire Emblem based fic and this one involves the Tellius Universe. And because of that, I'd like to announce that there may be spoilers in here, so read at your own risk.

The blonde woman’s breath came in shuddering gasps. She couldn’t believe this was happening to her. There she stood, a crying baby boy in her arms, facing down his father.

“Richard, w-why are you acting like this?” she finally managed to choke out. Anger and hurt flooded through her in equal measure.

But Richard said nothing to her right away. His demeanor was stiff and cold. “Really, it’s time for me to go. I have my real wife and son to return to.”

“Your real wife and son?!” she repeated incredulously. “But he’s your son too!” she indicated the baby in her arms gently but with mindset of a charging bull. “You never told me that evil woman was your wife or that you had a child by her too!”

Richard, an imposing man by any standard suddenly seemed weak and ineffectual. “Well, whose problem is that now?” he asked. All of the false power in the world couldn’t make his words any less lame sounding.

“What?” said the blonde woman. She was so irate she was actually shaking. “This is your problem too! I’ll tell the truth about your little problem with fidelity—

“And who’ll believe something like you?” Richard said acidly.

The blonde woman stopped short, and not only because she’d been called less than human. He had her there. The fact was that no one would believe her. By all intents and purposes she wasn’t supposed to exist. She was an assassin—one hired to kill secretly and subsist only in the shadows, never coming to the light to have real relationships with people. She did the dirty inglorious work no “good” person wanted to touch. No, Richard was correct. No one would believe her…

She stood there, numb, but a slightly deranged smile crossed her face. Her voice was cold. “So that’s it? You’re just going to walk away from your own son?”

Richard’s expression was of disgust at the thing and its child. It was an abhorrent thought to him that they could potentially destroy the successful, respectable life he had worked so hard to achieve. He’d do anything to protect it, and if it meant abandoning two nobodies, why not? Richard turned his back on the blonde woman and the screaming baby in her arms, never to look back. He climbed aboard his horse and rode off.

The woman didn’t demean herself anymore than she already had to stop him. The humiliation that she’d been used and tossed aside like a broken weapon was settling on her like a lead weight. She cradled the baby in her arms in an attempt to comfort him.

“My baby…I’m so sorry for getting us into this situation, for my mistakes and bad judgment,” she didn’t stop the tears that trickled down her face and onto the baby’s cheek. Then, the woman looked up and smiled her oddly disturbed smile through her tears. “They think they can just look down on us…but they’re wrong, so very wrong. She looked down once more at her baby. Even now she could tell he would look like her, but with his father’s black hair and hazel eyes.”

“You’re going to show them all, my child!” the woman said, keep the hysteria in her voice at bay. “I can feel it. Even if I…fail, you’ll triumph…Lowell.”

“HEY! Get back here kid!” the angry shopkeeper yelled. The only thing he got back was the distant sound of said kid’s laugher for he had already disappeared into the night. Lowell had stalked this particular shop for about a week and discovered its weak point—the shopkeepers where a little less watchful at night when they were about to close up shop. It was simple affair for the twelve year old to hide in the greenery and strike while the arrogant shopkeeper and his snobbish wife were distracted with counting their money. Ha! They didn’t even get a good look at him. It was so easy he didn’t even have to use his dagger.

It was too dark for Lowell to fully examine the bag of treasure from his latest bout of larceny, but he knew he had food—the most valuable commodity at the moment. His stomach growled at the thought of it. Being an orphan living on the streets of Nevassa, Lowell cared little about the people from whom he stole. He needed to survive and that was all he cared about. Sure, his life was tough but Lowell never let that get in the way of his fun. And he had fun stealing. It was like an adventure and an adrenaline rush for him. He felt every bit like an undercover agent as he dared himself not to get caught. The boy made a mental note to get some clothes from somewhere because his old orange shirt, brown pants, and boots were in bad shape.

Instead of heading to the back alleys of Nevassa like he usually did, Lowell decided to set up shop in the woods outside the city because he didn’t want any one else coming after his stuff. He shifted the bag over his shoulder and continued on, the adrenaline still surging. He tried to stay out of sight as he wound his way through the city streets. Lowell moved from building to building, crate to crate stealthily. As he crouched low behind one crate he saw one young blonde haired boy being shaken down by three others twice his size, but did not stop to help. That was the way it was here…He was glad to be so good with knives.

This area of Nevassa was one of the worst in all of Daein—perhaps all of Tellius. The buildings were rundown and boarded up and people routinely set fires in them for warmth. Crime went pretty much unchecked here and the only law people lived by was survival of the fittest. Growing up here was rough. If a person couldn’t protect themselves, they had two options: die or join a gang who could protect them. So far, Lowell had managed to avoid the latter two choices and pretty much kept to himself.

At last he was seeing trees instead of more buildings. With the full moon lighting his way, Lowell looked for a place to settle down for the night. It was a mild, quiet summer night…well, at least it was quiet. Lowell’s eyes darted around in the darkness, his ears trying to pick up every sound. He was sure he heard footsteps on the leaves. He found a large hollow in a tree beside him and quickly threw his bag into it. His hands went to the silver dagger he had stolen a while back in the holster on his waist and held it behind his back. At the very back of his mind, he wanted his senses to be mistaken. He was hungry and really wanted to get to the food, but…

“Hey brat! Saw you had some loot on you. Hand it over!”

Lowell found himself in the same situation as the blonde haired boy. He was facing down three teenagers who had greed in their eyes. They were willing to do anything and hurt anyone to get what they wanted, which, at the moment, was that bag. Instead of being panicked or afraid, Lowell looked thoroughly ticked.

“Aw man! This sucks!” said Lowell as though he were watching a performance that turned out to be a disappointment. “You guys are so lame!”

What looked like the leader of the trio, who had matted brown hair looked nothing short of enraged. “You little whelp! Who the crap do you think you are?!” Spit flew out his mouth and Lowell looked slightly grossed out.

“I think I’m Lowell, and I think you’re in my space,” he said sarcastically, holding his knife tighter behind his back. “And don’t take this the wrong way or anything but don’t you think it’s pathetic that you’re stealing from someone who’s half your size but twice as smart as you?”

The brown haired boy roared and pulled out a bronze dagger. The other two didn’t even have conventional weapons—just jagged pieces of metal. Lowell’s cockiness finally made the boys snap, and they each lunged at him. But the child merely grinned. If he was going to have to fight, he might as well have fun with them. Lowell didn’t strike back at first. He just dodged their attacks by ducking, sidestepping, and even jumping over one of the boys who’d crouched low to hit the boy in the leg.

“You little cowardly brat!” yelled the matted haired boy. “You think we’re pathetic! Fight like a man!”

“Sigh, if you say so,” said Lowell cheerfully.

He revealed the knife hidden behind his back and began slashing. Lowell was skinny, agile, and very fast and he used it to his advantage. He continued to dodge but he also struck back. One came at him, trying to slit his throat, but Lowell ducked under him and stabbed him the leg—hitting a major artery from the looks of it. The second of the trio lunged at him from behind; all Lowell had to do was evade by leaning sideways and the silver dagger left one long, deep gash in his arm as the boy hit the ground with a horrible crunch and moving no more. With both of his friends critically injured, the leader of the pack looked insane with his anger.

“You’re going to die tonight kid,” he said in a low voice and he grabbed Lowell around the neck. He tightened his fingers around the young boy’s neck, trying to crush is windpipe.

Amazingly, he was still smiling. “Will I?” said Lowell hoarsely. “Look down.”

It was then that the boy with the matted brown hair saw the knife sticking out of his gut. His eyes widened as his grip on Lowell slackened and eventually he let go altogether. Lowell casually pulled his knife from the boy’s body, not caring about the scream of intense pain. He keeled over and fell to the ground next to his friends. Lowell stepped over the bodies of the trio to the tree where he’d stashed his things.

“I…hate you,” the leader growled weakly.

“I feel the same way about you,” said Lowell. His smile was gone and he looked angry. “I’m not just a stupid child!” His voice rose rapidly. “You’ll never mess with me again!”

And with that Lowell turned and walked away. He had planned to stay the night around that tree but he didn’t want to stay there in case they died. What if the corpses attracted dogs or something? He’d have to kill them too to keep them from stealing his food. Why did I have to be attacked by idiots? Now I have to find a new tree! Lowell thought irritably. He retreated deeper into the woods without a second thought about the well-being of the idiots who had attacked him.

All the while, the man watched…

[Leyla Garcia]

Lowell awoke the next morning feeling happy. He had gone to sleep under the stars on a full stomach for the first time in a very long time and even better, he had some left over. The sun was shining weakly in the sky and the weather was just as cold as it had been last night. He longed for summer as he sat there on the ground. Lowell decided to take a better look at what he had swiped the night before and was surprised at his haul.

In addition to food, he’d also grabbed a couple of golden goblets, some fancy rings and necklaces, and another silver knife in a nice leather holster. It was a good thing the shopkeepers didn’t catch a glimpse of him, because they would’ve been on his tail the whole time. He dug a little deeper in the sack and pulled out the most valuable thing of all. It was a heavy, highly polished onyx medallion with and intricate design. But the thing that made it spectacular was the gem set into it. It was the prettiest gem Lowell have ever seen and it looked expensive—he only knew that from watching the stolen goods that often changed hands in those back alleys in Nevassa. It was oval shaped and transparent with a bluish tint.

For a while Lowell just stared at the pendant clutched in his dirty hands. He didn’t like the idea of carrying such valuable things on him for fear of people messing with him. Lowell wanted to get rid of it as fast as he could to keep that from happening but wasn’t even sure how to do it. There was part of him that blamed the shopkeepers…stupid idiots for keeping fancy crap like this in their stupid shop. Well, except the knife. I’m keeping that.

Lowell quickly put the stuff back in his bag with the amulet at the very bottom. He stood up and decided he’d do absolutely nothing except practice. After all, he had enough food to last him and he did work hard to steal it so why the heck couldn’t he? He admired the shiny silver knife again as he set off deeper into the forest. Even though it was daytime, the cloudy skies still made the forest look dreary. Sounds of birds echoed through the area. Lowell also heard the sounds of men in the distance—possibly they were from the Daein army. He kept his distance from them. Sure, they most likely wouldn’t mess with him, but he wasn’t going to take the chance…no, he set off in a different direction.

Rustle…

He stopped suddenly. No, not this crap again. It was most definitely human. Lowell crouched low and pulled out his silver knife. Something in a bush caught his eye…and against his better judgment, he crouched down to peer through it and gasped at what he saw. A girl was looking him directly in his hazel eyes. She had long strawberry blonde ringlets that spread out on the forest floor around her.

His first reaction was to run away. What if she was trouble, like some noble’s kid or something? Unfortunately for Lowell, his legs didn’t work. The pretty, yet fragile looking girl thoroughly had him locked in her wide eyed gaze. Green eyes that simultaneously had innocence and wisdom. She looked very weak but she still never took her eyes off Lowell who now couldn’t leave her for some mysterious reason. He walked around to the other side of the bush and stood over the girl.

“Do you, uh, need help,” he said awkwardly, completely aware that he couldn’t remember the last time he’d been nice to anyone.

She reached out her hand to him, as though wanting him to help her to her feet. Lowell hesitated for a moment before holding out his hand as well. The girl gripped his hand with surprising strength and pulled herself to her feet. She reeled unsteadily before regaining her balance. Lowell and the girl were around the same height. She wore a plain light blue dress and brown boots. After several long seconds of silence, she spoke.

“I-I haven’t eaten in…three days,” she said weakly in a sweet voice, never breaking her gaze into Lowell’s eyes.

“Uh huh,” he said. Truth be told, he was getting creeped out and he was getting a little annoyed that his body didn’t do what he wanted it to. Lowell wanted to look away, but couldn’t; wanted to run away, but still couldn’t. Lowell sighed. “What the heck am I supposed to do about that?” The words spilled out before he could stop them and he immediately felt sorry for what he did. Why was it so hard to be nice to someone?

But the girl didn’t look angry; on the contrary, she smiled. “You have food in your bag,” she said, pointing.

“Oh, right,” said Lowell hastily. “Here.” He pulled out a loaf of bread and handed it to her.

The girl smiled wider. She sat down on the ground again and began eating like some sharks during a feeding frenzy. Lowell had never seen anything like it, but then again, she was starving. It was amazing she made it this long without dying. Lowell was just about to walk away when she spoke again. “Come sit next to me,” said the girl brightly through a mouthful of bread.

“Why?” Lowell asked bluntly.

“Because,” she answered him.

Lowell rolled his eyes. “Fine, fine,” he said, sitting down next to her as she continued eating.

“My name is Amada,” she said. “What’s yours?”

“Lowell,” he said point-blank.

Amada put the last piece of bread in her mouth and laughed. “You’re something. Will you tell me what’s in the bag then?”

“No.”

She laughed again but it was stifled by a huge yawn. “Now you’re being silly. Thank you for the food.” She leaned against a tree that was beside the bush and closed her eyes—the picture of innocence. That was something Lowell hadn’t had since before the age of five when he first began stealing. “Take care of my staff for me…” she said, her voice trailing off.

“Weirdo,” Lowell said under his breath. “Yeah, see, I’m going now,” he said to Amada. “I’m not watching your staff.”

She didn’t show any sign of having heard him. Lowell knelt back down and waved his hand in front oh her face. Amada’s chest rose and fell gently as she slept soundly.

“You’ve got to be kidding me,” said Lowell in disbelief. “How can a person fall asleep that fast!?”

Grudgingly, Lowell realized he couldn’t leave her. He’d have to watch her to make sure no bandits came by to try something. Besides, it was a good practice area with all the trees around. He pulled the brand new Silver Knife and threw it at a butterfly resting on a tree to test his accuracy. The knife went through the butterfly’s wing and stuck itself firmly into the tree. The insect struggled as it tried to fly away. The expression on Lowell’s face would be unreadable to any other person. He said nothing as he went over to the tree and pulled the knife out…

After that, Lowell pretended the trees were the leader of the trio he’d possibly killed the night before. He was a short and skinny kid but he used that to his advantage. Lowell glided from tree to tree like a dancer and slashed at them so quickly that most humans wouldn’t be able to react. He found out that his biggest asset was the fact that he was left handed since everyone expected right handed knife users. It was the subtle difference of the blade landing in the place no one predicts that often hands Lowell his victories.

Lowell jumped as high as he could into the air and made a huge gash in the tree before swinging around and landing gracefully on his feet. He did a cartwheel on the forest floor to show off, but he could also dodge and attack from this position too, make no mistake. He bent over backwards to avoid an imaginary opponent and to attack another one behind him. Lowell performed all of his best moves on the trees and only stopped when he could no longer move. He was breathing heavily and sweat dripped off of him. For the first time in a long time, the clouds cleared and the sun shown bright in the sky. The forest was illuminated green in the sunlight.

“You’re really good!” Amada had finally awakened and was standing with her blue orbed staff in her hands. “How did you get to be so good? Any mentors?”

Lowell shrugged. He didn’t particularly want to talk about it.

“And you’re probably like me and don’t know the nature of you birth. So you don’t know whether you got your skills from your mother or father…” said Amada.

“Riiiight,” said Lowell. It wasn’t difficult to pick out an orphaned child who lived on the streets—he guessed that was reason she knew. “Just call it instinct. You get confronted by something and you deal with it.”

“But your skills are amazing and you look so young,” Amada insisted. “That’s the ability that manifested with you nature! I wonder what kind of blood run through your veins.”

Lowell was thoroughly confused now. What the heck was she talking about?

Amada looked at Lowell intently. “How old are you?” she asked curiously.

“Twelve.”

Her expression softened. “You’re safe with me, Lowell. You can tell me your real age.”

The boy narrowed his hazel eyes. “I really am twelve. What the crap do you mean by real age anyway?”

They stared at each other for a moment. “But I thought…I must’ve been…you’re not one of…your power though…” she said almost to herself.

“Are you just going to babble or are you going to tell me what you’re talking about?” said Lowell, annoyed.

“No, I was just thinking,” said Amada.

“Fine then,” he said roughly.

Amada tilted her head slightly. “You’re bleeding. Would you like me to fix that?”

“What?” said Lowell. He looked down at his arm and noticed the blood for the first time. “That little scratch? That’s nothing.”

“Are you sure?” asked Amada.

“Yes, I’m sure,” he said. Honestly, she was getting on his nerves now. He picked up his sack on the ground. “Look, I’m done here. I’m headed back to Nevassa to get rid of this stuff before someone tries to kill me or something.”

“What kind of stuff is it?” Amada asked.

“Expensive stuff.”

“Well, where did you get it?”

“I stole it all last night.”

They just stared at each other after Lowell’s blunt answer. He broke the trance she had on him by closing his eyes before turning and walking away.

“But wait! Can I come with you?” Amada called after him.

Lowell stopped but he didn’t turn back around. “I don’t care. Just don’t get in my way.”

Amada beamed as she picked up her staff and chased after Lowell.

[Shuuda]

First of all, I will just say that this is clearly to a higher standards than most thing around here. So good job.

One thing I should point out: about your over use of adverbs attached to dialogue tags. E.G: "he said weakly". This is the usual way to give weaker words the appearance of being stronger, but it is not that effective. I would recommend trying to cut back on these; and start replacing them with things like body language.

I will think of more to post at some other time.

Edited February 16, 2009 by Shuuda

[Leyla Garcia]

OOC: Sorry for not replying to you before Shuuda, but thanks for the feedback ^^ You pointed out one of the things I have the most trouble with but I'm working on it.

Nevassa was a bit safer by day, but not by much. Lowell and now Amada were still in danger because of the stuff he was carrying. He wanted to avoid being seen by as many people as he possibly could. There was a man tucked deep into Nevassa who bought stolen goods and that was where they were headed. Lowell wasn’t interested in much money—he had no use for that aside from food. Maybe he’d trade for something instead.

Amada meanwhile was looking around the dingy alleys as though she were amazed by her surroundings. It certainly was active at this time a day. Little kids with dirty faces ran up and down the streets playing and laughing with each other. For a brief moment, Lowell wondered what it would be like to be able to not care about anything and just run around the streets with friends. He shoved this thought aside as he continued walking, but he stopped short when a ball landed at his feet. A little boy came chasing after it.

“’Cuse me,” said the little boy. When saw that Lowell was only a kid, a slow grin spread across his face. “Oh, we need another person. Can you play with us?”

“No,” said Lowell shortly and tried to push the boy aside.

“But pleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeease?” he whined. “We’re short one person!”

Lowell’s anger quickly rose. “I said no!” he shouted. “Now get out of my way!”

The little boy cowered. He took one more look at Amada whose eyes were wide with shock and Lowell who still looked irritated before picking up his ball and running away. Amada turned to Lowell.

“Was that really necessary?” she asked Lowell.

“Maybe,” he replied and began walking away.

Amada pouted as ran to catch up with him. “Why are you so mean?”

“Because being anything else will get you killed,” Lowell said. “You aren’t that naïve are you?”

“But he was just a little kid,” Amada protested. “He wasn’t going to kill you and you know that Lowell!”

“And how do you know that?” Lowell asked feeling his irritation come back to the surface. “You’ve only known me for a couple of hours. You don’t know crap about me.”

They turned a corner into a narrow alley. Amada looked down at her feet and gripped her staff tighter. “…You have a potty mouth.”

“And you’re getting on my last nerve!” Lowell snapped.

Amada recoiled slightly at his words but she didn’t back down. “These streets have turned you cold and made you grow up so fast,” she said quietly. “You probably couldn’t be nice to anyone if you tried. Poor thing. I know there’s still some niceness in you somewhere.”

Something stirred within Lowell as he clenched his teeth. “I can hear you, you know. And stop talking so much! You’ll attract attention to us.”

“All right,” said Amada.

They continued on in a tense silence. Lowell was more alert than ever to any noise out of the ordinary. His hazel eyes darted from side to side on the look out for anything strange. Amada just stared straight ahead without really processing what she was seeing. She smiled to herself in spite of the ache she felt for Lowell.

“Huh? What’s this?” said Lowell who stopped short. Something had glinted in the corner of his eye.

Amada nearly collided with him. “What is it? What do you see?”

“This,” said Lowell. He walked over to a pile of trash and pulled out the blade that had caught his eyes which were now glowing. The blade of the handle was red rimmed and oddly shaped with its jagged edge. The silver hilt of the knife resembled a wyvern. “This is a Beast Killer—and a really good one too. Not sure why anyone would just leave this here.”

Amada looked puzzled. “A Beast Killer? Is it made for killing animals?”

“Hah, you can say that,” said Lowell with derision. “It’s made for killing subhuman beasts!”

Amada look of curiosity vanished. “You mean Beast tribe Laguz?”

“No, I mean sub-human beasts,” Lowell corrected haughtily.

She frowned. “So you’re a racist too?”

Lowell made a “tch” sound in the back of his throat and didn’t respond to her. He wasn’t going to be the one to tell her those monsters were out to kill and eat humans. That was what he’d been taught and he’d heard stories from other people. If she didn’t know, that was her problem.

“That’s so horrible…” Amada pouted.

“You’re not from around here are you?” asked Lowell. “That’s how we do it in Daein!”

“But even if it’s wrong, stupid, and ignorant?” Amada protested. This was the closest she’d come to raising her voice at Lowell. “I don’t like it.”

“Well, that just too bad for you,” said Lowell as he sped up his pace and turned a corner. Now that she had annoyed him, he didn’t care about being rude to her.

“Hey, wait for me!” Amada called. When she turned the corner, she nearly crashed into him again. “Why did you st—

Lowell covered her mouth with his hand. “Shut up!” he hissed. “Get behind here!” he said as he pulled her behind a nearby crate with him. “Didn’t I tell you not to talk to loud?”

“Wait, what’s going on,” asked Amada confused?

Lowell cracked a smile. “See that man over there?” he said pointing.

Amada looked over the crate and saw an overweight man with a kind face dressed in very fine clothing. The man had fierce looking guards surrounding him in case he was “besmirched” by any of the alley people. He looked incredibly out of place in the alley and was getting dark looks from everyone around him. The man was obviously nobility and apparently wealthy.

“Overstuffed pig,” Lowell said disgusted. “He’s only visiting the “less-fortunate” to make himself look better in the eyes of his circle.”

“As much as I hate to say it, you’re probably right,” said Amada.

“What’s this?” asked Lowell mockingly. “You’re agreeing with me? I don’t believe it!”

“Ha,” said Amada. She was secretly impressed because that was the closest that Lowell had come to joking with her. But Amada held her staff close to her—she didn’t know what the black haired boy had in mind as his hazel eyes searched the scene hungrily. She could feel her spirit sank at what happened next.

“Well, what do we have here?” asked Lowell, smiling.

The man of nobility stepped to the side and revealed a young woman who must have been his daughter. She looked nothing short of terrified to be in the alleys and desired only to leave. Her expensive gold and diamond bracelet glinted in the faint sunlight. Lowell could sense her fear; he punched the crate with his hand and she jumped a mile in the air. He sniggered.

“Daddy is it always so loud here?” they heard the woman complained. “I want to go home!”

“Lowell, please don’t do this,” Amada begged quietly. She held her staff even tighter. “They don’t mean you any harm, just like that boy didn’t.”

“And your point?” asked Lowell. “I don’t steal just for kicks you know. I mean sure it’s fun, but I only steal to—

“To survive, I know! But Lowell, please!”

“Shush, I’m trying to think,” Lowell scolded. He focused his ears on the surrounding territory. A short distance away, the sounds of an argument over some stolen goods reached was escalating. The people involved weren’t too concerned about being seen either. Lowell also heard the sounds of some children growing closer. “Nice,” he said. “There’s going to be a diversion really soon and I’m going to use it.”

“And you’re not going to think this over are you?” asked Amada in a last ditch attempt to talk him out of his scheme.

“Nope,” said Lowell with finality.

His eyes were searching the area for something and they lit up when he spotted it. Lowell picked up ball that had been forgotten by some children and threw it in the direction of the noble and his daughter. Amada eyes widened; she knew what he was about to do and doubted the noble was street savvy enough to see Lowell’s trick. He left his knives and his holsters behind as he ran up to the man and his daughter acting as though he were just after the ball. Immediately the guards turned on Lowell with their lances, axes, and swords pointed at him. Amada groaned.

Lowell laid it on thick. “Excuse me, sir,” he said in a childish, scared voice. “I just wanted to get my ball. I’m sorry, sir, I’ll be out of your way now, sir.”

The noble laughed jovially as he signaled his guards to stand down. “There’s no need to be so afraid, young man. I’m not here to hurt anyone. In fact, I’m here to help you people!”

“Help us? Really? You’re so generous,” said Lowell in mock subservience. He was conscious of the fact that the noise was growing louder.

“Yes, I know, thank you,” the man said, missing the slight sarcasm in Lowell’s voice.

Amada cringed. She knew in her heart that the man, though patronizing, meant well enough. The noble was about to be taken for a ride and he didn’t even know it. Amada wanted to stop him but she knew she would either be helping Lowell take further advantage of the man by creating a diversion or hurting Lowell by getting him caught by the guards. Amada settled back behind the crates, defeated.

“Here, I’ll tell you what,” the noble continued. “Take this gold coin and buy something to play with.

Lowell widened his eyes convincingly. “Thank you, sir,” he said with great amazement. “You’re too kind.”

As if on cue, bedlam reigned. The children’s game finally reached them; about ten of them chasing one boy in a game of tag rounded the corner causing the nobles and the guards to panic. At the same time, three men who were trying to make their getaway also had the idea to use the diversion to their advantage. The outnumbered guards tried frantically to bring order into the chaos which only made things worse. Once the children spotted the weapons on the guards, they too began to panic.

Lowell felt the thrill of adrenalin rush through him. He only had one thing in his mind’s eye and that was his target—the woman’s bracelet. Lowell ducked low to the ground and made a beeline toward the cowering woman. It was nothing to slide the bracelet off her arm. As children were repeatedly bumping into her, she probably didn’t feel a thing and no one noticed Lowell. He nimbly made his way through the chaos and back behind the crate next to Amada who was recoiling from the noise.

“Look!” said Lowell excitedly as he roughly shook Amada. “Success!” He held out the bracelet in front of Amada’s frightened face.

Slowly the guards were able to chase the children and the thieves away from the nobles who clearly had had enough of their visit in the alley.

“Ugh, Daddy this place is wretched!” the woman whined as she fretted about. “They ruined my dress!”

“We’ll leave immediately,” said the man. His paternal air had disappeared completely. “These ungrateful ingrates are unworthy of our time. Guards! Let’s go!”

Lowell and Amada waited until the nobles and the guards were out of sight before they emerged.

“Oh that was so awful,” said Amada, a slight whimper in her voice.

“No it wasn’t,” said Lowell as he put his holsters and knives back on his belt. He managed to shove the beast killer into the same holster as one of his silver knives with some effort. “That girl didn’t even notice her bracelet missing. Besides, it’s their own fault for coming into our territory.”

“Oh, Lowell,” Amada sighed.

“Clever work, using a diversionary tactic to reach your target,” sounded a rough voice from out of nowhere. “Clever work indeed at your age…”

Lowell immediately yanked out the silver knife he’d just holstered and stood on his guard. “Who’s there?” he called out, not betraying his surprise that the man had gotten this close to him without his knowledge. Amada clutched her staff as she moved to stand closer to Lowell.

“You’re a very alert one aren’t you?” came the voice again. “It’s impressive really.” With a swish of a cloak, a man with graying brown hair leapt from a balcony above them and landed gracefully on the ground. “You could put those skills to good use when you get older.”

Lowell’s face hardened. “And just who the heck are you?” he asked rudely.

“You can just call me Cayden,” the man said. Cayden had a muscular build and looked very battle worn from all the scars—particularly the ones on his arms and the prominent one that ran down the left side of his neck. His cloak was black like the impressive shoulder and shin guards he wore but his cream colored shirt and dark pants were understated. “I saw what you did back there.”

“So what?” Lowell shot back. “Are you going to turn me in now or something?” His eyes went to the man’s sword which was sheathed at his side.

“I wasn’t planning on doing anything of the sort,” said Cayden with a slight smirk. “You can put down your knife now. I’m not out to hurt you and your friend.”

But Lowell didn’t lower his blade. He looked over his shoulder at Amada as though he’d forgotten she was there. “Hmph, she’s not my friend. She’s just some girl who’s following me around.”

Amada gasped, a little outraged. “Lowell, that’s harsh!”

Cayden turned his gray eyes on Amada with interest. “And what’s your name?” he asked.

“My name is Amada,” she said. She felt something different about this man, as though he were seeing passed her eyes…It was like she knew him from somewhere yet she couldn’t pinpoint where.

“Beautiful name,” he said nodding slightly. “It seems like you want to keep watch over this boy.”

Lowell’s already thin patience was about to wear out. “Look,” he snapped. “I don’t know or care what you want but you’re getting on my nerves. So go away!”

The young boy thought the man would put up a fight or be patronizing like that stupid noble, but Cayden only chuckled as he turned to walk away. “We’ll meet again Lowell,” he said. It wasn’t at all a question. “You’re a fascinating young man. And keep him safe, Amada.”

Cayden turned his back to them and walked away from them. Lowell felt his annoyance fade away with Cayden’s retreating shadow.

“Weirdo,” Lowell muttered. “You meet all kinds of crazies in these alleys.”

“Yeah, but he seemed nice though,” Amada noted sagely.

“I don’t trust your judgment because you think I’m nice deep down,” said Lowell shortly. “Now come on or we’ll never get rid of this stuff,” he added as he jerked at the bag of goods.

“You sell yourself short sometimes, Lowell,” Amada said so low that he couldn’t understand what she said.

“What did you say?”

“Nothing Lowell. Nothing at all…”