Kael’s bright red hair peeked out from behind a stone wall as he watched the stores and vendors.

  But not just any vendor, this time he was aiming for something more specific, something that was easy to sell and the price had skyrocketed in the past few days.

  Fresh vegetables and fruits were displayed in rows, by the hundreds, and those who had enough money walked out of the street shop holding bags full of them. Kael waited patiently with his small body hidden.

  The moment the vendor, a woman in her twenties, turned her back to fetch something, Kael sprang into action. His nimble skinny body moved like a shadow, silent and quick.

  In mere seconds, he was within an arm’s reach of the display. His hands went forward, snatching two apples and an orange in a heartbeat. Not missing a step, he sprang down the alley.

  “Hey! Come back!” the woman shouted and her voice drew the attention of those around in the market.

  “I hate to steal from beautiful women. I’m sorry ma’am!” Kael glanced back, his heart pounding inside his small chest.

  He turned quickly into another street, running as fast as he could with his barefoot against the cobblestone. But just as he rounded a corner, someone extended a foot out in his path. Kael tripped and fell hard and the fruits spilled from his arms, rolling across the ground.

  He was kicked in the stomach. Not once, but a couple of times. And then on his face.

  A fat man stood over him, reaching for the stolen fruit and handing it back to the woman, who had just caught up. His expression softened when he looked at her, his chest puffing out and his stomach pushed in.

  “These rats from the shelters. They should just kill them all,” the man said, and looked at the woman with the corner of his eyes.

  She had a shocked expression as she looked at Kael's beaten body, and that filled him with a twisted sense of pride.

  “I barely touched him, but sometimes I just can’t control my strength.” He chuckled.

  “I’m going to get the guards to take care of him”

  Hearing the word guards sent a shot of adrenaline through Kael. Ignoring the pain in his ribs, he got up to his feet and ran, missing a few steps with his vision blurred by his watery eyes.

  When he finally stumbled inside the shelter, his face was bruised, but even worse, today he did not profit. Tears were about to run through his face, but he clenched his fists, he refused to let the tears fall. Crying would mean they had won. Again.

  ….

  The noises of the early morning activity woke Relyn up from his sleep. The shelter was filled with the quiet sounds of people walking and the conversations around as everyone there began their day.

  He stretched his body and got ready as well, touching his sleeve to make sure his dagger was still there.

  With his time in the caravans and everything he had learned from Milen, together with his encounters so far, Relyn wasn’t as paranoid as he was when he first stepped in the city.

  He obviously still didn’t trust these people, and some habits were better to be kept, he figured.

  Not long after, three people entered the shelter, each carrying large boxes and wooden trays. They went to the far side of the room, opposite to the cots, where the tables had been set up.

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  The workers filled plates with a small portion of soup, and then added a piece of stale moldy bread. This would be the first meal of the day for those in the shelter.

  "Wait a moment while we fill the plates, we'll call you to eat soon." One of the workers looked up and called out.

  While waiting for his meal, Relyn carefully took the bandages out from his arm.

  To his surprise, the injury had healed very well, leaving behind only a small wound that, once covered by his shirt, wouldn’t even be noticeable.

  What made him frown was the yellow stripe he had had to accept when coming here. Even with a shirt on top of it that glow would still shine through, clearly marking him with whatever that was.

  “What the hell is this… is it magic?” He touched that yellow glow coming out of his arm.

  “Food’s ready,” the worker spoke again, calling everyone in.

  Relyn went over to one of the tables and ate his portion. After finishing it, he stepped outside with his small bag hanging at his waist. He wouldn’t leave that behind.

  The sun had risen higher today and looked at everything around the shelters at a loss. There were several roads and narrow alleys in every direction he could set his eyes on, and with no clear idea of where to go, he decided to take the closest road in front of him.

  Relyn looked to his side, and a herb’s shop caught his attention. Its doors were wide open bringing the pungent smell of the herbs right to the busy streets, maybe on purpose.

  Looking inside, he saw an old man running around from one shelf to the other.

  Relyn walked inside and waited for the man to finish what he was doing before speaking up.

  “Can I help you, young friend?” The man finally noticed him, and asked.

  “Yes, I am looking for work.” Relyn cleared his throat and said it plainly.

  “Oh, no. no, no. I just hired a new assistant,” The older man said and quickly picked his pace again.

  “Maybe I could help with the heavy things, or even learn-”

  “I said no. Leave the store”

  Relyn stepped out back onto the busy streets, thinking about his next stop. The day was just starting, and he still had plenty of chances to find something, he thought.

  Before long, a loud sound of metal being hammered caught his attention, and he spotted a forge up ahead.

  As he got closer, the heat from the forge hit him like a punch, and all he could sense was the noise of a hammer on steel, together with the smoky smell of the metal.

  “What do you want?” The man grumbled, not looking up from the sword he was hammering.

  “I’m looking for work,”

  The man’s eyes immediately moved to his arms, and looking at the yellow strip there, his face hardened. He didn’t say a word, just gave a quick nod toward the street, clearly telling Relyn to leave.

  The same thing continued to happen throughout the day. At a bakery, a carpenter’s workshop, and everywhere else he went to.

  It became clear that when they saw the yellow band on his arm, the conversation wouldn’t last long and he would be dismissed.

  “Not hiring,” they would say, though their eyes told a different story.

  And so he continued walking through the city, aimlessly. As he walked through a merchant’s stall, he heard the people around talking.

  “... Yes, I heard even House Lunark sent one of their best for this year,” a woman spoke to her partner right beside him.

  “Did you see how many of them arrived today? It’s like a damn blue exhibition that they were doing close to the gates earlier,” someone else added to the conversation.

  "The blue ones are already making their rounds, huh? Ain't that something," the merchant said, talking to his customers.

  Walking further down the road, he came across more and more caravans making their ways through the city.

  The people there would often carry a proud expression on their faces and some of the caravans even had horns blaring from time to time, especially when they turned down a new street.

  As they passed, everyone around, merchants, passersby, and even children, paused to watch. Their eyes followed the caravans, not leaving until they disappeared out of sight.

  Each caravan seemed to have a different kind of attention, as if the people inside had their own reputation that made others react in a different way.

  By the time the sun began to set below the walls of Solara, Reyn was tired and hungry, so he decided to set off back to the shelter for now.

  He managed to get back right on time to catch the evening meal being served, another piece of bread and a cup of watered-down soup. But Relyn couldn’t complain, after all, it was still free.

  Relyn ate that in silence before going back to his bed.

  As he lay down, his eyes turned to the cot beside him. It was empty. The ginger-haired boy was not there this time.

  Leaning down a bit, he saw the boy under his bed, curled up tightly, his small frame shaking and sobbing. His thin arms clenched into an object while he whispered something over and over again.

  ‘Well, not my problem’

  He thought to himself.

  Rylen rolled his body to the other side and went to sleep.