"Just a penny, sir!" Matthew cried out to the hundredth person to walk by that day.
For the hundredth time that day, it was as if he weren't there in the first place.
The 7-year-old blond shivered as he huddled into himself against the wall. The winter chill was making it even harder to beg for coins in the street, but it had to be done to survive. His parents had died in the plague a few months before, leaving him destitute. He would need more than food soon, as his threadbare clothes barely protected him from the wind.
Matthew looked up to see his twin run across the street towards him.
"Mattie, I found a way to get food!"
"Al, what did you do?"
"Nothing yet…" Alfred said, trying to act innocently, "That is, I need your help getting it."
"You're not stealing it, Alfred."
"I'm not stealing the food!" Alfred exclaimed, "I'm distracting the baker while you sneak out a loaf of bread."
"You're making ME steal it, Alfred!"
"Come on, Mattie," Alfred begged, dragging Matthew towards the bakery, "I'm a master of distraction, you're a master of hiding in the shadows unseen, and we haven't eaten in days! Seriously, just smell that bread!"
Matthew was about to yell at his brother again when the sweet smell of freshly baked bread made his stomach growl. He looked over to see that the baker already had more than enough customers to keep him distracted, as well as a clear path to slip in, grab a loaf, and slip back out.
"Fine, let's do it!"
"Mattie, you're the best!" Alfred cheered, "Okay, meet me in the alley after!"
Alfred whooshed into the bakery and started distracting the baker. Matthew came in shortly after, staying to the side to avoid being seen. As he approached the target loaf of bread, Alfred was getting more adamant in his pestering. Seeing his chance, Matthew grabbed his loaf, tucked it into his arms, and headed for the door. Just as he tried to slip out, he bumped into someone.
"What's this, a thief?" the person proclaimed.
Matthew kicked them in the shin and ran out of the store as quickly as he could. He could hear the baker shouting after him, along with Alfred's voice and calling for guards. He whipped around a corner, only to bump into a guard and fall to the ground. When he looked up, Matthew could tell that the guard knew exactly what he was doing. The baker quickly followed around the corner with Alfred in tow.
"Sir, I caught these boys trying to steal some of my bread!"
"Yes, it sure looks like it," the guard replied, grabbing the loaf of bread and giving it back to the baker as a couple more guards showed up, "We'll take care of these brats."
"Thank you, sir," the baker said, returning to his shop with the bread. Another guard grabbed Alfred, and another bound their hands. Once ready, they started dragging the boys to the castle.
"Al, what are we going to do now?" Mattie whimpered.
"I don't know, Mattie."
Mikkel wasn't fond of punishing prisoners, but as the Ace of Spades, it was part of the job.
He walked into the dungeons, noticing a few regular criminals in the lineup awaiting punishment for new crimes. There were a couple new faces today though, a pair of scrawny blond twins.
"Okay, let's start with the boys," he asked the guard, "What did they do?"
"One distracted the baker while the other tried to steal some bread."
"Is that all?" Mikkel questioned, bending down closer to look at the twins. They were keeping their heads down in shame, but the one with slightly longer hair was whimpering a bit. "Do you boys understand what the laws of Spades say to do to thieves? We're supposed to send them to the gallows."
"Please don't hurt Mattie!" the short-haired one cried out, "It was all my idea, I made him help me!"
"Please don't hurt Al!" Mattie cried out at the same time, "I shouldn't have taken the bread!"
Mikkel found himself stuck as two pairs of eyes pleaded for forgiveness, one set blue and another set violet. The boys appeared to have learned their lesson, and it would be a waste to have them hanged at such a young age. However, the boys still needed to be punished for their crimes.
"Take their shirts off," he ordered, "Twenty lashes for each, then release them. That will be more than enough."
The guards quickly tore the shirts off the boys, then turned them to prepare for lashing. Mattie had started trying to push back from the guards in fear, so started hitting him and ordering him to cooperate. Mikkel whipped out his axe and gently placed the edge of the blade against the back of Mattie's neck.
"Mattie, isn't it?" Mikkel asked, "The quicker you stop your fidgeting, the less we'll make the lashing hurt."
"No, don't kill him!" Al shouted in terror, making Mikkel roll his eyes. Mattie had stopped fidgeting, now hyperventilating instead. Mikkel tilted the blade away from his neck, moving the axe away from the neck. As it passed by Mattie's back, Mikkel suddenly noticed a surge of energy in the axe, along with a quick flash of blue.
"Wait a second," he ordered the guard who was coming in to take over. Mikkel hovered the axe head over the boy's back again, and the surge of energy came back. This time, a blue Spade had formed on Mattie's back. Pulling the axe away, Mikkel looked at the skin a bit closer. Although the blue mark was gone, a faint imprint of the Spade's border could be found.
"Where did you get this mark on your back, Mattie?"
"He's always had it," Al answered for him, "I have a similar one on my chest, we were born with them."
"Let me see," Mikkel ordered. Al turned, and Mikkel hovered the axe head by his chest. Sure enough, the surge of energy returned, and a blue Spade formed on Al's chest. Moving the axe away, a faint imprint could be found like on his brother.
"Future Royals? Is it even possible to find them so early?" a guard asked Mikkel.
"Possibly," Mikkel replied, "Release their bonds, I'm taking them to Berwald."