"Stop right there!"
Luka had no intention of doing so. With the apple she stole firmly tucked into her bag, and her hand holding onto a similarly stolen loaf of bread, she ran through the crowded streets of the town of Marlon, dodging obstacles, human, animal, or material, in her way. She took one look back over her shoulder to see an armed guard running after her, dressed in plate armor, waving a sword around, almost lopping off the head of the flower woman. Luka grimaced and quickened her pace.
"You violated the law!" the guard screamed. "Stop running!"
Luka jumped onto a few crates, climbed up a ladder to the top of a roof, and quickly pulled the ladder up, laying the slats of wood connected by string by her feet, before continuing running. She jumped, landed on another rooftop, kept running, looking behind her for any sign of the guard, and ran right into something hard, hitting her head.
"Ow...ow..." Luka stumbled back, rubbing her head with one hand. "Sorry about that, sir...?" She shot her eyes open and saw another guard standing in front of her, glowering; he had apparently gotten up through the trapdoor in the house. Luka immediately turned around, only to see the guard she was running from earlier.
Luka smiled weakly and held up her hands. "Just a little snack, guys."
"We don't listen to thieves," said the guard, who was slowly taking out a pair of handcuffs. "You're under arrest, street urchin."
Luka licked her lips and put her hands away. "Hey, well, we can talk about this, right? I mean, I'm hungry, starving, no food, no money, no parents, wh-what can I do?" She shrank under the guards' harsh gazes and gulped.
"Hold out your hands," the guard with the handcuffs ordered.
Sighing, Luka did so before sharply moving her hands up, pushing the guards away with a desperate strength, and running, jumping off the roof, landing on a cart of rugs. She leapt out of the cart and dashed into a nearby brothel, where she hastily put on a few exotic silks and blended in with the crowd of bought women, trying to look inconspicuous.
"A bit early to be getting into trouble, isn't it?" drawled the woman next to her.
Luka smiled at her. "Too hungry. I can't help it."
Gertrude looked out the window and frowned. "Well, here they come."
Luka also looked out the window and nodded. She threw off the silks, quickly thanked Gertrude, and ran up the stairs, trying the doors. All of them were occupied except for the one at the end of the hall, and Luka burst in, jumped onto the bed, and climbed out of the window, grabbing onto a clothesline and rappelling down, taking the landing on the wall of another building with her feet before climbing down and running into a nearby alley, where she cleared away a few old barrels, tapped at the stone floor with her foot, pushing a little. The stone floor slid and Luka climbed down into the whole and pulled the stone shut again.
She sighed a sigh of relief. The area she was in now was an old hideout of the various thieves, orphans, and con men of Marlon, and as of now, there was no one else inside. Luka was in a small room with a few chairs and a table. There was a stock of food in an alcove, but the key word was 'was' - there were no fruits, no bread, nothing; the stock of food had run out long ago and no one bothered to restock it, all taking the view that, well, people have to fight to survive in Marlon if they're born disadvantaged. Luka took a hearty bite of her bread, congratulating herself on a job well done.
A few hours later, Luka got out of the tiny hideout and blended into the crowd at the market, idly looking around at the wares. Here a collection of beautiful glass flowers, there bottles of all shapes and sizes. There was a stall that sold elaborate beadwork, a stall that sold jewelry, heavily guarded on all sides, a stall that sold colorful clothing that shimmered in the sun. Luka smiled and looked up at the clear blue sky. It was, she decided, a good day today. Even though she had no money to buy any of the goods on sale, she had food in her stomach, and she could at least look at the wares. After all, a homeless orphan like her had no need for elaborate jewelry or colorful clothes. All she needed was food and drink.
However, Luka thought quietly and secretly to herself, it would be nice to live in a house, a real house, and buy food, and wear nice clothing, and be clean and safe and free. Even Luka had a small dream, after all. Safety, security, happiness. But no. Luka shook her head, dispelling her thoughts. There was no use in thinking of these things. Better to live in the now, focusing on how to survive, rather than wasting time in frivolous dreams.
A small commotion to the right disrupted Luka's thoughts, and she looked over, quizzically. There was a girl with long teal hair, confusedly backing away from a menacing guard, an apple in her hand. Luka's lips quirked a little; a would-be thief, perhaps? She walked a little closer to see what was going on.
"I hope you're planning to pay for that," the guard said to the girl.
The girl looked bewildered. "...'Pay'?"
"Pay!" the guard roared. "Giving money in exchange for the apple! What do they teach kids nowadays?"
"What's 'money'?" the girl asked.
The guard was unamused, and he roughly grabbed the girl by her arm. "I think I'll have to take you to the-"
"D-don't touch me!" the girl yanked her arm out of the guard's grip. "You...you lowborn!"
"Lowborn?" the guard's eyebrows raised. "Look at you, acting like you're some sort of princess!" He made to grab the girl again, but Luka intervened, stepping inbetween the guard and the girl. She shot the guard her best smile, and before the guard could say anything, Luka withdrew and, putting all her strength into her arms, pushed him over. The guard lost balance and fell to the ground in a cacophony of steel, his plate armor clanging on the ground. The girl stared at him before staring at Luka, and Luka grabbed her by the wrist and ran, taking her through a maze of alleys before stopping. She looked over at the girl, who was apparently unused to running as she was red-faced and panting.
"Are you okay?" Luka asked, letting go of the girl's wrist.
The girl, to Luka's surprise, glared at her with an anger so fierce, Luka took a step back. "I didn't need your help. I could handle it fine by myself."
Luka gaped at her. "What? You were about to be arrested. I rescued you!"
"You put your dirty lowborn paws all over me!"
"What?" Luka frowned. "Hey, I rescued you. Even if I'm just a...just a...anyways, you don't need to act so ungrateful."
"Ugh..." the girl stared at her wrist before passing her hand over it, squeezing her eyes shut, and mumbling a prayer that, from what Luka could hear, spoke of cleansing. Luka's jaw almost dropped open; was she really so lowly regarded? Even the people she rescued treated her like this...Luka stared at her hand, which looked relatively clean to her, dirt and insect-free, at least, before letting it drop limply to her side. She took a few deep breaths and tried to quell the indignation inside of her.
"Well, if you treat me like this, and since you called the guard a lowborn, what are you?" Luka asked, her voice a little sarcastic. "A princess?"
The girl scoffed. "Don't compare me to your lowborn princesses, lowborn. I," and here the girl drew herself up with great and powerful dignity, "am a noble of the Crypton Tower."
Luka stared at the girl for a few seconds before bursting out in raucous laughter. "You? From the Crypton Tower? Please, no one from the Crypton Tower ever comes down here. They're all too high and mighty to mingle with us!"
The Crypton Tower, Luka knew, was the dwelling place of a very reclusive group of people who cast away all ties with what they called the 'sins and corruption' of the so-called 'Lower World'. It was the tallest tower in the world, so tall its apex pierced the sky, so tall it casts a large shadow over many a farmer's land. It was completed before Luka's time; ever since she could remember, the Crypton Tower stood tall and proud, its peak hidden by clouds. No one, from what Luka knew, ever left the Crypton Tower, as the people who dwell there were so fanatical, so disdainful of the Lower World, that none of its denizens ever left. (And for that matter, no one from the Lower World was admitted entrance.)
The girl flushed. "I am from the Crypton Tower!"
"Oh sure," Luka rolled her eyes, "and I'm the queen of Elphegort."
"I am!" the girl insisted. "Look!" She rolled up her sleeves and showed Luka her pale shoulder. Luka, chuckling a little, looked at the girl's shoulder before she saw a swirling, elaborate black tattoo imprinted on the girl's shoulder.
"Anyone can get a Crypton tattoo," Luka said, shaking her head.
"It's the real thing!" the girl said. "I'll prove it to you." The girl closed her eyes and mumbled something to herself before the tattoo shifted colors, turning a deep, glowing blood red, so deep Luka feared that the tattoo was actually filling with blood before she realized that no, the girl was casting some magic spell. The Cryptonites, Luka knew, were all well-trained in magic, believing that it would bring them closer to their gods, and their tattoos were supposed to be some kind of holder for their magic...Luka didn't know the specifics; nobody knew much about the Cryptonites, so most of what Luka heard was mere hearsay. A few seconds later, the tattoo shifted back to its normal blackness.
Luka did not know what to say. She had never thought that she would ever meet a Cryptonite before. Far more troubling was, why was a Cryptonite in the Lower World? They hated lowborns, and this girl didn't seem to be in the Lower World by choice, seeing how she recoils from the slightest touch and calls everyone 'lowborn'. It made no sense for someone so rooted in Crypton culture to run to the Lower World.
"Okay, okay," Luka raised her hands. "Why are you here, then? You obviously don't like us lowborn folk. Why did you leave the Tower?"
At this, the girl lost her bravado, and she suddenly seemed small and frightened. She looked down, opened her mouth, and closed it. Luka noticed how thin she was, how dark the eyebags under her eyes were. Whoever she was, she wasn't faring very well in the world. Feeling a little sympathy again, Luka produced the apple she stole earlier from her pack and gave it to the girl, who hungrily snatched it and wolfed it down. Luka waited until she was finished licking the juice from her lips before speaking again.
"So what are you going to do?" Luka asked, evenly.
The girl stared at her before looking away. "None of your business, lowborn. I'll think of something by myself. I don't need your lowborn help. I didn't ask for your lowborn help. I can...I can help myself!"
"Whoa there," said Luka, frowning. "I just gave you food, and I saved you from the guards. Would it kill you to show a little gratitude?"
"I don't thank people like you!" the girl backed away. "You should feel honored that your sin-ridden presence is graced by me."
"Hey!" Luka was now fully angry, and she glared at the girl. "Fine. Suit yourself. If you're so unhappy here, then just go back to the Crypton Tower! Weirdo."
The girl glared back at her before turning around and stomping away into the crowd. Luka stuck her tongue out at her retreating back, immaturely, before sighing and turning around, closing her eyes.
"I help someone and this is what I get," she said to herself, and she headed down the alley to her home - an abandoned house made of wood, small and rotting on the outskirts of the city, about to fall apart, but it was Luka's, and she was comfortable in it. She gently pushed open the door, closing it behind her. It was a single roomed shack, consisting of a bedroll and a table and a chair. Luka flopped down on the bed and stared up at the ceiling, her eyes running over the worn, gray logs, before sighing, deciding to forget all about that strange, rude Crypton girl, and slowly falling asleep.
-o-o-o-
Miku roamed the streets of the town, frowning in disgust at everything around her. The people all smelled so...so...filthy! She could practically see the sin and corruption within them. She had been taught that the people of the Lower World were little more than animals, giving into their base desires, and from Miku could see so far, what she had been taught was correct. Why, just a few hours ago, some dirty, smelly street rat manhandled her as though she was some kind of stupid lowborn! Even going so far as to mock her by giving her an apple. Miku's frown deepened. If only she could go back to the tower, but...
Miku's mind spasmed at the memory and she pushed it away. She looked up at the sky; the sun was slowly setting. Miku would have to find a place to stay soon. At the Tower, nobles such as Miku had the right to sleep in anyone's quarters as they so wished, and so Miku marched into a likely house, a nice and big place, walls of sturdy gray stone, a few windows here and there. The interior of the house was warm and comfortable; there was a fireplace, unlit, and a few books on a few bookshelves (Lowborn people read?), and most important of all, food on a small wooden table. There were small earthenware bowls containing fruits of all kinds, and Miku greedily grabbed some of the berries and stuffed them into her mouth, closing her eyes in bliss as she tasted the sweet juices of the berries, felt them run down her throat. She then munched on the loaf of bread that sat on the very same table, before deciding to wash it all down with a gulp of wine, which was acceptable to drink in small amounts. Miku looked through the bottles of wine on the table before her eyes focused on one vintage. She picked it up and examined the label carefully.
"Elven wine?" Miku said in surprise. Elves made wine? Miku knew little of elves, but she had always assumed that they were a pure race; at least, the ones in the Tower disliked intoxicating substances. Apparently the Lower World corrupts all.
Miku shook her head, uncorked the bottle, and took a carefully measured gulp of the wine, its flavor complex and sweet, the heat rushing down her throat. Miku found that she liked it so much, she reasoned that it wouldn't hurt to sip a little more, so she did and put the bottle back. By now, she was feeling rather sleepy and satisfied, so she marched up the stairs and flopped down on the bed, a large and comfortable one of feathers and a quilted down comforter. She fell asleep soon enough, feeling at peace at last in this corrupt world.
It was unfortunate then that she awoke a few hours later to the sight of a few heavily armed guards staring down at her on the bed, with an outraged man in the background gabbering on about how he returned home to find his wine drunk and his food eaten.
Miku gulped. By the looks of it, this would not end well.
