"It's true!"

"Yeah, right."

"It is!"

"You're such a liar."

"Am not! You take that back."

"Make me."

"Okay. I will!"

None of the people passing the rotting alley even gave the two young boys a second glance. Adults hurrying about their day, going to work, or running errands, all preferring to ignore the signs of decay slowly encroaching on their city. Who had time to be concerned about a couple of urchins fighting in the dark? Not even the other kids in the alley showed any signs of wanting to break up the fight. Most had tuned the boys out long ago, trying to sleep while it was day time and still safe to do so. Others watched with varying degrees of interest. This was the most entertaining thing to happen, or probably would happen, in weeks.

Fights like this would break out from time to time. It was considered best to let them tire themselves out, or wait until someone was injured enough to call 'Uncle.' Of course, if the fight became too rowdy an officer might show up, and everyone in the alley would be in trouble then. When it came to this it was every man for himself, and usually resulted in the ones who'd been too busy fighting to notice ending up spending the night in the jail house. If they were lucky. Unlucky ones ended up getting shipped to the nightmare of an orphanage on the far side of the city.

That had always been the world order for those forgotten children of the streets. Every now and then, however, a new order was bound to spring up.

"Stop it!"

A new voice was added to the fight, one that made all the kids pay attention. Surprised, the boys even paused long enough to be pulled apart. They didn't look any worse than before, their clothes and general appearance being too torn and dirty for one little fight to make much of a difference. The girl who pulled them apart didn't look any better, her sad excuse for a dress tattered and fraying and her black hair in dire need of a brushing, but she held herself with confidence no twelve year old living in an alley should have.

Isabella, or, more typically, Izzy. She'd shown up just weeks before, with nothing but her first name and a small ring on a chain around her neck. Not even a memory to give her an identity, but that wasn't unusual, what with all the stars blinking out. What was unusual was the fact the Izzy wasn't obsessing about what she couldn't remember, like other kids. It didn't seem to bother her. When she realized she couldn't remember where she'd come from, she just shrugged and focused on what was really important: Getting something to eat that day.

"How is fighting going to help any of us?"

The two boys, Kyo, eight, and Alec, eleven, stared at Izzy, like they couldn't quite understand what was happening. No kid had broken up a fight before. Kyo recovered first.

"Alec started it!"

"Nu-uh! You called me a liar."

"That's cause you are."

"No I'm not!"

"Enough!" Izzy crossed her arms, glaring at the two boys. Getting an angry look from eyes that shade of violet tended to shut people up. "Most of us haven't eaten in days, Owen and Maya still don't have a place to sleep, and Kitty's just getting sicker. Why are you two wasting time fighting?" This was one of the most unusual things Izzy had done so far. She not only knew the other kids' names and problems, but she cared.

"Kyo called me a liar," Alec said, timidly. Kyo opened his mouth to respond, but Izzy cut him off, looking at Alec.

"And are you?"

"No, of course not!"

"Then why do you have to fight Kyo just to prove it?"

"Well, he," Alec looked stumped for a moment. "He insulted my dad, too."

"You don't have a dad," Kyo sneered. "None of us do."

"Kyo, shut up." Izzy looked very fed up with this fight continually going in circles. "Alec, explain."

Alec stood up, dusting himself off, which didn't do much, but helped him gather his dignity. He cleared his throat and launched into his story. "My dad was a great knight. The best in all the land. He fought of evil monsters that tried to attack the city and rescued fiar maidens, like my mom. He trained many of the king's best guards, and was teaching me how to be a knight, too. On my next birthday, I would have been on official squire."

Izzy had been covering Kyo's mouth with her hand to prevent further interruptions while she listened. The moment she removed her hand and began to thoughtfully play with the ring on the chain she wore, Kyo went back to objecting. "You have to be lying. If you were telling the truth you wouldn't be here right now. You'd be living in one of those big houses near the castle with your dad."

The older boy was ready to throw himself into a fight again, but another voice joined the conversation. A quiet, sweet voice, timid, like a mouse, but smart and knowledgeable in what it was saying. "Alec isn't lying." All heads turned to one of the upside down crates where an older girl sat.

Eliza. She was very pretty, even though she was covered in street grime, blonde with big, sweet blue eyes. Like Izzy, she cared about others, but in a kinder, less aggressive way. Normally, she sat reading whatever she could get her hands on. Or, more accurately, whatever her friend, Celino, could get his hand on for her. It was an accepted fact that Eliza was the smartest girl any kid could find.

"At least, he's probably not lying." She looked uncomfortable with all the attention suddenly on her, but Izzy spoke up before Eliza could hide in her book again.

"What do you mean, Eliza?"

Though she was two years older, Eliza couldn't help but answer when Izzy asked her a question. "This world wasn't always ruled by King Alfred."

"Who's King Alfred?" one of the younger kids asked. Anita, Izzy noticed, age five.

"He's the person in charge right now," Eliza answered. "Celino, will you grab that red book you got me last week?" Celino, a brown haired boy a year older than Eliza, grabbed the book she'd asked for right away. "Thanks." Eliza flipped through the pages, holding up the book for all the kids to see, showing a picture of a hawk faced man in royal robes. "This is King Alfred. But, before him," she turned a few pages back, now showing a picture of a rather jolly looking fellow on a throne, "King Morgan II ruled." Eliza closed the book, setting it on her lap. "That's why Alec is here now. When King Alfred led his hostile take over four years ago, he had King Morgan and all his knights…" She trailed off, looking at Alec with sympathy.

"They were all executed," Celino finished for her, knowing Eliza was too sweet to say it. Alec's eyes were wide and Kyo no longer looked like he wanted to argue. Izzy watched while Alec turned, clearly trying to push away unpleasant memories, on the verge of tears.

"Well," Izzy said, walking over and grabbing two busted broom handles from the pile, "there's only one way to find out whether he's really telling the truth." Confused, Alec turned, catching the broom handle Izzy tossed to him. "Show me some of those moves your dad taught you."

Wiping his eyes with the sleeve of his shirt, Alec nodded. "First, and most importantly, you have to hold the sword right…"