Prologue
...
The girl inched closer as the shopkeeper continued to haggle with a customer.
Little by little, she shuffled closer to where the bread was, keeping him in the corner of her eye.
The shopkeeper was still talking.
She held out a hand, close enough to grab the nearest loaf. It was warm and smelt so very inviting. The girl's mouth watered.
The talking stopped.
She turned around to see the shopkeeper rush towards her.
Grabbing the bread, she ran out into the cold streets of Gusteko. Thundering footsteps caught up with her as she ducked and weaved through alleyways. Despite her smaller size and faster speed, she was tired and hungry. A hand almost twice as large her own clamped onto her wrist, dragging the girl back and spinning her around. The man grunted when she kicked him in the shin but did not let go. A hand whipped across her face, a single hammer blow across her face that sent her crashing against a wall. She whimpered in pain as the man pinned her to the ground.
"Well, looks like the little bitch is prettier than I expected."
The man leaned close, ripping off her rags. She could feel his sour breath blow over her swelling face.
The cold hit painfully, digging through her skin and wrapping around the bones. An attempt to bite the hand caressing her earned a fist to the gut. The twinkle of metal as the man fumbled with his belt.
"What are you doing?" The voice was soft, yet seemed all the more intimidating.
The man turned around.
"Fuck off kid. The whore's a thief, so it's my duty to teach her a lesson."
"I see." The voice held a sense of finality, the falling blow of an executioner's axe.
A rush of brown and red, and the man roared in agony as a burst of red flowed from his thigh. Some of the blood fell onto her bare chest. It felt warm. The shopkeeper crashed to the ground, cursing as he tried to stop himself from bleeding out.
A hand dragged her up. The red-haired boy stripped off his own cloak and wrapped it around her.
"...You saved me." Elsa Granhiert muttered.
Steely eyes softened slightly, and the boy let out a pained smile.
"Saved you? That's good then."