Prompt #16: Purple
Nancy, Oliver Twist
She remembered the days when she was one of those ragged children, when her hands were purple with cold and the beast gnawed in her stomach. And then she remembered Bill, a rough, vibrant boy with a masterful way about him who decided she was worth taking in hand. How splendid her Bill was in those days! Like the Artful Dodger, only better, a swaggerer, a boaster, and one who could make his boasts come true. There was still a lingering of that remembered splendor on him that made her stay after he hit her and come back every night.