I'm back! Hope you enjoy this oneshot :)
A tanned boy, dressed in dark red, slips his hand into strangers pockets, surfacing with jewelry, food and other goods. He knows which people to steal from and when. He knows the exact angle to slip his hand in someone's pocket so they don't notice. He knows how to charm people, looking into their eyes as he empties their pockets.
That boy is Jay, son of Jafar. He is ten years old, tall for his age and strong too, with muscles to rival most of the teenagers at Dragon Hall.
However, his dark brown hair is messy and unkept and his darker eyes are holding back tears. Because Jay has been thrown out by his father again, into the gloomy and dangerous streets of the Isle.
Though the main reason for his tears is the fresh wounds on his back after Jafar has whipped him.
He checks his pockets, anxiously seeing if he's stolen enough. He has stolen the amount that most people on the Isle would steal in a week, but he knows it's not enough. It's never enough. He is tired, so tired that his eyes are threatening to close as he walks along the streets. He is so tired that he doesn't realize that he is in fact walking to Hell Hall for no reason.
"MIDNIGHT! MIDNIGHT O CLOOOOOCK!" It's the Midnight Man, a shady looking guy that calls out when it's midnight to alert the residents of the Isle.
The Midnight Man's shouting jerks Jay out of his sleepiness and he looks around, confused. He stumbles to a wooden box and lies down on it, shivering in the icy rain.
Then he remembers not to sleep out in the open where someone could kill him. He is just about to get up when a shadow, shorter than him, streaks across the alley in front of his face. He squints. It's Melanie De Vil. The nine year old is practising throwing knives while running, her too big fur jacket hanging off her with the extra weight of more knives tucked deep into it. She waves to Jay and disappears into the night.
He gets up and wonders where to sleep. As he is thinking, another person appears in front of him out of the shadows. It's Rose, daughter of Queen of Hearts, gangless but dangerous. She smirks at Jay, confident for a ten year old on their own in the Isle.
"Hey." she drawls. "Jay, right?"
"Yeah," he answers. "You're...Lily?"
"Rose. "
"What are you doing out here, it's the middle of the night." Jay answers, scanning her for anything he can steal. He spots a gold ring with a red heart shaped gem on her finger.
"My mom's having a temper tantrum again, so I decided to leg it out of there and just wander round."
Jay moves closer to her. "You know, it's pretty dangerous out here."
Rose frowns. "You're on your own."
"Yeah, well...I was just heading to...Hell Hall." Jay makes it up on the spot since he is near the insane villain's house.
"Why Hell Hall? It's only Cruella De Vil and her useless son there."
"Her son?" Jay asks, having vaguely heard that Cruella has a kid.
"Yeah, Carlos. He's like seven or eight I think."
Jay smiles. Another kid to torment and force to do his bidding. "Well, see ya around," he says, waving to her and walking off towards Hell Hall, his hands in his jewellery stuffed pockets.
"Bye," Rose says, and goes off down a shady alley. As soon as she leaves, Jay curses angrily. He's forgotten to steal her ring.
He reaches Hell Hall and walks up to the crumbling door confidently, and is about to kick it open when he hears a shrill voice. "You worthless, good for nothing puppy!" He hears a crashing sound and gulps. The screeching subsides and silence returns. Come on, just go in, he says, hyping himself up, and pretending he isn't scared.
He walks into the dark manor and wanders round, swiping a vase with a crack in it. He can't find the De Vil kid anywhere, and he's about to give up when he hears a whimpering sound coming from upstairs.
Curiously he walks up the stairs, avoiding the missing ones, and reaches a small door. He opens the door and two huge brown eyes peer at him through the darkness.
Jay walks into the room, and grabs a match from his pocket, lighting it on the empty packet. He holds it up to the small boy's face.
"Are you Carlos?" Jay asked curiously. This kid is tiny, he thinks. He looks about five.
Carlos nods silently. Jay takes in his freckles, his messy black and white hair, his skinny frame, and then he gasps. The small boy is covered in cuts and bruises, some small, some more severe, and others half healed.
"Who did this to you?" Jay asks, suddenly feeling not too keen on tormenting the eight year old.
Carlos avoids Jay's eyes, instead looking at the floor. "My mom," he answers quietly. A stone sinks in Jay's stomach. His father abuses him, he's heard of it happening to other kids, but right now the sight of tiny Carlos looking so beaten up evokes some kind of a feeling in him which he can't identify.
"I'm Jay," he tells the younger boy, who looks up at him with his dark eyes. He offers Carlos a smile, a real one, not the usual I-just-robbed-you-blind smirk. Carlos just looks at him, getting used to the fact that Jay doesn't look like he'll hurt him.
"You're scary," Carlos tells Jay, who laughs.
"Yeah, I know," he says. "But I won't hurt you."
"Ok." Carlos answers and stands up next to the older boy. His white curls only reach to Jay's shoulder.
"Are you all alone? Without a gang?" Jay asks Carlos. No way can that kid survive on his own, he thought.
"Well, I have no brothers or sisters, and no one wants me in their gang," Carlos answers shyly.
Jay puts his arm around him protectively. "How about I can be your brother, and...I can see about the gang thing."
Carlos looks at the thief hopefully. "Really?" he asks, grinning.
"Really." Jay answers firmly.
Yay hope you liked this oneshot! Please leave a review and tell me what you thought! Unicornyay out! xxx