The boy was startled awake by a rough hand around his arm as he was dragged to his feet. "Oy! What you doin' in here?!" The huge man with a bushy black beard and one fuzzy eyebrow across his low forehead shouted at him.
The little albino just let out a frightened whimper and tried desperately to pull away. But the man's hairy grip was like iron and there was no way he could escape.
"You come from the orphanage, you do." The big man dragged him across what he now realized was a storeroom and into the adjacent shop. "You must be the strange one Mrs. Tweedy's always goin' on about." He shoved the boy harshly onto a stool behind the counter. He tried to get back up but was firmly pushed back into place.
"You stay!" The man stabbed a meaty finger in the boy's face. And was rewarded with a terrified nod. "Good."
The big hairy man beaconed to a young man who wore an apron and was currently sweeping the store. "Oy, Johnny! Run over to Mrs. Tweedy's and tell her I caught one of her little ragamuffins. He watched the clerk leave then glared menacingly down at the tiny boy. "I hear she's got a stiff penalty for runaways."
The boy gulped, his pink eyes growing wide. Mrs. Tweedy did indeed have a special punishment for escapees. She was quite proud of her sparkling record of no successful escapes so anyone who was caught even thinking about escaping was…Well it was something he really didn't want to think about. It made his knees shake.
As he huddled on the little wooden stool a tear slipped down his pale cheek. He would never find a family now.
It wasn't long before the store bell jingled and Johnny came in. The albino peeked over the counter just in time to see the skeleton lady stalk in through the door. She saw him the moment he saw her and she stabbed a sharp bony finger at him. "YOU!"
And he ran!
The Pirate with Gout, as he had so recently be dubbed by his captain because of the newly acquired affliction in his left foot, grumbled down the roughly cobblestoned street. It wasn't really that he disliked the errand the Pirate Captain had sent him on, fetching a bottle of beard gloss. He didn't mind shopping. In fact it was nice to get off the boat on his own every now and then. But it made him feel more piratical to grumble about something now and then. He also fancied that the cane and the limp added a bit to his overall pirateness. In fact he was just considering whistling a sea shanty when a loud commotion somewhere ahead brought him to a stop. It was a rather dreary day and few people were about so the sudden clamor caught him rather by surprise.
"Com'ere you little urchin!" This unholy shriek was accompanied by the bang of a trashcan toppling and the patter of two sets of running feet.
What came skidding around the corner seconds later, screaming at the top of his voice, was either a four foot tall milk bottle or a ghostly pale young boy. Without even a blink of acknowledgment the boy (he figured it was a boy as milk bottles seldom scream) darted toward him and dove under his knee length coat.
He lifted an arm, pulling his coat open to find two wide pink eyes staring up at him. "What in the name of Silver's parrot do ye' think you're doin'?"
"Hiding from the scary skeleton lady." He pointed with one tiny white finger in the direction he had come.
As if on cue a woman came barreling around the corner with a face so full of fury that it even gave the seasoned pirate a pause. The boy's description of her had been surprisingly accurate. She was rail thin with sunken cheeks and in her dark gray dress and severe bun she looked rather like a psychotic undertaker. Her head whipped from side to side clearly searching. Not seeing the boy she lurked threateningly up to the Pirate with Gout. "Where is he?" Her voice was like fingernails on a blackboard and it set the pirate's teeth on edge.
"Um...who?" He did his best to look confused. The little lump under his coat shuddered. If he was going to turn the lad over he was rather curious to find out what exactly was going on.
"The boy, you fool!"
He blinked innocently hoping she wouldn't notice the strange trembling bulge in the back of his coat. "Boy? I've seen a lot of boy's today. Coming out of the woodwork, they are."
"Oh, you would recognize this one. A little goblin, he is. Skin like the full moon and eyes like the devil."
He tapped his chin thoughtfully and mumbled to himself. "Eyes like the devil. Eyes like the devil. Nope ain't seen anyone by that description." 'Ceptmaybe you, you old bat. He thought, but kept it to himself. "If you don't mind my askin', what's he to you?"
"Five pounds."
The Pirate with Gout blinked. "Five pounds?"
"I have a reputation to uphold." She pulled herself up proudly managing to look even thinner. Her voice was dark and threatening. "Nobody, but nobody escapes Tweedy's Orphan Asylum. And if I ever find that little Cretan..."
"Oh, that boy! Why didn't you say so? You should'a been more specific. Sure I seen him." There was a little whimper from beneath his coat and he managed to cover it up with a small cough. "He went that way." The Pirate with Gout pointed down a dark alley to the left.
Without so much as a thank you the woman took off in that direction.
"What about the fiver?" He called after her.
"Go jump in a...Eeeeek!" There was a sudden shriek and a sudden fit of barking. The woman shot out of the alley, the back half of her skirt missing and two bull mastiffs charging at her heels.
The Pirate with Gout chuckled quietly to himself as he watched her tear down the street. With those long legs she'd outrun them eventually. "Alright, lad. She's gone."
The boy peeked his head out from under the pirate's coat, his pink eyes scanning the street. When he was certain the woman was out of sight he threw both arms around the rotund pirate. "Thank you!"
"Now, now. None of that!" He pried the child off of him and glanced around to make sure no one had seen. Now that the boy wasn't sprinting down the street or hiding under his coat the pirate managed to get a good look at him. First of all he was tiny, the runt of the litter Gout thought, and he barely reached the pirate's chest. His clothes were patched and torn, his jacket and snow white skin were smeared with dirt. That was, of course quite expected of an orphan from these parts. What was a little unusual however was his open and eager face. The boy was in a bit of a bad spot and clearly had been for some time. But it certainly didn't show in his expression. "Off with you, now." He made a little shooing motion but the boy didn't leave. He rolled his eyes, like all urchins the boy probably wanted a handout. "Alright, what do you want?"
"I'm looking or a family." He said, his eyes wide and hopeful. "You haven't seen an extra one lying about, have you?"
The question caught him completely by surprise. "Er...no."
The boy's head dropped a little, clearly disappointed. "Oh. Okay." With that he wandered off down the street looking behind stacks of crates and into rain barrels as he went, as if those were likely places to find what he sought.
The Pirate couldn't help but wonder what would happen to the little bloke. He'd probably end up in a workhouse, caught at the next witch-hunt or worse get recruited for the next urchin-throwing contest.
"Oy!" He beckoned with his free hand and the boy quickly came scurrying back all smiles. "Come to think of it..." He smiled gently and placed a hand on the little albino's shoulder. "I just might know of a spare family you can take a look at."