The Market District, The Lower Ring~

Kiln yawned widely and rubbed his eyes as he dragged the dirty straw broom to quickly sweep the storefront, which his mother insisted upon even though the weather was terrible outside. It was pouring rain outside as if the heavens wished to flood the earth and Kiln grumbled that the rain was doing all the work for him, therefore there was no need for him to get wet in vain.

As he lifted the straw mat to quickly sweep under it he noticed a young girl sitting in the middle of the street, crouched and unmoving.

"Hey, you shouldn't sit there! It's too cold out. You should go home!" he shouted at the girl but she didn't move.

Kiln sighed as he lifted his jacket to cover his head and ran over to her side, mud splashing onto his clean cotton trousers, and his straw slippers sank into the earth as he approached the girl.

"Hey…are you okay?" he poked the girl.

She abruptly looked up at him silently and looked at him with a sad blank stare. Then without any words she resumed her former position and hung her head as the rain continued to beat down on them.

He was surprised and couldn't think of what to say. Though she was caked with mud and emaciated from malnutrition, the girl was astoundingly pretty. He was confused at her silence and disturbed by her black stare but he was more curious at the fact that such a pretty girl was sitting in the middle of the street as if she were abandoned.

"Do you have no place to go? Are you waiting for someone?" he persisted as he blinked away the rain that was falling into his eyes, "Where is your home?"

"Home?" she muttered then she looked confused and she sank her head once more.

Kiln bit his lip in contemplation and was about to return back into the shop. Such people like the girl, who seemed lost and confused, were not uncommon here in the lower ring, especially since there were so many refugees these days who were pouring into the city walls. He was about to escape the rain when he turned back to look at the girl.

"Hey, do you want some warm soup?" he kindly asked and offered a hand.

The girl looked up at him once more and he was struck by her jade green eyes. They were the most coveted shade and were lovely except that there was a bare haunted look behind them. He smiled more kindly and extended his hand in sympathy.

"Come on…you'll catch a cold," he insisted and after a long moment of silence except the pitter patter of the endless downpour she reluctantly accepted his invitation and followed him into the soup kitchen his mother owned.

"Kiln, goodness gracious, what were you doing, running about in the rain…Kiln, not again," his mother groaned when she saw the girl next to him.

"Mother…she was just sitting there…I think she's lost. She doesn't speak much but just until the rain stops pouring at least. Please, Mother," he begged.

"Oh fine, let's quickly eat, I'm famished from today's work," his mother kindly nodded.

They all sat and sipped on the warm soup listening to the pouring rain when Kiln's mother took a good look at the girl for the first time. She was surprised to see the girl's extraordinarily pretty face and was unnerved by the frightened look in the girl's lovely eyes.

"Who are you child?" Kiln's mother kindly asked.

"I'm…I…I don't know…" the girl attempted but she shook her head in confusion and burst into tears.

"Oh, it's alright, child! Don't cry. We'll help you…you can stay right here while you do…" Kiln's mother gathered the thin girl in her arms and embraced her worriedly.

Kiln smiled at the kindness of his mother and was immensely glad that the girl was to stay with them. He didn't know anything about the poor girl but his kindred spirit was already attached to her.

Teris, as they called her, was treated like a surrogate daughter and Kiln's mother cared for her deeply.

"Kiln, look at Teris in her new gown. Isn't she a sight to behold?" Kiln's mother clapped her hands as she gazed at the girl, a vision in a jade silk gown.

Kiln dropped the tray he held and walked over to the two women and smiled. He clapped his hands in pleasure for Teris looked like a princess with her hair smoothly pinned back and garbed in the gown that replicated the exact shade of her eyes.

"Mrs. Jin, you didn't need to get such and extravagant dress for me. You should have gotten something to help your arthritis…" the girl smiled in embarrassment.

"Child, you needn't worry about me. It pleases me much more seeing you in such a lovely dress. Kiln was right with choosing the color. They are the exact shade of your beautiful eyes. How am I ever going to keep the male customers from carrying you away?" she laughed as she patted Teris's cheek.

At the mention of Kiln, Teris had turned to look at him standing sheepishly and looking embarrassed as he stared at his straw shoes. She sighed as she saw the patch riddled cotton outfit he himself was wearing and she hung her head in sadness.

As Kiln carried soup that had been ordered to be delivered in the yellow district, he was surprised by someone helping carry the weight of the tray. Teris smiled broadly as she pushed him in jest.

"Why didn't you get yourself some new clothes or boots for a change? Seriously, you shirt has more patches than what was there originally. You think of others too much…" she spoke upset at the great sacrifices he had made for her.

"I'd much rather see you dressed in such finery than anything else," he spoke with his head hung down.

"Silly," she tugged his long ponytail, "You should have thought of your mother first!"

"I did! But she insisted that this was better too," his voice drifted off into a whisper and he smiled.

Teris shook her head and smiled as she continued to walk with him. Kiln was so immensely happy with everything, he wondered if anyone else in the entire city was as content as he was.