Run… Run… She had to run! She dodged and weaved through all of the people on the streets of Alicendria, most of which were left bewildered. It didn’t matter too much, she just had to get out of there!

“STOP, THIEF!!” she could hear her pursuer shout behind her, coming ever closer. Clutching the apple she had taken tightly, she just picked up the pace again. She had to get away! If he got to her, then…

Rounding a corner, she hoped to lose him somehow but instead she found herself bumping into someone, causing her to lose her footing and fall down.

“Oh my,” the woman said, who had to stumble back a little bit.

Looking up, the girl locked eyes with the woman for a moment, who looked quite bewildered. However, it wasn’t long before she noticed the apple tightly clutched in the girl’s hands.

“STOP THE THIEF!” the man shouted behind her again, shaking the girl out of her momentary stupor. There was no way she could outrun him for much longer. She had to hide! Luckily, there seemed to be a wooden crate in an alleyway just behind the woman. Thinking quickly, the girl jumped up again, dodged around the confused woman and jumped behind the crate, hoping against all odds that the man would run around without spotting her.

“Wait! Not a second time, please!” The girl could hear the woman from before shouting a few moments later.

“Scuze me, ma’am...” the man grunted. It seemed that he had almost bumped into the woman as well. “Have you seen a little girl with an apple?!”

“Ah, if you are referring to the little goat that rammed into me, then yes, I have,” the woman replied.

The man then made a sound that could only be described as a roar. “That little brat…” he muttered. “Where did she go?”

Curiously, the woman did not answer right away. “If I may ask, what did this girl do to you?” she asked instead.

“She stole one of my apples!” the man yelled.

“Ah… and how much are these apples of yours exactly?” the woman asked.

“Wha-... huh? They’re… 20 copper a piece?” the man asked, quite bewildered. What in the world was going on back there?

“Oh, is that all? Well then…here,” the woman said, followed by silence. The girl now really got curious about what was going on back there. Sneakily, she tried peeking from around the crate.

“Uh… but…” the man said, flabbergasted as he was given 20 copper pieces. He eyed the coins for a moment and looked quizzically at the woman.

“I believe this means that the apple is now paid for, is it not?” the woman said.

The man grunted to himself, clenched his fist around the copper pieces and then turned around. “Thank you, milady,” he muttered under his breath.

As the man vanished from view, the woman stayed behind for a few seconds before finally entering the alleyway that the girl had hidden in. “It is alright now, little one. He is gone,” she said softly.

The girl was still far too scared to come back out… but the woman had helped her. She had paid for her new apple. Did that mean that she could be trusted? No… Persia, the eldest urchin that acted almost like a leader, always warned against the sly tricks that nobles use and judging from the woman’s attire, she must have been rich for sure. But… for now… the danger was gone. Carefully, she crawled out of her hiding space and looked up at the woman.

“Are you alright? That man must have given you quite the scare,” the woman said with a chuckle as she knelt down in front of the girl.

The girl clutched her apple tightly and inspected the woman, still quite suspicious of her.

The woman then reached forward with her hand, causing the girl to back off in fear, only for the woman to place her hand on the girl’s head softly. “You take care now. Eat your fill,” she said. She then stood up and walked off again, leaving the girl all alone.

For a moment, the girl didn’t know what to do. She just stood there, watching this noblewoman rounding the corner. Looking down at her apple, she began thinking. This apple was hers now. She’d never truly owned anything. Perhaps… what if…

Taking a deep breath in, the girl took a bite out of her apple, savoured its sweet taste, and then ran up to the corner to see where this strange noblewoman was going.

After several minutes of following her, the girl eventually found herself in the richer part of town. She never really came here. Persia had warned her and the other street urchins time and time again that you do not go into the nicer part of town. The guards were far more vigilant and stern in those sections and if you got caught, the punishment could get even worse. Luckily for her though, the lady seemed to be taking a route with relatively few guards.

It appeared that the girl hadn’t been spotted yet. She had fully eaten her apple as she was following this woman. She didn’t really know why she was following her. Perhaps a part of her wanted to be fed again? Perhaps it was because this woman had been the only person to be kind to her? Regardless, the girl’s mind told her to follow this lady.

Eventually, the lady walked up to one of the mansions and opened its front door. This must have been where she was living. Looking around herself, the girl made sure that no guard was nearby before making a mad dash towards the stone fencing in front of the manor where she hid from view… and then what? What was she going to do? Just wait here?

“Are you going to come in or what?” came the sudden voice of the lady.

The girl went beet red. How had she been spotted?! She had been so careful not to get spotted! It was as if grown-ups truly had eyes in the back of their heads… Defeated, she stood up and appeared before the lady, who had a modest grin on her face.

“What is your name, little one?” she asked.

The girl looked down at her feet. “... Sandylocks…” she whispered softly. Well, it wasn’t a real name. It was just a name the other urchins called her by. When sleeping, she would usually just gather a bunch of sand together and use it as a pillow. Every morning, she’d thus wake up with a lot of sand in her hair, earning her the name. Persia was especially fond of teasing her with it.

“Hmm, I see, I see,” the woman said solemnly. She then stepped out of the way and pointed at her open door. “Come on in then.”

Sandylocks was suspicious at first. This could be a trap set up by the guards! But… this woman looked so kind. Maybe she could be trusted after all… Carefully, she stepped forwards and when she was sure that the woman wasn’t going to do anything, she actually dashed inside.

Behind her, the woman chuckled as she entered, closing the door behind her. “I can imagine you are still quite hungry then,” she said.

Sandylocks looked up at her. She had just eaten an apple which kept her going for now but more food was always welcome… She nodded slowly at first but sped up quickly.

The woman gave another chuckle. “Rashida dear?” she called out.

From one of the many rooms leaving the entrance hall appeared another woman. She was dressed pretty fancily as well, though not nearly as fancy as the lady. “Yes, milady?” this new person apparently called Rashida said.

“We have a guest. Please, prepare her a meal,” the woman said.

Rashida only now noticed the girl and was shocked at first but quickly schooled her face as she curtsied. “Certainly, milady,” she said before proceeding to vanish into a side room.

The lady knelt down in front of the girl again. “How long have you been out there?” she asked softly.

Sandylocks blushed. She felt quite bad. She had been living off the street for as long as she could remember, stealing whatever she could get her hands on just to eat and drink. She knew it was bad, for people would always get angry with her and chase her down whenever she did steal. She felt quite ashamed of her actions… But then again, she had to eat.

“Please, don’t feel bad, dear. I’m merely asking you a question,” the lady said with an almost motherly smile. Nobody had ever smiled at the girl like this before…

Sandylocks began thinking. She had never really known a life other than on the streets. So she just shrugged and held up her hands.

“Hmm, I see,” the lady nodded, looking a little saddened before putting on her smile again. “My name is Orketra. You are safe here, little one,” she added.

Safe… was she really? Was nobody going to come chasing her? Was she truly allowed to just… be here without making people angry? Quietly, the girl walked forwards and gave Orketra a hug, surprising the lady for a moment but she soon returned the favour.

Maybe life was finally starting to look up for the girl.