¹Royal Cries, p. jackson

001.

ROYAL CRIES
━━ chapter one

━━ WHAT WAS ELISA'S PLAN? She didn't really have one. Her best guess at one? Get to a big city, a city where she'll try and blend in. Maybe try and change her appearance enough so that she won't look like all the missing posters that were following her wherever she went.

Although, all Elisa could change about her appearance was her hair color ( she had to steal the blue box dye to even do that ), and cut some really ugly bangs ( she had to steal those pair of scissors, too ). She doesn't know how much that will help her blend in, but it's too late to change it now.

The city she was aiming for right now was Albuquerque, New Mexico. Elisa just needed to get out of Colorado. She knew that the empousa wasn't going to lie about making Elisa's life hell, she already has.

But Elisa thought, that the bigger the city, the more people to blend in with. She doesn't know how she's going to make any money, she's twelve, turning thirteen soon. What could a twelve-year-old do to make any sort of money? She'll probably have to beg some non-chain restaurant to hire her to be a janitor. And that's hoping they even hire her, and that's her hoping they haven't seen the missing posters for twelve-year-old Elisa Bardales yet.

Safe to say, it'll be a miracle if she survives, especially without that empousa on her tail the whole time.

So far, it's been eight restaurants to reject her with no hesitation. But Elisa tried to tell herself with how many restaurants there had to be in Albuquerque, it could be more. Elisa still felt terrible, and the whole world was against her.

She pushed a glass door open, walking into a bakery built with red bricks. The shop's windows were covered with colorful posters, advertisements, some deals offered, and such.

A kind man met Elisa inside. He had dark brown hair that was cut close to his scalp, dark skin, dark eyes, and a sweet smile that could melt anyone's heart. But he only looked to be in his early twenties, somehow dressed like he had a million bucks just lying around. He didn't look like he tried any at his appearance, but he still was probably the shiniest, most eye-catching thing in the bakery.

"You look young to be here by yourself," he noticed.

"Yeah," Elisa glossed over his words. "Look, my family really needs money—"

"I know who you are, kid."

"Mierda," the girl cursed under her breath. "You're not gonna turn me in, are you? I've already been in foster care before, and—"

               "I've been in your situation before, Elisa." The owner ripped a missing poster off one of the walls, it was a missing poster for Elisa. "'Miss Bardales's building was burned down, with everyone inside found dead, along with her mother, Liliana Bardales, and her friend, Silas Flowers,'" he read off the paper. "I don't believe a twelve-year-old is going to burn down an apartment building where she used to live."

"What do you mean you've been in my situation before?" Elisa asked, ignoring everything the man said.

"Because I've been attacked by a monster before, when I was around your age, too. And I know Mist Manipulation well enough to spot it."

Elisa's hands started to shake. She didn't know if it was out of fear, or in anticipation of running away. She pinched her eyebrows together. "Monster?" she repeated. "Like, a bad guy, like a criminal—?"