Rules of the street

Chapter 2 - Make allies. You need them.

Rule 6: Make allies. You need them.

I woke up with a start, the sun blinding me. As I stood up, my memories from the day before came pounding into my brain, one after the other. The parade, the alley, this street... and Dabi's words.

"She got out."

For the first time in years, I felt happy. She got out. My work had paid off, if not the way I had intended. I glanced at the hand bracing me on the wall, studying the mark under the new cuts and old scars that had sealed my fate.

A soul mark.

I looked at my other hand and contemplated the fact that the two princes were my soulmates. It was common knowledge that the princes were soulmates to each other, so what was going on? Why was I now bonded to both of them? I glanced at my hand again. Those cuts... they were fresh. One of the larger ones came dangerously close to the tendons that gave the wrist the ability to move. He had tried to...

My stomach forcefully shook me from my thoughts by reminding me that it had been empty since the day before. Rule 1 of the street; count your money. I patted myself down, checking for any valuables I could trade for gold. I was left disappointed. I found nothing, not even my knife. I realised with a groan that I had left it at the parade in my rush to get away. I took off my cloak, thinking.

The cloak itself was probably worth a few gold, and the symbol sewn on the inside was definitely worth something. The button wasn't bad either, a plain bone circle, well treated and in good condition. I ripped it off, knowing I would get a good price from somewhere. I took a deep breath and began moving.

It didn't take me long to find a bustling market, with stalls of every kind. I walked around scouting the area and the stall owners. I found a dirty shopkeeper to sell the cloak, and a tailor to sell the button. I stared at my small pouch of coin. It wasn't enough to last the week. I sighed, and brought some food, finding a small side street to sit and eat at. After satisfying my hunger it was time to satisfy my curiosity. I walked about aimlessly, trying to find the palace or Main Street to find my bearings. Let me tell you, I found the former much faster than the latter. The castle towered over everything. It was the closest I'd ever been to it, and I was just starting to comprehend its massive size. I found the Main Street after a while and tried to find my knife, hoping no one had stolen it. However, after hours of searching, that seemed to be the most likely answer. Giving up, I headed back to the road I woke up on, settling down for an uncomfortable night.

The days were a blurry mess of hunger, pain and growing despair. Before I knew it, it had been three days since my life had turned upside-down. My groan echoed through the narrow street as I pushed myself up and counted my money. I sighed. Looked like I wasn't getting food today. I walked to the market anyways, just for something to do. Time passed, and I felt myself being drawn to the very edge of the market, a place I tended to avoid, as the likelihood of getting robbed was greater here.

I kept my head down, trying not to look at all the food the vendors were selling. Shopkeepers who I knew for a fact were dirty were dealing with fairly respectable clients, buttering them up to suck their gold from their hands. The noise of the market filled my ears, vendors yelling, people sitting on rugs with tarot cards whispering their lies into eager ears.

"HEY!"

My head snapped up, and fearing the worst I prepared myself to run. I didn't get the chance, as a body crashed into mine. We both hit the floor, and I cried out as my already broken body sustained more damage. I scampered up as quickly as I could, distancing myself from the situation. Rule 3; Never get caught up with things that didn't concern you. The man who'd run into me was still on the ground, desperately picking up fallen coins.