A World Among Thieves: A Humble Beginning

Chapter 13

I'm walking through the market place, trying to get something for dinner. With both Nick and I unable to find work, our savings are getting pretty low. Nick has been living with me for a few weeks and all of the gold that he got for his house, is almost completely gone. 

"Why is everything so expensive here...?" I mutter to myself, completely agitated.

I start looking through the bakery. I figured if we can't afford an actual meal, we can at least eat bread until we figure out what to do. As I'm examining a loaf of bread, trying to see if it's good, a hand snatches it from me. I turn around angrily, but it quickly disappears as I realize who did it. 

"Nathan! What are you doing here?" I ask, hugging him tightly.

Nathan and I have been friends since I moved into my house. He's been trying to help me find a job but...it hasn't been working. He lives two houses down from mine.

"Nothing much, I just saw you walking in here and figured I'd say hello," he says, smirking.

Nathan is a year older than me and a bit taller than me too.

"Well can you hand me back the bread? That's going to be our dinner tonight," I say, holding my hand out.

"Wait...you mean...this is all you'll be eating?" he asks, worry flooding his voice.

I sigh and look up into his eyes.

"Yes. Yes, it is...all of the money Nick had gotten from selling his house is pretty much gone," I say sadly.

"Well, we can't have that!"

Nathan walks over to the store clerk, buys three loaves of bread, then sets them in my arms.

"Come on. I'm getting you some actual food," he says sternly, leading me through the marketplace.

I just sigh and allow him to lead me. I know that there's no point in arguing with him since he's just going to do it anyway. He ends up buying five pounds of deer meat, some produce, and even some pastries. As he helps me carry all of the stuff back to my house he turns to me.

"Why did you even let him move in with you?" he asks.

"What was I supposed to do? Let him be homeless?" I retort.

"But...didn't you two get into a big fight? I mean, as funny as it was watching you slaughter twenty humungous spiders in the forest to blow off steam, I was worried about you. Next time, you could get yourself killed! Plus...the look in your eyes while you were doing it...that's not a look I ever want to see in your eyes again..." he says, looking over at me with concern evident in his eyes.

"As mad as I was...I couldn't just let him be homeless. I still care about him and...frankly I would do anything for him," I say, looking down.

Nathan sighs, "I just want you to be happy. I may be an asshole, but I care about you. A lot. I trust your judgment but if something happens, I want you to tell me. No matter what."

"I promise, Nathan. Thank you," I say, smiling slightly.

Nathan smiles and we walk up onto my front porch. I carefully open the door, trying not to drop everything I'm carrying. We both walk inside and into the kitchen. We set everything down on the counter and I turn to face Nathan. Before I have a chance to say anything, he pulls me into a tight hug. I'm shocked for a few moments before returning it. We stay like that for a while until we hear someone clear their throat. We pull away and I see Nick standing in the doorway.

"Where'd you get all that food?" Nick asks, crossing his arms over his chest.

"Uh...Nathan knew we were struggling with not having much of anything to eat, so he bought us food!" I exclaim, unconsciously moving closer to Nathan.

Nick doesn't say anything. He just nods and goes back up to his room. Nathan turns to me and gently moves my hair away from my face. 

"Be careful, Allison," he whispers.

"I will," I whisper, nodding slightly.

Nathan slips something into my hand and walks out of the front door. I look in my left hand and see a neatly folded piece of paper. I unfold it and begin reading.

'Allison,

I was wondering if you'd want to go out to dinner with me tomorrow night? If you want to, meet me at my place around seven. I'll hopefully see you then!

-Nathan'

I think for a moment then smile. I'm going to go out on a date with Nathan! I race up to my room and start going through my closet. I don't have very many... 'normal' people clothes since I mainly wear traveler's clothes. I pick out a light blue top, black pants, and my riding boots. I set my clothes on the chair near my bed and go back downstairs. I sit on the couch and continue reading my book. A few minutes later, Nick comes back downstairs and looks in the kitchen.

"Do you want me to put all of this stuff away?" he asks.

"Uh...yeah, sure! If you don't mind," I reply, continuing to read my book.

After a few minutes of hearing things shuffle around, Nick comes into the living room and sits on the couch next to me.

"How did the job search go today?" I ask.

"Well, I applied for a position with the guards and they said they'll think about it. You?"

I sigh, "No luck. I may just have to go and ask the mayor to help me out. As much as I don't want to..."

I close my book and set it on the table, "Are you okay?"

Nick nods.

"I just don't like that guy. What's his name...Nathan," he says.

"Well, he's not so fond of you too," I say, chuckling softly.

"I heard you running up the stairs earlier. What's up?"

"Oh...Nathan wants to take me out to dinner tomorrow night," I respond bluntly.

"Are you going to go?"

"Yeah, I am. I mean, it's just a date. Nothing serious."

"I hope you have fun," he says, growling softly.

Nick stands up and goes upstairs to his room. I sigh and cover my face with my hands. 

"Goddamn it..." I mutter. 

I stand up and put my book back on the bookcase. I go into the kitchen and begin cooking dinner. As I cook, my hand grazes the hot stove and I yelp in pain. Suddenly, memories of that...horrible night when I was ten come flooding back. The fire, the burns, the screams, even the smell. I don't even realize that I've started sobbing until I feel two arms wrap themselves around me. I continue crying into Nick's chest as he gently rubs my back. Once I've finally calmed down, he takes the food off the stove and sits me on the couch. He goes into the closet and grabs the big fluffy blanket. He wraps it around me and goes back into the kitchen. A few minutes later he comes back with a cup of chamomile tea and hands it to me. He rubs my back as I slowly drink the tea. Nothing is said, we just sit there appreciating each other's company. After I finish the tea, I set the cup on the table and rest my head on Nick's shoulder. I slowly feel myself relax until I eventually fall asleep.