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Written: Feb 11, 2024
Edited: Apr 12, 2024
Thalion
Who could've known that raising a sister was so expensive?
At this point, everything boils down to numbers. It's been a year since our mother died. Nine months since our father left us for whiskey. Three months since we lost the house. Never mind the fact that you're throwing a fourteen-year-old and his younger sister out on the streets. Give yourself a pat on the back officer, you're doing the world a great justice.
They call us Delai, debt-collectors. We do the dirty work for the police. Nothing that steals the spotlight, but there are jobs that the police don't want to do. To keep their hands clean. We carry out their orders, by any means possible. It's a thankless job but it does come with the perk of going to bed with a full stomach. Possible drawbacks include depression, nightmares, and other not pretty effects. But there's food.
You'd think my sister was a princess with the way I worship her.
I leaned against the walls of the dark alley. It was a scene straight out of a novel, black cobble street, slippery with rain and moonlight. A broken streetlight flickers overhead. It's murder waiting to happen. Any idiot who walks through here at this hour, an hour for thieves and murderers, deserve what happens to them. At least that's what I tell myself.
Midnight, they'll be here at midnight.
The idiot won't come. If he comes, he's an idiot. He probably deserves it. I tell myself that, repeating it in my head. They're an idiot, an idiot for coming. An idiot. They deserve it. I repeat that as I watch a figure hurry past me. An idiot. I slip after them. They deserve it. I flick out my blade. Idiot. Idiot. Idiot.
His breathe hitches a bit when he sees me. I incline my hand as a sort of greeting. He returns one hesitantly, then he sees the flash of sliver as I hastily hide my hand; his eyes widening. Oops. I look at him and he looks at me. And we're just staring at each other. Now what? Finally, he comes to his senses and jerks his head away. Too late.
There's a lot of blood. A lot. His hand raises to his throat, a deep gash leaking blood. The liquid turns his fingers slippery as he grabbed at his throat. His eyes. He opened his mouth, and nothing came out. Blood pooled in his mouth, turning his teeth red, and trickled down his chin.
He was genuinely terrified of me.
The man crumbled to his knees, kneeled over, and it was over. So incredibly fast; he was alive one moment and a corpse the next. My stomach heaved and I'm seriously about to see my breakfast again. Nope, absolutely not. I swallow.
"Sir," I manage through clenched teeth, "Your debt is now considered repaid,"
The guy gave me no answer. Corpses are stubborn like that.
I left him there, drowning in his own blood. He wasn't my problem. I live life by two rules; It's none of my problem or it's none of your problem. This is clearly the latter.
The wooden door creaked open. It's pitch darkness in here. I stared into the abyss.
"He's dead," I say to no one in particular. There's a racket, someone struggling and crashing. A heavy vase shatters. Someone curses. Silence.
"Come back tomorrow," The voice huffs. I bite my lip. I was hoping to be paid now.
"But sir-"
"Tomorrow or not at all," There's an edge to his voice and I shut up. "Now goodnight." The door slammed in my face. That was it. End of discussion. I considered pounding down the door, but thought better of it.
I trudge down the street. The cobblestone floor eventually turns to dirt. There are more people on the streets now. Not the good kind. Loud drunken laughter. Slurred and loud words. Windows are barred up with pieces of wood. A rat skitters by. Ankle deep in rubbish. Shacks practically piled on top of each other.
I hurry on. I'm greeted by a looming shadow. I look up. It's larger than the rest of the buildings. Old and rickety. It might collapse any second now.
Home sweet home.
The boards creaked under my feet. I held my breath. Tentatively, slowly, I lifted my foot. The board screeched. I winced. Step by step, the wood creaked under my weight. The whole building must be awake. Finally, I made it to the stairs. I eyed it warily.
I prowled my way up the stairs. I made sure to step further on the 13th step. No point in plummeting to the bottom of the basement. Slowly, agonizingly, I made it to the fourth level. A lone light flickered on the ceiling, throwing strange shadows down the hall. I slipped down the hall.
A red door with peeling paint. The number 38 hangs slightly lopsided. The door is slightly ajar. I sigh. Allegra was still awake. She was waiting for me.
The door creaked open. The window was wide open, the wind making the curtains billow like ghosts. The moonlight poured in, illuminating the small space. On the pallet below the window, a lone figure sits primly. Her silvery head is tilted at the side, her back facing me.
I sighed. "You ought to be in bed," I close the door behind me.
She turns, as solemn as an owl and her large eyes are as bright as the moon. She blinks and a sweet smile spread over her face. She tilts her head, as bright and amiable as a sparrow. I feel myself relax.
Allegra padded her way over to me. She's smaller than me, barely to my waist. When she wraps her hands around me, her hands don't even touch. I look down at her little silver head and her eyes find mine.
I gently grab her hand and kiss it like a proper gentleman. Allegra giggles. I want to cry.
Allegra knows what I do. She understands a lot for a kid her age. She doesn't complain. But sometimes I wish she did. I hate that she has to live in this dump. I can't even afford to have her watched when I'm gone.
Allegra should be loved. She should have a mother who coddles her and kisses her goodnight. She should have a father who worships her. But she doesn't. And I never asked to become her parent.
The next morning, I head back to the Storekeeper. It's just a few coins, but I'm desperate. And it's just a few coins, it's not that hard to give a few. Allegra trots besides me. My sister attracts a lot of attention. She's pretty with silver hair and bright innocent eyes with a shy smile. She doesn't even notice how others look at her. She's humming to herself, skipping on the cobblestones.
She looks far more approachable. She's sweet and shy, her large eyes brimming with curiosity. I look like a stray dog on the side of the street. We don't look it, but we're siblings.
By the time we're at the Shopkeeper's, Allegra already has a bunch of flowers grasped in her fist. The old man is in a better mood. He grumbled when I knocked but passed up the few coins with less cursing than usual. Satisfied, I slipped the coins into my pocket. Three silvers and a dozen bronze coins.
We head for a stand, and I buy the two of us breakfast. We sit on the bench, Allegra's short legs kicking about a foot above the ground. The old lady was generous today and gave us bread with filling. We chew with our mouths open, blowing at the piping hot food in our mouths. Our breaths rose in little clouds in front of our faces.
"Can we go to the Square?" Allegra chirps suddenly. We don't talk often but it's comfortable.
I paused, trying to figure out what was going through her little head. The Square was for the rich folks. We would stick out like a sore thumb. But it was pretty, and Allegra loved pretty things. I tilt my head, considering it. Allegra knows better than to beg, but her eyes are wide.
"Sure,"
Allegra gives a happy little squeak. Awhile later, she's dragging me to the bakery window. She ogles at the little roses and ribbons on the cake. Her face is pressed up against the window, earning us a few glances.
Allegra drags me around for a while, making seriously rethink my relationship with this brat. She ogles at everything. Tad bit embarrassing. Granted we don't have a lot of pretty things. It'd be cruel to deny this to her.
The sun's beginning to set and the crowd's starting to thin. It's getting chilly and I still have places to go.
"Allegra-" I begin. Her eyes flicker to mine. "We should go,"
A normal sister would've whined. They would've wheedled and begged to stay just five more minutes. But Allegra just hummed happily and took my hand, skipping next to me. It only makes me feel worse.
"Where are we going?" She chirps.
I sighed. "I have some business,"
"Are we going back to the old man?" I nodded. She hummed thoughtfully. "I don't like him, he looks like a fox,"
The image flashed back into my head. The old man, leering down at my sister with a smile that had too many teeth. I snorted.
We rounded the familiar corner, stopping in front of the store with wilting plants on the windowsill. I raised my fist, knocking on the door three times.
The door cracked open. I find myself staring at a pair of blood-shot eyes.
"Whaddyuwant?"The man slurs. Charming. I push Allegra behind me.
"You called,"
He sighs and it's obvious he's drunk. The door slams in my face. There's some clashing as he lumbers around. Then it opens again, and he's thrusting a letter in my hand. The door slams shut again.
I turn the paper over in my hand. Allegra takes my hand. The walk home was silent.
The letter remained untouched on my table for two days. I'm not eager to know. I avoided that thing like the plague. Allegra didn't say anything. It always takes me three days to open a letter. One day of ignoring it. The next day staring at it. Opening it the third day. A mental breakdown. I do what has to be done. Then I come back and rethink life. It's been like that for a year now. Routine.
On the third day, I tear open the letter.
I stare at the name.
This was a suicide mission.
A/N: Yep, I've finally written it. I may or may not have had a mid-life crisis and began to rethink my skills as a writer. But...yeah.
Note: Allegra's about eight here and Thalion is fourteen.
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