A half-eaten bun flew across the fruit stand and hit the scrawny boy on the other end. The stand was filled to the brim with different kinds of fruit. It was dawn, and the fruit vendor hadn’t made a sale yet.
“Get out of here, you prick!” The man who threw the bun shouted at the boy. “Day just started and I already got a beggar. What luck!”
The boy had been pestering the man for fruit. His request was met with a half-eaten bun to the face. The boy looked at the bun that fell to the ground after hitting his chest. He paused for a moment before smiling and picking it up. He looked at the vendor with a huge grin.
The boy ran out of the street where the market was. He was met with a narrow road that extended both ways. He turned right and ran for a few seconds until he came to a building that said [Mercenary Guild]. He snuck into an alley beside the building and kept running until he came to a line of shacks. He went into one of the smaller ones.
Inside the shack was barely any furniture. There was one wobbly table and two blankets spread out on the floor. There was also one small cabinet in a corner. That was it. The walls were made of wood that the richer commoners had discarded. The table and blankets were also garbage that people had thrown away.
One small figure was sleeping in the corner of the room on one of the blankets. It was a young girl. She looked like she was around 9-10 years old, but in reality, she was 12. Her black, long hair covered up the holes in her rags. She was shivering but didn’t wrap herself in the other blanket.
“Daphne. Get up.” The boy gently said.
The girl, Daphne, opened her eyes. She looked at the boy and immediately got up. She saw the bun in his hands.
“Where did you get that from, Leo? Did you steal it?” She asked the boy.
He shook his head. “A fruit vendor gave it to me. He must be new around here. Anyway, take some. You haven’t had food since yesterday.”
He tore out the part of the bun that the vendor had bitten off with his hand. He shoved that part of the bun into his mouth. He then handed the rest of the bun to Daphne. She took it from him and started nibbling on it.
“I’ll go to the market and see if anyone needs help. If I work today, we should have food for two days at least,” he said.
“I’ll come too,” Daphne said.
“No. You stay here. You are too young and frail. You might get hurt,” he said, shaking his head.
Daphne huffed. “You are the same age as me. Just one year older. Also, stop acting like you are my brother. You aren’t. How can I let you do all the work?”
He smiled. “Well, we wouldn’t be this desperate for food if you hadn’t fallen sick. I had to stay here to take care of you for a week. You still haven’t recovered. Once you recover, you can work.”
Daphne sighed and looked away. “Okay. Bye.”
“Bye. I’ll see you in the evening.”
He left the shack and went back to the marketplace. It was a single street with ample space for people to walk. Carriages would fill up the street, but because nobles don’t come here, it wouldn’t be a problem. There were vendors set up on each side of the street, shouting to attract their customers. Some of them were offering simple groceries, but most of them were selling equipment and potions to mercenaries. Because the Mercenary Guild was right beside the market, the smaller mercenaries would get their equipment and potions from the stalls instead of the bigger shops.
He went to the first stall that caught his eye. It was a stall that sold swords. He walked to the vendor.
“Hello. Do you need anyone to do small tasks that you don’t want to do? I can help you clean your stall and swords.” He told the vendor.
“Go somewhere else, kid.” The vendor didn’t even bat his eyes.
He was not discouraged. He went to the next stall and asked again. He was once again met with failure. He kept asking all the stores. He would badger any kind-looking people, but everyone said no.
He finally arrived at a potions stall.
“Hello. Do you need anyone to do small work that you don’t want to do? I can do anything you need me to do,” he told the vendor. “That I am able to do,” he added.
The vendor was a middle-aged man with a full-grown beard. He looked up and saw Leo. Leo was also dressed in rags and looked like he was 10.
“How old are you?” He asked him.
“I am 13 years old. I might look younger, but that’s because I didn’t eat enough as a kid,” Leo said while smiling.
The man winced. He looked around his stall. The stall was clean, and there was nothing for Leo to do. Leo understood this when he looked around himself.
“It’s okay, I’ll come another day,” Leo said. He turned around, about to leave, but the man stopped him.
“What’s your name, boy?” He asked Leo.
“I am Leo. Nice to meet you, Mr.?” He held his hand out. The man shook it.
“I am Trevor,” the man said.
“So, do you have any work for me, Mr. Trevor?” He asked.
Trevor looked at him.
“As you can see, the stall is very clean. Potion selling is very neat work. So you don’t have any work here.” Trevor said.
Leo’s smile faded.
“But that changes if you can risk your life.”