The Fake Princess

1. The encounter in the alley

It started like any other day for a beggar orphan when a man approached me. The morning was cold, but the small, bony bodies pressed against each other were warm. It was winter, the dampen floor from the snow that leaked through the weak roof was soft for our backs and the icy wind howled outside.

Azriel woke me up that morning, stuffed me into my tiny shoes that no longer fit me and wrapped me up in a scarf he stole. I was never a morning person, even then. He somehow always managed to wake up at dawn, forcing me to follow him which was easy to do when one was brain dead before the sun shined and a growing fever made it worse for me to be functional.

The Capital was bustling with store owners and merchants, getting ready for the morning rush. Azriel held my hand, helping me climb down the riverbank and under the bridge. Under the bridge was a tunnel that was easily accessible for those who knew where to look.

It was another day, another job. Following the dark tunnel's wall, we were too poor to afford a candle and matches, we stumbled through the dark tunnel until we came out of its mouth into a sketchy alley. The alley was on the other side of the Capital, and in that alley held the headquarters to the information guild- Luxus Gold.

Since we were kids, and people ignored children on the regular, it was easy for us to dig up any information. We gave it to the guild master and he rewarded us with money. It was an easy system, which only Azriel and I knew of.

Laxor was young for his age, but back then I thought he was super old. We were strangers when he rescued Azriel and I from starvation and worms. In return for giving us a weekly allowance, we had to go and find information for him.

That day was like any other. Laxor, a tired, tall man who seemed to be weighed down by an enemy guild's growing influence, sent us away on an easy mission: getting information from a merchant who came from the Wetlands.

Azriel and I scurried away, eager to return with any information because we ran out of money three days ago, and it's been three days since we had eaten. He held my hand, guiding me through the market until we reached the merchant's shop.

Azriel and I had a routine. I would make a scene out in front and he would sneak in the back and count how many boxes of whatever Laxor wanted to know. It was supposed to be simple, but the damp, cold floor caught up to me in the way of a burning fever. I struggled to have a coherent thought, I swayed standing and my energy was at its lowest in the storm.

I remember telling Azriel that he can do it alone, that it would be his money and I would just return to the dugout and wait for the fever to pass. He refused, saying that our money would go to medicine, not to food. So, I followed him. He was always so nice to me, he treated me better than anyone.

Maybe it was because my family found him wandering the roads. My parents were merchants, and they specialized in magical objects. We returned from the lagoon and back to the Capital when we saw Azriel lying on the desert path. I begged them to save him and they did. Ever since then, Azriel stood by my side.

We never made it back to the Capital as a new family. Bandits came, killed my parents in front of me but I don't remember how. I had hit my head and woke up with Azriel dripping blood as he protected me from the scorching sun. I didn't know how he handled himself against the bandits when my parents couldn't, but he managed. I also knew that he wouldn't abandon me. He didn't abandon me there, no way would he let me go again.

So we made our way to the Capital, orphan beggars who had nothing except the clothes on our backs. We stood by each other, fighting against bigger people but for some reason Azriel managed to hold out on his own. Even then I understood he was not like me, not normal. He was insanely strong, rivaled Laxor's 19- year old strength at 12 years old. He could've done something to get out of that dugout for the beggars, but he stayed with me, protected me, cared for me.