Minds Like Ours

Chapter 1 - (Intro)

??? P.O.V.

I dashed through the dirty streets of Durham, looking for a cheap place to buy food. All the places I have visited thus far were so expensive. I had to find some affordable food before sundown. But looking at the little amount of money I had, it would be impossible. And to further add to this, I had to buy enough to feed three mouths. I grimaced as this meant I had only one thing left to do, steal. I didn't want it to come to this but it was the only way for this to work. I scanned the area for a noble. Stealing from others was terrible enough, but stealing from struggling people was even worse. Nobles had a bunch of money so stealing from them should be fine, right?

I spotted a black top hat amongst the crowd and immediately averted my gaze in that direction. And just as I expected, I saw not one, but two nobles. They both stuck out like sore thumbs amongst middle-class and poor people. What intrigued me were those two pairs of crimson eyes, the same colour as beautiful rubies and blood. They were standing in front of a bakery, seemingly waiting for someone. I approached them and quickly snatched a wallet from the one with glasses.

I continued walking like I didn't just steal from them. I apologized internally, even though they probably still had a bunch of money to waste. I was close to my escape route when I heard thundering footsteps. I glanced back and saw that the blonde with glasses was chasing me. I made a sharp right, entering the alleyway and fleeing from the blonde. He was fast, but so was I. I quickly ran through my escape route, trying to find a way to lose him. I made a lot of twists and turns, avoiding all the obstacles along the way. Just as I was closing into the main road, I saw the other crimson-eyed stranger come out from the left. I was shocked that he figured out my escape route but I didn't slow down. Instead, I charged through, trying to get past him. Unfortunately for me, he hooked his cane around my left leg and caught me before I could run past him. I tripped and fell face first, letting out a small 'Ouch'.

"Nice job, Louis," the blonde next to me said to 'Louis'. Funny, we had a similar name.

"Thank you, nii-san."

Ah, so they were siblings. That sure did explain their similarity in looks. Just as I was about to get up, 'Louis' grabbed my arm, making me unable to escape.

"Get up," he commanded me sternly. I got up as told and winced when his grip around my arm tightened. 'That is definitely going to leave a mark.'

"Let go of me!" I yelled, finally having the courage to look up. 'Louis' glared at me while I glared back at him. I continued to tug on my arm but his grip only got tighter.

"Now, now. We only want the wallet back," Louis's brother finally said, breaking our glaring contest. I huffed in annoyance, seeing as I had no other choice. I reached into my pocket for what they thought was Louis's wallet. But then, I pulled out a dagger. I was about to stab Louis's arm but he evaded, releasing his grip on me. While they were both distracted, I scurried away - feeling like a cornered rat escaping 2 hungry cats. I looked back to see that they weren't following me like before.

'That's strange...' I mused. I wasn't going to dwell on that though, because it seemed to me like they gave up - a good stroke of luck on my part. I wandered along for a while before entering a bakery nearby. I looked into the wallet and saw that there was a lot of money. I bought some bread and paid at the cashier. I continued walking until I finally reached an abandoned house.

I entered the house, then locked the door. I entered the bedroom and saw that both of my younger siblings were there, playing together. When they noticed I was home, my little sister, Tabitha happily ran to me.

"Welcome home, Louise-nee-chan," she cheered while hugging my legs. I smiled at her and showed them the bread. Their faces lit up at the sight of food. Hugo, my little brother, approached me as we went out together. We all sat at the small table in the living room and ate together. All the while Hugo and Tabitha told me about their time playing together while I was out looking for food. Once we were finished eating, we moved back to the bedroom to play. We each picked a stuffed toy. I picked up a fox plush, Hugo picked up a rabbit stuffed toy and Tabitha picked up a cat doll. We made up stories as we played pretend with the stuffed toys.

Soon, the sun had set, signalling that it was time for all of us to sleep. I tucked Tabitha into the bed first, kissing her forehead goodnight. Then I watched as Hugo climbed onto the mattress next to the bed, tucking himself in. I whispered a quiet goodnight to both of them as I blew out the candle in the bedroom. I walked back to the living room and sat on the couch. I sat next to the candle and opened my mystery book. I was planning on finishing this book today since it was due to return to the library tomorrow. I had a few more pages left so I quickly finished it. I sure do love a good mystery book. Once I finished reading the last page, I closed the book and put it on a table nearby. I blew out the candle next to the couch and lay down. Shutting my eyes, I let sleep welcome me.