Unexpected

Chapter I Part II - Aurelie's Dream

*1813 - Paris, France*

"Aurelie Alexandrie, keep up!" Nine-year-old Aurelie was shopping with her mother and her sister in the city. It was especially crowded today, and Aurelie struggled to keep up. She picked up her skirts, and ran through the crowd.

  Aurelie enjoyed going for walks, even if she had to endure her mother's yells to walk faster. There were so many different smells, sounds, and sights. It was much more fun than being in her house, sitting down on that ornate blue couch that her family insisted on keeping because it apparently made the house look nice, and making sure she didn't trip over her own two feet and break something. She loved looking at the shops, looking at what was inside, taking a deep breath as they passed by the bakery, with the warm smell of freshly-baked bread, cookies, pastries, and an assortment of other things. She loved to stop by the bookstore, and look at the books, geting stories about far-off lands, of fairy tales, of happily ever afters. Her mouth watered at the thought of the bakery, and her heart thumped with excitement at the thought of the bookstore "I'm coming Maman! Wait for me!"

She ran as quick as her legs allowed her to, hoping her mother was in a good enough mood to stop at both the bookstore and the bakery. But just as she was about to reach her mother, a group of hurried strangers walked between them, not caring that there was a little girl who had no idea how to get home if she got lost. She tried to walk through the crowd, but she couldn't get through. When they finally passed, Aurelie's mom was gone. She had not noticed that the youngest twin was lost. Yes, Aurelie and Celeste were twins (fraternal, obviously), but the details are for another day.

Aurelie grew frantic. She ran, hoping they'd be around the corner, but she had no such luck. "No!" she cried. What was she to do now? With the pace her mother was going at, Aurelie would never be able to catch up, Aurelie had no idea how to get home, and she had no idea as to what shop her mother would be in. Oh, Dieu, I'll have to sleep in the streets! I'll have to be a beggar, and I won't have food, and I'll depend on the pity of people, and I won't even have a bed to sleep in, and I'll probably die of the cold, or of illness, and I'll never make it home, ever! Tears started welling up in her eyes, and she sat down on the floor, not caring that her beautiful green dress was going to get dirty with all the dirt on the floor. And she sobbed into her hands, distressed at the idea of life as a beggar, and resentful and that crowd for leaving her in this situation. She kept sobbing, until she felt someone crouch in front of her. She looked up, hoping to see someone who'd help her, but was disappointed to see a peasant boy, with brown hair that was just as curly and crazy as her own, olive skin, a tall lanky body, and a very curious, worried look on his face. His eyes were a chocolate brown, his eyebrows furrowed, and his nose was crooked, as if it had been broken, and hadn't quite healed the way it ought to. He looked around her age. Her heart dropped, again, and she put her face in her hands, all hope lost.

"Hey...what's wrong?" the boy asked. Aurelie looked at him with a confused look upon her face. "Why would you care? You're just a stupid, dirty peasant boy. Maman says you lot are dumb, and I have to stay away from you." The boy looked like he was used to this, like this was something that happened often, and he sighed. Aurelie felt bad, but her mother had told her to stay away. And she wasn't going to defy her orders. Not again. "I can help ya," he said. Aurelie glared at him. "No you can't. You're a liar. You're just a stupid boy, you don't know anything, and you should just leave me alone!"

He put his hands in his pockets and sighed. "Well," he stood and shrugged. " I guess you're right. I don't know anything. I just happen to know this city like the back of my hand, an'  I know every street, which paths lead to dead ends, which paths lead to which shops, an' I know how to get pretty much anywhere." This caught Aurelie's attention. He could help me get back home. "But like ya said, I'm just a stupid boy, and are so, so much smarter and wiser than me! Ya could easily lead yourself back home! Well, then, goodbye, can't really say it was a pleasure meetin' ya."