Lydia

I.

The rain beat down mercilessly on the streets, soon to be snow. In the early winter, Lydia Blanchert walked down the dirt road of London. She walked past the shops and the carriages, thin grey cape wrapped tight around her shoulders. She had stolen it from a woman merely the month before when the weather began to get colder.

She scrunched her tiny, red nose and squinted her eyes to try and keep the freezing rain from them. If she stayed any longer out there she would get a cold. She knew this. "Excuse me, sir?" Lydia finally gave up on finding the inn by herself and approached the person who seemed to own the shop they were standing next to. "Would you be so kind as to point me to the Inn?"

The old man looked down upon the girl, face contorted into a look of disgust. He knew what she was immediatly and turned away, too sickened to even look at her. Lydia was homeless, a poor girl at the young age of 13 left to wonder the world alone.

She then went to a woman, probably in her sixties, obviously very wealthy. She asked again, trying to look as pleading as possible. The woman only rejected her and turned away. Lydia sighed, looking around at the signs above every door. None of them were an Inn.

With a grumble of exasperation, Lydia pulled the cape closer around her — if humanly possible — and continued her way down. She stopped by various people, asking for directions. None of them answered.

Lydia had come to terms with why they never bothered with her. She had no money, meaning she was useless in this world and most likely in the next. She was not only poor but homeless, meaning she was the scum of the road people kicked away.

She would go to Inns for various reasons; They either were kind enough to give her a room or let her play a small show as long as she gave the inn-keepers half the earnings, or they would let her sleep in the basement where no one would see her. It was rough, sometimes they merely kicked her out without giving a second glance.

"Excuse me?" She panted from the cold to a woman. She was in her forties maybe. Lydia could tell by the slight wrinkles that lined her face; Lydia's parents had the same thing. The woman's features were harsh, though a smile was on her face. She was surprised it did not disappear when the woman saw her. This lady was obviously high in rank, her clothes were expensive and the jewelry that lined her neck and wrists sparkles even with the sun covered by dark clouds. Lydia bowed slightly and peered up at the woman.

It was only right after she bowed that she noticed the man next to her. He was probably the same age, maybe a few years older. A few black and grey hairs peeked out from underneath his velvet top-hat. They were rich, rich enough to make at least three thousand a year. "Mrs, would you please point me to the nearest Inn? I beg you, it is extraordinarily cold this evening," she looked up at the clouds and wiped rain water from her face, "I really need a place to stay."

The woman smiled kindly and nodded. "Why of course, child. How about we walk with you? It can be rather dangerous for a girl as young as yourself to be walking the streets of London alone." The lady looked towards her husband as if it ask for permission but looked back at Lydia without waiting for an answer.

Lydia nodded wearily. She had met many people in her travels throughout England and some of them have not been good. She has learned to avoid judging people by their looks, for they may look kind but end up selling you to a dealer later. "That is very kind of you." Lydia nodded towards the couple. "I do not know how I may repay you for staying out longer in this dreadful weather to walk me." She hardly had any money, and the only bit she did she would have to use to pay for the room and a meal — if they'll even keep her.

The woman walked next to Lydia with her husband on her other side. "My name is Catherine, by the way. Catherine Burkins. This is my husband Alvor." She nodded to Lydia, almost a small bow. "We own Lakeview Estate, North of here, over the hills." she smiled. The woman acted young for her age, happy and chipper. She seemed like she had a lot of personality, something Lydia knew she could grow to like on their way to the Inn.