Charlotte's Law

"You can call me Rome."

"Get back 'ere, boy!" The meat pie shop owner, Mr. Levery, screamed at Camden as he ran away from him. Camden was small for his age, light and agile. He easily evaded the old man, getting away with his stolen treasure.

It wasn't often a poor boy from the street got a chance to swipe something of proper value. It was even less often that a girl swiped anything at all, so Camden felt pretty proud of himself.

He ducked into the library with little notice, making the old librarian jump and look around wildly. Before he was seen, he dropped to the floor and army crawled behind a bookshelf. Safe in his hiding spot, he dug into the meat pie greedily.

Camden's family was poor. His father could hardly keep a job since the accident in his old factory position, and his mother naturally wasn't allowed to work. It wasn't her place anymore, though she had once held a factory position herself. She wasnt paid much for it. Camden was the oldest child, being fourteen. He could get a job if he were a real boy, but he knew if he even approached the idea with anyone, he'd get the whip faster than he could say "kidding!"

His little brother, Charles, was sickly, perhaps even dying, so he made sure to save half of the meat pie for him.

Camden folded the meat pie up in his handkerchief and tucked it into his inner pocket. The clothes he wore were way too big on him. He'd swiped them from his father's closet long ago, but they were his most prized possession. He had his messy brown hair tucked up into a newsboy cap so he wouldn't be so noticeable, and his large, maiden-like green eyes stayed cast to the ground.

"You there, state your business," the librarian, Benson, called him out, and he knew he was done for. The library was his safe place, where he knew he wouldn't be bothered as long as he didn't make too much noise.

"Err, just, doin' some research," he lied, trying to deepen his voice. He looked younger than he was in this disguise, so he knew it would work well enough as long as he kept his eyes on the ground.

"Research for what, lad?"

"A school project, nothin' too fancy," Camden was starting to realize his lie wasn't good enough. He'd never been to school, and you could tell by the way he talked. He couldn't even read.

"You sure you been going to school?" Benson questioned, obviously suspicious. Camden didn't reply. He didn't know how to without giving himself away. "What's your name, lad?"

"Cam-" Camden's eyes widened. He'd been about to give his real name, without realizing how girlish it was. Thinking on the spot, he chose a new name. "Camden, sir. Camden Elliot Saunders."

Now that Camden thought about it, he actually really liked that name. He'd been toying around with male pronouns for a while, finding he felt more comfortable with them, but he'd never picked a male name. Of course, he'd given his actual surname, which was a huge mistake.

"Saunders?" Benson sounded astounded. "You Earl's boy? But I thought he was sick."

"Err, just a cold, really," Camden cursed himself. It was a good thing he was small enough to pass for a twelve-year-old boy. "I actually must be goin' now, sir. Sorry to bother ya."

Camden hurriedly left the library, realizing that he'd never be able to return. He decided it would be a good time to head home, so he walked the few blocks back to his house, barely even paying attention to where he was going.

"Camarilla!" His mother embraced him as soon as he opened the door, but she let go suddenly and stared at him. His face was so dirty that you couldn't tell where the soot stopped and the freckles began. He had horrid bags under his eyes, not even hidden by his long eyelashes, and his skin was paler than the average person's, but what caught his mother's attention was the clothes.