Shadow. Secrets of graum

∆~Injustice~∆

I stared at the sky, tears flowing down my face, why did everyone hate me so.

Was it because of the strange black markings all over my body, was it because I am a foreigner.

Whatever the reason was, I was the only one who was shunned to this extent, the other orphans all had people to worry about, to love them.

The sound of a heated argument shook me from my self pity, peeking my head over the roof I was currently lying on, I observed the scene before my eyes.

Two youths roughly around eight, the same age as me, were arguing with a much smaller kid.

The smaller kid was thin to the point of emaciation, all he had on him was a worn tunic and a loaf of bread.

I immediately recognized the situation, a common occurence in the slums of graum, vagrants fighting over food.

Sighing I went back to my initial position, staring at the stars overhead, the sound of fighting echoed in the alley below me, but I was deaf to it.

I did feel guilty, but it was the survival of the fittest here, repeated efforts rewarded with failure have left me blind to the injustice in the world.

The sound of someone suffocating reached my ears, I closed my eyes wishing it would stop, and then it did.

Tears streamed down my face again, a restless sleep soon followed.

___

"It's now dawn, shops will be opening soon", the repeated bellows of the towncrier woke me.

I stretched, yawning, I looked for the broom in my face that would usually entail me changing residences, but there was none.

The events of yesterday suddenly came back to me, the horrible sounds of a human suffering for their last breathe.

I got up quickly, rushing to peek over the roof, but there was nothing there.

Of course,  what did I expect, the slum 'cleaners' would have already gotten to the body.

The slum cleaners were a group of beggars hired by the royal guards, to keep the slums free of blood, that included removing dead bodies.

Most people ignored the deaths here, maybe in the market district or housing district that wouldn't be the case, but here,  in the slums, no one gave a damn.

The guilt from yesterday hit me again, I fought through it, turning my heart to stone I jumped of the roof.

Years of running around and living on rooftops had given me a cat like agility, and I landed gracefully, well, as gracefully as a dirt covered kid with torn pants could be.

Staying in an abandoned alley was dangerous, be it night or day, and luckily a few dumb mistakes had taught me that lesson without taking my life.

I quickly made my way out of the alley, the slums were disgusting, the smell of urine and shit settled over everything.

I was used to the smell, having been here for almost my whole live, but outsiders arent so lucky.

Once I saw a warrior, covered from head to toe in armor, puke his guts out.

Another time, I saw a girl faint just from the smell of the place hitting her, no, this was not a place for the weak.

My talents lie in the more unseen area, pickpoceting and stealing.

The slums were useless to me, there was nothing of worth here that I had the skills to get.  

My ventures would often lead me to the market district. A place with food in endless quantities, and valuables basically spilling out of unsuspecting pockets.

___

I surveyed the area from the tower I had ascended, the market district sprawled before me.

A merchant selling weapons, hmm, too dangerous, that man lying against the wall is obviously a lookout and hired muscle.

A merchant selling jewelry, might be easy, but the guard standing nearby is a risk im not willing to take.

Bingo!, that fruit vendor, if only I could get a sack of apples, I could eat some and give the rest to shane and his gang.

Shane was a sixteen year old kid from the slums, he protected all the younger kids and gave them a place to feel safe, while the older kids ran a kind of gang that earned money and food for their group, they were called the orphanage.

Most of the orphans got in just by existing, but thanks to my dark complexion coupled with those wierd black markings I was the exception.

But I was sure that if I brought in any resource, Shane would finally see my worth and let me join, or at least I hoped.

A sudden movement in the corner of my eyes caught my attention, did a shadow just dart into that alley.

Narrowing my eyes I focused my vision, keen to catch the next movement clearly.

Five minutes passed, just when I was beginning to think it was all in my head, the blur of movement made it's move once more.

It was fast, but not fast enough, the blur of red hair, plus the uniform of the orphanage, an all black cloak, gave her away. Tanya.