An Unusual Agreement

She lay amongst the filth in a secluded corner just off a busy street. A place of shadows reserved for those whom society would rather forget. Her stomach cramped and groaned as her weak fingers rifled through the market waste hoping to find something to ease the pain. As the sky darkened, delicate aromas filled the air as people prepared their evening dishes. The delicious smells of roasted meats and spiced wine danced on the air tantalising and torturing her senses simultaneously. This was the time of day that she loathed the most. Her eyes drifted upwards hoping to catch a glimpse of the flags of her former home. The homes of the privileged few congregated together on the east side of the town separated for the lower castes by guards posted at the gates. Only a couple of streets away, she could hear the flags, from the privileged rooftops, slapping in the wind. Each slap was like a slap in the face, reminding her just how far she had fallen.

The sounds from the market drifted up from the harbour, mingling with the twilight which added dark undertones. The animal noises sounded sinister whilst the people's chatter sounded almost ghostly. The masts of the boats could be seen above the darkening rooftops. The reddening sun staining the highest tips. Even amongst the bone-white stone walls of the inner city, the light struggled to filter down into the narrow streets.

She had vague memories of her mother. She could remember their matching ice-blond hair, her only memento of her mother. Her mother's crisp and smiling blue eyes as they shared their opulent lifestyle. Surrounded by servants and waited on hand and foot, she remembered the food, the rich colours and flavours from the furthest reaches of their fleet. She had been loved by her mother but everything had changed so quickly.

There had been a great argument one night between her mother and grandfather. She was hazy on the details but remembered that there was a marriage proposal for her mother. She was due to leave to meet with her intended and after a few days she could follow and meet with her mother at the capital. Her grandfather had called her a dirty little secret and that no good man would want her mother with another man's child in tow. Her mother had defended her and she had been whisked away from the fight. She couldn't remember how much time had passed after her mother had left but one morning she awoke cold and stiff, alone except for the surrounding filth in which she now lay. She wandered through the streets trying to find her mother, her nightdress dragging across the ground, the edge brown and ragged. When she finally found her way to the privileged quarter she was turned away non-too gently by the guards. Her memories after that she chose not to remember.

She shuddered as the residual emotions from the suppressed memories tried to burst through her. She couldn't cry anymore, her body felt hollow and weak. As she lay watching the stars appear from above she heard someone stumble towards her. Instinctively she flinched away from the noise and curled up into a small ball, her petite frame trying to disappear into the shadows. The heavy clomping of boots hammered towards her as the slurred speech of the man muttered something incomprehensible. He lurched forward and landed next to her causing her to squeak in fright. She opened her eyes to peer out from under her eyelashes unable to hear anything over the beating of her racing heart.

The man's face was blotched and bloated as he lay there with his head half buried in the muck. His eyes were closed and she wasn't even sure that he was still breathing. She began to slowly move away from him not wanting to be around when he stirred; the smell of mead emanated from his clothes. She glanced back at the street where people were walking past the narrow entrance between the buildings. She leant to get up when a large hand closed around her arm. She squealed as she turned back to the man. She tried to wrench her arm away but his grasp was too tight. His head lifted slowly up to look at her. The face seemed like dead skin loosely hanging onto the skull beneath. Even the grey eyes looked dead and blank. Suddenly there was a flash of something in their depths. Her heart thudded so hard that she felt all her inside jolt with the force.