Of Amber and Shattered Scales

003 - in which a home is found

Oh, well, I think to myself. My pinnah-bag is gone, but as my hand digs into my pocket, I find five copper pinnahs nestled into the rustling folds of the cloth.

Elsho and I have survived days on less. Sure, they weren't the most luxurious days, but they were days nonetheless. And a day is a day, no matter how hungry you are.

We would live.

For now, I don't say anything as I stare up into sky the color of Elsho's hair and stars that flicker like candles. The morning light tiptoes over our heads, and the sun wakes in the sky, yawning and stretching, setting ablaze the russet and golden hairs on our camel's back. Eventually, we reach a sandy arch. Carved on it in weathered but ornate calligraphy is the word Raat'kaala. This was the Gate of Evening, or Shaam'dwara, the main entrance to Raat'kaala. As we enter the city, we are stopped by a weary guard.

"Purpose for entry?" he queries, eyes sweeping over us like we were a dirty floor.

"Work." I reply, looking him in the eyes. Through the corner of my eye, I see a wealthy-looking carriage passing through with no questioning or security checks.

Why couldn't we be rich?

But we're pretty lucky, and the guard lets us in without further questioning.

The camel driver lets us off his camel, and we trudge into the bustling city. I cough as I inhale a mouthful of dry dust. Little backstory here - Raat'kaala literally translates to black night. It's because there's so much dust in the air that you can't see the stars at night, making every night truly a black night.

Seeing a help wanted sign on one of the doors, I walked in, pulling Elsho with me. WIthout looking up, the shopkeeper waved us away.

"We need intelligent young men, not street-scraps like you! The only place willing to take the likes of you would be Mata Moti's. Now scram! You're bad for business!"

I pull Elsho out of the establishment, scowling at the owner. Elsho scowls at me.

At me?

"You know, I can walk perfectly fine. I have two well-functioning legs. You do not need to keep pulling me around."

Oh.

"Come on!" I grin at him, taking his arm and pulling him forward. I pause at a nearby marketstall, and ask, "Do you know where Mata Moti's is?"

The marketstall vendor looks at us in distaste. "Ah, yes, I suppose the likes of you would be going there. Looking for a job?"

What was it with everyone in this town looking down on us?

"Yes," Elsho replies curtly.

"Don't talk like that to me, boy. Go straight, past Agamratha's sweet stall, and into the next dark alley on the right. Keep walking till the end, and you'll find it. You can't miss it. It's the one that reeks of poverty. Such a crumbling establishment shouldn't even be allowed in a beautiful, well-off city like this. Ruins the look of the place." At this, the shopkeeper turns away from us, shooting us a last disdainful glance.

Elsho shakes his hand a little, so I let go of it, smiling sheepishly. Yeah, I probably cut off his blood circulation a little.

We follow the shopkeeper's directions into a little alley. I can't really see why the shopkeeper was going on about it like it was the bane of the world. Yes, the alley is cloaked in darkness, but it's not the unsettling kind that makes the hairs on the back of your neck dance all over. It's quite comforting, actually, a little enclave of safety away from the rushing tide of the crowds. Like the little hideaways we tucked ourselves into when we were running from angry merchants.

It is safe here.

Out of the corner of my eye, I see Elsho's posture slump, relaxed. But his hand finds mine, and squeezes it hand enough to draw sweat.

Just if, his eyes say.

But we both know that that is all it's going to be. An if.

It is safe here.

We halt to a stop at the end of the alley. My eye catches a set of stairs carved into the orange-pink facade on the last building, and my eyes follow the stairs upward to a door built into the wall. The sign above the door reads Mata Moti's, Pawnshop and Inn. Beside it is a painted picture of a pearl.

I don't know why, but this place seems safe, even though it looks like exactly the place where you wouldn't be safe.

Did I say that this place seemed safe?

We climb the eroded sandstone stairs and open the creaky door. Elsho leads us in this time. He approaches a counter, at which a boy, probably around Elsho's age, serves some type of cheap whiskey to a gaggle of inebriated men. Boisterous cackles can be heard from the group.

Looking back to the boy, I study him, purely out of habit, a little thing I picked up after a few run-ins with unsavory characters. He has jet-black hair, and one of his cheeks has a thin scar across it. His smile is brotherly and roguish. He looks handsome, like the kind of boy the older girls in the village would giggle about.

I never really understood their obsession with boys. They said I would grow into it though. After all, I was only thirteen.

I look around the place. It's low lit, with only a couple of windows letting in some natural light, and even they have curtains. The walls are decorated with some kind of large embroidered cloth, and the counter and benches are carved out of stark, rough wood.

Elsho leans against the counter.

"Hi," he smiles, "we're looking for a job."

The boy smiles back. "Yeah, come with me. We need more people anyway. I'll lead you to the back." The boy walks out from behind the counter. My eyes flick down to his right hand, though, where he is holding a teak-wood cane. I look back at his eyes, and see that they aren't really looking anywhere. Instead, their gazes wander aimlessly.

The boy tilts his head toward me and Elsho, a knowing expression creeping onto his face. "Yeah. I can't see." He laughs. "Usually gives people a shock when they first realize it. You don't see many blind people out and about 'round these parts. Anyway, you guys were here for a job, right?" he says as he leads us across the room.

"Well, here we are." he declared as we halt to a stop. "There's really no interview process, seeing as we're a bit understaffed at the moment."

"I guess I should introduce you to the others."