Crowns and Daggers

Chapter five

Raven and Wilder made their way back through the bustling streets in comfortable silence. Soon, the warehouse that they lived in appeared. It was situated in the ramshackle part of the city, where the buildings were crumbling and trash littered the cobblestone streets.

Seven years ago, when seven-year-old Raven had been cast into the streets, she'd been taken in by Wilder, who at nine years old, already had a year of street experience. Together, they'd managed to stay alive for another year by begging and stealing what they could, until one day, while searching for a place to sleep that night, they'd stumbled into the warehouse.

Back when they found it, it was just a dusty shell of a building, but since then, it had slowly transformed into a place they called home, life springing into the structure as more and more street kids gratefully took residence and joined Raven and Wilder's little family.

Kairo and Maya had been some of the first, parentless immigrants from Quorro in desperate need of a home. Indigo had sauntered in the following year, meaning to stay a night or two, then grew to like the place too much to leave.

As Raven entered the warehouse, she was crushed beneath a wave of children. Her concentration wavered and thoughts flooded her head. She sunk to her knees, attempting to tame the voices. Distantly, she heard Kairo gently telling the children of the warehouse to scrounge up some dinner to eat early.

"Raven, are you okay?" Raven could see Wilder looking down at her from above.

"Yeah, I'm—" Her vision swam and she clutched Wilder's arm for support. "I'm fine. That was just...a lot of thoughts at once."

"I'm sorry about that. They were very grateful that you got them winter clothes, and most of them look up to you. Also, you know how excited kids get."

"Thank you. Will you bring me dinner? I don't think I can deal with that again. I have to get my powers under control, which is unusual. That doesn't usually happen, but today's events must have made me extra sensitive."

"Of course I'll bring you dinner. Just get some rest, okay?" Wilder smiled gently and left, following the kids around the bend in the warehouse to fetch a meager helping of food for Raven.

Raven slowly got to her feet, stumbling over to the small alcove where she slept and collapsing on the ratty blanket. She lay there at a loss for what to do. For a few hours that morning, the dream had given her hope that somehow, it might be possible to free her parents from jail.

Her parents. The thought of them unearthed terrible memories. Screaming and crying as guards dragged them away, starving alone on the streets until Wilder found her, days of plotting to break her parents free, sleepless nights because nightmares plagued her dreams. She knew now that there must have been some reason for their arrest, but as a terrified, scrawny kid, all she had been focused on was the fact that her parents were gone, and might possibly never return.

Raven felt a hand softly touch her arm and took a deep breath, shaking away the flashbacks. Wilder was kneeling by her bed with a concerned look on his face, holding a bowl of soup.

"You okay?" he asked as she hugged her arms to herself.

"Yeah, I just keep having these painful flashbacks of my parents. It's...hard to deal with," she told him. His eyes softened in understanding. Setting down the bowl of soup, he enveloped her in his strong arms, lean and wiry from all the years of living in the streets. She squeezed her eyes shut and rested her head on his shoulder for a moment.

"You'll always have us," Wilder murmured, and she nodded slightly and pulled away, the moment ending.

"I—uh, you should eat your soup. I have to make sure the kids aren't burning the warehouse down." Wilder stood up, his cheeks flushed slightly pink. Raven smiled and picked up the bowl and spoon as he walked away. She took a sip, and, like always, the soup was bland, probably utterly disgusting for someone who wasn't used to it.