Without a King (Greatest Thief 1, mxm)

Bonus - The Reasons to Steal - Hate

Three years before Without a King (Part 2 and 3, one year after Part 1)

Running away had never exactly been something Orrun had considered. But things had changed for the worst, very quickly, and it seemed like the only way to protect his younger brother.

Leker wasn't really that much younger, only a couple of months, and despite having different mothers, they looked enough alike that people would occasionally assume they were twins. But that was not the case, and Orrun's mother had always disliked taking care of her husband's illegitimate son. Taking care of her own five children had been hard enough.

Life had been manageable, though. Their father had loved Leker as much as he loved his other kids. Orrun's mother may have neglected Leker by giving him less food, or the filthiest hand-me-down clothing, but Orrun had always helped him out. All that had changed, because their father was dead.

It had been the second of two blows to the family. A few months earlier, Orrun's oldest brother, Errol, had been stabbed in a bar fight. Errol had been seventeen, and had been working in the warehouses with their father for years. Then, only a few weeks afterwards, their father was mugged and bled out in a back alley.

Suddenly the large family had gone from three salaries to one, and Terrow had always earned less money, simply because he was younger. With less money came less food, and Orrun's mother quickly decided feeding Leker wasn't worth it. She started locking him away during meals. Orrun would hide half of his food, tear it into small pieces, and slip it through the crack under Leker's door.

The house, never the happiest place, became a nightmare. Their mother constantly berated Terrow, who Orrun had always looked up to as the kinder of his older brothers. He became cold and withdrawn, interacting with his family just long enough to toss money onto the table. The third child, their sister Virra, started to become bitter and demanding. Parria, his other sister, was his only full-blooded sibling Orrun still liked.

The idea of running away hadn't come to him right away. It wasn't until one dinner, as he slipped pieces of stale bread into his pocket. Parria had seen what he was doing, and passed him half of her bun under the table when their mother wasn't looking.

She wasn't paying them any attention, anyway. She was too busy yelling at Terrow.

"—five siyas! I can't buy food with five siyas! Didn't you learn anything from your father's death? You can't walk through the back alleys and—"

"I didn't walk through the back alleys," Terrow interrupted. "There are thieves everywhere!"

"And they probably make more money than you do!"

"Right," Terrow nodded, and his gaze hardened. "I'll go become a thief then, is that what you want? Will I be worth as much as Errol then?"

"Don't you dare bring up your brother."

"Why not? You wish he was here instead of me, don't you?" Terrow paused, and when their mother didn't speak up, he laughed darkly. "That's what I thought." Without another word, he stormed from the house, slamming the door behind him.

And Orrun had an idea.

He waited until that evening, after his sisters were asleep, after his mother locked her bedroom door, after Terrow stumbled in. Orrun thought of raiding the kitchen, but knew it wasn't worth it. There wouldn't be anything to find. He wrapped an old blanket around a couple extra tunics and another blanket, then tied it into a neat bundle with a bit of string. Then he shook Leker's shoulder. They shared a room at night, just like they had their whole lives.

Leker groaned and blinked. "What?"

"We're leaving."

He sat up abruptly. "What?"

"We're leaving," Orrun repeated. "You and me. We'll go be thieves. We'll make a shelter, and we'll steal whatever we need to eat, and we'll take care of each other. Just you and me."

Leker stared at him with wide eyes. The suggestion was scary and exciting at the same time. "You really think we could? What if we just got mugged and killed like father?"

"No one would try to steal from us," Orrun pointed out. "We don't look like we have anything worth stealing."

After a moment, Leker nodded firmly. "You're right. Let's go."

Orrun hoisted his bundle over his shoulder, and together they tiptoed out of the house. Once out on the streets, Orrun's confidence faltered for a moment. It was a cloudy night, so it was even darker than they were used to. He didn't know where to go.

Leker took his hand and gave it a gentle tug. "This way," he whispered.

For all of Orrun's mother's talk about avoiding the back alleys, sometimes it seemed like she forgot that they lived on one. The street was narrow and dirty, the cobbles were uneven and chipped. Orrun followed Leker down the street cautiously, to avoid tripping. Leker seemed less worried. He kept rushing forward a few steps, before waiting for Orrun to catch up or returning to his side.

Orrun felt better when they reached the main street. It was still dark, but the wider street meant the shadows didn't loom nearly as much. The street was better maintained, as well. Orrun was suddenly overcome by a wave of exhilaration. They had done it!

He nudged Leker and started running down the street, laughing. Leker bolted after him and they ran, side by side, until they were both panting too heavily to continue. They collapsed on the steps of the nearest building, still laughing while they tried to catch their breath.

They calmed down after a while, and lost in their own thoughts, stared out at the dark city.

"What if she comes after us?" Leker broke the silence.

"She won't," Orrun said, more confident in those two words than he had ever been in anything. "She won't have to feed us if we're gone."

"What if Terrow comes after us?" Leker said.

Orrun paused. "Well... we won't let him take us back. We don't need him."

"We don't need him," Leker repeated firmly. "Just you and me."

"Come on." Orrun stood up and held out his hand. When Leker grabbed it, Orrun pulled him to his feet. "We need to find a place to make a shelter. And then go to sleep, so we can have energy tomorrow."

Leker nodded. They walked down the next side street, looking for a little nook or cranny where they could build something. It didn't take them long at all to find an old crumbling building. Most of it was collapsed, but there was a small section where the roof had collapsed against the wall, creating a little room. It was a tight fit, but they could both lie down comfortably and even sit upright. They worked in silence for a little while, stacking up the broken bits of rock and tile to cover up the holes in their new home. When they were done, they crawled inside.

They spread one blanket on the floor, and pulled the second one over themselves. They used the extra tunics as pillows.

Exhausted, they fell asleep, comfortably snuggled together. Nervous and excited for their new lives.