~~Thanks collabforGod for the amazing cover!!!~~

Zar ducked out of the abandon shop, and entered the side street. He took a deep breath. Gorch could be so hard to work with at times. Taking several more deep breathes, he walked to the central street.

   His brown cloak concealed his sword, so he wouldn't run into any trouble, hopefully. The guards had a habit of searching people for no reason. They'd take food, saying it didn't look right. They also took money, claiming it was a tax. A tax, for walking? Just kind hollow words to cover up their monstrous agenda.

   Children ran past him, and a rather young boy grabbed where a satchel would normally be. Since Zar's was under his cloak, the boy fell, nearly taking a nearby woman down with him. The woman grabbed a chunk of the boy's hair and hollered at him.

  Zar winced, then gently pried the boy from her grasp. "Forgive me, he will be more careful next time." He gave the boy a slight glare.

  The boy looked at Zar with wide eyes, but the woman wasn't as calm. "Dirty boy, watch where your going." She turned on her heel and pushed past a small group of spectators, who dispersed.

   The boy made a run for it, but Zar grabbed his arm. "Please don't hurt me!" His blue eyes widened, fear swirling in them.

   Zar smiled, trying to comfort him. He didn't know why. The boy had tried to rob him. The boy was half starved, and covered in dirt, and who new what else. "Your hungry, yes?" He knew the answer, but somehow saying it out loud kept him from having a change of heart.

   The boy eyed him cautiously, but struggled less.

   Perhaps the boy reminded him of himself, long ago. "Do you have a name."

   The boy fidgeted, "Cole."

   "Cole?" The boy nodded. "Well, Cole, I'll make a deal with you." Wariness filled Cole's eyes. "I'll give you a warm bed, and food," Zar let go of Cole's arm, "and you won't steal."

   "Not steal?" Cole repeated, some doubt crept into his voice. "Food, and a bed?"

   Zar groaned inwardly. Fool, it's just a boy. One that will turn on you and rob you of all your worth! "The choice is yours." Better, so he can still refuse. Cole cocked his head, and stared into Zar's eyes. Zar almost gasped. They were the same color as his sister's.

   "Alright." Cole said, still staring at him. "What's the catch?"

   Zar didn't expect that. "Catch? No catch."

   Cole crossed his arms. "Always a catch."

   This kid knew what he was doing. Zar opened up his mouth to reassure him.

   "Hey! Your blocking my shop. Get out of the way." Zar shook his head. He was standing in front of a jeweler a shop. "Did you hear me?" A short, but burly, man called over a counter.

   "Oh, yes. Sorry." Zar turned to guide the boy away, but he was gone.

   "Do you want to buy somethin'? Somethin' for a lady?"

   "No." Zar responded automatically. Where did Cole go?

   "Then get out of the way!"

   Zar reflexively went for his sword, but decided to shuffle off instead. The crowd swallowed him. As it had probably swallowed Cole. Zar sighed. If Cole wanted to take Zar's offer, he would have stuck around. He probably went off to pick someone else's pocket.

   Guards were stationed up ahead, inspecting what people carried. Zar squinted, and saw a black raven on their breastplate. Zar carefully maneuvered to the edge of the crowd, and went to an ally. He had had one too many encounters with the town guard to go unrecognized. He grabbed onto a window sill and hoisted  himself up, then jumped to another window. A few windows later, he climbed onto the roof. He looked down to make sure no one was making big news of his climb. The crowd below him walked like cattle straight into the guards hands.

   "Gorch, we need to act." He muttered, resting his back against a chimney. Gorch and Zar had decided to purge Reventown of Titan's control, but not through violence.

   "Politics." Zar spat. His father was a political man, which Zar couldn't swallow. His family had always been commoners, nothing more. His father changed that, until a disease took him. The court offered Zar  a place at the palace, for him and his family. But the court also had one catch, as their always is: a job. The never ending game of politics. Zar refused, much to his mothers evident fury. He loved his family, but he didn't want to throw it away sitting in meetings.

   Zar shuddered. If he had accepted, he, and his family, would be dead. Everyone in the palace was killed. From royalty to servants. But they would have been better off. His mother sewed, like every other woman in Reventown. With little profit coming from his mother, Zar became responsible for money.

   That was years ago. All the skills he had were the little his father taught him. Drilled him. Politics. There asn't a job for that in Reventown, nor would Zar have taken it if there were. So he resorted to hunting. And he joined the local militia. He was half dead, all the time, every day. Until black soldiers came in and killed his commander, and slew his companions left and right. Zar ran. He ran home, to warn his family, who were gone. Taken.

   Zar put his head in his hands. Not just Reventown, but all of Vitraya was under Titan's control. He wasn't the only one who lost a loved one. But he was one of the only ones alive to do anything about it. And there are few who want to do anything about it.

   Zar thought of Cole, running with the other children. Children who stole, who had no one to look after them. Perhaps that's why Zar stopped the boy. But then again, perhaps not.

   He stood, taking in the setting sun, and the storm that had brewed. He better get home before the storm went past his house. He pulled his hood up, and ran over the rooftops. The guards were too busy with other townspeople to notice him jump over their heads, and land silently, or close to silently.

   He neared the wall and snuck past the guard on post. When the guard turned his attention toward the town, Zar scaled down the stone wall. He retreated into the surrounding forest just as rain began to fall.

   His cabin was half a league from Reventown, and at the foot of the mountains. It was perfect, no one bothered him.

   It took him till sundown to get home to his tucked away cabin. The door creaked open, revealing a messy interior. The main room had a small kitchen, a table and some chairs. There were two other rooms, one being his bedroom. The other was closed. Zar placed his hand in the door. He hadn't touched his mother's room since she had been taken. His sister slept with his mother, to give him space. He had his own room, and then, he was happy for it. But now, he wouldn't mind sharing.

   "That was the reason." Zar yawned, taking off his boots, not bothering to set them by the door. The dishes, if any, were dirty. He pushed open the door to his room. His mother would have yelled at him at the mess of the house, and the smell. Zar opened the window, and listened to the rain. He slumped under the window, and closed his eyes. He couldn't hear his sister snoring in the other room. The sound of his mother doing the dishes was absent. He was, indeed, alone.

---

Enjoying the story so far reader? Be sure to comment, I'd love your opinion!

WeirdWonder