Blaines feet pounded against the hard sandy ground as he sped through the marketplace, dodging left and ducking right, under a cart and then leaping over a stray dog. He didnt know if the guards were still behind him or not, but he wasnt going to slow himself down by checking.

Mike sprinted by his side, keeping up step for step. "Do you think weve lost em?" He asked as they spun around a fish stand and ducked down an ally.

"I dont know!" Blaine answered, his muscles getting tired but the adrenaline in his veins keeping him going. "Hunter was with them."

"Well damn!" Mike cried.

Blaine knew that Mike understood what that meant. Hunter was the Captain of the Royal Guards and he had it out for Blaine. It was a game of cat and mouse with Hunter and Blaine, except Blaine knew he was always the mouse. If Hunter ever won, Blaine was done for.

He and Mike turned the corner and found themselves in a busy market place. They elbowed their way through the crowd, Blaine saying "Excuse me! Pardon Me!" The whole time. He may be a thief, but there was no reason to be unkind about it. They made there way to a quiet street and then stopped to lean against a wall.

"I think we lost them!" Mike said.

"Victory!" Blaine laughed and held the loaf of bread hed stolen above his head triumphantly.

"Not so fast street rat." Blaine and Mike turned to see Hunter and a handful of his men standing there blocking their exit. Mike and Blaine were a little winded but Hunter and his men seemed like they were about to collapse, panting and holding their sides.

Hunter drew his sword and pointed it towards Blaine, but quick as lightning Mike spun and ducked hitting the guard to Hunters right and grabbing his sword. He in turn pointed it at Hunter.

"Hes got a sword!" One of the guards cried fearfully.

Hunter sighed, "You idiot! Weve all got swords!"

The half dozen men around Hunter all drew their sharp blades and Mike laughed nervously and placed his sword on the ground.

Blaines pulse was racing. All of this for a loaf of bread? Surely the Royal Guard had something better to do.

"Hey now guys." Blaine said raising his hands and giving them his best charming smile. "Im sure we can work this all out."

"Not this time." Hunter said leering and walking closer to Blaine.

"Come on, weve got to steal to eat, got to eat to live." Blaine said eyeing the sword that was still on the ground. Hunter laughed and took another step forward.

This was just what Blaine was waiting for, an opening in the formation of guards. He quickly glanced at Mike and knew that he saw it to. In a flash Blaine kicked the handle of the sword still on the ground with his heel making it flip into the air were Blaine caught it. He waved it back and forth as he and Mike dove for the part between the guards, luckily dodging pass the one who had lost his weapon. Then he turned and threw the guards sword, it spun through the air and pinned Hunters sleeve to the wall.

Hunter growled in rage as Mike and Blaine made their escape.

It would take the guards seconds to unpin their Captain and pursue them again, but Blaine had a plan.

"Follow me!" He called to Mike who hurried after him. Blaine quickly looked around and then his eyes found what they were looking for.

"Up?" Blaine asked, lifting an eyebrow and nodding towards some crates stacked by a wall of a house.

"Up." Mike answered with a smile.

They ran up to the crates and used them to help get to the ledge. Soon they were on a rooftop still running. They leaped from roof to roof until they got to some lines of laundry drying between buildings, Blaine grabbed the ends of a rug and used it to zip down the line to the ground, Mike following suit.

When they got to the bottom they held their stomachs and laughed.

"That was so close!" Mike said, "But did you see Hunters face when you pinned him? Almost makes it worth it!"

"And the guard when you disarmed him, Hes got a sword! I almost burst out laughing right then!" Blaine whipped his eyes and sighed. "Its getting harder though." He said sobering.

"Yeah, but for now, we eat!" Mike smiled; it was hard to get him down.

Blaine nodded and tore the loaf in half giving the larger potion to Mike who immediately bit into it. Blaine was about to do the same when he glanced up. Two small children stood nearby, their hands in a trashcan. It was easy to tell by their eyes that they were afraid, theyd been caught going through someones trash and feared theyd get in trouble. It was also easy to see that they were starving; their cheeks were shallow and their eyes too big.

Blaines heart fell. He looked down at his bread and them back at the Children. The smallest of the two, a little boy started forward, eyes on Blaines meal, but the other one, probably his big sister fearfully pulled him back.

Blaine glanced at Mike who was slowly chewing his first bite of bread, savoring it. Mike looked at Blaine and then the kids. "No. No way." He said. "Im just as hungry as they are. We earned this."

Blaine nodded. He couldnt ask his hungry friend to go without food again. Blaine slowly approached the children.

"Its okay. Im not going to hurt you." He said and held out his half of the loaf. "Here, you can have this."

The little girl looked skeptical, but the little boys eyes lit up.

"Its okay." Blaine repeated, "it isnt a trick."

He stepped close to them and held the bread closer. They both winched like they were about to be hit. Blaine just stood still not wanting to scare them. The little boy looked up at his sister who eventually nodded. Then he rushed forward and grabbed the bread, stuffing big bites into his mouth.

"Dont eat too fast." His sister said, barely above a whisper as he tore off just a small piece for herself.

Blaine heard an exaggerated sigh behind him and turned to see Mike walking forward, he handed his piece to the girl.

"You might as well take this too." He said. She smiled up at him and Mikes sour expression immediately softened.

She took the bread with a small thank you before they both jumped at some nearby sound. The girl grabbed her little brothers hand and they started down the alleyway, eating their bread as they went.

Blaine and Mike followed them; some kind of ruckus was going on in the street. When they got out there they saw that everyone had parted, making way for a caravan of horses and brightly robed people.

"Whats this?" Blaine heard a man near him ask.

"Another suitor for the Prince." Someone else answered sounding board.

Just then the little boy that Blaine had given food to got excited about the horses. Camels were plentiful, but you didnt see many horse in this part of town. He ran forward to get a better look, but ended up spooking one of the horses, the one that seemed to be carrying the leader of the group. The horse bucked a tiny bit and whinnied, but no harm was done. That didnt matter to the rider though. He grabbed for his whip and snapped it towards the little boy.

Blaine was already moving though. He was fast, he reached forward and grabbed the end of the whip, it stung his hand slightly, but he stopped it from hurting the boy. Blaine tugged on it until the man let go in surprise.

"If I was a rich as you." Blaine spat out. "I could afford some manners!"

The people around him gasped and the man looked horrified. "Why should I have manners when dealing with the likes of you?" He said haughtily and kicked Blaine in the chest causing him to stumble backwards. "You are no better than a common, worthless street rat!"

And with that the man snapped his reigns and the caravan started up again.

Blaine clenched his jaw and held back tears. The words hurt much more than the kick. He turned back to check on the little boy but he was being pulled away by his sister. Probably a good idea, they didnt need the trouble.

Blaine made his way out of the crowd and started back to his place, Mike was soon by his side. "What an ass." He said.

"Yeah, he wasnt wrong though was he?"

"Of course he was! He doesnt know anything."

Blaine just bit his lip and nodded.

"Come on." Mike said with a smile. "Lets go find some of the guys, we might still be able to scrounge up some dinner.

"Thats okay." Blaine smiled. "Im done for today, you go though. Have fun."

Mike looked him over, but didnt fight. He just shrugged and hurried off the other way. Blaine climbed up to the rooftops again and made his way to his "home". It was a rundown building that was completely uninhabitable except the upper level. It was missing part of its roof and a wall and a half, but it was big and clean and Blaine called it home. It held a few pillows and blankets, one change of pants and a pot of water. All of Blaines earthly positions.

"Im not worthless." Blaine said to himself. "Im not just a street rat. There is so much more to me." He sighed and walked to the crumbling half wall, he had a big bolt of cloth tied up as a curtain, he pulled it down and looked out on the city. His home might not be much, but he knew he had one of the best views available, not only could you see the whole city from here but also you could see the entire palace, its white walls and gleaming gold dome roofs.

"What must it be like to live there? To have that kind of freedom?" Blaine smiled, picturing it for a moment, but then just a quickly his lips turned down into a frown. "Not that Ill ever know." He turned away from the view and flopped down on some pillows as his He stomach rumbled and began to hurt a little.