Castle Thief {A Momojiro Tale}

Chapter 3

I'd been alone as long as I could remember. My mother abandoned me to an orphanage when my father died, at least thats what the nuns told me.

I'd had friends at the orphanage, kids like me. Alone and unwanted. Not that that was our fault. Though we made trouble for ourselves and our caretakers they still loved us. Kiko was the ringleader, she was the oldest and soon to be kicked out of the hovel packed full of unwanted children.

There was never enough money to go around, never enough food. We wandered the streets by night, a pack of stray dogs looking for a scrap or a friendly hearth. I was happy to stay in the background as Kiko lead us through the town that had never loved us.

Stealing, lying, cheating our way through life.

The nuns were nice, but strict, and when the time came for Kiko to leave, she was gone. Just like that. I watched all my friends kicked to the curb and abandoned yet again by the people who were supposed to love them.

I had to get away. There was no way I'd survive being forced out of my home. Albeit a scrappy, hungry home.

I had to leave first. Sure the logic was a little twisted but I followed through. I left the only friends I'd ever known and ran. I took from the sparse coin the donation funded facility had. Only my share, though it wasn't enough to even last me a week by myself.

Hungry, and alone. Again. Plodding my way town to town. Stealing what I could until they ran me out time and time again.

I would work odd jobs for money, any amount any time. I needed to eat, though most times I didn't.

Until I got to one town. With a  small tailor shop, abandoned and infested by rats and termites. I traded the rags I had been wearing. Worn down by time and abuse. For dusty moth eaten clothes in the tailor shop. Most of the usable ones had been stolen or taken whenever the shop owner deserted. Long tailored white pants too big for me at first and the shirt of a servant even finding shoes not torn apart by time and the rough cobblestone road I been running on since I left everything behind.

Finding myself presentable—well, for the most part— I went to go find some way to get food. I could steal or lie but I was tired of being chased by angry merchants. I would find work, maybe someone was kind enough to help me this time.

I hopped from shop to shop. Home to home. Odd jobs to even more odd jobs. Learning to sell tools, clean house and cook, shoe horses and groom them.

Making enough money to keep myself... well at least I wasn't begging on the side of the road.

Then... well, then I messed up. I saw a beautiful lute, I just had to have it. Sitting in a shop window, and it didn't look like anyone else wanted it. So I waited until dark. It's almost funny how easy it was to break in and ruin my hopes of ever having a normal life in that town. I picked the lock, and it was mine. The lute was mine.

It was only a matter of time before they found out. It was not a cheap instrument by far if I worked every day for the rest of my life I couldn't even afford a single string, I had to keep myself fed after all.

Back to theft, the cover of night, a large crowd or commotion kept me alive, an apple, a loaf of bread I even stole a whole roast once. It rotted on the second day and I had thrown up so much I didn't even feel hungry. Employers turned into the exploited they still helped me, not that they knew it.

I didn't have my friends, I didn't have food or someplace safe, but at least I had my lute.

Then I stole a loaf of bread and I had nothing yet again.