The Lost Tales of Peter

Chapter 3

The next morning, Peter woke up, alone, in his little piece of an alley. He stared at the molding wall opposite of his rag blankets. He went deep in thought over his future. What were James and he going to do? No one would care for teenagers. Their time being young would end eventually. Peter's dearest wish was to have eternal youth. That would be the greatest thing ever. Maybe an eternal vacation. An island with magical creatures and gorgeous waters. Possibly some native people. Peter could picture it perfectly. He decided that he would keep the thought of the island in his mind to keep him motivated. Peter sat up and stretched. As he popped his back, he noticed a gang of outlaws walk past the alley.
Of course, outlaws were throughout the suburbs. Yet, these outlaws were different than the rest. Some of their clothes were half soaked and half dry. One or two had a wooden leg. One of them stood out amongst the rest. He seemed to be the leader of the group. He wore a red coat with worn out lasses and a white ascot, tucked in his velvet undercoat. He had long, greasy black hair and a small mustache. He supported a red captain's hat with a long, white feather. He looked slightly familiar but Peter couldn't place him. The captain was the only one who strode with confidence. The rest of the group seemed to just walk in his shadow.
Peter just shook his head and stood up. He began his morning routine. He walked to the end of the alley that faced the main square. In corner of his eye, Peter could see the little market girl. She had matted blonde hair and blue eyes. She looked more impish than Peter. Peter had no romantic feelings for her. He was merely fascinated with her. She was Peter's helping hand in times of need. He walked over to her stand and glanced at her merchandise, saying, "Great necklaces, Tina. Where'd you get feathers?"
Tina smirked and said, "Down at that foresty area on the other side of here."
Peter did remember seeing a few birds cross through his area a couple of nights before.
"Anyways, what you be up to today, my lady?" , Peter asked with a smirk.
Tina chuckled. "Just trying to sell to my jewelry for food again."
Peter knew it sound like that was okay but he went sad over it. Every day, he was reminded that tomorrow wasn't promised to you. If you woke up the next morning, you were happy for it. It was a rough life out in the streets. But it was better if you had someone to live through it with. Speaking of James, where was he?
"Hey, Tina, have you seen James around?"
"No. Not this morning. Sorry, mate."
"It's fine. I'll see you around, my lady!" Peter said with a grin and he began walking through the square.
"See you around, my lord!"
And with that, Peter walked across the square and look at the shops. Life wasn't always that bad. Until the baker saw him. The baker saw him in a heartbeat. Peter knew what was about to happen was his fault. Not because he distracted the crowd for James. It was because he broke the unbreakable rule of thievery: NEVER return to the scene of the crime. Peter knew he messed up big time. He wished James was there. But Peter could tell he was on his own for the time being.
The baker yelled, "Oi! You're that scoundrel who helped steal my pies! Come back here, you hooligan!"
Peter bolted to the nearest alley. The alleys were Peter's territory. He could lose the baker easily. The baker followed his every step. Peter hastened his stride and took a turn. His opponent was in hot pursuit. Peter couldn't believe the speed that fat man had.
The baker didn't know what he got himself into. The other street kids saw that Peter was in some deep trouble so they came in for the assist pretty quickly. "Eat slugs, mister!" A boy of about 4 years jumped up and filled the baker's mouth with, you guessed it, slugs. The fat man groaned in agony and gave the boy a death stare. While the baker was distracted the boy's big sister, Alexia, took a metal bar to his head and knocked him out cold. Peter, Alexia and the other children watch his fat belly hit the ground. They laughed for a bit and went back to normal. Alexia turned to Peter and asked, "Why are you always getting into trouble? Why can't you stay out of the grasp of every marketer around 'ere?"
Peter just laughed. "Then life would be terribly boring!"
"Well, we wouldn't want your boredom now, do we?"  She chuckled for a moment, then paused. "Do try to stay out of harm's way, won't you?" , she said, with an emphasis of care in her voice.
Peter stared into her eyes. "I always try, yet trouble seems to find me first."
He tipped his head to her and walk back to his side of alleyways. As he settled down to determine a steal for the day, James appeared at the end of the alley, ruffed up and parts of his clothing ripped away, more than usual. The second Peter saw this, he was instantly angered. His first question was, "Who did this?"
James shook his head and said, "Don't let it bother you. Just brush it out of memory."
"Tell me now or I'll knock you right in the kisser."
James rolled his eyes. "Fine. I'll tell you but you keep your trap shut about it."
Peter nodded and James told him what happened.

(Next Update: December 15th)