1 A Castle in a Forsaken Land(I)

Oaken Staff was a depraved count further backed by an equally twisted family. At ten Tiffaney Oaken Staff was terrified beyond belief. Nothing she had been able to do had been enough for those oppressive and ruthless monsters that wore human skin. 

"Three shillings for roast, if you can't pay get out." Young Oaken Staff ordered from a prickly waitress, having ran away from her ancestral home a month ago.

"I have two can I get a dinner set instead?" Placing two small bronze coins on the table the surly waitress swept them off.

"Suit yourself." Dismissively the server wandered off.

At ten Tiffaney was quite small and childish looking, years of malnourishment had taken its toll on the small child. She had wisdom beyond her years, an unfortunate mix of abuse and advance education suited for noble brides. Even as noble runaway, she still took the time to pick out the onions and shallots of her ordered meal before she ate heartily. 

"Crops withered today." 

"Only a small section, right?" 

Two scraggly looking farmers drank poor ale, grumbling about their harvest. This side of town was old, cracked stone and brick fallen to ruin compared to the more affluent noble side. This section of land was too far from the hearth spring, and the land yielded poorly. 

"Wasn't like this before…must be." Even losing most of his crops, the farmer couldn't bring himself to speak aloud. His friend however couldn't hold back and exclaimed aloud. 

"Dammed castle it is!" His inpatient outburst was quickly stifled by a heavy tankard from across the room. The owner had an excellent aim the mug that he tossed scored a direct hit. Bouncing neatly off dirty farmer's temple, the wooden mug clattered onto the dirty floor. 

"No one speaks ill of the castle in my bar, pay up and out boys least the candelabrum men get us all."

A few curses that the noble couldn't make sense of elicited from the farmers, as the gentlemen dropped a few coins and left. One still clutched his head where the mug had struck him.

Castle…her destination. There were only two places that the noble could play runaway. These places where the only ones existed beyond the control of the royal family that the child could make it to. The first was the icy mountainous duke. Cold, fridged, a beast who thirsted for blood trapped in a cold wasteland in the tropic souths. The second was the ancient and noble seat of Dyne, an agricultural paradise that fed the entire empire. 

"Thank you very much miss." With a light curtsy the child noble leaf stumbling as she navigated around other patrons. 

Tiffaney was fleeing her family home, hence why a ten-year-old was near the edge of the arbitrary slum marker in the city of Marewood. She wrapped up her hair and dirtied her face to stay hidden but there was still those perusing her.

Runaway noble managed spill her way out in the alley. Like most people who ended up here, she had come this way for the cheapness. The place was at least passable, though her weeks of travel and upbringing gave her a new definition of passable. 

Clutching her clothes and small pack to her body, the girl turned and hurried off. 

Count Oaken Staff couldn't allow his illegitimate daughter to escape from him after all. She was a potential embarrassment that had to be rectified. Behind her there were several men in breastplates searching the area, chasing her to drag her home. They lost sight of her when they chased her into Marewood at the start of the day.

Despite her caution, there weren't many ten-year-olds running away by themselves as travelers. Having pursued her, even with her tight wrapped clothes that made her look like a boy wasn't enough to hide her from them.  

"Stop that girl!" No one lunged at her, not caring about who or why someone was chasing or being chased. Her small stature was a blessing and a curse, as she could slip into spaces between the crowed road that the men couldn't. Reversely it was difficult to force things and others out of the way. 

"Got to get out of here, I can't go back." There was a disgusting smell to her left, a pit of unwashed sewage mixed with smoke and oil. Without hesitating she turned down the narrow ally, hoping to disappear. Clunky crates and rotten food with small hideaways tucked with the destitute, was an obstacle course for the small child.

"Don't let the brat escape!" The men however barreled through without any mercy, slowly closing in. Rounding the conner the girl smashed into something with a wispy hardness. Startling blue eyes appeared, sparked with veins of cloudy smoke. Even matted, blackened, the gilded straw was still evident in the persons hair. 

Mesmerized by the gentle soft features on the person she bumped into, realizing that she was far too close for her own heart. Overwhelmed it was her victim that noticed the din of the purist, and rapidly pulled the girl into a small crevice between buildings.

Moldy covers were tossed up as the blond child shoved the small girl into the wall. Noble education include reading and there were a few books on fairy tale love that had been part of that curriculum. Under the legendary wall press or domineering press or…way to close!

"She came this way go left; I'll take right." The slightly more senior of the men snaped out orders before sprinting down one of the side passages. Her savior wasn't looking at her rather her eyes cocked listening to the sound of pursuit. 

Noise of the city didn't register, as the young girl was still trapped in her own thoughts about how embarrassing this was. After she realized that no one else was looking she relaxed before it occurred to her no one could see what was going on. Locking up, blushing furiously she turned her head not to stare at the child in front of her. 

Once confident that no one was still in pursuit the person who saved the noble released the cover taking in a moderately deep breath of moderately fresh air.

"I think their gone." It didn't matter to that person why the child was running away, on these streets there were far worse outcomes than merely being homeless. Stepping back the person looked at the traveler she saved. Once free her brain begun to work once again and was able to think about what to do next. 

Hacking up a lung as the slum scent assaulted her was the first thing the noble had to do. Second was to do something important for her rescuer, the kindness couldn't be unrepaid. 

"Here." Before the person could run or leave, she dug through her bag. Those curious stormy eyes watched for moment before a small hard rock was handed to her. It took a moment of inspection to realize that it was a piece of bread. 

"I'm sorry I don't have more to give but it's all I have." Executing a deep curtsy to show her gratitude was the best she could do. Her rescuer had intended to extort her for more, but the lack of reservation made it difficult. Hesitantly she finally decided she could not take advantage of the poor fool that had been saved.

"It's nothing." What a sweet voice, Tiffany thought as she straitened. 

"Thank you so much, you really saved me."

"Hmm, just be more careful." The radiant smile on the noble's face was blinding. In the heart of the savior, she was grateful she didn't extort such a pure person.

"Please part well" Waving with her ears-stained red from what had occurred, Tiffaney left in the way she came, choosing to set off for her new destination named Waypoint. It took several hours of trudging off further into the countryside before the noble runaway finally stopped tittering to herself. 

Having watched the girl go, the person looked down at the bread, slamming it against the wall to break it into pieces, before she began to suck on it since it was too difficult to chew. It was good to get something to eat more than once a day, and that person had been awfully cute. 

"Well, this could work." A disgusting voice sounded behind the only person in the alley. The remanent crumbs and pieces of the bread fell to the dirtied stone.