"Come on Afton, down this alley and to the left. We should be safe down there" Devin shrieked as he and Afton ran away from two local guards after pilfering some food from a pastry cart in the market. The two squeeze down the alley between some empty boxes and the old cobbled walls. As they get to the end of the long dark alley they see a large man grasps the side of the entrance to the alley breathing heavily gasping for air as he leans in glaring down the alley shouting "WHERE DID YOU TWO GET OFF TO". Afton and Devin stay low to the ground as they pray the guards do not check the alley more closely, Afton whispers to himself "Zema save us". The two lay on the ground besides one another, holding hands, holding their breath, making as little sound as possible. Praying the guard will pass by and they will stay safe.

As they both lay on the cold hard ground they hear some mumbling at the far end of the alley and see the shadow of the large guard stumble off away still panting. The two stay silent for a few more moments before slowly and carefully standing making sure not to knock anything over. They both slowly manoeuvre back to the entrance of the alley, Devin slowly sticks his head out of the alley and glances both ways trying to spot the guards. Devin abruptly pulls back into the alley grabs Aftons shoulders and says "I hope you still have that cake in your bag, that was a close one".

Afton smirks, pushes her hair out of the way of the bag and pulls the cake out. They both jump with glee trying to mask a bit of their excitement so they don't get found. Afton puts the cake back into her bag, quickly ties her hair up and asks "where to next then?". Devin grabs her arm and after checking each side of the exit once more says "I know a spot". They leave the area in a hurry, trying to look inconspicuous.

After leaving the market area of Kolla Devin brings Afton to the factory side of the city, by the docks in the south east side of town. They both try to act like they belong in the area walking with some confidence, Devin suddenly stops as they get to a large old building that looks like its barely able to stand and points to the top saying "The view from up there is mind blowing at sun set". The two climb the old broken stairs that cascade up the side of the building until they get to the top, Devin helps Afton up the final few steps because they are in the worst condition out of the lot. Afton clambers up the last few stairs with his help, after reaching the top she gasps as she gazes across the ocean at the beautiful sunset hiding itself behind the frozen mountains on the other side of the canal to Kolla. The light reflecting off the crystals on the mountain are creating a mesmerising illusion of multicoloured water Infront of them.

Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.

The two sit on the south edge of the building facing the water still in awe that they got away with the cake heist today. Afton pulls the cake out of her bag placing it carefully on the rooftop grabbing a large handful of the cake and waiting for Devin to do the same. The two in unison begin counting down "5,4,3,2,1" and take a large messy bite of the cake, neither of them have ever eaten something so delicious. The sensation of eating the cake is a mixture of joy and satisfaction.

Afton speaks up after licking her lips saying "I hate how this is honestly a top 5 moment in my life up to this point, this cant be all this life is, we need to change something"

Devin responds "do you mean more cake? or how we are living in general"

Afton giggles, punches him on the shoulder grabs another handful of the cake and with her mouth half full says "not just cake, I cant live like this anymore. this is our first meal in three days and its a cake we STOLE"

Devin wipes away some of the food Afton spat towards him and responds "I agree but can we please finish this amazing cake before we talk some more?"

Afton nods and the two finish off the cake after a few more handfuls each, they both wipe their hands on the roof and the cloths they are wearing. Devin lays back on the roof looking up at the night sky and points "both of the moons are out tonight Afton", Afton also lies on the roof sighing and stretching her arms responding "so they are".

Afton moves so she is looking at Devin then says "We have no-one in the world but ourselves, we need to change things ourselves"

Devin shrugs "I agree but I'm not sure how we would even do that"

Afton whispers "what if we steal something better than a cake, we got away with that who says what we can achieve?"

Devin pauses for a moment to think and responds "I see what you mean but doesn't that sound a little dangerous? we barely escaped today"

Afton sits up exclaiming "we barely escaped because we didn't plan today, I saw the cake and the old man facing other way, we had an opportunity and I took it"

Devin smirks "I guess that's true"

Afton leans in closer to Devin before saying "I don't have any idea what we will take right now but I'm sure we will find something if we go round to Radburns"

Devin sighs deeply rolling his eyes before responding "you know I hate that guy... but okay, if you take the lead"

They both lie looking at one another as they drift off to sleep, stomachs and heads full of dreams of a better life, apprehensive of what's to come.