This morning’s letter was very short.

All Lena had written upon it was a time. A few hours after the sun reached the Rift Wall. Which wasn’t a time I recognized, but I figured it was shortly after noon.

Although I remembered seeing the sun touch the Rift Wall, I couldn’t remember just what time that was. This meant that I had to constantly keep an eye on the Rift Wall, to ensure I didn’t miss it on accident.

Either way, it gave me time to walk and think.

“Twice the charm, I’d say,” a woman said as we passed one another. The young girl holding the woman’s hand seemed amused at whatever her mother was saying.

“Was a good storm a few hours ago,” another man said as he and two others carried large cloth bags.

The street, like always, was busy. People going and coming, people carrying supplies… most were working in one way or another. A few stores in front of me, was a small group of people painting the storefront.

It was the first time I’ve seen them actually painting the buildings, and I was surprised to see them painting it a different color than it already was. Most of the front of the store had already been painted, but a few spots of the old paint still remained. The old silver color didn’t look that bad. The new paint was a fresh blue, similar to the building next to it.

Two buildings being the same color was a rare sight, at least when next to one another. Maybe they were going to paint the building next to it afterward.

“Brom wouldn’t of done that!” one of the painter’s laughed as I passed them.

“He sure did! The entire night!” another shouted over the group as they all laughed in amusement.

The smell of the paint was a little strong, so I was glad to put some distance between us as I kept on walking. Where did they get all the paint anyway? This entire town was drenched in the stuff… Maybe it was easy to make here, thanks to the Rift.

Back home, in the nation I was from, paint was not so common. It was pricey. In my whole life we had only painted the house once.

“Pardon me,” a man apologized for stepping in front of me, and I noticed the bundle of clothes under one of his arms.

They looked new. And sure enough to my right, from where he had emerged, was a clothing store.

A small window, barely big enough to showcase the dress on display, was the only inclination of the store. There didn’t seem to be a sign or name anywhere.

Although odd, it was becoming very prevalent that such a thing was normal. The transit company that Lena had referenced me hadn’t had a sign either. It seemed that although most buildings had signs, or names, there were still a good many buildings without anything.

Was it on purpose, or was I misunderstanding something? What if they weren’t stores at all, but warehouses, or something like it?

“Impossible!”

A loud shout drew my attention away from the window, thanks to the tone of the voice. The street was loud, with people talking, yet that voice of anger seemed all the louder.

“It can’t be done!” thanks to the man continue his shouting, I quickly found him. Several buildings away, near the next intersection, stood a large burly man. He was standing close to a woman, and pointing his finger at her.

Although a few others were looking at them, everyone seemed to be ignoring them. I was about to look away as well, since he didn’t seem too upset, but then I noticed something on the woman’s dress.

Even from this distance, I could tell the dress she wore was fancy. At least more fancy than most here. But that wasn’t important… since many people wore nice clothes here.

What was fascinating was the design sewed on the dress.

“You’ll have to prove it then!” the man shouted, stepping back from the woman. His voice was still loud, but not as angry.

Both of them turned, as to head into the building they stood in front of, and I hurriedly stepped forward.

Instinct forced my feet into motion as I tried to get close enough to better make out the design on her dress. It looked like flowers… but there was something about it that…

Rounding a small group of people who were chatting, I felt silly in my rushing when the woman and man stopped to talk some more. Their conversation resumed.

Now closer, I was only two buildings away from them. Close enough that I could not only make out some of their conversation… but could also see the reason why her dress had caught my eye.

It wasn’t a design. Not a real one. The artwork on her dress, sewn by some kind of shiny thread, was unmistakable. Scattered all over her, on her back, her shoulders, her waists and thighs, even her calves… were crests. Familial crests.

I came to an abrupt stop at the realization, and wondered how I hadn’t realized it immediately.

She was a power.

For a few seconds I felt my heart beat within my chest, but I quickly calmed myself.

She wasn’t the first of my kind I’ve met, excluding my mother, but she was still a surprise to see. After all, I’ve been here for five days now and she was the first one I’ve seen. When supposedly we were somewhat common here.

I stepped closer to the building next to me, as if to hide, while I watched her. She was taller than the man who had crossed his arms. He looked upset.

Unlike my own uncertain self, she wore no hat. Her hair was long, reaching her waist, yet I could still see the two small horns peeking out from above her ears. They were easily noticeable, being such a deep red color… especially when her hair was so yellow.

A man walked past me, looking at me oddly, but I ignored him as I watched the power say something that made the seemingly troubled man burst out in laughter.

From this distance I could hear their voices but couldn’t make out what they were saying, since neither was shouting anymore… but his laughter was boisterous. It drew the eyes of everyone else on the street.

“So be it!” he shouted, amused. Then he turned and headed into the building.

The woman didn’t seem bothered and after a moment followed him in. It seemed obvious that some kind of business deal was being made.

Was she perhaps purchasing the services of a Guide?

Walking away from the colorful bricks, I did my best to not run as I went to read the sign on the building they had entered.

If it was a Guide, or some form of it, maybe I wanted to use them as well. After all, if another power had wanted their service… then…

My hopes didn’t last long, as I realized quickly that the building wasn’t anything like that at all.

A large window, with yellow tinted glass, showcased rows of shoes. Hundreds if not thousands of pairs of shoes lined the many racks and along the walls.

And on the small sign above the tinted window, was confirmation. Not only of it being a shoe store, but…

The little flowery design right below the name on the sign was a splitting image of the design on the power’s clothes.

“Her store…” I whispered, realizing the obvious.

Luckily the street was busy enough, and the store had enough customers within, that no one noticed me acting odd as I peered into the window. The tall woman was easy to find. She was in one of the corners, directing the man as he rearranged a shelf.

So he had been a worker. Or something close to it.

The shoes scattered all throughout the store looked… normal, for the most part. Although some looked a tad more expensive than something I’d ever wear, or anyone I knew, I also wouldn’t have noticed such shoes in a crowd of feet. If they were designs, or actual products, from the Lands of Power, then it seemed our two races and nations had very similar shoe styles.

Though maybe she’d not sell our kind’s clothing here. Maybe they weren’t suited.

Still… how amazing. A power’s store. I had not thought they would do such things, but why wouldn’t they?

I was jealous. Jealous of her store. The crest she so proudly declared…

Stepping away from the window as one of the store’s workers passed by, I stepped away with a great deal of reluctance.

A part of me wanted to go in, not just to examine the store owned by someone from my race… but to maybe even talk to her.

This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

But I knew better.

I didn’t need anyone to tell me. I had a whole diary. A whole lifetime, from the stories and teachings from my mother, to know better.

Powers were rare still, but not as much as one would assume. After all thousands of people constantly came and went through the Rift. If humans were coming and going in such numbers, then surely the powers were as well.

If anything…

Passing another large window, I took a moment to glance at it. Instead of peering in to the store itself, I stared at my dull reflection. This window was somewhat dirty looking, thanks to its coloring.

As short as most human women, and with my horns hidden under my hat, I looked just like any other girl on the street. What made me seem even more human was my distinct lack of designs on my clothing.

My mother’s dress briefly appeared on me in the reflection, from my memory, and I had to look away. It was a silly thought, but it made me sad all the same.

Not just because I’d not have been able to wear it, but because of why it had been sold so long ago.

“Stupid,” I chastised myself as I returned to walking.

For a good few minutes I hated myself. It’s been such a long time since I thought about that dress. Why would…

My uncle’s face appeared on one of the men I passed, and I had to keep myself from looking back at him. My uncle wasn’t here, I had just imagined that.

An annoying moment, but it somehow calmed me. Yes. It was my uncle’s fault. His antics last night, and the yelling and fighting… The way he stormed out of the inn, after I had given him that bag of coins…

It was his fault I remembered that dress.

At least, I was able to blame him. If only to make me feel a little better.

“Mintmorency?”

I found myself looking down at the ground, and had to look up. I had been lost in thought and…

A pair of men were standing next to me, and I didn’t recognize either of them.

Before I could ask what they wanted, the shorter man on the right reached out for me. I tried to step back, stunned by the sudden events, but wasn’t able to get away. He roughly grabbed my right arm, and then pulled me towards him.

“What the!” I started to shout, but a hard hand covered my mouth. Then I was hefted, and within a moment found myself over his shoulder.

Panic shot up from my gut, as I tried to scream and free myself, but the other man had a firm grip on my mouth and the back of my head. To keep me from shouting.

The rough calluses hurt almost as much as the pinching and squeezing of the hands carrying me.

They carried me into a nearby alley, and for the tiniest moment I hoped they would drop me. To toss me down and demand I give them my coins. A simple mugging.

My worry and panic only grew with each step farther into the alley we went. After a few moments, once deep enough into the alley, the other man even released my mouth.

“Let me go!” I screamed, trying to struggle. But neither seemed to care. In fact the one carrying me only squeezed tighter.

Trying to reach around to scratch and hit the man who was carrying me, I winced when he lifted me up just enough to slam me back down on his shoulder. As if repositioning a heavy bag.

The motion hurt, and ended my next scream as my breath left my lungs.

“Hurry,” the man behind me said with a hushed voice, and I realized how bad of a situation I was in. They weren’t just mugging me, they were taking me somewhere. Either to kidnap me or worse…

“Stop!”

A new voice came, and at first I thought it was from the man carrying me, but both men had heard it too. They didn’t stop running down the alley, but the man carrying me did turn a little as to look behind us.

“Drop her!” the new voice shouted, and a wave of hope gave me cause to renew my struggling. I tried to knee the man in the face, and almost did. The man noticed my attempt, and went to reposition me as to stop me from trying again. Before he could, the man behind us disappeared.

A spray of something wet splattered my face. The man behind us fell, stumbling and landing on his face. Or at least what was left of it.

The man who was carrying me spun, realizing what had happened, and with his sudden turn my own world went sideways.

I instinctively knew what was going to happen, but wasn’t able to flinch and look away in time. My head was greeted by the nearby brick wall, and I felt the rough stone scrape into my left cheek in the process.

My nose was the last thing to get hurt, but not from the wall. The man who had been carrying me dropped me, letting me slide down off his shoulder as if I was a laden sack.

Luckily this alley hadn’t been paved. The dirt was packed and filthy, but my nose neither broke nor did I feel any teeth break upon the impact as I landed face first.

“Bastard!” a man’s voice was quickly followed by the sound of something heavy hitting something heavier. I tried to roll onto my side, but the fall had stolen the strength from my legs and arms.

Through blurry eyes, and with sharp pains that burned my nose and cheeks every sharp breath, I rolled far enough on my side to look upward. A few feet away, kicking up dirt as they struggled, were two men. My abductor… and…

My savior?

The two each had a hold on what looked to be a shovel. They were tugging and pulling it every which way as to try and strip it from the other’s hands. It had obviously been the weapon used to fell the other abductor, who was still lying on the ground several feet away. He wasn’t even twitching, and although there wasn’t any blood pooling or visible on him… there was a splatter of bright red on the dull gray brick wall.

With a sudden grunt, wood snapped. The shovel broke into several pieces as both men hurriedly stepped away from one another. My abductor held onto one of the larger pieces which still had the metal shovel tip, while my savior tossed aside the wooden piece.

Thanks to the momentary calmness, the two were able to take a few breaths. As they did, I noticed my abductor look to the ground nearby.

“By the Rift you killed him!” my abductor shouted, his voice sounding more amused than angered.

“Leave her! She has the protection of the Rift Birds!” my savior shouted, his voice strained.

Was he hurt?

My abductor must have also heard the man’s strained pain… for he suddenly charged forward, raising the shovel tip high overhead.

I startled at the renewed ferocity as both men went back to trying to kill each other. Fists slammed into faces, feet thumped thighs and in-between legs. The shovel tip connected with my savior’s shoulder, but was smacked away and into the air a moment later. A trail of blood followed it as it landed an arm’s reach away from me.

The sudden closeness of the bloody item spurred me out of my pained daze. Feeling was returning to my arms and legs, and although shaky…

Coughing, I rolled over as to get my legs under me. The two men were struggling a few feet from me. Their grunts were loud as the sound of flesh being hit filled the world. Then they fell to the ground.

Dirt went up into the air, and then washed over me. I had to crawl backward to avoid a stray fist as they rolled around on the ground. Hurriedly I went to stand, to get away.

Before I could get my feet under me, they rolled closer. I had to roll backward to avoid their flailing legs and arms.

Hitting the wall behind me, with flinching eyes I watched my supposed rescuer finally pin my abductor beneath him. “No!” my abductor tried to stop him, but his right arm was stuck under him. With only one arm to defend him, he wasn’t able to stop my rescuer from wrapping his hands around his rigid neck.

I started to stand, but hesitated as I watched the man grip his hands around the other’s neck. “Stop!” the man’s words came out in a wheeze as his throat was squeezed.

My abductor renewed his struggling, with his legs flailing and scraping the packed dirt beneath us. Both men grunted as they fought, but it was clear who was winning. Not because one was stuck under the other, or because one had his grip on the other’s throat… but because the man who was being choked had gone horribly red in the face.

Veins and sweat started to cover his face, and I jumped to my feet when I heard something crunch and snap. With the sound the man reached up and scraped and clawed at my savior’s face.

Putting my back to the wall, a weird thought entered my head as I watched my abductor slowly stop moving. His legs and arms went rigid, and his tongue stuck out of his mouth. His bright red face started to fade to white.

Why wasn’t I running? There was nothing stopping me. No other abductors were nearby, and the only two men still conscious were fixated entirely on each other. I needed to run. To escape. To…

Another odd sounding snap came from the man’s neck, and he abruptly stopped moving. With heavy heaves, my savior squeezed the man’s throat one last time.

Once sure he was dead, he finally unclasped his hands. The man’s neck had massive bruising already, and I noticed one of my savior’s fingers was bent at an odd angle.

“You... are you, are you ok?” the man asked between his gasps for air. With his question, and his looking at me, I noticed the great big gouges on his face. Deep scratches, running down the side of his face to his chin. From the shovel earlier, or nails, I wonder?

“Yes… I am. Thank you,” I said, unsure of what to say. What did one say in a situation like this? Was there something proper to do? An etiquette?

Did he even save me? Or was he just…

The man coughed up a glob of blood and spat it out. His wheezing told me that he was not only in a lot of pain, but unsure of himself. He was barely about to get up off the ground, and had to rest against the wall to support himself.

“I work for Mistress Lena. We need to go, before his buddies realize he failed,” the man said with a hoarse, but steady voice. The cuts on his face were starting to bleed. Some if it dripped down his chin, hitting his now filthy shirt.

“Lena?” I startled at the sudden mention of her. For some reason I found that a little more worrying than the knowledge that my abductors hadn’t been working alone.

“Yes. Please, let’s go. There’re people watching, and any of them could be one of them,” he said, gesturing down the alleyway.

For a tiny moment I studied the man. He was human, and looked far older than he seemed. I blamed the exhaustion wrought on his face. He looked haggard, and weak. If one simply glanced at him, then the man he just killed, one would not have believed my skinnier abductor capable of causing this man so much wear and tear. This man was twice the weight, and taller too.

“Mintmorency. Please, I’ll not be able to protect you if anyone else comes right now,” the man said quickly. I noted he was resisting the urge to simply reach over and grab me by the arm. Maybe he thought if he did I’d run away, out of instinct alone.

Oddly that knowledge calmed me more than anything he was saying.

“Alright. Lead the way,” I said.

Great relief washed over the man as he nodded. Without a glance to the two men he had just killed, he turned and hurried down the alley with a limp.

Letting him get a few feet away from me before following, I spared one last glance to the man who had almost ended my whole journey.

One arm was half underneath him. His legs were angled oddly, and stiff. His eyes were open, his tongue was sticking out, and half his face was covered in dirt and small rocks thanks to all the blood and spit.

His clothes didn’t look…

He looked like any other man here in RiftWarren. I didn’t recognize him. Nor did he seem to be wearing anything to identify him.

Both he and the other man weren’t familiar at all. Who were they? Why had they tried to kidnap me?

Why had one of Lena’s men saved me?

There were countless questions, but only one real solid truth.

There were two dead men. Mere feet from me.

But that didn’t matter right now.

Looking behind me, to the edge of the alleyway, I saw the small crowd staring at me. The way their eyes dug into me sent me into motion, quickly running after the man who was limping.

I had no time for questions, or worries.

I could barely afford the tears let alone fear as I followed the limping man out of the alley, and towards Lena’s office building.