The memories of my past felt so long ago but I would never forget them.

I was in the Royal Capital of Bareth, I was only ten at the time. Maybe older or a little younger, I never knew my exact age. My childhood was spent in an orphanage with others like me. Abandoned children with almost no hope for a future. I was one of the young ones, which meant we would rarely get adopted. People wanted strong and able bodies to work, not weak and fragile ones.

There was a group of us who stayed together because we were similar in age.

Richard had deep blue eyes that liked to dream as big as the sky. His blonde hair was naturally short and spiky, he was also a bit tall for his age. Richard was the oldest and always talked about doing something big or going somewhere grand. He was one of my good friends at the orphanage. I liked how he was always talking about things so enthusiastically, he had a lot of schemes.

Diego was another boy that hung around us. He seemed to be a boy from the eastern side of the continent as he had brown skin and black hair. Diego was shorter than us and a little rounder. He never talked much but he always followed what we did. You could never tell what he was thinking as his eyes were almost half asleep. If Richard was the brains, Diego was the brawn.

Lastly, there was Ariel with blue hair that waved like an ocean. She was slim and her skin was white as snow. I always thought she was pretty and that she had a wonderful personality to accompany it. She was the moral compass of our little group. I had always thought of her as an older sister maybe something more than that. She was like a mother to us all.

The four of us were like a family.

We all lived in an orphanage under the care of a good man. The man who took care of us was a kind and gentle old man, we all called him "Grandfather." He was one of the few adults I could trust back then. He used to be a great adventurer and spent his fortune in trying to take care of the unfortunate. I realized now that I wanted to be just like him.

Grandfather wasted all his money to keep the orphanage afloat but it was running out.

The land was a prime property in the Royal Capital. Grandfather was being strong-armed to sell it but he held his ground. Until his age started to get the best of him and he got sick. Grandfather was able to call in a few favors for the older orphans. They all got places to work and stay at. Only the four of us had nowhere else to go.

Grandfather sold his rights to the land on the condition that we would be taken care of. At the very least until we could grow up and make it on our own. The noble who bought it agreed and signed a contract with Grandfather. I remember being happy that I could stay with the others and Grandfather for just a couple more years.

Grandfather died on his death bed with a smile on his face and the next day we were thrown off the land.

We all cried until our tears dried up on that day grandfather passed away. We thought we would be able to stay until we were strong enough but we were wrong. He was the person that brought us together and raised us like we were his own. The noble said that the person who he made an agreement with had already died. He rightfully bought the land already and he was claiming it. We had nowhere to go and wandered the streets for what seemed like an eternity.

Finally, we had found an abandoned tunnel that used to be an old waterway system. We made it our home and tried our best to survive in the cruel city. Some of the weeds grew and cracked the foundation. Dirt appeared underneath us like it was trying to survive just as we were. Ariel started growing things there and made a tiny flower garden. She thought we could make money by selling flowers. We let her do what she wanted and sometimes helped her.

Richard, on the other hand, thought we should steal and that's what we boys did. We did minor things like stealing food for survival at first. Then we had gotten more brazen, stealing items and money. We didn't let Ariel know of the things we did. We always told her that we sold flowers or were given things.

We were never caught and Richard was getting more cocky. He planned for us to target more wealthy people. Richard would act first, he dressed more flashy so he could be seen.  Diego would work behind the scenes and set things up. I was faster than them both and quicker with my hands. Richard would act as a diversion while I would snatch and grab, Diego would be an innocent bystander who gets in the way. It went fine for awhile until we had stolen from someone we shouldn't have.

I was hiding in a back alley when Richard ran up to me.

"Did you get it?" Richard said.

He looked tired from running.

"Yeah, I got it."

I held up a coin pouch that had some weight to it.

"Wow, what a score!" Richard gave me a smile.

"Where's Diego at?" I said.

We both looked around but he was nowhere to be seen.

"Is this the boy you're looking for?"

A man dressed in black with a hood covering his face approached us in the alley. He was holding Diego by his shirt who had something covering his face. When he got closer to us, we were able to see the mess he made of Diego's face. Diego was bloody and beaten, I didn't know if he was even alive. I tried to hide the pouch behind me but the man had already seen it.

The man dropped Diego to the floor.

"You brats actually thought you could steal from me?" The man said with a snarl.

"Mister, I don't know what you're talking about," Richard said.

The man approached Richard and kicked him in the face.

"Shut up," the man said. "I talk and you listen!"

The man held out his palm to me. My breathing started to become erratic and I looked at his face. His eyes were terrifying and his expression was stern. I produced the pouch and placed it on his hand. He took the pouch away and moved his hand towards me. I flinch and grit my teeth.

His hand patted me on the shoulder and I relaxed my body.

"You're a pretty quick kid, I didn't even notice you!" The man said.

Suddenly I felt a pain in my stomach as he had hit me with all his might.

"Look, kids, I like your guts! Although your skills will need some improvement. You know what? You guys will work for me now." He said.

Richard looked up to the man and his nose was leaking blood.

"Okay kid, now you can talk."

"Why should we?" Richard said defiantly.

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"Oh? Well, you don't have to if you don't want to."

The man pulled out a dagger from his belt.

"The choice is yours." He said.

He made us an offer we couldn't refuse.

Months passed by and we found out who he was. His name was Magnus and he was a crime boss of sorts. Information, dirty deeds and particular items that couldn't be acquired were his forte. We grew into better thieves as we had some protection now. Even if people found out we had stolen from them, they didn't want to antagonize Magnus. Of course, Magnus received a lion's share of the profits.

Our lifestyle had gotten a little better and we moved into a house in the dark side of the city. Ariel was ecstatic as she thought we were turning our lives around. I had known better and couldn't help but feel guilty in not letting her know. The house we lived in had a beautiful flower garden on the side for which Ariel was taking care of. She embraced her role as a mother who would cook and clean for us.

Meanwhile, Richard had embraced the underworld we had stepped in.  

Richard had gotten more ruthless and wanted more of everything. He even resorted to mugging people short of killing them. It was far away from what I thought we should be doing. I knew we were thieves but I didn't want to physically hurt anyone. Many times I thought we should just run away and leave this life behind. Richard had thought otherwise and wanted us to create our own syndicate.

I remember the argument we had at the house. It was in the afternoon and Ariel had just left.

"I'm telling you, we should leave," I said.

"Why!? We don't know anything other than this city!" Richard yelled.

"Weren't you always talking about how you wanted to see the world?" I asked.

"If we had money we could do whatever we want!" He replied.

I ran my fingers through my hair.

"We don't need money, our lives are more important, we can do better for ourselves!" I said.

"This is our lives!" Richard said. "We're making something for ourselves here!"

I looked at Diego who shook his head.

"So what are you saying we should do?" I said.

"Let's make our own group!" He said.

"And what? Not tell Magnus!? He'll kill us."

Richard was biting his lip at the mention of Magnus.

"I'm tired of that man who does nothing but take from our profits!"

Richard resented the fact that we had to give Magnus anything that we worked hard to "earn."

"What could we do? He's bigger than us! He has more connections and he has money."

Magnus was steeped in the underworld and we had only just glimpsed it.

"Maybe we should…"

"Don't say anything else! You'll get us killed." I said.

"How about we buy our freedom?" Diego said.

Richard and I both looked at Diego.

"We could get something big and he'll reward us enough that we could leave too."

I rubbed my fingers and shook my head.

"Where are we going to find a score that big?" I said.

A knock was heard on the door of our house and we all stopped. We stood still and waited, the knocks continued in a rhythm. It was a coded message from a courier, Magnus wanted us to meet him. I sighed and saw the drop of sweat on Richard's forehead. It was a good thing he didn't say anything outright or it would've been the end of us.

We had to wait until midnight before we could move through the streets. The only thing I liked about the Royal Capital was that the night made it so serene. The darkness was the element I was most comfortable in. We moved through the maze of the city like mice. We continued until we found a Manor that was hidden within its walls.

We didn't enter the Manor but an underground passage to the side. There was a metal door at the end of the passage with some guards. We flashed the badges that identified us, the hilt of our daggers. They were given to us by Magnus and signified that we worked for him. The guards opened the doors and we entered through.

The room was plain with almost nothing there but a round table and some chairs. It was just a meeting room with two exits. It was underground and the doors were thick so that the sounds wouldn't carry. Sitting on a chair at the round table was Magnus who greeted us.

Magnus was always in dark clothes with a hood that covered his face. He didn't want anyone to know who he was. Although there were whispers that he was a noble with a great heritage. It only added to his mystique and power.

"Boys there you are, come and sit down," he said.

We didn't hesitate and moved to our seats.

"I have a job for you boys," Magnus said. "I felt that you deserve it."

I looked at Richard and then Diego.

"It'll be a 50/50 split." He said.

I was in shock, Magnus had never given us a split ratio like that before.

"100 gold coins," Magnus said.

Richard stood up with excitement and my jaw dropped.

"So 50 gold coins for us?" Diego asked.

"No, 100 for you and 100 for me," Magnus replied.

Our eyes almost bulged at his words, that was an amazing amount that we couldn't dream of spending at our age.

"We'll do it!" Richard said.

I wanted to agree as well but there always had to be a catch.

"Wait!" I said. "What's the job?"

With that kind of money, this job had to be dangerous.

"Just a little relic you have to steal from some Eleven ambassador,"  Magnus said.

"Where?"

"The Royal Castle."

My body felt weak as I know our prospects of stealing anything were low. We had to sneak into the Royal Castle which was a capital offense. Then we would have to steal from an Elven ambassador which would cause chaos in race relations. If we were caught, we would become more than criminals. We would be labeled traitors by our own kingdom.

I looked at my friends who seem to ponder about the mission given to us. Richard seemed happy and pleased about the task. Diego looked worried and I felt unsure myself. Soon both of them faced me and nodded their heads. A nagging foreboding was on the back of my mind but greed overpowered it.

Had I known what was to come, I would've never taken the job.

"Okay, we'll do it," I said.

I would become mired in the filth.