Broken Bird - Eren x Reader: Prologue Pt. 0

"[Name], he saw you! Run, run!"

You threw your newly-filled satchel over your shoulder and pivoted, sprinting in the opposite direction of the vendor whose goods you had just stolen. You could hear the portly man struggle to remove himself from behind his stall, grunting angrily and knocking over several crates of produce. You distinctly heard a muffled thump and an 'oof!', and assumed the man had fallen over in his haste to catch you. You smirked and looked over your shoulder at the merchant flailing (and failing) to find a grip to drag himself up off the dirty ground.

"Thief!" the merchant screamed, red-faced. "There's a thief, get her!"

Several uniform-clad men stepped out of the crowd of people on the main road and immediately honed in on you. Who were they? Mercenaries? Thugs? The kicked-up dirt from the street made it difficult to make them out. They started towards you.

"Damn it..." you hissed under your breath, continuing your retreat. Your bare feet were slapping the wet, dirty ground and kicking up mud at a rapid pace. More than once you stepped on some debris that sent a ray of pain shooting up your leg, but you gritted your teeth and ignored it. You slid and took a sharp left, exiting the main square and sprinting down a dusty side road.

The alley was dark, as was the rest of the Undercity, and you could hardly see a thing. The only light provided to you was from a single grate high above, opening up to the Stohess district. You could faintly see some phosphorescent crystals embedded into the stone, but the ceiling was too high in this section of the Underground to offer any real illumination.

You were rapidly approaching a prone form in the dirt while you were dodging the garbage piled up into the alley, but managed to lithely jump over it at the last minute. The person - a man, you noticed - sat up in a rage, yelling at you for disturbing his rest as you moved further and further away. You heard him yelp in pain as he was run over by your pursuers and felt a pang of guilt. He didn't deserve that. Few people did.

This sort of occurrence was not uncommon in the slums where you grew up. The Undercity, as it was called by its unfortunate residents, was the remnants of what was once the ultimate plan to escape the titan threat. Everyone would move underground and all of humanity's problems would be solved. It didn't take long for them to figure out how faulty that plan was, and the half-developed subterranean city was abandoned.

As the years went on, many lost their homes above-ground due to poverty and lack of resources, and criminals fled underground seeking refuge. As a result, the maze-like passageways and hastily-built structures began to fill and expand with the Walls' most-wanted and downtrodden. Thus, the slums of the Underground District were born.

Due to its confusing and difficult-to-navigate layout, the police always avoided the Undercity unless something within its depths directly influenced life above ground, and even then would only venture forth in large numbers of a dozen or more. As soon as they completed their task, they would depart. The lack of proper law enforcement fostered a negative environment for anyone who was not in good shape to take care of themselves. Those too young, old, or weak to defend themselves were frequently taken advantage of and walked upon. Figuratively and literally.

Crime lords became the only authority whose word was respected.

You had lived on the streets of the Undercity for as long as you could remember, avoiding the gangs and criminals to the best of your ability, though some interaction was inevitable. It had just been you and your younger sister, Amelia, for close to a decade, forced to resort to petty crime just to survive, like so many of your fellow Undercity unfortunates.

Unlike the others, though, you lucked out in company. Amelia served as the anchor to your humanity, your moral compass forever pointing due North, keeping you on the right path even when you weren't sure you were capable of it.

In this stagnant pit of darkness, Amelia shone more brightly than the star-like crystals that littered the ceiling.

You moved as quickly as your legs allowed, but it still wasn't fast enough. You heard shouts and heavy footfalls behind you as several of the men in the narrow alleyway kept in pursuit, each kicking the homeless man as they darted by. With an alarmed gasp, you noticed that there was easily at least ten of them. And they were gaining on you.

Letting out a string of the most colorful curses you could think of, you darted right into another, much smaller path. Merely a space between two hovels, it could barely be called a 'path'. The cold sides of either structure scraped against your arms, leaving red, irritated skin in its wake. You whimpered as a sharp brick cut into your arm.

"Fuck! She's gone in there, follow her!" one of the men screamed behind you.

"Just use 3DMG -" another replied.

"We can't, jackass! It's too narrow!"

"Are we even sure it's her?"

"She matches the description!"

Your eyes furrowed in confusion. What the hell are they talking about? What description? you thought angrily.

Your chest burned from breathing the dead air, but you pushed on. You could see the end of the crevice, and put on an final burst of energy.

Your heart sank when you felt a hand on your satchel yank you back.

"Come here, you little shit!" gritted out the man behind you, dragging you further and further back by the straps of your satchel. Your eyes widened and you tried as hard as you could to pull free, but you were not strong enough and did not have enough room to maneuver your arms out of the straps.

You heard the sound of the satchel's fabric tearing, and tried to escape before he realized what was happening. Unfortunately for you, he did. You lost your balance when he ripped the rest of the satchel off your shoulders and threw it unceremoniously to the ground behind him. He grabbed your hair roughly before you fell, yanking you around to look him in the eyes. He seized your wrists in one hand.

"You think stealing is a good way to make a living, huh? You've caused an awful lot of trouble for us, you know. So, let us make this quick: how do you get into Stohess without paying the toll?"

The man had eyes the color of stale water and pale, clammy skin. He had slick, black hair and thin eyebrows, and his array of features were twisted into a nasty sneer, revealing a row of putrid, yellowed teeth. His breath reeked of rot and alcohol.

You noticed the insignia on the strange man's uniform and all the breathe was knocked out of you. A horned horse... you've seen that insignia before.

Shit! you thought, thrashing in his grasp.

"Oh, little thief," the Military Policeman cooed, twisting the hair at the back of your head painfully. You winced and felt tears of pain gather at the corner of your eyes. "The only way this ends even somewhat well for you is if you tell me where it is. What ever possessed you to think that stealing above-ground was a good idea in the first place? You've raised quite the uproar with your antics. Stolen a lot of important things from important people. So, where is it, sweetheart?"

The Military Police weren't supposed to be down here! You'd never seen one in the Undercity in all fourteen years of your life. The only times you'd seen them were when you and Amelia were seriously in need of food and had snuck above ground to steal provisions from the Stohess market, or taken a fancy bauble or two from a noble for an Undercity vendor in exchange for supplies and protection. Occasionally, you'd be sent on more... specific 'recovery' missions, sneaking into the homes of nobles in the dead of night. Admittedly, desperate times meant that been happening more often lately, but you did what you had to do to keep Amelia safe. You would die before you let anything happen to her, but... giving up the location of the sewer you used to get above ground was a last resort. You felt rage and panic bubble up inside you as you realized that this could be it. You were going to be arrested. Or killed. And Amelia would be left to fend for herself down here in the consuming dark.

You narrowed your eyes at the revolting man in fury.

"Aww... what bright eyes. I'm not sure I've ever seen such a [eye color]," he almost purred, drawing his greasy hand across your cheek.

You cringed and managed to break one hand free to slap his away. "Get your hands off me, pig," you spat. He growled and grabbed you again, squeezing one wrist so hard against the other that it brought tears to your eyes.

His eyebrow quirked and he yanked your arm, holding your hand at eye level. "Look at that," he said, finger tapping heavily on the ring resting on your right index finger. "Nice ring. Bet it's not yours." You struggled as he ripped the ring from you. Your finger screamed in protest as it was wrenched around roughly. He tossed the small silver ring into the mud at your feet. "Alright, last chance, bitch. Where. Is. The. Entrance."

You growled at him, tugging your arms roughly. That was your ring. You'd had it as long as you could remember. Your mother had given it to you - it was one of the only memories you had of her before she disappeared. It had a tiny, beautiful bird against a backdrop of fire etched into it.

The man chuckled darkly, eyes narrowing. You felt his fingernails dig into your skin. "Awfully quiet, aren't we, thief? Maybe we'll just have to take you upstairs for a nice, long stay in the dungeon. See if that'll loosen your lips."

You grunted and struggled to free yourself from his iron grip. You cried out when he yanked again on your hair.

"Oh, no," he said sweetly. "Perhaps we'll have to engage... alternative tactics to get you to talk."

"Fuck you," you gritted out, spitting in the man's face.

Suddenly, a rock about the size of a clenched fist hit him square on the temple and clattered to the ground. The officer looked at you in shock for a split second, before you saw his eyes roll into the back of his skull and his legs buckle beneath him. His grip in your hair loosened and he hit the ground, hard.

"[Name]! Go!"

You looked up to see Amelia standing on the roof of the building, her matted [hair color] locks, so much like yours, hanging over her shoulder. You would have smiled if your situation wasn't so dire. You dropped to your knees, and heard Amelia screech at you in aghast anger. You patted around in the mud for a second until your fingers hit home and closed around the small circle. You felt one of the MP from behind the first make an attempt at seizing your unkempt hair. Reluctantly abandoning the satchel with the policeman, you turned and forced your way through the rest of the alley and out into the open with your prize.

Amelia leaped effortlessly off the roof and onto the ground beside you.

"That wasn't worth," she said in a low voice. "We need to hurry. It won't be long before the others manage to get through or go around."

You nodded and ran deeper into the slums, deeper into the darkness, praying that you'd both be able to get away unscathed this time.

~

Finally, you and Amelia made it back to the small dead-end corner of the Undercity you called home, skipping your usual checks under the ceiling grates for fallen change. Dirty water leaked from the sewage pipes overhead, pooling at the bottom in a stale puddle, before sinking into the damp earth. You threw yourself down on a large rock that had been serving as a table, leaning back and letting out a shaky breath. "That was too close."

"At least we got away alive," Amelia said shortly. "We need to find you new supplies, though. All of your stuff was in that satchel."

"Thanks for reminding me, Amelia," you snapped, rolling away from her on the rock. Your blanket, your extra clothes, what remained of your food - all of it was in that bag. And now it was gone.

"We can share my food until we get more."

You looked up at her, bewildered. "No, Amelia. That's yours. It's my fault I lost all my supplies." You sat up, sighing. "I think I'll just run to the Old Man's place tomorrow, see if he needs any favors."

Amelia looked at you sternly. You were older than her by a year, but she always managed to make you feel small. "You don't need to do anything for that old bastard. We can share until we're able to restock. Stealing above ground for him is what got us into this mess to begin with."

You afforded her a fatigued stare. "I know. I'll see if I can find some straight work from him. Delivery, or something." You sat silently until what Amelia had said sunk in. "Wait... so you heard what the MP said?"

She scowled at you, tossing her thick, matted hair over her shoulder. "Of course I heard some of it. I tried to follow you from the rooftops, but had to go a bit further to find some boards to cross over the alley without being seen, so I got there a little late. That cop was a creep, but what was he talking about? What did he say isn't yours? Besides, you know, the obvious."

You snorted, rubbing the rest of the mud off the ring and tossing the bauble to your sister. "This." She caught it nimbly in her hands, eyebrows raised in surprise. "He was just needling, trying to piss me off."

"This? But we've had this for ages," she said, depositing the ring on her right index finger and holding out her hand to examine it the waning light. "It's one of the only things we haven't stolen." Amelia was quiet, still observing the silver ring. "So pretty," she mused, dropping her hand. "Either way, I was serious about us finding another source for supplies. We don't need the Old Man anymore. He's done nothing but cause us grief. Plus, he's a pervert," she huffed, turning to dig into her bag.

You snickered softly at her remark before sobering up. "That's true enough. But we need the food now, Amelia, you know that."

Her shoulders drooped. "I know. I just don't like it."

Your eyes dropped to the floor. "I don't think we'll be able to go above ground at all anymore anyway. They came down here looking for me, specifically me. They said I've been causing a problem for some, quote, important people."

Amelia swore, pulling her bedding and a piece of bread out from her satchel. "That's not good. I knew stealing up there would catch up with us sooner or later, but damn. How much did they know?"

"They didn't know my name, so they can't ask around for us. I don't think they know about you. It seemed like all they knew was what I looked like. They must have been speaking to the merchants."

She grunted, laying out her bedroll. "Well, that's something, at least." She patted the spot next to her on the blanket. "Come on, [Name]. I'm not letting you freeze tonight, either. No excuses. Our combined body heat will keep each other warmer anyway. It's gonna be cold tonight."

You sighed and got up off your rock, crawling beneath the blanket next to Amelia. She broke off half of her bread and handed it to you. "Here."

You took it and smiled at her. "Thank you, Amelia. Really. Who'd have thought that you'd be the one taking care of me?"

She smiled softly, the last of the tension leaving her face. "We take care of each other. We always have."

"Yeah. We have," you said, taking a grateful bite of the bread. It was disgustingly stale, but that was to be expected. You and Amelia never stole from the poor, and tried to only take the worst of the stock from the merchants, and only just what you needed to get by. Occasionally you took a job taking some haughty noble's ancient jewelry for the Old Man. After jobs, he'd supply you and your sister for a week or so. Amelia hated having to steal just to survive, but the two of you had no choice. So, you did the stealing, and she kept watch. You'd been doing this since you were both small.

Once you finished your bread, you lay back on the blanket, staring up at the glowing crystals embedded into the stone ceiling of the Undercity.

"[Name]?" Amelia asked tentatively.

"Hm?" you replied drowsily, barely able to keep your eyes open. All that running today had left you exhausted and drained of energy.

There were a few moments of silence from Amelia's direction. "Do you remember mom and dad?" she asked, her voice quiet.

You paused, surprised by her sudden question. "Not really," you answered slowly. "Sometimes, I feel like I can remember mom being there, giving me that ring. But not her face or anything. I'm not even sure if it's a real memory."

"Do you think they were from the Undercity, too?" she asked quickly, rolling over to look at you.

Your eyebrows drew together in confusion. "I... really don't know, Amelia. Why are you wondering this now?"

Her face fell into a deep frown. "I just... wanted to know if you thought they'd be disappointed in us. We're thieves, [Name]. We're criminals." Her eyes shone with unshed tears. You looked at her in surprise. She was twisting the ring on her finger, agitated. "Why would they leave us? Why did they leave us here alone? All we have from them is this!" she yelled, gesturing at the ring. "What good does this do us?"

"Hey, hey..." you said soothingly, wrapping your arms around Amelia's smaller form tenderly. "Don't think like that. They left us here to fend for ourselves. I don't know why they did it, but they did. Besides, we don't need them. We have each other." She sniffled quietly, snuggling into your shoulder. "And whether or not they'd be proud of us..." you continued tentatively, not sure of what you should say. "I think they would be. I only just take what we need to live. And we look out for each other. I'm... we're doing the best we can."

You held her in the dark until her sniffling finally fell silent.

"I'm sorry," Amelia said, so softly you weren't sure you heard her correctly.

"What?" you asked shocked, pulling back and looking at Amelia's face. She looked ashamed. "What for?"

"I'm sorry," she repeated, "that I wasn't paying enough attention today. If I had been watching that merchant more closely, I would have been able to tell you he was turning around, and we would have been able to get away and you wouldn't have lost your bag," she said in a rush. "It's all my fault. I wasn't fast enough. And now you don't have any of your clothes or your food or -"

"It's not your fault," you said harshly. "Don't ever think it's your fault. Accidents happen. Sometimes we get away without being caught, sometimes we don't."

"But today you could have gotten away unnoticed if I just -"

"Don't. Don't think like that. It's not your fault, and I'm not angry. We'll figure it out tomorrow."

Amelia sniffled one last time, and then rolled over onto her back.

"[Name]?"

"Go to bed, Amelia."

"Do you ever wonder what real stars look like?"

You stilled and looked up at the ceiling of the Undercity. Late at night, after the grates to Wall Sina went dark, all the crystals in the ceiling began to glow, speckling the ceiling with dull lights. You didn't know what real stars were supposed to be like, as this was all you'd ever known. The few times you'd been up above ground at night, the stars were always invisible because of the light and pollution from the Capital City. You would never get far enough away to see the true night sky.

"I think they probably look like this," you answered shortly.

"I don't," Amelia said.

You looked at her in confusion. "Why not? From what I've heard, the stars above ground look exactly like these."

Her lips tightened and her brows furrowed together in thought. "These aren't stars. They're dull. They're... yellow," Amelia said disgustedly. "I heard stars shine. They're the purest white. I bet they're much brighter than the crystals. Bigger, too. And they're much, much farther away. The float in the sky and we can see them from all the way down here on the ground." She stared up at the ceiling, her voice reverent, her eyes unfocused.

"They sound amazing," you say, looking up at the ceiling with her.

"Some day, I'll see them."

You had never heard Amelia sound so sure about anything. It put a smile on your face. "I know you will."

She turned to you, a radiant smile on her face. "When I do, you'll be there too. I'm counting on it."

You both returned to a comfortable silence, staring at the ceiling, imagining the little lights that were the stars. Amelia broke the silence again.

"I think I'll join the military when I come of age."

You laughed, still staring up. "No, you won't."

Amelia looked at you indignantly. "Yes, I will! I want to join the Scouting Legion. Then I'll be able to look at the stars all I want."

You looked at her and smirked. "You don't mean that. People who join the Scouting Legion are suicidal."

It was Amelia's turn to look amused. "Maybe so, but they have more power than anyone to make a difference. Should I join the Military Police instead? They almost arrested us today, but to be fair, we were breaking the law. Again. Not that it's our fault that we were left to die down here... if I joined them, I could help take care of the poor in this pit."

You sighed wistfully. "The Military Police would be nice, but you'd be wasting your time patrolling the Capital. They would never assign you to the Undercity... but they have so much power. You'd never have to steal anything again."

"That's not why I'd join them!" Amelia announced indignantly. "I just want to help. Somehow. However I can. I wouldn't stop until they started helping the people down here. The Military Police are corrupt. They need good people to join them. They need good people to change them. People like you and me. But you would join them to have the same power over people as those guys from earlier?"

"I'd join them so that we could be safe," you answered simply. "If I was in the Military Police, I could have a nice house for you up in Wall Sina. Then you wouldn't have to steal or be titan food."

Amelia scoffed, sitting up. "Maybe that's not such a bad plan, but I want adventure! I want to see the world! I want to make a difference," she said, throwing her arms up triumphantly. "I think I would make a good scout. I'm brave, I think. And fast. The titans can't eat what the can't catch!" she giggled, falling back into her bed. "I would help them take back Wall Maria."

You shook you head, laughing with her. "Amelia, the Hero of Wall Maria! I can see it now!"

Eventually, your giggles died down. Amelia turned to look at you. "I wouldn't mind dying, if it was for a cause like the Scouting Legion."

"Don't say that, idiot. You're not joining the Scouting Legion, and you're not dying," you shot her a look out of the corner of your eye. "Now, try to get to sleep. We've got a busy day tomorrow."

"Yeah," Amelia said, yawning. "We've got to get you some supplies." She fell unusually silent. "Do you think I could join the military? Would you?"

"You definitely could, if you wanted to. I'm just a thief, though. They'd never let in somebody like me."

"Oh," Amelia said quietly. There was a pause. "Goodnight, [Name]."

"Goodnight, Amelia."

~

You woke up much later than usual, the grates letting in the harsh midday light. It filtered down through the darkness, allowing you to see every particle of dust that floated through the rays. You pulled yourself up off the ground and looked around for your satchel.

Oh, right. Shit.

"Amelia, time to get up," you called drowsily, crawling out of the blanket and standing up, stretching like a cat and hearing a few of your joints pop. Ouch. "I'm gonna head out to see the Old Man."

After a few seconds, you heard no reply. Grunting in frustration, you turned around.

"Amelia, come on -"

With a feeling of dread, you noticed the spot next to you on the blanket was empty.

Normally, you wouldn't have been too concerned that she wasn't there. But you and Amelia had always had only one rule living in the Undercity that must never be broken.

Always tell me where you are.

Amelia had said nothing to you, nor had she woken you up. She left only one thing.

The ring sat where her head should have been.

Stupid girl, you thought in a panic. Where would she have gone without telling me? If she had gone to relieve herself, she'd have told me. We have water -

With a pang of realization, you looked around.Her satchel was gone, too.

"Shit!" you swore loudly, not caring if you were heard. You never took the satchels with you unless you planned to fill it or were moving camp, and Amelia would never leave you behind. You remembered what Amelia said last night about blaming herself for losing your stuff. "Stupid, stupid!" you muttered distractedly.

Completely ignoring your blankets, you grabbed the ring, throwing it on your right index finger, and were on your feet and racing through the Undercity in the breadth of a second. Where would she have gone? The Market, the Old Man's... there!

Deciding to check at the Old Man's hovel first, you veered sharply to your right and continued on your way through the alleyways and paths. Your bare feet still ached from your escape yesterday, but you couldn't have cared any less. You ran into several people who shouted obscenities at you as you passed. You didn't care. You only had one thought on your mind - find Amelia. Now.

Whether it took fifteen minutes or two hours, you weren't sure. Eventually, finally, you stood in front of the massive, dirty shack that belonged to the Old Man. That bastard. He pulled more strings down here in the Undercity than King Fritz himself ever could. If anyone knew where Amelia was, he would.

You threw open the door without caring to knock, and marched in, eyes looking wildly about. The bastard himself looked up from his kettle by the fireplace and stared at you complacently. "[Name]. What a pleasant surprise. And what can I do for you this afternoon?"

"You know what," you snarled. "Where is she?"

He chuckled, his long white hair draping over his shoulder. His lips curled, disgusting teeth bared into a grotesque smile. "Why, the both of you are quite spirited, aren't you? At any rate, your counterpart isn't here. I sent her out."

Your face blanched and you growled. "What do you mean, you sent her out?"

"She came here looking for supplies, and I told her I didn't have any to spare for someone who couldn't pay the price. As per our usual arrangement," he reminded. "So, I sent her out to fetch me something," he chirped, turning back to his kettle. "I could tell you where she went."

You were across the room and in his face before he drew his next breath. You ripped him from his chair by the collar of his shirt and threw him against the wall. As frail as he was, it was not difficult. "Tell me where she is and I'll consider not killing you."

He merely chuckled again. His breath almost made you gag. "You won't kill me. Whatever would that sister of yours think? Either way, I've dealt with thugs far more threatening than you, and I'm still standing here."

You stared at him for a few more seconds, before releasing his collar. He sank to the floor, expression unchanged. "You bastard," you sneered.

"Oh, little [Name], someday your vicious natural will catch up to you," he warned with a grin. If he looked any more pleased, you swore you'd punch him in the jaw.

"So I've heard. Tell me where she is."

"She left for the Capital City. Food down here has been scarce recently, but she said you were desperate. I told her I would spare what little I had if she could fetch me an appropriately valuable item. I directed her to the Capital."

You felt all the blood drain from you face. No... The Capital is crawling with MPs...

"When was that? When did she leave?" you almost yelled, getting in his face again.

"Well, it must have been close to four hours ago now," he sang, turning around and sinking into his chair. "Better hurry."

~

"[Name]! You'll never believe what I found!" Amelia yelled, returning to your meeting point after a long day working the market, hands held behind her back.

You turned to her, trying to pick some of the debris out of your foot.

"What?! I told you not to take off on your own! Always tell me first!"

Amelia giggled, her round, childish face spreading into the biggest shit-eating grin you'd ever witnessed. "I couldn't help it! It just looked too good!"

You sighed in resignation, picking the last of the debris out of your foot, and turning to your little sister. "What did you find?"

Amelia could barely contain her excitement as she removed her hands from their place behind her back. In them, was a small, hastily wrapped piece of cake that looked like it'd seen better days. Probably literally. Her smile touched her ears. "Happy birthday!"

You couldn't help the smile that snuck its way onto your face. "It's not my birthday, Amelia. We don't even know what day it is. Or what my birthday is, even."

"Don't care!" she squeaked, sitting down in front of you and unwrapping it quickly. "I wanted to make one up because you've never had one before."

"You've never had one either," you pointed out.

"I know, but today is your birthday, so I brought you cake!" she giggled.

"Well, then, it's your birthday, too. We can share it."

If it was even possible, Amelia managed to look even more excited. "Oh, really? Thank you, [Name], thank you!" she yelled, lunging forward and wrapping her arms around your neck, very nearly squishing the cake she had gotten so excited over.

"You're welcome, Amelia," you said quietly. "Thank you."

~

That was years ago, you thought sadly. Why am I remembering this now?

You're not sure how you managed to get to the Stohess District, then to the Capital. Everything after seeing the Old Man seemed like a blur to you, from leaving his hovel to racing through the streets to ascending to the world above.

As usual, the second you hit the top rung of the manhole ladder and emerged onto the streets of Stohess, you had to squint at the harsh sunlight and lift your arm up to cover your sensitive eyes. Regardless of your temporary blindness, you moved forward, through the Stohess Market, bumping into many angry citizens. Finally, the Stohess Gate was in sight, leading into the Capital. You stealthily slid into a crowd of commuters to get past the guards stationed there.

Please be here, please be here...

Your feet carried you forward, although they were losing feeling. It must have been approaching winter, because the bite of the air was cold, far colder than it had been the last time you'd been above ground, and your toes were getting stiff with the chill.

You burst into the main market of the Capital City, finally, after hours, almost being swept away by the crowd of bustling upper-class shoppers finalizing the day's purchases. You ran from stall to stall, your heart pounding in your chest, asking vendors if they'd seen a young girl wandering around alone. No one had seen anything.

It isn't surprising that they hadn't seen anyone. Unfortunately for you that day, your sister was a master at staying undetected in large crowds. You began to panic. It was getting darker.

Your thoughts were interrupted by a commotion from up the street. Scuffling. Shouting. A high pitched scream.

Your feet mindlessly carried you towards the source of the scuffle, every other sound in the busy district draining away, until all you could hear was the scream. No one else reacted. You just flew by them, seeing their mouths form into silent laughs, not hearing the sound. A few small children, no older than five or six, ran by you, playing a game of tag. A young couple held hands and looked at the assortment of vegetables in a nearby stall. A young, uniformed man walked an older woman down the street, arm-in-arm. An infant cried in his mother's loving arms.

So much life. You couldn't be bothered to notice any of it.

As you rounded the corner into the side street, feet skidding on the smooth stone of the road, your jaw dropped. There was an officer standing, in full uniform, chasing Amelia as she tried to get away. In slow motion, it seemed, you watched him grab a fistful of her hair and throw her to the ground, landing a hard kick directly to her abdomen. You didn't notice much else. You didn't need to see any more.

You chased them a ways down the alley, until you finally caught up to the soldier mid-stomp. You flung yourself onto him from behind, wrapping your arms tightly around his neck, and he reacted immediately, spinning around and trying to grab hold of you. You wouldn't let go.

You saw Amelia lift her head from the ground and turn around to figure out what was going on. Her face melted into one of shock and anger. "What are you DOING!?"

"Get out, now!" you screamed, clinging onto the flailing soldier for dear life.

You saw Amelia struggle to decide what to do from the ground as she heavily picked herself up. You screamed and screamed at her, not even noticing the words that left your mouth anymore. Get out, go back, I'll take care of it, go, go, go...

Amelia didn't move.

The man reached back and attempted to grab you, anywhere, trying to get you off of him. He swung a little too close to your face. You took his hand in your mouth and bit down savagely.

He howled in pain and began backing up, clutching his bleeding palm. You tasted his metallic blood on your lips.

Then you heard a shattering sound and felt a sharp pain all over, and you hit the pavement, dazed. You looked up through a shower of glass and saw the soldier standing over you, a strangely pleased look in his eyes, hand going into his jacket and pulling out a tiny, glittering object.

You looked at it, a strange sense of wonder and fear overcoming you. You'd never seen anything like it. Your head swam, eyes going in and out of focus.

The object made a clicking sound, and the officer pointed it directly at your forehead.

In your moment of confusion, you had forgotten about Amelia. Until she did the same exact thing you had done seconds prior and jumped at the Military Policeman.

He was prepared this time.

"NO!"

You weren't sure which of you screamed. He immediately pressed the end of the object to Amelia's stomach, and a loud sound rang out through the alleyway.

It's funny how the first thing you noticed was the ornate hand mirror that fell out of her satchel and shattered on the ground. It took you an extra second to see the blood splatter across the wall behind her, or hear her pained grunt, or see her fall, limp, to the ground.

No. No. Not Amelia. Please, not Amelia.

Amelia had plenty to live for, and she had never committed any real crimes. She had everything ahead of her. Everything you had ever done had been to keep her safe, everything. She was a smart girl, bright, and kinder than anyone else you'd ever met. She had a future.

I'm just a thief. I've only ever been a thief.

Take me instead.

You sat on the ground for a moment, in complete shock. Your mind was swirling with anger, hurt, pain, grief, confusion, guilt, despair. Then every emotion faded away from your body and you were left with only one.

Rage.

You looked down at your lower body on the ground, seeing that you sat in a bed of broken glass from the window that had been smashed above you. Small cuts littered your body and you noticed vaguely that there was something sticking out of your right cheek. Your hand reached up and pulled the shard of glass out with a steady hand. You felt the blood begin to ooze freely from the gash.

Dropping the small piece that was previously embedded in your cheek, you picked up a long shard and stood on sturdy legs, squeezing it so tightly in your palm that a thin trail of blood leaked out from between your fingers.

It dripped lazily over the ring.

You took a cold step out of the pool of blood and glass, tiny shards cutting into your already injured feet. You walked toward the soldier, leaving bloody footprints in your wake. He stared down at Amelia with emotionless eyes, kicking aside her limp leg with his foot. He turned around to face you.

And the last thing you saw was his look of absolute shock before you slid the shard of glass smoothly across his throat.

Gurgling and wide-eyed, he fell to his knees, clutching his lacerated neck. You went around him as he fell face-first to the ground and knelt by Amelia, pulling her body into your arms. You vaguely noticed the gory tear in her shirt that was steadily leaking her lifeblood.

You didn't even have the strength to cry.

You sat for a few seconds, clutching Amelia as though she would disappear if you let go.

"[N... Name...]," she said weakly. You looked down at her bruising, pale face, steel in your eyes, but a storm in your heart.

"I'm here." Your voice sounded stronger than you thought it would.

"Promise me you won't let this break you."

You looked at her in disbelief, and then your eyes burned with unshed tears and an all-consuming, red-hot rage. "I'll try. I promise."

She nodded weakly, eyes drooping. "Promise me you'll try to make a difference. Join the military. Help people. Anything, just... get out of the Undercity. Promise me. Don't spend your life rotting down in that dump."

The first tears started traitorously sneaking their way out of your eyes. There was no stopping them now. Each one landed on Amelia's bloodied cheek, sliding down into her hairline. "I promise."

"You're more than... just a thief. Promise me... you'll see the stars..." She took one last, shuddering breath, and closed her eyes. For the last time.

"I promise."

You let out a strangled sob and held her small form to yours, crying openly into her hair. You looked behind you and saw the military policeman lying in a pool of blood, as still and pale as Amelia. His eyes looked at you accusatorily.

You didn't feel rage anymore.

Just overpowering despair.

"Officer! Officer! I heard a gunshot and screaming from down that alley..."

You heard the woman's voice and sat up abruptly, head snapping to the mouth of the alley as you saw several people jogging in. Amelia fell from your lap and hit the ground with a dull thump. You looked around you in a panic, from Amelia, to the officer, to the end of the alley. You stood there, surrounded by two corpses, covered in blood, trying to find a way out, until you heard the heavy footsteps pounding down the stone behind you.

You took one last look at your little sister, and then darted down the road in the opposite direction, leaving a pool of blood in your wake.

After you rounded the corner, you could hear the two officers confirming that Amelia's [hair color] hair matched the description of the thief that had been hounding Stohess.

You kept running.

The dark sky hung low over your head, unfeeling, starless.